Chapter 23 Queen Mother: I’m determined to support this couple!
Imperial Palace, Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager was happily listening to the palace maids reciting various gossips about the "Regent's love affairs" that she had collected from outside the palace.
"Hahaha! This is interesting! 'The Regent Prince has peach blossoms blooming on his head, and the Imperial Master is so overwhelmed with joy'! Oh, these storytellers are really good at making up stories!" The Empress Dowager couldn't stop laughing.
The emperor Xiao Heng beside him also had a helpless smile on his face: "Grandmother, please stop making fun of my younger brother. He has returned to the palace these past few days, and his face is as black as the bottom of a pot."
"I'm just concerned about him!" The Empress Dowager rolled her eyes at the Emperor. "Yu'er is already grown up, it's time for him to get married. I think that girl Ajiu is not bad! Although she looks silly, she has beautiful eyebrows and clear eyes, and she is a blessed person! She said that Yu'er has a peach blossom on his head, maybe it's her!"
The emperor's mouth twitched when he heard this: "Grandmother, Miss Jiu... is still young, right? Besides, she is, after all, a subordinate of the Imperial Master, and her status is..."
"Why are you afraid of being young? You can settle it first!" The Queen Mother waved her hand. "As for your status, what's wrong with being a subordinate of the Imperial Master? I think it's great! I can help Yu'er with his feng shui and fortune. It's very auspicious!"
The emperor: "..." He felt that the Empress Dowager's understanding of "auspicious" might be different from that of ordinary people.
"I've already made up my mind," the Empress Dowager said excitedly, "In a few days, I'm going to hold a flower-viewing banquet in the palace. I'll invite all the ladies of marriageable age in the capital, including Ajiu! I'll let them meet Yu'er and get to know each other! Who knows, Yu'er's 'true love' might be among them!"
The emperor looked at his royal grandmother's excited expression of "I'm going to do something", and could only silently light a candle for his royal brother in his heart.
It seems that His Royal Highness the Regent's "peach blossom calamity"...
And at this time, the National Master’s Mansion.
In the back garden early in the morning, the old gardener who was in charge of taking care of the flowers and plants exclaimed.
Everyone rushed over to the noise, only to find the usually bustling koi pond now dead silent. Several koi floated on the surface, their bellies turned upside down, including the plump red carp that Ah Jiu had once designated as the "King of Fish"!
What was even more bizarre was that someone had scribbled a crooked "crown" shape out of gold foil on the red carp's head, which shone with a cheap and dazzling light in the morning light.
"What the...what's going on?!" The housekeeper's face turned pale as he watched this scene, his voice trembling. How could so many koi die overnight? And how could someone play such a prank on them?
The servants in the mansion were also talking about it, and they all felt that there was something weird about this matter.
Chu Xuanyi rushed over after hearing the news, and when he saw the tragic scene in the pond and the dead fish with the "gold foil crown" on its head, his brows furrowed tightly.
He subconsciously thought of Ajiu.
Could it be... that girl's "prophecy" has come true again?
But this is too... unbelievable! How can a fish actually "wear a crown" after it dies? This is clearly man-made!
"Investigate thoroughly!" Chu Xuanyi ordered in a deep voice, "Let's see who is playing tricks in the mansion!"
The housekeeper quickly agreed, sent people to salvage the dead fish, check the pond water, and began to interrogate the servants who were on duty last night.
Jiu was also attracted by the commotion. When she saw the motionless koi in the pond, especially the big red fish wearing a "gold foil crown", her little face showed confusion and sadness.
"Huh? Why isn't the fish king moving? Is it asleep?" she whispered to Xiao Cui beside her.
Xiao Cui looked at Ah Jiu's innocent eyes and didn't know how to explain the concept of "death" for a moment. She could only vaguely say, "They...they are too tired and went to rest far away."
Ah Jiu nodded, not quite understanding, and then pointed at the crooked "crown": "But the fish king's crown is ugly and wrinkled. Ah Jiu can make one that is a hundred times more beautiful than this!"
Chu Xuanyi listened from the side, his nameless anger rising again. He now seriously doubted whether this "gold foil crown" was the masterpiece of this girl!
"Ajiu!" He tried hard to suppress his anger and make his voice sound less scary. "Tell me, the fish in this pond... and that 'crown', are they... are they you..."
Ah Jiu blinked his big eyes and looked at him blankly. "It's not Ah Jiu! Ah Jiu went to bed early last night and even dreamed of swimming in the river in the sky with the Fish King!"
Chu Xuanyi stared at her for a long time, but could not see any trace of lying in her clear eyes.
Could it be... that it really isn't her?
Who could that be? What was the purpose of pulling such a prank in the Imperial Master's Mansion? Was it just to scare people? Or... was it targeting Ah Jiu?
Chu Xuanyi's heart sank. He suddenly realized that ever since Ah Jiu came to the Imperial Master's Mansion, especially after the "Peach Blossom Banquet", the Imperial Master's Mansion seemed to have become a subtle focus in the capital.
Just when the people in the Imperial Master's Mansion were in panic because of the "Koi Tragedy", the investigation in the Regent's Palace also made new progress.
"My Lord, we've uncovered some deeper clues regarding the tragic massacre near the ruined temple." The Dark Guard Commander's expression grew increasingly solemn. "The family's surname was Lin. They were once imperial embroiderers of exceptional skill. Legend has it that the Lins mastered the long-lost technique of 'golden thread and blood embroidery,' where they embroider phoenixes that rise from the ashes, and dragons that summon wind and rain... Of course, this is likely a folk exaggeration. But what is certain is that the Lins' embroidery is priceless and deeply connected to the imperial family."
Xiao Yu listened quietly, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously.
"When the Lin family was exterminated, the government claimed it was the work of bandits, but the files are riddled with doubts. An informant reported that on the night of the incident, mysterious individuals dressed in black and acting strangely were seen entering and leaving the Lin family's residence. Furthermore... the Lin family had a young daughter, about five or six years old, who disappeared during the tragedy. Neither her body was found, alive, nor her body."
The commander of the secret guards paused, his voice lowered. "Based on our estimation of Miss Jiu's bone age, and the time and place where Xuanxu Zhenren found her, it's highly consistent with the time and place where the Lin family's youngest daughter disappeared."
Xiao Yu's eyes suddenly narrowed. "You mean...Ajiu might be the little daughter of the Lin family who disappeared that year?"
"I dare not make any rash judgments, but... it's highly possible," the secret guard leader said solemnly, "If this is true, then Miss Jiu is probably involved in the palace secrets of the past..."
Xiao Yu's breathing stagnated slightly.
"Where is Master Xuanxu?" Xiao Yu asked. He felt that this crazy old Taoist priest had become a key figure.
"Master Xuanxu...is still moving in a mysterious way. We've deployed our forces, but he's incredibly capable of evading tracking, slipping like a loach."
"Increase your efforts," Xiao Yu said in a deep voice, "Spar no matter the cost, and find Master Xuanxu! Also, secretly protect Ah Jiu. I want to know who is coveting the Lin family's secrets behind the scenes, and who... wants to use this little girl!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com