Chapter 97: Layer upon layer of tricks
"Yes." Empress Zhong turned and gestured to Qiu Sui. "I sent someone to search Xiao Xuanzi's quarters in the cold palace. They found a pear wood box hollowed out in the wall. Inside, there were three hundred taels of silver notes, large and small."
Qiu Sui took the box that the little palace maid behind her had been holding and opened it to show Xiao Jingfan.
Xiao Jingfan tilted his head and took a look.
The box contained not only several silver bills, but also two good-quality gold bracelets and a pair of red agate earrings.
A young eunuch like Xiao Xuanzi, who had just entered the palace, only received one or two taels of silver every month.
It would take him more than 20 years to save up three hundred taels of silver just from his monthly salary.
If it was a gift from his master, he was just a little eunuch serving in the cold palace and had only been in the palace for a short time. How could he have received such a large reward?
Xiao Jingfan pointed at the pair of red agate earrings and said, "Bring them here so I can see them."
Qiu Sui held up the red agate earrings with a handkerchief as a cushion.
Xiao Jingfan didn't take it with his hands, he just stretched his neck to look, his posture a little awkward.
Queen Zhong felt strange, "But what's wrong with these earrings?"
Xiao Jingfan didn't answer, but asked Qiu Sui to pick up the red agate earrings and turn them around.
Qiu Sui did as she was told.
The red agate earrings turned slowly, sparkling beautifully under the candlelight.
"This belongs to Lady Wen." Xiao Jingfan retracted his gaze and looked up at Queen Zhong. "There must be something else behind this."
Empress Zhong immediately stood up and knelt, "I was negligent, Your Majesty, please forgive me."
"Help your master up."
Qiu Sui bent down and helped Queen Zhong up.
Xiao Jingfan folded the confession on the table and handed it over. "Don't trust everything this servant says. Investigate further and don't wrongly accuse innocent people."
"only."
Empress Zhong took the confession and asked, "Now that Concubine Xie and Lady Wen are both suspected, should we first order them to reflect on themselves behind closed doors?"
Xiao Jingfan thought about it and nodded: "Okay."
*
The sedan chair returned to Changchun Palace.
Soon, Gao Yongfu went to Yihe Palace and Xuexiang Garden to convey the Empress's decree, ordering Concubine Xie and Concubine Wen to stay indoors and reflect on their mistakes, and not to go out.
The two palaces reacted differently.
As long as she has done nothing wrong, she has nothing to fear. Concubine Xie did whatever she had to do and even planned to take this opportunity to clean up the Yihe Palace.
Concubine Wen was extremely anxious and kept trying to recall which link had gone wrong and why the Queen suddenly suspected her. It should be Concubine Xie who took the blame for her.
She thought about it again and again, and then told Bizhu: "Call Li Ping'an in, I have something to ask him."
Bizhu went out to call for help.
Li Pingan quickly followed Bizhu in and said, "I greet my master."
Lady Wen didn't shout, but gave Bizhu a wink.
Bizhu went out to guard the door.
Only Concubine Wen and Li Ping'an were left in the hall.
"Let me ask you, besides Concubine Zhu and the maids around her, who else saw you in the Imperial Garden that day?"
Li Pingan lowered his head and thought carefully for a while, then shook his head and said, "There are only the two of them."
"Are you sure that the maid only saw the birthmark behind your ear and didn't see your face clearly?"
Li Pingan nodded, "I'm sure."
Lady Wen frowned, "Think about it again. Is there any flaw in what you gave Xiao Xuanzi?"
Li Pingan said, "I only gave him a plain gold bracelet without any patterns on it. With just that bracelet, there's no way he could have traced back to our Xuexiang Garden."
The plain gold bracelet was taken from Lady Wen, and she knew very well that there were no other marks on it.
But if there were no flaws, why would the queen suddenly suspect her?
There must be something wrong.
Lady Wen looked around the hall, her eyes passing over the various furnishings, and finally fell on the sandalwood jewelry box on the dressing table.
Something suddenly flashed through her mind, and she shouted, "Bizhu, come in."
