Three days later.

Guan Zhiyue and her entourage finally set off from the temporary palace back to the palace. It was absolutely thrilling. If it weren't for the rules left by the ancestors that couldn't be broken, Guan Zhiyue would have returned to the palace long ago. That place was simply too terrifying.

Especially worried about the food supplies on the back mountain, the group didn't return until night.

When Guan Zhiyue arrived at the Cold Palace, Liu Debao rushed over to tell her that the grain seeds in the back mountain seemed to have been stolen.

"What, are you sure?"

"Where did these people come from? Have you caught anyone?" Guan Zhiyue asked anxiously.

While asking questions, he ran towards the back mountain. It was just too cruel. How could such a thing happen?

"Your Majesty, what do you think we should do now?" Liu Debao asked.

As Guan Zhiyue walked, she said, "Let's go and see what's going on first."

"What did you steal?"

"Corn, rice, sweet potatoes, all of these were..."

Guan Zhiyue was shocked. What's going on?! What's happening?!

“How did they know these things were high-yield grains?” Guan Zhiyue asked.

Liu Debao shook his head, "This servant didn't know either!"

Guan Zhiyue frowned. Could there be a traitor in the Cold Palace? That shouldn't be the case; she'd treated them quite well! This shouldn't have happened! It can't be!

"Have any new women been brought into our Cold Palace recently?" Guan Zhiyue asked.

Liu Debao immediately understood what Guan Zhiyue meant and quickly recalled, "No, that's not true!"

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

Guan Zhiyue shook her head, "I'm just guessing, I don't really think that's the case."

Bilian added from the side, "Your Majesty, we haven't had any new concubines in the Cold Palace recently; they're all old ones who came here before."

Guan Zhiyue didn't say anything more. She already had a plan in mind and knew what was going on, but she just couldn't believe it.

"Alright, I got it. We'll talk about it later!"

Guan Zhiyue led Liu Debao and the others to the back mountain, where they saw that there were indeed signs of climbing near the cliff edge.

Near the cliff, there were indeed signs that the plants had been harvested; it was truly horrific.

"Looks like they really are a bunch of fearless people!"

"It seems this thing really needs to be enclosed by something." Guan Zhiyue looked at the cut-out area.

"Yes, this servant was negligent. I thought this was a cliff, so!" Liu Debao quickly bowed and said.

Guan Zhiyue waved her hand and said, "Send someone to inform the Emperor that someone has come to steal the grain seeds."

Liu Debao quickly clasped his hands in greeting and left, as he needed to hurry and inform the Emperor.

Bilian looked around and then said to Guan Zhiyue, "Your Majesty, these people are truly despicable. They even managed to flip over such a high cliff."

"Hmm, it seems we need to pay more attention to this food issue as soon as possible, otherwise I don't know if we can keep our grain seeds." Guan Zhiyue sighed as she looked at the golden rice fields and the corn stalks that were beginning to turn yellow.

Bilian, who was listening nearby, was also quite angry. These petty thieves would steal anything, even climbing over such a high cliff. It was simply too cruel.

"Your Majesty, what do you think we should do?" Bilian asked.

"You can't guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days. I don't know what to do." Guan Zhiyue was at a loss as to how to handle the situation.

It's incredibly rare. In her world, no one has ever stolen food. You might think that someone would steal money, but Guan Zhiyue has never encountered anyone stealing food before.

"Let's talk to the Emperor first and see if he has any good ideas before we proceed!"

"Let's go back to the palace first." Guan Zhiyue led Bilian back towards the Cold Palace. She was so busy every day, and there were still things to do before she could even sit down.

"Bilian, go to the imperial kitchen and get some beef!" Guan Zhiyue said.

Bilian had no idea why her mistress would suddenly want beef.

"Your Majesty, are you making something delicious?"

Guan Zhiyue shook her head and said, "Go and get it! I need it."

Although Bilian didn't know what her mistress wanted the beef for, she still obediently went to get it.

——

The Imperial Study.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

"Your Majesty, something has happened!"

Liu Debao ran to the door of the Imperial Study and started shouting. Li Qiji, who was inside reviewing memorials, looked up at Hua Quan, wanting him to go and see who was making the noise.

"Who is making such a racket here!" Hua Quan asked as he walked to the door.

Liu Debao rushed in from outside and hurriedly said, "Eunuch Hua, something's happened! Is the Emperor here?"

Hua Quan asked, "What's wrong? Why are you so panicked?"

Liu Debao exclaimed, "Oh dear, something terrible has happened! The grain seeds in the back hill of the Cold Palace have been stolen!"

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Hua exclaimed "Oh dear!" and quickly led Liu Debao into the house.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!" Hua Quan said.

Li Qiji looked at the two of them and said, "Aren't you from the Empress's palace? What happened to the Empress?"

"Oh dear, Your Majesty, it's not that the Empress is in trouble, it's that the grain seeds in the back mountain of our Cold Palace are in trouble! Some unlucky bastard climbed up the cliff and stole our grain!"

Liu Debao was in the imperial study, wailing and shouting loudly, giving no one a chance to breathe.

Li Qiji found Liu Debao's words utterly infuriating. Just a few days ago, he had been talking about protecting the grain seeds, and now they had been stolen. This was enough to show that the men in black at the palace were after the high-yield grain seeds, and they would take them if Guan Zhiyue didn't agree.

"They really gave them too much credit."

"Let's go, move the carriage out of the cold palace, and hurry to see what's going on!"

Li Qiji stood up and walked outside.

Hua Quan and Ji Wu, who were behind them, quickly followed after them.

Liu Debao quickly got up from the ground and hurried towards the door.

Before long, even the Empress Dowager in Cining Palace received the news that the high-yield grain seeds had been stolen, which were an important guarantee for the development of their country!

Before their own country has even begun distributing new high-yield crops, someone is already eyeing them—it's utterly inhumane.

Li Qiji and his entourage stormed off from the Imperial Study toward the Cold Palace. Even the Empress Dowager couldn't sit still any longer and went to see what was going on.