The Empress naturally had no good feelings towards Princess Shang Yuexi, who had a notorious reputation and was helping to embolden the royal family.

If they could ruin the Princess's reputation through a combination of offense and defense, it would also tarnish Wang Bingyao's image, greatly diminishing his authority in court.

"Elder sister... when I was talking about this with Consort Xiao that day, elder sister overheard me," Shang Chuyue said hesitantly, her head bowed.

This time, the Empress was truly shocked: "Even Consort Xiao knew about this?!"

"Yes, that day I was talking about this with the maids, and Consort Xiao happened to pass by and overheard it," Shang Chuyue nodded obediently.

The Empress's almond-shaped eyes narrowed again, her mind racing:

Consort Xiao was the Ninth Prince's adoptive mother. Although they weren't biological mother and son, she had raised him for over a decade. There should have been some maternal affection between them. She knew that the bandit had an affair with the Third Prince, so why was she making no move?

Could it be, as the eldest princess said, that the bandit and the third prince had no romantic relationship?

But these thoughts were quickly suppressed, and the Empress gritted her teeth inwardly:

Regardless of whether the bandit and the Third Prince had a secret affair, the Ninth Prince blocked the Crown Prince's path and he had to pay the price!

"You are all truly foolish. No one even told me about this matter. Now the palace is in an uproar. It's the New Year season, and envoys from various countries are arriving one after another. If they hear about it, what will become of the dignity of the Great Zhao royal family?" The Empress looked at Shang Chuyue with exasperation, her eyes reddening with anger.

Seeing the Empress so angry, and remembering the Empress's gentleness and affection just now, Shang Chuyue truly felt she had made a mistake. She asked softly and hesitantly, "Yue'er didn't expect this matter to spread so quickly. So... what should we do now?"

"To catch a thief red-handed, to catch an adulterer in the act; if we don't catch the bandit and the Third Prince in the act, given their status, it won't be easy to deal with them." The Empress feigned deep thought, pondered for a while, and then beckoned to Shang Chuyue: "Yue'er, come here..."

Shang Chuyue leaned close to listen to the Empress's detailed explanation. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, a sense of unease creeping in: "Mother, isn't this a bit inappropriate? What if my third brother didn't have anything to do with that bandit? Wouldn't that be wronging him? Besides, my eldest sister said that if I lead people to catch him in the act, it won't be good for my reputation..."

“Oh dear, my silly princess, you are a child whom the Empress has watched grow up. How could the Empress harm you?” Aunt Songshan cleverly advised, “Just pretend you didn’t know anything and that it was a chance encounter. Who can blame you then?”

"If the Third Prince were a good person, he wouldn't have done such a shameful thing back then..."

Jiang Zhenning was about to bring up the Third Prince's shameful deeds again when the Empress stopped him with a stern shout: "Shut up! The Sixth Princess is not yet married. Anyone who dares to mention such filthy things in front of her will be beaten to death!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant knows his mistake," Jiang Zhenning quickly and respectfully admitted.

Seeing this, Shang Chuyue was convinced that the Empress was genuinely good to her; and thinking of the half-sentence Jiang Zhenning had said, she also felt that her third brother was indeed ungrateful, so she made up her mind: "Mother, I agree to your request."

None of the people inside the hall noticed that the old eunuch in charge of cleaning in a corner outside the hall had been eavesdropping from behind the wall.

Having overheard this, the old eunuch turned and slipped out of Qiwu Palace.

As the palace lights began to twinkle, the old eunuch's hunched figure gradually straightened as he sped along.

He had just reached the vicinity of the Cold Palace when he was blocked by a tall, thin man in black.