"The Emperor Emeritus was incredibly insightful. After that incident at the restaurant, Chen Ping was indeed silenced by his master."

Gu Lin merely twitched the corner of his mouth upon hearing this, "Put Chen Ping in solitary confinement, and then only let Guo Siyuan visit him."

"ah?"

Chang Qing's mouth dropped open. "Your Majesty, aren't you going to interrogate him personally? Then let me do it. I'll use every form of torture imaginable to pry Chen Ping's mouth open."

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin glanced at Chang Qing, who immediately fell silent like a wolfhound with its tail between its legs.

"I will take care of it immediately."

Only after leaving Gu Lin's sight did Chang Qing tremblingly reach out and cover his chest. With the Marquis away from the capital investigating the case, he could only follow behind the Emperor Emeritus.

There was nothing wrong with that, but the Emperor Emeritus's aura was too terrifying, and his heart couldn't withstand such torment.

"well."

Chang Qing sighed heavily, and then headed towards Lingyun Garden.

"I'm the only one allowed to see him?"

After listening to Chang Qing's words, Guo Siyuan fell silent. Even Chang Qing couldn't guess what Guo Siyuan was thinking.

"Yes, the Emperor Emeritus said that if Miss Guo doesn't go either, then Chen Ping will remain imprisoned indefinitely."

"Thank you for informing me, General. I need some time to think about it."

Seeing this, Chang Qing didn't say anything more, just nodded and left Lingyun Garden.

Behind her, Xie Zhiqing gently knocked on the door.

"Master, please come in quickly."

Guo Siyuan quickly invited Xie Zhiqing in. Xie Zhiqing looked at Guo Siyuan, who had lost a lot of weight, and said, "The Empress Dowager summoned you twice. If the first time was because of the autumn examination, then the second time must have been for something else."

"Master..."

Xie Zhiqing smiled and waved her hand, "You don't need to tell me the reason. I came here today just to remind you not to forget your original intention."

"My original intention?" Guo Siyuan murmured repeatedly.

"You once said that you would become a female official in Dayu and live up to the Empress Dowager's expectations." Xie Zhiqing held Guo Siyuan's hand. "When it comes to studying, everything else is trivial."

"It's already November, and the imperial examinations will be held next March. I don't want you to be distracted. If there's anything that needs to be taken care of, please do so as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, Master, I understand."

Guo Siyuan twitched the corners of her mouth, a certain determination flashing in her eyes.

......

Chen Ping was locked in a dark and gloomy dungeon, where the silence was driving him crazy.

He shouted desperately, hoping to summon someone, but received no response.

As soon as the door opened, Chen Ping began to struggle, the shackles on his hands and feet clanging together.

"who!"

"It's me."

A woman's voice rang out, and Chen Ping didn't react at first.

Upon seeing Guo Siyuan's appearance, Chen Ping stopped struggling. "Guo Siyuan."

"It's kind of you to still remember me, and to go to such lengths to kill me." Guo Siyuan smirked, a hint of hatred flashing in her eyes. "I don't know what to call you, you imposter."

"I am Chen Ping."

"Pooh--"

Guo Siyuan spat fiercely, "Every day before dawn, Lord Chen gets up to read ancient books on flood control. He treats any wronged people as honored guests. And you, you can imitate Lord Chen's appearance, but your inside is utterly filthy."

“You are nothing but a lowly scribe, yet you have the audacity to accuse me.”

“You’ve been exposed. Your master wants to kill you. Now you’re nothing but a stray dog.” Guo Siyuan chuckled. “Even I came here today just to see your miserable state.”

"See my miserable state? And then go underground to report to Chen Ping?"

The fake Chen Ping suddenly burst into laughter, "The Lord Chen you respect is long dead. I strangled him with my own hands."

"After killing Chen Ping, I thought I could get away with it, since I had killed all of Chen Ping's close servants. But I didn't expect that there would be one who escaped."

The fake Chen Ping glared at Guo Siyuan hatefully. At that time, Guo Siyuan happened to be away from Chen Ping, so he missed her.

"You're lucky to be alive. You've survived several attempts, and your reputation has only grown."

The fake Chen Ping swallowed hard, feeling resentful. "If it weren't for you, they would only suspect me. How would they have guessed that I wasn't Chen Ping?"

"But now you only have one way out: death."

Guo Siyuan gave the fake Chen Ping a deep look, as if she wanted to etch his miserable state into her eyes. "It's dark and gloomy here. The Emperor Emeritus ordered that no one but me is allowed to come and see you. Just wait here to die."

"How could that be? They don't want to get any clues from me anymore?"

Upon hearing Guo Siyuan's words, the fake Chen Ping panicked. He was nearly driven mad by the silence during his days of confinement.

"Hmph, someone as heinous as you deserves to be killed outright, along with your wife and children, who will also go to the underworld with you." Guo Siyuan raised an eyebrow. "You must be familiar with the Emperor Emeritus's methods."

After Guo Siyuan left, the dark prison returned to silence.

Unlike before, there is now the sound of water droplets.

Three days later, Chen Ping finally couldn't hold back and roared, "I want to see the Emperor Emeritus! I'll tell you everything! I want to see the Emperor Emeritus!"

......

Zhaoning Palace.

"Has the Emperor Emeritus not returned yet?"

Jiang Yu nestled in bed, her back resting against a soft pillow.

"Your Majesty, Wanji is already waiting outside Zhaoning Palace. He will inform Your Majesty immediately as soon as the Emperor Emeritus returns."

Jiang Yu nodded absentmindedly. Counting the time, Gu Lin had been gone for a full hour, and his continued absence left Jiang Yu feeling anxious.

On the other side, Gu Lin's face was unusually serious.

"Are you sure it's not the Qin family, the Sun family, or the Gong family, but the Pei family?"

Gu Lin repeatedly confirmed with Chen Ping, who smiled foolishly upon seeing this, "Your Majesty, I'm certain it's the Pei family."

"Even you don't believe it, but my master is Pei Jian, the head of the Pei family."

"What did Pei Jian ask you to do?"

"My master is skilled in making medicine and poison, so my task is actually very simple: to take the poison and kill the person my master wants to kill."

"So you were the one who caused the deaths of several court officials who died mysteriously in recent years."

Gu Lin's lips curled into a cruel smile, and then he reached out and seemingly gently patted the top of the fake Chen Ping's head. The fake Chen Ping immediately bled from all seven orifices and died silently.

"Ling Hai, search the Chen residence."

Gu Lin took the handkerchief Ling Hai handed him and carefully wiped the dirt off his hands.

He dusted himself off before heading toward Zhaoning Palace.

The Pei family is truly... unexpected...