Remove the firewood from under the cauldron

Su Yueming's confession was like a key, opening the door to a deeper conspiracy. Xiao Jingche and Lu Qinglan stopped passively defending themselves and began to take the initiative.

Xiao Jingche mobilized his undercover agents within the Jingji Garrison and the Five Cities Military Command to closely monitor the courtyard where Hu Guanshi was hiding and the Liu Mansion around the clock. Simultaneously, through Gu Zhao's connections, he exerted influence on the Ministry of Justice, forcing the Shuntian Prefecture Governor to hesitate to torture Chen Xing or close the case, thus buying precious time for the investigation.

Lu Qinglan was in charge of the palace. On the one hand, under the pretext of managing miscellaneous affairs, he sorted out the palace's accounts and personnel more clearly, secretly eliminated some servants who might have been bribed or had suspicious backgrounds, and further consolidated his control; on the other hand, through the channels left by Chen Xing, he continued to command the remaining connections of Yunshang Pavilion and Shen Chong's caravan, and inquired about information in the market, especially any movement about Western Region medicinal materials and Yongquan Temple.

On this day, Zhao Tieshou finally brought groundbreaking news.

"Princess! We've found it!" He tried to keep his voice down, but his excitement was hard to conceal. "Our people have been keeping an eye on the Liu Mansion for three days and finally discovered that the steward who was in contact with Su Yueming secretly went to an abandoned brick kiln in South City at midnight last night and met with Steward Hu! The two of them exchanged a small package, and inside was the Bliss Powder! While they were separated, our people apprehended the steward and caught him red-handed! He is now being secretly detained!"

Good! Lu Qinglan was cheered up! Catching the perpetrator with evidence was the strongest evidence!

"What about Manager Hu?"

"Steward Hu was extremely cunning. He left immediately after the handover. Our men followed him near Prince An's Mansion but lost him." Zhao Tieshou said with a hint of regret, then added, "However, we also found a secret letter on the steward of the Liu Mansion. Steward Hu asked him to pass it on to Minister Liu. The letter mentioned... it mentioned that the elixir at Yongquan Temple was about to be completed, and that the matter at Yunshang Pavilion needed to be resolved as soon as possible to avoid any complications that might affect the 'noble''s' use of the medicine!"

The elixir is almost ready! My noble friend, please use the medicine!

These words exploded in Lu Qinglan's mind like thunder! The elixir refined by Yongquan Temple was indeed used for that "noble lady" in the palace! Combined with Su Yueming's confession of the "noble lady in the palace", the purpose of the collusion between Prince An and the Third Prince was obvious - they wanted to use this elixir of unknown origin to control or even murder the emperor!

This speculation sent a chill down her spine. In her previous life, Xiao Jingche's increasingly suspicious and violent nature after ascending the throne was also linked to this elixir? Was that poisoned wine not simply a case of the bird being killed and the bow being put away, but part of a larger conspiracy?

She forced herself to calm down. Now was not the time to delve into her past life. The most urgent task was to use the evidence in her hands to deal a fatal blow to the other party!

"Master Zhao, immediately hand over the Liu Mansion steward and the stolen goods to His Highness's men. Remember, you must ensure the safety of both the people and the evidence!"

"I understand!"

The evidence was quickly delivered to Xiao Jingche. Looking at the package of authentic Bliss Powder and the secret letter with a clear destination, Xiao Jingche's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"Well done! Well done to Liu Mingda (Minister Liu)! Well done to my third brother! How dare you commit such a heinous act!" He slammed the table. "Come! Prepare the carriage! I must go to the palace to see the emperor immediately!"

"Your Highness, wait!" Lu Qinglan intervened. "Your Highness, even though we have witnesses and evidence, we're afraid this alone won't bring down the Third Prince, let alone the nobles in the palace and Prince An. They can easily claim they knew nothing and that it was a servant who acted recklessly. If we rashly report this to the Emperor, it might alert them, making them wary and perhaps even... desperate."

