Chapter 85
Putting aside whether the location designated by Shaoyao was correct, the mere fact that there was an erotic picture in the Palace Master's study was enough to cause a stir.
But... this could also be some kind of interest between the two of them?
Others once suspected that they had taken the wrong box, but Xu Weiyi insisted that he definitely did not take the wrong box, and he almost swore to heaven.
So the four people reappeared in front of Shaoyao with a lot of question marks on their heads and explained the situation, but Shaoyao remained very calm.
"Don't make a fuss. This is just a necessary disguise. Sometimes it's disguised as a recipe or something."
Shaoyao flipped through the erotic picture in her hand and explained, "This is intelligence gathered by spies from the Paradise Palace. It records major events in the martial arts world, compiles them into a booklet regularly, and reports them on time."
Shen Fengni: ...
She actually felt that disguising it as pornography was unnecessary, given the vast number of better options. However, she was more concerned with something else: "How can I see the true content?"
Shaoyao said, "It's very simple. Roast it over fire."
So everyone followed Shaoyao back to the room. Under the flickering candlelight, the words on the thin pages changed, revealing the contents hidden underneath.
"I'll look for it... I found it, it's right here."
Shaoyao flipped through the book in her hands quickly, pausing on a certain page. "I knew something this big would be recorded."
Several people hurried over to take a look, and saw several lines of shocking words.
On the 11th day of the sixth month in the tenth year of Chengyuan, the entire Liu family in Huaixi was wiped out, and no one, including women, children, and the elderly, survived.
Only the eldest daughter Liu Ruoxing escaped the disaster because she was in the Paradise Palace.
…
Although it was a sunny day outside, everyone felt a chill down their spines.
Sheng Xinyan's eyes almost popped out. "The Liu family was wiped out? My husband... my wife's family?"
"That's right." Shaoyao nodded. "The intelligence from the Paradise Palace is rarely wrong, let alone something this big."
Shen Fengni looked at those lines of text and suddenly felt something was wrong.
They had clearly asked Si Li before whether anything had happened recently that had irritated Liu Ruoxing.
At the time, Si Li said confidently that there was no such thing, so they believed him. But the fact that his family was wiped out was a big deal no matter what.
And... Shen Fengni's eyes fell on the time at the beginning. If she remembered correctly, the Liu family was wiped out a few days before Liu Ruoxing lost her memory, so the timeline matched.
So why did Si Li remain silent about this matter? If Liu Ruoxing was really upset by the family incident, then this is where she should start to untie the knot in her heart, right?
"Now you believe me, right? The love between husband and wife is all fake!"
The contents of the paper had turned back into a pornographic picture, and Shaoyao put it back into the box. "Madam has been forced into this state today, it's all the Palace Master's fault!"
Jiang Zhuoyan said calmly, "Can you tell me from the beginning what exactly happened?"
Shaoyao was silent for a moment, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay."
With evidence to support it, the story of Peony was finally pieced together.
Liu Ruoxing married into Jile Palace because Si Li threatened her with the lives of Liu's family members. She had no choice.
It is said that the lady cried all the way on the wedding day, which attracted many people's sympathy.
But after marriage, Si Li treated Liu Ruoxing very well, and with the threat from her family, Liu Ruoxing no longer resisted and lived her life honestly.
In her free time, Liu Ruoxing would help Si Li with some of the trivial matters in the palace. She was smart and kind, and handled everything very well, and gradually she was assigned some important tasks.
In this way, Liu Ruoxing's prestige in the Paradise Palace became higher and higher, and in the later period, he was able to stand on his own.
But even with the love of everyone and the affection of her partner, Liu Ruoxing still longed for freedom and to be reunited with her family. So some time ago, Liu Ruoxing told Si Li that she wanted to leave the Paradise Palace and return to the Liu family.
Over the years, the scale of Jile Palace has been expanding, and it also has bases in the Jiangnan area. Liu Ruoxing probably prefers to stay closer to home rather than Jile Peak.
Of course Si Li was not happy about this. First of all, emotionally, she was reluctant to be separated from Liu Ruoxing; secondly, Liu Ruoxing's prestige was very high now. If she was sent to a place hundreds of miles away, what if she set up her own business, got out of her control, or even became a threat to her? It would be a loss.
So Si Li decisively rejected Liu Ruoxing's request, and a rift arose between the two of them.
Si Li is a very extreme person. She cannot bear that Liu Ruoxing is thinking about escaping from her control, so she decides to cut the weeds at the root and eliminate the trouble forever. This is why the Liu family was wiped out.
After the incident, Liu Ruoxing was heartbroken. She had never expected Si Li to be so cruel. She wanted revenge, but now she was powerless to fight him. Moreover, if she continued to show sadness over the demise of the Liu family, Si Li might kill her too.
After careful consideration, Liu Ruoxing decided to pretend to have lost her memory and bide her time until the Liu family's affairs were over and Si Li relaxed his vigilance before making any plans.
"I think that even if Madam pretends to recover her memory later, she will pretend not to remember the Liu family's extermination, or even pretend not to remember the Liu family."
