Chapter 36: She Remembered This Blood Debt
The slippery moss around the well glowed a faint green in the firelight, like a circle of ominous talisman.
The air was filled with the chill of well water that hadn't seen the sun for years, mixed with the fishy smell of mud and rotting aquatic plants, and a hint of... blood.
The guards automatically made way for him, and Song Qingyuan walked over with an expressionless face.
On the bluestone slab lay a body that had turned white and swollen from being soaked in water.
She was still wearing the familiar blue maid's uniform from the daytime, and her hair was scattered and stuck to her face and neck like a water ghost. Although her face was swollen and difficult to distinguish, Song Qingyuan still recognized her at a glance.
It’s Yunzhu.
The most inconspicuous but also the most obedient one. The hibiscus cake she made was the most beautiful and delicious in the mansion.
Shen Jingyu loves to eat it.
Song Qingyuan didn't scream, nor did she shed a single tear. She simply walked over quietly, stopping three steps away from the body and crouching down. Her eyes, as still as an ancient well, scanned Yunzhu's body inch by inch.
There was a very deep mark on her neck, which had turned purple and black. It was obvious that she was thrown into the well after death.
The nails were broken, with black mud and almost invisible blood embedded in them, indicating that there had been a violent struggle before death.
Song Qingyuan's gaze finally fell on Yunzhu's tightly clenched right hand. That hand, clenched like a stone ball due to the immense strength it possessed before death and the stiffness it experienced afterward.
"Pry it open." She spat out two words coldly.
A brave guard stepped forward and, with some effort, pried open Yunzhu's stiff fingers one by one.
“Pah.”
With a slight sound, something fell from her palm and rolled onto the wet stone slab.
Not a stone, not a clod of mud.
It was a jade pendant, not of high quality, just ordinary green jade with a bunch of orchids carved on it.
But Song Qingyuan was very familiar with the style of this jade pendant. It was the identification badge issued to the second-class stewards in the palace.
What made her pupils shrink even more was the jade pendant's ribbon. It was a special knot made of twisted gold and silver threads, tied in an intricate concentric knot pattern. In the entire Prince Yan's mansion, only one person liked to use this gorgeous and ostentatious knot.
My humble concubine Wen Yue!
How did she do it when she was locked up in a side room? Song Qingyuan was about to confront him with evidence when he saw Concubine Xue's personal eunuch in the palace.
"What's going on?" Song Qingyuan stepped forward and asked the maid next to her.
The maid quickly knelt on the ground and said, "It was the Empress in the palace who adopted Concubine Wen as her goddaughter, and Concubine Wen was released."
Concubine Xue's personal father-in-law? Adopting Wen Yue as his goddaughter?
These two pieces of news were like two poisoned ice cones that pierced Song Qingyuan's heart, causing the blood in her body to freeze almost instantly.
She clutched the jade pendant, her knuckles making slight creaking sounds from the force, and the carved edge of the orchid on the jade pendant hurt her palm. The sharp pain actually made her confused thoughts clear for a moment.
I see.
It turned out that this was Wen Yue's true reliance. It wasn't the prince's momentary favor, but his mother, the true mistress of the palace—Princess Xue.
The eunuch who came to deliver the message with a smile on his face was now standing in the shadow of the lamp, and the respect on his face looked particularly hypocritical.
His shrill voice carried the unique rhythm of the palace, and he said slowly and calmly: "My Lady Concubine, please accept my condolences. Lady Xue heard that something happened in the mansion, so she specially asked me to come and take a look.
The Empress also said that since Concubine Wen has recently received grace, it's time for her to calm down. She should pray for you and the young master in the Buddhist temple, which would also be considered as accumulating blessings for the family."
These words are said to comfort, but in fact they are a warning.
Every word was telling Song Qingyuan: Wen Yue, you are mine now, you can't touch me. This matter ends here.
The cold, fishy smell of well water and the rusty smell of blood had not yet dissipated in the air, mixed with the expensive incense on my father-in-law's body, forming a disgusting smell.
Song Qingyuan slowly loosened her hand, and the cold jade pendant was stained with the sweat from her palm. She did not even look at the eunuch, but quietly slid the fatal jade pendant into the wide sleeve.
The small, hard object pressed against her skin like a red-hot iron, reminding her of the blood and hatred of this night.
"Please, eunuch, please go and thank my mother for her grace on my behalf."
Her voice was calm without a trace of emotion, as if the woman who had just screamed at the top of her lungs and looked like a madman was just an illusion.
She even bowed slightly, her posture impeccably humble. "It's late at night, and such an accident has happened in the mansion. It's really not appropriate to make it public, so as not to disturb the prince and mother."
A hint of surprise flashed across the father-in-law's eyes, as if he didn't expect her to give in so easily. Then he put on an expression of "you're sensible", and after a few polite words, he said goodbye.
As soon as the people left, the humility on Song Qingyuan's face instantly disappeared, leaving only three feet of frozen ice.
She turned around, her eyes sweeping over all the guards and housekeepers present. Her voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable command: "Seal the well."
The housekeeper was stunned: "Madam, this... this case..."
"What case?" Song Qingyuan interrupted him coldly, "The maid Yunzhu fell into a well while fetching water at night and died. The palace was not strict in its administration, so if something unexpected happened, we should just give her a generous compensation."
Her words made everyone gasp.
Why did the concubine who was just on edge and wanted to dig deep into the ground to find the real murderer suddenly change her tone and classify an obvious murder case as an accident?
The housekeeper wanted to persuade him again, but was stopped by Song Qingyuan's eyes. There was no anger or sadness in those eyes, only a dead silence and bottomless darkness, which made him feel creepy and he couldn't say a word.
"Do as I say." Song Qingyuan said this, without even looking at the swollen corpse, he turned and left.
The night wind blew up her skirt, and her thin back stood straight, like a sword about to be unsheathed, but temporarily restrained all its sharpness.
When we returned to Tingxueyuan, the smell of medicine in the house became stronger.
Shen Jingyu was still in a coma, his little face flushed red, his brows tightly furrowed, and he couldn't find peace even in his dreams.
Song Qingyuan sat on the edge of the bed, picked up the cloth again, dipped it in cold water, wrung it dry, and gently applied it to his hot forehead.
Her movements were gentle and focused, as if she and her son were the only ones left in the world.
The little maidservant beside her tremblingly brought the freshly brewed medicine and reported in a low voice: "Madam, the medicine is ready."
Song Qingyuan didn't turn around, but asked softly: "Which is more important, my son's life or a flashy dead object?"
The little maidservant was so frightened that she fell to her knees, not daring to answer.
Song Qingyuan seemed to be talking to himself: "Before, I was wrong."
She thought that by being gentle and tolerant, and not fighting or competing, she could buy her son peace. She thought that by gaining a little favor from the prince, she could protect him.
She slowly pulled the orchid jade pendant, tinged with the chill of well water, from her sleeve. Under the candlelight, the heart-shaped knot of gold and silver thread on the pendant reflected a dazzling light. This light, once a symbol of Wen Yue's arrogance and display, now became irrefutable evidence of her murder.
Song Qingyuan looked at the jade pendant with a cold look in her eyes. She didn't have the ability to confront Concubine Xue right now, but she had the evidence.
She remembered this blood debt.
She gently took her son's sweaty little hand and carefully placed the cold jade pendant into the pocket of his shirt.
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