Chapter 115 Searching the Palace
"How dare you! You actually want to search the palace? Aunt Cui, I only address you as Aunt Cui because you have been in the palace the longest."
"I am a fourth-rank Noble Consort personally appointed by His Majesty. How dare you act so arrogantly here?" Noble Consort Ruan immediately became furious.
Aunt Cui explained with a smile.
"Your Majesty is too kind. How could I dare to act so arrogantly in Your Majesty's presence?"
However, as a third-rank official in the Imperial Palace, I am in charge of all the palace staff.
I must be fully aware of the whereabouts of every palace servant.
In addition... the position of Palace Attendant was established by the imperial court when the late emperor was still the crown prince, also in the hope that the palace staff and eunuchs would have someone to rely on and a place to reason.
It's unlikely that someone would enter the palace to serve a noble person and then mysteriously disappear.
Therefore, it is my duty to do this today.
Now someone has seen palace servants from Ronghua Palace enter Xiushui Pavilion. This is the last clue, and I must investigate it.
If Your Majesty is still worried, this humble official will ask the Imperial Concubine to come and watch over it personally.
Your Highness, if this matter is not thoroughly investigated and the innocence of Xiushui Pavilion is not proven, there will inevitably be people who will slander us behind our backs.
This is both to give those palace servants an explanation and to clear the Empress's name!
If we don't let everyone investigate now, won't everyone say that a palace maid has gone missing at Xiushui Pavilion?
"And those palace servants and eunuchs, none of them want to mysteriously disappear in the future!" Aunt Cui showed no sign of backing down.
Consort Ruan's expression alternated between pale and flushed.
The palace servants and eunuchs around were all looking at Consort Ruan.
Yes, none of them who serve the important people want to disappear inexplicably!
They were nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead!
Seeing that the expressions of the people around her had changed, Consort Ruan had no choice but to grit her teeth and agree.
"Fine! I'll let you search!"
"I'd like to see what you can find in the Xiushui Pavilion!"
Soon, Consort Wu was also invited over by someone sent by Aunt Cui.
The missing person is a palace servant from Ronghua Palace. She is still in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, and she has to step forward for both official and private reasons.
“Sister Ruan, since Aunt Cui has spoken, let’s let them take a look!”
"To prevent some people from talking nonsense in the palace," Consort Wu advised Consort Ruan.
Given that the King of Wu was going to the northern lands with the King of Zhao, this incident was not a coincidence for Consort Wu.
Someone must have been jealous of the King of Zhao and the King of Wu going to the northern lands, so they set a trap for them!
Perfect timing! As long as Consort Ruan can't find anything, she'll have a chance to complain to His Majesty.
These palace eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting really have no respect for the imperial concubines...
...
The people brought by Aunt Cui investigated very thoroughly and very carefully.
They did not damage any items in Xiushui Pavilion, nor did they do anything more outrageous.
In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all the people from the Shanggong Bureau who were conducting the inspection came out.
"Reporting to the Palace Commander, there is nothing unusual at Xiushui Pavilion!"
Consort Wu and Consort Ruan both breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as Consort Wu was about to speak, Aunt Cui spoke first.
"Have you investigated everything? You'd better investigate thoroughly, or you'll be spreading rumors about Xiushui Pavilion later!"
Consort Wu, Consort Ruan...
The inspectors hurriedly bowed in greeting.
"The palace has been thoroughly investigated, but the garden outside has not yet been checked. This servant will take some people to check the garden right away."
"Go and take a look! I don't mean to dig three feet into the ground, but we should at least see things clearly!"
"To prevent anyone from using this to spread unfounded rumors later." Aunt Cui gestured for the people from the Shanggong Bureau to go and check over in the courtyard.
No one spoke, except for Consort Ruan and a few of her close attendants, whose expressions changed.
...
The people from the Shanggong Bureau carefully inspected the courtyard.
Everyone was whispering to themselves.
With a yard this small, it's obvious where someone might be hiding. Why act like you're searching for some rare treasure...?
"Huh!" The people from the Shanggong Bureau stopped in the small garden.
Everyone immediately looked over.
"What's wrong?" Aunt Cui asked immediately.
"The soil here... is a bit loose, as if someone has disturbed it!" Director Shang Gong said in a low voice.
Aunt Cui's face immediately turned ugly.
Consort Wu was also taken aback for a moment, and she immediately turned to look at Consort Ruan.
At this moment, Consort Ruan also had a look of doubt on her face.
But in reality, her heart was in her throat. Consort Ruan secretly pinched herself hard to try to stay calm.
Soon, everyone from the Shanggong Bureau gathered in that small garden.
“This is…this is the peony garden that Her Majesty personally managed; there’s no way something could have happened!” The eunuchs of Xiushui Pavilion immediately knelt down.
Aunt Cui didn't even glance at the eunuchs; she just looked at the soil in the small garden.
It's a bit loose, as if someone has tampered with it...
"Move all the peonies away! Dig them up!" Aunt Cui said calmly.
Consort Ruan's heart pounded even harder.
...
All the peonies in the peony garden were moved by the hired gardeners, leaving some branches and leaves on the ground.
Aunt Cui seemed to smell a faint, pungent odor of decay in the air.
Everyone in the Shanggong Bureau was looking at Aunt Cui.
Aunt Cui looked at the soil that had already been turned over and simply uttered three words, "Keep digging!"
...
After the people from the Bureau of Imperial Sacrifices had been digging for a while, the palace servant who was digging the most diligently suddenly screamed...
"This...this looks like human bones!"
"Yes! It looks like the bones of a human hand!"
...
Consort Ruan's heart sank to the bottom.
Consort Wu was so shocked that she stood up abruptly.
"Human bones? How could that be! My people only went missing yesterday..."
Consort Wu suddenly realized that the person buried there was not the missing palace servant from her palace at all...
As for who is buried in that garden, nobody knows yet.
"Consort Ruan, you'd better explain yourself to me!" Consort Wu glared fiercely at Consort Ruan.
Consort Ruan was so frightened that she immediately knelt down.
"Your Highness, please understand! Why is this happening here... I have no idea!"
...
Inside the Hall of Diligent Governance, Emperor Xiao Xuan and the Crown Prince were looking at a map, wondering which route would allow them to reach the North more quickly.
Eunuch Xue entered with a serious expression.
"Your Majesty, someone from the Palace Attendant's office has reported that a skeleton has been found in the peony garden of Xiushui Pavilion!" Eunuch Xue said in a low voice.
Emperor Xiao Xuan...
"Skeletons? In the peony garden of Xiushui Pavilion?"
"Yes! The Palace Attendant has already sent people from the Ministry of Justice over there. Now, the Imperial Concubine, Consort Ruan, and the other imperial concubines are all at Xiushui Pavilion."
"The Palace Attendant has come to request His Majesty's decree: whether the investigation should continue?" Eunuch Xue bowed and said.
Emperor Xiao Xuan...
Of course, they've gone to such lengths to investigate; they're definitely going to continue!
This Aunt Cui...
Emperor Xiao Xuan glanced at the Crown Prince, who was also looking shocked, and said only one sentence.
"Get to the bottom of this!"
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