The implication in Granny Yu's words was that Wen Chan could also follow in the footsteps of those palace concubines who died violent deaths.
"But...but Chan'er is, after all, my own niece..."
Consort Wen choked up; this was the most heartbreaking thing for her! How could she take the lives of her closest relatives as easily as she had taken the lives of those others?
Granny Yu sighed, "Young lady used to be Her Majesty's own niece, but from today onwards she is Consort Wen. Her Majesty treats her as a close relative, but she may not consider Her Majesty's feelings."
Yes, even if someone cared for her, their own aunt, even a little, they wouldn't choose to serve her while she was still unconscious. How could Consort Wen not understand this?
"Or...or should we give her another chance?"
Granny Yu nodded: "It is entirely up to Your Highness. If the young lady is still willing to acknowledge you as her aunt and to follow your arrangements in all matters from now on, it is not impossible for the aunt and niece to serve the same husband, as His Majesty said."
Hearing the last sentence, Consort Wen felt a headache coming on. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead: "Send someone to tell you that I want to see Consort Wen."
"Yes, this old servant will arrange it immediately."
"Wait!" Consort Wen suddenly reached out and grabbed Granny Yu's arm again: "Granny, you made this trip yourself."
...
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Granny Yu returned from the palace where Wen Chan had been temporarily placed. When she returned to Consort Wen's side, her face was extremely pale.
"Chan'er... she refuses to come to see me?" Consort Wen asked incredulously.
“Your Highness, the young lady is no longer the young lady she used to be. Not only did she refuse to come with this old servant to visit Your Highness, but she also asked this old servant to bring back these tonics for Your Highness. This is clearly... clearly showing off!”
Consort Wen looked at the exquisite boxes that Granny Yu had placed on the small table beside the bed. There were bird's nest and donkey-hide gelatin, all of which were warming and nourishing. How could Wen Chan have these things in the palace? Obviously, they were all bestowed by the Emperor after she served him last night.
And now she's giving all of these away to herself...
Consort Wen, unable to contain her anger, swept her sleeve and knocked everything to the ground.
"It is I who should stop clinging to those familial ties!"
...
On a late autumn afternoon, sunlight, like golden threads, pierced through the clouds and poured down, bathing the Qiaochuan Prince's Mansion, which occupied half of the eastern part of the city, in a holy golden light.
The vermilion-lacquered, copper-studded gate of the Prince's Mansion is guarded by two stone lions, with halberds arranged beside the gate. Upon entering the mansion, one can hear the clear sound of a spring and a stone pool.
After passing through two gates, you arrive at the main courtyard of the Prince's Mansion. A stone path flanked by two rows of jade hairpin flowers leads directly to Jingchen Pavilion, where Li Qingchen usually reads and meditates in peace.
Such a magnificent mansion, in Shengjing it would be the most imposing building besides the imperial palace and the residences of a few princes, but compared to the real Qiaochuan Prince's Mansion, which was located thousands of miles away, it paled in comparison. The real Qiaochuan Prince's Mansion was a place that even the Daye Palace could not rival.
At this moment, wisps of smoke curled up in Jingchen Pavilion, and dappled light seeped in through the carved window frames, casting faint floral shadows on the Dendrobium nobile on the windowsill.
Li Qingchen sat in the official's hat chair behind the sandalwood desk, his posture relaxed. This was a rare moment of leisure for him in recent days.
Once he had had enough peace and quiet, he casually picked up a broken piece of ink from his desk and threw it towards the window. The broken ink immediately knocked the window open, and both doors swung open—a small signal to those outside.
Normally, when Li Qingchen is in Jingchen Pavilion, he does not allow anyone to disturb him, no matter how important the matter is. However, if the window is open, he may knock on the door to enter.
The window had just been opened when Yuan Que, who had been waiting in the courtyard for a long time, knocked on the door and entered the pavilion after asking for permission.
Upon reaching the desk, Yuan Que first greeted Li Qingchen, saying, "Young Prince."
Then he presented a note with both hands: "This is a message just delivered by carrier pigeon from Wu County."
Li Qingchen reached out and took the paper, opening it to read. It contained the results of his investigation a few days prior into the Wei family's servants from twelve years ago in Wu County. The list clearly detailed the whereabouts of those people after leaving the Wei family. Because it was the most recently verified list, it should be more accurate than the one Wei Shuwan had damaged earlier.
Just as he was looking satisfied, Yuan Que presented a second note: "This was received an hour after the first pigeon."
Li Qingchen raised an eyebrow, a hint of doubt in his eyes, and took the second sheet. He unfolded it and saw that it was another piece of information they had inadvertently discovered while investigating matters related to the Wei family. Unsure of its usefulness, they presented it along with the other sheet:
Two days ago, a small section of the Jiangzuo Dam in Wujun County collapsed, flooding several acres of farmland and killing several people.
The Wu Commandery section was under the supervision of Wei Shuwan's father, Wei Zheng. After such an incident, he would naturally be held accountable by the Emperor upon his return to the capital. However, the Emperor was well aware of the difficulties in diverting the river and building the dike. As long as there was no involvement of corruption, embezzlement, or dereliction of duty, and the remedial measures were taken in a timely manner, the merits and demerits should outweigh the faults.
Compared to the great achievements that have benefited the people for thousands of years, this matter is neither too big nor too small, but Li Qingchen felt it was still necessary to inform the Wei family.
Therefore, he picked up his pen to explain the matter on paper, but after writing a few lines, he suddenly felt that such an expression might frighten Wei Shuwan to tears.
After hesitating for a moment, he crumpled the written paper and threw it into the wastebasket, then took out another piece, wrote a few words on it, folded it, and handed it to Yuan Que:
"Have someone send it to the Wei family immediately."
...
When Zi Qiao handed the letter delivered by the gatekeeper to Wei Shuwan, Wei Shuwan had just finished bathing. After reading the letter, Wei Shuwan's delicate brows furrowed slightly: "When was it delivered?"
"Just now," Zi Qiao replied, noticing her mistress's expression was off, and quickly asked, "Miss, has something happened?"
"The young prince invited me to meet him at Tianxiang Tea House, but he didn't say when."
"So... now is probably the time?"
Wei Shuwan looked down at her still-dripping hair and let out a long sigh: "Quickly call Miaoxiang in to help me change my clothes and fix my hair."
Wei Shuwan knew perfectly well why Li Qingchen had summoned her; it was probably because they had made progress on the list. Therefore, even though Ziqiao and Miaoxiang were already frantically trying their best, she couldn't help but urge, "Hurry up!"
Other things are fine, but there's no reason for a woman to go out with wet hair. Zi Qiao used a gilded ball filled with dried flowers and fine charcoal to dry her hair while advising her, "Miss, even if the young prince is referring to now, you don't need to be in such a hurry. He will definitely calculate how long it will take for the letter to be delivered and for you to get to Tianxiang Tea House."
"I know," Wei Shuwan said calmly, though she was still hoping to get to Tianxiang Teahouse as soon as possible.
She is finally one step closer to the truth of twelve years ago. Who killed Ah Xiu? This mystery that has troubled her for two lifetimes may soon be solved.
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