Chapter 16 Get out now!
“Dengdengdeng——”
The sound of hurried footsteps continued.
The guards surrounded the Lanxin Pavilion.
Zhang Chengyan, dressed in a dragon robe and standing tall as a pine tree, strode into the backyard.
The first thing he saw was Bai Wutong slumped on the ground.
The originally delicate little face turned pale and completely bloodless.
She was only wearing casual clothes and had not dressed up. Her long black hair fell on both sides, just covering her slender ankles, with only a small hint of white revealed.
Seeing Zhang Chengyan coming, Bai Wutong's eyes were filled with tears, "Your Majesty!"
He stepped forward and pulled the man up, "Are you scared?"
Bai Wutong wanted to lean on his arms to seek comfort, but seeing so many people around her, she could only stand on her own, but her body was shaky and she seemed like she would collapse at any time.
"Your Majesty!" Jin Weige's voice came.
Bai Wutong immediately pushed Zhang Chengyan away, took two steps back and kept some distance.
Zhang Chengyan was not in the mood to tease her at the moment. He turned around and saw that besides Jin Weige, there were also several concubines there - Concubine Meng, Zhaoyi Ding, and Concubine Hui, who was second only to Jin Weige.
Behind them were many palace maids and several beauties nearby.
Everyone was big and strong, and they came in together, making the already small backyard even more crowded.
Bai Wutong took two steps slightly to the right, getting closer to the concubines.
Zhang Chengyan immediately noticed that she was extremely slender in the crowd, with a graceful figure and clear curves. In contrast, the other concubines were simply walking barrels.
"Your Majesty!" Everyone saluted in unison.
Jin Weige spoke first, "I heard that Concubine Gao died. It's such a pity. Your Majesty, no matter what, she was once favored by the emperor. Even if her position was not high, she cannot die like this. We must find the murderer, otherwise who knows if other people will be killed."
Concubine Hui nodded, "Sister Rongfei is right, Your Majesty, have you found out anything now?"
Zhang Chengyan listened to their slightly rough voices. Even if they were speaking with a pinched voice, it was not very pleasant to hear. He felt even more annoyed. "I just came here a short while ago. Don't stand here. Get out!"
"Your Majesty, I am now in charge of the affairs of the harem. I must stay and find the murderer and punish him severely!" Jin Weige looked at the other concubines proudly, "As for you, get out quickly."
Bai Wutong coughed weakly twice, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
Jin Weige's eyes widened, "Wait, Your Majesty, Lady Bai is the biggest suspect! She had a quarrel with Lady Gao before, but I arrived in time, otherwise the two of them might have fought. Lady Bai must have held a grudge against Lady Gao, so she attacked her in the middle of the night."
"Besides, there are people patrolling the harem at night. If anyone from other palaces comes here, they will definitely be discovered. Only Bai Meiren, who lives in the same palace, has the best chance! Your Majesty, I suggest that she and the palace maids from Lanxin Pavilion be sent to the Ministry of Punishment immediately and tortured severely. The truth will surely be revealed!"
With a plop.
Bai Wutong knelt weakly on the ground, "Madam Rongfei, I did not kill Lady Gao!"
She bit her lip, her body trembling uncontrollably, "Everyone in my palace can testify that I was resting all night."
Jin Weige snorted coldly, "That's your servant, so she will naturally speak for you. There's nothing in the backyard of Lanxin Pavilion, what are you doing here so early in the morning? It's obvious that you're just the thief crying thief, trying to play the dark trick under the lamp!"
Bai Wutong sobbed, "I pick fresh flowers every morning. Not only my servants, but also other palace maids in Lanxin Pavilion can testify to this. Although the backyard is desolate, there are many flowers. I wanted to come here to pick them, but I didn't expect to see Lady Gao..."
She didn't dare say any more.
Lian Xin, who was standing beside her, also knelt down hurriedly. "Madam Rong Fei, I can testify that you pick flowers every day. It is absolutely true! Moreover, you are so weak, not even half as weak as Concubine Gao. How could you kill Concubine Gao!"
