"Master..." Green Willow asked cautiously, "Does Master think that the Emperor's thumb ring is just left in our palace?"
"Although I hope it's not true, it's hard to say." Qian Shengyan rubbed her forehead. "If His Majesty's thumb ring really was lost in Yongshou Palace, not only me, but you all know what the consequences will be!"
A loud crash echoed from behind. The group turned around and saw Green Cloud standing there, her face pale, with a plate of broken pastries at her feet.
"Green Cloud?" Qingxue's voice was slightly cold. "What are you doing?"
“This servant, this servant…Master, Master…” Green Cloud stammered, unable to utter a single word.
Qian Shengyan narrowed her eyes and suddenly laughed: "By the way, where did you go just now? I was looking for you, why weren't you here?"
“Master…” Green Cloud finally found her words, “This servant, this servant will go and fetch some snacks for you…”
"After taking so long to get the pastries, you're just going to beat them like this?" Qian Shengyan laughed again, then suddenly stood up and shouted sharply, "Wang Baoen!"
Wang Baoen, who was already guarding under the corridor, quickly walked over upon hearing this: "Master?"
"Keep an eye on Lüyun, search her room, and see if there's anything that shouldn't be there!" Qian Shengyan said coldly.
"Master, no, it's not me, it's not me!" Green Cloud began to shout. Wang Baoen had already called Xiao Shunzi and the others, covered Green Cloud's mouth, and pulled her towards the side room where the palace maids lived.
Green Cloud couldn't make a sound, but it was still struggling. Green Water, who ran out after hearing the noise, was so frightened by the scene that it collapsed to the ground. Qian Shengyan glanced through the window and knew that Green Water must know something.
Her eyes hardened: "Go and bring Green Water in. I want to ask her myself."
Looking back now, she realized that when she asked Green Water to invite Consort Xiang, the other woman's expression was already a bit off.
Green Water and Green Cloud lived in the same house, so perhaps Green Water knew something about what Green Cloud had done.
After Lu Shui came in, she seemed to have recovered somewhat. She knelt on the ground and, without Qian Shengyan asking, vomited everything out like beans.
“I noticed some time ago that Lüyun was often missing, but she wasn’t gone for long, only about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn,” Lüshui sighed. “I thought she had… visited some friends, but this morning, when I got up and didn’t see Lüyun, I was in a hurry to find my hairpin and accidentally bumped into her makeup box. A hairpin that I’d never seen before fell out, with exceptionally fine texture…”
"Did Green Cloud find someone really powerful to be her lover?" Green Water asked in a low voice.
She had just been gone, so it's no wonder she didn't know what had happened. Qian Shengyan glanced at Qingxue, who understood and asked, "You noticed something was wrong with Lüyun, why didn't you report it to your master?"
Upon hearing this, Green Water blushed slightly, and after a moment she said, "This servant was about to say that too, but... such matters as pairing up for food exist in every palace. If Your Majesty punishes Green Cloud, then... then shouldn't we also conduct a thorough investigation in the palace to find all the paired-up people..."
"You also have a partner?" Qian Shengyan was a little surprised. Lu Shui was a petite and shy girl who didn't seem like she would do such a thing.
Green Water blushed even more: "This servant...nothing at all..."
"So you haven't officially started dating yet, right?" Qian Shengyan understood.
Green Water lowered its head, not daring to say another word.
Meanwhile, Wang Baoen had finished searching the side room and found several valuable pieces of jewelry, but to Qian Shengyan's surprise, there was no thumb ring belonging to Yinzhen.
"What's going on?" Qian Shengyan asked, frowning. Wang Baoen had obviously already interrogated Lüyun and bowed as he replied, "She said it was a gift from a fellow villager."
"I have no idea what fellow townsman would be so generous as to bring someone in," Qian Shengyan said, frowning.
Wang Baoen went out to deliver a message, and soon after, Lüyun, who had been tied up, was brought in. Her mouth was gagged with a rag, and she was originally making "woo woo woo" noises, but when she saw Qian Shengyan, she seemed to be frightened and dared not make a sound.
Qian Shengyan gave her a half-smile and gestured for Wang Baoen to release her mouth.
"Master, Master..." Green Cloud dared not look at Qian Shengyan, and only prostrated herself on the ground.
Qian Shengyan spoke coldly: "Green Cloud!"
“Master…” Green Cloud lowered her head even further, her voice trembling slightly.
"I will leave your matter of fellow townsmen aside for now. I only want to ask you—" Qian Shengyan tapped her fingers on the small table a few times, "Have you seen the things on this small table before?"
"This servant, this servant... this servant did not enter the room to serve, and has never seen anything..." Green Cloud's voice was utterly unconvincing.
Qian Shengyan sneered: "If you refuse to tell me, do you know what the consequences will be if I find out myself?"
"No, I didn't take it, I didn't take it!" Green Cloud seemed to be shouting, but her voice was so soft that she sounded very guilty.
Qian Shengyan laughed angrily: "Lushui, you and Wang Baoen go back and investigate again!"
"Yes." Green Water was still a little confused after replying, only then realizing that Qian Shengyan didn't want to investigate the matter of being paired up for food, but rather... something was missing?
Stealing your master's things will land you in the Imperial Prison!
Lu Shui didn't dare to say anything more and quickly led Wang Baoen back to the side room. She was more familiar with the layout of the room and together with Wang Baoen and the others, they thoroughly searched the room, even touching the walls and floors one by one.
To prove her innocence, Lvshui stood at the door and had Wang Baoen check all her belongings, and indeed there was nothing there.
Meanwhile, Qian Shengyan had already concluded from Lüyun's various actions that Lüyun was the one who took the ring!
Green Cloud seemed to realize that the more she said, the more mistakes she made, so she gritted her teeth, lay on the ground, and refused to say another word.
Wang Baoen returned empty-handed. Qian Shengyan pointed at Lüyun and said, "Find out who that fellow villager is. If he doesn't talk, send him directly to the Censorate."
What kind of place is the Imperial Prison? Ordinary palace maids who go in are lucky if they come back after being skinned alive! Most of them never even get out; they simply disappear without a trace, neither alive nor dead, remaining in the Imperial Prison!
"Master! Master! I have served you for eleven years, you can't do this!" Green Cloud suddenly struggled, crying out, "I have been loyal to you for eleven years, eleven years!"
"Let's go!" Wang Baoen grabbed Lüyun, and in the struggle, Lüyun's clothes were loosened, revealing a red thread around her neck.
Qian Shengyan, with her sharp eyes, spotted the line and shouted, "Slow down!"
Wang Baoen stopped what he was doing, and Qian Shengyan got up, walked to Lüyun's side, and pulled the red thread—
A jade-colored thumb ring with excellent clarity slipped out from her chest unexpectedly...
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