If the manipulation was carried out after May, then some people could be eliminated. Hongli pondered:
"Only you, the Empress, and Consort Rong left the palace this time. All the other concubines stayed in the palace, and they are all suspects."
Su Yushan first ruled out two people: "Xilan and Consort Chen would definitely not harm me."
Hongli raised an eyebrow slightly. "You trust them that much? What if it really is them?"
Having spent over a decade with them, Su Yushan naturally understood their personalities.
“When I was in the Prince’s residence, Xi Lan treated me sincerely, and Consort Chen even helped me find the murderer. They all treated me very well and never had any intention of vying for favor or plotting against me. So I trust them. If even they want to harm me, then I really don’t know who I should trust.”
Over the years, Xilan has indeed been very dutiful. Hongli would not mistreat a dutiful person, and he would often give Xilan and Consort Chen some rewards, but this does not mean that he trusts them.
"In the depths of the palace, people's hearts are unpredictable. Many people will change their nature because of their interests and jealousy. Apart from me, there is no one you can completely trust."
Su Yushan certainly believed that Hongli would not harm her. It was undeniable that he treated her very well, but there was one thing: he was too suspicious. Who knew when he might suspect her and Fu Qing again.
Every time she was suspected, she felt heartbroken, but when she thought of all the good things Hongli had done for her, she couldn't bear to blame him anymore. She hoped that he would not suspect her again in the future. If it happened again, she would really feel cold-hearted!
Nodding, Su Yushan said softly, "Yes, I will treat others kindly, but I will also always be vigilant. We don't know who the murderer is right now, so we can only eliminate possibilities one by one."
"Since you trust Xilan, let's exclude her for now. The remaining ones are the four who entered the palace last year. They are new to the palace, have no grudges against you, and have low rank and no power. They have neither the ability nor the reason to harm you."
Then there are Lan Rong and Lady Fucha; these two have a grudge against you, so they have reason to harm you.”
Since Hongli didn't mention Lady Fucha, Su Yushan had almost forgotten about her.
"After entering the palace, Lady Fucha has been staying in the Cold Palace. She is not even allowed to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. I have not seen her in all these years. She is in the Cold Palace, and even her maids cannot leave. She probably has no chance to tamper with the lampshade."
Even if Lady Fucha had the will, she lacked the ability.
"That's Lan Rong. She was confined to her quarters because of you, and you have a grudge against her. She has been staying in the palace all this time, and it is very likely that she is secretly tampering with the lampshade."
"That's possible, but speculation alone is useless; we need evidence."
Su Yushan said this because she knew very well that without evidence, no amount of suspicion would be of any use. Evidence had to be found so that Hongli would have a reason to punish her.
When Yu Shan was pregnant with Yong Zhang, Hongli suspected that Lan Rong had given Yu Shan a pill to change her gender, but he had no concrete evidence and could only give up. This time it was the same. If it is found that Lan Rong is involved, Hongli will never let her off easily!
"Wait a moment. We will thoroughly interrogate the relevant people tonight, and we should have results by tomorrow."
Having been victimized so many times, and each time the case was dropped due to a lack of evidence, Su Yushan no longer dared to hold any hope.
It would be best if the murderer could be caught, but if not, she couldn't blame Hongli. "We'll see how things go tomorrow! It's getting late, and you have to go to court tomorrow morning, so get some rest!"
After saying this, Yu Shan closed her eyes to rest and relax. Looking at her sleeping face, Hongli secretly vowed that this time, as long as the murderer was caught, he would not be merciful!
That night, Su Yushan didn't sleep well at all, her dreams coming and going. She dreamt that a pair of hands were gripping her neck tightly, with great force, as if they wanted to kill her!
She couldn't see the other person's face clearly, only that it was a woman. The suffocating feeling was incredibly real, and Yu Shan felt like she couldn't breathe, struggling in agony.
Hearing the noise, Hongli immediately woke up, gently shaking her arm and calling to her.
"Yushan, Yushan? What's wrong?"
Su Yushan then woke up from her nightmare, opened her eyes abruptly, and found a strand of hair wrapped around her neck. No wonder she was in so much pain.
Hongli took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead, asking her if she had a nightmare.
The dream was too disjointed; she couldn't describe it, nor did she want to recall it. She shook her head wearily.
"It's nothing, just a nightmare."
Her slightly furrowed brows touched Hongli's heart. He wrapped his long arm around her, pulled her into his embrace, and gently patted her, coaxing her softly:
"The nightmare won't come true, don't be afraid, everything will be alright. Once I catch the culprit, no one will dare to harm you."
The price of gaining the emperor's favor was being resented by the other women in the harem. Su Yushan never took the initiative to provoke anyone, but unfortunately, others were always hostile towards her.
Jealousy is human nature, and it's not a big deal to feel jealous occasionally. However, if it leads to evil thoughts, then that's too insidious!
Since she couldn't avoid it, she had no choice but to face it. This time, she was determined to get to the bottom of it and wouldn't let it go so easily. She wanted everyone to know that anyone who dared to harm her would not have a good end!
After waking from the nightmare, Su Yushan tossed and turned for a long time, unable to fall back asleep. It wasn't until dawn, when Hongli got up to prepare for court, that Su Yushan was still awake.
Hongli gently stroked her hair. "It's still early. Sleep a little longer. When I return from court, I'll accompany you to Jingren Palace to resolve this matter."
Su Yushan nodded. She was so sleepy that she couldn't keep her eyes open. Hongli was changing into his dragon robe. She turned over and closed her eyes to rest for a while.
Half an hour later, Hongli returned from court and saw that she was still asleep. She had hardly slept last night, and it was rare for her to fall asleep now. Hongli did not want to disturb her, so he did not wake her. He reviewed the memorials first and waited for her on the way.
After sleeping for another hour, Su Yushan woke up, washed up and changed her clothes, and the two of them went back to Jingren Palace together.
Li Yu didn't sleep a wink all night, interrogating people incessantly and making the palace servants denounce each other. Anyone who reported something suspicious and whose report was verified would receive a reward.
Unfortunately, the interrogation went on all night without any results. Li Yu was extremely anxious because he knew very well that the Emperor would definitely come to ask about the results during the day, and if no clues were found, he would also be punished.
Just as he was getting anxious, a eunuch from the Imperial Household Department revealed something: the eunuch Xiao Xunzi, who was in charge of lighting the lanterns, was getting very close to the palace maid Dongling!
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