Xie Changfeng followed the attendant all the way to the door, which the attendant gently closed. He turned to leave, but saw Xie Changfeng still standing there, urging him impatiently, "No one outside the Guangming Palace is allowed to stay. Please leave as soon as possible, Master Xie."
At this time, the candles in the room had all gone out. The carved pearwood door was very soundproof. Although he could not hear anything, Xie Changfeng knew clearly what was happening inside.
His lips pressed into a thin line, his hands unconsciously clenched. Heaven had given him a second chance, and he'd missed it again. He subconsciously felt that his mother was a fourth-rank judicial inspector, and as the son of an official, he must be reserved and self-respecting. But the truth was, because he was so dull and inflexible, the princess would rather choose a less attractive attendant than even look at him.
There were countless men of nobler status than him in the Eastern Empress's Mansion. No matter how pampered he was at home, now that he had entered the Eastern Palace, he could not receive the favor of Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess, nor could he be given a palace of his own. He could only squeeze into a courtyard with six people in a room. He had to use cold water to wash his face and feet every day, and sometimes the noodles he ate were even lumpy.
Xie Changfeng pinched his waist hard, hating himself for being so conservative.
Seeing that Xie Changfeng was still standing there motionless, the attendant's tone became even more impatient, "Even if you stand here all night, Her Highness the Crown Princess won't call you in again. Master Xie, please leave quickly and don't delay us from keeping watch here."
Xie Changfeng couldn't stay any longer. He walked out, his legs feeling heavy as if they were filled with lead. Last time, he'd at least stayed in Guangming Hall until dawn before returning. This time, he'd just been summoned and then sent back. He didn't know how much ridicule and mockery awaited him when he returned to Chengguang Pavilion.
Thinking about his mother's illness and his father writing to him to lament the difficulties at home, Xie Changfeng raised his hand and slapped himself twice.
The servants who passed by him, on their way to fetch water for washing clothes, were all wide-eyed. He had seen many people in the East Palace being punished and beaten for making mistakes, but this was the first time he had seen someone beating himself.
Xie Changfeng ignored the attendant's strange looks. He was now completely immersed in his own little world. His family couldn't help him, and he himself was not doing well. It seemed that he had no hope for the rest of his life.
Xie Changfeng's cheek swelled from the blow he'd struck, but he felt no pain, only a deep sense of sadness and grief. He had never even killed a chicken in his seventeen years, and in his daily life, he was known for being kind to everyone. Before being appointed to the Eastern Palace, everyone around him praised him for his quiet and polite manners. He truly didn't understand what he had done wrong to deserve the ostracism and ridicule of Yugiri and his gang.
Life was so hard that it bent his originally straight back.
…
Inner room.
The movement on the bed stopped.
A servant like Bohe couldn't possibly stay here overnight. After helping Ling Shumo clean up in the bathroom, he had to go back to the servants' quarters to sleep. Bohe had always served Ling Shumo wholeheartedly, and Ling Shumo generously gave him the rank of a sixth-rank servant.
It was already midnight. Ling Shumo called Shi in, "Has Xie Changfeng left? If he's still here, call him in and let Gu Nian read his storybook."
Shi Qi said, "Xie Changfeng should have arrived at Chengguang Pavilion by now. I will have someone call him back now."
Ling Shumo didn't say anything else. She closed her eyes and dozed off for a while. Then she heard the door being pushed open. She looked towards the door with some dissatisfaction.
Shi Qi hurried over. Before Ling Shumo could get angry, he quickly said, "Your Highness, please calm down. I just learned that after Xie Changfeng returned to Chengguang Pavilion, he didn't enter the east courtyard, but committed suicide by jumping into the well in the courtyard. I was so surprised that I only made a noise when I entered the door."
Ling Shumo couldn't believe what she just heard. She looked at Shi Qi and said, "Say it again, Xie Changfeng committed suicide by jumping into a well? He was fine just now, so why did he suddenly become so depressed?"
Shi Qi was not clear about the inside story, but she knew that Ling Shumo would definitely inquire about this matter in detail, so she asked the attendant who had just gone to Chengguang Pavilion to summon Xie Changfeng to come into the house.
Ling Shumo looked at the servants behind Shi Qi.
The attendant's face was filled with confusion. He wanted to answer the questions from Lord Shi Qi and Her Highness, but he too was filled with questions.
Shi Qi had no choice but to go to Chengguang Pavilion in person again.
At this time, Xie Changfeng's body was placed in the middle of the courtyard, swollen from blisters. His body was surrounded by people, and almost all the young masters living in the various courtyards of Chengguang Pavilion had come.
Xiwu was standing at the front of the crowd, practically stunned. He was just unfavored, but all the men living in Chengguang Pavilion were resentful of unfavored men. Every day, they fought to the death over trivial matters. Wasn't that just how they managed to get by? He could never have imagined that Xie Changfeng had such a weak mental endurance that he could actually commit suicide so quietly.
Shi Qi glanced at everyone in the courtyard with a stern look. In Dongfeng, the open and covert fighting was so intense that a few deaths wouldn't matter, but now that this matter had reached the attention of Her Highness, she had to get to the bottom of it.
Under Shi Qi's increasingly cold gaze, Shi Shiguan hurried on and finally arrived. He was so exhausted that he barely had time to catch his breath before he knelt down and saluted Shi Qi, "Xie Changfeng's suicide was truly atrocious..."
Shi Shiguan's words had just begun.
Shi Qi interrupted, "He was alive and well, why would he commit suicide?"
Shi Qi's question clearly showed that he suspected Xie Changfeng did not commit suicide, but was murdered by someone else.
Shi Qi's suspicion was reasonable. After all, the first time she came to Chengguang Pavilion, she ran into Xiwu arguing with Xie Changfeng.
Yugiri noticed that everyone's eyes were on him, so he immediately knelt on the ground and loudly pleaded for justice. "Master Shiqi, how could you doubt me? This is truly snowing in August. I am more wronged than Dou E."
At this point, Yugiri pointed at the people standing behind him watching the excitement. "The four of them all live in the east courtyard. I didn't even leave the house this afternoon. Your Excellency, just ask anyone and you'll know I'm innocent."
Shi Shiguan looked at the people that Yugiri pointed at, and they all said in unison that each of them could provide an alibi for Yugiri.
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