Chapter 148 Leaving the Capital (Part 32) A rabbit transformed into a woman. ...

The old woman's surname was Zhai, and she lived on Changfu Road in the north of the city, some distance from Emerald Garden. According to Phoenix, after finishing her cleaning and washing each day, she would eat at the mansion around 1-3 PM and then leave to go home. Yu Qi secretly calculated the time and figured that if he waited outside the Prince Consort's mansion for a while, he could see the old woman Zhai leave without having to go all the way to the north of the city.

So Yu Qi bid farewell to Chen Jia, and said, "Miss Phoenix has to go back to the mansion anyway, so why don't we hire a carriage and go together?"

Chen Jia thought that Yu Qi ultimately didn't trust Fenghuang and wanted to leave Emerald Garden to question her slowly. He wasn't worried about that; not a single word Fenghuang said was false, and she could withstand their questioning. He laughed and said, "Alright, there's no need to hire a car. I'll have someone prepare a carriage to take you there."

Jiuli rolled her eyes at him, "No need, your servants are probably recognized by the Prince Consort's mansion."

"Alright, I'll have someone hire another carriage from the street." He then called in a servant and gave him a few instructions, leaving Yu Qi and the others to wait inside the pavilion.

The three of them leisurely returned to their seats. Phoenix sat down next to Jiu Li, who poured her a cup of wine to quench her thirst. Jiu Li set down the jade pot and glanced up, only to be surprised to find Qing Que still sitting there, pouring a cup of wine and handing it to Chen Jia, who accepted it with a smile. They had been talking for quite some time, yet she hadn't shown the slightest curiosity, hadn't uttered a single word, and seemed to be completely silent, as if her presence was imperceptible.

She truly lived up to her reputation as a former dancer in the Crown Prince's residence; she must have been born without ears or a mouth, merely a decorative figurehead.

Before long, a servant hired a carriage, and the three of them left the garden and boarded the carriage. The journey was quiet, and Yu Qi and Jiu Li remained silent. Phoenix glanced at the two of them repeatedly and couldn't help but ask, "Don't you have any questions for me?"

Jiuli looked at Xiang Yuqi, and seeing that he simply ignored her and closed his eyes to rest, she could only smile at Phoenix, "I've asked everything I needed to ask, what else do you want to ask? Do you have anything else to say?"

"I think you all believe that I made up some lies to slander the princess in order to repay Master Chen. I swear to God that everything I said is true! I have no reason to lie and frame the princess and her husband. After all, the prince consort is someone I rely on, and slandering them will do me no good!"

“You have that handkerchief as evidence, and Granny Zhai as a witness. We’ll verify their authenticity later, and then your words will be believable.” Jiu Li smiled and leaned forward to shake her hand. “I heard that although you are the princess’s concubines, the princess never allows the princess to get close to you, is that right?”

Phoenix sighed and lowered her head, "She's a princess, so naturally what she says goes. Who would dare to disobey her?"

"I think the prince consort dares to defy her. If he wants to, the princess probably can't stop him."

"The prince consort felt that his career was ruined by the princess. This is what they call 'a forced marriage is never sweet.' The princess insisted on choosing him as her husband, but in the end, they did not have a harmonious marriage. Instead, he was resented by his husband. However, the prince consort is a devoted man. He doesn't like us. Even without the princess forcing him, he never gets close to us. He probably only has eyes for that Shuqiang."

As the carriage swayed slowly, it passed a large cosmetics shop. Phoenix suddenly stopped the carriage, saying she wanted to get out and buy some things. Jiuli watched her enter the cosmetics shop through the curtain, feeling bored. She lowered the curtain and looked at Yu Qi, who still had his eyes closed. She wondered if he had fallen asleep.

Jiuli raised her hand and waved it in front of his eyes a few times. His eyelashes fluttered, and he lifted his eyelids. "I'm not asleep."

"Why are you keeping your eyes closed and not talking if you're not sleeping?" She feigned sudden realization. "Oh, you're too lazy to look at us. We're nothing compared to that Qingque girl. Look at her slender waist and long legs. In this cold weather, aren't you afraid of getting knee pain?"

