Chapter 261 The Empress Wants to Kill Someone to Silence Her!

Li Qingluo: ?

She looked at Nan Jia but hadn't asked anything yet. Nan Jia hurriedly waved his hand and explained, "Luo'er, don't misunderstand. That's Pan Li, not me."

"Moreover, I questioned the maid carefully, and she said that Pan Li admires His Highness Prince Su because of his fierce and intimidating reputation. She said that she is naturally drawn to powerful people like His Highness Prince Su, who is someone that no one dares to offend but is not afraid to offend anyone."

"The maid also said that she dreams of marrying into the Prince Su's mansion, but unfortunately, His Highness Prince Su has never had the idea of ​​taking a concubine, so Pan Li is already eighteen years old and there is still no news of her being engaged. It is because Pan Li's parents and brothers dote on her and cannot go against her wishes that they have not forced her to get married."

Upon hearing that Pan Li possessed such a secret, Li Qingluo immediately thought, "Could it be... that Pan Li was killed by Princess Qinyu because of His Highness Prince Su?"

Nan Jia: "There have indeed been rumors in Jinling City that His Highness Prince Su is still unmarried at his age because he is waiting for Princess Qinyu."

Li Qingluo: "If Princess Qinyu and Prince Su are truly in love, why haven't they gotten married yet? One is a princess of two countries, and the other is a prince of Daliang. Their backgrounds are well-matched and they are a good match. Why do they have to wait for each other?"

Nan Jia sighed upon hearing this: "It seems you really don't know. Princess Qinyu's marriage is not something the Emperor of Liang can decide. After all, she is a citizen of Chu, so her marriage was promised to the third prince of the Western Regions by the Emperor of Chu long ago."

"However, because the third prince is still young, I heard he just turned fourteen this year, Qinyu will not marry into the Western Regions royal court until the end of this year."

Li Qingluo was greatly surprised.

With Qin Yu's status, her marriage was not her own choice, and she was forced to marry into the Western Regions.

The Emperor and Empress of Liang both doted on her, but they could only watch helplessly as she did it... and they tacitly approved of the marriage.

"Then what is the point of His Highness Prince Su waiting like this?"

Seeing that she was actually considering the two of them, Nan Jia couldn't help but sigh: "You don't mean you don't understand what I'm saying, do you? I told you not to misunderstand, but you really didn't misunderstand at all..."

Li Qingluo: "What did you say?"

She genuinely didn't hear clearly.

Nan Jia: "What I mean is, I don't think His Highness Prince Su is necessarily waiting for Princess Qinyu as the rumors suggest. Perhaps the rumors are just a misunderstanding."

"I think what His Highness Prince Su is truly waiting for is... the person he truly wants to be with?"

Li Qingluo: "The laws of the Great Liang are truly unfair. Why are women forced into marriage when they turn twenty? Prince Su is already twenty-two, yet His Majesty the Emperor has not yet arranged a marriage for him."

"This father is so biased."

Nan Jia lunged forward and covered Li Qingluo's mouth: "Do you want to die? Even at home, you can't speak so disrespectfully about His Majesty the Emperor!"

Li Qingluo: "Alright, alright, I know I was wrong. This isn't my place, and you're the only one here right now, aren't you? Quick, tell me about Princess Qinyu again."

"Then wouldn't she be a few years older than her future husband?"

Nan Jia: "She's a little over four years old, almost five."

"Let's stop talking about her. Do you want to know about Li Qingzhu?"

Li Qingluo: "What happened to her?"

Nan Jia smiled and was about to explain things in detail to Li Qingluo when Que'er shouted in the courtyard, "Miss, a letter came from the restaurant saying that there is an urgent matter and that you should go there immediately."

Li Qingluo looked at Nan Jia with regret: "Then I can only make an appointment with you another day."

Only after parting ways with Nan Jia did Li Qingluo remember Qingyangzi.

Forget it, even if Nan Jia isn't really dead now, he deserves his fate for betraying Nan Jia.

Moreover, given His Highness Prince Su's personality, what he saw that day was not all true.

Zhenxiu Restaurant.

Li Qingluo guessed that it was Yang Qinwu who had come to see her.

Sure enough, he had already investigated about 70-80% of what happened outside Zhaohua Palace on the fifth night, and he had no clue what to do next, so he came to see Li Qingluo with some things she wanted to know.

He couldn't openly go to General Xiuli's mansion, so he could only arrange to meet at the Zhenxiu Restaurant.

As soon as Li Qingluo sat down, Yang Qinwu handed her a jade pendant.

"I heard that the noble ladies had a dispute by the lake outside Zhaohua Palace that night because of this jade pendant."

Li Qingluo: "Just because of a jade pendant?"

Li Qingluo took the jade pendant and examined it carefully.

This jade pendant is clearly priceless; its color, temperature, and weight are all exceptional.

Although she didn't know how to appraise the jade, she was now a worldly person and knew that this jade was definitely an extremely valuable item.

"Where did you find this jade pendant?"

Yang Qinwu: "Didn't I tell you last time that most of the palace maids and eunuchs who were on duty outside Zhaohua Palace that night have disappeared without a trace, and we don't know if they are alive or dead?"

