The fire this time was not very serious, there were only traces of burning in the main courtyard, so Li Qi arranged the queen and others in a side hall.
Because the fire was not big, the fire in the yard was put out and cleaned up soon. However, people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs would have to be called to repair it another day.
As the mistress of the harem, Luo Qing naturally could not let Li Qi handle this matter alone, so he stayed to help investigate the matter.
"It's cold at night. Your Majesty, please go back to the palace and have some rest." Li Qi was not very willing to let the queen stay here. This was her palace's business, so it would be better for her to investigate it herself.
Luo Qing, who was sitting on the seat, had a moment of dissatisfaction in her eyes, but she quickly concealed it and put on a proper smile, "As the head of the harem, how can I ignore the fire in Concubine Xian's palace?"
Her words were meant to stop Li Qi from trying to persuade her, and she really didn't mention it again.
I was so restless that night that I couldn't sleep, just waiting for the results of the investigation.
When the sky began to brighten slightly, Lianyun hurriedly ran into the side hall and bowed to the two of them.
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen and Her Majesty the Consort."
Luo Qing already had a sleepy look on his face, his brows were deeply furrowed, and he glanced at her impatiently, "Can you find out the reason?" She sat here for a whole night for no reason, just to show her majesty as the queen and make the emperor more satisfied with her.
Lianyun stopped panting, "Your Majesty, they found out that a palace maid accidentally touched a candle and ignited the quilt, which caused the fire in the palace."
She told the results of the Dali Temple's investigation truthfully, but she still had some doubts in her heart.
Hearing this, Li Qi frowned slightly and lowered his eyes as if thinking about something.
It couldn't be such a simple reason. She was clearly drugged, so how could it be just a mistake made by a little palace maid
But she did not voice her doubts in front of the queen. Luo Qing seemed dissatisfied with the answer, but was relieved. "In that case, let the maid receive twenty strokes of the cane." She was not able to avoid some resentment for receiving such an insignificant answer. "How can she work in the palace and serve the concubines in the harem if she is so careless!"
Li Qi was stunned by the Queen's inexplicable anger, but she seemed to be thinking only of herself.
"Since it is the Queen's order, let her receive the punishment herself." She pushed the responsibility onto the Queen without leaving any trace.
The queen felt uncomfortable after hearing this, but she was too tired to delve into it further. She explained a few words and returned to her palace.
After seeing the queen off, Lianyun sent the little palace maid who had committed the crime to be beaten with a stick. When she came back, Li Qi had already dressed up.
"Lianyun, do you think it's really that simple right now?" Looking at the woman in the bronze mirror with a calm expression, her voice was soft but loud enough for her to hear.
Lianyun was not a little maid who was unfamiliar with the affairs of the palace, so naturally she found it hard to be convinced. "Did the Queen notice anything?" If she hadn't noticed anything unusual, she probably wouldn't have asked her like that.
"Someone drugged my room last night. Luckily the dosage was not much, otherwise..." When she said this, she couldn't help but tightly grasp the pearl hairpin in her hand, her pupils contracting.
"Drugs?" Lian Yun was extremely surprised, her face full of worry, "Is the Majesty in any serious condition?"
She waved her hand, "I'm fine, but this matter is not that simple."
Hearing what she said, Lianyun couldn't help but feel terrified and started to worry about the queen's safety.
Although Li Qi was cold to others, she didn't make enemies everywhere. So she wouldn't make the concubines in the palace hate her so much that they wanted to burn her to death, right
“I don’t know who it is, but I won’t let it go!” If we can’t find the source, how can we feel at ease living in fear every day
"Your Majesty, you should report such an important matter to the Emperor. Letting the Emperor investigate can also protect Your Majesty." Lianyun was only thinking about how to let her suffer less grievances and do less dangerous things.
But she shook her head resolutely. It was not appropriate for him to investigate this matter. Luo Qing had already convicted the palace maid. If he said that the murderer was someone else without any evidence, it would probably arouse Long Li's dissatisfaction and the vigilance of the people behind the scenes.
"Only you and I know about this. I will investigate it myself. Please don't let it leak out."
Lianyun felt uneasy but didn't dare to talk back, so she agreed.
Some wood blocks in the main courtyard were burnt black, so she specifically asked the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to come back a day later. She wanted to check if there was anything that could be done before the scene was cleaned up.
After walking around the house, I found no clues, but before leaving, I found a small corner at the base of the wall outside the house...
When she picked it up, she saw that it was a blank token, which made her confused. In the imperial palace, the maids and eunuchs in each palace had clear tokens to identify themselves, but this token had no words on it.
But why did she always feel so familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere
Since it is not a token from the palace, the mastermind behind the scene is most likely not a permanent resident of the palace.
She decided to go out of the palace to have a look, maybe she could find some clues. She changed into casual clothes and disguised herself before leaving the palace. She was going to go to the restaurant to get some information, but she happened to meet a group of people.
A gorgeous sedan stopped in the middle of the road, and a woman dressed in green walked out of the sedan. She had a slender waist and delicate features, but her eyes were slightly raised and her expression was a little arrogant.
She walked out with her skirt lifted slightly, with a gentle smile on her face. Li Qi recognized her at a glance as Wen Ling, Long Gu's concubine whom he had met a few days ago!
Hide in the dark and observe her movements silently.
As soon as she stepped out of the sedan chair, the shop owner came out to greet her, "You're here!"
"Are there any nice patterns recently?" Her voice was sweet and gentle but her eyes were so arrogant that the onlookers had to make way for her.
The boss smiled flatteringly, "All the good stuff is reserved for you! Just waiting for you to pick it!"
After hearing this, Wen Ling raised her eyebrows in satisfaction. She actually liked the feeling of being envied by everyone. Everyone knew that she was the concubine of the Ninth Prince's Mansion. Even if she was not the principal wife, she was still from the Ninth Prince's Mansion after all.
Li Qi had no interest in her, and was about to leave when he was attracted by a light. It was a blank token pinned on the waist of the guard behind Wen Ling!
The wordless token actually came from the Ninth Prince's Mansion? Could it be that Longgu was the mastermind behind this? She seemed to wake up in an instant, but her brows were furrowed. She didn't expect that this matter was actually related to Longgu!
If he wanted to deal with her, he wouldn't burn her to death in her sleep, right? If he wanted to, there would be many ways to kill her, but he shouldn't risk being discovered. Besides, if he wanted to get rid of her, why did he save her again and again before
But suddenly she thought of the bait that Longgu had thrown to her, and frowned slightly. Perhaps it was because she did not agree to cooperate with him that he wanted to kill her to silence her. It seemed reasonable that she would be killed after refusing again and again.