A few days later, Emperor Kangxi issued an edict betrothing the youngest daughter of Prince Yu to the son of a Tibetan chieftain. Upon learning this, the Empress Dowager remained sullen in her palace, refusing to receive guests. The Sixteenth Princess, though still in love with Prince Indal, knew the marriage was impossible and wasn't particularly angry. Indal personally wrote to his parents, informing them of the marriage, and then went to see the Empress Dowager, who declined, citing illness. The Sixteenth Princess naturally told the Empress Dowager about Indal, thus creating a rift between aunt and niece.

Consort De secretly began investigating the backgrounds of all the palace servants in the Qianqing Palace with Liang Jiugong. Meanwhile, Emperor Kangxi was in the Yangxin Hall receiving a master of disguise and the stand-in who had taken his place at the international ceremonies.

"Your Majesty, it's done! Please take a look!" The imposter was found by Kangxi's secret guards. Since entering the palace, he had been in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and no one knew of his existence. The reason Kangxi told Consort De was that although this disguise technique could fool others, it certainly wouldn't fool Consort De. So he simply told her and asked her to cooperate with this double, making it even less likely to be discovered.

When Kangxi walked up to the stand-in, he saw another "himself," even the lines on his forehead were exactly the same.

“It’s so similar, so very similar. It’s truly to the point of being indistinguishable from the real thing.” Kangxi said, looking at the “himself” sitting there.

"This humble commoner has made his living this way for generations. It is but a trivial skill, and I dare not show it before Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!" The disguised man dared not look up at Kangxi. He knew that he had been drawn into the core of the power struggle for the throne, and that the slightest mistake could bring about his death!

"Well, once you no longer need a stand-in, you can leave here. However, you must stay in the palace and are not allowed to leave again. You will serve me exclusively." Kangxi suddenly felt that having such a person serving him was quite nice.

"This humble subject obeys the decree." The disguised man wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly bowed his head.

"You stay here and study the book I gave you carefully. You must learn everything in it, how to say it, and how to do it. Someone will teach you." Kangxi said to that "self".

"Yes, this servant will certainly live up to your expectations." The double quickly stood up and bowed to Kangxi. If others were to see this, the scene would indeed be rather eerie.

"Alright, you two stay here and serve me well when I need you," Kangxi said.

After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Kangxi instructed the eunuch in charge of guarding the place. He was Liang Jiugong's disciple and had been assigned by Kangxi to serve here. He was also a trusted confidant.

When they returned to the Qianqing Palace, Consort De was already waiting there.

"You've arrived!" Kangxi walked into the palace and glanced at Consort De talking to Liang Jiugong.

"Your Majesty, I respectfully welcome you. Your Majesty, my father-in-law and I have investigated all those who serve Your Majesty, and we have indeed made some discoveries," said Consort De.

Kangxi glanced at Consort De, then nodded to Liang Jiugong, signaling him to clear the area. After the palace servants had all left, Consort De said to Kangxi, "Your Majesty, do you still remember Mei Ruo, who served by your side back then?"

Upon hearing the name, Kangxi's brow twitched several times. He said in a deep voice, "That lowly maid died while accompanying me on the western expedition. How could we have found her?" Kangxi didn't want to mention the palace maids he had favored, especially this Mei Ruo, who had actually escaped. At the time, Kangxi had sent his secret guards to capture her, but they hadn't succeeded. Kangxi already suspected this palace maid, but because her disappearance was somewhat mysterious, he hadn't paid any further attention.

"Your Majesty," Consort De said cautiously, "I have heard that this Mei Ruo used to have a lot of dealings with a eunuch when she was in the palace. She even got something from that eunuch. I was afraid that Your Majesty would be harmed by this wretched woman, so I investigated further. This wretched woman actually used such a dirty thing to bewitch Your Majesty."

"You lowly servant, investigate her background. Send her all to Guningta to perform hard labor, and her family will never be able to rise again for three generations!" Kangxi roared in anger upon hearing this.

Consort De straightened her sleeves. She wasn't bringing up Mei Ruo now to kill a mere bondservant, but because she had uncovered information about the Crown Prince through Mei Ruo. Such an opportunity shouldn't be missed, especially since it was Kangxi himself who had ordered the investigation.

"Was she sent to my side by someone with ulterior motives?" Kangxi asked.

"Your Majesty, I dare not speak presumptuously. However, this young eunuch is the one who serves Consort Li, the Crown Prince's concubine. Mei Ruo's medicine was given by this eunuch, so is this medicine from Consort Li..." Consort De paused here and said.

Although Kangxi did not utter a sound, the aura emanating from him was chilling. Consort De naturally understood Kangxi's feelings at that moment, so she only said this much.

“Your Majesty, Yu Fen, who was serving Mei Ruo at the time, is still in the Imperial Tea Room. Could she be…?” Liang Jiugong asked at this moment.

"Dispose of them all. These servants, relying on serving me, often have affairs with the mistresses in the harem, thinking I don't know. Liang Jiugong, along with Mei Ruoyi and the other servants, should all be beaten to death. The others should be expelled. Select a new batch of people to replace them," Kangxi said sternly.

Consort De moved her lips, but ultimately remained silent; she had no need to plead for those delusional palace maids.

"What about the others? Are there any others suspicious?" Kangxi asked.

"I have investigated everything and there is nothing suspicious," said Consort De.

"Alright, send someone to question the Crown Prince and get Consort Li to hand over that eunuch. Liang Jiugong, I'm entrusting this matter to you," Kangxi said.

"This servant obeys the decree," Liang Jiugong replied.

Seeing that Emperor Kangxi was not speaking, Consort De said, "Your Majesty, the palace banquet for the foreign delegations is ready."

Emperor Kangxi, seemingly lost in thought, said when Consort De brought up the topic, "My beloved consort, do you remember what I told you a few days ago?"

Consort De nodded. She hadn't expected that Emperor Kangxi wouldn't even attend this event, intending to send a substitute instead. The Emperor's suspicions were growing stronger.

Meanwhile, Liang Jiugong, accompanied by several eunuchs, went to the back room of the Qianqing Palace to arrest Yu Fen and several other palace maids.

"Father-in-law, what have we done wrong?" Yu Fen was grabbed by the hair by two eunuchs and dragged out.

“By the Emperor’s decree, all those who were on duty with Mei Ruo have been punished. If you have anyone to blame, blame your bad luck for serving the Emperor alongside that lowly maid,” Liang Jiugong said.

Before Yu Fen could resist, her mouth was gagged with a strip of cloth. She never imagined that after so long, she would still be implicated by Mei Ruo.