The next day.
Guan Zhiyue got out of bed and heard Bilian's loud shouting.
"Hey, Bilian, what are you doing? What's all this noise about so early in the morning?"
Hearing Guan Zhiyue's complaints, Bilian rushed in from the doorway, looking at Guan Zhiyue lying on the bed with a horrified expression.
"Your Majesty, I've heard something terrible has happened."
Guan Zhiyue poked her head out from under the covers and said with an annoyed look, "What's the big deal?"
"Someone has died in the palace."
Upon hearing this, Guan Zhiyue jumped out of bed as if she had just dozed off, looking at Bilian with great fear and disbelief.
"What happened?"
Bilian also recounted what she had heard to Guan Zhiyue in bits and pieces.
Who died?
"Two."
Guan Zhiyue was surprised. It is said that in ancient times, human life was as cheap as grass and anyone could be killed, but this is too shocking.
Who is it?
Seeing her mistress already gripped by terror, Bilian decided against telling her anything. What if she frightened her even more?
"Your Majesty, seeing how you are, it's best if you don't know."
"Oh, what's wrong? How could I not know?"
"I see you're frightened, so I'd better not tell you."
Guan Zhiyue rolled her eyes at Bilian and said speechlessly, "You keep me hanging on like this, which only makes me more curious and terrified. Just tell me clearly, and I won't speculate anymore."
Bilian didn't know what else to say, so she nodded and said, "A eunuch and a palace maid have died, but we haven't found out which palace they were from yet. They've been running around like crazy. I heard they've been dead for about seven or eight days."
"Seven or eight days, that's a long time! Where was it found?"
"Presented to the Imperial Palace."
Guan Zhiyue was confused. What the hell was this? What was the purpose of this palace? She had no idea. There were so many palaces in this imperial palace that it would take a whole day to walk around. Moreover, so many people lived quite far apart and were not even in the same area.
"What's the purpose of this palace? Didn't he die in the palace? How come they say he rotted in the water?"
While combing Guan Zhiyue's hair, Bilian explained, "This palace is in Kunning Palace, which is the third palace behind Your Majesty's main palace. That palace has always been empty and no one lives there."
"I heard that the first crime scene was over there, and the body was found in the pond."
Guan Zhiyue couldn't understand it. What kind of logic was this? How could someone go so far to kill someone and then dump the person in a pond so far away?
"Wait, what pond?"
Bilian said with some difficulty, "It's that lotus pond that Your Majesty was planning to clean up some time ago."
"Damn, a lotus pond! What a waste! All those beautiful lotus flowers in the pond! What a pity!"
Guan Zhiyue seemed to have thought of something and asked uncertainly, "It's so cold now, hasn't the pond frozen over? And there's still heavy snow falling outside?"
Bilian seemed to have thought of something, and shook her head in confusion, indicating that she didn't know.
"That's really strange. In this cold weather, why kill someone and then go all the way to throw them into the pond? Besides, isn't there snow in the pond? Hasn't it frozen over yet?"
These questions kept popping into Guan Zhiyue's mind. She really didn't understand what the murderer was trying to do, nor did she know who the murderer was. Seven or eight days had passed.
"Do you know who discovered this first?"
"Patrol team."
Guan Zhiyue felt even more absurd. The patrol team patrols the palace every day, so why did it take them so long to find it? Besides, it's been seven or eight days, so why were they still found? Shouldn't it have been frozen solid?
A series of questions swirled in Guan Zhiyue's mind, leaving her at a loss for words. Everything seemed so confusing; this was definitely not a simple case.
"Alright, let's just do it casually. It's cold, so we can stay inside and warm ourselves by the fire if we don't go out."
"What does Your Highness need to do today?"
"Let's read a storybook! Anyway, it's so cold, no one will come." Guan Zhiyue sat up from the dressing table, yawning and patting her mouth as if she hadn't woken up yet.
Guan Zhiyue, carrying some miscellaneous storybooks, went into a room next door. Outside, the snow was falling heavily again. She was all alone in the palace, with no one she knew, and she didn't know what to do.
"Sigh, life in ancient times is really boring. There are no people, no television, no internet, no entertainment. On a snowy day, all you can do is lie on the kang (heated brick bed), read storybooks, eat melon seeds, and imagine what life is like."
"Ah, it's so hard, how can it be so hard..." Guan Zhiyue lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed). Yes, it was a kang because it was too cold. Bilian had heated a kang for her in the next room so that Guan Zhiyue could play in that room, otherwise the other rooms would be too quiet.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong? I heard you calling out something."
Guan Zhiyue sat up straight on the kang (a heated brick bed), scratched her head in boredom, and glanced at the stove next to her with a sly glint in her eyes.
"Bilian, let's have barbecue today!"
"barbecue?"
"Yes, yes, go and prepare the things. Just like with hot pot, you can prepare all the ingredients."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Bilian was actually confused. What barbecue? She had never heard of it. She didn't know how to make it either, so she simply followed Guan Zhiyue's instructions.
Here at Chengqian Palace.
After giving instructions on the murder case in the morning, Li Qiji returned to the palace to review memorials, but he couldn't help thinking about that woman.
"Hmph, that woman doesn't even bother to come and see me. Aren't all the women in the harem supposed to come and see me? Only that damned woman, she hasn't come even once on her own initiative."
Li Qiji grew angrier the more he thought about it. He had really brought this trouble upon himself. What kind of person was this? He was simply someone who made him angry.
"Hua Quan, what has that person in the Cold Palace been doing lately?"
Hua Quan quickly reported everything he knew: "Your Majesty, the Empress has been in the Cold Palace recently. Oh, and yesterday she went to the Imperial Garden. I heard she went with Prince Xiaoyao."
"Qi Shang, how come you're with him?"
"It is said that Her Majesty the Empress was looking for red plums, which is why the two met. Then, Prince Xiaoyao followed the Empress to the courtyard of the Imperial Hospital to pick red plums."
What are we going to do with them?
Hua Quan shook his head, unaware of the situation, and then respectfully stepped aside. Li Qiji didn't ask any more questions, and continued to process his memorials with his head down, feeling irritable. Guan Zhiyue waited on the kang for the invention of new food.
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