Chapter 753 Fleeing from Crime
Night falls.
The night, which should have been completely quiet, was instead filled with a subtle restlessness. And the tranquility of Qianqiu Palace, which had finally settled down, was soon broken by a series of hurried footsteps.
When Tushe'er heard the sound and went to greet them, she saw Chu Ruoyan and Pan Qing hurriedly walk in, just like during the day.
This time, however, her face lacked the fierce and self-righteous demeanor she displayed during the day. Instead, her eyes were reddened, and she seemed somewhat panicked. Although Tu She'er had never liked her because of Shang Ruyi, seeing such a beautiful woman at a loss, she felt a pang of pity. Her tone was no longer as cold and harsh as before when she spoke.
"Madam Chu, it's so late—"
Chu Ruoyan looked at her, her usual aloofness gone, and said urgently, "Your Highness, you haven't rested yet, have you? I have something important to report."
Tushe'er said, "The Princess Consort is still awake, and so is His Highness the Prince of Qin—"
Before she could finish speaking, Shang Ruyi's voice came from inside the hall: "She'er, bring Madam Chu in."
Upon hearing this, Tushe'er didn't say much. She simply raised her hand, and Chu Ruoyan took a deep breath and followed her into the main hall.
The Qianqiu Palace was brightly lit. Chu Ruoyan immediately saw Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi sitting directly in front of her. The two of them had their brows slightly furrowed and their expressions were solemn. They showed no intention of resting.
Upon seeing Yuwen Ye, Chu Ruoyan's steps immediately faltered: "Second Brother..."
Yuwen Ye looked serious, and his expression became even more complicated when he looked up at her, but his voice was still gentle as he said, "You've come."
Chu Ruoyan's eyes were red, as if she had something to say, but she hesitated. When she saw Shang Ruyi beside her, she immediately straightened her back to make herself look more upright and said, "I came here so late not to disturb your rest, but because I have something to say."
Shang Ruyi understood, and gently raised her hand: "Please sit down first, we'll talk after you sit down."
Chu Ruoyan bit her lower lip, but still obediently walked to the side and sat down. Then she looked up and said, "The Princess Consort asked me to give an explanation by tomorrow, but I just checked everyone in Jin Yu Yuan, and they all have no problems. It's just—"
"Just what?"
"But one of the palace maids who guards the storeroom has gone missing?"
She had thought that Shang Ruyi would be shocked when she revealed this, but to her surprise, Shang Ruyi only frowned, exchanged a glance with Yuwen Ye, and did not seem too surprised, as if she had known all along.
Chu Ruoyan said with some surprise, "Your Highness..."
Before she could finish speaking, Yuwen Ye asked, "What's that palace maid's name? Where is she from?"
Pan Qing stepped forward and replied, "Your Highness, that palace maid is named Jian Chun. She was sent by the Shanggong Bureau. She doesn't usually serve Madam; she's only responsible for cleaning the courtyard and managing the storeroom. This time, the food box that Madam specially found in the storeroom for the pastries she made for the Princess was the one she found and sent."
"..."
"Just now, the lady went back and searched everywhere and questioned everyone, only to find that she was missing."
Upon hearing this, Tushe'er took a deep breath and said softly, "Just now, I passed by and saw you searching for someone everywhere, it was—"
"I'm looking for her."
Pan Qing said anxiously, "But we've searched the whole area and we can't find her."
The Thousand Autumns Hall fell silent for a moment.
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and said to Yuwen Ye, "Just as I thought."
Yuwen Ye remained silent, but a hidden murderous intent flickered between his tightly furrowed brows. Upon hearing Shang Ruyi's words, Chu Ruoyan immediately asked nervously, "When the Princess said 'as expected,' what did she mean—"
Shang Ruyi said, "Come and see."
After saying that, Chu Ruoyan pointed to the table behind her, stood up and walked over. Only then did she see that the food box that she had carefully prepared and sent over during the day was on the table. It hadn't been touched yet, but the exquisitely carved lid of the food box had been opened. It had two layers of openwork carvings, and the middle layer, as well as large areas on the table, were covered with fine white powder.
She asked in surprise, "This is—"
Shang Ruyi said, "Someone put Five Elements Grass ash in the lid of this food box."
"What?!"
"You had that palace maid named Jianchun find the food box, and it was cleaned before being delivered to you, right?"
"……yes."
"When it arrived, your desserts were already prepared; you just put them in and put the lid on, right?"
"……right."
"When you put the lid on, because powdered sugar was sprinkled everywhere, you didn't notice that there was actually some white powder mixed in with the powdered sugar inside the perforated lid..."
Chu Ruoyan's face grew paler as she listened. She then recalled that after several days of practice, she had finally managed to make these hawthorn cakes that were fairly neat. She couldn't help but feel a little proud. After carefully sifting on the powdered sugar, the whole room was filled with it, and even her and Pan Qing's faces and heads were covered in it. Everyone was laughing and joking, so when she put the lid on, she didn't care at all that some powdered sugar had fallen.
