Who is the monster?
The two quickly entered the warm pavilion. As its name suggests, the pavilion was filled with warmth as soon as they stepped inside, and the air was filled with a faint sandalwood fragrance.
In the very center of the room was the soft couch where the Empress Dowager usually rested, and next to it was a small table with a cup of tea that hadn't been finished yet, and the tea had gone cold.
Xiao Diting walked to the small table. She suspected that someone might have been planning to poison the Empress Dowager, but it ended up falling on Yun Miao's head.
For this reason, Xiao Diting bent down to carefully examine the cup of tea. The tea was clear, without any unusual color or smell.
She walked to the window, opened it, and a cold wind immediately rushed in.
Sure enough, there was a dent in the snow under the windowsill, and the dent was shaped like a small medicine bottle.
Xiao Diting bent down and brushed the snow in the depression with his fingers. A tiny bit of light brown powder touched his fingertip, the same color as the stain on the rag.
"Found it!" Xiao Diting was overjoyed. She picked up the medicine bottle and quickly called Song Pingzhang over. "Look at what's in this bottle. Isn't it the same as what's on the rag? It seems someone spilled something here, and the powder got on the rag and was then carried into the courtyard by Yunmiao."
Song Pingzhang also came over, examined the powder carefully, fanned the mouth of the bottle with his hand and smelled it, his brows furrowing slightly: "This powder... seems to be the powder of some kind of medicinal herb, but I can't remember what it is for the moment."
"Whatever it is, take some and send it to the Imperial Hospital for testing along with the previous samples!" Xiao Diting said immediately. "Also, check who entered the warm pavilion today, besides the Empress Dowager and Yun Miao, is there anyone else?"
Song Pingzhang immediately nodded, arranged for someone to fetch the powder, and also ordered someone to check the entry and exit records of the warm pavilion.
Xiao Diting stood by the window, gazing at the snowy scene outside, yet his heart remained uneasy. Who was the person who spilled the powder? Was it aimed at the Empress Dowager, or at Yun Miao?
She was just about to ask Song Pingzhang to retrieve the guard records for the past few days in the warm pavilion to see if any unfamiliar faces had entered or left when the eunuch Fulu's voice suddenly came from outside the window: "The Empress Dowager has arrived—"
The two quickly turned around and saw the Empress Dowager slowly entering, surrounded by a group of palace maids and eunuchs. She was wearing a black cloak trimmed with white fox fur, and her face was a bit more somber than when she was in the side hall.
"How's the investigation going?" She got straight to the point as soon as she sat down, her gaze sweeping over Song Pingzhang standing by the window before finally settling on Xiao Diting.
Xiao Diting bowed and reported his findings: "Your Majesty, I found the same light brown powder as that on Aunt Yunmiao's fingertips and rag under the window sill of the warm pavilion. I have sent it to the Imperial Hospital for examination."
"In addition, the back of the orchid leaves in the courtyard all have tiny holes, which seem to be caused by human intervention and are likely related to powder."
The Empress Dowager remained silent for a moment, about to say something, when suddenly a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall, accompanied by Eunuch Shouxi's high-pitched voice: "The Emperor has arrived—"
Everyone's expression changed, and they quickly got up to greet the emperor.
The emperor, dressed in a bright yellow casual robe, walked in with a gloomy expression. His gaze swept over everyone in the hall, finally landing on Xiao Diting. His tone was impatient as he preemptively said, "It's just the death of a palace maid, yet it has caused such a commotion in Cining Palace, even troubling the Empress Dowager to come in person. This is truly outrageous!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Imperial Guards behind him escorted in a small eunuch dressed in gray.
The young eunuch was deathly pale and trembling all over. As soon as he entered the hall, he knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, spare me! It was my momentary lapse of judgment that led me to commit such a grave mistake!"
The emperor sneered and kicked the little eunuch on the shoulder: "Say it again in front of the Empress Dowager."
The young eunuch cried uncontrollably, his voice broken and intermittent: "This servant has liked Aunt Yunmiao for a long time and has asked her to be my partner many times, but she has always refused and even said she would tell the head eunuch."