When this was said, everyone agreed with it.
Indeed, Concubine Gao was the fattest woman in the entire harem, and her weight was probably as high as 200 kilograms.
And Bai Wutong looks like he weighs no more than 100 kilograms. How can he deal with Lady Gao?
Jin Weige raised her chin, "Maybe you two worked together to kill someone! Anyway, Lady Bai is the biggest suspect. Everyone in the harem knows that Lady Bai is the only one who has never been favored. Maybe she just hated Lady Gao, so she did this!"
Zhang Chengyan's eyes fell on Bai Wutong. She was so delicate, there was no way she could be the murderer. "That's enough, Mr. Lin, but what did you find out?"
Lin Sheng is the sword-bearing guard beside him, and is quite capable in investigating cases. Although he is only twenty years old, he is already very mature.
"Your Majesty, I have checked the backyard and the main hall and found a footprint!" He walked to the footprint and knelt on one knee again. "Because it is close to the pond, the soil here is very moist and the footprint is very clear. I think the murderer must have carried Lady Gao on one shoulder, so the footprint appears to be deep on one side and shallow on the other."
If you carry it on your back, the weight of the footprints should be in front.
If you hold it, the weight of the footprints will be behind you.
Zhang Chengyan nodded, "Go on."
"Yes, I guess the murderer's weight should be comparable to Lady Gao's, so it is most likely a woman! Apart from the guards, there are few men in the palace who weigh as much as Lady Gao. Secondly, this person must work a lot to have such great strength. Otherwise, even if an ordinary person could carry it, they would not be able to walk so far."
"Also, in the main hall, I found a whistle at the door. This whistle is used to hide the drug. When using it, just blow gently and the drug inside can be blown into the air. That's why the palace maids in the main hall didn't notice it in time. In addition, there was mud and sand in Lady Gao's mouth and nose, which means she was drowned alive."
Even Lin Sheng said so, Jin Weige couldn't refute it, but she didn't want to lose face, "So, the murderer is not Bai Meiren, but she may not be innocent."
She raised her eyebrows and looked at Bai Wutong, "Beauty Bai, someone died last night, so it must have made quite a commotion, right? Why didn't your people hear anything? Don't tell me, you were also knocked unconscious!"
Xiao Ningzi, who was standing by, immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness, Concubine Rong, I slept in the outer room yesterday and didn't hear anything."
Xiao Ningzi is Wang Decai's man, so Wang Decai believed what he said. He must have really not heard it.
He had only been here for a day, so he would not lie for Bai Wutong.
Zhang Chengyan frowned, "Rong Fei, there is no need for you to say more about finding the murderer, you all go back."
If you don't leave now, the backyard will be full.
Moreover, the concubines all wore different perfumes on their bodies, which made people dizzy and their stomachs churn.
Jin Weige forced a smile. Her original intention was to show off herself and let the emperor see her determination, but she never thought that she would embarrass him instead. "Your Majesty, I will take my leave now."
She turned around and her face turned cold instantly.
The emperor used to never lose face for her in front of others, but now he drives her away again and again.
No, we must find the vixen from that day!
Let’s see who is so bold as to seduce the emperor!
Jia Yue, who was standing by, observed Jin Weige's expression and knew that she was angry. She whispered, "Your Majesty, isn't today a good time? Even if we don't use the Queen Mother's birthday as an excuse, we can still see the purses they are wearing."
The women in the palace were relatively fat, and they would wear purses filled with spices every day to cover up their body odor.
Today is no exception.
Jin Weige's eyes lit up, "You're right, go and see whose purse has the same stitching as the one that day."
"Yes!" Jiayue trotted to the side and secretly observed the purses of the concubines.
I just looked around and couldn't find any similar ones.
Could it be that it’s not with these people?
"What happened?" A figure came slowly over.
Wen Chuyun looked as if he knew nothing and came to the door of Lanxin Pavilion with the help of a palace maid.
Jiayue's pupils constricted and her eyes were fixed on her waist.
That was exactly the pink orchid embroidered purse she was looking for!
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