Chapter 177 So she was Consort Su
Liu Ye continued digging and unearthed more than a dozen boxes. When she opened them, they were all full of gold ingots. There were still more boxes underneath, and it seemed like there were quite a few. She suspected that they were all under the peony flower. Okay, she stopped digging and threw the boxes back into the pit, then covered them with soil again.
She dug the box out to see if it was full of gold; if it wasn't, it wouldn't be enough to alarm the prince.
This batch of gold must have been hidden by the owner of this house, Lord Li. The government couldn't find it, but she did. Yesterday, Brother Bai seemed to say that he went to do business for Prince Xuan and wouldn't be back for three or four days. Let's wait until he comes back. Maybe Brother Bai doesn't want to hand the gold over to the prince.
Liu Ye patted the dirt off her hands, stuck the shovel into the ground, and went back inside to wash up. Before she knew it, it was evening. The moon was very round tonight, making the night not dark at all, and exposing the ten men in black walking on the roof to the moonlight.
The leader of the men in black leaped into the mansion of their first target that night, Lord Li. Lord Li was also one of the Crown Prince's men, and even more so, his right-hand man. He was very good at scheming, and the Crown Prince valued him highly.
At that moment, Lord Li was making love in his concubine's room when a man in black suddenly broke in and slit his throat. The concubine was so frightened that she fainted.
After dealing with Lord Li, the man in black headed to his next target, Lord Zhang's residence, where he too was one of the Crown Prince's men.
Two days later, after finishing lunch, Liu Ye found it too boring to stay at home, so she put on her newly bought white fox fur coat, locked the door, and went shopping. As she walked, she noticed something was wrong. It seemed like something big had happened. There were soldiers all over the street, and pedestrians were whispering among themselves. She quickly went over to ask what was going on.
"Brother, why are there so many soldiers on the street? What happened?"
The gossiping man, seeing that Liu Ye was pretty, said with a big smile, "Oh, let me tell you, something big has happened these past two days. More than a dozen high-ranking officials have died in the last two nights. They were all murdered, their throats slit. I heard they were found with all their blood drained. The authorities are currently hunting down the murderer. Young lady, you mustn't run around. If you run into the murderer, it will be terrible."
Liu Ye smiled and nodded, "Thank you for the reminder, brother. I'll go home now." Could the deaths of over a dozen officials be related to Brother Bai?
Liu Ye walked through the alley to the shops on Peony Street and found that the street was also full of soldiers, searching for the murderer from house to house. The soldiers violently kicked open the locked shops. She quickly opened the shop door to save them from kicking it down.
Soon, a large number of soldiers found Liu Ye's shop. Since there was nothing in the shop, they rushed in, searched around, and then came out. The soldiers saw that Liu Ye was pretty and seemed to be a young lady from some wealthy family, so they left without questioning her.
Not long after the soldiers left, the plaque she had ordered was delivered. The deliveryman even helped hang it up. Liu Ye took out a handful of copper coins and stuffed them into the deliveryman's hand: "Thank you for your hard work, sir. Take care."
"You're too kind, young lady. I'll be going now." After the shop assistant left, Liu Ye carried the old plaque into the shop, closed the door, and weighed the plaque in her hand. It was quite heavy. The plaque looked nice, with intricate patterns carved on it. It would be a pity to throw it away, so she would keep it for firewood.
She threw it hard on the ground, shattering the plaque into four pieces. A yellowed book fell out of it. What was that?
She picked up the book from the ground and saw on the first page that it read "Poison God Manual." What was that? It should be a medical book. She opened the first page, and her head suddenly felt dizzy. She was so frightened that she quickly closed the medical book, and the dizziness subsided.
What's going on? Liu Ye stared blankly at the Poison God Manual in her hand. Was her dizziness just now caused by this book? She carefully turned the pages again, and her head spun again, and she felt dizzy. Oh my god, it really is this book's problem. Is this book poisonous?
But why did she feel better after closing the book? There's such a poison in the world? No, wait, she put the book into her spatial storage and would study it when she got home. She waved her hand at the ground, putting the broken plaque into her spatial storage as well, then left the shop, locked the door, and strolled home.
When Liu Ye returned home, she saw a lot of people at the Su family's gate. Judging from their clothes, they seemed to be palace maids and eunuchs, as well as a group of guards in armor. The most eye-catching thing was the carriage parked at the gate, which looked like the emperor's carriage in TV dramas. It was so luxurious that it was indescribable.
At this moment, everyone at the entrance of the Su residence knelt down, even passersby. Liu Ye quickly squatted down as well, quietly looking up at the carriage, curious about who was inside.
"Welcome, Consort Su."
The carriage curtains were strung with gemstone beads, and golden bells hung around the sides, jingling melodiously in the wind. A slender, jade-like hand emerged from the carriage, and a palace maid quickly reached out her arm. Consort Su, with an air of elegance and grace, stepped down from the carriage using the backs of eunuchs. Looking at the Su family members, she raised her hand slightly, her voice like a lark's: "Rise."
Prime Minister Su was the first to get up, followed by Madam Su. The entire Su family, young and old, also rose from the ground. Liu Ye quickly got up as well, standing at her doorway, looking curiously at Consort Su. So this was Consort Su, the Emperor's most favored concubine. Brother Bai had said that the Crown Prince was her son. She was indeed quite handsome, with a good figure, and certainly had the qualities to be the Emperor's favorite. She looked to be in her forties, but her skin was still so good, and her voice was delicate and sweet, just a little less than hers...
Madam Su and Miss Su the Third stepped forward to help Consort Su, one on each side. Miss Su the Third said with a friendly smile, "Your Highness's return is just in time. I was just missing you. This morning I even told Mother that I wanted to go to the palace to see you, but Father wouldn't allow it, fearing that I wouldn't know the rules and would cause trouble for you. How could I be so insensible?"
Consort Su gently patted the hand of the Third Miss Su, and was then escorted into the Su residence by the Su family, with armored guards standing watch at the entrance.
Liu Ye quickly opened the door and entered the courtyard. The guards at the gate must be the legendary Imperial Guards. They looked so imposing. If Brother Bai wore their uniforms, he would definitely look even more impressive.
Lively sounds came from the Su family courtyard: "Are the snacks ready yet? Oh, slow down! If you spill them, you won't be able to pay for it even if you die! Hurry up!"
"Granny Zhao, quickly tell the kitchen to cook. Start by stewing the bird's nest. Little Red, Little Green, you guys, get it, get it, babbling..."
Liu Ye rolled her eyes speechlessly. What could be so valuable that they couldn't even afford to pay for it with their lives? But then again, yesterday a maid broke a glass bowl, and they beat her to death. Sigh, this is the imperial power of ancient times. Human life is as worthless in their eyes.
At the Princess's residence, the princess and her consort were playing chess in the living room when Bailing, the princess's personal maid, returned from outside and reported: "Reporting to the princess and her consort, Consort Su has returned to the Prime Minister's residence."
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