Chapter 7: Division of the Inheritance
In order to be available on call at any time, the palace maids serving the emperor all lived in Nongyun Garden behind Wenhua Palace, two people in a room.
Chu Liuzheng pushed the door open and entered the room. He lit the oil lamp on the table and pointed to the bed on the left. "You sleep here. The things on the bed belong to Wan Tang. She's gone now. You can do with them as you please."
Jiang Wantang had been beaten to death, and her bedding and pillow were all left in their original places untouched.
"Okay." Cuiyun agreed and started to pack up.
Chu Liuzheng opened the cabinet by the wall and took out all the things Jiang Wantang left behind.
There weren't many things in it, just three sets of clothes, two silver hairpins, a pair of silver bracelets, a jade ring, and five taels of silver.
"Stop busying yourself and come over to divide the things." Chu Liuzheng waved to Cuiyun.
Cuiyun came over and glanced at the things on the table, "Are these all Miss Wantang's?"
Chu Liuzheng nodded and began to divide the inheritance in a familiar manner.
It's not that Chu Liuzheng doesn't remember their old friendship. Jiang Wantang offended the emperor and was ordered to be beaten to death. Even her family members didn't dare to help collect her body, let alone her belongings.
Even if Chu Liuzheng didn't take them, these things would eventually be given to others.
Whoever takes it doesn’t take it.
She also needs to save money for her retirement after leaving the palace.
Chu Liuzheng said to Cuiyun, "I don't want the clothes. I want two taels of silver, a hairpin, a bracelet, and this jade ring."
Cuiyun took a few more glances at the jade ring.
The ring is made of white jade, with good water content. Under the candlelight, it emits the unique warm luster of jade, and it is very valuable at first glance.
Cuiyun also wanted this jade ring, but she was new here and didn't want to offend senior Chu Liuzheng.
She nodded obediently and moved the portion allocated to her in front of her.
Needless to say, there were jewelry and silver. She reached out and flipped through the three sets of clothes and found that the bottom one was still new.
Cuiyun tried the new set on herself and found that the size was quite suitable.
Chu Liuzheng took a look and said with a smile, "The color suits you very well."
For her, there is no taboo about wearing clothes of the dead.
Coming from a poor family, it's good enough to have clothes to wear.
When she was at home, she had no money to buy new clothes, so she even wore her eldest brother's old clothes.
However, the colors of Jiang Wantang's three sets of clothes are all bright, the kind that can be seen at a glance in the crowd, which is really not in line with Chu Liuzheng's principle of keeping a low profile in the palace and living safely until the age of 25.
She saw that Cuiyun really liked these bright colors, and what she wore today was quite eye-catching.
After some gestures, Cuiyun kept all three sets of clothes, and a look of joy appeared on her face.
Chu Liuzheng put the jewelry and silver back into his cabinet and yawned.
She doesn't have to go to Wenhua Palace to be on duty tonight, so she can rest early.
Just as I picked up the basin and was about to get some hot water to wash up, there was a sudden knock on the closed door. "Is Miss Liu Zheng here?"
It was Xiao Xiazi's voice.
Chu Liuzheng walked quickly over and opened the door. Sure enough, he saw a short and thin eunuch standing outside. It was Xiao Xiazi, who worked as a handyman in the pharmacy of the Imperial Hospital.
Seeing Xiao Xiazi's anxious expression, she frowned and asked, "What happened?"
"Miss, please go and save Miss Qiaoru." Xiao Xiazi said anxiously, "Miss Qiaoru was arrested and taken to the Ministry of Punishment half an hour ago. If we don't save her now, she might not survive."
Chu Liuzheng's face turned pale. He noticed Cuiyun in the house looking out, so he stepped over the threshold, closed the door behind him, and walked with Xiao Xiazi to the osmanthus tree in the yard.
"Don't be so anxious. Explain the situation clearly. What exactly did Qiaoru do wrong? Why was she imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment?"
