Chapter 317: Unwilling to be the First Bird

Dead bones were found in the lotus pond in front of the Xihe Hall. It was suspected to be the missing Xiao Ronghua, which caused a huge uproar.

"When Xiao Ronghua disappeared, wasn't she last seen in Hexi Palace?"

"That's easy to understand. Xiao Ronghua was rude at the time, and she even asked the Imperial Concubine to persuade the Emperor to be fair. How could the Imperial Concubine tolerate her? This Xihe Palace was originally the residence of the Imperial Concubine. She was very familiar with this place. It was not difficult for her to avoid the patrolling guards and dump the body."

"It's so horrible. I just took a sneak peek and there were only bones left of the body. It looked like she had been dead for half a year. Wasn't Xiao Ronghua missing for more than three months?" "Anyway,

I think the Imperial Concubine is pretty scary. Concubine Jiang had such a good relationship with her, but she dumped the body here. Who did she want to scare to death?"

"The Emperor actually favors such a vicious concubine. If he makes her the Empress, won't it be that if she is unhappy, we will all be in trouble?"

"Why don't we jointly ask the Emperor to make Concubine De the Empress! Concubine De is kind-hearted, has a son, and has a very good reputation after entering the palace for many years. She is much more suitable than the Imperial Concubine."

"Who will take the lead? The Emperor favors the Imperial Concubine. What if she annoys the Emperor..."

As soon as this question came out, the concubines who were discussing heatedly just now quieted down.

They said so much just to have a warrior who could take the lead, but where did the fool come from in this palace?

No one was willing to be the first to speak out.

"This... Judging from the degree of decay of the corpse, she has been dead for at least a year. However, because it has been soaked in water for too long, the decay has accelerated. In addition, the bones are already infested with worms and have been eaten by worms. It is very difficult to determine the time of her death."

The coroner of the Suspension Department reported the truth after the autopsy. Jiang Guipin suddenly rubbed her head and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, a few nights before I left the palace, I seemed to hear something falling into the lotus pond, but it was already late at night and I was afraid, thinking it was better to have less trouble than more, so I didn't go out to check the situation. Now I think that the body might have been thrown in at that time. "

Three months is not enough for a body to rot like this. If it is what Concubine Jiang said, then this is just a place where the body was dumped, not a murder scene.

The coroner had some clues, but hesitated to say them out loud. Instead, he asked an irrelevant question: "Empress Jiang Guipin, why aren't there any fish in this pond?"

"Fish?"

Concubine Jiang frowned in confusion: "I can take care of myself well, how can I have the time to raise fish? What does this have to do with raising fish?"

It must be said that Concubine Jiang asked the point.

Jiang Xinyue and Emperor Xuanwu looked at each other, and they both thought of the piranha in Concubine De's palace. There was

a big scar on the magpie's leg from the bite of the fish.

The two of them looked at Concubine De inadvertently, but saw that she was not panicked at all, and covered her mouth and nose with her sleeves with a little disgust.

It really stinks, and the emperor waved his hand: "Take the corpse away. In the past few years, palace maids and concubines have frequently disappeared in the palace. This is the first time a corpse has been found. You must investigate it thoroughly. If you can't figure it out, it's useless for me to keep you."

"Your Majesty, the corpse was found in Xihe Palace. Can Concubine Jiang be completely cleared of suspicion?"

Cheng Jieyu was wearing a cloak brought by the palace maid, and she was wrapped tightly. Thinking of the terrifying corpse, she couldn't help trembling all over: "Before the matter is investigated clearly, please ask the emperor to control Concubine Jiang, otherwise no one in the harem will be at ease." Since she

couldn't deal with Jiang Xinyue, she wanted to deal with the people around Jiang Xinyue.

"Let go..."

Concubine Jiang was about to curse, but Jiang Xinyue had already reached out to stop her. The look in Concubine Cheng's eyes was chilling: "Concubine Cheng is so brave, are you threatening the emperor or doing something to the Pope?"

"I'm not!"

Concubine Cheng shook her head fiercely: "I just want to reassure all the sisters in the harem. Concubine Jiang is very suspicious, isn't she?"

"What suspicion is she? Is it you who makes her suspicious?"

Jiang Xinyue raised her voice: "Who died in this lotus pond? How did he die? How long has he been dead? Do you know?"

"How do I know?"

"You know nothing, and you keep saying that Concubine Jiang is the murderer and needs to be controlled. Then I also said that you pushed Concubine Liu into the water just now with the intention of killing her! Do you admit it?" What a

trick to change the subject and divert the trouble away.

Concubine Cheng fell into the trap of self-proof: "I...I didn't, she fell in by herself."

"It was obviously you who pushed her."

Concubine Jiang took the opportunity to retaliate: "There were so many people standing on the shore at that time, everyone saw it, and anyone who was pulled over would know that you were lying." Concubine Liu

had been carried back by the palace maids and eunuchs. Her pale face did not look optimistic, she kept talking nonsense, and she had a high fever.

Jiang Xinyue brushed off the new dress that Concubine Jiang was going to keep for festivals. The old clothes stained with corpse water were burned directly. She would never wear them again.

All the palace maids in Hexi Palace who were soaked in the water borrowed clothes from Concubine Jiang's palace.

Jiang Xinyue expressed regret for Concubine Liu's tragic end, but she did not sympathize with her.

If she hadn't been alert just now, she would have been the one who fell into the lotus pond when the basin of water was spilled. She didn't want to drink the water soaked in corpses.

"You! What wolves you are..."

"Enough!"

Emperor Xuanwu glared at Concubine Cheng in anger: "The Imperial Concubine and Concubine Jiang are far superior to you in rank. Who taught you to be so outspoken and slander them? If you continue to be so unruly, you will be dragged away and beaten with a stick."

Beat again?

Concubine Cheng shrank back, bit her lip and said nothing.

Wait!

Jiang Xinyue's eyes fixed, looking behind Concubine De, but she couldn't see Lu Yin.

But usually Lu Yin followed Concubine De, never leaving her side.

Why didn't Lu Yin come today?

On the second day after Jiang Xinyue returned to the palace, after Lu Yin was beaten with a stick.

She knew in her heart that Lu Yin was not beaten hard with the stick, at most she was beaten red, and it was probably beaten for Concubine De to see.

So she wouldn't be injured to the point where she couldn't walk.

She was suspicious, but couldn't ask. What if Concubine De said she was pretending to be a good person? It was obviously she who beat the man, but she still asked why he didn't come?

It sounded like she was deliberately mocking Concubine De and looking for trouble with her.

But Jiang Xinyue always had a bad feeling in her heart, so when the emperor dismissed all the concubines, she still took the emperor back to Hexi Palace and asked Jiang Chuan to release Xiao Ronghua.

Emperor Xuanwu's eyes widened, and he quickly ran to the door and closed it, his eyes deep: "Is it really you?"

His most beloved concubine turned out to be a murderer, what should he do?