As summer approaches, the nights become a bit hotter.
Su Man's bedroom, needless to say, had a constant supply of ice and a windmill to cool him down. The servants' quarters, however, were a little more difficult, a stuffy little room often infested with mosquitoes.
"Snap"
Wu Xia killed a mosquito, muttering to herself as she did so, "I'll let you bite me."
Her voice attracted Nong Shuang's attention. She was making the bed and glanced at Wu Xia. "We distributed mosquito repellent grass today. Put it by the door later."
Wu Xia slapped her forehead and said, "Oh, Sister Nong Shuang is right. Look at my head, I completely forgot."
After putting it away, Wu Xia clapped her hands and said, "Okay, now I can sleep peacefully."
Nong Shuang's reaction was indifferent, and he kept looking out the window.
Wu Xia saw this and nodded secretly. It seemed that she was going to tip off the police today. Wu Xia did not show any abnormality. She stretched and said, "Sister Nong Shuang, I'm sleepy. I'm going to sleep first."
Nong Shuang came back to his senses, "Well, go to sleep."
Wuxia fell asleep quickly after lying down, even snoring softly. However, Nongshuang was not sleepy at all. She tossed and turned several times, occasionally propping herself up to look outside.
When the clapper sounded for the second time, Nong Shuang jumped up from the bed.
She didn't go out immediately, but listened quietly to what was happening on Wuxia's side.
Seeing that she was sleeping soundly and showed no sign of waking up, Nong Shuang put on his clothes and went downstairs.
With a creak, the door opened a crack.
The moonlight shone through the crack in the door onto the ground, but soon disappeared.
As usual, Nong Shuang locked the door from the outside before going out, gathered her clothes, and then left the room.
...
next day
"What? She really went to the toilet?"
Wu Xia was helping Su Man change her clothes. Upon hearing this, she whispered, "Yes, two palace servants were watching her intently. They said she went in and stayed there for about a cup of tea, then came out and went back to her room."
Su Man frowned. This was not exactly what she had expected; it was completely unrelated. Not only was there no contact person, there wasn't even a code.
signal...
Su Man's heart moved. Something was wrong. Although there was no contact person, it did not prove that they could not make contact.
After thinking it through, Su Man ordered, "Go to the toilet and see if there is anything unusual."
"Yes, I obey your command."
After a while, Wuxia came back.
"Your Majesty, I found a hollow wooden strip on the beam above the toilet. It has a secret compartment. I opened it and found paper and a pen inside."
Su Man understood, it was indeed so.
No wonder Nong Shuang had been with Diman for so long without being discovered. No one would have thought that they would set up a toilet as the place to pass on messages.
"Then who else went in after Nong Shuang?" Su Man asked again.
Wu Xia looked embarrassed. "Too many. There's only one toilet in the servants' quarters. In order not to lose face in front of the master, almost every palace servant would go there before going on duty."
“…”
Su Man's face was solemn. It was indeed a good move.
In such a crowded place, the person responsible for transmitting information was hidden. Even if she wanted to investigate, she would have no idea where to start.
Suddenly, Su Man thought of something, "Has anyone gone out from last night to this morning?"
Wu Xia was stunned by the question. She thought for a moment and said, "No, the palace gates haven't opened yet. No one will go out."
Su Man held the jade pendant on the dressing table in her palm and frowned. "The late emperor's jade pendant is missing. Go, call everyone to the yard."
Wu Xia understood, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will go right away."
...
Wu Xia hurried out and happened to meet Nong Shuang.
Nong Shuang looked puzzled, "Wu Xia, why are you out here if you're not waiting inside?"
Wu Xia looked anxious. Seeing her was like seeing her backbone. She stamped her feet and said, "Oh, Sister Nong Shuang, you are here. His Majesty's jade pendant is missing, and he wants to gather everyone for questioning."
"What? The jade pendant is lost?"
Nong Shuang looked confused, as if she hadn't figured out what was going on.
"I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going to call someone."
"Hey, Wuxia."
Nong Shuang was about to say something when Wu Xia had already run away. Nong Shuang had no choice but to go in and serve her first, with an unconcealable worry between her brows.
In a short while, all the palace servants in the Qinzheng Hall gathered together.
In the corridor, Su Man sat on a chair that was brought out, looking at everyone's expressions.
Some of them were afraid, some were at a loss, and none of them dared even to breathe, for fear that they would be implicated if they were not careful.
Su Man played with the folding fan in her hand, tapping it on her palm again and again.
The force, neither too light nor too heavy, seemed to strike at the heart of every palace servant. Some of those with poor mental qualities felt their legs go limp and secretly wiped the cold sweat with their sleeves.
Seeing that the time was almost right, Su Man slowly spoke, "Why I called you here? You should already know. How dare you do such dirty things under the Emperor's nose? What crime should you take?"
When she said the last four words, Su Man suddenly raised her voice, which frightened everyone so much that their knees went weak and they all knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, calm down. Your Majesty, calm down."
"Calm down?"
Su Man sneered, "The jade pendant is a relic of the late emperor. If you don't want to be torn into pieces by five horses, hand it over immediately."
“…”
There was silence below. Su Man chuckled, "You're not going to hand it over?"
No one spoke.
Su Man stood up and looked down at them. "Not only the thieves, but also those who know about the crime but don't report it are guilty as well."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone became visibly nervous.
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