Empress Dowager Liu was quite excited to be surrounded by her sisters.
She opened her mouth, ready to embellish her story and recount in detail what she had seen the previous night, when she felt a sharp pain in her wrist.
She glanced to the side and saw Consort Su wink at her.
Consort Liu didn't understand her meaning at first, but the other women had already seen the exchange between the two, so they nudged Consort Su, who was standing next to her: "Sister Su, what are you doing? What exactly happened last night? You're not allowed to tell the other women?"
"Oh dear, not at all. I was just afraid that Sister Liu would talk nonsense and offend the Regent." Consort Su gave an awkward smile.
Empress Dowager Liu suddenly realized what was going on and remembered the instructions that Regent Qi Sichen had given them the night before. She quickly said, "Our Regent is not so petty. I am not the kind of person who talks nonsense."
Seeing that she understood, Consort Su was relieved. The two of them then recounted what had happened the previous night, with Consort Su praising Lin Wanyue repeatedly.
"We were far apart, and we only heard that Liu Shuhua was no longer human. We don't know what kind of monster she turned into. I was among us, and I was terrified. It's all thanks to the little princess's ability. When she threw out the talisman, she immediately dealt with that horrible Liu Shuhua."
Consort Liu's mouth was dry from talking, so she poured herself a cup of tea. Just as she gulped it down, she noticed that the teacup in her hand seemed to be the one Liu Shuhua had used before, and she froze on the spot.
The other concubines who had been surrounding her were also very perceptive. Their expressions changed drastically, and they all made excuses to leave.
"Sister Liu, I still have some matters to attend to in the palace, I must go now!"
"Sister Liu, I see the weather is not good. I haven't brought in the clothes that were drying in my yard yet. I'm afraid those people will be lazy, so I have to go and supervise them!"
...
Even Consort Su looked rather displeased and prepared to leave with her maids and eunuchs.
But before she could leave, Consort Liu grabbed her wrist. "Sister Su, I...I...I can't be..."
Consort Su flung the person away, but her words were sweet, "Sister Liu, you scared me to death! What's there to worry about? This cup wasn't unwashed, how could it be so frightening? If all else fails, why don't you go see the little princess? She'll definitely have a solution!"
Although the news was spreading like wildfire in the palace, Qi Sichen did not seem to intend to stop it. However, he still instructed Eunuch Liu to build a cenotaph for Liu Shuhua in the royal cemetery garden, right next to the young prince who died young.
The palace banquet last night was too noisy and went on too late. The ministers couldn't possibly keep the emperor waiting for them to attend court, so they didn't get any sleep for more than an hour or two before they had to get out of their warm beds and rush to court.
Now they're all so sleepy they're practically swaying back and forth, but they still have to put on a proper sitting posture. They can barely maintain their physical posture, but it's hard for them to keep up with their facial expressions.
Lin Weiming had already hidden himself in a corner and fallen asleep. Fortunately, he was a good sleeping man and didn't make any snoring.
Apart from a few energetic individuals who were still able to discuss matters with the emperor, the rest had been dead for some time.
Qi Sichen's beautiful eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, scanning all the civil and military officials below. He now felt that everyone was wearing a mask, and that behind each sleepy face lay a suspicious mastermind.
However, since he couldn't find evidence against the person behind it all, he couldn't say anything.
After the court session, he specifically ordered someone to stop Lin Yanping and Lin Weiming.
Lin Weiming yawned, his eyes glistening with tears, and said in bewilderment, "I really don't know what the Regent is thinking. What use would I be if I went there? I'm so sleepy, I want to go back and take a nap."
Lin Yanping still had that dark, old farmer's face. He hadn't gotten any whiter skin even after being back for so long. He looked quite energetic, still vigorous for his age, and much stronger than the young Lin Weiming.
He ignored Lin Weiming and followed the eunuch's directions to the side hall where Qi Sichen occasionally stayed in the palace.
As soon as the two sat down, someone quickly brought them hot tea.
Lin Weiming was so sleepy that he didn't care about the heat and picked up the tea and gulped down several mouthfuls.
Although tea can be refreshing, he was already so tired that the pain from the scalding hot tea was more effective.
After drinking a few sips of tea, Qi Sichen came in from outside. He didn't bother to be polite with the two men and went straight to asking about clues about the person behind the scenes.
Lin Weiming almost choked on the tea in his mouth yesterday. He had only heard about what happened last night from Lin Wanyue, and he had no clue whatsoever, let alone who was behind it all.
"Ahem!" Lin Yanping said calmly, "This person has managed to have contact with the imperial concubines, so he is indeed quite well hidden. However, I heard that Concubine Liu has simple interpersonal relationships, so it shouldn't take long to investigate and make inroads from her side. It's just that we can't do it openly, we have to be careful and do it secretly."
"That's what I was thinking too. Among the civil and military officials, there are only a handful who have had contact with people in the palace. This way, we can narrow down the scope and then investigate them one by one... However, I'm thinking that everyone in the palace is saying that it's caused by evil spirits. I don't know how to suppress it. Otherwise, it will cause panic and be very troublesome." Qi Sichen rubbed his temples with some distress.
The ministers slept for an hour or two after they returned, but he hadn't slept at all since yesterday, his mind constantly preoccupied with these matters, fearing that someone might harm the emperor. His hair had turned completely white from worry.
Lin Weiming suddenly spoke up, "Isn't this great?"
Qi Sichen and Lin Yanping both looked in his direction, their eyes questioning.
However, these two people were always in such high positions that even their questioning gazes carried a strong sense of oppression, making Lin Weiming hesitant to speak.
"Why do you say that? Please feel free to speak," Lin Yanping said.
Lin Weiming swallowed hard and replied, "I don't think it's necessary to suppress it for now. Let them spread it. Eventually, all sorts of nonsense will come out. Isn't the Regent investigating people? We might be able to get a lot of information out of him through this opportunity."
“When I was in the village and in the county town, they always loved to gossip. Eventually, it all became completely unfounded. But it wasn’t a big deal. It just got so widespread that nobody believed it anymore.”
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