The Truth

Inside a small room in the main hall of the Crown Princess's Palace, the lights were burning bright.

Shangguan Yunying was giving instructions to several high-ranking female officials in a low voice, her tone urgent and stern.

The female officials looked tense, nodding repeatedly before taking their orders and hurrying away.

Gu Chengyin sat in a rounded chair by the window, resting his chin on one hand. His gaze fell upon the heavy darkness outside as his mind raced.

In the adjacent chair sat Gu Xiaoli, who had been awakened from her sleep by the night-watch female officials and was still groggy.

Her small head bobbed up and down; she tried hard to keep her eyes open but could not resist the overwhelming wave of drowsiness.

Familiar footsteps echoed from outside the door, drawing closer.

Luo Zhao's figure appeared at the doorway.

She had clearly just gotten out of bed as well. She wore a thick, dark cloak embroidered with gold. Her long hair, not yet carefully combed, was loosely held up by a simple jade hairpin, leaving a few strands to cascade down her cheeks.

This did not diminish her majesty in the slightest. Instead, under the glow of the lamplight, it highlighted her snow-white skin and eyes like cold stars, only right now, those cold stars were condensed with frost.

Her gaze quickly swept over everyone present before finally landing on the drowsy Gu Xiaoli.

Seeing that Gu Xiaoli was completely unharmed and merely sleepy, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

She walked unhurriedly to the main seat and sat down, raising her eyes to look at Shangguan Yunying as she asked:

What is the situation now?

Shangguan Yunying immediately stepped forward and bowed to report. To answer Your Highness, the night patrol officials, acting on the instructions of Marquis Gu, found traces of a suspicious person near the rockery in the eastern courtyard of the palace, but they did not catch them.

According to the confession of Servant Zhang, a kitchen worker, the culprit took her entire family hostage to force her to steal the red sandalwood box.

According to Servant Zhang, the person arrived around dusk, wearing a black cloth over their face so their appearance could not be seen. However, they held a token belonging to her family, so she dared not disobey.

Upon hearing the report, Luo Zhao's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, a dark fire seeming to dance in the depths of her pupils.

Has security been tightened at the Wenli Hall?

Shangguan Yunying replied immediately, Your Highness, ever since the account books were stored there, Wenli Hall has been in a sealed state where people can only enter but not leave, completely isolating the inside from the outside.

After tonight's incident, your humble servant urgently deployed more reliable personnel and issued strict orders once again: the inside and outside of the hall are to be completely segregated with no contact. All food and supplies must undergo a triple inspection and be passed one-way by designated personnel.

A trace of self-blame appeared on her face. It is just that... I concentrated most of the female officials at Wenli Hall itself, neglecting the other areas of the Crown Princess's Palace.

This gave the scoundrels an opportunity to exploit and nearly caused a great disaster. It is my dereliction of duty. I beg Your Highness for punishment.

Luo Zhao waved her hand and said flatly, This matter has nothing to do with you. The Crown Princess's Palace covers a vast area with numerous buildings; it is impossible to make every corner completely airtight. Being able to defend Wenli Hall as solidly as a fortress is already quite good.

I just did not expect that someone would be so impatient to take a look at the red sandalwood box we only brought back this morning.

What incredibly sharp ears and fast hands.

Shangguan Yunying chimed in at the right moment, carrying both lingering fear and relief, Fortunately, Marquis Gu happened to stumble upon it. Otherwise, if Servant Zhang had found an opportunity or if the evildoers had found a loophole, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Hearing this, Luo Zhao shifted her gaze to Gu Chengyin by the window, an unfathomable look flashing through her eyes.

Happened to stumble upon it?

Given this guy's intelligence and shrewdness, skipping sleep in the dead of night to suddenly go out for a stroll.

The palace was so large, he could have gone anywhere. How did he just so happen to run into it?

It was likely not a coincidence, but an inevitability.

This fellow Gu Chengyin had probably caught wind of something early on and deliberately went to lay a trap.

Luo Zhao did not say much, merely letting her gaze linger on Gu Chengyin's face for a moment, following Shangguan Yunying's words.

