Lancao straightened her clothes, stood up and was about to leave, but the guard stopped her: "Stop, you haven't finished asking questions yet."
Seeing the serious expressions on their faces, Lancao took a step back and asked, "If you have anything else to ask, please ask quickly. If this delays the master's business, who among you can take the responsibility?"
No matter what Lancao said, they all stood still and refused to let him go. The leading guard asked again, "Are you accompanying the Eighth Princess today? Has the Eighth Princess come to the pond?"
Hearing the pond, Lancao clutched her sleeves tightly and asked in a trembling voice, "Can the guards also inquire about the princess's whereabouts?"
The experienced guard saw that Lancao didn't dare to answer his question directly, so he waved his hand and two guards stepped forward to subdue Lancao and drag her into the palace for questioning. Lancao was about to scream, but before she could make a sound, the quick-eyed and quick-handed guard covered her mouth with a towel.
Lancao was sent to the palace's Ministry of Punishment. She confessed within a quarter of an hour, but before she could say anything, the Eighth Princess arrived to demand her release. The head of the Ministry of Punishment had no choice but to hand her over to the Eighth Princess. After returning to Yijing Palace, Lancao committed suicide by jumping into a well that night.
The next day, Sheng Shu and Yu Jiaxing returned to the palace to study. At lunch, the Eighth Prince invited them to eat together. Afterward, he said, "Yesterday's events were all a misunderstanding. Zhongqi and Yunfeng, don't worry about it." After entering the palace, the two were given different courtesy names: Zhongqi for Sheng Shu and Yunfeng for Yu Jiaxing.
The two of them bowed and replied, "Thank you, Eighth Prince, for your concern."
Then they talked about the polo match the day after tomorrow, which would be attended by several princes and their tutors, and several princesses would also be present. Sheng Shu and Yu Jiaxing were both very familiar with polo, but they were still young and a full head shorter than the other princes' tutors.
After returning home yesterday, Sheng Shu told Xu Wen and Sheng Huairen what happened in the palace. After asking for details, Xu Wen told Sheng Shu not to worry. Sheng Huairen frowned and thought for a moment and said, "Maybe there will be many such things in the future. People often say that once you enter the palace, it is like entering a deep sea. Brother Shu has only been there for a few days and such a thing happened." Sheng Huairen shook his head, thinking about how to protect Sheng Shu.
The Empress Jing'an, the head of the harem, also learned about this that night and ordered the palace to investigate the whole story. They found out that Lancao had committed suicide by jumping into the well, but in fact, the Eighth Princess's men had broken her head and thrown her into the well.
The next morning, the Eighth Princess was summoned. Empress Jing'an, with a rare stern expression, issued a punishment order: "Eighth Princess, first you framed the Eighth Prince's companion, and then you took a human life. You will be stripped of all the privileges a princess deserves and confined to Yijing Palace for three years."
Three years? The Eighth Princess was already twelve years old this year. If she couldn't leave the house for three years, she wouldn't even be able to hold her coming-of-age ceremony. The Eighth Princess knelt and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, I was momentarily bewildered and didn't mean to harm anyone. Please be lenient with me."
Seeing that Empress Cihe and Jing'an, who usually remained unmoved, the Eighth Princess said, "My daughter no longer has a mother. I beg the Empress to have mercy on her."
It was really a stupid move. It would have been better if the Eighth Princess hadn't mentioned her biological mother, Concubine Li. As soon as she mentioned it, Queen Jing'an remembered the death of the two princes. Her face became even colder and she waved her hand to have the Eighth Princess taken away.
After the Eighth Queen left, Zi Yan saw that Queen Jing'an was unhappy, so she offered her a cup of hot milk tea and said to her in a gentle voice, "Your Majesty, Princess Jinyi has sent some more goodies from the south. Please take a look."
Hearing Princess Jinyi, Queen Jing'an regained her composure and said with a gentle expression, "Send it up! I want to see what rare treasure this girl has brought."
"Yes." Zi Yan happily exchanged a glance with Zi Shu, and Zi Shu stepped forward to serve beside her. Zi Yan went out to ask people to bring in the box that Princess Jin Yi had sent to the palace.
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