This was definitely a subconscious act. Chen Yuan had been on high alert ever since entering the palace, not daring to be careless. In this situation, he naturally wouldn't remain indifferent.

Chen Yuan and Jingtai exchanged glances, the atmosphere freezing for a moment.

That instant made Chen Yuan's heart sink, as he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Testing him?

Taking a deep breath, Chen Yuan calmly said without revealing any emotion:

"Does Your Majesty have any further instructions?"

Jingtai gazed at Chen Yuan, then suddenly smiled and pointed to something on the table, saying:

"You forgot to take the Seven Stars Chart I bestowed upon you."

"Thank you for the reminder, Your Majesty." A faint smile appeared on Chen Yuan's face as he stepped forward and carefully rolled up the Seven Stars Chart, bowing once more and saying, "This humble subject takes his leave."

"Mm, go ahead."

Turning around, Chen Yuan quickly left the imperial study and didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he had left the palace at top speed. He had almost thought Jingtai was about to give the signal to attack.

However, if it was just to deal with him, it didn't seem necessary. Cao Zhengxian alone could easily capture him. It must have just been a momentary whim.

But this feeling made him very uncomfortable.

Glancing back at the palace, a cold glint flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes before he turned and left.

......

......

Let's rewind the story to when Chen Yuan had just left the imperial study.

With a gentle wave of his hand, Cao Zhengxian instantly turned the shards of the teacup that had fallen to the ground into nothingness, disappearing before their eyes. Jingtai narrowed his eyes and said:

"He doesn't seem to possess the so-called 'eagle's gaze and wolf's demeanor' you described."

Cao Zhengxian smiled upon hearing this:

"Perhaps this old subject was mistaken before. However, it's always best to be cautious. Chen Yuan's ambition is indeed quite large. I have been studying the poem he wrote before passing the trials these past few days and feel that besides his exceptional literary talent, there might be some..."

Cao Zhengxian didn't finish his sentence, but Jingtai glanced at him and said lightly:

"It's just a few lines of poetry, Cao Qing. Surely you wouldn't judge Chen Yuan as disloyal to me based on that, would you?"

This was completely an attempt to find fault.

The meaning of Chen Yuan's poem was clearly about the spirit of the Jianghu. It all depended on how one interpreted it. At least Jingtai didn't care about these trivial matters.

"No, no, no... This old subject merely..."

"I know that Yang Yuanqing suffered some injuries at Chen Yuan's hands, but this was a fair fight. Do not hold a grudge," Jingtai said with a very calm expression.

"Your Majesty misunderstands. How could this old subject hold a grudge against a junior?"

Cao Zhengxian quickly defended himself.

He truly felt that Chen Yuan was not someone who could be easily controlled and that his ambition was great.

Jingtai gazed at him for a moment, then also smiled casually:

"I know your character, Cao Qing. I was just joking. No need to take it to heart."

"It's good that Your Majesty understands this old subject." Then, a look of reminiscence suddenly appeared in his eyes as he said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, when Chen Yuan entered the imperial study just now, did you feel a sense of familiarity?"

"What are you referring to?"

Jingtai was taken aback, not understanding what Cao Zhengxian was talking about.

"Perhaps it's this old subject's delusion. The moment Chen Yuan entered, I felt a sense of familiarity, like the aura you released when you received the starlight descending at the Observatory a few days ago."

Jingtai shook his head:

"Cao Qing is overthinking it. The one who intercepted that wisp of starlight that day was definitely a True Lord Realm expert using a secret technique. How could it be related to Chen Yuan?

He's just a mere Dan Realm cultivator. If he had such means, he wouldn't need to pledge allegiance to the imperial court. It must have been the Seven Stars Chart of mine that made you hallucinate."

He didn't even think in that direction.

How could it be possible?

Absolutely impossible.

Cao Zhengxian also knew that too much was as bad as too little. If he continued, it would really seem like he was targeting Chen Yuan. But as an outsider, he did feel a vague sense of familiarity before.

"I suppose so. Your Majesty's painting skills are superb. I'm afraid that in this world, only Wu Daozi, the Painting Sage who was famous in the Jianghu more than twenty years ago, could compare to Your Majesty."