Xiao Xiazi lowered her voice and said, "The Dou family sent a beauty recipe to Doctor Liu, asking him to prepare an ointment according to the recipe and present it to the Imperial Concubine. However, after using the ointment last night, the Imperial Concubine woke up with a rash on her face this morning. She sent the nanny to blame Doctor Liu, saying that he was harming her."
Chu Liuzheng frowned. "The Dou family is the Imperial Concubine's family, and Imperial Doctor Liu is her man. How could he possibly harm her?"
"That's exactly what's going on." Xiao Xiazi said with a bitter face, "All the doctors in the Imperial Hospital have examined it. There's nothing wrong with the recipe. Regular use does have the effect of nourishing and brightening the skin."
"So, the problem lies with the ointment?" Chu Liuzheng had a bad feeling and looked at Xiao Xiazi. "Don't tell me that Qiaoru is the unlucky person who delivered the medicine to the imperial concubine."
Xiao Xiazi nodded. "It's just bad luck. Someone mixed oleander juice into the box of ointment. Doctor Liu said he checked it when he gave it to Miss Qiaoru, and there was nothing wrong with it."
"On the way to deliver the medicine, only Miss Qiaoru touched the box of ointment. Madam Qian of Huaqing Palace then determined that Miss Qiaoru was trying to harm the Imperial Concubine. Miss Qiaoru cried out for justice, but Madam Qian refused to listen. She ordered her to be sent to the Ministry of Punishment, saying she would be severely tortured."
"Miss Qiaoru has done me a favor. How could I bear to see her die unjustly in the Ministry of Punishment? I asked Xiao Yunzi to cover for me and rushed over to find the girl for help."
"Miss, you and Miss Qiaoru are like sisters, you must find a way to rescue her!"
"Don't be impatient, let me think about it." Chu Liuzheng paced back and forth with his hands clenched, quietly opening the system to search.
[Oleander juice, poisoning the imperial concubine...]
Found it!
Concubine Yun is jealous of the Imperial Concubine's beauty. Upon learning that the Imperial Hospital had sent a beauty cream specifically for the Imperial Concubine, she becomes indignant and orders her eyeliner to mix oleander juice into the cream while the Imperial Concubine is bathing, hoping to disfigure her and cause her to lose the Emperor's favor!
[Frog fun! There's actually an informant for Concubine Yun in Huaqing Palace. Isn't Concubine Yun a naive and innocent girl? She's so well-hidden!]
[There's still oleander juice hidden in the spy room. If we reveal this to the people in Huaqing Palace, once the real murderer of the imperial concubine is caught, Qiaoru will be acquitted.]
Chu Liuzheng paced back and forth with a frown on his face.
But how can I leak the information without exposing myself?
*
[Poisoning the Imperial Concubine...]
Xiao Jingfan, who was tired from reviewing memorials, went out for a walk to relax. He stopped and turned to look at the palace not far away.
At this distance, I could hear the woman's inner voice.
That woman actually wanted to poison the imperial concubine. Who gave her the guts?
"Zhou Yuande..." Just as he was about to order Zhou Yuande to arrest someone, Xiao Jingfan's eyes flashed. After listening carefully to the voice coming from his heart, Yun Fei's beautiful, simple and innocent face flashed before his eyes.
She is actually a femme fatale!
Xiao Jingfan's expression was cold, and disgust flashed across his eyes.
These women are really good at pretending.
Zhou Yuande was still bowing, waiting for the emperor's instructions. After a while, he didn't hear anything else. He looked up and called out in confusion, "Your Majesty?"
Xiao Jingfan: "Come closer and listen."
Zhou Yuande hurried closer, and after hearing Xiao Jingfan's instructions clearly, a look of surprise flashed across his face.
Xiao Jingfan waved his hand at him: "Hurry and do it."
"As you command." Zhou Yuande took the order and left.
Xiao Jingfan stood there for a while and did not hear the voice in his heart again.
He turned and walked towards another fork in the road.
If he is unhappy, he naturally cannot make others too happy.
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