Investigation

Despite being prepared, Lin Xu remained silent for a long time after hearing what Zhi Yuan said.

Zhi Yuan was always a steady and reliable person. She had been investigating this matter for several months and had gathered considerable evidence. She then took a wrapped handkerchief from her bosom and handed it to Lin Xu. Lin Xu unfolded it and saw, inside the soft, clean handkerchief, a crescent-shaped, gleaming, and incredibly sharp piece of iron!

She held the small piece of iron in her hand; it was icy cold to the touch. Yet, images of flashing swords and shadows flashed through her mind, and her heart sank instantly.

"...The Zhou family is meticulous and heavily guarded. It took me a lot of effort to find out the tricks behind it. On the surface, the shops under the Zhou family's name send the best Yun brocade and Jiang silk to the palace as imperial tribute, but in reality, there is something else going on."

Lin Xu slowly clenched his fist.

She gasped. "It's a weapon."

Even though she had realized that the Zhou family's power was far beyond that of ordinary wealthy imperial merchants, she still found it hard to accept for a while.

Transporting weapons into the Forbidden City without authorization is a crime punishable by the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire clan!

Lin Xu closed her eyes, trying hard to recall all the things about the Zhou family and Zhou Weikan from her past life... She loved him so much in her past life, how could she have been so foolish as to never have discovered the Zhou family's underhanded dealings even once!

She looked down and examined the crescent-shaped piece of iron in her hand. It was bluish-black all over, only about the width of a thumb, and had black marks on its edges left by being heated, as if it were a fragment broken off from something.

When she was young, she was mischievous and stayed at her maternal grandparents' house for a while. She became close friends with her cousins ​​and dealt with knives, spears and ironware every day. Later, she learned archery from Liang Zhengyuan and became quite familiar with arrow making. However, she could tell at a glance that the iron piece must have been made with high quality and looked like a fragment that had fallen from some complex mechanism.

In his previous life, Zhou Weikan was the most outstanding grandson of the Zhou family, much loved by the old lady of the Zhou family. He surpassed his second uncle at a young age to become the new head of the Zhou family. He controlled almost all of the Zhou family's silk shops and embroidery workshops, which was something that others could only envy and was enough to support the wealth of several generations to come.

Even though he was always busy with affairs, he never showed the slightest sign of anxiety. He always handled everything calmly and efficiently, becoming the highly praised Master Zhou.

At that time, Lin Xu was very playful and had the worst reputation. People always disliked her. Even her usually good-tempered father lost all hope in her after repeated disappointments.

Only Zhou Weikan, and only Zhou Weikan, always let her be herself.

After she broke a lavish set of official porcelain gifts presented by a guest, her father, in a fit of anger, punished her by confining her to her quarters. She secretly climbed a large tree in the Lin family's back garden and slipped out to find him. He was waiting outside the wall, looking up at her. If it were anyone else, they would have already shouted that she was impolite, but he, with a rather anxious expression, opened his arms wide, simply worried about her safety. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to catch her.

She couldn't learn or care about the worldly etiquette that so-called young ladies were supposed to be proficient in, and he never cared either. It was as if he was only satisfied with her being happy and doing her own thing every day, and he felt extremely content when he saw her innocent and carefree appearance.

At that time, the noble ladies of Mujing were all scrambling to catch a glimpse of Zhou Weikan's face. Wherever he went to inspect a shop or alley, noble ladies would often swarm into a corner just to get closer to him.

He was always as elegant as a gentle breeze, without a trace of worldly shrewdness or commercial air about him; in fact, even the fluttering hem of his clothes was imbued with a faint fragrance.

So noble, so pure and radiant… Not only those noble ladies who were jealous of him at the time, but even Lin Xu himself felt countless times that she was not good enough for him.

Everyone says Zhou Weikan is refined and noble, but his eyesight is lacking.

After being humiliated and unable to defend herself, Lin Xuyi threw herself into his arms, crying and asking him if she was really that bad.

She still remembered Zhou Weikan's gentle voice coming from the top of her head, "...Xu'er, why care about other people's opinions? You just need to be carefree and be yourself. No matter what, I only love you. No matter what happens, I will protect you and guard you... Don't be afraid."

He told her not to be afraid. And she truly felt relieved.

Yet this elegant and refined young nobleman was secretly plotting something that was completely unbeknownst to him.

After Old Madam Zhou grew old, Zhou Weikan, as the sole head of the large family, could not possibly be unaware that these batches of imperial tribute scholars, known as silk weavers, sent to the palace held hidden motives. After all, the slightest misstep could result in the tragic loss of the Zhou family's accumulated wealth over generations, as well as the lives of the entire clan.

But he still did it. Why?

It turns out that she not only harmed him in her past life, but also never truly saw him for who he was.

When Lin Xu opened his eyes again, he felt an unbearable soreness in his throat.

"...But once you've found out where these things were sent to in the palace?"

Although she had secretly suspected that Zhou Weikan had powerful connections, her background was certainly not low-level, she still found it difficult to actually ask the question.

Zhiyuan nodded slowly with a solemn expression.

Mujing North Street was already one of the most bustling areas in the city, with a constant flow of traffic. Yuancao Residence also frequently interacted with post stations and horsemen pulling carts, making it even more convenient for people to get information.

Zhiyuan knew the matter was serious and dared not make it public. She bribed an old nanny from the Zhou family who had just retired. After several investigations, she learned that the goods, which were tainted with foreign substances, had been in the palace for several months. They entered through Changlin Gate, went to the Imperial Household Department first, then passed through palaces such as Xingqing Palace from west to east, and were finally delivered to the Forbidden City by eunuchs.

