Shang Changge had many questions, and Granny Hua had to answer them one by one.

"I am indeed a woman from the harem of Emperor Gaozu, the Lady Yu you speak of."

Granny Hua glanced at Jing Xiuming, who lay lifeless on the bed, before continuing her story.

"I am originally a man of the martial world. I met, became acquainted with, and cherished Emperor Gaozu when he was traveling incognito."

Emperor Gaozu said he was a chivalrous wanderer, and I believed him. That's how our later romance began. If I had known he was the emperor, I would never have…

Granny Hua sighed and looked at Shang Changge to explain, "It's not that I have a prejudice against the emperor, it's just..."

Granny Hua glanced at Jing Xiuming again, this time her expression filled with guilt:

"When I was young, I was obsessed with studying poisons, to the point of madness."

"I committed many sins in my pursuit of poisons, and only after meeting and getting to know your grandfather did I find some peace."

"Later I found out that your grandfather said he would take me back to the palace and promised that as long as I was willing to go to the palace with him, he would satisfy my desire to study poisons however I wanted."

Your grandfather truly kept his promise, indulging me in everything, even turning a blind eye to the murders I committed in the harem.

"Excessive favor can bring disaster. I have a bad temper; once I entered the palace, I never interacted with other concubines except to pay my respects."

She also monopolized the Emperor's favor, which, over time, aroused the resentment of the other concubines.

Perhaps because the trouble of that year was still a painful memory that Granny Hua was unwilling to mention, she skipped over the details and went on to talk about what happened later.

"Later, I was banished to the cold palace by Emperor Gaozu. I could endure everything, but I couldn't bear the inability to continue studying poison techniques."

No matter how much I begged, it was no use. A year later, knowing full well that I had no chance of escaping the cold palace, I made up my mind to escape.

Shang Changge: "So you dug that secret passage leading out of the city while you were in the Cold Palace?"

Granny Hua shook her head and chuckled: "That secret passage is narrow but long. It would take me forever to dig it all by myself."

There were other people in the Cold Palace. I selected a few suitable individuals, poisoned them, and had them help me dig."

Granny Hua looked out the window, seemingly recalling her past humiliation, and shook her head with a wry smile, sighing:

"And so, we dug for a whole year and a half."

It was half an hour later that Shang Changge learned everything she wanted to know.

She and Granny Hua are now in another room, and the room two doors down is where Jing Xiuming and Mi Chan are.

Before Shang Changge got up to leave, she swept the floor of Jing Xiuming's house. Granny Hua then shared her guess:

"As far as I know, Jing Xiuming is a poisonous person. Was it my mother-in-law who did it?"

Grandma Hua was taken aback, but after a while she slowly nodded in acknowledgment.

"Back then, that child left the temple that had taken him in and came to the Ghost Market to find me, saying he wanted to become my apprentice. At the time, I was studying poisonous people..."

Shang Changge interrupted, "I understand."

She just happened to think of it and asked casually; she had no interest in delving into Jing Xiuming's past.

"General, you cannot go in."

The noise from the courtyard gate made Shang Changge pause as he opened the door. He then realized what was happening and opened the door.

In the cold wind, their eyes met.

At the same time, the door to the room two doors down, which was Jing Xiuming's room, opened.

Mi Chan helped Jing Xiuming appear at the door. Jing Xiuming's excessively thin and slender figure stood precariously in the wind.

But the look in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Ji was one of triumph and provocation, though this provocation was well hidden.

Xiao Ji had an exceptional ability to see through people's hearts. Upon noticing this, a violent and murderous intent appeared in the depths of his eyes.