Chapter 17 Seventeen, broken jade fragrance
Early the next morning, when they passed by, the Princess Mansion was already filled with mourning and solemnity.
The servants are removing the heavy tents and hanging up white curtains; Wei Baoheng has also taken off his brocade clothes and put on white linen clothes.The pavilion where the princess parked was filled with large and small ice cubes to preserve her appearance, but it is summer after all, so it might not be possible to park it for a long time.
Wei Baoheng personally went to the gate to meet King Kui, and said to Li Shubai with tears in his eyes: "Mrs. Han said that she had prepared a coffin of nanmu wood in the early years, and she would like to let the princess be buried first. Now the people in the mansion have already gone to get it. ,I am afraid……"
Huang Zixia's eyes fell on Princess Tongchang who was lying there quietly.She has already changed into a purple brocade dress with densely woven birds, and the repaired Jiuluan hairpin is pressed evenly on her hair bun. Her makeup is neat, her rouge is flushed, and her lips are moist, making her sharp and thin facial features look better than before. Livelier and more beautiful.
Huang Zixia asked in a low voice, "Has anyone checked the body?"
"No, the emperor is so sad, who dares to mention this matter?" Wei Baoheng said, looking at Princess Tongchang's body, tears finally fell down.
Huang Zixia asked: "May I check it out?"
"My father-in-law was personally appointed by the emperor to investigate the case, so he must see it." Wei Baoheng nodded.
Huang Zixia apologized to him and went to Princess Tongchang, while Li Shubai and Wei Baoheng hid outside together.She unbuttoned the princess' skirt and carefully examined the wound on her chest.
In the wound that had been carefully cleaned, the muscles contracted slightly, making the wound appear narrower.A very clean blood hole, the opponent hit with one blow, directly stabbed the heart, and the princess died in a very short time.
When they arrived, it should be the time when the princess had just been stabbed and the murderer escaped.However, before that, the princess had been kidnapped for half an incense stick, so why didn't she speak out with so many people?What was she and the murderer doing then?
She carefully checked the other places on the princess's body, and after confirming that there were no other injuries, she put her clothes on again and stepped out of the room.
Wei Baoheng asked, "How is it?"
"There is no other abnormality. He was stabbed in the heart and died. The wound is a small blood hole, which is consistent with Jiuluan Chai." She said, and turned to look at Li Shubai.
Li Shubai understood, and said to Wei Baoheng: "Awei, I have something else I want to ask you."
Wei Baoheng nodded, and led them to Suwei Garden.
When passing Zhijin Garden, Huang Zixia stopped and asked, "Excuse me, my son-in-law, can we go in and have a look?"
Wei Baoheng looked at the closed gate of Zhijin Garden, with a complex expression of surprise and grief on his face, then shook his head and said: "This yard, the princess has been closed, and it is said that there are wandering spirits inside, and it will take ten years for the rest of the evil to come out." clear……"
"But now the princess has passed away, hasn't she?" Huang Zixia looked at Princess Tongchang's seal on the gate seal and asked.
"However... this is just a garden that has been abandoned for many days, and there are rumors. I think..." Wei Baoheng looked at Li Shubai, but Li Shubai said, "There are plantains protruding from the wall and the sound of water. I think it must be a moving scene. I want to take a look."
Wei Baoheng didn't say anything anymore, and asked the people behind him to find the key.After a while, the garden gate opened.
Sure enough, it is a garden suitable for summer, as soon as you open the door, you can feel the coolness rushing towards your face.Plantains are planted all over the inside, and the water flows windingly around the small pavilions in the garden. The shallow water is full of water lilies and calamus.At this time, the claustrophobia is too long, the grass on the shore is blooming, and the water is full of duckweed, a silent and solidified green.
"It's a pity that such a beautiful garden is empty." Li Shubai said, and walked in first.Wei Baoheng hesitated for a moment, but finally followed him in.
Li Shubai walked to the pool, turned around and asked Wei Baoheng, "Why did Tongchang close this garden?"
"Because... a man fell into the water in the garden and died the month before last."
"The maid in the garden?"
"Yes..." He stared blankly at the water and said.
"In the palace?" Li Shubai asked again.
Seeing that he was always asking about this topic, Wei Baoheng knew that he couldn't avoid it, so he could only say: "No, it's the maid I brought from home. She has been by my side since I was a child. Her name is... Cardamom."
"I heard from other people that the cardamom of the son-in-law is very well drawn."
"Yes, Cardamom grew up with me, she is to me... like a mother or a sister."
Li Shubai watched the wind blow away the duckweed on the surface of the pond, revealing the clear and shallow water below.He pondered, and asked: "She has always served by your side, why did she suddenly fall into the water and die here?"
Wei Baoheng bit his lower lip, and after a long time, he said: "People in the mansion said that she came here because she was fascinated by the ghosts in the garden..."
"You clearly know that's not the case," Li Shubai shook his head and said, "The princess has passed away, and I can understand that you want to avoid taboo for the deceased. Question, we have to ask, and I hope the son-in-law doesn't mind."
Wei Baoheng's expression changed immediately, and he said, "But...but I still don't know why cardamom died."
"But you know who the murderer is, don't you?" Huang Zixia asked.
Wei Baoheng was suddenly punctured by her to reveal the secret in his heart, and immediately took a step back, staring at her in a daze, speechless.
"Concubine Wei, in order to avenge Cardamom, you wrote and acted this scene yourself, and drew everyone's attention to the Princess Mansion. So far, you have succeeded," Huang Zixia looked at the shocked expression on his face, and sighed. He took a deep breath and said, "Originally, I didn't expect it to be like this, but by coincidence, three people have died now, and these three cases seem to be 'scourge', based on a painting by the former emperor, and three graffiti , three dead, seems to be a doomed situation ten years ago."
"God's punishment..." Wei Baoheng murmured.
