Miss Lipin was genuinely taken aback, extremely shocked.
"Guesswork." Su Rong looked at her and speculated, "Moreover, this evidence should also be known by the Fourth Prince, otherwise, he wouldn’t have pleaded with the Eastern Palace, and wouldn’t have assured your innocence so resolutely, to the point of risking his life for your innocence."
Miss Lipin slowly nodded, admitting that her theory was right, and said in a lowered voice, "In Feng Si’s house, the large black cabinet in his room, under the third brick, something my father left for me is hidden. I don’t know what evidence it is, but my father said, that if he were to die one day and my life were also in danger, I should take it out. I don’t trust anyone enough to dare to do it, what you said is right, I don’t trust the Rui’an King, he is too smooth, too good at judging the situation. He might not be able to help a Fourth Prince without any foundation like me."
In Su Rong’s mind, she indeed had chosen the right person to visit, there had been fruitful findings. She nodded, "Does Miss Lipin have anything else to share?"
Miss Lipin thought for a moment, then picked a few more incidents and people in the palace to talk about. One of them involved the beloved Imperial Concubine, a trivial matter, but it startled Su Rong, "You’re telling me the beloved Imperial Concubine requested white fox fur from the Crown Prince?"
"Yes." Miss Lipin looked at the white fox fur on Su Rong, "If not for seeing you wearing this white fox fur cloak, I wouldn’t have remembered such an incident. It was two or three years ago, but the Crown Prince didn’t comply. This matter was spoken about in front of the Emperor, his face didn’t look good at that moment, he chastised the Crown Prince, saying that the Crown Prince was too stingy for a few pieces of white fox fur, while he, as the Crown Prince, should have been generous. The Crown Prince said that the white fox fur he had stored in the warehouse was for a future white fox fur cloak he planned to gift his future Princess. The beloved Imperial Concubine naturally felt offended. That was the first time the Crown Prince contradicted the Emperor. The Emperor was quite peeved. He criticized that it wouldn’t be necessary to post imperial edict to ask for a few white fox fur skins, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to satisfy whatever the beloved Imperial Concubine desired. The Emperor said he wouldn’t be able to tolerate his son’s gifts being taken, especially since the son got them himself. His image would certainly be affected negatively if he did so. The beloved Imperial Concubine then dropped the matter, saying she didn’t necessarily want them, it is just that the clothes made from white fox fur were warm and looked nice. The Emperor’s storeroom didn’t have them, so she got the idea to ask. Now that the Crown Prince had said so, she naturally wouldn’t take something meant for the future Princess, or else people would laugh. And so the matter was forgotten."
After listening, Su Rong contemplated.
Miss Lipin looked at her, "This white fox fur cloak, as expected, looks extremely nice and is warm as well. It’s a gift from the Crown Prince? I never thought that he would part with it for Lady Su Qi. After all, in the entire Capital City, besides the Eastern Palace, no one else has white fox fur."
Su Rong nodded, very candidly answered, "Yes, it was given by the Crown Prince. I’m the Crown Prince’s cousin and I once saved his life. Accepting one cloak from the Crown Prince is quite justifiable."
Whether he ever mentioned it was for the future Princess or not, once it was given to her, it was hers.
No wonder the Emperor stared at her white fox fur cloak a couple of times today, presumably, he also remembered this incident.
Su Rong found it very amusing.
She stood up, said to Miss Lipin, "Miss Lipin, take care of your health, the Fourth Prince is very filial, if you can weather this storm, you will have good days ahead."
After all, the Fourth Prince has sided with the Eastern Palace, as long as the Crown Prince doesn’t fall, the Fourth Prince and his birth mother, both can have good days ahead.
Miss Lipin nodded, her spirit somewhat lifted, "Yes, thank you, I accept your good wishes."
After seeing Miss Lipin, Su Rong went to see the Virtuous Imperial Consort and the Moral Imperial Consort... finally, she visited Emperor’s former chief eunuch Yu An.
