Fortunately, before Yanshu could speak, Emperor Yuwen Lan had already sensed something unusual from the words of Madam Tao, the wife of the Marquis of Yanping. He immediately addressed the Empress Dowager and Yanshu, saying, "It’s already quite late, we should return and discuss this further."

The Empress Dowager nodded, and Yanshu hurriedly agreed.

Then, he ordered the guards accompanying them, "Take Madam Tao and the heir back to the city and ensure they are properly settled. Instruct the officials from the Board of Rites to come to the palace later to report."

This clearly meant an investigation would be launched. Upon hearing this, Madam Tao and her son immediately kowtowed in gratitude. Emperor Yuwen Lan motioned for them to rise. He then stood up, ready to depart.

The Empress Dowager and Yanshu stood as well, and everyone in the courtyard immediately lowered their heads and stood in respectful silence, bowing in farewell.

At this moment, the person standing closest to them was Qi Shuguang.

Yanshu froze, suddenly realizing that the brief encounter between her idol, Mr. Qi, and the Empress Dowager was about to end...

And there, her idol was standing just like everyone else—head lowered in respect, maintaining a serious demeanor, his face showing no trace of emotion.

Yanshu couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of melancholy.

But at that moment, to her surprise, the Empress Dowager stopped and spoke, "The weather will only grow colder. I hope you take care of yourself, Mr. Qi."

After all, who knows when they would meet again?

Yanshu was momentarily stunned.

She watched as Mr. Qi paused briefly, still with his head bowed, and simply replied, "Yes."

Then, in his heart, he quietly added, *Take care as well.*

Yanshu was taken aback. In that fleeting moment, she couldn’t stop her nose from tingling with emotion.

*Ah, they really have it hard, don’t they…*

Emperor Yuwen Lan overheard this and, unexpectedly, his heart also sank.

Then, he suddenly spoke, ordering the guards, "Arrange for two men to escort Mr. Qi back to the academy."

The guards responded with a quick "Yes."

Mr. Qi was momentarily stunned, then quickly said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yuwen Lan nodded and continued to walk down the mountain.

~~

Despite her emotional reaction to the couple she secretly supported, Yanshu knew there were more pressing matters at hand. On the way back, she intentionally positioned herself next to the Emperor’s carriage and, while inside, hastily reported, "Your Majesty, I’ve just received confirmation. The Taoist priest Madam Tao mentioned is actually the White Crane Immortal who once deceived the late Emperor. After fleeing the palace, he changed his name and mingled among the wealthy in places like Minyue, using his medical skills to manipulate them into giving him money. He even established a sect called the Baiyun Sect, which he used to fund the Honglian Sect, intending to disrupt the empire."

"The Honglian Sect?" 

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yuwen Lan immediately furrowed his brow. "So it’s the Honglian Sect?"

Indeed, although he had already sensed something was off from Yanshu's thoughts and realized the Taoist priest was the White Crane Immortal, he hadn't expected the connection to the Honglian Sect.

This sect was formed during the previous dynasty and had been a malignant tumor in the common people for hundreds of years. While they publicly preached about great virtues, they secretly gathered people to plot rebellion.

Especially during the end of the previous dynasty, the Honglian Sect's members numbered in the tens of thousands and continuously rebelled, accelerating the downfall of the imperial court.

Later, after Emperor Gaozu led an army to overthrow the corrupt regime, the Honglian Sect attempted to stir up more trouble. Emperor Gaozu, having learned from the previous dynasty's mistakes, immediately dispatched troops to eradicate them, expending much effort. However, in the following decades, there had been no news of the sect’s resurgence.

Yet today, that very name had reappeared.

And this White Crane Immortal was involved with the Honglian Sect?

Yanshu, understanding his surprise, continued to explain, "This man is actually one of the remnants of the Honglian Sect. He held a grudge against the imperial family because of Emperor Gaozu’s purge, which is why he disguised himself as a Taoist to harm the late Emperor and attempted to leave you without heirs. Now, he has returned to the common world to continue his misdeeds."

Hearing this, Emperor Yuwen Lan nodded slowly, his brows still furrowed. "I see."

Now, everything that had happened in the palace made sense.

It turned out the remnants of the Honglian Sect were causing trouble. He had even suspected the Empress Dowager in the past...

Thinking of the dark years he had endured, his hatred for this man intensified.

At the same time, he angrily remarked, "If not for your telling me today, I wouldn't have known what kind of havoc this charlatan would cause! What are these people doing?"

Yanshu responded, "Your Majesty, please don’t be angry. After all, from the time this person left the palace until the truth was discovered that night, several years have passed. During that time, he kept hiding, changing names, and using his medical skills. Most of the Jinyiwei have never seen him, and even with portraits, it’s hard to ensure he hasn’t altered his appearance. The world is so vast. Even with just a few months, it’s understandable they couldn’t catch him."

"But the officials in Minyue bear an undeniable responsibility. This man has been scamming the wealthy for years, and as Madam Tao said, he’s even gathered a certain scale. As local officials, they couldn’t possibly be unaware of this, and perhaps some of them were even brainwashed by him, deliberately covering for him."

Yanshu paused, then quickly added, "By the way, when I say 'brainwashed,' I mean they were deceived by him and completely believe in his words."

Emperor Yuwen Lan nodded, saying, "That term... is quite fitting."

He then paused, thinking for a moment before adding, "Disguising himself is also highly likely. Since we now have Madam Tao and her son, have the painter go and draw a few more portraits of them."

