"hiss……"

Lingduo, who had kept his eyes tightly closed, suddenly opened them, gasped sharply, and stumbled back three steps.

Each step was unusually heavy, echoing hollowly.

It felt as if the chilling cold of the earth had instantly seeped into my lungs, and at that moment, all the blood in my body seemed to freeze.

Those eyes, which always held a certain quietness, were now filled with unbelievable horror.

Fear surged violently, instantly filling my chest and gripping my heart.

Large beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead, rolling down his pale cheeks and splashing onto the cold ground, leaving a small, dark, damp stain.

His chest heaved violently, and his breathing became heavy and rapid, as if he had just experienced a life-or-death battle.

Under his "power," he can not only elicit the deepest memories of the other party, but also reveal every detail.

Lingduo noticed details that even Anche hadn't noticed:

Just before An Che's father, An Shichen, blocked the view, under the moonlight, the man in the courtyard turned slightly backward.

It was this small change that allowed Lingduo to "see" a striking, absolutely indistinguishable color on the inside of his slightly open collar.

Ocher yellow!

Under the bright moonlight, that color carried a breathtaking sense of nobility and taboo, imprinted on Lingduo's perception.

An overwhelming chill crept up his spine, engulfing him instantly before finally "bounced" him away.

An Che, sitting on the torture chair, let out a very short gasp, his body convulsing violently.

Then his head drooped and he fainted.

call……

Lingduo felt a suffocating sensation, as if he were being choked, in his familiar territory.

He calmed himself down and quickly checked An Che's condition.

He helped her swallow the secret medicine again to maintain her life, and then immediately left the underground and rushed towards the Imperial Study at top speed.

One of the windows on the north side of the Imperial Study was open; this was a passageway that Qin Minghuang had specially left.

Lingduo silently approached the window, lightly touched it with his true energy, and only entered after receiving the order.

The gentle, flowing "momentum" enveloped the area around the dragon table without alerting Su Quan and the Azure Phoenix Guards waiting outside the door.

"how?"

Lingduo knelt on one knee, clasping his hands in a fist.

The commander of the Xuanji Guard had the privilege of not kneeling, and seeing him perform such a grand ceremony, Qin Minghuang subconsciously narrowed her eyes.

"Reporting to Your Majesty..."

Lingduo recounted everything he had perceived, without adding any of his own judgment, simply stating the facts.

Qin Minghuang's breathing quickened, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms without her realizing it.

Ochre yellow was a color reserved for royalty.

A seemingly ordinary broker in Fengjing City, who had been working for over ten years without any success, suddenly rose to prominence by joining a group of foreign merchants.

Within a year, he overcame numerous obstacles and acquired a huge mansion in the capital.

This matter is already bizarre enough. Even if it were true, how could An Shichen possibly have connections with the royal family?

Or was it a late-night visit to his home?

Qin Minghuang didn't believe he would dare to secretly use ochre.

Unless An Shichen rose to power because of a member of the royal family, this explanation is not possible.

"Didn't you see his face clearly?"

"No, judging from the sky, it was late at night. An Che's intrusion must have been an accident."

In less than two breaths, his father discovered him and took him away from the scene.

Moreover, he only saw the back of the person; the other person had already left before turning around, only a slight angle of the jawline visible.

Silence fell again, and after a long while, Qin Minghuang spoke again: "Does it look like it?"

This... he only saw a small angle, how could he be sure?

After a slight hesitation, Lingduo still honestly said, "The height and build look similar, and the jawline... there is no discrepancy."

People can look alike, so it's difficult to completely identify someone just by looking at their back.

Moreover, you can't even be completely sure of your skin tone just by seeing a glimpse of the jawline angle.

The Imperial Study exuded a heavy, invisible pressure, more unsettling than the gloomy sky.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, and Lingduo's fingers, tucked into his sleeves, curled slightly.

He felt the pervasive, heavy gloom pressing down on this small space, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

A very soft sound came from ahead, like some jade object being placed on a table, and Ling Duo's shoulders and back tensed instantly.

The next moment, a faint voice came:

“An Shichen rose to prominence in that same year, and judging from his clothes, it must have been late autumn.”

It's another full moon night, which can be locked in for a few days.

Go and check the "Annotated Records" yourself. I await your reply.

"yes!"

Lingduo stood up and disappeared without a sound.

After walking two or three hundred steps, he reached out and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Even though he held the position of Commander of the Xuanji Guard and had seen and handled many secret cases, this was the first time he had encountered one at this level.

The fact that his legs didn't tremble when His Majesty was in front of him shows how strong his mental fortitude is.

Lingduo rushed to the Xuanji Guard's archives as quickly as possible.

The guard here is a centurion of the Xuanji Guard, with a cultivation level of the upper fourth rank.

He did not choose to conceal himself and made contact with the guard.

This place stores settled official documents, as well as various palace archives and records.

The commanders of the Xuanji Guard did not need to register or specifically examine the documents; they could browse them at will.

As Lingduo entered, he immediately enveloped the surroundings with his "power" and then headed straight for the old calendar archives area.

The emperor had officials specifically tasked with recording his daily activities, and other imperial heirs also had their own "Records of Daily Life."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!