"Yes, in the three cases, people can't find the way to kill people at present. The best explanation is to use the late emperor's pen to say that it is a scourge or a curse. And in that painting, there is no concubine you The incident of falling from a horse exists. Therefore, although it was your case that made Princess Tongchang guilty and frightened, and the emperor ordered us to pay attention to the princess mansion and investigate the cases related to the princess mansion, after searching and comparing, I feel that your case , should be separated from other cases and have no connection in any way."
Wei Baoheng looked at her silently, neither defending nor admitting.
"First, your case did not appear on the painting, which means that the murderer didn't take you into consideration from the beginning. Second, falling from a horse is dangerous, but the probability of injury is greater, and you only Suffered a slight injury, completely different from the murderer's extremely steady and ruthless approach, obviously not the same person. As for the third..."
Huang Zixia stared at him, sighed softly, and said, "You are not directly related to Lu Dicui's tragedy. From this point of view, you are innocent and should not be affected."
Wei Baoheng looked at her with pursed lips, and asked after a long time: "Why do you think that the accident of killing was written and acted by me?"
"On the surface, it's hard to see that there was an accident in that shooting. After all, your horse was led casually by yourself. Even if there was an accident, it should be just a coincidence, or someone sabotaged it indiscriminately. You met only because of bad luck—but there is one person who can make you have a little accident no matter which horse you choose, and you can control it at any time and take precautions in advance, isn't it?" Huang Zixia stared at him, and said word by word, "And that person is yourself."
Wei Baoheng lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze, turned his head to look at the sporadic water lilies blooming on the water, and asked, "Where's the evidence?"
"The evidence is the horseshoe. The steel nails on it were just pried off. If it was done before the match, the places where the nails passed must have been rusted or covered with dust. But in the kicking match, the son-in-law When the horse is running, other people can't do it, and the only rest period when there is a chance, because King Kui's horse is ridden by evil, all the horses are shackled to the side, and even the people who add water and fodder can't get close, so you can't do it. Fishing in troubled waters, on the contrary, cleared the suspicion of others."
Wei Baoheng twitched the corners of his mouth in an ugly way, forced a smile, and asked, "You say that, do you mean you saw what I did to my horse's hooves?"
"There is no need to do it deliberately. Because at that time the concubine was still holding a polo cue. The concubine manipulated the cue freely and controlled the horse very well. Everyone in Beijing knew it. At the moment of shouting enthusiastically, while everyone's eyes are on the ball, the sound of cheers overwhelms everything, and while your centaur is neighing, you use your polo club to obliquely hit the raised right front hoof, the front of the horse's shoe will be kicked off naturally, the iron nails on it will be loosened, and the horse's shoe will be lifted immediately, and when it runs, it will trip and break its legs, creating the illusion that someone is attacking you."
Wei Baoheng was still staring at the listless water lilies on the surface of the water, and his voice was vain and trance: "Eunuch Yang, tell me, why did I intentionally hurt myself on the court?"
"Because of the cardamom, isn't it?" Huang Zixia stood behind him, her voice as calm as before, "I was at the chef's calamus, and after hearing about the cardamom, I noticed one thing—a person who lives in the consort you live in. Su Weiyuan's maid died in Zhijin Garden, which was far away from Suwei Garden, and after her death, no one else in the mansion responded, but it was the princess who had been living in Qiyun Pavilion on the other side, saying that someone was here in the middle of the night. Crying, ordering people to seal up Zhijin Garden—”
She cast her gaze into the clear and shallow water together with Wei Baoheng, and said in a low voice: "Besides, the pond in this garden is so shallow that even lotus flowers cannot be planted there, and only water lilies can be planted. One person will drown here , I’m afraid it’s also difficult.”
"So, everyone said that they were fascinated by ghosts and were dragged down," Wei Baoheng finally said, with the tiredness and sadness in his tone, "I know it's not like that. But I can't help it, I... am a A trash that can't even protect the person you love..."
Huang Zixia lowered her eyes, remained silent, and did not speak again.
"I had no ambitions since I was a child, and I didn't have much talent until I grew up. Apart from playing polo, I didn't have any strengths. Cardamom is ten years older than me, and often persuades me that I can write well anyway. It’s good to practice on the other hand. So I worked hard for three months, and only wrote her name, those two characters, and I really practiced well..." He said, with a vague smile on his face, his eyes fixed on the A point of emptiness in the sky, as if looking at the young and ignorant self at that time, cherishing and sighing, "When I was eight years old, my father once said that he would give cardamom to others. I rolled on the ground and cried. I went on a hunger strike for three days. My parents I finally gave in. I have occupied Dou Kou for more than twenty years like this, now that I think about it, if Dou Kou had married at that time, her life would have been... much better than being by my side..."
Li Shubai interrupted him with a frown, and said: "But you have missed another person by marrying Princess Tongchang."
"What can I do? I just played a game of polo. I saw a woman on the sidelines looking at me all the time, so I waved my cue and smiled at her. Who knows, a decree came from the palace a few days later, saying The emperor wants to marry Princess Tongchang to me - at that time I couldn't even enter the Imperial Academy, but it's only been a short year, and now I'm Doctor Guanglu!" Wei Baoheng asked eagerly, as if for himself Justified, "Lord Kui, maybe you have these things since you were born, and you don't care at all, but for an ordinary man, marrying a wife, having a bright future, and even reaching a high position in a year or two, can you imagine such a thing? Will you refuse?"
"But you want too much, Concubine Wei," Li Shubai shook his head slowly, and said, "Where do you put the princess when you bring the cardamom to the princess mansion? And you know that the possibility of the princess sharing her husband with others is very slim, but If you want to put the cardamom in danger, where will you put the cardamom?"
"Yes... my parents said the same. But I... I really can't let her go. When the princess found cardamom, I knelt on the ground and begged her to tolerate cardamom. She agreed, but turned her head away. Cardamom died here... In such a shallow pool, even if she fell into the water, how could she die? The only possibility is that someone pressed her head into the mud in the pool and suffocated to death..."