Yu Qi glanced at her sideways for a moment, then smiled, "Miss Qingque does indeed have a graceful figure and charming demeanor."

She snorted loudly, "Better than Aunt Guan?"

"It's not a style."

Jiuli glared at him, and seeing him close his eyes again, she couldn't help but reach out and pinch him hard! Yu Qi opened his eyes in pain, "You're getting bolder and bolder, daring to lay a hand on me?"

"Who told you not to speak human language!"

Just then, Phoenix returned, carrying a large brown paper package. When Jiuli asked what it was, Phoenix said it was a packet of honeysuckle powder. He opened it for Jiuli to see, saying, "I left the palace this morning to buy this for the princess. I took the opportunity to go to the Emerald Garden. This is for the princess to treat her tinea capitis. Every spring, the princess gets tinea capitis on her face, which seems to be caused by some kind of pollen in the spring."

Many people have this problem. Yu Qi took the packet of honeysuckle, rubbed a little on his fingertip, and sniffed it. It was indeed a high-quality powder. When tinea flares up, it can be mixed with high-quality honey and applied to the face to detoxify and relieve itching; many girls love to use it. However, spring is still quite a while away. Isn't it a bit risky to buy so much so early, risking it getting damp?

He wrapped the items up and handed them back to Phoenix. "The Imperial Medical Academy should have these things too. Why didn't the Princess get them there and had you buy them outside?"

"The princess said that there are too many women in the palace who rush to get their cosmetics from the Imperial Medical Bureau. She shouldn't go this year to avoid bothering them. Don't be fooled by the fact that this cosmetics shop is outside the capital; it's the best in the city. Many of the trendy rouges aren't even available in the palace, and all kinds of powders are of the highest quality."

Jiuli chimed in, "That's true. People who do business should go to great lengths to make money. In the palace, everything is done according to the rules and regulations. Whether or not there are rewards depends on each person's mood. It's not necessarily better than outside."

As they arrived at the Prince Consort's residence, Phoenix, fearing being seen, had the carriage stop far away on the side of the street. She lifted the curtain behind Jiu Li's shoulder and pointed to the alleyway diagonally opposite, saying, "Grandma Zhai will come out from the small side gate in the alley in a while. Just wait for her. She is short and plump, probably around fifty years old."

After saying this, he got out of the carriage. Yu Qi looked up at the sky and saw a hazy sun shining overhead. He thought it was probably noon, and there would still be an hour or so before the old woman finished eating and came out. He was afraid that Jiu Li would get cold sitting in the carriage for too long, so he might as well go to a nearby restaurant and have a pot of tea.

To everyone's surprise, Jiu Li said unhappily, "I don't want to go."

"Why?"

She remained silent, turning her face away. Yu Qi guessed that she was still upset about Qing Que's matter. He smiled and sat quietly as well. Jiu Li waited a while and then glanced at him sideways. Seeing that he was as steady as Mount Tai, she became even angrier.

After sitting for a while, the chill came in, and she couldn't sit still any longer. She muttered, "There's a big restaurant up ahead. Brother Zhang and I ate there yesterday. They have good tea."

Yu Qi smiled. "You're willing to go again?"

Jiuli was annoyed. He jumped out of the carriage, paid the driver, and walked forward in silence. When he entered the restaurant, he saw that it was full of guests. He asked the waiter for a private room on the second floor. The waiter led him up, but unexpectedly, he saw Zhang Da coming out of a small private room.

It turned out that Zhang Da and Xu Bai were having lunch here and were just about to go downstairs to relieve themselves when they happened to run into them. Zhang Da quickly said, "You two go in and sit down first, I'll be up in a bit."

As expected, Xu Bai was inside. When he saw the waiter bring the two of them in, he quickly got up and asked the remaining food to be cleared away and a pot of good tea to be served. He then invited the two of them to sit down. He noticed that Jiu Li had an unhappy expression on his face and secretly observed that Yu Qi was fine. He wondered who Jiu Li had offended, and guessed that he had had a big fight with Chen Jia at Emerald Garden.