Cao Zhengxian quickly flattered him.

"Cao Qing, you truly are Cao Qing. Your flattery skills are much better than Chen Yuan's," Jingtai said with a hearty laugh. He did have some understanding of painting.

But to compare him to Wu Daozi, the Painting Sage who was famous throughout the world, was simply too far-fetched.

It's a pity that this person has been missing for more than twenty years and has not been seen for many years. There were even rumors in the Jianghu a few years ago that he had passed away in the Southern Border.

This made countless people who loved painting regretful, including Jingtai.

The Painting Sage's painting skills were almost lifelike. With the addition of supernatural powers, he could truly bring the people in his paintings to life.

"This old subject is only speaking the truth."

Jingtai smiled faintly.

"Your Majesty, logically, the Ministry of Justice should be investigating the cause of Consort Shu's death. Why is it..." Cao Zhengxian's eyes flickered as he casually asked.

Hearing this, Jingtai's expression immediately changed, turning from sunny to gloomy. He said lightly:

"I've already said that it's not a glorious matter and shouldn't be known by too many people."

"This old subject understands. But Your Majesty truly seems to value Chen Yuan. Could it be that you intend to cultivate him and entrust him with important tasks?" Cao Zhengxian asked with a smile, narrowing his eyes.

"If he can demonstrate his value, why shouldn't I value him? The power wielded by the Sky Patrol Division is still a bit too much. Perhaps Chen Yuan can help me dismantle the Sky Patrol Division."

"Is Your Majesty using Chen Yuan as a knife?"

"Isn't it his honor to be the knife in my hand?"

"Your Majesty is right."

"How many people want to be and don't even have the qualification? However, now we still have to see if Chen Yuan is a qualified candidate. I don't want this knife to backfire in the future."

Jingtai's gaze was extremely deep as he gazed into the distance and said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty is right."

"Hopefully, Chen Yuan is a smart man."

......

......

After leaving the palace, Chen Yuan went straight to the Eastern Imperial City Division and casually threw the so-called 'family heirloom' into the Heavenly Book. He no longer cared about it.

Now was a good opportunity to thoroughly search the entire harem and find the Dragon Vein Land that suppressed Senior Moluo.

After counting four or five people in the Imperial City Division, Chen Yuan directly led them to the harem. He didn't need too many people there. Jingtai had clearly told him that this matter shouldn't be publicized. If he was still oblivious to this, it would be inappropriate.

But there couldn't be too few either.

It was impossible for him to investigate alone. He always needed a few clever subordinates to obey his orders.

Before entering the harem, Chen Yuan told them the mission in detail, which made Tao Qingyuan slightly stunned. Obviously, he hadn't expected himself to be so accurate.

This time, Chen Yuan entered the palace to investigate this matter.

Now, this mess indirectly fell on his shoulders. The world is truly impermanent...

Just as Chen Yuan arrived at the harem with Tao Qingyuan and the others, several eunuchs were already waiting, apparently having received Jingtai's decree.

They waited very respectfully for Chen Yuan.

When they saw him approaching with his men, the leading old eunuch quickly said:

"This old servant greets Chief Chen."

"Greetings, Eunuch. What is your honorable name?" Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"This old servant's surname is Zhao."

"Eunuch Zhao is specially waiting for Chen?"

"Indeed."

Then, the old eunuch explained the reason.

With the imperial decree given by Jingtai, Chen Yuan was indeed not stopped at the outer checkpoints. However, even with the token, one couldn't move around freely in the harem.

After all, it was full of female family members...

There had to be a eunuch who worked in the palace accompanying him to prevent Chen Yuan from offending any noble person. After thinking about it, Chen Yuan felt that this was indeed undeniable, so he happily agreed.

Chen Yuan didn't have any discrimination against these people who had been 'cut off at the roots'.

It didn't matter if someone was following him as long as they didn't interfere with his work.

Anyway, he had no intention of causing trouble in the harem.

The leading old eunuch had been in the harem for many years, and Chen Yuan sensed that his cultivation was almost at the peak of the Tongxuan Realm. As for the cultivation and status of the others beside him, they were much lower.

The old eunuch led Chen Yuan towards the 'crime scene' from yesterday. Along the way, Chen Yuan finally got some description of the case from the old eunuch's mouth.

