Qiu Shu shook her head with tears streaming down her face. "When my sister was being tortured, her mouth was covered. She couldn't say anything, so I ran to beg the princess. I never got to see my sister one last time."
"How old is your sister?" Su Ruojin asked.
"I'm twelve this year, and my older sister is a year older than me, thirteen," Qiu Shu answered honestly.
Thirteen?
How could a young girl who hasn't even reached marriageable age possibly seduce the prince consort?
"Think back again, was there anything unusual about your sister before she was arrested?"
Qiu Shu slowly shook her head. "No, my sister and I always clean the secluded courtyards of the mansion. Yesterday was the same as usual. But before I went to the outhouse, my sister said she thought she heard some strange noises and asked me to listen. I had a stomachache at the time, so I left without listening. Does that count?"
However, the north yard has been uninhabited and abandoned for many years, and stray cats often come and go, so it's not surprising that they make some noise.
Su Ruojin stopped dwelling on the matter and continued to ask, "Do people often die in the princess's residence?"
Qiu Shu's face paled upon hearing this, and her voice trembled slightly. "Almost every month, several maids in the manor die. The Princess says they seduce the Prince Consort. Before, Sister Chun Shu merely picked up a crabapple blossom from the ground and tucked it into her hair. When the Prince Consort saw it, he casually remarked that Sister Chun Shu was more beautiful than the crabapple blossom. That very night, Sister Chun Shu was gone."
Chunshu was pulled out of the well. Her eyes were wide open, and her whole body was swollen. It was terrifying.
After saying this, Qiu Shu's body began to tremble, probably because she was thinking of Chun Shu's appearance before her death.
Seeing her pitiful state, Yanluo quickly stepped forward, hugged her, and gently comforted her.
"You'll stay here and aren't allowed to go out, or I won't be able to protect you," Su Ruojin said before leaving the courtyard.
"Yanluo, have Yunniang arrange for two trustworthy people to come and take care of Qiushu. Once she recovers, give her a cleaning job and keep her away from others for the time being."
"Yes, Miss."
Su Ruojin went to the Regent's Palace again.
Night fell, and the moon and stars were few.
The Princess's Residence.
Two masked men in black jumped off the outer wall of the princess's residence and quietly walked toward the courtyard that Qiu Shu had mentioned.
Hu Qing, An Yi, and An Er also hid in the shadows, keeping watch for their two masters.
The courtyard was quite secluded. After climbing over the wall, Su Ruojin saw that there were only three rooms in the courtyard, on the left, in the middle, and on the right. In the middle of the courtyard stood a locust tree that would take two people to encircle, with a few green shoots emerging from its bare branches.
Beside the locust tree was a dry well with a cover.
They gently jumped off the courtyard wall and headed towards the three houses.
The rooms were all locked, and the locks were covered in dust, indicating they hadn't been opened in a long time.
Su Ruojin took off the hairpin from her hair, gently poked the keyhole a few times, and the lock opened.
Xiao Yanchu glanced at Su Ruojin and found it rather amusing. The eldest daughter of a general's mansion actually knew these petty tricks of stealing chickens and dogs.
Inside the house, there was only a simple bed, a table, two chairs, and a daybed.
All the furniture was covered in dust. Considering the dust on the lock outside, it seemed no one lived here, and the servants were too lazy to clean.
After searching carefully, neither of them found anything.
The situation was similar in the other two rooms.
"Ah Jin, there's nothing there," Xiao Yanchu said softly.
Su Ruojin nodded, and the two quietly withdrew from the room, preparing to leave.
Suddenly, I heard a strange sound, very faint, as if it came from the middle of the courtyard.
The two exchanged a glance and quickly walked out of the room.
Su Ruojin listened more carefully and realized the sound seemed to be coming from the locust tree.
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