When asked about Jiuli, he shook his head. "Without proof or evidence, who can reason with him? You don't know, do you? When the boat from Sanhe Post Station was taking Sister Guo back to Nanjing, Sister Guo fell into the water and drowned."

Xu Bai was surprised for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "No wonder I heard Lord Zou say that Lord Yan had submitted the case file to the capital, but the death of Du Zhong was still unclear. It turns out that the witness died. It can be seen that the Chen family has connections everywhere and is extremely arrogant. They even dared to frame the Prince."

The waiter brought over four bowls of hot tea and a pot of hot water, but Xu Bai dismissed him and poured water and made tea for the two of them himself. Yu Qi glanced at him and said, "Why be so agitated? Who in the whole city doesn't feel that the Prince has been wronged?"

Xu Bai put down the pot and smiled, "Yes, there are still many discerning people. But now, the case involves the princess, which makes things more difficult."

"Master Qi has various reasons for finding this difficult, but I don't see anything wrong with it; it's just a matter of official business. Did you find anything at the gold shop?"

Just then, Zhang Da pushed open the door and came in, saying, "Sure enough, there is the stub of the receipt for the ring that Feng'er mentioned." He then showed it to Yu Qi, "Please take a look, sir. It is a gold ring weighing three qian (approximately 6.5 grams), with the words 'Shu Qiang' engraved on the back of the ring face, and the date being the tenth day of the ninth month. Last time, when we checked Shu Qiang's list of belongings at the Ministry of Justice, this ring was on it."

Xu Bai tried to defend the princess and her husband, but after thinking it over, he couldn't find any reason to argue. The ring was made in September, and the person died at the end of October. The person who made the ring was a maid in the husband's mansion, and she said she was acting on the husband's orders. Who could deny that? Besides, he had heard that the husband had been ill ever since Shu Qiang died, and everyone believed that the two of them had an affair.

Moreover, Yu Qi pulled out a handkerchief and said, "Based on these two items alone, it's certain that the two are having an affair." He then told the two what Phoenix had said that morning, and then looked coldly at Xu Bai, "Even if the princess is the prince's own sister, we still have to investigate. For you, Second Master Qi, it's better than the prince carrying this burden, isn't it?"

Xu Bai was speechless and could only nod with a smile. Yu Qi then handed the handkerchief to Zhang Da and ordered him to find Zou Chang to obtain a needlework piece by Shu Qiang for comparison. Xu Bai was afraid that Zhang Da would have difficulty speaking in front of the two officials, so he went with him.

For a moment, only Yu Qi and Jiu Li remained in the private room. The waiter came to collect the extra teacups, and Jiu Li took the opportunity to order two plates of tea and snacks. As soon as the waiter left, she snorted. Yu Qi, however, stood by the window, opened it a crack, and looked towards the Prince Consort's residence without even turning her head. She was unwilling and snorted fiercely again.

This time, Yu Qi finally turned to look at her and laughed, "In your mind, I am a lecherous man who would definitely be blinded by that blue sparrow?"

Jiuli pouted and turned her face away from him, "Then why have you been peeking at her ever since you first saw her? Don't think I didn't see it!"

I have my reasons.

She got up and went to the window. "What's the reasoning?"

"I can't say right now."

Why can't I say?

He smiled faintly, "It's good to make you jealous, so you don't just keep making me angry."

"When did I ever hold a grudge against you?!"

"Your ambiguous relationship with Qi Xubai is just to spite me, isn't it?"

Just as Jiuli was about to retort, she turned her head and saw through the crack in the window that the Prince Consort's mansion was carrying out two large boxes. The boxes were tied with pale yellow satin, and there were two carrying poles with seasonal fruits on them. It looked like they were being sent to the temple. With the end of the year approaching, they were probably busy making offerings to Buddha.

