Mingxin's words made Xiefeng shiver again and feel uneasy.
These words were clearly directed at Mingxin herself, but Xiefeng could hear them as his own feelings. He was even shocked. She was still somewhat useful now, but when she was no longer useful, would the fate of that maid mentioned by Mingxin be the same as his own
"When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked. This has been the truth since ancient times!" Mingxin whispered, and it seemed as if she was talking to herself, speaking to herself.
But every word hit Xiefeng's heart hard.
Mingxin understood this, and she understood it too!
Although they were maids, they were all senior maids who followed their masters and grew up together with them. They learned a lot of literature and calligraphy. Senior maids from wealthy families like them read more books than young ladies from ordinary families.
Xie Feng clenched her teeth tightly. She had to think of a way. She couldn't just die in the hands of the concubine without knowing why.
At the very least, she had to find some evidence and hold it in her hands so that the concubine would not dare to act rashly against her.
As for the master, the real master of this mansion has always been one, and the only one, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is willing to talk about the Second Miss, it represents the Second Miss's difference. She can fully take advantage of this... right
As for the rest,
"Mingxin, you are assigned to me. How did I treat you in the past?" Xiefeng asked in a low voice. She had wanted to recruit a few people in the East Palace back then. She would say a few words to some of the punished maids and old women if she found them pleasing to the eye.
Mingxin was the one who had been favored by her at such a time, and she was smart and knew how to climb up her own pole, which was why she was asked to serve him.
"Mingxin entered the East Palace that day as a little maidservant. She was punished by the nanny for not doing well that day. Fortunately, the young lady begged for mercy. The young lady has a great kindness to Mingxin!"
"It's good that you understand this. Since you followed me, I have never treated you unfairly. I will share with you any good things. It will be the same in the future. If I... If I have something in the future..." Mingxin said, turning his eyes to the direction of the palace where the prince lived, "If I have anything in the future, I will not forget you and will definitely take you with me."
"Thank you, young lady. Thank you, young lady!" Mingxin knelt down and kowtowed hurriedly.
Xie Feng pulled her hand up and said, "Okay, stop knocking your hands. Be careful not to get hurt. I understand your intentions. Right now, we should work together as master and servant."
"Miss, tell me, what do you want me to do?" Mingxin wiped away her tears.
Xie Feng was silent for a moment and secretly gritted her teeth. Originally, she didn't dare to do this, but if she really did nothing, she would not know how she would die.
Think about the Second Young Miss. She was murdered by the Concubine. She didn’t know until her death that the Concubine was the real murderer.
What happened to the Second Miss, let alone her!
"Do you know how many female Taoist priests from Qingyun Temple there are in the mansion?"
"I've heard of it... but I haven't seen it." Ming Xin shook her head. "I heard that there are special people delivering food over there. Female Taoist priests won't appear here."
"When you have nothing to do, go over there more often and see if you can make friends with those Taoist nuns." Xie Feng whispered.
"But I still have to serve the girl." Mingxin was surprised.
"You don't have to worry about me. Let's go over there first. There... there might be the memorial tablet of the late Crown Princess... His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will surely go and see it." Xie Feng said softly.
He analyzed, "What you need to do is to make friends with the female Taoist priests over there, and worship in my name from time to time. Even if you can't worship inside, you can do it outside."
"Young lady... do you want His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to... discover it occasionally?" Ming Xin was also a maid, so she reacted very quickly and understood immediately.
"Yes, I have to let His Highness feel my love for the late Crown Princess... and let His Highness understand that I have no choice." Xie Feng said. Since she had to be on guard against the Concubine, she had to show that she was of the same mind as the late Crown Princess.
She knew her own business. Although the prince had repeatedly told her about the Second Miss, he would never be too open with her in the end... The look in his eyes when he looked at her was sometimes a little distant. Could it be because he felt that the one she was close to now was the Concubine
In the past, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was always very friendly to the people around the Second Young Lady.
At that time, I was the maid of the Second Miss, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had always been good to me and Wei Yu, and sometimes when he asked people to give gifts, he would prepare an extra portion for the two of us. Now, I am the maid of the concubine, and also His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's person, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sometimes treats me worse than an ordinary servant.
Everything was caused by the former Crown Princess, so she would start with her.
Now, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince dislikes her more and more, and no one knows when he will remember her and summon her again.
She couldn't just sit there and wait for death, she had to find an opportunity...
"Miss, you can also find some things of the former Crown Princess from the Ling Anbo Mansion. Maybe... maybe there are some things that will remind His Highness of the Crown Princess...old things!" Mingxin suggested in a low voice.
Pei Luoan came back from the palace and headed straight to that place.
