Six thousand funeral flowers
On the sixth day of the seventh lunar month, the Qixi Festival was approaching, and the Ghost Festival was just around the corner. During this period, many murder cases occurred in the capital, causing widespread panic, with people fearing that there would be mysterious knocks on the door in the middle of the night.
These past two days, those inside the palace seem to be more easily frightened than those outside. Those with a clear conscience naturally live peacefully, while the rest have their own thoughts.
Crown Princess Feng Qingyan was one of those people who could not find peace.
In the capital, people usually start celebrating the Ghost Festival on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. I don't know why this day is put together with the Qixi Festival. Feng Qingyan tossed and turned on the bed, unable to fall asleep.
The rain hasn't stopped for the past few days, and it's a bit noisy.
Feng Qingyan sat up, her long hair disheveled, and without bothering to tidy it up, she got out of bed barefoot.
Jinling was probably fast asleep and didn't hear her, and was even less likely to notice the window that had been blown open by the wind.
Feng Qingyan walked towards the window, raised her hand to close it, but smelled a faint scent of blood in the damp air.
She turned her head sharply and looked at the place where Jinling usually sat.
"...Jinling, Jinling?"
She called out twice but received no response from the palace maid. Feng Qingyan felt uneasy, unsure whether to step forward or back. Just then, she was suddenly touched by a wet sensation. In an instant, her whole body stiffened. With trembling hands, she slowly lowered her body and probed the ground with her index finger.
Sticky, with a bloody smell I'd only ever caught in the ancestral hall of my family.
Feng Qingyan fell backward to the ground in terror, supporting herself with her hands as she backed away.
A flash of lightning appeared, and a woman stood before her, her face veiled, but the white of her clothes was arrogantly pure in the night.
The face hidden behind the veil was not clearly visible, but in the dim candlelight, Feng Qingyan could vaguely see the other person's soft facial contours.
This silhouette was the culprit that kept her restless day and night.
"It was...it was you who killed Li that day..."
Feng Qingyan looked at the fan in the woman's hand, her hands supporting her behind her back trembling uncontrollably.
"Shh-"
The woman in white gently pressed one end of the folding fan against Feng Qingyan's lips and said softly, "It wouldn't be a problem under normal circumstances, but now that it's past the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), if you say anything you shouldn't, these unclean things will come."
After a brief moment of fear, Feng Qingyan regained some composure and asked the woman, "What...what do you want?"
This woman was highly skilled in martial arts and ruthless. She had already glimpsed her when Consort Li died. She was someone who could infiltrate the palace. Now, after such a long stalemate, she had kept her alive and hadn't revealed all the secrets. She must still have a use for her. For her now, she was willing to do anything as long as she could keep the secrets.
The woman withdrew her fan: "What do I want? Shouldn't the Crown Princess already know the answer in her heart? If Consort Li had lived that day and brought out what she witnessed, does Your Highness know who would be the one to perish today?"
"Which side are you on?"
Feng Qingyan said tremblingly, "If I agree, can you guarantee that the Crown Prince will leave cleanly, with absolutely no room for maneuver?"
Upon hearing this, the woman in white couldn't help but laugh: "Your Majesty is even more ruthless than I am."
Feng Qingyan raised her head, her eyes misty, making her look somewhat helpless, but in contrast, her tone was resolute: "He must die. Only if he dies can I live, right?"
The woman in white glanced sideways slightly: "It seems that my goal is the same as Your Majesty's."
After several flashes of lightning and thunder, when Feng Qingyan came to her senses from the woman's words, there was no one left in front of her, only Jin Ling lying on the ground.
She was stunned for a moment, then took a deep breath and cried out in alarm, "Help! Someone come quick!"
Before I knew it, it was dawn, but the rain still hadn't stopped.
"Another person has died."
Tu Xiao looked at Yin Qiu in front of her.
Yinqiu said tremblingly, "It must be that person! Thank you, Aunt Mo, for letting me sneak out yesterday, otherwise... I would be the one who died!"
