Prince Zhongshun led the way, with Sun Shaozong and Qin Ming following behind, one on the left and one on the right.

After leaving the Mingde Hall, he saw more than ten palace maids and eunuchs holding lanterns and ceremonial guards on the square in front of the hall, gathering around a shoulder pole carried by four people and climbing up the stairs.

Prince Zhongshun continued to welcome forward, but Sun Shaozong and Qin Ming found it difficult to continue following, so they both stood still on the steps, bowing and waiting for the arrival of the Empress.

Until the shoulder was stopped not far away, the two of them finally walked forward and paid their respects with great respect: "I, Sun Shaozong [the Grand Hospital Qin Ming], respectfully greet the Empress."

The Empress hasn't made any reaction yet, but she heard Prince Zhongshun sighing and saying, "I haven't seen you in the past two months. My sister-in-law seems to be a few years old, and in a while, I will go and persuade Your Majesty. What else cannot be resolved being a long couple?"

He still didn't hear the Empress' reply, but the sound of footsteps was coming closer. Soon, a pair of plain, thin-soled embroidered shoes appeared in front of Sun Shaozong.

Immediately after, a hand was placed on Sun Shaozong's shoulder, attempting to pull him up. At the same time, a kind and slightly hoarse voice also reached Sun Shaozong's ear, "Good child, get up quickly and let me take a look."

At this time, only the Empress was qualified to speak up.

Although he was a traveler with a weak sense of hierarchy, Sun Shaozong was still somewhat flattered by the help of the Empress. He quickly stood up with the force involved, but didn’t dare to look up directly, so he had to bow down like a shrimp.

But the Empress said with half anger and half encouragement, "Since you are a great man, why can't you stand straight?"

Who would be willing to bow in front of anyone who could straighten their waist?

Therefore, upon hearing the Empress' words, Sun Shaozong immediately straightened his chest and looked up.

At the same time, he finally saw the Empress' appearance.

This was a woman who was over fifty years old. In terms of temperament, she was somewhat similar to the Old Lady from Rongguo Mansion, but she appeared younger and spoke more calmly.

Although she was smiling warmly now, she still couldn't erase a hint of depression from her eyebrows.

Thinking about it, her only biological son has become a eunuch, and her husband was eager to have a second child. Faced with such a situation, which woman could handle it calmly?

As Sun Shaozong looked at the Empress, she also carefully examined him and praised him, "Indeed, you are truly worthy of being a general. What's even more delightful is that you have a lot of strategic skills. No wonder you can sit in the fourth rank at a young age."

"The Empress praised falsely."

"Is it absurd praise? I understand in my heart."

The Empress, who was already elderly, didn't shy away from anything. She took Sun Shaozong's hand and patted him, saying, "The Crown Princess praised you several times in front of me. I have already wanted to see you. Coincidentally, I heard that the Emperor left you in the palace today, so I stopped by to take a look."

Without waiting for Sun Shaozong to speak, she asked again, "I heard that you are going to the south to quell the rebellion recently. It would be great to be able to make military contributions to the court, but if you want to stay and benefit the people of the area, wouldn't this big Capital accommodate you?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Shaozong finally understood why the Empress had suddenly come to Yongning Palace. It turned out to be a rescue soldier invited by the Crown Prince.

He guessed the Crown Prince really thought he was forced to leave the Capital, so he specifically asked his mother to come forward and support him.

However, this put Sun Shaozong in a dilemma.

In front of the Empress, how could he say that he voluntarily wanted to leave the Capital to avoid the chaotic situation of seizing the throne?

But if he said he wanted to stay, it was against his heart, and with the influence of the Empress in the court, he might not have had the opportunity to be released in recent years.

Damn it!

One day, he would be tricked to death by this pig teammate, the Crown Prince!

Sun Shaozong, with a heart full of slander, pretended to be righteous and said with emotion, "Report to the Empress, I am just a brick of the court. Whether it is built on the wall to support beams and pillars, or to suppress the weeds in the courtyard, it is entirely up to the Emperor and the elders of the attic to make decisions!"

At this point, he could only use the rhetoric of Fake Dakong to refute it.

Upon hearing this, the Empress carefully scrutinized him and immediately chuckled, "You are indeed a clever person. No wonder that little girl from the Lin family said you are a bear-skinned fox heart."

Oh no!

Upon hearing this, the Empress seemed to have seen through his thoughts.

