The male supporting character was actually myself.

The little white cat twitched its lips and muttered, "These days, it's so easy for the imperial advisor to live a carefree life. He can just spout some mystical nonsense and people will worship him. Seclusion? He's probably just finding a secluded place to hide away and relax!"

"Huixiang must have followed the last route of the day when she went to find the handkerchief. As maids and servants were not allowed to enter and leave the palace at will, it is reasonable to assume that the handkerchief she was looking for must have been lost when she was sent out to do something."

Jiang Chen flipped through the records and found a short message: that evening, Hui Xiang was dispatched to accompany the head palace maid to deliver something to Changchun Palace, where Consort Yu resided.

"The route from Xiangli Garden to Changchun Palace is not too far." He pointed out the path Huixiang had taken according to the drawn map. Most of the paths were busy roads, and even if it was a little late when she went to look for the handkerchief, she shouldn't have encountered any special circumstances.

Since they were silenced, it must have been something extremely important, and they would never have done it in a place where people could pass by at any time.

Solving a case without surveillance footage is indeed quite difficult, Jiang Chen frowned slightly as he considered the possible scenarios.

"As expected, it's time for my soft and adorable little kitten to make its move!" The fluffy ball stretched and meowed, "Host, I'll go and eavesdrop in the various palaces first."

"We can release some information about the investigation into Huixiang's death; the murderer will definitely be worried about being investigated. Just wait for my good news!"

Jiang Chen nodded subtly, letting it go, and then asked, "May I ask if Your Majesty's harem has any cases of vying for favor or having abortion squads?"

emperor:???

What is an abortion squad?

"No, my harem is very peaceful." After guessing what he meant, the emperor waved his hand and said, "The empress handles this very well, and there will be no situation where they plot to kill each other in the struggle for favor."

Ah, that's what Fourth Uncle thought too...

With the mission demanding and the Soul Weapon not being of much use at the moment, Jiang Chen decided to follow the White Cat's suggestion and quickly had the message released.

The next day, led by the fritter, he led the emperor straight to the inner palace to arrest the culprit.

"Shen Qing, how do you know she's the murderer of Hui Xiang after only one night?" The emperor asked curiously as the imperial guards were chasing a palace maid who was about thirty years old and highly skilled in martial arts.

Jiang Chen replied absentmindedly, "Last night, your subject in the underworld summoned the soul of little Huixiang, and she gave her own account."

I not only know that she is the murderer, but I also know that her mistress is Consort Qi in the harem.

As far as I know, Consort Qi participated in the imperial concubine selection four years ago as the daughter of the magistrate of Songyang County. Due to her outstanding talent and beauty, she remained in the palace and gradually rose to the rank of consort.

The emperor was completely bewildered, but he was also very awe-inspiring about ghosts and spirits, so he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration: "Minister Shen, you really can examine the living by day and the dead by night? No wonder the Imperial Advisor said that finding a regent would be able to share my burdens. It turns out that he had already foreseen your extraordinary abilities!"

As for Consort Qi, she was indeed the daughter of a minor county magistrate from a poor, remote area. I found her to be gentle and compliant in daily life; how could she possibly have kept such a fierce palace maid in private?

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Secret Guard

"Your Majesty, you are mistaken. This fierce and skilled palace maid is not Consort Qi's pet."

Seeing that the group of experts had already captured the tall, strong, and stern-faced palace maid not far away, Jiang Chen lowered his voice and explained, "On the contrary, she came to assist or rather monitor Consort Qi."

That magistrate of Songyang County was probably a spy sent or bribed by the Yong'an Kingdom. I think it was probably the work of the Imperial City Guard again.

Consort Qi was not his daughter, but a spy who had been trained and placed in the harem awaiting appointment! A few days ago, when it was late, Huixiang went to look for a handkerchief. She happened to overhear Consort Qi's conversation with a fierce palace maid in the secluded rainforest alley, and was so frightened that she didn't know what to do.

As a native of Yong'an, Consort Qi missed her family and hometown after learning about the internal strife in Yong'an. She always thought about contacting the outside world's secret agents to find out information, which is why the news leaked out.

