Yang Ruoning found Xiao Guizi outside Yanfu Palace.
"Miss Yang? Ah, no, Madam Luo, is there something urgent? I saw you running over. Take a breath first," he said, motioning to a nearby eunuch, "Fetch some tea for Madam Luo." He then turned back to Yang Ruoning, "Madam Luo is here to see His Majesty, isn't she? The Emperor and Consort Rong are still resting inside. Madam Luo will have to wait a moment longer."
"I'm here to see you."
"To see me?" Xiao Guizi looked utterly bewildered.
Yang Ruoning was in a hurry. Without further explanation, she directly pulled Xiao Guizi out of Yanfu Palace. Once they were in a secluded, deserted corner, she asked, "Xiao Guizi, I'm asking you, and you must tell me the truth. During the book exhibition that day in the palace, I asked you for a few hairs from His Majesty. Do you still remember this?"
Xiao Guizi immediately replied, "Of course, I remember. It was that day at the book exhibition that the first snow of winter fell. You asked me for His Majesty's hair. It was such a strange request, how could I forget?"
"So, did you do as I asked, and go to His Majesty's sleeping quarters to find hairs from His Majesty's comb or bed?"
Xiao Guizi tilted his head, thought for a moment, and then his face suddenly lit up with understanding. "Ah, I remember! Those few hairs were given to me by His Majesty."
"Given to you by His Majesty?" Hearing his answer, Yang Ruoning's heart sank. He hadn't searched for Qingye's hair as she'd requested. "So, you didn't follow my instructions?"
"I was originally going to His Majesty's sleeping quarters, but I happened to encounter His Majesty outside the quarters. His Majesty asked me why I was there. How could I dare deceive His Majesty? I truthfully reported that Miss Yang had asked me to fetch His Majesty's dragon hair."
"So, where did the hairs come from? Did you personally see Qingye pull them from his head and give them to you?"
"No, the hairs were in a pouch when I received them."
"Oh? What does that mean?"
"It means that after I explained my purpose, His Majesty took out a pouch from his sleeve, told me it was the dragon hair, and asked me to deliver the pouch to Miss Yang."
"So the pouch was prepared in advance..." Yang Ruoning lowered her head, biting her fingernail, murmuring to herself as she pondered. Suddenly, she looked up and asked, "Do you know whose hair was in the pouch?"
"Eh? Wasn't the hair in the pouch His Majesty's?!" Xiao Guizi looked completely confused.
It really had been a mistake! As she had run all the way here, she had been praying non-stop that her DNA sample was correct, that Qingye was indeed that one in a hundred exception, but... everything pointed to the result she least wanted to believe.
"Xiao Guizi, do you know where Jiang Qi is imprisoned?" Yang Ruoning paced back and forth anxiously. Suddenly, she seemed to have an idea and stopped, asking Xiao Guizi. She knew that after Qingye returned to Bianliang, he hadn't immediately executed Jiang Qi but had imprisoned him in the palace. She had thought Qingye was sparing Jiang Qi's life because he was his uncle, but now, Yang Ruoning suspected Qingye had another motive for keeping Jiang Qi alive.
"Ah, this..." Xiao Guizi stammered. "Where Lord Jiang is imprisoned... I cannot say."
"Xiao Guizi, look at me," Yang Ruoning grabbed Xiao Guizi's shoulders. "I am Qingye's friend, Madam Luo Yuan. I helped Qingye reclaim his throne. I am Qingye's most trusted person, so it's alright to tell me. His Majesty will not blame you."
"But..." Xiao Guizi was still hesitant.
"I will not tell anyone that you told me. I will say I found it myself by chance. Even if His Majesty blames me, I will take the responsibility for you."
Yang Ruoning used both soft and hard tactics, coaxing Xiao Guizi for a long time. Finally, Xiao Guizi sighed, "Lord Jiang is imprisoned in the northeast corner behind the Zichen Hall... That's all I can tell you. It's not a large area, you'll find it if you look carefully."
The location Xiao Guizi told Yang Ruoning was to the northeast of the Imperial Garden, a series of courtyard-like houses. Compared to the residences of the Emperor, Empress, and consorts in front, they appeared extremely simple, more like where eunuchs and palace maids lived. Perhaps because they were behind the Zichen Hall, their sunlight was blocked by the imposing hall. Thus, even under the hot, dazzling summer weather, this place remained dim and cool.
