When Huanan Xin strode out of Jingyang Palace, he was a different person with stern eyes and neat attire.

He went to the outer garden and met his Ninth Uncle Huanan He.

Huanan He suddenly narrowed his black eyes. He had already noticed the clear and fine scars on the side of the Emperor's lips.

When a gust of wind passed, something penetrated into his heart densely. It was endless pain and hatred.

"Pay my respect to you, Your Majesty."

Avoiding the cold scrutiny of the Emperor, Huanan He bowed deeply.

When he stood up straight, he looked happy and casual as always.

"Your Majesty, why did you summon me to your imperial harem at night?"

He had just made Mrs. Yuancang confess to her crime and was immediately brought into the Palace by the Imperial Guards. Moreover, he was led to Jingyang Palace.

What the hell did Huanan Xin do to Gu Yunxi?

The smile on the Emperor's face was faint, but his eyes were cold and sharp.

He put his hand on Huanan He's shoulder and led him farther away, avoiding the palace servants who followed, "Ninth Uncle, you don't have to be so polite. I should thank you properly. The two murder cases of the envoys of Ying State have now come to light, and the real culprit has been brought to justice, thanks to you, Ninth Uncle. When it came to the ability of case investigation, compared to my Court of Judicial Review and the Eastern Depot, you’re better than them after all."

His laughter sounded cold and contained some implicit hints, which made Huanan He's heart tremble.

Huanan He hurriedly suppressed the resentful and messy emotions in his heart, put on a casual look, spread his hands carelessly, and smiled humbly at the Emperor's cold eyes, "Your Majesty, I’m really flattered. How could I investigate any cases? It's just some little tricks. It’s not a big deal."

"Well, you are really so modest, Ninth Uncle. No matter what, you once commanded the Eastern Depot's tens of thousands of guards. You’re still strong as ever."

Huanan Xin narrowed his eyes, and the cold light in his brown eyes was obvious.

His words were like a sudden move by the person who was holding a sharp sword and intending to strike fatally and cut his opponent into pieces.

Could it be that Huanan Xin found something?

"Your Majesty, what's the matter with you today? Why are you talking not to the point?" His fingers were clenched into fists uncontrollably in his sleeves. Huanan He leaned over to look at the Emperor's young handsome face, looking surprised, "Aren’t you feeling well? Why are you talking nonsense? The Eastern Depot Commanders-in-chief have been eunuchs in all dynasties. When did I ever command the Eastern Depot's guards?"

"With his look, hadn’t he remembered who he was?"

"But how much could I believe him with his current situation?"

The Emperor thought to himself while his face changed slightly, and the deep coldness in his eyes gradually melted in peace, "Well, Ninth Uncle, you’ve always liked to tell jokes. I was just joking with you."

Huanan He smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, "Your Majesty, I was scared to death when you told a joke. I thought I would die without descendants."

Huanan Xin looked his Ninth Uncle up and down with his cold, arrogant, and smiling eyes and then looked at the bottle in his hand.

He gently touched the body of the bottle with his fingertips, repeatedly feeling the cold and hard touch of the porcelain. His questioning voice was slightly vague, "Ninth Uncle, those two cases originally had nothing to do with you, and you could just enjoy yourself in your mansion. Why did you get involved?"

"Get involved?" Huanan He looked at the Emperor's expression cautiously, not letting go of the slightest change in his expression. He maintained a stern look on his face, "These incidents happened in the Palace, and it was about Your Majesty and the honor and disgrace of the Imperial Family Huanan. How could I not get involved? Back then, thanks to Your Majesty's grace, you brought me back to Jing City from the western tribes in the deserted faraway land and gave me a mansion and money. I’ve always been grateful to you. I’ve always wanted to have the opportunity to repay Your Majesty's kindness. The murder cases were a great opportunity for me to repay your kindness, and I was willing to solve some troubles for Your Majesty."

"Well said." The Emperor looked directly at him and smiled sinisterly, "It’s good to know that we’re of the same mind, Ninth Uncle. I’m really moved."

Then he turned around with his hands behind his back. His sharp and deep eyes crossed the densely overlapping dim tree shadows and stared straight into the inner courtyard of Jingyang Palace, "Right now, I still have a problem, and that’s why I summoned you so late at night."

Huanan He's half-opened thin lips trembled slightly, and he instinctively lowered his head because he didn’t want his face, which was turning pale a little bit, to be seen by the cunning Emperor.

It was related to Gu Yunxi!

"Your Majesty, what is your order? I’m willing to do whatever you want..."

"It’s easy."

The Emperor looked back with a deep and complicated smile as if he had seen through Huanan He's hesitation and impatiently interrupted his hypocritical promise, "The next thing I want you to do is very simple, and it will be very easy for you. You just need to feed this bottle of Qianji poison to Concubine Yun."

The Emperor handed the bottle to Huanan He.

"…"

They looked at each other silently. The Emperor's gloomy expression made Huanan He suddenly feel a piercing chill down his spine, and it quickly spread to his limbs.

It was as if his heart had been pierced by thousands of sharp knives, and the pain made him unable to breathe, think, or move any longer.

"Why? Your Majesty, why are you poisoning your favorite concubine?" Huanan He restrained his inner struggle and asked the Emperor slowly.

It was difficult for him to imagine what his expression would look like at this time.

A sly light flashed through the Emperor's eyes, and he said with a smile, "It's true that Concubine Yun is my favorite concubine, but her indiscreet private appointment with Sakata Aki has already broken the rules of the imperial harem, even if it is for business. I’ve decided to strip her of her title as a concubine according to the ancestral system, give her Qianji poison, and leave her to rot in Jingyang Palace from now on. I had no choice."

"But why do you want me to do it, Your Majesty?"

The Emperor stared at Huanan He's round angry eyes. After a moment of silence, he said clearly, "Ninth Uncle, just now you vowed to repay my favor, and now there is such a trivial matter. Since I told you to do it, just go and do it. If you do it, it can also solve my other doubts."

"What doubts?" Huanan He asked abruptly without even thinking about it. He stared at the porcelain bottle in front of him with his sharp eyes, resisting it instinctively.

The Emperor's cold and blade-like eyes also locked on Huanan He tightly as if he had been trying to force him into a corner.

While he was still hesitating, the Emperor shoved the porcelain bottle into his palm, closed his fingers for him, and whispered in his ear softly, "Ninth Uncle, just do your job, and I will tell you later. Besides, I will also give you Regent Power so that you can serve the imperial court and get what you want."

Huanan He trembled, and he slowly lowered his head to look at the palm of his hand. As he stared at it, he was stung by the blurred halo of the golden lotus on the bottle, which gradually filled his eyes with warmth.

He held the container with poison in it tightly. His fingers were numb to the point of pain because of the hard outer wall of the bottle.

In a trance, Huanan He was brought into the inner courtyard of Jingyang Palace by Liang Zhen. In front of the Main Hall, he watched the intricately carved door slowly open.

Deep in the shadow of the lamp, she looked at him from a distance in plain clothes.

Her twinkling eyes faintly looked at the gentle candlelight swinging in the cool night wind in the late autumn as if they had met in a soft and sweet dream.

The door of the hall was closed, and no one else would disturb them.

When Gu Yunxi smiled lightly, she saw the poison bottle in his hand and deeply felt the burning pain and despair on his cold and dark face.

The grief and pain in her heart overwhelmed her. She tried her best to hold back the surging tears in her eyes. Her face turned cold, and she asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, are you here to take my life?"