Chapter 491 Murong Xu's Sweet Goodbye

When the queen heard that it was the second prince again, she immediately became anxious, "Where did Xiao Muzi work before?"

"Yes, it's the imperial kitchen." Eunuch Zhou sighed, feeling grieved in his heart. He was quite devastated when he found out the news. He was afraid that the emperor and empress would be angry and chop off his old bones.

"Do the Imperial Kitchen and the Laundry Department have any interactions on a daily basis?" the emperor asked in a resounding voice.

Eunuch Zhou knelt down with a plop. "Your Majesty, if we talk about exchanges, the only exchanges are the meals of the palace maids and eunuchs, but...but I asked, and the meals of each department are taken by their own people from the small kitchen next to the imperial kitchen. Chuntao, as the manager, is not in charge of these, and Xiaomuzi is a eunuch in the imperial kitchen who is responsible for handling miscellaneous matters, and has nothing to do with the laundry department."

The queen did not give up and continued to ask, "What about before that? Are Chuntao and Xiaomuzi related or old friends?"

Eunuch Zhou shook his head regretfully, "I guessed the same thing before. The Ministry of Justice has investigated all the details of the two. Chuntao has been serving Concubine Li since she was a child. She has no relatives or friends. Moreover, Chuntao is from the south, and Xiaomuzi is from the north. They are completely unrelated."

The emperor laughed in anger, "Two unrelated people, gender, age, errands, nothing related, actually have frequent exchanges. It seems that there are many dirty things in this palace that I don't know!"

Eunuch Zhou replied fearfully, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice has already sent people to the laundry department to arrest Chun Tao. I'm sure they'll soon find out the connection between them."

"The Minister of Justice has arrived!"

Everyone looked outside the hall, only to see the Minister of Justice appear alone.

The emperor was instantly furious, "Where is Chuntao?"

The assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, when we investigated the laundry department, we found out that Chuntao was already terminally ill. She was unconscious and just hanging on for a breath."

"Waste." The emperor was on the verge of a rage.

The assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice said hurriedly, "But I have arrested all the confidants around Chuntao and interrogated them. I learned that Chuntao had sneaked out to meet people several times recently, and the time all matched. Xiao Muzi also found 20 taels of silver. It is very likely that Chuntao bribed Xiao Muzi to poison the golden silk cake, and the target was Shen Congrong. Miss Zhao accidentally became Shen Congrong's scapegoat."

"Your Majesty." The Queen was about to cry. Even though the truth was before her eyes, she still couldn't accept it. "Could this really be related to the Second Prince?"

The emperor stretched out his hand to stop the queen from speculating, and with a stern face asked everyone to leave, secretly making a plan in his mind.

In a blink of an eye, it was the New Year’s Eve palace banquet.

Early in the morning, Murong Chen and Shen Tian got up, washed and made arrangements.

Chen Tian looked at the two children who were suddenly dressed up in a new way, and the smile on her face never faded. "My dear little darlings, why are you so cute? When you meet your great-grandmother, grandfather, and grandmother, you have to call them, okay?"

Murong Chen got a large exquisite red shoulder bag for the two children from somewhere, and put it on the two children, persuading them, "Say nice things to people when you meet them, and put the good things in your pockets when you get them, understand?"

The three-year-old Murong You nodded like a little chicken pecking at rice, and said in a baby voice: "I want to receive many, many gifts! Fill this pocket full."

Chen Tian, ​​who was drawing her eyebrows, looked back and laughed, "Oh! This cloth bag is not small! You will be busy tonight!"

The little guy was in high spirits, and Shen Tian did not discourage his enthusiasm.

After she finished cleaning up, she stood up and straightened Murong Chen's collar. The two of them were wearing clothes of the same color today, and they looked like a perfect match standing together.

Murong Chen looked down at the little woman in front of him with joy, his heart filled with warmth, "Tiantian, having you by my side in this life is enough."

Shen Tian paused, her cheeks flushed, "Why are you suddenly talking about this so early in the morning!"

Murong Chen put his arms around her and sighed, "I don't know why, but I always feel uneasy."

Shen Tian's smile froze, "Is it because of the matter at Jinlan Courtyard? Isn't there still no news?"

There was no Jinlan Courtyard incident in her previous life. She had no idea how things would develop. After hearing what Murong Chen said, she felt a little uneasy.

Murong Chen held her in his arms. "Although there are many people who are scheming in the court, there are also many who can get things done, especially the Ministry of Justice. Those people are not here to collect salaries and eat idle meals. It has been so long, things should have made some progress. The quieter it is, the more wrong it is."

Chen Tian agreed with this, and the couple hugged each other tightly in silence.

After entering the palace.

The two originally wanted to go directly to pay their respects to the Queen, but the Queen was busy dealing with the palace banquet today and had no time to spare, so they had to take the children to the Queen Mother.

As soon as the family of four entered the palace, they found that Princess Huai'an, several princes and princesses, and Princess Qingfeng had all arrived.

Murong Chen hurriedly took his wife and children to greet everyone.

The Queen Mother's attention was completely attracted by the two great-grandchildren. She waved impatiently, "Come, come, come! Great-grandmother's babies! I haven't seen them for several days!"

Chen Tian and the wet nurse hurried forward carrying the child.

"Grandmother, they are here well prepared today, so you have to hold on to your money bag."

Shen Tian meant something.

The Queen Mother's eyes fell on the two big red cloth bags and she smiled with wrinkles on her face, "Did you put them on?"

"How could that be! It was His Highness who prepared it for them in advance." Chen Tian betrayed Murong Chen without any hesitation.

The Queen Mother pointed at Murong Chen and laughed, "You mischievous fellow! What's the matter? Isn't what the Royal Grandmother gave you enough? You let these two come to beg for it? You really have a lot of ability!"

Having said that, the Queen Mother still asked Nanny Gui to fetch the box that had been prepared in advance, and grabbed a handful of golden beans from it and put them into the two children's small cloth bags, wishing she could fill them up.

Chen Tian hurriedly stopped her, "Grandmother, they will be happy if you give them one or two, but you can't really take out your bottom line. It just so happens that I got some small things to make up for it."

The maid immediately brought a small box.

Chen Tian opened it in front of everyone, revealing the plump, colorful pearls inside.

"Oh! These are all good things! Why don't you keep them for yourself? You can make yourself some beautiful jewelry! I think your hair is still too plain!" The Queen Mother glanced at Shen Tian's head, and very naturally took out the ruby ​​and gold hairpin from her own head and inserted it into Shen Tian's hair.

Seeing how natural the two were, most people took it for granted, except the Second Prince Murong Xu, who was filled with surprise and jealousy.

He hadn't had the chance to see Chen Tian since he returned to the imperial capital, and this was the first time they had met again in many years.

Chen Tian was still as quiet, elegant and beautiful as he remembered, but the difference was that she had lost the immaturity of a girl and gained the grace of a young woman, with charm in every move.

A deep feeling of unwillingness suddenly came over me.

The Queen Mother noticed Murong Xu's abnormality with her sharp eyes, and the smile on her face gradually disappeared. She patted Chen Tian's arm, and then looked at Zhao Wanyi.