Chapter 188 Granny Qiu
Xie Sangning watched her father, Xie Zhenting, disappear behind the study door, which seemed to separate two worlds.
Outside the door, the spring sun shines warmly; inside, the father faces a raging storm alone.
She understood perfectly; her great-grandfather must have already revealed the truth.
The atmosphere in the mansion was somewhat stagnant due to the general's refusal to leave the house.
Butler Liu hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped. Xie Sangyu lingered several times at the study door, her thick eyebrows furrowed.
“Let Father have some peace and quiet,” Xie Sangning said in a cool voice. “He needs time.”
For a day and a night, the study remained eerily quiet, without a drop of water.
Xie Sangning personally guarded the courtyard. She understood that her father was shattering the loyalty and righteousness he had upheld for the past thirty years and reforging them into a sharp blade.
The study door finally creaked open the following evening, and Xie Zhenting emerged, his figure still as imposing as a mountain, but his steps were heavy.
His magnanimity was overshadowed by a fierce aura, and his face showed little expression. He even gave Xie Sangning, who came to greet him with concern, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, as if trying to comfort his daughter. But the smile did not reach his eyes; instead, it added a chilling touch to his heart.
"Dad's alright." His voice was hoarse.
Everyone in the mansion breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that he was unharmed.
Three days later, as Xie Sangning was making a final check on the guest list for the banquet in his study at Ruixue Tower, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar.
Ru Dong practically burst through the door, her eyes shining brightly, filled with excitement and anxiety.
"Miss!" Ru Dong exclaimed breathlessly, not even having time to curtsy, "We have news about that Granny Qiu! There has never been a head maid named Granny Qiu in Her Majesty's service, either now or in the past! No such person has been found!"
Xie Sangning paused slightly in her hand holding the purple brush. Was the clue pointing to the Empress wrong? Or was it deliberately misleading?
Ru Dong took a breath and spoke even faster: "But! Our people followed the name of Granny Qiu and searched through twenty years of old files and connections in the palace. Finally, they managed to dig something out of the mouth of an old eunuch who had been around for decades!"
She took a deep breath and lowered her voice considerably:
"When His Majesty was still the Second Prince, his wet nurse from his time as a prince was surnamed Qiu! Everyone in the palace respectfully called her Granny Qiu! She was an old woman who watched His Majesty grow up and was extremely trusted!"
Snap!
Xie Sangning's purple brush fell to the ground with a thud, and the ink spread across the white Xuan paper!
She looked up abruptly, staring intently at Ru Dong: "What did you say?! Someone from the Emperor's side?! Has it been confirmed that it's the same person? And where is this Granny Qiu now?"
Startled by the cold glint in her mistress's eyes, Ru Dong took a half-step back and hurriedly reported, "This servant found out that not long after His Majesty ascended the throne, about seven or eight years ago, he was granted permission to leave the palace to retire due to old age and frailty. But..."
Her tone turned serious. "I wasn't reassured, so I followed that lead to find out where she went after leaving the palace. Her hometown is in Yanzhou. I sent people to investigate as fast as they could, and the news I got was... Granny Qiu suddenly fell ill at a post station on her way back home, and... she's gone. It's said that she suffered a heart attack and died suddenly! It happened less than half a month after she left the palace!"
This is clearly murder to cover up a crime!
The empress sending people to steal the corpse can be explained as jealousy or venting anger, and dumping the body in a mass grave is logically plausible.
But what if it was Pei Yan! What if he instructed his wet nurse, Granny Qiu, to steal his mother's body and frame the Empress...?
Given Pei Yan's morbid and twisted obsession with his mother, Lin Wanyi, how could he possibly allow her to be carelessly abandoned in a filthy mass grave?!
Where would he hide his mother's body?
Xie Sangning's breathing suddenly became rapid, and countless thoughts collided wildly in her mind!
Could it be that he should rebury his mother in a place known only to Pei Yan?
No, that's impossible! Pei Yan would definitely keep his mother in a place where he could see her often. No matter how crazy he is, he would not openly build a tomb for a subject's wife, let alone visit her all the time!
Moreover, not a single word of it has been leaked.
Hidden away in some palace or villa?
That would require frequent trips out of the palace, which would be too noisy and easily expose the situation!
unless…
The darkest place is under the lamp!
The most dangerous place is the safest place!
She suddenly remembered the unintentional remark made by Eunuch Desheng:
"Every day after his meal, His Majesty always spends an hour alone in the Imperial Study... and forbids anyone from disturbing him..."
One hour! And so it is every day!
Pei Yan… Pei Yan!
If that's the case, I'll make sure you suffer a terrible death!
This idea was so shocking and disgusting, yet it perfectly aligned with Pei Yan's psychological logic!
Only there could he be with his mother, whom he longed for but could not have, and only there could he satisfy his twisted and possessive desires!
"Oh…"
She suddenly stood up, knocking over the armchair behind her without even noticing.
He strode to the desk and laid out a new sheet of plain white paper:
"Secretly investigate the Imperial Study. Suspect the location of the mother's body. The inner room, hidden compartments, secret walls, and cellars must all be thoroughly investigated. Contact Desheng. Exercise extreme caution; your safety is paramount."
After writing, she folded the paper into a tiny square and handed it to Ru Dong.
"Immediately deliver this message to Consort Ru as quickly as possible! Tell her to spare no effort and use all the trustworthy people in her palace to find out the truth! If she is unable to act personally, she can try to contact Eunuch Desheng for assistance! This matter is extremely urgent!"
This relates to how the plans of my great-grandfather and his family will be implemented.
"Yes, Miss!" Ru Dong didn't dare to delay for a moment, clutching the note tightly in her hand before turning and leaving.
The door was gently closed, leaving Xie Sangning alone in the study of Ruixue Tower.
The spring sunshine outside the window was beautiful, and birds were chirping, but Xie Sangning felt as if she were in complete darkness.
Mother…
Her gentle and quiet mother, who passed away at a young age, could not find peace even in death!
As expected, the corpse was treated as a treasure by that beastly Pei Yan and imprisoned in the Imperial Study!
The thought that her mother might be preserved in some way made Xie Sangning feel a metallic taste rush to her throat, and her internal organs were churning violently!
Hatred was like a thousand poisonous needles, piercing her heart and causing her so much pain that she could hardly breathe!
“Pei Yan…”
"If this is true... I, Xie Sangning, hereby swear that I will search every corner of the underworld and make you... suffer a thousand cuts! You will die without a burial place!"
——
Inside Yuntang Palace, a delicate pastry box was presented to Consort Ru by a young palace maid from the Imperial Kitchen.
"Your Majesty, these are newly made rose pastries from the Imperial Kitchen, specially prepared as a tribute to you."
Xie Nu'er, now Consort Ru, dressed in a light purple palace gown, was leaning against a soft couch by the window, reading a book.
Upon hearing this, she raised her eyelids, gave a faint "hmm," and gestured for the maid to put it down.
After the palace maids withdrew, leaving only her most trusted nanny in the hall, Xie Nuer put down her book, walked to the table, and opened the snack box.
Several delicate rose pastries were neatly arranged inside.
Her slender fingers gently traced the edge of the bottom of the box a few times. Her fingertips touched an extremely tiny protrusion, and with a firm press, a thin interlayer at the bottom of the box silently slid open, revealing a small, neatly folded piece of paper inside.
The mission has finally arrived!
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