Xiao Diting looked at the little eunuch kneeling on the ground, kowtowing frantically and intermittently recounting his crimes, and a sense of absurdity arose in his heart for no reason.
The young eunuch wept bitterly, banging his head on the ground until a bloody mark appeared on his forehead: "In a fit of anger, I... I secretly sprinkled medicine on her rag, thinking I'd make her suffer a little, but I never expected... I never expected the medicine to take effect so quickly and kill her!"
Xiao Diting's heart skipped a beat, and his brows furrowed instantly. A demonic creature that could cause immense pain when it took effect, and whose poison spread rapidly, leaving no trace, must be extremely rare. It wouldn't be easy for a mere eunuch to obtain it.
But if he resorted to such ruthlessness simply because he couldn't get what he wanted, it would be too absurd—where would a lowly eunuch get the audacity to secretly keep deadly poison in the Cining Palace? And where would he have gotten the opportunity to tamper with Yunmiao's rag?
"Your Majesty, there seems to be something fishy about this!" She couldn't help but step forward, her tone urgent. "This little eunuch is just a cleaning eunuch, how could he easily obtain such a deadly poison? Moreover, Aunt Yunmiao's cause of death has not yet been fully investigated, and we can't rely solely on his one-sided account—"
"Enough!" The emperor abruptly interrupted her, his tone suddenly becoming stern. "The evidence is overwhelming, and he has confessed himself. What's the suspicious point? Do you think my investigation is unfair?"
He stared sharply at Xiao Diting, his gaze carrying an unquestionable authority: "This matter occurred in Cining Palace, which has already alarmed the Empress Dowager. If we investigate it further, what kind of decorum will it create? What are the Embroidered Uniform Guards waiting for? Immediately imprison this person in the Imperial Prison and execute him in the autumn!"
Xiao Diting wanted to say more, but saw the Empress Dowager slowly raise her hand, her tone tinged with weariness: "What the Emperor says is true. I am old and cannot withstand such torment. Now that the murderer has been found, let's leave it at that."
A barely perceptible glint of anger flickered in her eyes, but she forced it out and waved her hand at the crowd, saying, "Everyone, step back and let me have some peace and quiet."
Seeing that the Empress Dowager had relented, the Emperor's expression softened slightly. He then gave her a few more instructions to "take good care of yourself" before turning and leaving with his entourage.
The eunuch was dragged out by the Imperial Guards, like a puppet whose soul had been taken away, which disgusted Xiao Diting.
The emperor arrived suddenly and left quickly. Before she could even organize her chaotic thoughts, they were all blown away like the wind.
Xiao Diting stood there, gazing in the direction the emperor had left, the medicine bottle in his hand becoming warm from being gripped so tightly.
She knew in her heart that this was not a love dispute at all. The little eunuch was just a scapegoat, and the real murderer was still hiding in the shadows of the palace, waiting to strike again.
She thought of the real beneficiaries behind the Huaizhou grain bill, and stared at the direction the emperor had left for a long time, still feeling incredulous.
When Xiao Diting was kicked out of the warm pavilion, it was still snowing. The snowflakes that fell on her shoulders melted into water, which seeped into her neck through her collar, making her shiver.
Back in her own bedchamber, she dismissed all the palace servants and sat alone on the soft couch by the window, repeatedly rubbing the white jade safety buckle at her waist with her fingertips.
Asking her for something like this out of boredom can't be out of affection; it's more like I'm trying to get something out of her.
Recent events lingered in her mind like a tangled mess: the war in the Northwest, Song Chenjing being harassed, Yun Miao's mysterious death, and the Emperor's deliberately suppressed attitude today...
Each and every item exuded an eerie aura; together, they formed an invisible net that was slowly tightening around her.
She keenly sensed that she was walking step by step toward the edge of a knife, but she knew far too little to make an accurate judgment.
Xiao Diting became increasingly anxious the more he thought about it.
After an unknown amount of time, the palace door was gently pushed open, and Chunyan entered carrying a copper basin for washing. Seeing that she was still sitting by the window in a daze, her brows furrowed, she couldn't help but ask softly, "Your Highness, you've been sitting for half an hour. Why haven't you washed up and rested yet? Are you tired today?"
