Chapter 24 The Death of Fang Sideng
The main quarters and the storerooms were separated by a narrow alley. The rooms housed palace maids from the Lamp and Candle Office and other departments of the Imperial Bedchamber Bureau. Fang Si Deng, being a female official, lived alone in a small room on the west side.
Most of the palace maids in the lamp and candle office were on duty, while the other palace maids on night duty were resting in their quarters. Upon hearing of the incident, they all came out to see what was going on.
Song Gongzheng frowned and scolded, "Don't wander around and inquire!"
The palace maids, wary of the Palace Attendant, quickly returned to their rooms upon seeing this. Huang Liang hesitated, then said to Jiang Ling, who stood pale-faced at the door, "This place is filthy, Consort Jiang, please do not approach. Allow me and Lord Song to go and investigate."
Jiang Ling responded with an "oh," took two steps back, and kept her eyes fixed on the room.
The room was small, and the bed was right in front of the door, with the bed curtains hanging haphazardly on the hooks.
Fang Sideng was dressed in a gray-blue dress like a female official, her hair neatly styled. She lay on her side facing the door, her body curled up in a ball.
The time they spent together was short, and Jiang Ling couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
The two had met yesterday morning; her delicate face was always adorned with a gentle smile. But in the blink of an eye, she, like the weather, lost all warmth and became a cold corpse.
Song Gongzheng and Huang Liang entered the room with palace maids and eunuchs. The group gathered together, blocking Jiang Ling's view.
Thinking back to Jiang Ling's scolding earlier, any resentment or dissatisfaction she felt had vanished completely. The room was cold and damp; she felt numb all over and shrank back, afraid to go forward.
Inside the room, Huang Liang and Song Gongzheng were discussing the cause of Fang Sideng's death. Wen Juan listened, glancing at Jiang Ling from time to time. She was very worried and called out to Jiang Ling, whose eyes were glazed over, "My beauty."
Jiang Ling seemed not to hear, so Wen Juan called out again. She came to her senses and asked blankly, "What is it?"
Wen Juan couldn't hide her worry and whispered, "Huang Daban and Song Gongzheng said that Fang Sideng had no other injuries and it seemed like he committed suicide by swallowing gold."
The palace quarters were occupied day and night, with rooms side by side. If Fang Si Deng had been murdered, it would have made a commotion and been discovered by the other palace maids.
Judging from the current situation, the matter of beeswax must be inextricably linked to Fang Sideng.
To rise to the rank of a sixth-grade female official in the palace, hard work alone is far from enough; intelligence and wit are also essential. Fang Si Deng is in her prime, and it is extremely difficult for her to have reached this position. The fact that she was willing to sacrifice her life suggests that there must be something more important than her life and future.
The rain stopped, but the sky remained overcast. Layer upon layer of blue rooftops stretched out, merging seamlessly with the sky.
Jiang Ling remained silent. The image of Fang Sideng, calm and collected, versus her face contorted in pain, kept flashing before her eyes. Her chest felt like it was stuffed with a tangled mess of emotions; she couldn't breathe, and felt nauseous.
This was the first time she had faced a corpse directly, allowing her to fully and truly experience being in the harem of a palace intrigue novel.
Huang Liang and Song Gongzheng came out one after the other and went to question the palace maids in the main residence. One of the palace maids stayed in the room to tidy up Fang Sideng's personal belongings and casually wrapped her in a quilt.
A servant entered the room and carried the body, wrapped in a quilt, out. The embroidered shoes hanging outside the quilt flashed past the doorway and quickly disappeared.
After a short while, Song Gongzheng finished his questioning and said, "My lady, Fang Sideng has not left her quarters since returning to her residence yesterday. The maids in the nearby rooms have not noticed anything unusual, nor have they heard her calling for help or making any noises or fighting. Nothing in the room has been moved, and Fang Sideng's clothes are intact. This servant and Huang Daban both believe that she committed suicide."
Huang Liang added, "The Emperor has ordered a thorough investigation into the beeswax matter. I'm afraid she knew she couldn't escape, so she chose to die to at least leave behind a whole corpse."
"Why?" Jiang Ling asked.
Huang Liang didn't react for a moment, and Jiang Ling followed up, "Why? Why would Fang Si Deng do this? Why would she want to steal beeswax? Doesn't she know that if the candles in the main hall are extinguished on the Emperor's birthday, she will be beheaded and her family property confiscated?"
Song Gongzheng frowned and remained silent, while Huang Liang smiled apologetically and said, "Beauty Jiang, I have no idea why Fang Si Deng would risk being beheaded and having his property confiscated."
Jiang Ling realized that Chen Shanggong was not present at the moment, and both Shanggong and she were suspects. They should avoid suspicion.
“Huang Daban, I am open and honest, so I am not afraid. I hope you can investigate thoroughly and get to the bottom of this. Fang Sideng would not have touched the beeswax for no reason. Whether she was threatened or bribed, there must be a reason.”
Jiang Ling gave a bitter laugh and took the opportunity to toss the errand boy back haphazardly: "The errand boy from the Candle and Lamp Office should now avoid suspicion and shouldn't be involved anymore. If you want to find me, I'm in Fanying Pavilion." With that, she walked down the steps and left without looking back.
Huang Liang and Song Gongzheng exchanged a glance and hurriedly said, "I'll go back and report to the Emperor first. You can check it carefully again to make sure there are no mistakes."
Song Gongzheng nodded in agreement, and the two went their separate ways to get busy.
Hurriedly returning to Fanying Pavilion, Jiang Ling rushed into the room and collapsed onto the couch. Wen Juan, thinking she was frightened, hurriedly instructed A'Ruo Qingwen and the others: "The beauty's clothes and shoes are all wet. Quickly fetch water and help the beauty wash. Lunch is probably cold. Quickly warm it up with hot water."
Jiang Ling lay motionless on the couch. Wen Juan, seeing this, grew anxious and gently advised, "When I served before the Emperor, I never dared to slack off. Huang Daban is meticulous, and Song Gongzheng is strict and intolerant of any wrongdoing. If they find out, you'll inevitably be punished. Don't worry, Your Highness, Fang Si Deng and you don't have much contact and have no personal relationship. Don't worry, Your Highness, Huang Daban and Song Gongzheng won't trace it back to you."
"Hmm," Jiang Ling replied in a muffled voice, slowly sitting up and letting out a deep breath with his eyes closed.
If what she said is true, and Fang Sideng made the exchange under duress, the price she paid was far too terrible. For her to be so resolute in choosing death, what heavy experiences must she have gone through?
The palace maids were all from poor backgrounds. If they were forced to do something, they had no way to resist and their actions were not their own choice.
Because she was a sinner, no one would pity her, much less be allowed to. Wrapped in old bedding, she was discarded like trash in the mass grave.
Jiang Ling smiled sarcastically and said, "The harem is full of innocent ghosts. Whether they are innocent or not is not important. There is another key point: when they finally find out who the mastermind is, how they will deal with them, to what extent they will deal with them, and who they will deal with."
Wenjuan stood there stunned, and Jiang Ling didn't say anything more. It was past lunchtime, and she was cold and hungry, so she got up to wash.
After lunch, Jiang Ling felt a little better. She was dismissed from her post at the lamp and candle station; now that she was a suspect, she had no reason to leave and prepared to take a nap.
Just as I sat down on the edge of the bed and kicked off my shoes, Huang Liang arrived.
Jiang Ling was stunned for a moment, her heart leaping into her throat.
Could it be that someone framed her? Have Huang Liang and his team found evidence and are coming to deal with her?
A note from the author:
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