Unexpectedly—
Coming to her senses, her eyes reddened: "It was Jian Chun! She framed me!"
Pan Qing, who was standing to the side, also showed a resentful expression and immediately stepped forward and said, "So, Madam, she is now missing, which means she must have fled to avoid punishment."
Chu Ruoyan gritted her teeth and said, "We must bring her back!"
At this moment, Yuwen Ye asked, "You sent people to search, but you couldn't find it?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Ruoyan's eyes also showed some panic, and she said urgently, "After discovering that she was missing, I immediately sent people to search everywhere, including several palaces nearby, but we couldn't find her. Now, the palace gates are about to close, and we don't know where she went."
Shang Ruyi frowned and looked at Yuwen Ye: "The palace gates are closed. Even if she wanted to run, she couldn't."
Yuwen Ye said in a deep voice, "We're all in this palace anyway, there's no way we can escape."
Judging from her expression, he wouldn't let this go easily. After all, Jian Chun had actually used the Qin King's concubine to plot against the Qin King's wife's pregnancy. A mere palace maid would never have such audacity; there must be someone behind it.
This matter cannot be left unresolved!
Chu Ruoyan said, "It is my fault for lax governance and poor conduct. I apologize to the Princess Consort first, but I absolutely had no intention of harming her! I beg Your Highness and the Princess Consort to investigate thoroughly!"
Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi exchanged a glance. He said in a deep voice, "Both the Princess and I believe you are innocent. Moreover, this box was left to you by your mother. You would never use this box to do anything so heinous and despicable. So, you don't need to panic."
Shang Ruyi continued, "Once we find Jian Chun, we will definitely clear your name."
Chu Ruoyan nodded gently, her eyes red.
Yuwen Ye then said, "You should go back first. Don't come out for the next couple of days, lest things get out of hand and Father finds out."
Chu Ruoyan nodded. She understood that even if she hadn't instigated the incident, Jianchun was, after all, a member of the Jinyuyuan. Even if she had barely seen this lowly palace maid and didn't even know her name, she would still be punished for lax management.
It seems that Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi want to find the person privately first and investigate the matter thoroughly before making any further statements.
So she got up to apologize and left with Panqing.
Once their figures disappeared into the dark night outside, the heavy night made people feel even more oppressed. Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and turned to look at Yuwen Ye. She saw that his face was solemn and there was a hint of murderous intent in it. His hand on the table was clenched into a fist so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Shang Ruyi said, "That Jian Chun..."
Yuwen Ye said in a deep voice, "Ruoyan is different from you. She stayed in the palace, and of the people who were with her before, only Panqing was left. All the other palace maids and eunuchs were reassigned."
"Was it arranged by the Shanggong Bureau?"
"Um."
Shang Ruyi fell silent.
In fact, as soon as the matter came to light, she had a vague premonition. Now, upon hearing that it was a palace maid arranged by the Shanggong Bureau, and that the person had disappeared, her suspicions were almost confirmed.
Aunt Hui is the head maid of the Shanggong Bureau.
At this moment, the anger that had been suppressed for so long slowly welled up inside her. Shang Ruyi clearly remembered how Aunt Hui had almost disposed of all the people left behind by the official's wife using a Five Lotus Cup. Fortunately, she intervened and saved Changwan. And now—
From the moment she learned she was pregnant, she had been keeping a close watch on things, but she never expected that the other party would use Chu Ruoyan as a tool to harm her.
And that's the most despicable thing!
Regardless of whether Chu Ruoyan was familiar with the palace maid named Jianchun, she had already been assigned to her Jinyu Garden. Even if Chu Ruoyan was wary of unfamiliar palace servants and only assigned her to do things like cleaning the courtyard and managing the storeroom, in everyone's eyes, she was already Chu Ruoyan's person.
The concubine of the King of Qin's men harmed the King of Qin's concubine...
Even if this matter becomes public, it will only damage the prestige of the King of Qin!
Shang Ruyi gritted her teeth and said in a deep voice, "Damn it!"
Yuwen Ye remained silent, but his face was ashen. Compared to Shang Ruyi and Chu Ruoyan, he clearly understood the implications far better. After a long silence, he finally let out a long breath and said, "Find the person first, get to the bottom of things, and then we'll talk!"
Shang Ruyi nodded: "Mm."
However, things were not that easy.
In the following days, Jin Yu Yuan and Qian Qiu Dian sent many people to search the palace, but they could not find the palace maid named Jian Chun. It was as if she had suddenly disappeared from the palace. No matter how they searched, they could not find her.
It wasn't until three days later.
That afternoon, Shang Ruyi was taking a nap in Qianqiu Palace, but she didn't actually sleep well at all. The disappearance of Jianchun had made her restless for the past few days.
Just then, Tushe'er rushed in to report: "Your Highness, we've found Jianchun!"
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