Yanshu quickly nodded, "Your Majesty is brilliant."

She then sighed inwardly, *Ah, little Emperor, what would you do without me?*

Emperor Yuwen Lan, "..."

Though still reluctant to hear the title, he had to admit, she did speak with propriety.

So, he could not live without her.

~~

After returning to the palace, the officials from the Board of Rites that Emperor Yuwen Lan had summoned earlier arrived.

However, since the matter now involved the Honglian Sect, the Board of Rites alone was insufficient. Emperor Yuwen Lan then also summoned the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of War and several scholars to meet.

Seeing this, the Empress Dowager appeared somewhat puzzled. The next day, when Yanshu came to pay her respects, she asked, "Could it be that the issue with the Marquis of Yanping has grown larger? Why did the Emperor summon people from the Ministry of War yesterday?"

Yanshu replied, "Your Majesty is correct. After further investigation, it turns out that the Taoist priest Madam Tao mentioned is actually the White Crane Immortal who escaped from the palace years ago. It seems this person also has some connection with the Honglian Sect. This is a major matter, which is why the Emperor has summoned several ministers to thoroughly investigate it!"

"What?"

The Empress Dowager was indeed startled. "It’s that person? And he is also connected to the Honglian Sect?"

Yanshu nodded. "It is said that this person is actually one of the remnants of the Honglian Sect, harboring resentment toward the imperial court for many years. His actions have been nothing but revenge against the court."

As Yanshu finished speaking, the Empress Dowager paused, then sneered, "How ridiculous, so many people have been toyed with by a fraud."

Especially that man, Yuwen Sheng—his father, Emperor Gaozu, had spent immense effort to suppress the Honglian Sect. How could it have been revived under his very hand?

She thought back to the time when, in search of immortality, Yuwen Sheng had given that charlatan quite a bit of money!

Yanshu silently listened, thinking to herself, Yuwen Sheng was the late Emperor. This brother of mine invited wolves into the house and even funded the enemy—The Empress Dowager’s scolding is quite justified.

She could only nod and say, "Your Majesty speaks the truth. Fortunately, Madam Tao came in time, and the Taoist priest and the remnants of the Honglian Sect have not yet gained full strength. If they are eradicated now, it should be easier."

The Empress Dowager nodded, then said, "This person is crafty and chooses to create trouble in distant places like Minyue. He is skilled at deception and trickery. I hope the Emperor can thoroughly eliminate him this time and prevent any further disasters."

Sighing, the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but recall the nightmarish days of the past. She hoped such things would never happen again.

~~

After bidding farewell to the Empress Dowager, Yanshu returned to Ganlu Hall. By the afternoon, she heard that the new portrait of the Taoist priest had been completed.

Curious, she went to Qianming Palace to take a look and was shocked to find that the new portrait looked completely different from the one the Jinyiwei had obtained earlier.

The first portrait, based on the palace servants' memories, depicted a man around sixty years old, with drooping eyes and mouth corners, and obvious wrinkles on his face.

However, three years later, according to Madam Tao’s description, the second portrait showed a man whose eyes and mouth corners no longer drooped, and there were far fewer wrinkles. Moreover, his hair had turned white, yet his face looked like that of someone in his forties—radiating a divine, immortal-like aura.

Seeing this, everyone was shocked. At first, they even thought the portraits had been swapped.

If not, could this person really be using some kind of witchcraft to reverse aging?

Yanshu naturally did not believe in witchcraft. She suspected that the old man must have mastered some incredible makeup techniques.

Could he really have aged himself down by over twenty years?

Then, the system spoke up, [Makeup is one thing, but this man also knows medicine, and combining some Taoist alchemy, he made some medicinal pills for himself. That’s why he appears to be reversing his age.]

Hmm?

Yanshu immediately became intrigued and quickly asked, [What kind of medicine is so miraculous?]

If she could get her hands on the formula, wouldn’t she be able to stay youthful forever too?

The system replied, [Don’t bother thinking about it, you can’t use this medicine. It requires ziheche (human placenta), and you need to take it daily. Do you know what ziheche is?]

In her previous life, Yanshu had been somewhat of a "medicine jar" and was familiar with many medicinal terms. She immediately answered, [Is it the human placenta?]

The system confirmed.

However, her eyes widened in shock, [But he's a Taoist—how did he manage to find so much ziheche?]

The system explained, [At first, he bought it from others. Isn’t he rich? And now, with his followers—many of whom are wealthy—he doesn’t need to worry about it anymore. Some people even sacrificed the fetus of their concubines just to offer it to him in worship.]

Yanshu nearly vomited blood upon hearing this, [This is outrageous! There’s no humanity left! This is a damn evil cult!!!]

The system replied, [Who says otherwise?]

Yanshu immediately felt disgusted and cold all over, especially as a pregnant woman. Her anger boiled inside her.

So, when there was no one around, she immediately said to Emperor Yuwen Lan, "Your Majesty, I’ve heard that this person is using human placenta to make medicinal pills to maintain his youthful appearance. This is utterly depraved and terrifying! We must capture him immediately!"

Emperor Yuwen Lan was equally shocked and furrowed his brow, "This is inhumane!"

He then ordered Fu Hai, "Have the painter create more portraits and distribute them. This time, we must catch him!"

Fu Hai quickly responded and hurried off to make arrangements.

But before long, he came rushing back to report, "Your Majesty, there’s news from Ci'an Palace. The Empress Dowager’s old illness has flared up again."