To be honest, this was the first time he had heard of it.

Before this, he only knew that Consort Shu in the harem had drowned, and then... nothing else.

Nothing at all. How could he investigate anything!

The old eunuch spoke in detail, not daring to hide anything. These things had already been compiled into a file. Later, Chen Yuan felt that the old eunuch wasn't detailed enough.

So he looked at the file first.

Only then did Chen Yuan understand some of the details.

This Consort Shu was twenty-six years old this year and was a concubine Jingtai had brought into the harem a few years ago. However, Jingtai rarely favored her later because he was busy with cultivation.

Later, Consort Shu often missed him and often admired the moon in the pavilion. This time, while admiring the moon, she accidentally fell from a high place and died on the spot from drowning...

This was the general situation given in the file.

Even if one only glanced at it, as long as one wasn't stupid, one could definitely see the strangeness in it. For example... did this Consort Shu occasionally go to the pavilion to admire the moon, or did she go every once in a while?

For example, why wasn't there anyone from the palace accompanying Consort Shu when she was admiring the moon?

For example, when Consort Shu fell into the water, why didn't she call for help loudly? Were the people around her deaf?

To be honest, after just seeing it at first glance, he could be very certain that Consort Shu's death was 99% the result of someone killing her. The people from the Ministry of Justice should be the ones to come.

What exactly is Jingtai... planning?

"Eunuch Zhao, do you have any suspects?" Chen Yuan put down the file in his hand and asked in a deep voice.

"The two palace maids who served Consort Shu."

"Motive?"

"What motive?"

Chen Yuan paused, then said again, "Why did they want to kill Consort Shu?"

"It hasn't been interrogated yet..."

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes and looked at him.

Was he treating him like an idiot?

Even if they interrogated them, wouldn't it be a forced confession?

"Take me to see the pavilion where Consort Shu fell into the water," Chen Yuan said in a low voice after pondering for a moment.

"Chief Chen, please follow me."

The old eunuch nodded and led Chen Yuan all the way through the harem, passing through large palace buildings before finally arriving at the destination.

"Consort Shu accidentally fell into the water from this pavilion," the old eunuch said, pointing to a pavilion directly in front of him.

Chen Yuan nodded, then took a step forward and instantly ascended into the pavilion. This pavilion was actually not high and not eye-catching. It wasn't a good place to admire the moon.

Narrowing his eyes, Chen Yuan looked around and finally fixed his gaze on a somewhat broken fence. There was a gap in it, as if someone had instinctively grabbed it when they fell in a panic.

And below, there was a quiet, deep pool...

Gazing at the deep pool, Chen Yuan seemed to see a pair of eyes staring at him inside. After taking a closer look, it was Chen Yuan's reflection. His fingers slowly slid across the nearby pillars, and he raised his head to look at the surrounding scenery.

It wasn't far from Chunhua Palace, where he had been before. Other than that, he couldn't find anything unusual.

Without taking the stairs, Chen Yuan came down the same way he went up, looking at the old eunuch in front of him and saying:

"Three things. First, this official wants to interrogate the two palace maids who served Consort Shu that you arrested. Second, let my subordinates search Consort Shu's palace. Third, I want to see Consort Shu's body."

"This..." the old eunuch hesitated.

"Consort Shu's palace and body can't be viewed casually. This is against..."

Before he could finish his words, Chen Yuan directly raised his hand to stop him from continuing:

"I don't care about that. The imperial token is here. If you have any questions, you can ask His Majesty. But my requests must be met now.

Otherwise, I won't be able to find any traces or solve the case. Will you take the blame?"

The old eunuch's voice paused for a moment, then he took a deep breath and looked at Chen Yuan, saying:

"Alright, this old servant will definitely fulfill Chief Chen's requests as long as you don't desecrate Consort Shu's body."

After saying that, he ordered two eunuchs to bring the two close-fitting palace maids who were being held. He also ordered two eunuchs to follow Wang Teng and the other two brought by Chen Yuan to search Consort Shu's palace.

But they weren't good at this kind of thing either. Fortunately, Chen Yuan didn't demand too much. He just asked them to check if there was anything suspicious.