However, the Zhou family was already a renowned imperial merchant family, so the Imperial Household Department naturally wouldn't scrutinize them closely. Thus, the first place this batch of goods passed through was the most likely place where tampering could be carried out without anyone noticing...

Seeing the doubt in her eyes gradually fade away, leaving only surprise, Zhiyuan nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, this is the current Crown Prince's Palace."

This matter was of utmost importance, and everyone's expression changed instantly.

After calming herself down, Lin Xu quickly instructed everyone serving in the palace to keep quiet. Fortunately, they were all close to her and knew their place, so they all quietly withdrew.

…………

Even so, once she learned of such horrifying events, she slept very restlessly at night.

Dou Yanxun has recently joined the Censorate and is extremely busy during the day, running around handling various matters and reports, returning home very late at night.

He thought it was because he hadn't spent enough time with her and she was feeling unwell, so even in her sleep, he reached out his forearm and gently pulled her into his arms. Afraid of pressing on her, even in his sleep, his whole body was curled to one side, very stiff and uncomfortable.

He thought she was feeling unwell, so he gently soothed her still-flat stomach. Suddenly, he heard a soft murmur from the person in front of him in the darkness:

"How could this be... how could this be..."

Dou Yanxun was always a light sleeper, and she was always the one who fell asleep first between them. When they first married, Lin Xu used to talk in her sleep quite often, but that hadn't happened in a long time. He tenderly stroked her hair, which was damp with cold sweat, sighed softly, and held her even tighter in his arms.

But then Lin Xu whispered again:

“Zhou Weikan… how could you…”

His outstretched hand suddenly froze in mid-air.

Lin Xu was clearly still asleep, but her sleep was restless. Her fingertips gently gripped the corner of the blanket, and her voice was extremely low. Her usually cold and lonely voice had become softer and sweeter, and her murmurs were full of regret and resentment.

He paused for a moment, then suddenly felt annoyed that he had to wake up of all times. And then he heard her whispers in her sleep. A strange feeling suddenly welled up inside him, pressing down on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

Why did he have to hear it? And why at this particular time?

His eyes were dark, his head bowed, silently gazing at her profile. Her sleeping face was as serene as ever, yet in her dream she worried about the man beside her. His right hand, wrapped around her waist, tightened slightly, a vein bulging on his arm, radiating a chilling aura.

.

Morning light streamed through the carved windows into the palace, and through the bed curtains, one could vaguely see a flock of sparrows startled into flight outside.

Lin Xu had nightmares all night and woke up at the end of Chen Shi (7-9 AM). She could faintly hear the sound of maids sweeping in the courtyard. She felt weak all over and sat up, only to see that Dou Yanxun's cloak was still hanging on the shelf by the bed.

That cloak was something I had painstakingly made over several months in Laining, and I had carefully scented it with incense, making it the warmest thing I could do. Ever since I gave it to him before they left, he has always worn it whenever he goes out.

But looking around, the bedside was empty, and there was no trace of him in the hall. Nongyu was on duty today and had been waiting behind the screen. Hearing her wake up, she hurriedly went to help her change her clothes and put on her shoes.

"Where is my husband? Did he not go out today?"

"The Second Master got up at the end of the day. He said he was going to the Censorate to pay his respects to the officials today. He was in a hurry and did not dare to disturb your rest, Madam."

Nongyu lowered her head and answered respectfully.

Lin Xu lowered his head and put on his coat, his fingertips tracing a small hidden button on the cuff, remaining silent for a long time.

Nongyu then said, "Would Madam like to have breakfast? This morning, Granny Qin was stewing a nourishing soup in the small kitchen. I will go and serve the meal now."

Since becoming pregnant, Madam Bai naturally exempted her from the morning and evening greetings. In addition, after returning from Laining, she had been traveling long distances and needed to rest for several days to recover. Granny Qin seemed to be even more concerned about the baby in her womb than she was, and since becoming pregnant, she had not stopped preparing nourishing soups and medicinal meals for her every day.

In her spare time, Granny Qin would sigh with emotion, always thinking that Lin Xu was already so good-looking, and she wondered how beautiful the child would be after birth.

Lin Xu knew that Granny Qin had watched her grow up and had served Liang Shuangyu closely in the past, so their relationship was naturally quite special. She stopped practicing calligraphy with her rabbit-hair brush, wiped the ink from the tip of the brush on the inkstone, and then turned away.

"Granny, you've always taken care of Mother. Do you know what kind of person Mother really is?"

More than a decade has passed, and those once vivid memories have gradually become blurred. Even her mother's features have become indistinct. Sometimes she is even more afraid, afraid that she will forget all those memories, forget the kindness her mother showed her, and even more afraid that she will forget how her mother met such a tragic end...

The image of Minister Wen's wife weeping bitterly that day still lingered in her mind. At that time, Lin Xu was filled with shock and panic, feeling as if she had fallen into the deepest ice, feeling terrified and powerless, and filled with regret for having mistaken an enemy for a friend.

Now that she has calmed down, she has no choice but to pull herself together and find more evidence. She has long been determined to find out the truth about how the Empress persecuted and killed her mother back then!

"The lady always doted on the young lady the most. On the day she passed away, she carefully washed and combed the young lady's hair, and even styled it into two buns, with the cherry hair ornament that the young lady loved most at that time pinned in her hair..."

Even after all these years, whenever Liang Shuangyu is mentioned, Granny Qin is always deeply moved. A faint red tinge appears in her aged eyes; she can no longer speak, her voice choked with emotion:

"Madam was such a good person, always gentle and considerate to us servants. Her passing was so sudden, no wonder Miss and Master have been unable to get over it all these years... Even this old servant is heartbroken..."

A shadow fell beneath Lin Xu's eyelashes, trembling slightly as she spoke:

"Does the old woman still remember why Mother went to the palace that day? I was too young to remember many things."