Xiao Jingche took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to immediately go to the palace to expose the matter. "Princess, what you said makes sense. So, in your opinion, what should we do?"

"We'll remove the firewood from under the cauldron. We'll attack on two fronts." Lu Qinglan's eyes were calm, yet resolute. "First, use the Liu Mansion's steward and the Bliss Powder to prove that Minister Liu framed the Crown Princess and secretly possessed forbidden drugs. First, we'll cut off the Third Prince's arm, rescue Chen Xing, and clear the name of Yunshang Pavilion. Second, we'll continue to dig deeper into the connection between Yongquan Temple, Prince An's Mansion, and the nobleman in the palace, looking for more solid evidence, especially... the truth about that elixir!"

She paused and added, "The Yongquan Temple's elixir is almost ready, and they'll be eager to resolve the medicinal material problem. This is our best chance. Perhaps... we can help them obtain the medicinal materials 'smoothly,' but we'll need to do something about it."

Xiao Jingche instantly understood her intention, his eyes flashing: "Princess, are you saying... to replace the pillars with the beams?"

"That's right." Lu Qinglan nodded. "Have Shen Chong's caravan contact the source of medicinal materials for Yongquan Temple and replace some of the key Western herbs with similar-looking but incompatible ones, or...even harmless ones. This way, even if they refine the elixir, it won't achieve the desired effect, and may even backfire. At the same time, we can also use this opportunity to understand their medicinal material supply chain and find more evidence."

"This plan is brilliant!" Xiao Jingche clapped his hands, "But... you need to be extremely careful when operating it. If it's discovered, all your efforts will be wasted."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I'll make the arrangements." Lu Qinglan had already made plans for this. Shen Chong had been traveling the world for years, interacting with all kinds of people. He was more suitable for this kind of work than his guards.

The plan was decided and the two men acted separately.

Xiao Jingche personally took charge and presented the Liu Mansion steward, the Jile Powder, and a portion of Su Yueming's confession (with the details about the palace nobles omitted) as evidence before the Shuntian Prefecture Governor. With the overwhelming evidence, the Shuntian Prefecture Governor could no longer prevaricate and had no choice but to bite the bullet and order the arrest of the Liu Mansion steward's ostensible owner—Miss Liu—and summon Minister Liu for questioning.

The news shook the court and the nation. Minister Liu was one of the Third Prince's financial resources, and his daughter was implicated in a serious case involving the consort and possession of illegal drugs, putting the Third Prince's family in a difficult position. Although the Third Prince tried to disown the charges, claiming he had neglected his children, his reputation had already been severely damaged. Shuntian Prefecture closed the case, ruling that Yunshang Pavilion was a victim of a frame-up. Chen Xing was released from custody, and the shop was unsealed.

Lu Qinglan and Xiao Jingche won this battle beautifully. Not only did they clear their names and preserve their property, but they also dealt a heavy blow to the Third Prince's faction.

At the same time, under Lu Qinglan's secret command, Shen Chong cleverly contacted the middleman who supplied medicinal materials to Yongquan Temple through an old friend of his with a Western medicinal material dealer, and successfully mixed a batch of specially treated "medicinal materials" into the goods to be sent to Yongquan Temple.

Everything is going according to plan.

However, Lu Qinglan felt no sense of relief. She knew that bringing down Minister Liu had only severed one of his arms. The true core—Prince An, the imperial court nobles, and the secrets of Yongquan Temple—remained shrouded in mystery. After this setback, their subsequent counterattack would undoubtedly be even more fierce and covert.

She stood in front of the window of Hengwuyuan, looking at the new buds sprouting from the plants in the courtyard.

The spring breeze brings warmth, but it also brings the oppressive feeling of impending storm.

The firewood had been removed from the cauldron, but the smoldering flames beneath the stove hadn't completely extinguished. She needed to be constantly vigilant, finding a way to extinguish them before they reignited or even exploded.