Xiao Liuzi, the head eunuch of Fushuang Palace, stood bowing in front of Yun Duoduo.
"Guard this cold palace for me, not even a fly is allowed to escape!"
"Yes, Your Highness, please rest assured."
Xiao Liuzi led a few people toward the front gate, back gate, and side gate, leaving people to guard even the windows.
The stolen goods are in the palace. It would be bad if someone were to sneak away with them.
Yun Duoduo looked at the eunuchs who were standing there, having not found the stolen goods.
"Found nothing?"
"Have you looked closely at the flowers and plants in the yard, the paintings hanging on the wall, the inside of the scrolls, and the surface of the paintings?!"
The eunuch suddenly realized what was going on, and called a few people to check the flowers and plants in the courtyard. He also ordered two people to check the scroll and use silver needles to examine the surface of the object to see if it had been poisoned.
[A scroll?!]
Consort Zheng stiffened. [How did she know about the scroll?]
"Princess, we've found it! There's musk inside this scroll!"
A young eunuch excitedly brought the scroll to Yun Duoduo.
"Keep this safe, it's physical evidence!"
Consort Zheng's body trembled violently.
Yu Meiren also glanced at Consort Zheng in surprise. The two had spent many years together in the Cold Palace, but she was completely unaware that the scroll contained poison.
"only……"
A palace maid stammered.
"Just what?"
"However, we servants are too ignorant to recognize these flowers and plants..."
"Keep a close eye on them."
Yun Duoduo got up and went outside. She looked around the courtyard and found a small piece of Gelsemium elegans in the place where the door blocked her view.
Because this heartbreak grass looked almost identical to the green plants next to it, the palace servants couldn't tell the difference at all.
"This is the poisonous plant called 'heartbreak grass'."
"Also, this big tree is an oleander."
"You all need to remember this too."
The palace servants following behind Yun Duoduo nodded vigorously, extremely grateful that they had followed the Ninth Princess and become servants of Fu Shuang Palace.
[The princess is truly amazing!]
Don't let his young age fool you, he knows everything!
"Alright, keep these pieces of evidence safe. The Empress will be here soon."
Actually, she should call the Empress "Mother," but she was really not used to calling others "Mother," so she just called her that. Fortunately, Yun Beiye and the Empress Dowager let her be.
"You all go and keep watch in the front yard first. You can leave me and Consort Zheng here."
"Take the poppy with you too."
After Yun Duoduo finished speaking, the palace maids and eunuchs surrounding her silently lowered their heads and left.
...
"Time flies so fast, Princess Yourong has grown up so much."
Consort Zheng slumped to the ground, looking up at the clouds.
"That's really efficient and decisive, a good style."
“Consort Zheng, now that things have come to this, I’ll just say what I have to say.”
"How did you manage to put the oleander blossom powder into my mother's food back then?"
"Why did you have to hurt my mother..."
If only my mother were still alive.
[She could also turn to Consort De when she encountered difficulties, like her third brother; be constantly managed by the Empress, like her eldest brother; and be flaunted by Consort Chen, like her second brother.]
Yun Duoduo suppressed the pain in her heart, refusing to let the tears fall from her eyes.
[We must not let Consort Zheng see her in a sad and vulnerable state.]
Oleander blossom powder?
"Your mother..."
"Bai Jieyu?"
Consort Zheng looked dazed, her eyes gazing unfocused into the distance.
"My mother was drugged, which is why she died on the day of childbirth due to exhaustion of her vital energy."
"I asked the imperial physician, and it was the pollen from the oleander that harmed my mother."
“And the Cold Palace happens to have oleanders.”
"You're already a Noble Consort, why would you harm my mother?"
“My mother was just a concubine back then, she posed no threat to you at all.”
Faced with Yun Duoduo's questioning, Consort Zheng did not panic, but was more confused and puzzled.
“Princess, it is true that there are oleanders in my palace, and I admit that I have harmed people.”
"However, Bai Jieyu's matter has nothing to do with me."
Consort Zheng shook her head.
Yun Duoduo carefully observed her expression; at this point, she had no need to lie.
No matter what, she was doomed to die.
"Many years ago, the people of Linhua Palace said that the oleander flowers in the Cold Palace were blooming beautifully, and they picked some of the flowers."
[People from Linhua Palace?]
"Later, an oleander tree from the Cold Palace was transplanted to Linhua Palace."
"The tree we have now was planted later using oleander seeds."
"If it was the oleander pollen that harmed your mother, then back then, the oleander in the Cold Palace wasn't even this big yet, and it hadn't even bloomed."
"Moreover, my movements are restricted, and this place is far from the Hibiscus Palace where Consort Bai resides."
"How can I ever repay your mother?"
Yun Duoduo stiffened; she hadn't thought of that question.
If it wasn't Consort Zheng, or someone from the Cold Palace, then could it have been Lin Hua Palace?
"You just said that people from Linhua Palace wanted oleanders. Who said that, and who came to ask for them?"
"Consort Meng..."
"Who was it? There were quite a few people who came that day, but I don't remember them."
"Time flies by too fast, it's been too long..."
Consort Zheng gazed into the distance, her eyes drifting into the distance, as if she were reminiscing.
"I remember that Consort Meng, Consort Li, and Consort Wan lived in Linhua Palace. At that time, Consort Li was very favored."
"But after Consort Li's daughter died, she became depressed."
[Consort Li had another daughter?!]
"This harem is a place that devours people..."
She didn't hear what Consort Zheng said after that; the words Consort Zheng had said earlier kept repeating in her mind.
It was someone from Linhua Palace who asked for the oleander; it could have been Consort Meng, or someone else.
Consort Li once had a daughter, but why did she never know? No one in the palace ever mentioned it.
"How did Consort Li's daughter die?"
Yun Duoduo suddenly grabbed Consort Zheng's wrist and asked urgently.
"Hmph, how else could they have died? Throughout history, how many princes and princesses have died in the palace?"
"He fell into the water and drowned, fell off the artificial hill, was killed by wild animals in the hunting grounds, or choked to death while eating..."
There are many ways.
Yun Duoduo sighed, remembering that she herself had also survived numerous assassination attempts.
If that little princess were still alive, she would have an older sister.
"How did you know the poison was hidden in the scroll?"
Consort Zheng's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at the seven-year-old child in front of her, though she couldn't see him clearly.
I went to the Zheng residence.
Consort Zheng's body stiffened. She looked at Yun Duoduo with a complicated expression and slowly asked, "How are my mother and father?"
"They are fine, but Father has already sent men to arrest them."
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