Bizhu heard the shout and pushed the door open, "Master, what do you want?"
"Have I ever lost any clothes or jewelry?"
Bizhu thought for a moment and said, "I only lost two handkerchiefs, but I found them both."
"Bring the booklet here." Lady Wen walked quickly to the dressing table and opened the sandalwood box. "I want to check the jewelry."
While the master and his two servants in Xuexiang Garden were busy counting the jewelry, the Empress Dowager heard that the Queen had ordered Yihe Hall and Xuexiang Garden to close themselves off for self-reflection.
The Queen Mother leaned against the soft pillow, her lips curled downwards, a look of disgust on her face: "This troublesome girl, what did she do again?"
Nanny Zhao gently massaged the Empress Dowager's shoulders and whispered, "I heard that Gao Yongfu brought people to the Yihe Palace this morning to investigate. They arrested a young eunuch with a red birthmark behind his ear. He said he was the murderer of Xiao Xuanzi and took him away for questioning."
"Perhaps the inquiry revealed something. The Empress took people to Wenhua Palace and issued this order after returning from Wenhua Palace."
"My prince is really smart and perceptive." The empress dowager, the winner of the previous palace fight, understood the key after a little thought, raised her chin slightly, and spoke with a proud tone.
Nanny Zhao looked at her and said: You are the empress dowager, as long as you are happy.
"The Queen has been investigating this matter for several days now. If it was truly someone within Yu'er's palace who did this, they should have been dealt with long ago. Why would they wait until now for the Queen to find evidence? Yu'er must have been framed."
The Queen Mother spoke with conviction, her expression growing gloomier.
It's not that she wants to protect her niece Xie Anyu, but in her eyes, Xie Anyu is just a fool whose bad deeds are written all over his face.
If what happened to Xiao Xuanzi was really done by Xie Anyu, how could she not see it since Xie Anyu came to pay his respects to her every day?
Aunt Zhao echoed, "The Empress Dowager is wise."
The Empress Dowager glared at her and said, "Don't try to fool me with your words. Go to Wenhua Palace in person and tell them that if the prince is free, please invite him to dine at Wanshou Palace tonight."
"only."
*
In Nong Yun Garden, Chu Liuzheng, who had just finished taking his medicine, also saw the related gossip.
[Tsk tsk, are these concubines in the harem playing nesting dolls here? These layers are full of tricks.]
The Empress was a shrewd woman; how could she not see that there was something fishy about Fugui's capture? Yet, she still brought Fugui's confession to the tyrant. Wasn't she simply gambling that the tyrant wouldn't investigate the death of a minor eunuch, hoping to persuade him to punish Concubine Xie?
Xie Jieyu has the Empress Dowager standing behind her. She usually has her back. The Empress is inevitably restrained when facing Xie Jieyu. How could she possibly feel comfortable? She certainly wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of someone's misfortune.
[As for Lady Wen, everyone has figured it out, except for one person, Concubine Gao.]
[Lady Wen is on the first floor, and Concubine Gao is on the third. Lady Wen has probably long forgotten how she once used a pair of red agate earrings to mock Concubine Gao for her imitation of women.]
To be honest, that was just a coincidence. Concubine Gao and Concubine Wen just happened to be wearing the same patterned dress that day, but the styles were different. It was just that one time.
Gaopin had kept the red agate earrings, and taking advantage of Xiaoxuanzi's three consecutive purchases, she rewarded him with the red agate earrings and a hundred taels of silver, waiting for the day when the truth would be revealed to pin Concubine Wen as the murderer. This was also her escape route.
[Hmm... Xiao Xuanzi was originally sent by Lady Wen, so Lady Wen can't be blamed. I'm a little surprised that the Tyrant recognized this pair of red agate earrings as Lady Wen's at first sight.]
【Could it be that Miss Wen is the tyrant's true love? 】
Chu Liuzheng curiously flipped through the gossip related to the pair of red agate earrings, his expression subtle.
[Uh... well, there's no true love. With this origin, it's hard to forget.]
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