She had been to the imperial palace many times, believing she had explored every corner of it. But today, she discovered that there were indeed rows of houses behind the Zichen Hall.
She searched from room to room, but found nothing. The tattered window paper and the thick dust on the furniture indicated that these rooms had been vacant for a long time.
She continued searching and finally found a room in the corner of the last row of houses. Before pushing the door open, she felt a sense of frustration. Xiao Guizi had told her that Jiang Qi was imprisoned behind the Zichen Hall, but she had searched for an hour here and hadn't seen a living soul. She wondered if she had the wrong place.
The door creaked open, and Yang Ruoning stepped inside. Even at midday, this room was pitch black. Yang Ruoning saw black and green mold covering the mottled walls; cobwebs clung to the decaying wooden furniture; the turbid air was filled with a nauseating stench of decay—a foul odor that made one suspect a small animal had died inside. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
The air inside was almost suffocating. After a quick glance, Yang Ruoning prepared to retreat. But just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard a faint groan. Yang Ruoning became suspicious. She stepped back into the room and peered into the inner chamber.
After taking two steps inside, the sound came again.
Inside the inner chamber was a rotten, narrow black bed. The tattered bed curtain was drawn, blocking the view. The sound seemed to be coming from there.
Jiang Qi? She tiptoed closer. When she lifted the bed curtain, what she saw made her collapse onto the floor in fright.
She couldn't describe the humanoid creature moaning in pain on the bed. The 'zombie' was so emaciated it was unrecognizable, just a skeleton of skin and bones; its entire body was festering, not an inch of healthy skin remaining, and yellow pus and dark blood continuously seeped from its wounds. That stench originated from here.
Zombie? ...A zombie? Yang Ruoning screamed in terror.
"Who? Who is it?" The 'zombie' heard her scream and actually asked.
Hearing the 'zombie' speak, Yang Ruoning calmed down somewhat. After all, zombie apocalypse movies had taught her that zombies had no consciousness and couldn't speak.
She boldly stood up from the ground, staring at the person on the bed, hesitating whether to approach. "Who are you?" she asked.
"How dare you... so weak... I, the widowed emperor..." He spoke these words intermittently, as if every word required immense effort.
"The widowed emperor? You are the Emperor? You are... Jiang Qi?!"
"How dare you..."
Yang Ruoning calmed herself. She stood up and walked to the bedside. She said to Jiang Qi, "Jiang Qi, I am Yang Ruoning."
"You... finally came... I have been waiting for you for a long time..." Jiang Qi's eyes, sunken deep into their sockets, were cloudy and dim. They stared blankly at the ceiling, as if he could no longer see.
"Jiang Qi, who did this to you?"
"...It was Qingye... He comes every day... to cut away a piece of my flesh... I know... he is seeking revenge..."
It was Qingye. Yang Ruoning didn't seem that surprised. When Qingye had vehemently insisted on saving Jiang Qi's life against all objections, Luo Yuan had been suspicious. She had thought Qingye was doing this because Jiang Qi was his uncle, and he couldn't bear to kill the uncle he had once regarded as a father. But Luo Yuan had said that there was no such thing as family affection within the imperial city.
Yang Ruoning took a deep breath and continued, "Jiang Qi, tell me, did Yue Feng have another child... a child with severe physical defects..."
"Hehehehehe... You... finally know..." Jiang Qi actually let out a strange laugh—a chilling sound, as if it wasn't a human laugh, as if he had truly become a walking corpse.
Yang Ruoning's skin crawled. She instinctively took a step back.
"I know what?" she asked, trembling.
"...You finally know... Qingye... is the name of that child... He stole his name... his life... He won... He got everything... That low, dirty bastard!!" Jiang Qi finally roared furiously.
"He? Who is he?"
"Miss Yang, for the sake of my relationship with Ruoxuan, can you... help old me... end it?" As he spoke, a tear rolled down his cheek. "It hurts... it really hurts... I only wish for... a quick death... Miss Yang... please..."
"Tell me, who is he?!" Yang Ruoning became agitated. She lunged forward, grabbed Jiang Qi's collar, and pulled him up.
"Hahaha, he is merely a lowly..." Before Jiang Qi could finish his words, a long sword pierced through his head.