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Zhang Qing, fearing that the renovation of the Main Hall would cause too much disturbance and bother those in the Side Hall, made special arrangements.

The craftsmen would begin to rest and eat during Lian Hua’s midday break.

The palace did not provide meals; the craftsmen brought their own food.

When Lian Hua and her group arrived, they found the people still scattered about, resting and eating.

Lian Hua wasn’t sure whether the culprit was among the craftsmen, guards, or the people from the Interior Work Department; she could only start with the craftsmen to see if there were any suspects among them, then check the guards and the Interior Work Department.

For the time being, her people were borrowed, and she still had to rely on the guards and the Interior Work Department for some matters.

If she couldn’t find anything among the craftsmen, she planned to wait with this group until the Emperor sent someone, so as not to let these people erase any trails.

As for whether there were any collaborators among the guards and the Interior Work Department, she didn’t care; as long as she handed the people over to the Emperor, everything would be fine.

If they caught one of the workers, tracing back through the vine to find the accomplice would surely be easy.

Xiao Jizi almost spoke out, not understanding what medicine his master was selling in his gourd. Wasn’t the task to find out who had released the Serpent? Inspecting food and stripping clothes had nothing to do with each other!

Moreover, the master was a Harem Consort; it didn’t seem appropriate to strip the clothes off. These craftsmen were all rough men, soaked in sweat from their work. Wouldn’t stripping them sully the master’s eyes and her nose?

Seeing Xiao Jizi still puzzled and not grasping her intention, Lian Hua, pretending to be impatient, scolded loudly, "Well, don’t just stand there, go!"

Xiao Jizi, realizing what he should do, quickly replied, "Yes." He thought the master must have her reasons, and it wasn’t just a whim.

He ordered people to start searching the craftsmen’s bags, laying out all their food in front of each corresponding craftsman, and had the craftsmen themselves take off their outer clothes.

The craftsmen, of low status and from the lowest strata of society, mostly came from poverty and were unaccustomed to grandeur. They had never seen such a setup before and were all compliant, taking out their food and removing their shirts as they were told.

After everything was prepared, Lian Hua walked over with a rattan in hand, with Xiao Jizi and Xiao Qing quickly guarding her on both sides.

She walked past each craftsman, examined the food before them, and looked at the sweat-stained undershirts they wore.

These craftsmen, who usually worked outside under the sun and rain, were generally dark-skinned, skinny, and lean.

Some elderly craftsmen, perhaps too poor, weren’t even wearing undershirts, their sunken cheeks and weathered faces lined with deep wrinkles.

Lian Hua initially felt embarrassed to look, but as she continued, her heart grew sour. Most were wearing durable homespun tunics with many undershirts either patched or left torn.

She felt some guilt in her heart, but with a traitor hidden among them, she had to do this. She would have to compensate the innocent once they were cleared of suspicion later; after all, she now had silver.

After inspecting them all, she had a good idea in her mind, her gaze growing colder without revealing her thoughts as she moved away from the crowd.

Once she had put some distance between herself and the crowd, she stepped on a stone and pointed with her rattan at several people, shouting, "Someone, come tie these people up!"

She wasn’t that naive; if she had ordered the suspicious people to be tied up on the spot, what if someone took her hostage, or resisted and hurt her? That would distress His Majesty!

Xiao Jizi, noticing which people the master pointed out, marveled at her acuity. A lady of luxury would never have thought of the master’s approach.

The ones the master pointed out, while their outer robes were no different from the rest, had finer cloth for their undershirts, and took out better food.

What remained of their meals included leftover meat and white flour buns; other craftsmen mostly had cornbread, dry flat cakes meant to fill the stomach.

A true toiling craftsman from the lower class typically brought food to fill them up, unwilling to eat meat alone but to share it with their family instead. Nothing like these few people.

It must have been someone who had experienced the hardships of the common folk; no wonder she never indulged in excess on normal days, never wished to waste even a grain of food, and thus understood the lower-class craftsmen so well...

...

Star Palace.

The Emperor sat at the head seat, listening to Cao De report the findings from the investigation at the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Cao De had gone quietly to the Imperial Medical Bureau with men from the Internal Guard Bureau that morning and found that two Imperial Physicians who had treated Lian Hua: Huang Zude had been on duty last night and was off today, resting at home, while Wang Jinfang, Imperial Doctor Wang, had taken leave because of family matters.

At that moment, Cao De squinted his eyes playfully like a fox, finding the situation quite intriguing—the fact that both were absent from the Imperial Medical Bureau was too much of a coincidence; there was undoubtedly something fishy going on.

With a wave of his hand, he personally led his men straight to the homes of these two men.

They first visited the mansion of Imperial Doctor Wang. According to Lady Wang, Imperial Doctor Wang had left the city last night to visit a friend and hadn’t returned all night. His medicine boy had come back and said he would return today.

Cao De sat cross-legged in the Royal Mansion, amiable as a genial King of Hell.

He let out a soft chuckle and ordered his men to take control of the entire Wang Mansion right away.

He dispatched another group of soldiers escorting the medicine boy to find Imperial Doctor Wang—insisting on seeing him alive, or his body if he was dead.

Just a short time after leaving the Royal Mansion, Cao De headed straight for Huang Zude’s home.

Upon arrival, only an old doorman was left.

Upon questioning, the old man said that Huang Zude and his parents, along with their servants, had picked today for its auspiciousness and gone to repair the ancestral grave.

Cao De: "..."

He was utterly speechless; the excuses these days were one worse than the next.

With a grand gesture, Cao De left two men to guard the front and back of Huang Zude’s house. He tossed the doorman onto a subordinate’s horse and rode swiftly towards the Huang family’s ancestral graveyard outside town.

The doorman arrived, almost vomited during the bumpy ride.

Once they reaches the site, Cao De fixed his gaze and his eyes nearly popped out in surprise—the descendants of the Huang family were indeed filial and were actually repairing the grave!

Offerings, yellow paper, incense, and candles were all present, with a Taoist priest continuously chanting by the side.

The grave looked as if it had been freshly renovated, with Huang Zude and his parents devoutly kneeling in prayer.

Cao De had seen all sorts of people in his lifetime, but the Huang family truly opened his eyes—even their claim of grave repairing was true, not deceiving him in the slightest.

The Huangs conducted their ancestral veneration from beginning to end with utmost seriousness and concentration, so focused that even the arrival of Cao De and his men didn’t distract them—they kept their eyes closed and recited their prayers, undisturbed.

Cao De held back his subordinates who were ready to shout, twirling his riding crop, and watched with amusement for quite a while.

As long as he watched, the Huangs continued their prayers. He thought to himself that their ancestors were indeed fortunate to have such respectful descendants, but he couldn’t wait any longer—His Majesty was waiting, and delays were imprudent.

He instructed his men to leave the disheveled doorman, who had been lying on the side, unable to catch his breath, and to seize the bewildered Huang Zude, throw him onto the back of a horse, bluntly stating, "Excuse the offense."

And off they rode swiftly on horseback.

Cao De had just returned to the palace and dropped off the sun-darkened Huang Zude outside the Star Palace before entering to report back without taking a moment’s rest.