Chapter 260 Zhihua Dies Suddenly
As this southern tour was brought forward, all arrangements were inevitably hasty.
The palaces were exempted from paying respects today and each started packing their luggage.
Everyone in Changle Palace was busy.
There is an old custom of "sweeping tiles" in the palace, which means that before the masters go on a long journey, the palace servants have to sweep the roof spotlessly, implying that all the bad luck will be swept away to ensure that everything will be safe and smooth when they are away from home. This is also called "eliminating bad luck."
At that time, Song Zhao was packing his luggage with Yunshan and the others in the house, and heard Yunshan say:
"It's summer in Jiangnan now, and that place is even more humid than Kyoto. Please pay attention to the clothes you bring for the Majesty. Choose some that are light, thin and breathable, and be careful not to suffocate the Majesty."
Then I heard Xiao Fuzi outside shouting at the roof: "Hey, hey, hey! Xiao Zhuozi, move a little to the left. The gaps between tiles and the corners of the roof are the easiest for dirt to hide. You can't be careless at all. You...yo?"
As he was talking, his tone suddenly softened and he said respectfully:
"Empress Hui? Why are you here at this time?"
Song Zhao was originally folding Cheng Yu's bellyband on the warm seat. Hearing this, she subconsciously raised her eyes and glanced out the window.
Besides Huipin, the people Xiao Fuzi was greeting outside included Rongyue and Li Changzai.
But the expressions of the three of them were not right.
Huipin was crying sadly for unknown reasons. Li Changzai and Rongyue's faces turned a little pale, and they looked like they were frightened.
After the person came in, Song Zhao hurriedly went to greet him, "What's going on?"
"Sister Song!" Huipin rushed into her arms as soon as she saw her, crying even more sadly, "Sister Song, wuwuwu~ I'm scared..."
Song Zhao gently stroked Huipin's back and wiped her tears with a piece of silk. "What's wrong, sister? You will leave the palace for Jiangnan tomorrow. The emperor also said that he would go to Suzhou first to help you feel homesick. It's a happy occasion, why are you crying so sadly?"
"Sister Song... wuwuwu..."
Huipin raised her tearful eyes and looked at Song Zhao pitifully.
Just as she was about to say something, she couldn't stop crying even harder. She had to bury her head in Song Zhao's arms, her body shaking constantly.
Song Zhao was filled with disgust, and he had no idea what kind of drama this dirty thing was going to put on in front of him.
Even so, she still showed great concern and anxiously asked Rong Yue and Li Changzai,
"What's going on? Why is Huipin crying like this?"
"It's no wonder that Concubine Hui was scared. We were all scared to death when we saw that." Li Changzai covered her chest and said with lingering fear: "We were just talking in the courtyard, and who knew that the weaver in Concubine Hui's palace accidentally fell from the roof. She fell headfirst on the ground in front of us, and the juice was flowing out. She died on the spot..."
"ah!"
Yunshan covered his mouth and let out a low cry, his eyes instantly turning red.
It’s not her fault. The servants get along closely with each other on a daily basis and take care of each other like sisters.
Even Song Zhao felt uncomfortable after hearing this news, let alone Yunshan, who used to live in the same room with Zhihua and spent every day with her?
Song Zhaoqiang suppressed the discomfort in his heart and asked: "Why did you fall from the roof for no reason?"
Rong Yue explained from the side: "Zhihua also has good intentions. The trip will start tomorrow. Today, all palaces have to 'sweep the tiles'. Originally, Zhaochun Palace also arranged for the eunuchs to go up and clean, but Zhihua said that the eunuchs were always careless in their work, and she was worried, so she rushed to go up and remove the bad luck for Concubine Hui. That girl had good intentions, but she didn't expect..."
Later, from their fragmentary words, Song Zhao roughly pieced together the whole picture of the "accident".
Zhihua had rushed to the roof to "sweep the tiles", and she was finishing the work when she fell. She was the only one on the roof at that time. She stepped on the ladder and fell down. In addition to Huipin, Li Changzai and Rongyue also witnessed the whole thing, so it can only be regarded as an accident.
