After thinking for a moment, she decided to try something softer: "I heard that the grapes that were supposed to be tributed from Lingxi were delayed in Tongcheng because of King Kang's affairs."
The Shrike dropped his eyes, trying to hide his reaction.
"This year is said to be a drought year, with poor rainfall, but the grapes are sweeter than in previous years."
Xiao Nanhui felt that she could even hear the sound of Shrike swallowing his saliva.
After entering Jizhou, they had been sleeping in the open air and the food was bland. The fresh fruits and vegetables that Shrike loved the most had been out of stock for a long time. Her big, round face looked much drier than when she was in Quecheng, like a dried persimmon that was about to be dried by the wind.
"My Lord, if you ask me later..."
Xiao Nanhui replied straightforwardly, "I told you I drugged you and tied you up!"
The brave and powerful Shrike, the number one killer in Andoin, finally succumbed to a fat bird and a bunch of grapes.
From Tongcheng to the west, most of the official roads were submerged in the vast Gobi Desert. Xiao Nanhui couldn't bear to see Jixiang suffer, so he entrusted the whole thing to Shrike. After giving him many lengthy instructions, they began to act separately.
The days in Tongcheng seem to be especially long in the summer, and the sky and the earth are still bright just after the hour of You.
The Prince Kang's palace is located deep in Tongcheng. Prince Kang was carefree and willful by nature, and he especially loved flowers, plants, insects, and birds. This was because his biological mother was born in Wancheng, the misty capital. After he inherited the throne of the princes, he spent a lot of money to plant flowers and plants, and turned the palace into a typical garden landscape, with carved beams and painted buildings, winding streams, and everything else.
Perhaps this may not be considered a big deal elsewhere, but it is indeed a luxury in the water-scarce western Kishu Mountains.
When Xiao Nanhui leaned on the wall to watch the sunset, his impression of King Kang became even worse.
She also knew the power of the current emperor Tiancheng. Under such a powerful monarch, an ambitious prince would not survive for long.
The consequence of being overly cautious is inaction, and sometimes inaction is the greatest stupidity.
It was past midnight, and the last glimmer of light remained between heaven and earth. The soldiers, who had been on guard all day, handed over their posts to the night watch and left the palace wearily through the side door.
Xiao Nanhui still didn't move. The person she was waiting for had not left yet.
Another stick of incense passed, and the sky became completely dark. A black figure in official uniform finally walked out of the main hall. After whispering something to the night guards, he hurried away.
Lu Songping was truly arrogant. Even before Prince Kang's body had cooled, he had already swaggered into the annex palace under the pretext of garrisoning and conducting an investigation. Now, the annex palace was devoid of Prince Kang's imperial guards, but mostly Lu Songping's personal guards in green.
But now he couldn't stay in the other palace anymore, Xiao Nanhui curled his lips.
In order to lure the tiger away from the mountain, she asked Shrike to make some noise, and now it seems to have worked.
Xiao Nanhui took off his shoes and boots and jumped down from the wall, trying not to make too much noise, and groped his way along the wall into the depths of the palace.
The flowers and plants that had been carefully cared for in the past had lost their care and had begun to wither and die in just over a month. The entire palace was filled with a dead air.
The unpleasant experience of his last night visit to the Zou Mansion in Huozhou was still fresh in Xiao Nanhui's mind. He had some psychological trauma now, but he still had to bite the bullet and do his job.
Finding out the Bai family's situation sounds simple, but it's actually incredibly difficult. The situation in Bijiang is chaotic, and without a single clue, even a year or two might not yield any real, useful information.
The death of King Kang was extremely suspicious, and she didn't believe that the Bai family had no involvement. But the Bai family was not stupid. Tongcheng was still a natural territory, so they would not act so blatantly. However, if they investigated carefully, they should be able to catch one or two people.
Her requirements were not high. As long as there were clues to follow, she would have no problem finding the Bai family's base.
The most important thing right now is to find someone involved to understand the situation.
However, most of the palace maids and eunuchs on duty on the day of the assassination had already been executed, and only a few were spared due to special circumstances. One of them was the younger brother of Lan, the most favored concubine of King Kang.
Relying on her own glory when she was in favor, Lan forced her younger brother to work in the palace. After working there for three to five years, he was promoted to the position of deputy general manager. Unfortunately, he had not enjoyed his days of comfort before Prince Kang met with an accident.
After the incident, Lu Songping's people took over the affairs of the palace. When they were investigating and punishing the servants who served inside and outside the palace that day, Lan Shi used some tricks to save her brother.
The death penalty can be avoided, but the punishment of living punishment cannot be escaped. The unfortunate Deputy Chief Steward Lan was beaten with thirty sticks and then locked up in Shuxin Pavilion, where no one cared about him for the time being.
Xiao Nanhui felt that if this person was on duty that day, he must know something.
It took her some effort to find out this news, and now she took advantage of the night to sneak towards Shuxin Pavilion.
Shuxin Pavilion was originally used to punish palace maids who made mistakes. There was no staircase on the ground floor, only a hanging ladder that could be opened and closed. The rooms where people were imprisoned were all on the top floor of the attic. Although it was only three stories high, it was an impossible height to escape for the maids who grew up in other palaces.
Of course, Xiao Nanhui does not fall into this category.
Thanks to her experience climbing the Pingxiao Tower in Huozhou, it only took her half a cup of tea to climb to the third-floor air vent using her hands and feet.
There were some wooden boards nailed around the narrow air vent. Xiao Nanhui looked around and saw no one, so he kicked the wooden boards open and went into the attic.
In the darkness, only a pair of wide-open, frightened eyes were staring at her.
He seemed to want to shout, but because he hadn't spoken for so long, only hoarse sounds came out when he opened his mouth.
After a violent coughing fit, he finally uttered half a sentence: "Are you here to kill me?"
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