However…

Judging from the Empress’s appearance, it didn’t seem like she was going to expose him.

While Sun Shaozong was uneasy, he couldn't help but wonder why Lin Daiyu's evaluation when she was in the State of Yang had spread to the palace.

Perhaps sensing Sun Shaozong's suspicion, the Empress smiled slightly and said, "When Consort Xiande first entered the palace, she was assigned to this palace. Although she later became an Imperial Concubine, she often went to talk to me."

It turned out that she heard it from Concubine Xiande. Without a doubt, it was Jia Baoyu who brought this message into the palace!

This kid seemed to write letters to Jia Yuanchun every once in a while, and he would talk about every detail.

He couldn’t be a sister controller, right?

Considering the existence of Lin Daiyu, he should be ”controlled by sisters.”

As his thoughts wandered, the Empress kindly explained, "Since you have an imperial mission with you, I don't want to disturb you much. If you encounter any difficulties in the palace, why not send someone to the Kunning Palace to inform me?"

As she spoke, she took two steps back and, with the help of two palace maids, regained her shoulders.

"Farewell to the Empress."

As everyone shouted in unison, the shoulder was firmly resisted by the four eunuchs and gradually drifted away under the embrace of a group of palace maids. Finally, it was completely hidden in the darkness.

And until no more lights were visible that Prince Zhongshun turned around with a stern face and strode back to the Mingde Hall.

Obviously, he was getting angry and embarrassed for his recent self-deprecation, and from beginning to end, the Empress never glanced at him or responded to him with a word.

No wonder, who made him the first to offer a plan to have the Emperor and his Concubines have a second child to replace the Crown Prince?

Sun Shaozong felt a hint of schadenfreude in his heart, while also feeling a bit embarrassed. Before the Empress arrived just now, the situation was already very awkward, and now Prince Zhongshun was suffocating

Sigh~

A well-ordered investigation should be done without any taboos, but who would have thought it would attract such a fallen star?

With a deep sigh, Sun Shaozong was just waiting to invite Qin Ming to join him when he saw many more people lurking under the steps.

Squinting his eyes and then looking at the light, the inner guard who was escorting the prisoner returned.

Now there was finally no need to stare inside!

Sun Shaozong breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stepped forward. Unexpectedly, as he approached, he saw many bloodstains on the inner guard's body. He couldn't help but doubt himself and say, "Are you..."

"Return to Inspector Sun."

The inner guard quickly bent his waist sixty degrees and respectfully said, "On the way back, there were two death row inmates who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to escape and even intended to take the people as hostages. In despicable and helpless circumstances, I had to take them to justice."

Originally, the Inner Guard was supposed to be under the jurisdiction of the Southern Governor, but in the current situation, how dare Emperor Guangde use the people of the Southern Governor to protect himself?

So these internal guards in front of him were also the personnel of the Northern Town Governor.

Since he was one of his people and heard that he had only killed two death row inmates who were about to escape, Sun Shaozong ignored this and directly asked, "How many of you have brought together?"

"I originally chose ten death row inmates and ten private prostitutes."

That meant there were still eight little ones left at the moment... well, there werestill eight old white mice left, which should be enough.

Besides, there were only a few dozen pieces of Recovering One’s Youth Pills in stock. If there were too many people, it might not be enough to distribute them.

So Sun Shaozong immediately ordered, "Wait here for now, wait until I report to the Prince, and then escort the person inside."

As he spoke, he hurried to the front of Mingde Hall and called for the eunuch on duty to pass the dishes to the Imperial Kitchen. He also asked the remaining Imperial Physician and inner guards to prepare the fat, powder, and spices.

After everything was arranged, Sun Shaozong finally entered and reported the cause and effect to Prince Zhongshun.

Prince Zhongshun didn't think much of it. On the contrary, it was Chen Banxia who couldn't help but jump out and question, "Sun, do you want them to test the medicinal properties in the Mingde Hall? This... this is the residence of the palace concubines. It's probably not appropriate for the palace to be so openly chaotic, isn't it?"

"What else should we do?"

Sun Shaozong spread his hands and said helplessly, "There are too many things to try, and it's not good to move them all outside the palace. His Majesty has authorized me to investigate the case in Yongning Palace. As long as it's to find out the truth, what are some small details?"

And how could Prince Zhongshun, who was used to holding open meetings, care about watching a live spring palace?

Instantly impatient, he said, "Hurry up and call someone in to serve. I want to see what tricks you can come up with!"