Chapter 137 (Catching Bugs)
Fan Changyu unfolded the letter and frowned unconsciously after reading the contents of the letter.
The eldest princess helped to investigate the matter concerning the Sixteenth Prince, but the Sixteenth Prince had been dead for many years, and Concubine Jia Gui had also passed away with the late emperor not long after the Sixteenth Prince's death. The original palace had long been occupied by Qi Sheng's favorite concubines, and the palace maids had been replaced batch after batch. It was very difficult to find someone who knew the inside story from that time.
The princess secretly investigated for many days and finally found out that an old maid on duty in the cold palace was actually someone who served in the palace of Concubine Jia Gui, but she went crazy seventeen years ago and was banished to the cold palace to fend for herself.
The princess's people kept in touch with the crazy maid for many days by sending her food and clothes. They vaguely realized that the maid was pretending to be crazy, but the maid was very vigilant and refused to let down her guard against the princess's people.
The princess's people found a suitable opportunity to ask about the sixteenth prince. The palace maid was obviously very excited. She pretended to be crazy and said, "Dead, all dead, I will die too... Wei Yan had an affair with the concubine, and everyone who knows about it must die..."
The princess's men were unable to get any more information out of her, and the nanny in charge of the cold palace came into the courtyard.
Everyone in the palace is a shrewd person. The eldest princess's people suddenly run to the cold palace every now and then, and bring good things to a crazy palace maid. Anyone would be suspicious.
The princess's people gave a lot of gifts to the nanny in charge of the cold palace, and lied that they happened to pass by the cold palace and saw the crazy palace maid eating a bowl of smelly and rotten rice. They couldn't bear it, so they helped her a little.
Although the nanny in charge of the cold palace did not pursue any matter, for safety reasons, the princess's people did not dare to go to the cold palace to inquire about the news for a short period of time.
Fan Changyu looked at Xie Zheng and said, "For now, we have to find out which concubine Wei Yan is having an affair with..."
Xie Zheng knew what she was suspicious about. After the death of Crown Prince Chengde and the Sixteenth Prince, Wei Yan supported the Nineteenth Prince, who had no foundation at all, to succeed to the throne. The Nineteenth Prince's biological mother was the most suspicious.
He said: "It is impossible that she is the biological mother of the little emperor. She is just a palace maid. The late emperor had sex with her after he got drunk. She died after giving birth to him."
The biggest reason why Wei Yan supported Qi Sheng to succeed to the throne was probably because Qi Sheng was young and had no relatives by marriage, making him easy to control.
The only breakthrough point was the crazy maid in the cold palace.
His eyes were as cold as snow: "I will sneak into the cold palace myself."
Fan Changyu recalled the more than ten-foot-high tower he saw outside the Meridian Gate when he entered the palace to be conferred the title, and said, "The palace is heavily guarded. It would be difficult to enter the palace without an imperial decree. I heard from General Tang that there will be a celebration banquet in the palace soon. It would be better to visit the cold palace then to avoid causing a stir."
Xie Zhong was worried about Xie Zheng's safety, and nodded, saying, "General Yunhui has taken all the precautions. My Lord, please make some arrangements first and wait until the day of the palace banquet before going."
Xie Zheng thought for a while, nodded slowly, and walked into the courtyard without saying a word.
Fan Changyu looked at his cold and lonely back, with a hint of worry in his eyes.
I originally thought that Wei Yan's conspiracy to frame the Jinzhou tragedy was questionable, but with the fact that he had an affair with a concubine, it seemed to be a done deal.
She used to think that Wei Yan and Xie Zheng were just simple enemies, but tonight's trip to the Xie family cemetery made her realize that Xie Zheng's feelings for Wei Yan were actually very complicated.
Every step he took to dig deeper into the truth of that year seemed to push the knife against his heart an inch further forward.
-
They rushed around until late at night, but Fan Changyu and others still had no time for dinner.
Xie Zhong ordered the kitchen to prepare a meal. Zhu Youchang had fallen asleep due to his old illness, so only Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng were eating. However, after Xie Zheng returned to his room, he never came out again. He only told his servants to take good care of Fan Changyu.
Xie Zhong ordered his servants to deliver a copy to Xie Zheng's room alone, but it was returned intact.
Xie Zhong understood Xie Zheng's temper, and sighed helplessly. He waved away the blood-stained rider who was delivering the meal, and said to Fan Changyu, "General, please have your meal. Let the master be quiet for a while."
Fan Changyu recalled the lonely figure of Xie Zheng standing in front of the tomb of General Xie and his wife when he rushed to the cemetery, and said, "I'll take it to him."
Xie Zhong's eyes flashed with surprise, but when he thought of the many special things Xie Zheng did for her, he smiled with relief: "Then there is General Lao."
Facing Xie Zhong's eyes that seemed to see through everything, Fan Changyu picked up the food on the tray and could only quickly ask where Xie Zheng's room was to hide his embarrassment.
-
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The lanterns under the eaves cast shadows of bamboos on the door and stone steps.
Fan Changyu looked at the room filled with warm light, held up the carved wooden tray with one hand, raised his other hand and knocked on the door.
From a distance inside the house, Xie Zheng's cold and impatient voice came: "I told you not to send food, get out!"
Fan Changyu said: "It's me."
The room was silent for a while before the cold, hoarse voice continued to ring: "The door is not bolted."
Fan Changyu pushed the door open and walked in. At first glance, she didn't see anyone outside. There was only the faint sound of water coming from the bathroom. She wanted to come over to comfort Zheng, but suddenly she felt a little uncomfortable. She turned her back to the bathroom and said, "I put the food on the table for you. Remember to eat it after you finish washing."