Xiao Diting snapped out of his daze and looked at Chunyan.
She suddenly grabbed Chunyan's wrist with such force that Chunyan gasped in surprise.
“Chunyan,” her voice tightened, a hint of ferocity in her eyes that she herself didn’t realize, “You’ve been in the palace for so long, before… were there many deaths in the palace?”
Chunyan's face turned deathly pale instantly. She shook her head repeatedly, struggling to pull her hand away: "Your Highness! Bah! Bah! Bah! You can't say such things! The palace is perfectly fine, there aren't that many dead people here!"
"So there are, and a lot of them, aren't there?" Xiao Diting emphasized, his fingernails almost digging into Chunyan's flesh.
She recalled the horrific scene of Yunmiao's death, the deaths of Chunlanduo, and the occasional "accidents" that were glossed over in the palace; her heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by a hand.
Chunyan was so frightened by her appearance that tears almost welled up in her eyes. She suddenly broke free from her grip and knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Highness, spare me! This servant really doesn't know! This servant dares not inquire about or speak of matters in the palace... Please don't ask anymore, I beg you!"
Seeing Chunyan trembling, Xiao Diting suddenly came to her senses and realized that she had just lost her composure. She had been questioning Chunyan so persistently, and she was completely unharmed, so Chunyan must be telling the truth.
She released her hand and waved wearily, "That's enough, I lost my composure. You can go now, I'm going to bed."
Chunyan felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She quickly tidied up the copper basin and hurriedly left.
Silence returned to the palace. Xiao Diting lay on the bed, but he was wide awake.
The sound of wind and snow outside the window seemed to grow louder and louder. She tossed and turned, barely managing to doze off for a while in the middle of the night, only to be awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! Wake up!" A familiar voice came from outside the door.
Xiao Diting suddenly sat up, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly put on his robes and went to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, she froze—standing outside was none other than Shouxi, the chief eunuch of the emperor's household. His face was deathly pale, his forehead was still wet with snow, and he looked extremely flustered.
"Eunuch Shouxi? Why are you here so late?" Xiao Diting's unease instantly intensified.
Shouxi, panting heavily, grabbed her arm and said urgently, "Your Highness! Something terrible has happened! His Majesty has ordered this old servant to take you to the Hall of Supreme Harmony immediately; all the officials are waiting there!"
Xiao Diting quickly reassured him, "Take your time and tell me what's the matter that you're in such a hurry to tell me?"
Upon hearing this, Sukiyaki's expression turned strange: "You may follow me."
Xiao Diting's mind went blank. Shouxi stood at the door, all alone, reaching out a withered hand to grab her. The meaning of his words was unclear. He stared with cloudy eyes and mechanically repeated the same few sentences over and over, refusing to reveal anything to her.
But Shouxi's expression didn't seem fake. She was a modern person and didn't believe in ghosts and gods. She didn't have time to think it through and could only be pulled by Shouxi, hurrying towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony was brightly lit, but the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was suffocating.
In the center of the hall stood an old man dressed in a Taoist robe, with white hair and beard, holding a peach wood sword in his hand. He was the Imperial Advisor of the Imperial Observatory.
The emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, while the crown prince and several important ministers stood to the side, each with a different expression.
As soon as Xiao Diting stepped into the palace, the Imperial Preceptor suddenly opened his eyes wide, pointed at her, and shouted: "Demon! Get off this princess!"
Before she could react, the eunuchs on both sides rushed up like wolves, grabbed her arms, and slammed her to the ground.
The cold floor tiles hurt my knees, and then a basin of warm liquid was poured over my head—a strong, fishy smell instantly filled the air; it was black dog blood!
Black dog blood dripped down her hair, staining her robes and sticking stickily to her skin, utterly disgusting.
Xiao Diting struggled to raise his head, staring in horror at the emperor on the dragon throne, his voice trembling with shock and anger.
"Father! What does this mean?!"
The emperor, leaning back on the dragon throne, opened one eyelid and looked at her coldly, but his words were directed at the Grand Preceptor: "Make your move and remove that 'monster' from the young prince's body."
Xiao Diting roared angrily, "Father!"
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