When he said this, he stared blankly at the Lili grass by the pool, his throat was choked, his breathing was heavy, and he couldn't speak any more.
Huang Zixia only felt that her emotions were complicated, and she didn't know whether to sympathize with his affection for Cardamom, or to dislike his cowardice towards Princess Tongchang.
I heard Li Shubai's voice, and the usually calm voice also had a cold meaning: "Wei Concubine, you clearly know that the princess has a congenital hidden disease. When Wei Ximin died tragically, she dreamed that Concubine Pan Shu was begging for Jiuluan hairpin. To add insult to injury, create the illusion of crisis around her again. This king suspects that the so-called cardamom's soul is disturbed, and the incident of knowing Jinyuan Devil May Cry in the middle of the night is you pretending to be a ghost, trying to defeat the princess and avenge cardamom, right?"
"I just wanted to scare her, I didn't intend to kill her... I really just wanted to scare her..." Wei Baoheng shook his head blankly, "As long as I am Princess Tongchang's son-in-law, I have a very bright future. Now, what good is it to me? Tell me, what good is it to me?"
"What the son-in-law did was not just to scare the princess," Huang Zixia couldn't help but said, "You played tricks on the polo field to make the princess, who was already having trouble sleeping and eating, ask the emperor to send someone into the mansion to investigate, but When we were investigating this matter, you deliberately pointed all the spearheads and clues at Cardamom's death, are you trying to make use of it?"
Wei Baoheng listened to her merciless words, looked at the deep and light green in the Zhijin Garden, after a long time, finally took a deep breath, and said: "Princess...she is the jewel in the palm of the emperor, the proud daughter of heaven, with a natural and strong personality. When she first found out about my relationship with Cardamom, she was very angry, but I begged hard. Seeing that Cardamom was getting old and knowing that she had been taking care of me all the time, she let it go. Later, after Cardamom died, I have looked at the accounts of the mansion, and found that she is sending someone to find a small house outside for Dou Kou, and she will send Dou Kou there after the decoration is done there." Wei Baoheng finally shed tears in a daze when he said this, and said in a low voice, "The princess... is actually not a bad person. Although she has a bad temper, she has already started to send Cardamom out of the house, so why kill her here?"
Li Shubai and Huang Zixia looked at each other silently, Li Shubai asked: "So, the one who killed the cardamom wasn't the princess?"
"I don't think it's her...but it's someone who can let the princess take over the matter."
He didn't say anything more, but both Li Shubai and Huang Zixia knew who he was referring to in an instant.
The Zhijin Garden is silent, the water is blowing slowly, and the plantain and calamus are full of greenery.
Wei Baoheng's eyes slowly fell on Huang Zixia, and said, "Eunuch Yang, you have been ordered to investigate in the mansion. I don't know if you have discovered that this beautiful and unparalleled Princess Mansion hides many unknown and terrible things. secret?"
Huang Zixia frowned slightly, and quickly flashed in his mind what he had seen and heard in the Princess Mansion for many days.
"I was trying to get myself injured, and I just wanted to make a big deal out of it, let the government intervene in the investigation, so that I could know why Dou Kou died, and tear down the person who was about to climb to the top of the Daming Palace... But I didn't expect that, Things will develop like this, and the princess... will also leave me."
Huang Zixia couldn't help asking: "Do you know the relationship between Dicui and Cardamom?"
"I didn't know at first, but after I heard that the princess felt uncomfortable seeing her, I met her a few times when I went to calm down the incident. Then I found out that she is the niece of Cardamom. In fact, they just have a slight difference in eyebrows and eyes." It's similar, but when I see her, it always reminds me of cardamom." Wei Baoheng lowered his eyes and said awkwardly, "I also know that she wants to kill Sun Manzi, so I followed her in private and wanted to help her when necessary... just I didn't expect to be discovered by you. In fact, I also thought, if possible, I can help her kill Sun Manzi, just because she is the niece of the cardamom, just because...she looks three points like the cardamom... ..."
Huang Zixia sighed slightly in her heart, and stopped talking.
Wei Baoheng bowed to Li Shubai blankly, and said: "Now that the princess and Doukou are both dead, it seems that the truth is not important anymore... If King Kui and Eunuch Yang have any doubts, feel free to check in the mansion. Now, I have to go to watch for the princess Otherwise, if the emperor knows that I have not done my best, Long Yan will be furious."
Li Shubai nodded, indicating that he could leave.
When he straightened up, he said in a low voice, "When the princess was about to close the gate of the garden, I...in the small pavilion, I accidentally kicked something under the porch pillar."
Both Huang Zixia and Li Shubai heard his voice, but he turned around and left as if he was just talking to himself.
The secret of the princess mansion. Untold, terrible secrets. After Wei Baoheng left, Li Shubai and Huang Zixia walked slowly along the water-facing corridor of Zhijin Garden to the pavilion in the middle. In the shade of plantains, the small window is green.In the small garden hastily closed by the princess, everything was covered with a thin layer of dust. Li Shubai looked at the grass in the pond outside the pavilion with his hands behind his back, while Huang Zixia knelt on the ground and carefully checked every pillar.She checked until she found a small ash ball in a dark corner under a colonnade that formed an angle between the door and the colonnade. Under the dust cover, if she hadn't searched so carefully, almost no one would notice it. She reached out to take it, and her hands were soft, and under the dust was a ball of paper.She unfolded it slowly, and saw two unfinished poems written on a small piece of paper. Before the last stroke of the character "like" was finished, the writer stopped.The plain white snow wave paper that has been crumpled, and the flying dust make this line of words appear a bit blurred and unreal. Before Huang Zixia's eyes, something suddenly flashed past - with the help of Zhou Ziqin, those words that quickly appeared and then disappeared quickly on the piece of ashes that had been burned to ashes. Perhaps it was because of the illusory and fuzzy feeling that the line of writing in front of her and the line of writing that had been burned had almost the same feeling to her. "It's not Tongchang's handwriting." Li Shubai looked at the two lines and said with certainty, "Every year on the emperor's birthday, when Tongchang prepares gifts for the emperor, he will personally write birthday speeches. I've seen it before." Huang Zixia lightly lifted a corner of the paper and blew off the dust on it. The elegant handwriting, which is obviously made by a woman, has a sense of difficulty that has not been written for a long time, which clearly shows the slow and wandering mood of the person who wrote it at that time. Li Shubai turned around and walked out: "Let's go, what else do you want to know, you have to ask the people in the mansion now."