There was no more voice coming from the purification room, not even the sound of running water.
Fan Changyu was confused and worried that something had happened to Xie Zheng, so he could only call out again, "Xie Zheng?"
Still no one answered.
Fan Changyu turned around and glared at that person, "If you don't respond, I'll go get someone to come in and take a look."
Finally, a low, hoarse voice came from inside: "Help me pass in the laundry next to the bed."
Fan Changyu's ears were stained with a layer of light pink. She turned around and said, "I'll ask Uncle Zhong to deliver it for you."
There was a loud sound of running water in the clean room, and the person inside said, "Forget it, I'll come out and get it myself."
Then there was a muffled sound, followed by the sound of some pottery being broken. Even through a curtain, Fan Changyu could smell the odor of alcohol.
How could there be alcohol in the clean room?
Fan Changyu was worried that Xie Zheng was drunk and accidentally fell when he got out of the bath. He was afraid that he would get tangled in broken porcelain. He didn't care about anything else and hurriedly lifted the curtain and went in: "Are you okay?"
After seeing the situation inside clearly, Fan Changyu suddenly felt at a loss as to what to do.
The weather was cold, and the whole clean room was filled with a layer of hazy mist. Xie Zheng leaned on the edge of the bathtub, his handsome face was gloomy and a little tipsy, with a red spot on his shoulder. His handsome eyebrows were slightly wrinkled in impatience, obviously because he had bumped against the edge of the bathtub when he fell just now.
A wine jar was broken outside the bathtub. Judging from the amount of wine that spilled out, most of it should have been drunk by Xie Zheng. There was also an overturned empty wine jar next to it.
He actually drank two bottles of wine, and judging from the smell of alcohol, it must be alcohol. No wonder he looked a little drunk.
Seeing that he was not injured, Fan Changyu felt relieved, but the way he looked... was too confusing.
Most of his long hair was wet with water, sticking to his muscular shoulders. He looked handsome and powerful, and it was easy to think of him as a beast in the jungle, dangerous and strong.
Her long eyelashes were like fans, with tiny water droplets on them, and there was a tooth mark on her shoulder near her neck where she had bitten it before going out. Suddenly, one had the illusion that this unruly and beautiful beast could be tamed.
Even though she knew it was inappropriate, Fan Changyu still felt the heat rushing towards her face. She quickly turned her back and said, "I... I'll go call Uncle Zhong..."
As soon as I took a step forward, a low, hoarse voice sounded behind me: "No need."
Xie Zheng pressed his forehead which was throbbing slightly, and his impatience became more evident. With such a good appearance, he looked very good even if he was angry. He said, "I can do it myself."
The water rippled and he tried to stand up by holding on to the edge of the tub, but his body was obviously unstable and he almost fell again. Fortunately, Fan Changyu heard the noise and supported him in time.
Feeling the force of most of his body pressing on him, Fan Changyu gritted his teeth angrily and said, "I've never seen you so stubborn!"
Because he was naked, Fan Changyu tried his best to raise his head and did not dare to look around.
The water drops from Xie Zheng's wet hair fell onto her neck, and the cool touch made her subconsciously shrink her neck.
Thinking that his clothes were still outside, Fan Changyu stroked and pressed his shoulders, trying to push him back into the tub. "Wait inside first. I'll get you some clean clothes."
The half-drunk man lowered his head slightly and stared at her red lips, not knowing whether he heard what she said or not. Just when she turned around and was about to leave, he held her in his arms.
The water droplets on his body soaked through Fan Changyu's clothes. Fan Changyu's heart was lifted up in an instant, but he just buried his head in her shoulder. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice: "Ayu, you are the only one I have."
This was the first time someone called him like that, and the name was so intimate that Fan Changyu didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Being too close, his body was hot again. Fan Changyu felt hot and numb from the side of his neck to half of his earlobe. A strange feeling arose in his heart, as if he was stepping on clouds, floating.
Fan Changyu froze for a while before he reached out and patted his back, soothing him, "I'm always here."
The skin on his back that my palm touched was not smooth, and I could clearly feel the slight curve of the scar.
Thinking of the 108 lashes Xie Zhong had mentioned, Fan Changyu's eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a coaxing tone, "Sit down, I'll help you rub your back."
This was something Fan Changyu would never bring up on a normal day. Xie Zheng seemed to really want to listen and sit down. Because he had drunk, his brain became slow to think. There was a hint of red at the corners of his eyes. His originally cold face even revealed a seductive charm. But he didn't know what the remaining sobriety reminded him of. He grabbed Fan Changyu's hand, put it to his lips and kissed it, saying, "Next time."
Then she shook her head slightly, which was stinging from the alcohol, and tried to stand up by herself by holding on to the edge of the bathtub, but Fan Changyu held her shoulders down forcefully. She had already gone behind him and saw his back, which was still covered with scars even though the scabs had fallen off.
Fan Changyu was stunned.
Only after seeing those twisted and overlapping whip marks with her own eyes did she understand what Xie Zhong meant by “not a single piece of good meat”.
She had applied medicine to the wounds on his back before. At that time, he was as miserable as a stray street dog, and the wounds on his body were not as numerous and ferocious as they were now. Fan Changyu could hardly imagine what he looked like with all the wounds and blood on his body.
My heart aches terribly.
The knife wound that ran diagonally across his entire back was made by him in order to obtain blood for the knife sacrifice. It had opened up again, and the scar was particularly wide and hideous.
When Fan Changyu touched it with his fingertips, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
She felt a tingling sensation in her throat and asked him in a hoarse voice, "How long do you want to keep all these injuries a secret from me?"
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