Li Niang has always been in the music hall.
Qingying had considered buying her a house so she could live out her remaining years in peace, but she refused.
She really loves playing the pipa and doesn't want to rely on others to live anymore. She says she can only feel at ease using money earned with her own hands.
She said that Qingying didn't owe her anything, and that she felt guilty in the past for not taking good care of Qingying for Ye Ning.
Qingying didn't insist. She simply went to the Zou family privately, hoping to get them to move out of the capital and never bother Li Niang again. But when she arrived at the Zou family's house, it was already deserted.
She didn't investigate further at the time, but now, looking back, everything makes sense...
She had thought that their fate had come to an end. From now on, confined within the palace walls, it would be difficult for her to see Li Niang again.
At that moment, she stared intently at the woman sitting opposite her.
She hadn't changed much since we first met; she still had fair skin and delicate features, exuding the gentle beauty of a woman from Jiangnan, her eyes gazing blankly elsewhere.
She asked, "Jiaojiao, what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Such an appearance is indeed very deceptive.
Qingying thought to herself.
She curled her lips and slowly said, "Li Niang, I've inquired. This music hall doesn't easily sign contracts unless you have something they want."
Li Niang's expression remained unchanged, but her tone became slightly indifferent, "You've come here to know something?"
"Yu Yue came to see you a few days ago."
"Yes, he came, but left after a short while."
Do you know where she went afterward?
"I don't know. She only told me I should return to the palace. What? She hasn't gone back yet? Has she disappeared?"
Qingying kept staring at her face, trying to glean something from it.
But she acted too normally.
The more normal something is, the more abnormal it is.
Qingying continued, "Liniang, I know you have the ability to locate sounds by sound, and you can hear the slightest movement within ten meters clearly. The shop owner kept you by his side because of this skill."
Li Niang's expression finally changed slightly, and she asked, "What did you do?"
Few people know about this, not even her husband who shared a bed with her when she married into the Zou family. Now, only that one person in the world knows.
"Don't be in such a hurry," Qingying said. "You know I'm now a Noble Consort. If I really want to investigate something, it's not difficult."
Li Niang pursed her lips and looked at her, her dull, lifeless eyes falling on her face. She clenched her fist on the table and said, "Yu Yue heard something she shouldn't have heard. Someone wants to take her life, so she won't survive."
Qingying's breath caught in her throat with tension. "Who is it?"
"I can't say." Li Niang lowered her eyelids, not daring to look directly at her even though she couldn't see, and said softly, "She was just a maid, she's dead now, there are some things you'd better not know."
“She was more than just a maid!” Qingying gritted her teeth, her eyes almost overflowing with grief, and her voice became hoarse: “Many people told me not to investigate further, that her death was insignificant, that maids die every now and then in that palace, it’s no big deal. I don’t like how they treat life so lightly.”
“Jiaojiao, you can’t change anything even if you don’t like it. That’s just how the world is. Those in high positions are born noble. Even a cough from them can startle the Imperial Hospital. Those of low status are like ants. They die in a deep alley and no one cares for a long time. Jiaojiao, people like us are stepping stones for others when we are useful, and even despised as obstacles when we are useless. Just being alive is already a great achievement.”
Qingying stared at her intently for a long time before finally looking away.
"I won't make things difficult for you if you don't tell me. I just ask you to point me in the right direction."
Li Niang pursed her lips and remained silent.
Just as Qingying thought she wouldn't speak and was about to get up and leave, she finally opened her mouth and uttered two words, "Jinling".
"Jinling?" Qingying looked at her in confusion, but she had already turned her face away.
Qingying pursed her lips, said, "Thank you," and then turned and left.
Sitting in the carriage on the way back, Qingying closed her eyes and meditated.
The late Empress Dowager's maternal family was the Han family of Jinling, which was Wei Huaixu's maternal grandfather's family. She hadn't paid attention to it before, so she hadn't thought about it in detail. Now that Wei Huaixu was the emperor, he should have promoted his maternal grandfather's family, but he had never mentioned the Han family since he ascended the throne, as if those people didn't exist. But the Han family had clearly contributed a lot when he raised his army.
What unspeakable secret lies behind this?
This time, Qingying didn't contact Jinheng, but instead sent a message to Xie Jiaoying, asking her to help investigate.
More than a month passed before the investigation began.
To her surprise, Wei Huaixu first identified the murderer of Yu Yue—Lu Jingyan.
Qingying couldn't think of him no matter how hard she tried.
"How could it be Lu Jingyan? He had no grudge against Yu Yue, so why would he kill her?"
Wei Huaixu explained: "Lu Jingyan was having a private conversation with someone at the music hall when Yu Yue accidentally stumbled upon it. Fearing that Yu Yue would gossip, he sent people to try to capture her, but Yu Yue fell into a well while trying to escape."
Qingying was shocked. "But...but wasn't Yu Yue's body found in the river?"
"That well connects to the Qingjiang River. They sealed the wellhead, and it rained heavily that night..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Qingying could already imagine how unbearable that night must have been for Yu Yue, struggling desperately in the well, watching the water level rise and being submerged time and time again, until finally being choked to death.
Qingying's clenched hands turned white inch by inch. After a moment, she asked, "What is Lu Jingyan afraid others will find out? Is it just that he's afraid of being discovered having an affair?"
She had no recollection that this person was a devoted lover.
"No, he's selling smuggled salt."
Qingying opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.
In the Eastern Kingdom, selling smuggled salt is a serious crime, punishable by death for exceeding three catties. Even so, many people still take the risk to make huge profits.
She wasn't surprised that Lu Jingyan had come to this point, after all, she had once tried to bribe him with money.
"They'll do anything for money... I just feel sorry for my Yu Yue..." Qingying burst into tears.
Wei Huaixu pulled her into his arms and gently comforted her, "I will punish him severely and give you and Yu Yue justice."
"Mm." Qingying nodded.
She cried as if Yu Yue had finally been exonerated, but the doubts in her heart grew stronger.
She always felt that things weren't that simple.
...
Qingying was still anxiously awaiting Xie Jiaoying's investigation results, but unexpectedly received news of Li Niang's murder first.
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