Tu Xiao chuckled but didn't reply.
Yinqiu still looked shaken. After all, the person who died last night was the Crown Princess's maid, and the Crown Princess and Consort Li were so close. In addition, considering what she saw that day, she felt that it should have been her who died.
Do you want to live?
Tu Xiao asked her.
Yinqiu looked at her: "Auntie..."
Tu Xiao smiled and patted her hair. "If you want, there's definitely a way."
The maid, who had been observant since childhood, immediately understood. She took a step back, knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times to Tu Xiao, and said, "From now on, Yinqiu belongs to Aunt. If Aunt wants me to move forward, I will never back down, even if it means my death."
Tu Xiao waved her hand and said, "Get up. If outsiders see this, they might become suspicious."
Although there was no one around, given her status as "aunt," it was only right to be cautious.
Yinqiu hurriedly stood up, bowing respectfully, but instead of saying anything to thank her, she asked Tu Xiao, "What does Auntie want Yinqiu to do?"
Upon hearing this, Tu Xiao whispered something in her ear.
On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, two murders occurred in the palace.
One incident involved the Crown Princess's personal maid being attacked, and another, quite coincidentally, involved Consort Li's personal maid being attacked.
The former died before dawn, while the latter died at noon, and in front of Consort Li's door.
Since the incident on the fifth day of the seventh month, Consort Li's courtyard had been strictly guarded by the Imperial Guards, and the Crown Princess had also been protected by secret guards, but in the end, they were met with two cold corpses.
This matter snowballed, causing widespread panic not only in the palace but also throughout the capital, where rumors about the murderer began to circulate.
Mingzhulou was as quiet as ever, and the occasional conversations were mostly well controlled. It was nothing like a typical teahouse.
In a tea room on the second floor, a woman in a blue dress sat by the window, looking at the Yuelai Restaurant across the street.
It was eerily quiet here, but incredibly lively there.
"Young Master Zhao."
She tapped rhythmically on the window frame with her index finger: "You've been coming here to enjoy tea these past few days, have you made any interesting discoveries?"
Upon hearing this, the man addressed as Young Master Zhao said, "What, have you been pretending for too long? Now you want to come out and see for yourself?"
The woman was taken aback and turned around. Her face was covered by a veil, and her peach blossom eyes seemed to be full of affection, but her expression did not reveal anything out of the ordinary.
"Young Master Zhao is certainly good at changing the subject." The woman stroked the rim of her jade cup, seemingly casually adding, "If you had nothing better to do, why did you try to extract information from my maid?"
Getting information out of her wasn't a big deal; those around her knew what was going on. But Zhao Juyan was making it so obvious, wasn't it just so she would know?
"Third Princess."
Zhao Juyan also picked up his teacup and smiled at her gently, saying, "I've really been quite free these past few days and wanted to invite Your Highness to try some tea. If Your Highness finds my teahouse too shabby, then you don't have to come again."
This young master Zhao's choice of words is quite interesting; he didn't mean he wouldn't come next time, but rather "later."
Liu Hua knew this was a warning to her. The palace was in chaos, and if she didn't act now, she might have to wait several more years.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness."
Liu Hua lowered her eyes: "I know what's going on in the palace."
Then the atmosphere quieted down again.
"I heard that Alliance Leader Su has been preparing for the martial arts tournament recently. I wonder what exciting things will happen in the provincial capital every three years?" Zhao Juyan suddenly changed the subject.
Liu Hua stroked her cup, somewhat surprised: "The imperial court and the martial arts world have never been involved with each other. Young Master Zhao, could it be that you want to use the martial arts world to do something you want to do?"
Zhao Juyan stood up and looked out the window.
"In the palace, someone found a jade pendant in the courtyard of the Crown Prince's concubine, Li. Judging from its size, it should have been hanging on a sword."
Liu Hua tightened her grip on the jade cup slightly.
