The oil lamp flickered unsteadily, and Jiang Xinyue pushed the door open, shutting the Emperor outside.
"Yue'er, the three days of mourning begin tomorrow!"
"Your Majesty, filial piety is in my heart. After hearing the news of my stepmother's passing, I couldn't wait to begin mourning. Please return to your sleeping hall and rest. Consort De's injuries have healed enough for her to walk, so tomorrow, please have her move back to Yanqing Palace. I will also return to my own palace."
Consort Wen's Jingren Palace has already been prepared, and I want to move there as soon as possible. I can't keep staring at Consort De like a rooster; it's getting tiresome.
The Emperor thought for a moment. Before the coronation ceremony, she indeed shouldn't stay in Chengqian Palace any longer. Although the imperial palace isn't like a commoner's home, Xuanwu Emperor wanted to give Jiang Xinyue a complete wedding night.
Xi Que, eavesdropping behind the door, heard the Emperor's footsteps fade away before she came over. "Your Highness, why didn't you directly tell the Emperor that all of this was done by Consort De?"
"Can't you hold your temper?"
Jiang Xinyue glanced at her. "The ones who can't hold their temper now are Duke of Cheng and Consort De. Why should we be in a hurry?"
Xi Que scratched her head. "I'm just worried that things might go wrong with time."
Shuang Jiang had already made the bed and stood up, shaking her head at Xi Que. "Whether Consort De is a beast in human skin or a snake with a Buddha's mouth, these words must never come from our Highness's mouth. Otherwise, if the Emperor ever doubts our Highness, every word she says against Consort De will become a reason for him to act against her."
Jiang Xinyue was clear-headed enough to know that even if she believed the Emperor would love her forever, until he completely lost faith in Consort De and hated her to the core, she wouldn't openly say a single bad word about her.
This way, when the winds of turmoil rise, she could remain unscathed.
"How... what did Father say in his reply?"
Xi Que crouched beside Jiang Xinyue and whispered, "The Duke said that since the incident in Yanqing Palace, it's hard for anything from outside the palace to enter. He was afraid the letter might be intercepted, so he sent a little eunuch from the Internal Affairs Department to deliver the message."
Her voice grew even softer. "Luyin's parents aren't her biological parents. They were picked up by the Duchess of Cheng from the snow when she was still alive and given to a servant couple who couldn't have children. Later, Luyin became Consort De's personal maid. The Duke said they've already found clues about Luyin's real parents and sent someone to look for them two days ago. There should be news soon."
"Not her biological parents?"
Jiang Xinyue closed her eyes, and dozens of split-screen images flashed in her mind.
Consort De meeting the Mute Slave at the rockery, Consort De using Luyin's name to summon the Mute Slave to the rockery, Consort De hiding Luyin's body in the rockery every night she killed her, with no other wounds except a large hole in her forehead caused by the rockery...
If the rockery wasn't the crime scene, then it's possible her injury was caused by Consort De using a sharp weapon. After killing her, Consort De transported the body under the cover of night to the rockery outside Hexi Palace and dumped it.
When the Mute Slave arrived, he saw Luyin's body and went berserk, wanting to kill Consort De.
But he had no knife, and his mouth couldn't make a sound. He charged at Consort De to strangle her, but was stopped.
Consort De coldly provoked him, driving him to lose his mind and break free, charging at her again.
A splendid dagger slid out from Consort De's sleeve and into the Mute Slave's hand. Without thinking, he stabbed Consort De.
It was only then that Consort De had people restrain the Mute Slave and, knowing the Emperor was in Hexi Palace, deliberately shouted "Help!" and ran in.
Mute Slave... Luyin... not biological parents...
Biological parents!
Could the Mute Slave be Luyin's real father?!
Judging by age, it's possible.
He also had many of Luyin's clothes and shoes in his room. Could they have been made by him and sent to her?
Jiang Xinyue "sat up in shock from her sickbed," grabbing Xi Que's hand. "Go to the Clothing Department and have Fang Rumeng check who made clothes from the fabric found in the Mute Slave's room in the past three months."
No one would admit it easily. The Mute Slave is now seen as a vicious monster, and no one wants to be associated with him. If they were caught and interrogated as accomplices, it would be disastrous.
But she believed in Fang Rumeng's abilities and was confident the results would come soon.
Jiang Xinyue also instructed Xi Que, "Have Father focus on investigating families where the husband or son disappeared more than ten years ago."
The Mute Slave was castrated and entered the palace shortly after Consort De.
If Luyin really is his daughter, it means the Mute Slave knew Luyin's true identity even when she was still in the Duke of Cheng's household.
Once in the palace and becoming a eunuch in the Cold Palace, it would be impossible to have money or send letters home.
First, Cold Palace servants have no rights, and even their meager monthly pay might be taken away.
Second, the palace staff who interact with Cold Palace servants are usually lowly themselves, so they wouldn't have the opportunity to send letters home.
Therefore, the Mute Slave must have disappeared more than ten years ago. Investigating in this direction would definitely yield results.
Of course, all of this is based on the condition that Luyin and the Mute Slave are father and daughter.
Just investigate for now!
A fox's tail can't be hidden forever; there will always be a day it's exposed.
The next morning, while the Emperor was still in court, Jiang Xinyue moved back to Hexi Palace with her attendants.
Xi Que stood at the door of the side hall, criticizing indirectly: "The feng shui of our Hexi Palace not only nourishes people but also dogs! Look at how skinny 'it' was when it first arrived. Now look at it, fat and white from being well-fed, it doesn't want to leave!"
Consort De had faked it last time, but this time it was real.
Jiang Xinyue was too ruthless, pressing her fingers into Consort De's wounds, making them even worse. The Imperial Hospital's physician, having received Jiang Xinyue's hint, wasn't very attentive to her treatment.
If it weren't for Consort De's own knowledge of medicine and her current personal maid, Lu Wu, fetching some medicine from the Imperial Hospital, she didn't know how much bigger the scar would be.
Even though she had done her best to control the inflammation, without better treatment, the scar would still remain when the wound scabbed over.
She sat up in bed with difficulty. "On the day Consort Wen's maid followed me, did you do what I asked?"
Lu Wu nodded. "The Sixth Prince's wet nurse is greedy for money and has seven daughters to support. Her husband divorced her for not bearing a son. I offered her a large sum, and she agreed to help."
Consort De's eyes flashed with ruthless determination. "Once the Sixth Prince is dead, my Xuan'er will surely be the ruler of this land."
The Fourth and Fifth Princes have no maternal family to support them, so they are not to be feared.
Lu Wu's heart pounded. She always felt that the Imperial Noble Consort wasn't going to be easy to deal with.