As one of the princess's personal maids, Chuizhu has been kneeling in front of the princess's spirit since the accident. She fainted from crying several times, and continued to cry after waking up.When Huang Zixia passed by, her eyes were so swollen that she couldn't shed tears, and she just knelt in a daze. Huang Zixia knelt down beside Chuizhu, and after burning incense and saluting to Princess Tongchang, she looked at her wrist. She was wearing a sackcloth, and her left wrist was exposed under the sleeve. There was a bumpy burn scar from the wrist to the elbow, which showed the seriousness of the injury at that time. Huang Zixia asked in a low voice: "Miss Chuizhu, what's the matter with this scar on your hand?" Chui Zhu pulled off her sleeves silently, hid her scars, and bowed her head in silence. Luo Pei, who was kneeling next to her, said tearfully: "It was a few years ago, the princess was playing with fire out of curiosity, and she was almost burned by the flames. Chuizhu was burned to save the princess." Although Luo Pei, Chui Yu, Qing Bi and the others also had tear stains all over their faces, they were much more energetic than Chui Zhu with red and swollen eyes.A few maids beside him echoed: "Yes, Chuizhu is really loyal to the princess, even the emperor praised it." Huang Zixia asked in a casual tone: "Speaking of this, I suddenly remembered that there was a man surnamed Qian the day before yesterday who claimed that his daughter had a birthmark on her wrist, and it was in the princess mansion. Did you see it?" Chui Zhu shook her head silently, and everyone also said: "I've heard about it too, but the mansion doesn't seem to have seen birthmarks on their wrists." Qingbi curled her lips and said, "I'm sure they're here to marry again. Who in the capital doesn't want to have some relatives and stories with our princess mansion? There are family members working here, and it's enough for them to go out and show off for a while." "Qingbi." Chuizhu called out in a low voice.Qing Bi closed her mouth resentfully, and said, "I didn't say anything, oh, yes... Of course King Kui's Mansion is also good." It seems that Chuizhu seems to be the first among the maids around the princess, no wonder the princess also said that she is the only one around who is the most capable. Chuizhu remained silent, covered her arms with her sleeves, and still knelt there quietly, her head buried so deeply, she made it clear that she did not want to speak. But Huang Zixia still asked: "Miss Chuizhu, I want to ask, how is your relationship with Wei Ximin on a regular basis?" Chui Zhu said softly: "We serve the princess together and are very familiar with each other, but if we talk about further relationship, there will be no relationship. After all, maids and eunuchs have too many contacts, and they will...cause people to gossip." When she mentioned this, Huang Zixia remembered something again, and asked: "I heard that the princess betrothed you to someone else, and you will leave the court soon?" Chuizhu nodded silently, but shook her head again: "Originally, the second half of the year was scheduled. Although the other party is not a famous family, but he also works in Honglu Temple, he is a family of officials. If there is no princess, it is impossible for me to marry such a good family." Others. It's just that now... it seems that there is little hope." Huang Zixia also knew that the other party was originally willing to marry a maid because of the power of the princess. After all, the seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, and the maid next to Princess Tongchang, as long as they lost their slave status and had the old master's help, that would be considered good a skirt.And now that the princess is dead, how can a maid imagine that the other party will keep her promise and come to marry her?What is the future of Chuizhu now, I am afraid that even she herself does not know. Huang Zixia comforted her and said, "I think the official's family will keep their promise after all, and they will definitely not break the contract because of this." "Thank you for your kind words, father-in-law." She said, but she was still frowning. Qingbi sighed at the side: "If the father-in-law hadn't helped us speak, I'm afraid we would have gone with the princess now. It is the grace of God to survive. As for the others, who knows if there is such a blessing..." After all, Qingbi was young and ignorant, when he said a word, Huang Zixia saw that the faces of Chuizhu and Chuyuyu were getting darker and darker, and it must have added a lot of weight to the boulder on his heart. Looking at the green smoke curling up from the incense burner, Luo Pei said blankly: "But...but what can we do? After the princess had that dream, she kept saying that Concubine Pan Shu would come to take away her Jiuluan hairpin, and Jiuluan Chai... just disappeared from the tightly guarded treasure house. Don't you think this is a strange thing? Obviously the princess locked it in with her own hands, and a few of us put the box in the box with our own hands and took it out with our own hands. , why disappeared... Finally, he appeared in Pingkang Square and stabbed the princess to death?" Qingbi was sad and frightened, and cried: "Luopei, stop talking...stop talking..." Their voices were drowned in the surrounding chanting and crying, just like Jiuluan hairpins disappearing soundlessly in the heavy locks. Huang Zixia could only sigh silently in her heart, then saluted and said goodbye to them, stood up and walked out.