Seeing the hotel waiter push open the door to serve tea and snacks, Yu Qi turned his head and said, "Look at the boxes and loads that the prince consort's mansion is carrying. They look like things for worshipping Buddha. They are indeed royalty. They send much more things to the temple than ordinary people."

The shop assistant leaned to peek through the crack in the window and laughed, "This is nothing. I don't know how many we've given away in the last two months."

"Send them all to the royal temple?"

"I heard that many efficacious temples send gifts, apparently to pray for the imperial concubines in the palace. It's not just them; any official family that tries to curry favor with the emperor will add incense oil and send gifts to pray for blessings."

Yu Qi lifted his robe and sat down. "Is it the Imperial Concubine's birthday?"

The waiter smiled and said, "I wouldn't know about this little one. Would you like another kettle of hot water?"

Jiuli saw three or four old women coming out of the alley across the street. One of them was the same as Fenghuang had described, short and plump in her fifties. Jiuli thought it was Granny Zhai. She quickly refused the waiter, exchanged a glance with Yuqi, and the two paid the bill and went downstairs.

They hurried down the alley to catch up with the old woman. Jiu Li called out "Mama Zhai" from behind, and the old woman turned around. Sure enough, it was her. The two immediately went up to her and said something. At first, Madam Zhai was reluctant to talk, but Jiu Li threatened her with the Emperor's decree. Only then did the old woman admit that she and Phoenix had indeed seen a gold dagger inlaid with various gemstones that day.

Jiuli, having ascertained the situation, was about to let the old woman go when Yu Qi stopped her again, saying, "Mama Zhai, I've heard that your household has been frequently sending things to temples lately. Do you know why?"

"It's to pray for the Imperial Concubine's well-being. It's not just our household that's sending them; all the families in the city who are related to the Imperial Concubine and are eager to curry favor with her are sending them. It's just that our household is sending more. Logically speaking, since the Imperial Concubine is the mother of the princess, her daughters should be more devoted than others."

"Is it for the Imperial Concubine's birthday?"

"Oh, Your Highness's birthday isn't today. It's two months ago. You dreamt that a rabbit transformed into a young and beautiful girl, holding a dagger and standing in front of your bed, trying to kill you. Your Highness was born in the Year of the Rat, which clashes with the Rabbit. Back when you were still a young lady at home, an old fortune teller predicted that you shouldn't eat rabbit meat, shouldn't raise rabbits, and that no one around you should be born in the Year of the Rabbit. But you had this dream anyway, and after waking up, you were sick for half a month. So for the past two months, all your relatives and friends have been praying to Buddha for you on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month."

Jiuli suddenly remembered the mother-of-pearl box that Guan Youjun had given him before, which was carved with a jade rabbit. This box had caused a series of murder cases. The former magistrate of Jiangning County, Wang Shanfeng, had committed the same crime. It seems that this really happened and that Wang Shanfeng was not making it up.

She tilted her head and asked the old woman, "Does the Imperial Concubine really believe in these things?"

"Eh! It's hard not to believe! When the Imperial Concubine was around ten years old, she was strolling in the garden at home when a rabbit suddenly darted out from somewhere, tripped her, and she fell into the pond, nearly drowning! Many people in the capital know about this!"

Jiuli pondered for a moment, realizing that she herself was born in the Year of the Rabbit. Consort Chen probably didn't even know that. Right now, she already disliked her because of her background. If she knew that Jiuli was also born in the Year of the Rabbit, she would probably want to tear her apart alive!

She stuck out her tongue, let the old woman go, and then came out of the alley with Yu Qi. She thought to herself, "You know, Consort Chen has seen a lot of the world, yet a dream made her sick. If she knew I was born in the Year of the Rabbit, she would hate me to death."

“Even if you weren’t born in the Year of the Rabbit, she still wouldn’t like it,” Yu Qi said dismissively, while pondering, “Logically speaking, the princess and the imperial concubine don’t get along, so why would she be praying for her?”

Jiuli muttered for a moment and said, "It's probably just for show."

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Author's note: Thank you for reading.