Chapter 451 The Truth
Huo Lin closed the file, his chest heaving violently, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.
He knew the Empress Dowager all too well.
She would never do these things for no reason; there must be a larger network behind it.
"Go check."
Huo Lin's voice, hoarse and cold from his desperate attempts to control himself, echoed in the empty imperial study.
"Search every inch of the ground for me. Are there any survivors of that great fire from back then? Especially those who had contact with that palace maid from the southern border."
"Yes!" Yingyi accepted the order.
Shadow One's efficiency was astonishing; he brought back news the very next day.
"My lord, we've found her. She's an old woman in a remote farm on the outskirts of the capital. Her face is completely disfigured. She lives alone and rarely interacts with anyone. My investigation has revealed that she was once a maid in the Empress Dowager's palace and is a survivor from back then."
A cold glint flashed in Huo Lin's eyes: "Bring her to see me. It must be done in absolute secrecy. Do not alert anyone."
"yes."
On that day, an inconspicuous carriage quietly entered the side gate of the palace, passed through the silent and deserted palace road, and was led directly to a heavily guarded secret room behind the imperial study.
The room was lit only by a few oil lamps, creating a heavy and oppressive atmosphere.
An old woman with a hunched back, dressed in coarse cloth, and with a face covered in hideous scars was brought in by two silent guards, who practically carried her in.
The scars almost completely destroyed her original appearance, leaving only a pair of cloudy and weathered eyes that revealed years of numbness.
As soon as she entered the secret room, she saw Huo Lin sitting at the head of the table, and her body stiffened visibly. Her cloudy eyes instantly filled with fear.
The old woman knelt down with a thud, burying her head deeply, as if awaiting a judgment that had been decades overdue.
Huo Lin waved his hand, and everyone except Ying Yi silently withdrew.
The heavy stone door slowly closed, separating the inside from the outside.
He walked up to the old woman and looked down at her: "Raise your head."
The old woman raised her head tremblingly, but dared not meet Huo Lin's gaze.
Are you scared?
Huo Lin stared into her eyes, his tone calm but carrying a heavy weight: "If you didn't do it, what are you afraid of?"
"Or is it that the great fire in the Empress Dowager's palace in the twelfth year of Yuanxi, and that palace maid named Yunshang, are all related to you in the cycle of cause and effect?"
He gave the old woman no warning whatsoever, and went straight for her vital point.
The sudden surge of killing intent and imperial pressure almost froze the air in the secret room.
The old woman let out a suppressed gasp, and the scars on her face contorted slightly.
The name Yunshang clearly touched the deepest part of her heart; her pupils contracted, revealing a look of fear.
That's exactly what Huo Lin wanted.
Stir up her fears, but give her space to explain and think.
Then you get the truth, instead of a terrified mute.
His gaze softened slightly, but it still held an icy chill: "It's just an old story. You've kept it a secret for years, and who has ever thanked you? They'd probably just want to wipe you out."
"My patience is limited. After tonight, whether you live or die, I will not take action. Even without you, I can still investigate with some effort, but without me, you will not live to the end of your life."
The implication in those words was quite obvious, and the old woman's expression immediately changed.
Over the years, the Empress Dowager has never given up searching for survivors of the fire; she is far too cautious.
To escape being hunted down, he had wandered from place to place, and it was only with great difficulty that he finally found his current safe haven.
If you are summoned by the Emperor today and refuse to comply to the death, tomorrow all news about you will be presented to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager will surely execute him secretly, and the Emperor only needs to wait for the right moment to catch him in the act.
Even after her death, the emperor could still use this as an excuse to investigate the matter openly and legitimately.
So now, the Emperor is asking her whether she wants to be an informant or a pawn to be discarded.
She struggled for a few moments before finally deciding to speak, her voice hoarse.
"That fire wasn't an accident; it was a cover-up, orchestrated by the Empress Dowager... the Empress Dowager wanted to kill Miss Yunshang."
Huo Lin's eyes darkened: "Go on."
