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Qin Fan widened his eyes, about to refute, but under the man's pressure, he forcefully swallowed his words back down.
He could only glare at the woman, having no countermeasures against her. What should have been a joyful banquet turned out to be quite suffocating for him!
Unrelated people had already been arranged to leave the palace, and in the vast Liuli Hall, only a few remained. The brightly lit hall felt somewhat lonely.
The white cat's body had been taken away, and although Mo Xier had calmed down, her expression remained tense.
The Emperor stepped forward with concern and asked, "Are you feeling unwell?" He reached out to grasp her wrist, but she quickly stepped back a few paces to evade him.
Throughout this evening, the woman had rejected him many times. As the Emperor of the Heavenly Universe Kingdom, he had never been rejected like this before.
She leaned back against Night Star, exuding a sense of reliance and comfort that starkly contrasted with their situation.
"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. The most important thing now is to find that woman and wrap this up quickly."
Li Ye's heart felt somewhat uncomfortable as he watched them lean on each other; he didn't even want to look a second time and said directly, "Sit down and rest for a while. She won't be found so quickly; there's no need to stand."
However, just as everyone sat down, loud arguing erupted from outside, piercingly jarring.
"Who is making such a racket outside?" The Emperor frowned tightly, feeling increasingly irritated.
"It's Consort Jin. She heard that her white cat died and rushed over. Your Majesty, should we let her in?" Little Li reported after inquiring.
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards at the door could no longer hold back. A finely dressed woman hurried in with a flustered expression. The guards followed behind her with displeasure but dared not stop her, only trailing behind.
The woman was clad in luxurious attire; her smoky purple long dress swayed on the ground, exuding both charm and elegance. Her watery eyes glistened with tears, evoking an instinctive urge to pity her.
"How are you doing your job!" Little Li stepped forward and slapped the guard with such force that it made a loud noise.
The man immediately knelt down and shouted, "Your Majesty, please spare me! I truly couldn't stop her!" As he spoke, his eyes darted towards the woman in front of him, clearly filled with fear.
This woman was none other than Consort Jin, who had always been favored by the Emperor. Who would dare to truly stop her? If the Emperor were to blame someone, who could bear that responsibility?
"Your Majesty... you must help me! I heard that Fluffy was here, so I rushed over, only to hear this terrible news!"
Feng knelt down like a wilting willow, her eyes brimming with tears that seemed ready to fall at any moment. She looked so pitiful that anyone who saw her would feel heartbroken.
The anger that had originally flared up within the Emperor dissipated significantly upon seeing Consort Jin. He waved his hand to dismiss the guard and reached out to help the woman up, saying, "Get up quickly. It's just a dead cat. If you truly liked it, I can have someone find you another one."
Consort Jin was a clever woman. She hadn't seen the Emperor for a long time, and her reason for barging in this time was to attract his attention.
The cat was merely an excuse; now that it had been resolved, she naturally wouldn't continue to linger on it.
Her face still bore traces of tears, but the frown that had been there began to ease slightly due to the Emperor's words, gradually revealing a hint of a smile as if the sun had come out after rain.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I only ask that you allow me to give Fluffy a proper burial. It has accompanied me for such a long time, and now that it has suddenly passed away, I truly feel reluctant to part with it."
The woman seemed to have a heart of compassion, speaking so kindly that even Mo Xier couldn't help but glance over.
Although Consort Jin appeared somewhat emotional, her thoughts were tightly woven. If it weren't for this quality, how could she have secured her position as a favored consort in the harem?
From the moment she entered, her peripheral vision had been focused on Mo Xier sitting beside the Emperor. Women often pay more attention to other women; how could she not notice such beauty?
"What you say is what it is," she asked somewhat impatiently. "Have they found it or not?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, there is no news yet. Please do not worry; we will definitely find her!" Little Li responded.
Consort Jin, although unaware of what had happened, sensed that it was unusual. After rising gracefully, she stood beside the Emperor.
Her beautiful eyes wandered over to Mo Xier, and she softly asked, "This woman is truly beautiful; I wonder which young lady she is?" Her gaze gradually shifted to the man beside her, exclaiming in surprise, "Isn't this the famous Night General? How surprising to see him here!"
The two immediately stood and bowed, "We pay our respects to Consort Jin. Long live the Consort."
"Please rise," the woman quickly stepped forward to help them up, her gaze becoming increasingly profound. "You two seem well-matched; could it be that you are from the Night General's household?"
However, as soon as her words fell, the Emperor's stern voice erupted, "If you don't know, then don't speak carelessly! She is my newly appointed Imperial Physician. The Night General is not yet married! How can you make such assumptions?"
