I'm happy to see it happen.
When A Qiu looked, she recognized it as the same floor-to-ceiling shelf that Chu Yuan had brought her to look for Han Dynasty bricks from last time. Although almost every part of the main hall of Qiwu had similar partitioned wooden shelves, filled with books, scrolls, antiques, and curios, this was the last row, near the window, and the most secluded and hidden, which was why A Qiu vaguely remembered it.
The wooden ladder that had been used last time was still there, though it was covered with a thin layer of dust. Perhaps because no one ever came here, Chu Yuanyi simply couldn't be bothered to clean it up after using it last time, leaving it in its original place.
Chu Yuan nimbly climbed the ladder, and A Qiu, watching from below, couldn't help but ask, "Auntie, is this where you kept your 'Traction Powder'?"
Chu Yuan paused, then said, "That's right. Everything I don't want others to touch is hidden here." He added with a hint of pride, "Although these things are nominally the property of Qiwu Palace, even the Empress herself wouldn't be able to find them without asking me." He muttered, "However, the Empress has never asked about these things again since."
A Qiu had roughly guessed why she had hidden the Qianji San (a type of powder used to ward off evil spirits) here. She had hidden the Han Dynasty brick that Li Mingyuan had given to the Empress here because she didn't want anyone else to touch the rubbing notes that her senior brother An Daoling had brought with the brick. As for the Qianji San, the palace eunuch Rong Yu hadn't had time to retrieve it, and she knew it was of great importance, so she secretly hid it away as if it were her own private possession.
Presumably, she wasn't as confused as she is now back then, and knew that possessing the "Qianji Powder" was also a kind of power.
Chu Yuan climbed onto the ladder, but glanced at A Qiu with a guilty conscience.
Although she was confused, she remembered what thoughts were running through her mind when she put away the Qi-Qi Powder.
Although she was not as insightful about the political situation and people's hearts as Rong Yu, if we only consider the last emperor, she probably knew him better than Rong Yu.
"The last emperor is a man of temperament; if he suspects someone, he will kill that person sooner or later," Rong Yu told A Qiu at the time. In fact, Chu Yuanyi thought the same thing.
However, unlike Rong Yu, who had no way to save her, she was happy to see it happen.
Therefore, she secretly kept the "Heart-Pulling Powder" in her possession, thinking that although the emperor regretted it this time, he might be able to use it sometime.
If the emperor were to issue another order someday, it would be quicker for her to carry it out.
What Chu Yuanyi didn't know was that it was her act of secretly keeping the "Heart-Connecting Powder" that made Su Jinlan feel threatened by the Empress and gave rise to murderous intent, which led to her later act of secretly poisoning her with the cold poison.
If she had never touched the drug, and had been left to Su Jinlan or someone else to handle it, she wouldn't be in this situation now.
But Chu Yuanyi will never know.
A Qiu, however, felt that Chu Yuanyi was acting strangely. She was never so hesitant in normal times, so she urged, "Auntie, please let me see it quickly."
Chu Yuan leaned back in his chair for a while, then said hesitantly, "A Qiu, your aunt has a question for you."
A Qiu thought to herself that Aunt Yuan Yi was acting like a young woman getting on her wedding day, but she still patiently said, "Please speak, Aunt."
Chu Yuanyi was usually muddle-headed, but whenever she saw A Qiu, it was as if she remembered the past and gained a bit of clarity. She knew there were some things she had to ask now, otherwise she feared she would never have a suitable opportunity again, so she said:
"If your aunt did something to wrong you, would you forgive her?"
A Qiu was stunned for a moment, and many past events flashed through his mind, arranging countless possibilities in his mind.
She wasn't stupid; she knew that Chu Yuanyi's behavior today was unusual, and he must be hiding something important from her.
She took a deep breath, met Chu Yuanyi's single gaze, and said calmly, "No matter what my aunt has done, her love for me is genuine. Besides, my aunt is not doing well now. Even if I wanted to take revenge on her, I couldn't get anything more from her."
Upon hearing this, Chu Yuanyi immediately said, "If you want it, A Qiu, why do you need to take anything down? This life is yours!" She was both relieved and heartbroken, and said, "I will give you the Qi-Trapping Powder right now."
Although the grand main hall was filled with tall wooden frames, it was shrouded in a long-standing silence. When neither of them spoke, one could feel the long-standing silence spreading once again.
Ah Qiu held her breath and didn't utter a sound, because she was nervous.
Her heart was pounding, but she was waiting for an answer that she already had a pretty good idea of.
As expected, Chu Yuanyi's extremely surprised shout rang out above her head, shattering the stagnant air in the hall.
The bottle is gone!
She turned her head and looked at A-Qiu in disbelief and frustration, saying, "How could someone steal a bottle of poison! If I find out which audacious palace maid it was, she'll be beaten to death!"
Seeing that she was standing so high, A Qiu was afraid that she would fall down in anger, so she suppressed the storm in her heart and said softly, "If she's gone, she's gone. Auntie, come down first."
As Chu Yuan climbed down, he continued to curse, "These people really don't respect me at all! I'm only blind in one eye, not completely blind, yet they dare to steal my things so brazenly!"
A-Qiu thought to herself, "My aunt herself was just as bold as me, hiding the Empress's things." But she didn't dare say it aloud, and only asked, "Did you put the 'Tethering Powder' near those three Han Dynasty bricks, Aunt?"
Chu Yuanyi asked curiously, "How did you know? I did put them in one compartment." She scratched her head sheepishly and said, "As people get older, their memory doesn't improve. I didn't want to remember the locations of several places, so I put them all together."
Ah Qiu sighed inwardly, but outwardly she could only act as if nothing was wrong and asked, "Then, Aunt, what does the bottle of Qianji Powder look like? Does it have any labels or markings on it?"
