From the time when the butler, Lao Qin, was personally exposed, to the time when he imitated Feng Beichuan's methods to print those picture albums but was exposed, and now his official tablet has inexplicably turned into a teaspoon.

Everything was surprisingly consistent in that they were making things difficult for themselves.

If one or two incidents happen by coincidence, that's understandable. But when problems occur one after another, it's hard not to be suspicious.

Moreover, Bai Yuanshan himself felt that ever since Li Chang'an returned and he and other ministers opposed her entering the court to participate in politics, bad things had been happening to him one after another.

Perhaps the Prime Minister's residence really has a traitor planted inside?

This matter should not be underestimated. In the past, Bai Yuanshan would have looked down on such petty tricks, but things are different now. Feng Beichuan is stirring up trouble in the court, Li Chang'an holds most of the military power of Shengnan Kingdom, and Emperor Xingchang's health has not improved. As the current prime minister, he has naturally become the weaker party.

Emperor Xingchang's original intention was to have Bai Yuanshan restrain Feng Beichuan in the court, but now it seems that Feng Beichuan and Li Chang'an have colluded and are constantly suppressing him, both openly and secretly.

If this continues unchecked, a major upheaval may be imminent in Sheng Nan Kingdom.

Even though Emperor Xingchang had previously tried to test Li Chang'an's intentions, now that the young crown prince has been forcibly taken away by this woman, who can know whether she truly wants to teach the young crown prince or is simply using him to control the emperor and command the other princes in the future?

Bai Yuanshan was determined to thoroughly investigate the matter. He immediately returned to his study, ordered someone to gather all the guards who had been on duty the previous night, and then summoned several young and strong servants to forcibly drive them into the woodshed.

The guards were all bewildered. They had initially resisted asking the servants who had herded them to the woodshed for an explanation, but after being told it was Bai Yuanshan's order, they reluctantly entered the dusty woodshed.

After doing all this, Bai Yuanshan recalled his most capable spies and then had his servants bring the guards who had said they had seen suspicious people the night before to the door of his study.

Where did you see the thief last night?

Bai Yuanshan looked at the leading guard with a stern face and asked, his eyes full of scrutiny.

"It was...it was over by the side gate on the west side...At that time, I heard a noise over there, and when I went over, I saw what looked like a figure. So I called my brothers to go after it."

The man became somewhat nervous under Bai Yuanshan's gaze, and his tongue involuntarily began to tie itself in knots as he tried to organize his thoughts, recalling the events of the previous day.

"Did you see where that person went? Was it a man or a woman?"

Bai Yuanshan continued in a deep voice to ask.

Everyone's heart began to pound. Little did they know that just yesterday, the group had only reached the side gate when they smelled a strange fragrance, and before they could even react, they all collapsed to the ground.

By the time they groggily woke up, not only were the thieves gone, but the daylily was long gone too.

Fearing that their momentary negligence might lead to some mistake, the guards made up a lie to Bai Yuanshan. Fortunately, Bai Yuanshan didn't suspect anything, so they didn't take the matter to heart anymore.

But just one night later, Bai Yuanshan summoned these people for questioning. The guards couldn't help but feel uneasy, wondering if something had really happened. But since the lie had already been told, they could only try to gloss over the truth and cover it up.

"That person ran too fast, but judging from his figure, he should be a man. Moreover, he was highly skilled in martial arts, at the very least his lightness skill should be excellent, because he disappeared in the blink of an eye."

The leader continued to spout nonsense, saying that he had only heard a noise and had not seen any people. Even if there were people, it would have been impossible to tell whether they were male or female in such a dark and windy situation.

However, fearing Bai Yuanshan's anger, this person had no choice but to fabricate the image of a thief out of thin air.

Hearing these descriptions, Bai Yuanshan frowned deeply. The situation seemed to be getting more and more serious, but he also felt that something was wrong, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

After asking around for a long time without getting anything of value, Bai Yuanshan felt unwilling. He had finally managed to grasp a little clue, so how could he let it go so easily?

"A bunch of useless trash!"

Bai Yuanshan couldn't help but curse, and the guards could only lower their heads and not dare to breathe.

"Sir, I have a few more questions to ask them."

The scout beside him respectfully asked Bai Yuanshan for his opinion.

Bai Yuanshan nodded slightly, and after receiving permission, the man immediately straightened his expression, his face then turning to face the guards with a gloomy expression.

"What time yesterday did you see the thief?"

The scout had a tense face, looking sinister, which sent chills down one's spine.

"You, look me in the eye and answer properly!"

As he spoke, the scout pointed a finger at the leading guard and said in a cold voice, word by word.

The man panicked and quickly raised his head, but dared not look into the eyes of the person in front of him, and his palms began to sweat involuntarily.

The overwhelming sense of oppression made it hard to breathe.

"It's probably around midnight? Or... or even earlier..."

The guard stammered his reply, his mind completely blank.

"When exactly was it? Did you fall asleep while on duty last night, which is why your description is so incoherent?"

The spy pressed on relentlessly.

The words hit the nail on the head, exposing the guard's secret. He panicked even more, and sweat began to bead on his forehead. The others also lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound. They were all in the same boat now, and could only pray that they could get away with it this time.

Unfortunately, the spy had been under Bai Yuanshan's command for many years and had been specially trained. In addition to the most basic work, he was also very good at interrogating prisoners. Although these guards were not prisoners and they were not in prison at the moment, they were all pretty much the same.

"Now that you've discovered something, why didn't you report it to your master immediately? Do you know how serious your mistake is?"

Seeing that the other party could not refute, the spy continued to press.

"At the time, we were so focused on catching the man that we forgot about it, but... but afterwards we went to the old man's room to make sure everything was alright before we left."

The guard tried to salvage the situation, but his explanations seemed utterly weak and ineffective to the spy.

"Then tell me, how long did it take you to chase the thief?"

The scout wore a cold smile and spoke with utter contempt.