Is That Even Possible

However, she knew exactly who Colin Gu was thinking about, so she put on her best virtuous act and warmly welcomed Grace over.

Then, everyone in the room, each harboring their own secrets, pretended to be all smiles and joy, chatting away with a bunch of insincere nonsense.

Just as Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu was about to suggest they leave, the imperial guard sent by Colin Gu arrived.

"...Your Majesty, we've searched the entire palace and even his private residence, but there's no sign of Gavin Gao. The eunuchs say they haven't seen him for more than twenty days. The servants at his home say he hasn't been back at all during this time. I'm afraid... things aren't looking good for him."

"Is that so?" Colin Gu frowned, then looked at Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu. "Aunt, you just mentioned that a young eunuch was always delivering food to you? Do you know who he was?"

"Well... One of Grace's windows was right next to the barrier, so he always brought the food there. We never actually saw him," Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu said, turning to Grace.

Grace replied, "Your Majesty, I never saw his face either. He always kept it covered, like he was afraid of being recognized, and he never spoke a word."

That was all she could say.

It was obvious Colin Gu wanted to find that young eunuch to ask about Gavin Gao's whereabouts.

If she claimed to have seen his face, what if Colin Gu asked her to draw it and go look for the guy?

"Your Majesty." At that moment, Wendy Zhu suddenly knelt before Colin Gu.

"What's wrong?" Colin Gu looked at her suspiciously.

"Actually, that little eunuch who was delivering food... was Sammy Xing." Wendy Zhu said with an awkward look.

Sammy Xing was Wendy Zhu's most trusted palace eunuch.

"Sammy Xing?" Colin Gu looked at her, puzzled.

Grace also stared at her with wide eyes.

No way, right?

Seriously?

"Here's what happened," Wendy Zhu said. "I was worried that Grandmother and Mother weren't comfortable, so I sent someone outside the barrier every day to secretly check on them. Then I realized that no one was delivering food to them."

"Then why not just send it openly? Why sneak around?" Colin Gu asked.

Wendy Zhu put on her most innocent face, looking absolutely pitiful: "If Your Majesty pardons me, then I'll dare to speak."

"Go ahead! No matter what you say, I won't blame you," Colin Gu replied.

"Your Majesty sent Gavin Gao to look after my family, but I didn't know what you meant by that," Wendy Zhu said. "I was worried that not delivering food to them... was your intention. So I didn't dare to send food openly. I only had Sammy Xing sneak some food over."

"Then why did you send them wild vegetables?" Colin Gu asked.

Wild vegetables?

Wendy Zhu rolled her eyes and said, "I was afraid someone might find out, so I told Sammy Xing not to bring palace food. He was stuck in the palace and couldn't do much, so... wild vegetables were all we could manage."

Colin Gu's expression softened at this, and he stood up to help Wendy Zhu to her feet. "Empress, they're your family. Why would I treat them that way? You're overthinking it."

"I was just being silly," Wendy Zhu replied, her shy look making Grace want to kick her.

"Your Majesty, the eunuch who brought me food—I couldn't see his face clearly, but he was a big, chubby guy," Grace said. "Sammy Xing is skinny as a stick. There's no way it was him!"

"Sammy Xing is my palace eunuch. He couldn't get near the Spirit Tree, so he had someone else pass the food in for him," Wendy Zhu explained cleverly.

Grace: "..."

She was left speechless.