What she suspected was how the person who stole it from the palace knew that it was the "Entangling Powder".
Qianji Powder is a secret royal medicine, and there is only one of its kind in the world. It is not just one of many medicines displayed in the Imperial Hospital. Therefore, whether it was presented to the palace by the Gongye family or taken away by Rong Yu to condemn a criminal to death, there was no need to specially write a label to indicate that it was Qianji Powder.
But if it's just an ordinary medicine bottle, the thief wouldn't know what's inside, and there's no reason for them to risk taking it out of the palace. What if it's just a bottle of ordinary spices or tonics?
According to A Qiu's speculation, the man's main purpose was to steal the Han Dynasty bricks; Qian Ji San was merely a side item. This is because the Han Dynasty bricks were a gift from Li Mingyuan to the Empress, and Li Mingyuan's audience with the Emperor was a major event that year, known to everyone.
However, very few people knew that the emperor intended to use a rope to force Empress Shangguan to commit suicide. As long as Rong Yu didn't say anything, no one outside the parties involved would know, but Rong Yu, of course, kept his mouth shut.
Chu Yuanyi stared blankly for a while, as if recalling the past, before finally saying, "That bottle was made of purple-gold cinnabar, and it looked quite beautiful. I was afraid that I would forget what it was after a long time, so I secretly wrote the two characters 'Qianji' on it with the Empress's imperial ink."
A-Qiu just stared at her, unable to say a word.
Chu Yuanyi was still puzzled and asked with wide eyes, "Is there something wrong with this? Only I know where this 'Tethering Powder' is hidden. If I don't remember, it will be a big deal if the emperor or empress asks about it one day. I did this to avoid missing anything."
A Qiu smiled wryly, "There's nothing wrong with it, Auntie did a great job." She straightened up and reached out to touch Chu Yuanyi's messy hair. After a moment, she said, "Auntie, don't worry about it here. I'll come and get you after I've finished what I need to do here."
The results of her investigation were clear, and she needed to leave to report to Gu Yi. Chu Yuanyi was safe in this forbidden area, harmless to humans and animals, and with Consort Chen, Su Jinlan, and others secretly protecting him, he was currently considered safe.
Chu Yuanyi was sometimes confused, and sometimes she wasn't. She shook her head and smiled, "You can't leave. We two, mother and daughter, are destined to spend our whole lives in the palace. But it's not so bad. Anyway, Senior Brother An is here too."
She shook her head as she walked out of the palace gate with an air of self-satisfaction, as if she were taking a stroll outside her own home.
A Qiu was stunned for a moment, but still not giving up, he climbed back up the ladder and glanced at the compartment that Chu Yuanyi had pointed out, where the three Han bricks had originally been placed.
It was indeed empty, with nothing inside.
Although this was an outcome we had already anticipated: if the bottle of "Qianji Powder" bestowed upon Empress Shangguan hadn't been stolen, Hu Miaorong wouldn't have been poisoned to death by it in the Beining Pavilion. These two events are cause and effect; the effect is already there, and the cause is self-evident.
However, she still felt that the events involving this bottle of "Tethering Powder" back then were incredibly dramatic. Therefore, she simply wanted to see a trace of those events.
The renowned Empress Shangguan Yanxiu nearly perished from this bottle of "Healing Poison." Had Rong Yuexian not managed to delay her, even if the emperor regretted his actions and arrived in time, it would have been too late.
If Rong Yuexian had taken back and kept the bottle of "Tethering Powder" after the attempt to kill her had failed, none of this would have happened today.
Even if the device ended up in Chu Yuanyi's hands, if she had been careless and hadn't written the words "device" on the medicine bottle, the person who stole the Han brick might not have thought to take it.
All these events seemed like coincidences, or perhaps human intentions. However, human intentions cannot defy the tide of events. The Empress eventually died of illness, and the person who stirred up trouble and deliberately sabotaged the relationship between the Southern Dynasty and the Shuofang Army, even without the Qianjisan (a type of magic weapon), would have found another way to frame and slander her.
It is only through the actions of those involved that one can truly understand what kind of person they are, and they will reap what they sow.
With these thoughts in mind, A Qiu walked out of Qiwu Palace.
As soon as she stepped out the door, Gu Yi leaped down in front of her, his eyes fixed intently on her, and asked, "Did you find anything?"
A Qiu spread his hands and said with a bitter smile, "The only result we got was that the bottle of 'Qianji San' that was given to Empress Shangguan back then was most likely stolen from the palace along with the Han bricks. It should be the bottle that Lady Chu, Hu Miaorong, took."
Her senses were extremely sharp; she noticed dew and grass residue on Gu Yi at a glance and asked in surprise, "Didn't Master say he would wait for me outside? But you seemed to have gone somewhere else just now?"
Gu Yi was slightly taken aback, and said in a softer voice, "Didn't I come back on time?" He had seen her enter Qiwu Palace with Chu Yuanyi, and after checking that there was no one else around and that she would not be threatened, he left quickly for a moment.
A-Qiu had no time to consider the implication of his words and asked, "Then where did Master go?"
Gu Yi hesitated, glancing at her. A Qiu had already sensed it, and as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she immediately guessed, saying, "Master must have gone after that Su Jinlan to see who her master is."
Gu Yi simply sighed. That meant that nothing could be hidden from her.
Aqiu said, "I don't know why, but as soon as we arrived at Qiwu Palace, you all acted so strangely. Aunt Yuanyi was like that, and so were you, Master. It's as if you're hiding something from me. Even if Master wanted to investigate who Su Jinlan's master was, there was no need to hide it from me. Would I be angry?"
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