Then she finally spoke, her tone turning into a formal inquiry:

Marquis Gu, what do you think?

Hearing his name called, Gu Chengyin withdrew his gaze from his deep thoughts, turned to Luo Zhao, and answered with a slight bow:

To answer Your Highness, based on the current situation, two points can be confirmed.

First, although the information the other party possesses is specific, it is very limited.

They know of the existence of the red sandalwood box and believe it to be of immense value, but they are not clear on what exactly is inside. That is why they coerced Servant Zhang to come and steal or peek at it.

Second, they do not know of Gu Xiaoli's existence and significance. Otherwise, judging by their method of threatening an entire family, it would not have been a theft, but a much simpler and more brutal assassination.

However, just in case, I brought Xiaoli over first. After all, her safety is tied to whether the account auditing can proceed smoothly.

Luo Zhao nodded, expressing her approval of Gu Chengyin's analysis.

She then looked at Shangguan Yunying and ordered, Yunying, from now on, you are fully responsible for Gu Xiaoli's daily life, meals, and security. You must ensure she is absolutely safe.

Shangguan Yunying's expression turned solemn. Knowing the gravity of the matter, she immediately complied, Your humble servant obeys! I will protect Xiaoli's safety with my life!

Luo Zhao signaled for Gu Chengyin to continue.

Gu Chengyin pondered for a moment before continuing, Your Highness, just now I have been reviewing today's itinerary, trying to find the link where the information was leaked.

This morning, Master Yunying and I left the Shangguan Estate and eventually returned safely to the Crown Princess's Palace.

During this time, the people who knew of the red sandalwood box's existence could be counted on one hand. It was only me, Master Yunying, and Minister Shangguan Yuan.

Remembering something, he added, Madam Jiang might also know, but I believe that even if she did, she would not leak the information.

So, there is no issue with the Shangguan Estate link, Gu Chengyin continued to analyze.

Upon returning to the palace, besides Your Highness, not a fourth person has seen the red sandalwood box.

The contents were sent directly into Wenli Hall, and combined with the strictly sealed state, I believe there is no problem with the Crown Princess's Palace either.

Listening to Gu Chengyin's clear and logical analysis, Luo Zhao's brows gradually furrowed.

Her fingertips unconsciously tapped against the armrest as she asked in some confusion, Since there is no problem with the Shangguan Estate, and it is not the Crown Princess's Palace, where else could the news have leaked from? It could not have just appeared out of thin air.

Gu Chengyin shook his head. Of course not. Besides the ones mentioned above, I also brought up the red sandalwood box to one other person.

And that is Eunuch Lu, Lu Fang.

Luo Zhao's tapping abruptly stopped. She looked at Gu Chengyin, her phoenix eyes narrowing into dangerous slits:

Are you saying...

Gu Chengyin said calmly:

The information was leaked from within the royal palace.

Inside the small room, the air instantly froze.

Shangguan Yunying abruptly looked up, her eyes filled with disbelief. Gu Xiaoli was also jolted awake by the heavy atmosphere, rubbing her eyes and looking at everyone in bewilderment.

Gu Chengyin continued, his logic tight: However, a new contradiction has emerged.

If the information truly leaked from the royal palace, then the other party should be even less likely to only know about the red sandalwood box and be ignorant of Gu Xiaoli's existence.

After all, under the watchful eyes of the public, she followed me out of the royal palace and then returned to the Crown Princess's Palace.

"Moreover, when I spoke with Lu Fang, we did not touch upon any dangerous information. Even if word got out, it wouldn't lead anyone to suspect anything."

"Unless someone knew the true significance of the red sandalwood box and deliberately let it slip."

Luo Zhao's brows furrowed even tighter. She was beginning to understand what Gu Chengyin was getting at, but she felt the conclusion was simply too shocking.

"When you eliminate all other possibilities, whatever remains."

"No matter how incredible, must be the truth."

Gu Chengyin stopped beating around the bush and stated the conclusion directly:

"The one who leaked the news..."

"Was His Majesty."