Consort Jin was an exceptionally clever person. Sensing his anger, she immediately knelt and softly said, "It is my foolishness; I hope Your Majesty will forgive me! I merely thought they seemed suited for each other and had no other intentions."
Mo Xier blushed at her words and dared not raise her head to meet anyone's gaze.
"I am not angry; rise," the Emperor said.
Consort Jin then stood up and returned to the Emperor's side, this time lowering her head even more and appearing increasingly obedient.
Yet in her heart, she felt differently. She had never seen the Emperor care so much for a woman; he lost his composure over just a few words.
After waiting for a long time, they finally received a report from the guards. "Reporting to Your Majesty, we have captured the person; she is waiting outside."
Mo Xier's eyes instantly brightened as she exclaimed, "Then what are you waiting for? Hurry and bring her in!"
Soon after, a disheveled woman soaked to the skin was brought in, but her appearance was somewhat different from what Mo Xier remembered.
The woman kneeling before them had long black hair, as if dyed with ink, and there was not a trace of the aura typical of a woman from the Rakshasa Kingdom.
"Is this the person?" Li Ye furrowed his brow in confusion; he had never seen a woman from the Rakshasa Kingdom like this before.
Not only him, but even Mo Xier was puzzled and asked, "Are you sure she is the one we are looking for?"
"Yes! I searched for a long time and finally found her behind the rockery in the Imperial Garden, looking flustered. It was obvious something was amiss. I also discovered the royal blue Dancer dress you mentioned."
To be honest, when someone handed over a bundle from behind, it indeed contained clothing they recognized, but the face did not match. Mo Xier still harbored doubts in her heart.
"Your Majesty, spare me! This item does not belong to this servant! I beg for your mercy!" The raggedly dressed woman suddenly cried out, her body trembling uncontrollably, clearly terrified.
Mo Xier stepped forward slowly, lifting her chin with her hand, almost forcing her to make eye contact. A fleeting emotion crossed her eyes, but she did not see it clearly. When she tried to think again, all she could see was sheer fear.
"Since you say it is not yours, then whose clothing is it?"
"This servant is a maid serving in Liuli Hall, named Pei'er. I just encountered a Rakshasa woman dressed extravagantly. She gave me some silver and this bundle, saying that as long as I could take it away and hide it well, there would be great rewards afterward!"
"And what about the clothes you are wearing?"
"I wore these clothes on purpose to avoid attracting attention."
Pei'er spoke earnestly, and her words seemed very credible. Everyone present frowned, doubting whether they had caught the wrong person.
But Mo Xier knew for certain that they had not made a mistake! That look just now said it all! They had definitely caught the right person! The question was how to prove it?
"Your Majesty! Please spare this servant; I was just momentarily tempted by greed! I know I was wrong!"
Li Ye frowned slightly, ignoring the pleas for mercy, and turned his gaze to Mo Xier, asking, "Could it be that they have captured the wrong person? This maid looks completely different from the Dancer I saw before. If not, should I send someone to search again?"
"No need," Mo Xier suddenly raised her eyes from her contemplation and said directly, "Since they have indeed captured the wrong person and so much time has passed, it is likely that they will not be found now. In that case, why not let me ask a few questions and then release her?"
Everyone was puzzled. What was going on? Hadn't she been adamant about finding the culprit just moments ago? How had she changed her mind so quickly?
She stepped forward a few paces, squatted down again, and with a slight smile at the corner of her mouth said, "I just checked your belongings and found no silver coins. Your clothes are tattered, so it's impossible for you to hide anything on you. Did that woman give you any silver coins? Where are they?"
"The maid was afraid of being robbed of the silver coins and has already hidden them away."
"Good! Even if you have hidden them, I would like to ask if that woman had any distinguishing features?"
Pei'er seemed to ponder for a moment before shaking her head and softly saying, "It was too dark at night, and I didn't light a lamp, so I naturally couldn't see clearly."
"Is that so? That woman had a strong fragrance, like peony; you must have noticed that, right? I heard that the emperor has trained hunting dogs. As long as they catch a whiff, they will know where the Dancer is now!" Upon hearing this, everyone present understood her intention.
She was testing! Although women from the Rakshasa Kingdom loved fragrances, strong scents were generally prohibited in the palace, especially for those serving the emperor.
Today was a performance for the emperor and various ministers; how could the Dancer possibly have a strong fragrance?
At this moment, if Pei'er agreed with Mo Xier that there was a strong scent, she would undoubtedly be lying! If she contradicted her, then it would imply that the Dancer had only a faint fragrance which could not be detected unless one was very close.
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