Therefore, many people knew that Emperor Shunwu's Jade Seal was kept in his bedchamber.
Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran had just finished inspecting Emperor Shunwu's bedchamber, but didn't find any trace of the Jade Seal, and thought it was in the Empress's possession.
Little did they expect that Emperor Shunwu had kept such a trump card. No wonder the Empress's faction had taken control of most of the court, yet still hadn't made their next move.
Perhaps the Empress's increasingly irritable temper was due to her inability to find the Jade Seal.
He also knew that Zhang Defu was not to blame for Liu's disappearance.
"Enough, get up! Tell this Empress if you've found out the whereabouts of the Jade Seal."
Zhang Defu broke out in a sweat again, and said trembling: "In reply... to Your Majesty the Empress, this servant is incompetent.
To put pressure on the Emperor, this servant ordered Qi Changshun to be taken away along with him, but even then, the Emperor remained tight-lipped..."
The Empress's veins bulged with rage as she clenched her fists tightly.
"Hmph! Who would have thought he'd grow a spine at this hour, after a lifetime of cowardice and incompetence."
With that, she strode towards the door.
"This Empress will pay him a visit today, and see just when his bones became so hard."
Seeing the Empress head for the door, Zhang Defu hastily summoned a few eunuchs to follow.
Just as they reached the entrance, a black-clothed imperial guard appeared before the Empress.
The guard knelt on one knee and presented a note with both hands.
"Your Majesty, this is from Prime Minister Xue, who instructed me to deliver it."
Zhang Defu, ever observant, took the note and handed it to the Empress with a bow.
The Empress unfolded the note and glanced at it with an impatient expression.
She told the guard, "Go back and tell my father that this Empress will question him tonight, and will find out the Jade Seal's whereabouts by any means necessary."
The guard left after paying his respects, and the Empress was escorted by her attendants towards a side room in the courtyard.
Upon reaching the side room, several eunuchs and maids instinctively dispersed and took their positions on either side. Zhang Defu gestured for a few people to follow the Empress inside.
As the Empress's party entered the room, Mo Jiuye held He Zhiran close as they changed positions within a few leaps.
Using the same method, Mo Jiuye gently moved a roof tile aside and peered into the room.
Logically, this room should have been the quarters of the Empress's trusted maids, but there were no beds. From the items stored inside, it looked more like a storage room.
Unexpectedly, the Empress had made such arrangements right under their noses, setting up a secret chamber here.
This saying was indeed apt: the most dangerous place is the safest.
Who would have thought that the supposed servants' quarters would be the entrance to a secret room?
The Empress gave Zhang Defu a meaningful look, and he quickly walked to the innermost part of the room.
There was a rickety wooden shelf piled with many objects. Zhang Defu reached over the clutter and felt around inside, soon causing the shelf to move in one direction.
With the shelf moved aside, an eunuch promptly went ahead with an oil lamp in hand, followed closely by the Empress and Zhang Defu one after the other into the passage.
It seemed Zhang Defu must have activated some switch inside the secret chamber, as the shelf automatically returned to its original position after they entered.
From the angle they entered, Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran could tell the secret chamber was built underground, and even if they changed positions, they would be unable to observe the inside.
Especially since they didn't want to rouse suspicion before understanding the full situation, all they could do for now was wait for the Empress's party to leave.
Perhaps the Empress was unsuccessful in questioning the Emperor about the Jade Seal's whereabouts in the secret chamber, for after just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the shelf opened again and the Empress stormed out with her attendants, seething with rage.
Zhang Defu hunched over like a quail, head bowed, not daring to utter a word as he followed behind her.
The servants said nothing, so naturally no one spoke to the Empress. Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran only saw the Empress return to her bedchamber in a foul temper without uttering a word.
The two returned to observe from the roof of the Empress's bedchamber.
The Empress sat in her main seat for a long time without speaking, as if deep in thought.
It was nearly an hour before Zhang Defu mustered the courage to remind her: "Your Majesty, it's getting late. Even if there's an earth-shattering matter, you mustn't neglect your rest. Your health is paramount."
The Empress rubbed her brow without saying anything, then allowed Zhang Defu to assist her to rest.
Once the Empress retired to rest, everyone in the bedchamber seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
With the Empress resting, there was nothing more to observe here, so the two stealthily moved to the room with the secret chamber entrance.
Two eunuchs were still guarding the entrance, and from their earlier observations, there were rooms on both sides with no side windows, meaning the only way in was through the main door.
Dealing with the two guarding eunuchs was easy, but there were others patrolling elsewhere, so simply subduing those two would not be enough.
With a thought, He Zhiran retrieved a few packs of sedatives from her storage space and handed them to Mo Jiuye.
Mo Jiuye took the sedatives and swiftly vanished from He Zhiran's sight.
Looking down, He Zhiran saw that Mo Jiuye had already sedated the servants at the Empress's bedchamber entrance, then came to the secret chamber door and sedated the two eunuchs there as well.
Sensing no other strange auras nearby, Mo Jiuye led He Zhiran into the room with the secret chamber entrance.
Mo Jiuye clearly remembered Zhang Defu's actions and quickly found the switch to open the secret chamber door, forcefully pressing it to reveal an underground passage shrouded in darkness.
He Zhiran took out a flashlight, illuminating the environment ahead.
The passage was wider than expected, with stairs leading down.
They felt their way forward for about ten meters.
A putrid, nauseating stench suddenly wafted over.
Then a hoarse, feeble male voice rang out.
"What now? I've made it very clear, I would rather die than tell you where the Jade Seal is. Don't bother coming again."
It was Emperor Shunwu's voice, all too familiar to Mo Jiuye.
A surge of hatred welled up in his heart unbidden.
If not for the last shred of reason, Mo Jiuye would have hated to take the Emperor's head right then.
Though unfamiliar with Emperor Shunwu, He Zhiran felt a strange sense of anguish and hatred upon recalling the Mo family's tragic fate.
Yet her hatred paled in comparison to Mo Jiuye's.
Sensing his body tense up, she quickly squeezed his hand to prevent any rash actions.
Mo Jiuye gripped her hand in return and shook his head, indicating he was alright.