"As soon as the jade pendant was delivered to the Crown Prince, he fell into a coma. However, after the imperial physician examined him, he found that there was nothing wrong with either the jade pendant or the Crown Prince."
The woman thought to herself that the Yuelai Restaurant across the street was still very lively.
"There has been a lot of unrest in the court because of the matter of the Crown Prince. It is rumored that it is a special poisonous jade. The last time it appeared was when the Demonic Sect was at its peak."
Liu Hua brought the teacup to her lips and took a sip: "You mean, Baiyue?"
Zhao Juyan: "Baiyue is different from other ordinary sects. Whether it is the abilities they possess or the status they once represented, they cannot be ignored. If Baiyue appears now, they will not let go of such a good opportunity as the martial arts tournament. They may also be able to take advantage of the affairs in the palace."
"But the Demonic Sect might also be an unstable variable for us."
Liu Hua said worriedly, "What if in the future..."
Zhao Juyan shook his head: "Right now, the most important thing is the Crown Prince's Palace."
"I understand. Let's leave it at that for today and discuss it another day."
The woman bowed with a heavy heart, then glanced at Zhao Juyan again.
Zhao Juyan looked her over, nodded, and didn't ask anything.
The Third Princess Consort Liu Hua was originally the daughter of the Minister of Rites. She had only been married into the royal family for two years. She had a harmonious relationship with the Third Prince, Gu Yuqing. The Prince was frail from childhood and was immersed in poetry and literature, having no interest in the struggle for the throne. The two were always respectful to each other, but on the day their eldest son was just a month old, the Prince suddenly passed away.
The day after the funeral, Princess He, dressed in plain clothes with her eyes still red and swollen, sought to cooperate with him.
He was initially quite surprised, but later realized that he had indeed underestimated the Liu family. Liu Hua had been raised to serve in the government since childhood, and after marrying Prince He, she had lost much of her ambition. However, after Prince He passed away, she suspected that someone had framed her. Thinking that she had nothing left to lose, she invited him to plot for the throne together.
That's right, the throne.
Of course, it wasn't Zhao Juyan himself who was going to sit in this position; he didn't have the guts to usurp the throne. The one who truly needed to seize the throne was the one surnamed Gu. Speaking of which, this prince also had a younger sister from the same father and mother named Gu Jiuyu, with whom he was almost betrothed since birth.
However, Zhao Juyan was also wary of Liu Hua. Although her reasons were legitimate and she was capable, his instincts, honed from his long experience in the teahouse as an intelligence hub, made him feel that the princess was sometimes a little strange, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Then I will not see the Princess off."
Zhao Juyan picked up his teacup and smiled at her.
Not long after Liu Hua left, the waiter from Mingzhulou quietly entered with a tea tray, bowed to Zhao Juyan, and said, "Sir, tomorrow is the Qixi Festival. Princess Mu has sent an invitation, saying that she wants to invite the young talents in the capital who love reading poetry and books to the palace for a banquet."
"Understood," Zhao Juyan said.
The waiter didn't say anything, placed the tea tray on the table, and quickly left.
The Second Princess Consort? Prince Mu is usually quite well-behaved, not particularly talented, and doesn't wield much real power in the Ministry of War. Now, seeing the unfavorable situation in the palace, he wants to get involved as well.
Zhao Juyan looked at the invitation on the table, but lost interest.
The area downstairs was still bustling.
"Miss, Miss!"
Chu Lan hurriedly followed behind Ling Yuanwei, urging her as she continued walking forward: "Tomorrow we will see Miss Yu at the Mu Prince's Mansion. It's supposed to be a happy day, so please don't make any mistakes, Miss!"
"Don't worry, I won't." Ling Yuanwei smiled brightly. "My older brothers and sisters will all be here tomorrow, so I can't do anything out of line. Just let me have some fun today."
The noise from their playful banter subsided.
As Zhao Juyan watched Ling Yuanwei's figure disappear, he glanced at the invitation, and the ease between his brows gradually faded, replaced by a more solemn expression.
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