Hearing Xin Zizhao's words, Eunuch Jin was startled. There was obvious panic in his eyes and expression. "Your Highness, the Fifth Prince, you can't do this! This servant still has a lot of work to do in the palace!"
If the Empress Dowager found out that he was missing, with her suspicious nature, she would surely think that he had leaked everything. By then, he would only die a more miserable death.
"......Please wait a moment, Your, Your Highness, the Fifth Prince. May this servant ask you a question?" Eunuch Jin asked nervously.
"Sure."
Xin Zizhao looked at him, quite curious to hear what Eunuch Jin would ask.
"Your Highness, the Fifth Prince, are you planning to tell His Majesty everything? And then have the Empress Dowager punished?" Eunuch Jin cautiously probed Xin Zizhao.
"Hmm?" Xin Zizhao pretended to be clueless. "This prince doesn't know either."
To be honest, if Wei Shuxuan were present, she would definitely find this tone extremely annoying.
"This servant, this servant..." Eunuch Jin was obviously at a loss for words because of Xin Zizhao's answer. "Your Highness, the Fifth Prince, this servant doesn't know how to reply."
From his ignorance to his not knowing how to answer, Xin Zizhao knew that this Eunuch Jin must be hiding something from him.
"Then can you tell me what you've been hiding?" Xin Zizhao asked straightforwardly.
"If this servant tells Your Highness, the Fifth Prince, all the things he's been hiding, can Your Highness spare this servant's life directly?" Eunuch Jin summoned up his courage and made his request to Xin Zizhao.
"If things go smoothly, I might consider sparing your life. However, if you're not honest, I can't guarantee your miserable life."
Xin Zizhao spoke coldly, which naturally instilled a sense of fear in people.
When Eunuch Jin got scared, he really told Xin Zizhao all the things he had been hiding. After that, Xin Zizhao ordered his men to let Eunuch Jin go back to the palace.
When only Xin Zizhao and Xin Shang were left in the secret chamber, Xin Shang asked puzzledly, "My Lord, why did you just let this man go? He's a fake eunuch. If you let him go, won't he just harm those innocent maids in the palace again?"
"Don't worry. He doesn't dare to do such things anymore. Since I know he's a fake eunuch, if there's any rumor of such immoral things in the palace, I'll suspect him first. He'll surely end up being ordered to commit suicide."
"My Lord is really wise and valiant."
"Alright, it's time for us to go out."
When they came out of the secret chamber, it was already dark. The star - filled sky dotted the deep - blue firmament. Xin Zizhao frowned. He didn't expect the interrogation of Eunuch Jin to take so long. He was worried that Wei Shuxuan was looking for him everywhere.
The secret chamber they had just been in had a musty smell because it hadn't been used for a long time. Xin Zizhao was covered in this smell when he came out. As someone with a slight case of mysophobia, he felt extremely uncomfortable. So he planned to go back to his room to change clothes first before coming out. Unexpectedly, he saw Wei Shuxuan rushing out of the room at the door.
It was the first time he saw Wei Shuxuan with her long hair loose. It made her face look more delicate while still retaining its heroic air. So he couldn't help but be stunned on the spot. Then he came to his senses and quickly told her to go back to the room to comb her hair.
Xin Zizhao told Wei Shuxuan the results of his interrogation of Eunuch Jin. Wei Shuxuan propped her chin up and squinted her eyes. "I didn't expect you, this reserved iceberg, to be able to scare people like this. However, that Eunuch Jin is too easily frightened. A little scare and he spilled everything."
"I just find this kind of person really unpleasant."
"So what do you plan to do?" Wei Shuxuan asked him.
"We don't have any evidence yet, so of course we should just wait and see. What's your idea?"
"Me? According to the information we've investigated so far, almost all the evidence points to the current Empress Dowager. Naturally, we should focus on monitoring the Empress Dowager now."
"Don't you want to arrest her?" Xin Zizhao asked Wei Shuxuan.
"No. Although all the witnesses point to the Empress Dowager, we still don't have any solid evidence in hand. If the Empress Dowager wants to buy off those people, it will be very unfavorable to our situation. We'll both be in great danger. I don't want that. I want to get all the evidence in my own hands. Only when we have sufficient evidence is it a good time to arrest her."
"You've really thought it through perfectly."
"Naturally," Wei Shuxuan looked at Xin Zizhao proudly. But soon, as if she remembered something, "Oh no! I forgot to look for Zian. I wonder if Zian is still investigating!"
As soon as Xin Zizhao heard Wei Shuxuan mention Ge Zian, his face turned ugly. "Why do you have to mention this man again?"
Wei Shuxuan thought Xin Zizhao's question was very strange. "Your question is really strange. Zian is my good friend and also my assistant in investigating the case. Of course I have to find him to discuss the case."
Xin Zizhao was just simply unhappy that Wei Shuxuan always looked for Ge Zian.
There were still ten days until Xin Zizhao's capping ceremony. Under Xin Zizhao's care, Emperor Jinzheng's health had improved a lot compared to before. The reason Emperor Jinzheng's health was so poor was that Eunuch Jin had someone put some slow - acting poison in his meals, causing him to be poisoned chronically.
After that, Xin Zizhao also looked through some medical books and found that it was a slow - acting poison. But if one took it continuously for three months, there would surely be no cure. Fortunately, there was a solution in the medical book. As long as one persisted, the poison in the body would soon be removed.
There were a lot of things to prepare on the eve of the capping ceremony, such as the clothing to be worn for the capping ceremony and the preparations for the ceremony on the grand occasion. Just the matter of trying on clothes gave Xin Zizhao a headache.
"I don't like this style."
"Your Highness, the Fifth Prince, the patterns on this fabric are already very plain. We need to use such gorgeous fabrics in our capping ceremony to show our status. Please bear with it."
Xin Zizhao frowned. He still preferred plain - colored clothes. Seeing the embarrassed look on the tailor's face, Wei Shuxuan stepped forward and told him to step back first. She walked up to Xin Zizhao, picked up the ceremonial robe which she thought was quite plain, and said, "Actually, I think you'll look good in this dress. I think it would be inappropriate for you if it were too plain. What do you think?"