Once you start talking about something, it becomes much easier to say the rest.
"Because Miss Yunshang knows too much. She knows the Empress Dowager's biggest secret, and she also knows too many shady dealings..." The old woman trembled, as if she wanted to vomit out the secrets buried for decades in one breath in order to find relief.
Huo Lin frowned deeply. "Explain clearly, what secret, what shady dealings?"
The old woman's voice was broken but unusually clear: "When the Empress Dowager was young, in order to secure the Emperor's favor and maintain her youthful appearance, she took a secret medicine from the southern border for a long time after entering the palace. However, its medicinal properties are cold and domineering, which will seriously damage the uterus. After taking it for a long time, she will be unable to have children again."
“Yunshang is no ordinary palace maid. She is a descendant of the Southern Frontier witch doctors, proficient in perfumery and music, and even more skilled in pharmacology and psychological suggestion. She is the one who prepared the Empress Dowager’s secret medicine, and she also helped to design and implement many of the harmful methods in the palace.”
"Yunshang's methods are superb. The incense she blends seems to calm the mind, but in fact, prolonged exposure to it can harm the body. The palace she arranges, the sound of the wind chimes, the special patterns on the curtains, and even the bronze mirrors that the Empress Dowager bestows upon the various palaces are all carefully designed to subtly influence people's minds and health."
"Several of the late emperor's sons died young due to poor health, and... Your Majesty, you were often ill in your childhood, all of which are related to this..."
By the end, the old woman was barely breathing and kept kowtowing on the ground.
"Your Majesty, please understand. This old servant was just a lowly palace maid back then. I accidentally stumbled upon Miss Yunshang burning some medicine residue and letters, which led to the Empress Dowager trying to silence me. Later, I was fortunate enough to be rescued by a passing guard, but my face was disfigured and my voice was ruined. I only managed to escape by feigning death and have been hiding ever since, living in anonymity."
Huo Lin stood still for a long time.
The candlelight flickered in the secret room, casting a long shadow on the wall, making him look like a cold sculpture.
It turns out that his childhood illnesses were due to the Empress Dowager.
Those brothers and sisters who died young, those unborn children, were all slowly eroded by the Empress Dowager through such means.
What a powerful empress dowager! What a cunning healer from southern Xinjiang!
Huo Lin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging killing intent.
Now is not the time to act impulsively; we must remain calm.
The Empress Dowager has been manipulating things for many years, and there are countless hidden schemes she has planted in the palace. We must find a way to break through them as soon as possible.
Otherwise, Jiang Huan and their child will never have a peaceful day.
But these things are very well hidden, how can we crack them?
Huo Lin frowned, lost in thought.
When he stepped into the inner hall of Weiyang Palace, feeling a chill all over his body, it was already past noon.
Seeing his pale face, Jiang Huan's heart tightened, and she quickly asked, "What's wrong? Did you find out something?"
Huo Lin grasped her hand and told her everything he had deduced and the information he had just received from the old woman.
Jiang Huan listened quietly, her heart sinking.
Although she knew that all of this was related to the Empress Dowager, she really didn't expect that the Empress Dowager's plan was so far in the past.
This old woman is no ordinary palace intrigue fighter; she's clearly an ancient version of a top-tier PUA master, plus an expert in environmental psychological warfare.
Using everyday objects to kill invisibly is a method that is both insidious and sophisticated, making it difficult to guard against.
“So,” Jiang Huan’s voice was steady, but with a hint of coldness, “those wind chimes in Weiyang Palace are probably just the tip of the iceberg. Who knows how many similar things there are in this palace.”
Huo Lin nodded heavily: "I have ordered a secret investigation, but these things are hidden and difficult to guard against. Only someone who is proficient in this field can identify and decipher them. However, the witchcraft in the Southern Frontier is strange, and there are very few people in the palace who know about it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Huan had a sudden inspiration.
She didn't know anyone skilled in witchcraft, but she did know someone skilled in cheating.
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