Chapter 755 A Cluster of Pine Branches
In front of the Qianqiu Palace, Tushe'er came out and peeked out. Seeing that Woxue had not returned yet, she could only walk back into the palace with a worried look on her face. Seeing Shang Ruyi sitting on the couch, looking thoughtful, she couldn't help but complain, "Why did the Princess only let Woxue go? Now look what happened, she's been gone for half a day and hasn't come back yet."
Shang Ruyi looked up at her and said with a sullen smile, "If I don't let her go, am I going to let you go? What could you possibly do there?"
"This servant can—"
"With your guts, you'd be scared out of your wits if you went there. What could you possibly do?"
Tushe'er pouted and just then saw Changwan coming over to refill Shang Ruyi's teacup, so she said, "Then why don't we let Changwan go with us?"
Changwan looked up at her, smiled, and said, "Changwan works in the inner courtyard. Neither of you can get involved in matters outside, especially those concerning the dead and corpses."
Changwan also said, "Don't worry, just wait for Woxue to come back."
Although she said that, Chang Wan couldn't help but look outside. In order to protect Wo Xue from being targeted, her true identity was rarely known. However, those who were with Shang Ruyi knew that she was a secret agent sent by the emperor to Shang Ruyi's side. Not only was she skilled, but also because of her special experience, she was much more proficient in these things than the maids who did small things like making tea, pouring water, and making beds in the inner courtyard.
However, she has been gone for far too long.
Seeing that Wo Xue had been gone for almost an hour, Tu She'er became increasingly restless. Just as she was about to go out to find out more, she finally saw Wo Xue's petite figure hurriedly return.
Tushe'er said, "Grandma, you're finally back!"
When Wo Xue looked up and saw her, she didn't even bother to greet her and just said, "I have something to report to the Princess."
"Needless to say, I've been waiting for you."
As they spoke, the two walked into the main hall together. Upon seeing Shang Ruyi, Wo Xue immediately stepped forward to bow, but Shang Ruyi waved for her to remove herself from the formalities and then asked, "How is the situation?"
Wo Xue said, "Your Highness, the one who died was Jian Chun from Jin Yu Yuan. She was wrongly thrown into the dry well behind Bai Fu Palace."
Shang Ruyi asked, "Did he fall to his death?"
Wo Xue shook her head: "No, she died from a broken neck!"
Upon hearing this, Tushe'er and Changwan were both startled. They instinctively reached out to protect their necks. Shang Ruyi also frowned and thought for a moment before asking, "Did you break your neck when you were thrown into the dry well?"
Wo Xue shook her head again: "No. I saw some bruises on her neck. Although they have faded a bit, I can still barely see them. It means that her neck was broken. Moreover, she has no other injuries. If a living person were thrown into a dry well and died, there should be more than one injury on their body."
Shang Ruyi said, "You mean, her neck was snapped somewhere else and her body was thrown into a dry well?"
"yes."
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Any other discoveries?"
Wo Xue said, "I just took a look when Aunt Hui arrived. She took people away and said she was going to investigate the cause of death and give the Princess an explanation. But judging from her tone, she probably concluded that Jian Chun had simply fallen into the dry well and died by accident."
Upon hearing this, Tushe'er immediately said, "She's trying to cover up the truth."
After saying that, he said to Wo Xue, "You should stop her."
Chang Wan thought for a moment and said, "Wo Xue, as a palace maid of Qianqiu Palace, cannot directly stop the head palace maid. However, if you bring up the Princess Consort, you should be able to put her in a difficult position and prevent this matter from being covered up by her."
Wo Xue looked at them and simply pursed her lips.
Listening to their chatter, Shang Ruyi fell silent. It was one thing for Wo Xue to figure out the cause of Jian Chun's death, but it was another matter how Aunt Hui would judge and report it. After all, there were many people below, and she had too much room to maneuver.
But why did she tell Wo Xue so clearly how she would judge the situation?
It was as if she deliberately let Wo Xue know that she would downplay the matter, thus provoking Wo Xue to take action to stop her. Or perhaps Wo Xue was afraid to confront the head maid, so she returned to report to herself, the Princess Consort of Qin, and asked her to lead people to investigate thoroughly as well.
This would escalate the situation dramatically.
But what good would that do for Aunt Hui? If Jian Chun really was her person, and she was the one who sent people to silence him, she would have preferred to handle the matter quietly, especially without alerting herself, leaving no trace.
Moreover, looking at Wo Xue's expression, something seemed amiss.
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi said, "There must be a reason why Wo Xue didn't bring me up."
After saying that, she looked at Wo Xue, whose expression was solemn: "Did you discover something else?"
Wo Xue nodded gently, then stepped forward and extended her tightly clenched fist to Shang Ruyi, slowly unfolding it: "This is what I got from Jian Chun. It should be the last thing she grabbed before she died."
Shang Ruyi looked down and saw a cluster of somewhat withered pine branches in her palm.
"This is--"
Tushe'er and Changwan also came over to take a look. Both of them were somewhat surprised, wondering why Jianchun would grab such a cluster of things before she died, and even more so, they didn't understand how this would affect Woxue's decision not to stop Aunt Hui. Shang Ruyi thought about it for a moment, then suddenly took a deep breath.
She looked up at Wo Xue and saw that the same light was shining in the other's bright eyes.
Tushe'er was still puzzled: "Your Highness, what's wrong with these pine branches?"
Shang Ruyi's expression was solemn, and she did not answer immediately. Wo Xue turned to them and said, "After His Majesty ascended the throne, many places in the palace were replanted with flowers and trees. However, there are only two places where pine trees have been planted."
Chang Wan immediately snapped out of her daze, glanced instinctively outside the hall, and said, "Our Qianqiu Hall!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked out of the hall. Several tall and lush pine trees stood in the courtyard outside the hall. When Shang Ruyi first entered the hall, she loved those pine trees. She felt that they were strong and upright, and contained a kind of majestic spirit, which suited Yuwen Ye's temperament very well.
At this moment, Tushe'er muttered to himself, "Where else in the palace are there pine trees... Ah?"
The hall fell silent instantly.
A cold glint flashed in Shang Ruyi's eyes—only a few days had passed. In fact, no matter how much time had passed, she would never forget that night at the victory banquet of the Battle of Taiyuan, when she walked out of Baifu Hall and found Yu Mingyue, who had drunk some wine and was somewhat drunk.
That night, Yu Mingyue emerged from a grove of pine and cypress trees.
That is—Chengqing Gate.
After passing through Chengqing Gate, you will find Chengqian Palace, where Crown Prince Yuwen Qian resides!
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