On the other hand, the Imperial Guards soon reported to the Emperor that a palace maid's body was found in the laundry room. Fu Yuheng was still racking his brains over the mastermind behind the assassination a while ago, and then he heard the news of the death in the palace. He flew into a rage and severely scolded the commander of the Imperial Guards.
"I asked you to guard the palace. People in the palace died tragically, but you didn't catch any wind of it! What use do I have for you! Are you going to assassinate me next time? And you are still enjoying yourself! Where are the clues?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It is our fault for not protecting you well enough. To be honest, the murderer did it cleanly and did not leave any traces. We have not been able to find any useful information." Liu Ran, the commander of the Imperial Guards, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and cursed the Imperial Guards who patrolled the laundry room yesterday. "Your Majesty, please give us a chance to investigate this matter thoroughly and make amends."
Fu Yuheng was still furious, but he hadn't lost his mind yet. He closed his eyes to calm himself down and said in a deep voice, "From what I've heard, the perpetrator must be very skilled and very familiar with the palace. I'm afraid he has something to do with someone in the palace. You must do this in secret and don't alert the enemy."
"I obey your command."
"Go ahead." Fu Yuheng waved his hand irritably, "Also, the palace should be more alert, don't let this kind of thing happen again to bother me."
Liu Ran clasped his fists and hurried to do what Fu Yuheng had asked him to do.
Since the emperor said he would investigate secretly, the imperial guards carried the body away in a low-key manner. But no matter how low-key the imperial guards tried to be, the palace was a place where such things were difficult to keep secret. Within half a day, the news of a maid's tragic death in the laundry room spread throughout the palace. Although no one had the courage to talk about such things publicly, they still gossiped about it in private.
People from all sides had different opinions on the matter, and the rumors were passed back and forth. Soon, all kinds of opinions spread throughout the palace.
"Empress!" Xiaoman, a maid in Concubine Xian's palace, came back from outside in shock and walked straight to Concubine Xian.
Lianyun was called away for a day's rest, so Shen Qingwan asked this little girl to serve her closely for a day. She had never entrusted important matters to Xiaoman, not because she didn't trust her enough, but because Xiaoman was too straightforward and often acted with a thick nerve, making it difficult for her to handle delicate matters.
At this point, Shen Qingwan frowned and said helplessly: "Xiao Man, I have repeatedly emphasized to you that the palace is very strict with rules, why are you so shocked?"
Xiao Man knew that she had made this common mistake again. She stuck out her tongue and said in a low voice, "We are in front of you, Madam. You are so kind to us, and I just ordered it carelessly without paying attention."
"Well, even if I don't care, it's bound to give people something to talk about if they see us. You have to pay attention to what I teach you." Shen Qingwan shook her head. Xiaoman's personality was really not suitable for this cannibalistic palace. It seemed that she had to find a suitable time to marry her off to a good family outside the palace and get her out of this place of trouble as soon as possible.
"I understand." She also knew that the queen was doing this for her own good, so she kept her words in mind. However, she was born with such a thick-skinned personality, and it would be difficult to satisfy others in a short period of time if she wanted to change.
"Why did you come to see me in such a hurry?" Shen Qingwan was just trying to provoke her and had no intention of saying more about it.
"Speaking of this, Your Majesty, those palace servants outside are really pissing me off," Xiao Man remembered the original reason why she came here after she asked, and the anger in her heart that had just subsided flared up again, "What Sister Lianyun discovered this morning has now spread throughout the palace. People are saying all kinds of things, but I see that in just half a day, rumors came from somewhere, and they actually linked this matter to Your Majesty. Those people are talking about you in private, which is really unpleasant. If I hadn't happened to pass by and heard it, they would have been slandering Your Majesty!"
Shen Qingwan frowned and asked the key point: "How did you get involved with me? But what did you say?"
“This…this…” Xiaoman hesitated.
"It's okay, just tell me. Don't you know my temper? I won't be irritated by such a trick." Shen Qingwan smiled secretly and shook her head.
Xiao Man was silent for a moment, but finally told the truth, "They say that your Majesty is a disaster star. Since you entered the palace, there have been frequent incidents in the palace. Some people have also blamed you for many of the bad things that happened before."
Shen Qingwan laughed dumbly, patted Xiaoman on the shoulder, and said nonchalantly: "They only dare to gossip about this kind of thing. Which master in the palace doesn't have criticisms? You just happened to hear people discussing me, and it doesn't cause any trouble to me. If I don't hear it, then let them talk about it."
"But..." Xiao Man was about to say something, but was interrupted by the shrill voice of the eunuch coming closer and closer.
"The Imperial Edict!"
Shen Qingwan calmly saluted the eunuch who came to deliver the imperial edict, her eyelashes fluttering slightly. The eunuch read: "The Emperor, by the will of Heaven, decrees: The palace has not been peaceful recently. I have handed this matter over to a special person. Other irrelevant personnel are not allowed to participate or discuss it. I have specially ordered the ladies of each palace to keep their own people's mouths shut. I decree this!"
"I accept the order." Shen Qingwan took the imperial edict with both hands and ordered people to prepare some gifts for her father-in-law.
The eunuch took the things given by Shen Qingwan with a smile, and said meaningfully: "Your Majesty, don't let the gossip ruin your mood. Justice will always be with you."
Shen Qingwan also smiled and agreed. After respectfully sending the eunuch away, she said to Xiao Man who was standing aside in a daze: "What I said is right, right? Those who gossip can't stand it for long. Look, the emperor has personally issued an order to each palace, and no one will gossip anymore."
Xiao Man didn't understand the emperor's thoughts and could only attribute this to the emperor's favoritism towards Shen Qingwan.
However, when Shen Qingwan was about to leave the palace to get some fresh air, she was blocked at the palace gate.
Shen Qingwan glanced around calmly. The leader was a concubine who was close to Liu Churong. All the other concubines, big and small, who came were from Concubine Liu's team.
"What do you mean, sister?" Shen Qingwan's tone was emotionless, but her expression was full of impatience.
"Of course I came to you to ask for an explanation," the concubine said proudly, "Today, my maid just told a few facts, but was slapped in the face by your palace maid Xiaoman. Do you really think you can run rampant in the palace? How can the people in the palace be so unreasonable?"
Shen Qingwan understood in her heart that she should be talking about the people who were caught by Xiaoman talking about her behind her back. She raised the corner of her mouth and asked back: "Then may I ask, sister, what facts are you talking about?"