The fierce palace maid is named Dongran. I have reviewed the register; a year ago, Dongran was sent to the palace by the wife of Cao Ge, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and has remained by Consort Qi's side ever since.

The emperor looked bewildered. "That Cao Ge, who was executed after his property was confiscated for embezzlement? He..."

"It seems he is also a mole planted in our country." Jiang Chen nodded and continued to explain, "In that case, the huge amount of unexplained property found in his house can be explained. Money paves the way for accepting bribes, and sending a palace maid of unknown origin into the palace is not difficult for the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

The fluffy little cat perched on its host's shoulder, meowing and boasting, "Host, you have to give me a treat today! This soft and adorable little cat worked hard all night to find out all these clues. Actually, if it weren't for that Qi Pin's impatient whispering, I might not have been able to find them. It's really a godsend!"

Jiang Chen patted its head subtly as a sign of appreciation.

With Dongran captured and Consort Qi arrested, along with the palace maids and eunuchs serving in her residence, all were temporarily placed under surveillance pending investigation of their origins and identities before being dealt with. The Emperor patted his chest and muttered to himself, "Fortunately, I was cautious; otherwise, wouldn't it have been easy for them to assassinate the emperor?"

"With the guidance of the Imperial Advisor, His Majesty is blessed with good fortune, so naturally no one will attempt to assassinate him."

"My dear minister, you're just saying that in the eyes of the Yong'an people, killing me is useless, since I'm just a puppet anyway. Killing me would make it easier for the regent to control the court. Not only would it be useless, but it would also expose the spies who managed to infiltrate us with great difficulty... Tsk tsk tsk, I never expected that a small incident would lead to a major case of enemy spies. Minister Shen has done a great job this time!"

"Your Majesty should play fewer games these days and first filter through the large population in the palace."

Jiang Chen looked at him seriously, "There's no need for a big fuss or fighting. Just release those whose origins are unclear, suspicious, or useless from the palace."

I would also like to offer a suggestion: since your ambition is not to have three thousand beauties, why not simplify things?

With fewer people in the palace, there will naturally be fewer complicated matters, and it will be much more difficult for someone to sneak into the palace in the future.

The Emperor nodded in agreement. "I will discuss this with the Empress in the next few days. Many of the young ladies selected for the palace have only added to the population. If I were to favor them all, I would be powerless to do so; if I were to leave them aside, it would be inappropriate for them to live a lonely life."

Since that's the case, let's take this opportunity to streamline things.

As for the interrogation of enemy spies, I'll leave that to you. Just submit a report to me when you're done."

"Your Majesty, I have another matter to discuss." Jiang Chen didn't follow the escorting personnel but instead leaned close to the emperor and lowered his voice, saying, "That young palace maid, Yinxiu, accidentally solved a major case, which is commendable; moreover, she has offended quite a few people this time, so I wish to take her out of the inner palace..."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor perked up, a gossipy glint in his eyes. "So, Minister Shen likes this type?! You should have said so earlier! I thought you didn't like girls. Anyway, we're going to have to clear out a lot of people from the palace. Why don't you take a look first and see what you think..."

"I still have to interrogate the criminals. I'll take my leave!" Without giving him a chance to continue gossiping, Jiang Chen turned and left.

The little white cat perched on his shoulder, covering its mouth and giggling, "Hehehe, I told you she was pretty good, right? She's definitely the type of cat that our host likes!"

Jiang Chen: (￣～￣;)

The pom-pom is really too frilly lately, look at you, so capable!

Heroes are drawn to beautiful women; it's only human nature...

In the following period, under the secret collaboration and swift and decisive measures of Jiang Chen and the Emperor, the task of purging and streamlining the palace was completed.

Many palace maids who thought they would die of old age in the palace with no hope of ever returning home were overjoyed to learn that they would be allowed to go home and would receive monetary compensation. They wiped away tears of joy.

Having experienced life in the deep palace, they had long lost their initial illusions.

How did a lowly palace maid rise to the top after being favored by His Majesty the Emperor?