Huipin cried until her voice became hoarse. After drinking milk tea, she managed to stop sobbing and said with a sob:
"Wow, Zhihua is the maid Sister Song gave me. She is always diligent and never sloppy in her work. She always plays with me in private and allows me to go back on my word and act like a spoiled brat...Among all the maids in the palace, she is my favorite besides Chan'er. Wow..."
She tugged at Song Zhao's sleeve, lowered her eyes in guilt, and her tears fell on Song Zhao's sapphire blue cloak, leaving a stain.
"Sister Song, I'm sorry...I didn't protect her well..."
Song Zhao took Huipin's hand and sighed, "Zhihua is a good girl, but the dead cannot be resurrected, and this incident was an accident. No one wants to see this happen. Sister, don't blame yourself too much."
But no matter how Song Zhao persuaded her, Huipin's tears continued to flow like beads from a broken string.
Those who knew about it thought that a maid died in her palace, while those who didn't thought that her own mother died.
The more she pretended to be innocent and kind, the more Song Zhao wanted to tear her disguise apart immediately.
Seeing that Huipin could not be persuaded, Song Zhao said to Yunshan:
"After all, Huipin is the head of the palace. How can she be without someone who is good at serving her? Qiaozhen in our palace is quite capable. She is only sixteen years old and only one year older than Huipin. She can play with her in private. Go and tell her to go back with Huipin and serve her."
Hearing this, Huipin's crying became weaker.
"This... Sister Song, I didn't protect Zhihua well, how dare you ask for someone from your palace again, or..."
"It's okay." Song Zhao gently patted Huipin's hand and said with a smile, "You are my good sister, and we are family, so we shouldn't talk about different things. Just don't cry anymore. It hurts to call me sister for no reason, okay?"
In this way, Huipin finally "barely" held back her tears.
Later, Song Zhao comforted Huipin with almost concern, and only after telling a joke to make Huipin laugh did he explain that many things had to be prepared for the next day's trip, and asked Huipin to return to the palace early to make arrangements.
After Huipin and Rongyue left, Yunshan went inside to report to Song Zhao.
"Your Majesty, Qiaozhen has already gone back with Huipin."
Song Zhao's eyebrows were filled with sorrow, and he nodded calmly and said, "Xiao Fuzi, go get five hundred taels of silver and ask someone to send it to Zhihua's mother's family. She and I were master and servant after all, and now that she has died an untimely death, I feel bad too."
Xiao Fuzi respectfully agreed, and Yunshan finally couldn't help but choked up and said:
"Your Majesty...Zhihua is always careful in her work. She is not such a careless person. Could it be that she discovered something while following Huipin, so Huipin is eager to silence her?"
Hearing this, Song Zhao could only shake his head helplessly, "Rong Yue also saw this with her own eyes. Huipin did a flawless job and there is no fault to be found. Besides, a servant has died. I can't go to Zhaochun Palace to ask for punishment and let the people from the Dali Temple to investigate this matter thoroughly. No matter how suspicious we are, we can only let this matter go."
Yunshan said, "But why did Your Majesty send Qiaozhen to her palace? Qiaozhen was pointed out to you by the Queen when Your Majesty was promoted to a concubine. You have always suspected that she might be the Queen's spy and never got close to her. She can't get any information from Huipin by her side."
"I asked her to follow Huipin, and I didn't expect her to find out any news. I just wanted to disgust Huipin."
Song Zhao's face was filled with disgust, and his tone was cold to the bone.
"After all, Zhihua is dead. If something happens to Qiaozhen again, wouldn't the whole palace suspect that Huipin, this innocent and pretty girl, has a problem? She can't do anything to Qiaozhen, so she can only be on guard against her day and night. Seeing Qiaozhen standing in front of her every day, she will be disgusted every day."
Yunshan nodded thoughtfully, and continued along with Song Zhao's words: "Besides, Huipin can't let Qiaozhen frame the queen. Qiaozhen is a maid sent by the queen anyway. Whatever she says or does, she will involve the queen. Huipin will always have concerns."
Song Zhao nodded slightly, his brows unconsciously filled with a bit of confusion.
"But there is one thing I cannot understand. Zhihua has been with her for so long and everything has been fine, so why did she have an accident during the southern tour? Huipin is going back to her mother's home... Could it be that she has done something shameful at her mother's home that requires us to be more cautious than in the palace?"
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