After entering the door, two Taoist nuns came forward to salute. Pei Luoan waved his hand, and the two female Taoist nuns stepped back. They tactfully did not follow them in, but closed the door instead. The only one who followed them in was Pei Luoan's most trusted eunuch.
This is the place where the spirit of the late Crown Princess is enshrined. They are just female Taoist nuns on duty here, and this is only the outer gate for enshrinement. The inner enshrinement area is not a place they can enter. There is always an old nanny guarding it there. Although they can enter from here, they have to go around the entrance and get the key from that nanny.
They didn't know what was enshrined in the mourning hall, but they were very clear about one thing: it was not a place they could snoop into. The old nanny in the Prince's Mansion was not a simple person.
Even if they wanted to get close to him, they couldn't.
Normally, the place where the prince came to worship was the mourning hall they were guarding, but judging from the prince's appearance today, he would go to the smaller mourning hall inside which was under stricter control. That was not a place they could go to.
Enter from the front door, go out from the back door, and go around to the other side. There is a small, inconspicuous door. A nanny is guarding there. When she saw Pei Luoan coming, she hurriedly saluted.
Pei Luoan shook his hand, the nanny stepped forward to open the door, and Pei Luoan pushed the door open.
The maid and the eunuch are guarding here.
The environment here is a bit dark. Even in the hot summer, people feel a bit cool as soon as they enter the door. The door does not open to the south, but faces west sideways. The door faces the palace wall, yes, the high wall of the East Palace.
It's a very uncoordinated building, and it also gives off a chilly vibe. I wonder if it's because the sun never shines in this direction for years.
Everything is a little gloomy, even in summer!
The door was pushed open, revealing a very small space. The spirit tablet in the middle was indeed Ji Hanyue's. In front of it was the same as before: an offering table and an incense burner, as well as a cushion. It was just much smaller than the previous ones. However, the spirit tablet was not small, and was placed upright with nothing on either side.
After Pei Luoan entered, the door closed silently.
He walked to the tablet with a sullen face, picked up the tablet, and pressed a place behind it. The altar in front of him was silently pulled aside, revealing an open secret door, and a chilly air poured out from it.
Pei Luoan was about to go in, but suddenly stopped and pressed his hand between his eyebrows.
That chill completely diluted the irritability in his heart, making him feel instantly awake from head to toe.
The legs stopped and did not stretch out again. Then he slowly and stiffly stretched out his hand again and pressed the place where the spirit tablet was placed. The secret door disappeared and the altar returned to its place.
Everything seemed to be a false illusion. Only the air, which was even colder than before, showed that everything here had been different.
With a heavy sigh, Pei Luoan held the spirit tablet and knelt down on the mat. He reached out and took out a handkerchief from his arms and wiped the spirit tablet carefully. After a long while, he smiled bitterly: "Hanyue, do you think I am ridiculous now?"
His voice was neither too high nor too low, and he spoke like a normal person, and one could even feel that there was some tenderness in it, just like his usual gentle and jade-like demeanor.
"I don't really want this to happen... It's all your fault... It's all your father's fault... If it weren't for you... I wouldn't have ended up like this!"
"You are obviously going to marry my Crown Princess, why are you so close to Pei Yusheng... I am devoted to you, why are you so indecisive towards me... I am the one you are going to marry, the one who will protect you throughout your life... But you... you actually have a crush on Pei Yusheng... How... how can you be worthy of me..."
"If you had been a good wife back then... and hadn't associated with Pei Yusheng... and had let your father wholeheartedly support me... then you wouldn't have ended up like this now!"
"Hanyue, you have failed me... You are the one who let me down... It's all your fault! It's you... And your hateful father... If he doesn't work for me, if he doesn't listen to me, what use is there for me to have him?"...
He muttered to himself, his voice not loud, but in the end, because of his anger, his voice unconsciously rose a few pitches. Fortunately, the door was tightly closed and the sound insulation effect was very good. The two confidants standing outside could only hear a low whimpering sound, which sounded more like crying.
In the end, there was no sound at all, and it lasted for a long time... for a long time...
After a long while, the door opened and Pei Luoan stood at the door with red eyes. His expression had returned to calm. He no longer had the anger and resentment he had when he just came back from the palace. Only the redness in his eyes and the sadness on his face showed that his emotions were out of control and intense just now.
"Your Highness!" The eunuchs and the maids hurriedly stepped back and saluted.
"Keep everything here intact. If any irrelevant people appear here, kill them all!" Pei Luoan said coldly.
"Yes, I will obey your Highness's order!" The nanny nodded and agreed.
Pei Luoan said nothing more, nodded, and left with the eunuch.
The two Taoist nuns who were guarding outside only noticed that when the prince left, although he was sad, he was very calm, and his eyes seemed to be comforted by someone...
The two looked at each other and lowered their heads!