The real clues were probably on the two palace maids and Consort Shu's body.

After giving the orders, Chen Yuan didn't stand idle and prepared to truly start implementing his purpose, to thoroughly inspect the harem.

His destination this time wasn't just to investigate Consort Shu's cause of death. He always felt that Jingtai had just thrown this matter to him casually and didn't intend to delve into it too much.

Otherwise, he should have found professional experts from the Ministry of Justice to investigate this.

He was a member of the Sky Patrol Division, and the Sky Patrol Division specialized in killing people...

He wasn't good at solving cases either. He only reasoned from some small details. His ability in this area wasn't actually that great.

So he instinctively suspected Jingtai's purpose, but he still accepted it.

As for the purpose, it was very simple, to take this opportunity to thoroughly search the harem and find the Dragon Vein Land that suppressed Senior Moluo. Among the several places given by Jiang He, only this place had not been investigated yet.

Chen Yuan walked aimlessly in the harem, which made the old eunuch who was following him confused. Wasn't he investigating the case? What did he mean by wandering around in the harem like this?

This place was far from where Consort Shu died.

But Chen Yuan's answer was... he needed time to think carefully.

While observing the harem, Chen Yuan also discovered that the harem today was indeed not as lively as the last time he came. After inquiring from the old eunuch, he learned that before Chen Yuan came, the Empress and Consort Gui had given orders that these past two days, they should move around the harem less, especially away from Consort Shu's palace.

It seemed like they didn't want to be contaminated by the case.

This time, with the convenience of his identity, Chen Yuan could walk around the harem without any scruples. His speed was also very fast. It didn't seem like he was thinking about anything, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The harem was too big. If he was too slow, he wouldn't be able to finish walking around it in a day.

He passed by the Empress's palace, the palace of Consort Gui, the mother of the First Prince, and the palaces of some princesses who were still living in the palace because they hadn't married yet.

The old eunuch's gaze towards him was a little off.

He felt that Chen Yuan's purpose didn't seem so pure.

"What is this place?"

Suddenly, Chen Yuan stopped and stood on the spot, pointing forward and asking.

The old eunuch thought for a moment and said:

"This is the Cold Palace."

"Cold Palace?"

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow. He never expected that the Dragon Vein Land where Senior Moluo was suppressed was actually in this Cold Palace. It was truly... unexpected!

Yes, Chen Yuan had found the place where Senior Moluo was suppressed.

Just now, the Heavenly Book treasure in his sleeve finally reacted.

This was the method given to him by the previous Dao Lords. As long as he kept the Heavenly Book open, he would be able to sense the changes in the other piece of the Heavenly Book within a certain range.

Naturally, he could also use this to determine whether the other Dao Lord was nearby...

Chen Yuan had walked through those places that Jiang He had deduced before, but the Heavenly Book had never shown any movement. This time... it finally did.

Not easy...

The name Cold Palace sounded very cold, and this place was also where some concubines who had made mistakes were confined. Chen Yuan's eyes flickered for a moment, hesitating whether to go in and take a look.

The old eunuch casually said:

"What, Chief Chen doesn't know the Cold Palace?"

"I know, I've heard of it."

"This place is..."

"Alright, let's go. Let's go see Consort Shu's body."

After thinking about it, Chen Yuan finally didn't enter the Cold Palace. It was too awkward for him to enter the Cold Palace with his identity, and it was also unrelated to Consort Shu's case. If it was reported to Jingtai,

He might easily guess some of Chen Yuan's purposes.

Anyway, he had already found the place, so there was no rush. Now wasn't the best time to meet Senior Moluo. Chen Yuan had learned some information from the other Dao Lords and could deduce some things.

That Senior Moluo was probably at odds with the Great Jin royal family, otherwise he wouldn't have been suppressed in the Dragon Vein. As an emperor, how could he not know about the existence of this Senior Moluo?

As the saying goes, be careful in everything.

When Chen Yuan arrived at Consort Shu's palace, Wang Teng and the others had already searched it once. Chen Yuan glanced at the two of them and casually asked, "Did you find anything unusual?"

Wang Teng thoughtfully walked to Chen Yuan's side and said in a low voice:

"I only found a white jade lotus root that was a bit different from ordinary things..."