That's simply wishful thinking!

Every four years, a beauty pageant is held to expand the harem with all kinds of beauties. There are dignified and graceful, beautiful and charming, well-educated and reasonable, and unruly beauties. Moreover, they are all girls pampered by officials. They have connections and taste, which makes them a thousand times better than ordinary palace maids. Even the emperor may not be able to favor them all, so how can a lowly palace maid have a chance?

It would be better to take advantage of the time before she gets old and loses her looks, get a sum of money, go home to live with her relatives, or get a job through training, so that she can marry a good husband and live a peaceful life in the future.

Before the New Year, the palace was cleaned up and reorganized, and even the money used at the end of the year was saved a lot.

Jiang Chen's interrogation has also ended. Starting with Consort Qi and Dong Ran, a complete network of hidden secrets was uncovered, involving the palace eunuchs and other officials.

Contrary to his previous speculation, Consort Qi confessed that she was sent by the Ninth Prince. She also mentioned that the network of informants she had planted long ago was not related to the Imperial City Guard, but belonged to a mysterious organization called the Dark Guard. These people had already laid an ambush before the current emperor of Southern Qi ascended the throne, and now they all obeyed the Ninth Prince's orders.

However, since the internal strife in Yong'an, the Ninth Prince has probably been too busy to attend to this matter and has gone into hiding.

Consort Qi was still young and not a spy trained from childhood, so she couldn't contain herself and made a fuss, urging Dongran to contact the outside world to inquire about her family. Huixiang overheard this. She quickly ran to the main road, and Dongran, unable to act directly, followed her to see if she would tell anyone else about it.

After confirming that Huixiang had not told anyone the truth, Dongran sneaked into the palace maids' bedroom in the middle of the night and kidnapped her. However, just then, the imperial guards were patrolling nearby. In a moment of panic, Dongran knocked the young palace maid Huixiang unconscious and threw her into the pool to create the illusion of drowning.

Unexpectedly, the martial arts practitioner went a bit too far, leaving a mark on the young girl Huixiang's neck due to her delicate skin. Fortunately, the head steward was also one of their men, which helped to quell the incident.

Man proposes, God disposes. When Yinxiu was beaten, she met the Regent Prince Jiuqiansui and told him everything without hesitation. Jiang Chen, after all, was not a modern person who treated his servants like dirt, so he questioned and investigated the case and found out the truth.

"Host, don't you feel like things are going more and more smoothly for us now?" The little white cat squatted on the table, eating snacks in big bites, and muttered, "Is it because I helped you get the protagonist's halo that it's working?"

Jiang Chen casually wiped the crumbs off its face and shook his head, saying, "This isn't my halo at work, but the power of the protagonist's halo."

"Meow meow meow? The protagonist is getting married right now, the script team has completely given up, what power does he have left to exert?"

Chapter Thirty: Betrayal and Arranged Marriage

"If I remember correctly, the original plot only described how Shangguan Xuanyu stirred up trouble with ease, and how the emperor was forcibly demoted and successfully alienated, but the script team did not explain in detail who obeyed the protagonist's orders and why, right?"

The fluffy dumpling nodded, looking bewildered. "Anyway, he's doing pretty well. It seems like he has informants planted everywhere beforehand..."

"In the original storyline, all the princes were on good terms with Shangguan Xuanyu. What if the network of secret agents originally belonging to the Ninth Prince, trained by the secret guards, was also handed over to Shangguan Xuanyu for command?"

Then Consort Qi would follow his arrangements and could use her influence to disrupt the court.

The fact that we uprooted them so easily shows that they are destined to be used by the protagonist; as for where they are used, that depends on Shangguan Xuanyu's own decision.

"I think I understand, but I also think I don't." The little white cat's big eyes darted around. "Host, please take good care of me. You can't rely on me for this kind of thing."

Jiang Chen smiled and continued with her work.

The lively New Year passed quickly. In order to avoid being discovered, Shangguan Xuanyu suppressed the urge to burn paper money and pray for his parents, and put on a cheerful and happy face every day to deceive those around him. Meanwhile, A-San was secretly uncovering the entire intelligence network set up by the Imperial City Guard.