When the princess died, there was chaos in the princess mansion. In contrast, the people brought by the son-in-law's family were relatively calm.After all, they are the ones who have a place to go back to. So, when Huang Zixia went to the dining room, the cook Calamus was still sitting there, making plans for tomorrow's meal, but her face was covered with a layer of worry. "Eunuch Yang," she saw Huang Zixia coming, clapped the booklet in her hand mockingly, and said, "No matter what, with so many people in the mansion, they always have to eat, right?" Huang Zixia signaled her to continue, then sat down opposite her, and said, "I just want to ask you a few questions." "Excuse me, father-in-law." She clattered her abacus, bowed her head to compare the items in the booklet, and pressed her lips tightly. "Qian Guansuo has been imprisoned by Dali Temple, does Auntie know?" Calamus's hand stopped for a moment, and then said in a low voice: "Yes, I know. Last night, he came to me to inquire about his daughter, and he was discovered by people from Dali Temple. I watched him be taken away. .” "I heard that he kept claiming that his daughter was in the princess mansion, and even took out a golden toad, but there was no trace of his daughter in the mansion." Huang Zixia stared at her, the slightest expression on Changpu's face could not escape Her gaze said, "I remember my aunt told me that Boss Qian's daughter is Chuizhu." Calamus, however, was very calm, didn't even move his eyebrows, and still thought about his calculations unhurriedly: "Yeah, I was shocked when I found out last night. It turns out that Chuizhu wasn't him. Daughter, on his daughter's wrist, it's not a scar but a birthmark, I've been mistaken." Huang Zixia looked at her, frowned slightly and asked, "So you made a mistake?" "Yeah, at the beginning, Boss Qian said that there was a mark on her daughter's wrist. I found a mark on Zhuizhu's hand, and thought it was her, so I mentioned it. As for whether Zhuizhu asked him to meet , I don’t know—you know, I stay in the dining room all day, and I’m busy with things, so I don’t have time to ask this. Later, Boss Qian took Linglingxiang to thank me, and I was still thinking, It really is a pendant bead," Calamus said here, finally sighed, put his hand on the abacus, and said in a daze, "but when he was caught and interrogated by Dali Temple, he said that his daughter's hand was a piece of pink blue. I searched the entire princess mansion but couldn't find it. Later, I asked Chuizhu quietly, and she swore that it was definitely not me. Several maids around the princess also said that Chuizhu never went to see Boss Qian in private... Don't you think this is a strange thing? Did Boss Qian find his daughter? Who was he secretly meeting? Could it be that, as Dali Temple said, he was looking for his daughter under the guise of colluding with Wei Ximin and stealing property from the Princess Mansion? " Huang Zixia carefully observed her expression, and asked: "So, my aunt has no knowledge of this matter, and it has nothing to do with it, does it?" "Of course! Otherwise... Could it be that Eunuch Yang suspects me?" Calamus pressed his chest, looked at her in surprise, a little anxious, "Eunuch Yang! I have never been to the place where the princess lives! What nine I have never seen Luanchai and Jinchan before! Even the princess, although I belong to the mansion, but after all, I am from the dining room, so it is rare for me to see the princess..." "Yes, I believe it. I believe that my aunt has nothing to do with this case. I absolutely believe in your innocence." Huang Zixia stared at her with burning eyes, as if he could penetrate her heart, "However, what I don't believe is that you Said that you don't know who the daughter Qian Guansuo saw." "I don't know! I really don't know!" Calamus cried out in a panic. Huang Zixia remained silent, only watching her reaction playfully. Acorus finally couldn't stand her expression like this, she sat down on the low stool, put her hand on her forehead, and murmured: "I can't say... I really can't say..." The expression on her face was not only frightened and bewildered, but also so firm and determined, as if even if she died, even if she was smashed to pieces, she would swallow this secret into her stomach. Huang Zixia knew that he probably couldn't pry her open, so he sighed lightly and said, "It doesn't matter, I already know who that daughter is." Changpu saw her standing up and walking out of the door without hesitation, but couldn't bear it anymore, stood up and staggered to the door, holding on to the door frame and asking, "You...do you know who it is?" "What do you think?" Huang Zixia turned her head and smiled at Calamus, the summer sun cast blazing light and shadows around her, making her face look a little dazed. And her voice was calm and firm, with unquestionable strength—— "Who else is there in this princess mansion?"
Huang Zixia walked out of the princess mansion, and walked towards the carriage of Prince Kui's mansion. She saw two people standing in front of the carriage, one was Kui King Li Shubai who was as bright as a jade tree facing the wind, and the other was Princess Qi Le who was as dazzling as a pearl. She couldn't help but slow down her steps, wondering in her heart whether she should walk over. Walk over and disturb the atmosphere between these two people, okay? Princess Qile looked up at Li Shubai with a smile, her cheeks were slightly flushed, the breeze was blowing under the shade of the trees, and a few strands of her hair on the sideburns lingered like mist around her staring eyes. It looked so moving. This princess who is destined not to live in this world for too long, no matter how beautiful her color is, it will soon fade away—so, Li Shubai, who was in front of her, looked at her with special pity, always depressed. His face also showed a rare tenderness at this moment. Huang Zixia silently took two steps back, and sat down in the shade behind the screen wall of the Princess Mansion.The pomegranate tree above her head had already produced fruit the size of a baby's fist. The branches were pressed too low, and one of them hung in front of her. She