"Although several corpses of unknown cause of death were later found in some corners of the palace, they were not actually all the palace staff who went missing that night."

"I know that this matter involves the secrets of the palace, and if I am not careful, even I, a captain of the Imperial Guard, could lose my life. But since you have entrusted me with this task, I will investigate carefully as soon as I return to the palace."

"Finally... I traced it back to Her Majesty the Empress."

Li Qinglu's brow twitched violently.

Then it dawned on her: "The Empress intends to silence us!"

"What happened between Qinyu and Panli that night must have been something the Empress didn't want the world to know, which is why she did it!"

"Qinyu was punished by being sent to a secluded palace outside the main palace to reflect on her mistakes. She almost killed the daughter of a minister, who was also the niece of the Grand Prince Consort. Such a punishment is very lenient, but the Emperor seems to have tacitly approved of it."

"The Pei family... the Emperor, the Empress... they all share one connection..."

Yang Qinwu didn't quite understand.

How did they get involved with the Pei family again?

It's not surprising that he didn't know the Pei family was part of the deposed crown prince's faction, given that the Pei family always acted in a very secretive manner.

Li Qingluo: "How did you get this jade pendant? And how are you so sure that the Empress wanted to kill you to silence you? Could it be that Princess Qinyu planted someone in the palace to do this?"

Nan Jia was kidnapped by the Pei family along with Li Qingluo this time. Li Qingluo heard what the two people who were killed by the butterfly in the dungeon said that a noble person had given this order to the Pei family.

Who is this benefactor? Who is it that wants to take Pan Li's life?

It is obvious that this matter is also inextricably linked to it.

Yang Qinwu: "I mentioned to you last time that one of my close colleagues happened to be on duty outside Zhaohua Hall that night. He was the one who found this jade pendant."

“Our Imperial Guard is under His Majesty’s direct command and usually only obeys His Majesty’s orders, so we are unlikely to get into trouble. But seeing those palace servants disappearing or dying one after another, he may have sensed something and has been uneasy for quite some time.”

“I took this matter to heart, so I kept an eye on him day and night, and that’s when I noticed his unusual behavior.”

"Just a few days ago, he was led into a palace of a concubine without his knowledge. Strangely, there was no one on duty inside or outside the palace that day."

"If I hadn't followed him and caught him by chance, he might have followed that strange fragrance and broken into the Empress's bedchamber."

“That concubine is not usually favored. I went back and inquired and found out that she was taking a bath at the time. So if my colleague had really barged in, I'm afraid he and the concubine would both have met their demise.”

In order to kill a royal guard and incidentally eliminate a concubine.

That's way too much money!

Perhaps it's killing two birds with one stone?

"When we returned to the dormitory, we found that his belongings had been searched."

"My colleague then realized the danger and took out the jade pendant."

"He said he found the jade pendant in a patch of grass by the lake, which happened to be near where Miss Pan fell into the water that night."

"Just then, we found a senior palace maid who had passed by the lake that night, but was not on duty. She was a servant of Consort Xian, and perhaps that's why she escaped this ordeal."

“She was from the same hometown as my colleague. Knowing that we were secretly looking for clues about that night, she took the initiative to find the two of us and said that she had passed by the lake in the distance that night and she vaguely heard those noble ladies arguing about a jade pendant.”

"She turned her head and saw that Miss Pan was holding a small white thing."

"But she doesn't know anything more."

Li Qingluo picked up the jade pendant, and wasn't this the little white thing?

Yang Qinwu: "As for finding out that it was the Empress who did it, that's not difficult for us Imperial Guards. With a little attention, we can investigate who those missing palace servants had contact with before they disappeared or what happened to them."

"There aren't that many coincidences in this world, that they all just happen to be related to Fengqi Palace, are they?"

Li Qingluo had to admit that Yang Qinwu was indeed quite capable.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to cut off Li Kechuan's leg so cleanly and escape unscathed.

Li Qingluo then looked at Yang Qinwu: "Do you know whose jade pendant this is?"

Yang Qinwu shook his head: "This is what I haven't found out yet. Actually... it's not that it's impossible, but if I investigate further, I'm afraid my life will be in danger."

Li Qingluo didn't make things difficult for him and let him leave.

"Go, have Meishuang treat him to a hot pot meal, serve him the best food and wine, and don't charge him."

After instructing Que'er, Li Qingluo examined the jade pendant herself.

Could this thing belong to Princess Qinyu?

Perhaps His Highness Prince Su would know!

Once the thought popped into Li Qingluo's mind, she couldn't stop it.

Those shoes should be returned to him.

And, I don't know what's become of him now...

Li Qingluo stuffed the jade pendant into his bosom and had someone call Wu Quan over.

"Could you deliver a letter to Guiyuan for me?"

On the way home, Granny Zheng jumped onto the carriage and said, "Miss, you asked me to investigate Liu Qingzhu's matter, and I have found out."

Li Qingluo was taking a nap, but she immediately opened her eyes upon hearing the news.

Nan Jia was originally going to tell her, but Li Qingluo suddenly had to go out, so before leaving, she asked Zheng Mama to quickly find out what was going on.

I didn't expect to get a reply so quickly.

Granny Zheng said excitedly, "Miss, Liu Qingzhu has been expelled from Prince Yun's residence!"