Yu An had never anticipated his downfall. When it finally happened, he felt utterly wronged. He couldn’t have foreseen falling into such a predicament due to a palace maid, getting involved in such a big case.
The days he had been imprisoned had nearly broken him. In the past, when he had the Emperor’s favor, everyone flattered him. Now, despite his setback, they at least didn’t kick him while he was down, but nobody dared to approach him, let alone assist him. They all wished they had never known him, estranging him in fear of being dragged into the case.
He was old, and had always been pampered, even more so than the Emperor’s consorts, far from having endured such hardship from imprisonment. He only suffered stomachache after eating the raw and half-cooked meals. Despite not having been tortured, the cold, hard meals were unbearable for him.
Yu An felt he was finished, at this rate, he wouldn’t be able to last till the case was closed.
But no one came to his rescue.
Over the years, he had offended countless people. After all, his livelihood was dependent on the Emperor. As long as he could please and serve the Emperor properly, he would be at ease. Even when the Crown Prince was being suppressed and sidelined by the Emperor, although he did not go out of his way to step on him further, he did not show any favor to the Crown Prince either.
Now that he was in trouble, many hoped for his demise. Once he was dead and his position vacant, someone would promptly take his place.
When Su Rong arrived, she saw Yu An hunched over, clutching his stomach, his face pale and filled with pain. His once fair skin now seemed to be filled with an ash-like pallor.
Upon seeing Su Rong, Yu An’s eyes widened, especially when his gaze fell upon the white fox fur cloak she was wearing, his eyes widened even more.
Seeing this, Su Rong thought that she should wear this white fox fur cloak more often around the palace.
"Lady Su Qi?" Yu An rubbed his eyes. He almost thought his vision was blurred, but considering his current status as a condemned man, he didn’t think Su Rong would come to visit him. After all, he hadn’t anticipated that Su Rong would take over the investigation of this case.
"Yes, it’s me, Eunuch Yu." Su Rong nodded.
Yu An was surprised, "You came here because..."
Su Rong replied, "The Emperor has assigned me to assist the Rui’an King with the investigation."
Yu An was even more shocked.
It was no wonder he was shocked. After all, considering Su Rong’s status, whether as a minor common girl from the Jiangzhou Inspector Residence or a Nanchu Princess, she should not be involved in the political affairs or major cases of Daliang. The former was due to her insufficient status; the latter due to her conflicting identity as a Nanchu Princess.
Seeing that he didn’t believe her, Su Rong took out the token given to her by the Emperor, emblazoned with the words "As if I were present myself" and showed it to Yu An.
Yu An looked at it clearly, greatly shocked, and his pain momentarily forgotten, "Thi-This..."
Su Rong sat down, "Eunuch Yu, I am here to investigate this case. If you are involved, confessing truthfully, in consideration of the years of your loyalty, the Emperor will grant you a dignified death. If you did not participate, you must reveal even more. If the information you offer advances the case, then, it’s not impossible for you to return to the Emperor’s side and reclaim your influential status."
Yu An looked at Su Rong, at a loss for words for a moment.
Su Rong stared at him, "Eunuch Yu, you have been serving at the Emperor’s side since you were young, you are the most senior. Over the years, you must have gathered some knowledge to have secure your position as the Emperor’s right hand. Be it court officials, Imperial concubines, or even servants, you should have a clear understanding of their dealings."
Yu An let out a bitter laugh, "If this old servant had such capabilities, I wouldn’t have been implicated in this case and harmed to this extent by an insignificant girl."
Su Rong laughed, "Eunuch Yu, I am here not to listen to such nonsense. What I need is useful information, evidence you hold, or even questionable evidence and suspects."
Yu An instantly silenced his plea.
Su Rong looked at him, "Eunuch Yu, you can only trust me. Sitting here, I represent your chance of either ending up with a dignified death or reestablishing your position by the Emperor’s side. This opportunity only comes once, and it’s right before you. It’s up to you to cherish it. Once I leave this room, you will lose this chance forever."
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