raised her hand to hold one gently, and stared blankly for a while. Princess Qile and Princess Tongchang, these noble women grew up in the most prosperous and beautiful places in the world, just like a burning tree that bloomed and fell, but could not bear fruit after all. The three unfortunate girls are Princess Tongchang who died young, Xing'er who was sold by her biological father when she was young, and Dicui who suffered the greatest humiliation in the world. Three women with three different fathers. The emperor who brought the best things in the world to Princess Tongchang from a young age, even if he killed the imperial physician in anger, and sat down with hundreds of people, he could not save his daughter who was stabbed to death by Jiuluan Chai. In the most difficult time, he sold Myolie and used the money to make a fortune. After many years, he finally found his daughter's trace. Before he heard her call him father, he was already in jail. Lu Zhiyuan, who dreamed of having a son, and drove his daughter Dicui out of the house when she was at her worst, would rather die alone than live with the money from selling her daughter. There were also three dead, each with different identities.If there is only one connection, it is - they are all the people who harmed Lu Dicui. The most puzzling death was Princess Tongchang.Although she ordered Dicui to be punished, she did not intentionally let Dicui suffer such misfortune, let alone a direct victim.However, the murderer went against the strict layout of the previous two times and directly put the princess to death in front of the public. It seemed that the princess was the one he hated the most... As she thought about it, she unknowingly pulled out the jade hairpin and began to draw on the bluestone slab she was sitting on. Three fathers, three daughters, son-in-law, Zhang Xingying, Sun Laizi, Wei Ximin, cardamom... A voice sounded behind her, asking, "What are you drawing?" She looked up and saw Li Shubai who was leaning slightly in front of her.Under the blazing sun, the shade of the trees was slightly green, covering them, his face was only a few feet away in front of her, and his eyes like a deep pool made her feel that she was going to be submerged in that kind of darkness for an instant. She inserted the hairpin back into the silver hairpin, managed to avoid his gaze, and said in a low voice, "I just saw you talking with Princess Qi Le, and I didn't dare to disturb you, so I'm here to sort out the clues of the case." He glanced at her, sat down beside her, and said, "Qi Le is here to worship Tong Chang, and we happened to meet." "It looks like the princess... she looks pretty good. She should be in good health recently, right?" "I don't know, maybe Tongchang's death will make her think about herself and feel even more sad." He said, casually raised a hand and picked up a small pomegranate in front of his eyes, then changed the subject and asked, "Did you just understand?" What's going on?" Huang Zixia paused, and then said: "I remember, when the princess's Jiuluan hairpin was stolen, the prince took me to visit the doctor, on the cabinet in front of her bed, the prince once looked at a little porcelain dog with great interest. " "There is such a thing." He let go of his hand, allowing the pomegranate to shake slowly in front of them, "Because, I remember that when Tongchang was six or seven years old, he was once cut by a broken porcelain plate. The emperor So it was ordered that no more ceramics should appear in the Tongchang Palace. Until she married Wei Baoheng and moved into the princess mansion, she was surrounded by gold and silverware, but there was a little porcelain dog beside her, and it looked like a Things that can be seen everywhere in the market - don't you think it's strange that this kind of thing appears in the gorgeous princess mansion?" Huang Zixia nodded silently, and asked again: "Can we take it over and have a look?" He stood up without hesitation: "Let's go."
The secret of the princess mansion. Untold, terrible secrets. After Wei Baoheng left, Li Shubai and Huang Zixia walked slowly along the water-facing corridor of Zhijin Garden to the pavilion in the middle. In the shade of plantains, the small window is green.In the small garden hastily closed by the princess, everything was covered with a thin layer of dust. Li Shubai looked at the grass in the pond outside the pavilion with his hands behind his back, while Huang Zixia knelt on the ground and carefully checked every pillar.She checked until she found a small ash ball in a dark corner under a colonnade that formed an angle between the door and the colonnade. Under the dust cover, if she hadn't searched so carefully, almost no one would notice it. She reached out to take it, and her hands were soft, and under the dust was a ball of paper.She unfolded it slowly, and saw two unfinished poems written on a small piece of paper. Before the last stroke of the character "like" was finished, the writer stopped.The plain white snow wave paper that has been crumpled, and the flying dust make this line of words appear a bit blurred and unreal. Before Huang Zixia's eyes, something suddenly flashed past - with the help of Zhou Ziqin, those words that quickly appeared and then disappeared quickly on the piece of ashes that had been burned to ashes. Perhaps it was because of the illusory and fuzzy feeling that the line of writing in front of her and the line of writing that had been burned had almost the same feeling to her. "It's not Tongchang's handwriting." Li Shubai looked at the two lines and said with certainty, "Every year on the emperor's birthday, when Tongchang prepares gifts for the emperor, he will personally write birthday speeches. I've seen it before." Huang Zixia lightly lifted a corner of the paper and blew off the dust on it. The elegant handwriting, which is obviously made by a woman, has a sense of difficulty that has not been written for a long time, which clearly shows the slow and wandering mood of the person who wrote it at that time. Li Shubai turned around and walked out: "Let's go, what else do you want to know, you have to ask the people in the mansion now."
