Zi'an ordered Wang Jun to search Nanny Sun's residence, and indeed found one hundred taels of silver and a hairpin.
Nanny Yang brought the hairpin to Zi'an and said, "I have seen this hairpin before. It belongs to Concubine Mei."
This is a silver hairpin with kingfisher feathers and a forked tail. It is not expensive, but it is exquisitely made and is a product of the palace.
Zi'an had seen Concubine Mei wearing this hairpin, but since it was a common style, many ladies in the palace had it.
"Princess, how should we deal with that stubborn slave?" Wang Jun asked.
Zi'an said, "Detain him first."
"Yes!" Wang Jun accepted the order.
After returning to Hexu Pavilion, Zi'an couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
It's not that she believes in Concubine Mei. She doesn't believe that Concubine Mei can get this kind of medicine. Concubine Mei has no power in the palace, and her family is not helpful. She has no money to bribe and no power to rely on. And she is not so stupid as to find something to do for herself at this time, knowing that the current chaos is so pressing.
"Princess, I'm afraid the princess will go directly to Concubine Mei." said Nanny Yang.
Zi'an thought for a moment and said, "Why not, let her go."
“But if the princess goes, and Concubine Mei is innocent, I’m afraid she will be distraught.” Nanny Yang said worriedly.
"If she really didn't do it and can't leave, she will only hate the person who framed her behind the scenes. If I'm not mistaken, someone took advantage of her. I'm afraid Dongmei has betrayed her."
Zi'an called out, "Lingli!"
"Here!" Lingli flashed in from the door.
"Go investigate this Dongmei and find out where she served before."
Lingli said, "You don't have to go. I have investigated everyone in Mei Fei's palace. Dongmei was originally just a maid in the palace, and later entered Yueqing Palace to serve, but she only did some heavy work. Last July, Mei Fei fell by the lake, and she carried Mei Fei back. Since that time, she has entered the palace to serve. Two months ago, she was promoted to the head of Yueqing Palace."
"You have never served in other palaces?"
"No."
Zi'an secretly wondered how a third-class palace maid who just swept the floor could be promoted to the head of Yueqing Palace in just one year
This was an exceptional promotion, and Concubine Mei should not have been promoted without permission. The servants in the palace also had to be ranked according to seniority.
She had been to Yueqing Palace and seemed to have never seen Dongmei. At least, there was no Dongmei among the people serving in the palace. They were all Mei Fei's former servants.
Moreover, her name was Dongmei, and she served Concubine Mei, but she didn't change her name because of taboo
"Who promoted Dongmei to be the head?" Zi'an asked.
"emperor!"
Zi'an's eyes suddenly flashed with coldness. The Emperor? Could it be him
"Why did the emperor promote Dongmei to be the head?"
Lingli said, "I heard that when Concubine Mei was delivering ginseng soup to the emperor, she brought her along. The emperor happened to be troubled by some state affairs that were difficult to decide, so he talked to Concubine Mei. Concubine Mei couldn't come up with a good solution, but Dongmei provided a good one. The emperor appreciated it, so he smiled and said to Concubine Mei, 'You have a smart person by your side, which is much better than your current position as the head of Yueqing Palace. Also, the name Dongmei was given by the emperor."
"Hmm?" Would the emperor give a name to a palace maid
"Yes, they say she looks like a plum blossom in the snow in winter, beautiful and proud."
"Is it appropriate for the emperor to do this? Giving someone the name Dongmei, isn't that a taboo?"
"I'm afraid the emperor hasn't thought about this for the moment. Now that he has spoken, he can't take it back," Lingli said.
Zi'an remembered that he went to Concubine Mei's place a few days ago, but did not see the head maid. If Concubine Mei really trusted her, she would definitely ask her to serve in the palace, but she did not.
It can be seen that Concubine Mei was also reluctant to promote her to the position of head.
"Lingli, do you believe it could be Concubine Mei?" Zi'an asked.
Lingli thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. The harem is full of tricks, and Concubine Mei has betrayed you before, so it's not surprising that she would do it again."
"But, at this time, it would not benefit her at all if she betrayed me. Why would she do something that would harm others and not benefit herself?"
This suspicion would only be valid if one could think of some benefit for Concubine Mei.
You can't just poison her on a whim.
It’s still such a fuss.
Because Concubine Mei had betrayed Zi'an before, people around her didn't trust Concubine Mei very much.
Therefore, Zi'an kept speaking for Concubine Mei, which made Yang Ma and Lingli worry that Zi'an would be fooled again.
However, neither of them said anything extreme.
Zi'an pondered for a long time, then handed the hairpin to Lingli, "Go to the princess's mansion and give this hairpin to the princess. Tell her that you found it from Nanny Sun."
Lingli was startled, "Princess, are you going to let the princess go find Concubine Mei?"
Zi'an nodded, "That's right. If it was really done by Concubine Mei, it's fine for the princess to make a fuss. If it wasn't done by Concubine Mei, then the person behind it wants to kill two birds with one stone, blaming Concubine Mei and harming me, and then let that person think he succeeded."
Lingli nodded, "I understand. I'll go right away."
Zhuangzhuang was still very angry after returning home. Qinzhi tried to persuade her but she refused to listen. Qinzhi had no choice but to give up and went out to make a bowl of refreshing tea for her.
"The princess is still angry and won't go in no matter how much we persuade her." Qin Zhi sighed and asked Qionghua to go to the warehouse to get the medicine.
"The princess is fed up with these endless things. She also feels sorry for the princess. Everyone has seen what the princess has done for the Great Zhou, so why doesn't she get any good reward?" Qionghua also felt unfair.
"Isn't it? I really don't know what the princess did in her previous life to have to suffer so much in this life."
Qionghua hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said nothing.
Qin Zhi saw that she was hesitant to speak, so he asked, "What's wrong?"
Qionghua looked around and lowered her voice and said, "Today when I went out to buy something, I heard someone in the teahouse say that the princess was the reincarnation of a fox spirit and was bringing disaster to the country and the people."
Qin Zhi was furious, "Who is talking nonsense? Aren't you afraid of getting a poisonous sore in your mouth?"
"Ah, if the princess knew about this, she would be so angry that she would die."
"You must not tell the princess."
"I know, how dare I say it?" Qionghua paused, and said, "I heard that these rumors came from Cizhou. It just so happens that the prince went to Cizhou. I wonder if he went to investigate this matter?"
"It's really absurd. Ordinary people can't believe it, right?" Qin Zhi said, feeling a little worried.
"If only one person says it, of course no one will believe it, but if everyone says it, people will believe it. That's how rumors work."
Both of them couldn't help but feel worried. Unexpectedly, one problem after another arose!
After the Qingxin tea was ready, Lingli also came.
Zhuangzhuang had just finished drinking tea when he saw Lingli coming. He said unhappily, "Did your master ask you to persuade me? Go back and tell her that she wants to be a cuckold, and I won't do that. Tomorrow morning, I will go to Yueqing Palace."
Lingli smiled and said, "Princess, you misunderstood. It was not the princess who asked me to come here. I came here on my own. The princess always believed in Mei Fei, but we did not believe it."
She took out a hairpin and handed it to the princess. "I have seen Concubine Mei wearing this hairpin before. It was found in Nanny Sun's room. Nanny Sun confessed that Concubine Mei gave her 100 taels of silver and this hairpin as payment for poisoning her."
(End of this chapter)