At the end of the story, Shaoyao concluded, "But I think the Palace Master is very scheming. She may have figured out that Madam is pretending to have lost her memory. She is just laughing at Madam for fun."
"Wait a minute." The more Shen Fengni listened, the more she felt something was wrong. "You said before that Madam saved you half a year ago. That means you've only been in Paradise Palace for half a year, right?"
Shaoyao was stunned for a moment, "Yeah, what's wrong?"
"But the story you told starts with the wedding." Shen Fengni pointed out the problem. "The first half of the story is hearsay. And many details in the second half, such as your belief that the Palace Master wiped out the entire Liu family, are just your guesses. I think we still need to verify it..."
"No!" Shaoyao's face flushed red when she saw that Chen Fengni didn't believe her. "Before the incident at the Liu family, I heard the Palace Master and the Madam arguing!"
Jiang Zhuoyan's eyes moved, "What happened? The more details the better."
"We were at a distance at the time, so I couldn't remember the specific content word for word, but I heard the key points clearly."
Shaoyao unconsciously raised her voice, her tone becoming more urgent. "Madam is very determined to leave. She said she wants to return to the Liu family immediately and will leave within three days. The Palace Master is very angry, saying things like 'I can't let you go' and 'If you insist on leaving, I'd rather lock you up.' Isn't that obvious enough?"
Jiang Zhuoyan said, "But the Palace Master and Madam have been together for seven years, and the Palace Master has deep feelings for Madam. He wouldn't simply wipe out the entire Liu family just because he doesn't want Madam to return home. There must be some hidden story behind this that we don't know."
"No, you don't understand the Palace Master."
Shaoyao spoke with such conviction, as if she was about to raise her hand and swear an oath, "The Palace Master's personality is extremely paranoid. She is cunning, ruthless, cold-blooded, and cruel..."
"Are you talking about me?"
At this moment, a pleasant female voice sounded faintly outside the door, startling everyone in the room.
Chen Fengni realized that something was wrong. After making so many preparations in the early stage, the mission would not end here and he would have to start all over again.
Others shared the same concerns as her, and several pairs of eyes were fixed on the door.
The next second, Si Li pushed the door open and walked in. Her expression was very relaxed and leisurely, and there was also a hint of curiosity. "Peony, so this is how you see me behind my back?"
The stunningly beautiful woman in red stood in front of the crowd with a smile on her face. She didn't feel angry or guilty about being talked about behind her back. Instead, she seemed to be in a good mood.
Shaoyao was so frightened that her face turned pale, but she still forced herself to stand up straight.
After all, as a guard, he couldn't lose his momentum. "Madam has done me a favor. I won't allow anyone to harm her, not even the Palace Master! You can kill me or chop me up, it's all up to you!"
Si Li stared at her for two seconds, then suddenly burst into laughter.
"You're loyal to Ruoxing. I can't thank you enough, so why would I kill you?" She crossed her arms and said slowly, "Also, how have I hurt Ruoxing?"
Shaoyao was confused by her attitude, but she still insisted on being herself, "The Palace Master knows what she has done."
"You're good in every way, except that you're a bit too stubborn." Si Li shook his head helplessly, "Ruoxing and I are truly in love. I've never done anything to hurt Ruoxing."
"Palace Master, can I ask you a question?" Sheng Xinyan asked boldly, "When we asked you if anything had happened recently that might upset Madam, you said no. Why did you hide the Liu family's annihilation?"
This is a common question in the minds of the four players. Although they are not sure about the murderer who wiped out the Liu family, if Si Li deliberately concealed this matter, it would look like he was escaping from a guilty conscience.
Si Li smiled and said, "I didn't hide it on purpose, because it wasn't worth mentioning anyway."
Xu Weiyi pressed on, "Why isn't it worth mentioning? Those are Madam's relatives, aren't they?"
"Are relatives necessarily the ones you love?" Si Li asked back. She paused, "Sometimes, relatives are also the ones who hurt you the most."
A strange feeling inexplicably surged in Shen Fengni's heart.
Her heart was beating fast, not only because they were about to get to the bottom of the mystery, but also because she suddenly felt that as the mystery was revealed, other things would come to light.
She heard Xu Weiyi continue to ask, "Palace Master, do you mean that Madam has a bad relationship with the Liu family?"
Si Li nodded, tacitly agreeing with her statement.
Then she turned to Shaoyao and said, "You did see something, but what you saw is not necessarily the truth."
Her tone was understated, but perhaps because her expression was so calm, there was a kind of convincing magic.
Shaoyao, who had been emotional just now, had calmed down at this moment and asked blankly, "Then what is the truth?"
Si Li sighed, "It's time for this farce to end."
Shen Fengni didn't understand what she meant, but she could hear the unconcealable regret in her tone, which made her feel confused.
The "farce" that Si Li mentioned refers to Liu Ruoxing's amnesia?
Si Li, what are you regretting?
"I know you have a lot of questions." Si Li seemed to see what everyone was thinking and said calmly, "Come with me, I will take you to see Ruoxing."
She opened the door and saw the clear sky and lush green mountains outside.
"Soon, everything will come to light."
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