As one of the princess's personal maids, Chuizhu has been kneeling in front of the princess's spirit since the accident. She fainted from crying several times, and continued to cry after waking up.When Huang Zixia passed by, her eyes were so swollen that she couldn't shed tears, and she just knelt in a daze. Huang Zixia knelt down beside Chuizhu, and after burning incense and saluting to Princess Tongchang, she looked at her wrist. She was wearing a sackcloth, and her left wrist was exposed under the sleeve. There was a bumpy burn scar from the wrist to the elbow, which showed the seriousness of the injury at that time. Huang Zixia asked in a low voice: "Miss Chuizhu, what's the matter with this scar on your hand?" Chui Zhu pulled off her sleeves silently, hid her scars, and bowed her head in silence. Luo Pei, who was kneeling next to her, said tearfully: "It was a few years ago, the princess was playing with fire out of curiosity, and she was almost burned by the flames. Chuizhu was burned to save the princess." Although Luo Pei, Chui Yu, Qing Bi and the others also had tear stains all over their faces, they were much more energetic than Chui Zhu with red and swollen eyes.A few maids beside him echoed: "Yes, Chuizhu is really loyal to the princess, even the emperor praised it." Huang Zixia asked in a casual tone: "Speaking of this, I suddenly remembered that there was a man surnamed Qian the day before yesterday who claimed that his daughter had a birthmark on her wrist, and it was in the princess mansion. Did you see it?" Chui Zhu shook her head silently, and everyone also said: "I've heard about it too, but the mansion doesn't seem to have seen birthmarks on their wrists." Qingbi curled her lips and said, "I'm sure they're here to marry again. Who in the capital doesn't want to have some relatives and stories with our princess mansion? There are family members working here, and it's enough for them to go out and show off for a while." "Qingbi." Chuizhu called out in a low voice.Qing Bi closed her mouth resentfully, and said, "I didn't say anything, oh, yes... Of course King Kui's Mansion is also good." It seems that Chuizhu seems to be the first among the maids around the princess, no wonder the princess also said that she is the only one around who is the most capable. Chuizhu remained silent, covered her arms with her sleeves, and still knelt there quietly, her head buried so deeply, she made it clear that she did not want to speak. But Huang Zixia still asked: "Miss Chuizhu, I want to ask, how is your relationship with Wei Ximin on a regular basis?" Chui Zhu said softly: "We serve the princess together and are very familiar with each other, but if we talk about further relationship, there will be no relationship. After all, maids and eunuchs have too many contacts, and they will...cause people to gossip." When she mentioned this, Huang Zixia remembered something again, and asked: "I heard that the princess betrothed you to someone else, and you will leave the court soon?" Chuizhu nodded silently, but shook her head again: "Originally, the second half of the year was scheduled. Although the other party is not a famous family, but he also works in Honglu Temple, he is a family of officials. If there is no princess, it is impossible for me to marry such a good family." Others. It's just that now... it seems that there is little hope." Huang Zixia also knew that the other party was originally willing to marry a maid because of the power of the princess. After all, the seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, and the maid next to Princess Tongchang, as long as they lost their slave status and had the old master's help, that would be considered good a skirt.And now that the princess is dead, how can a maid imagine that the other party will keep her promise and come to marry her?What is the future of Chuizhu now, I am afraid that even she herself does not know. Huang Zixia comforted her and said, "I think the official's family will keep their promise after all, and they will definitely not break the contract because of this." "Thank you for your kind words, father-in-law." She said, but she was still frowning. Qingbi sighed at the side: "If the father-in-law hadn't helped us speak, I'm afraid we would have gone with the princess now. It is the grace of God to survive. As for the others, who knows if there is such a blessing..." After all, Qingbi was young and ignorant, when he said a word, Huang Zixia saw that the faces of Chuizhu and Chuyuyu were getting darker and darker, and it must have added a lot of weight to the boulder on his heart. Looking at the green smoke curling up from the incense burner, Luo Pei said blankly: "But...but what can we do? After the princess had that dream, she kept saying that Concubine Pan Shu would come to take away her Jiuluan hairpin, and Jiuluan Chai... just disappeared from the tightly guarded treasure house. Don't you think this is a strange thing? Obviously the princess locked it in with her own hands, and a few of us put the box in the box with our own hands and took it out with our own hands. , why disappeared... Finally, he appeared in Pingkang Square and stabbed the princess to death?" Qingbi was sad and frightened, and cried: "Luopei, stop talking...stop talking..." Their voices were drowned in the surrounding chanting and crying, just like Jiuluan hairpins disappearing soundlessly in the heavy locks. Huang Zixia could only sigh silently in her heart, then saluted and said goodbye to them, stood up and walked out.
When the princess died, there was chaos in the princess mansion. In contrast, the people brought by the son-in-law's family were relatively calm.After all, they are the ones who have a place to go back to. So, when Huang Zixia went to the dining room, the cook Calamus was still sitting there, making plans for tomorrow's meal, but her face was covered with a layer of worry. "Eunuch Yang," she saw Huang Zixia coming, clapped the booklet in her hand mockingly, and said, "No matter what, with so many people in the mansion, they always have to eat, right?" Huang Zixia signaled her to continue, then sat down opposite her, and said, "I just want to ask you a few questions." "Excuse me, father-in-law." She clattered her abacus, bowed her head to compare the items in the booklet, and pressed her lips tightly. "Qian Guansuo has been imprisoned by Dali Temple, does Auntie know?" Calamus's hand stopped for a moment, and then said in a low voice: "Yes, I know. Last night, he came to me to inquire about his daughter, and he was discovered by people from Dali Temple. I watched him be taken away. .” "I heard that he kept claiming that his daughter was in the princess mansion, and even took out a golden toad, but there was no trace of his daughter in the mansion." Huang Zixia stared at her, the slightest expression on Changpu's face could not escape Her gaze said, "I remember my aunt told me that Boss Qian's daughter is Chuizhu." Calamus, however, was very calm, didn't even move his eyebrows, and still thought about his calculations unhurriedly: "Yeah, I was shocked when I found out last night. It turns out that Chuizhu wasn't him. Daughter, on his daughter's wrist, it's not a scar but a birthmark, I've been mistaken." Huang Zixia looked at her, frowned slightly and asked, "So you made a mistake?" "Yeah, at the beginning, Boss Qian said that there was a mark on her daughter's wrist. I found a mark on Zhuizhu's hand, and thought it was her, so I mentioned it. As for whether Zhuizhu asked him to meet , I don’t know—you know, I stay in the dining room all day, and I’m busy with things, so I don’t have time to ask this. Later, Boss Qian took Linglingxiang to thank me, and I was still thinking, It really is a pendant bead," Calamus said here, finally sighed, put his hand on the abacus, and said in a daze, "but when he was caught and interrogated by Dali Temple, he said that his daughter's hand was a piece of pink blue. I searched the entire princess mansion but couldn't find it. Later, I asked Chuizhu quietly, and she swore that it was definitely not me. Several maids around the princess also said that Chuizhu never went to see Boss Qian in private... Don't you think this is a strange thing? Did Boss Qian find his daughter? Who was he secretly meeting? Could it be that, as Dali Temple said, he was looking for his daughter under the guise of colluding with Wei Ximin and stealing property from the Princess Mansion? " Huang Zixia carefully observed her expression, and asked: "So, my aunt has no knowledge of this matter, and it has nothing to do with it, does it?" "Of course! Otherwise... Could it be that Eunuch Yang suspects me?" Calamus pressed his chest, looked at her in surprise, a little anxious, "Eunuch Yang! I have never been to the place where the princess lives! What nine I have never seen Luanchai and Jinchan before! Even the princess, although I belong to the mansion, but after all, I am from the dining room, so it is rare for me to see the princess..." "Yes, I believe it. I believe that my aunt has nothing to do with this case. I absolutely believe in your innocence." Huang Zixia stared at her with burning eyes, as if he could penetrate her heart, "However, what I don't believe is that you Said that you don't know who the daughter Qian Guansuo saw." "I don't know! I really don't know!" Calamus cried out in a panic. Huang Zixia remained silent, only watching her reaction playfully. Acorus finally couldn't stand her expression like this, she sat down on the low stool, put her hand on her forehead, and murmured: "I can't say... I really can't say..." The expression on her face was not only frightened and bewildered, but also so firm and determined, as if even if she died, even if she was smashed to pieces, she would swallow this secret into her stomach. Huang Zixia knew that he probably couldn't pry her open, so he sighed lightly and said, "It doesn't matter, I already know who that daughter is." Changpu saw her standing up and walking out of the door without hesitation, but couldn't bear it anymore, stood up and staggered to the door, holding on to the door frame and asking, "You...do you know who it is?" "What do you think?" Huang Zixia turned her head and smiled at Calamus, the summer sun cast blazing light and shadows around her, making her face look a little dazed. And her voice was calm and firm, with unquestionable strength—— "Who else is there in this princess mansion?"
