Manhuan refused, saying, "No, wherever Your Majesty is, Manhuan will be there too."
Her stubborn little face reminded Shen Mingzhuang of when she first came here, when she was only twelve or thirteen years old. In the blink of an eye, she had reached the age to get married.
During her most difficult times, Manhuan was always there for her. She had to carefully consider Manhuan's marriage prospects and choose the best one.
"Your Majesty the Empress!"
The old women who went in to investigate came out, their faces grim. They knelt before Shen Mingzhuang and explained, "The one who hanged herself inside was not the former Consort Shu, but Consort Chen, who was deposed by the late Emperor."
Then, worried that Shen Mingzhuang would blame her, she explained, "Because of the continuous spring rain a few days ago, the old woman who delivered the food left it at the door and left. I don't know how Consort Chen ended up in the West Fourth Chamber."
"So, what about Liu Wenxin?"
Shen Mingzhuang looked serious and stared at the old woman, asking in a cold voice.
The old woman lowered her head even further, her voice trembling, and said, "Your Majesty, everyone is searching, but we haven't seen her in the West Fourth Palace..."
Shen Mingzhuang looked at the people kneeling on the ground with a cold and expressionless face. "Go find them now. If you can't find them, then deal with them as you see fit."
Watching the group of people rushing off to search, Shen Mingzhuang frowned and wondered to himself, "Where could this person have gone all this time?"
Liu Wenxin shouldn't be able to scale walls and roofs, right? The walls of the Cold Palace are so high; she should still be there. So why did the late Emperor's Consort Chen die in her residence? Did something unknown happen?
When Man Huan heard that Liu Wenxin had run away, she couldn't help but show a look of fear. She said to Shen Mingzhuang, "Your Majesty, you don't know, Liu Wenxin was already mentally unstable before she went to the Cold Palace. She seemed to be possessed."
Shen Mingzhuang was unaware of this beforehand, and was taken aback upon hearing this. "How could Liu Wenxin be obsessed?"
Man Huan sighed and said, "I don't know the specifics. I only heard that after Consort Shu miscarried, His Majesty went to Hehuan Palace. Some people said that Consort Shu was like a madwoman in Hehuan Palace, shouting and crying and laughing, and saying treasonous things. After that, she stopped talking, but her mind was a little off. She couldn't speak coherently. A few days later, His Majesty's decree came down."
Shen Mingzhuang pondered for a moment, then felt somewhat annoyed. Wouldn't this mean that everything that had happened would be impossible to verify? When the old women who had searched several times without finding anyone came over with distressed faces, Shen Mingzhuang said nothing, turned around and left, handing the matter over to the Imperial Household Department.
Seeing this, Manhuan couldn't help but step forward and whisper, "Your Majesty, if we don't find Liu Wenxin, things might get complicated. What if she escapes from the Cold Palace and hides somewhere? What if she hurts someone?"
Shen Mingzhuang knew that she was worried that Liu Wenxin would hurt the youngest son, Jiang Xuan. After all, Jiang Wang only had this one son. If Liu Wenxin were desperate, she might try to coerce the Crown Prince into influencing the Emperor.
Thinking about all this, Shen Mingzhuang felt that this matter needed to be resolved as soon as possible.
However, she already had a plan in mind, and upon hearing this, she smiled and comforted Manhuan, saying, "Don't worry, since the Imperial Household Department has taken over this matter, let them worry about it. Even if Her Majesty is crazy, how much strength can a woman like her have? There's no need to worry about these things."
Man Huan listened, but still couldn't help but worry. That's true, but when a person loses their mind, they can do anything. Who knows what kind of heinous things Liu Wenxin might do before she is discovered?
After walking a few steps, Shen Mingzhuang whispered a few words to Man Huan. Man Huan's expression changed slightly, and she looked around with a surprised look in her eyes. "This servant understands."
After Man Huan finished speaking, she headed towards Jiaofang Palace. Xiao Li Zi and Xiao Dian Zi didn't know what was going on. Shen Ming Zhuang had already turned around and headed towards Jiaofang Palace again. When she found Xiao Li Zi and Xiao Dian Zi following her, she quickly said, "You two go back to Jiaofang Palace with Man Huan first. I have some things to give instructions. You don't need to come with me."
Xiao Li and Xiao Dianzi were still a little frightened by what had happened in the Cold Palace. They hesitated when they heard this. Shen Mingzhuang knew that they were worried that something would happen if he was alone.
But now that she had people with her, she couldn't act easily, so she pretended to be angry and said, "You don't take my orders seriously anymore. It seems that I can't command you anymore. In that case, you shouldn't work in the Jiaofang Palace."
Upon hearing this, Little Li and Little Dianzi immediately shrank their necks and nodded obediently, then turned and headed towards the Jiaofang Palace.
Everyone knows that the best place in the palace is Jiaofang Palace, even better than Qinzheng Palace. After all, serving the emperor is like walking on thin ice. However, the Empress is the kindest and most benevolent person. She is kind and compassionate to her subordinates, and there have been almost no fights or killings. In addition, she has the highest monthly salary in the palace besides Qinzheng Palace. Everyone is trying their best to get in.
Seeing that Xiao Li Zi and Xiao Dian Zi had disappeared, Shen Mingzhuang breathed a sigh of relief. He listened carefully to make sure there was no one around before turning around, leaping over two walls, and quickly returning to the Cold Palace.
There were many people around before, which was fine, but now she was all alone. Although she was confident that she could protect herself, she still felt a chill down her spine when facing this cold palace with its eerie atmosphere.
Regardless, she still felt that Liu Wenxin should still be in the Cold Palace. She would check the Cold Palace before leaving, which would also help her to rule out some possibilities.
Along the way, Shen Mingzhuang felt nauseous and vomited several times while defusing bombs. Were there no normal women in the Cold Palace? They were either already crazy or going crazy in the process. She really didn't see a single normal person.
After passing by Consort Xiao's residence, she thought for a moment, then boldly went inside.
The room was full of dust and cobwebs. If it weren't for the oil stains on the wooden dining table, you wouldn't have been able to tell that anyone had lived there.
Shen Mingzhuang frowned, sensing that Consort Xiao was in the room on her right. The power and spatial enhancement that Shi Jiangdu had given her allowed her to sense how many living people were inside, even through the wall.
If her perception was correct, Xiao Shufei was the only one here, and she should have turned around and left. But whether driven by curiosity or for some other reason, her feet involuntarily moved towards Xiao Shufei's direction.
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