After the Spring Festival, Princess Ning Le held her grand wedding, which was a lively affair for quite some time.

Then came the task of urging spring planting in various regions, which coincided with the floods in the eastern provinces that required opening granaries to distribute grain for disaster relief; and the northern provinces were plagued by bandits, requiring the dispatch of government troops to suppress them...

Jiang Chen had been busy for several months until the weather started to get slightly warmer, and only then did he manage to find time to consider how to urge Shangguan Xuanyu to return to the country and start a rebellion.

The young man was quite composed, and after the marriage, he dutifully played the role of a good husband, living a harmonious and loving life with his new wife. Shen Qingluan's wish to have such a good husband was fulfilled, and she slept happily with a sweet smile on her face.

The Imperial City Guard's intelligence network in Southern Qi has completely gone into hiding.

Apart from the intelligence network secretly monitoring Shangguan Xuanyu, everyone else began to work and live like ordinary people. Unless someone knew the inside story, they would never guess that they were actually spies from an enemy country.

Thus, under Jiang Chen's deliberate arrangement, it wasn't until this time that Huang Xiuqi, the head of the Imperial City Guard in Yong'an Kingdom, received the secret report of Shangguan Xuanyu's wedding.

"Master, Shangguan Xuanyu has already married the Regent's sister. It seems that although he is too busy to start a war in the country, he is still unaware of the situation and is racking his brains to infiltrate the enemy."

The man in black presented the intelligence, his tone tinged with admiration, "To be able to perfectly infiltrate under the Regent's nose and even marry his sister, Shangguan Xuanyu is truly a man of great talent!"

Huang Xiuqi now wields great power, employing numerous undercover agents to gather intelligence and secretly causing the Second Prince and the Prince of the Right to Advance into traps. Meanwhile, the Sixth Prince is being suppressed like a puppet by the Ninth Prince, who, relying on his maternal uncle Xia Shanhu, also aspires to enter the court and claim a share of power.

General Nanmu doesn't side with either side, and with his large army, he seems to be acting like a local tyrant.

Unfortunately, he lacked the military power to effectively control the southern army and could only endure it for the time being.

Upon hearing the latest news about Shangguan Xuanyu, he looked up from a pile of documents, took the scroll of paper, examined it carefully, and asked, "Did he receive the letter sent during the New Year? Did he show any unusual behavior?"

"The undercover report is that everything is normal. Shangguan Xuanyu was very happy after receiving the letter, and even told his subordinates that the encouragement in the letter from Lord Shangguan had moved him deeply. The Chief's plan is ingenious; how could Shangguan Xuanyu, who is still in the dark, have anything amiss?"

"He does have some ability, but he lacks polishing!" Huang Xiuqi sighed and shook his head. "It's a pity that it was all due to fate. If Shangguan Xuanyu hadn't left the capital, he could have been of great use to me in time. It's such a shame..."

He put down the scroll, closed his eyes, and pondered for a moment.

Sunlight streaming through the skylight cast dappled shadows of dust motes dancing in the air. Huang Xiuqi sat silently like a statue for a long time before finally opening his eyes. "Southern Qi is no longer our biggest enemy. The most troublesome are always our own people, so we must deal with the biggest problem first."

Since the Regent established his trading company, he has created so many novelties, practically amassing wealth from across the land. If one could get a share of the profits, it would mean countless riches to expand the imperial treasury, making the unification of Yong'an a matter of time!

For the sake of this great cause, we can only let Shangguan Xuanyu contribute his last bit of energy..."

The man in black robes was slightly taken aback. "What does the Master mean?"

“Sell Shangguan Xuanyu’s spy identity to them. His final fate depends on how they decide to handle this great gift.” Huang Xiuqi’s voice grew even lower. “Remember, I want three-tenths of the profits from the merchant guild’s branch in Yong’an!”

The spacious hall was silent for a few seconds before the man in black robes bowed and said, "Yes, I will obey your instructions, Master."