Huang Zixia walked out of the princess mansion, and walked towards the carriage of Prince Kui's mansion. She saw two people standing in front of the carriage, one was Kui King Li Shubai who was as bright as a jade tree facing the wind, and the other was Princess Qi Le who was as dazzling as a pearl. She couldn't help but slow down her steps, wondering in her heart whether she should walk over. Walk over and disturb the atmosphere between these two people, okay? Princess Qile looked up at Li Shubai with a smile, her cheeks were slightly flushed, the breeze was blowing under the shade of the trees, and a few strands of her hair on the sideburns lingered like mist around her staring eyes. It looked so moving. This princess who is destined not to live in this world for too long, no matter how beautiful her color is, it will soon fade away—so, Li Shubai, who was in front of her, looked at her with special pity, always depressed. His face also showed a rare tenderness at this moment. Huang Zixia silently took two steps back, and sat down in the shade behind the screen wall of the Princess Mansion.The pomegranate tree above her head had already produced fruit the size of a baby's fist. The branches were pressed too low, and one of them hung in front of her. She raised her hand to hold one gently, and stared blankly for a while. Princess Qile and Princess Tongchang, these noble women grew up in the most prosperous and beautiful places in the world, just like a burning tree that bloomed and fell, but could not bear fruit after all. The three unfortunate girls are Princess Tongchang who died young, Xing'er who was sold by her biological father when she was young, and Dicui who suffered the greatest humiliation in the world. Three women with three different fathers. The emperor who brought the best things in the world to Princess Tongchang from a young age, even if he killed the imperial physician in anger, and sat down with hundreds of people, he could not save his daughter who was stabbed to death by Jiuluan Chai. In the most difficult time, he sold Myolie and used the money to make a fortune. After many years, he finally found his daughter's trace. Before he heard her call him father, he was already in jail. Lu Zhiyuan, who dreamed of having a son, and drove his daughter Dicui out of the house when she was at her worst, would rather die alone than live with the money from selling her daughter. There were also three dead, each with different identities.If there is only one connection, it is - they are all the people who harmed Lu Dicui. The most puzzling death was Princess Tongchang.Although she ordered Dicui to be punished, she did not intentionally let Dicui suffer such misfortune, let alone a direct victim.However, the murderer went against the strict layout of the previous two times and directly put the princess to death in front of the public. It seemed that the princess was the one he hated the most... As she thought about it, she unknowingly pulled out the jade hairpin and began to draw on the bluestone slab she was sitting on. Three fathers, three daughters, son-in-law, Zhang Xingying, Sun Laizi, Wei Ximin, cardamom... A voice sounded behind her, asking, "What are you drawing?" She looked up and saw Li Shubai who was leaning slightly in front of her.Under the blazing sun, the shade of the trees was slightly green, covering them, his face was only a few feet away in front of her, and his eyes like a deep pool made her feel that she was going to be submerged in that kind of darkness for an instant. She inserted the hairpin back into the silver hairpin, managed to avoid his gaze, and said in a low voice, "I just saw you talking with Princess Qi Le, and I didn't dare to disturb you, so I'm here to sort out the clues of the case." He glanced at her, sat down beside her, and said, "Qi Le is here to worship Tong Chang, and we happened to meet." "It looks like the princess... she looks pretty good. She should be in good health recently, right?" "I don't know, maybe Tongchang's death will make her think about herself and feel even more sad." He said, casually raised a hand and picked up a small pomegranate in front of his eyes, then changed the subject and asked, "Did you just understand?" What's going on?" Huang Zixia paused, and then said: "I remember, when the princess's Jiuluan hairpin was stolen, the prince took me to visit the doctor, on the cabinet in front of her bed, the prince once looked at a little porcelain dog with great interest. " "There is such a thing." He let go of his hand, allowing the pomegranate to shake slowly in front of them, "Because, I remember that when Tongchang was six or seven years old, he was once cut by a broken porcelain plate. The emperor So it was ordered that no more ceramics should appear in the Tongchang Palace. Until she married Wei Baoheng and moved into the princess mansion, she was surrounded by gold and silverware, but there was a little porcelain dog beside her, and it looked like a Things that can be seen everywhere in the market - don't you think it's strange that this kind of thing appears in the gorgeous princess mansion?" Huang Zixia nodded silently, and asked again: "Can we take it over and have a look?" He stood up without hesitation: "Let's go."