"Lianyun, go and ask if any of the ladies have gone out at night these past few days." It has been two days since I returned to the palace, but there is still no clue about the assassination that day. It was because I was too tired these days, so I was delayed.
"Your Majesty, do you suspect that it was done by someone in the palace?" Although Lianyun had a simple mind, she was also smart and clever. Hearing her say that, he could guess something.
Shen Qingwan waved and came towards her, and then she whispered something in her ear until she was right in front of her.
"Go! Come back and tell me if you have any news." She didn't know who in the harem wanted to kill her, but she thought it was probably just those few people.
Turning around and walking out of the room, Lianyun looked around as she walked, and secretly went to the warehouse accounting department. Normally, if a lady bought something, it would usually be recorded in the account book.
"But what did the Concubine buy?" When the accountant of the warehouse saw Lianyun coming, the only thought in his mind was that the Concubine sent her here, but he was also a little confused. What did she buy so carefully? It seemed that she was afraid of being seen.
"This is a gift from the Concubine Xian." Lianyun took out a gold ingot from her sleeve and put it into his hand without anyone noticing. "I have something I want to ask you."
The accountant in the warehouse was stunned and hesitated. Should he take the ingot or not? But greed overcame reason. "Hey, you are joking. Just tell me if you have anything to say. There is no need to be so polite." He said this while taking the ingot.
Lianyun despised him in her heart, but she still needed to do what the queen had told her to do. "Has any queen spent a lot of money in the past few days?"
"This..." The warehouse accountant thought for a moment, then opened the account book beside him, and soon said, "I'm afraid that Concubine De and the Queen have spent a lot in the past few days. Especially in the past few days, Concubine De seemed to have bought a few clothes and spent a lot of money." In fact, he was also a little confused. When he saw the clothes that day, the material of the clothes was obviously not very good, but why was it so expensive? But as a servant, it was difficult for him to speak up.
After telling her the story, Lianyun nodded in understanding. Speaking of the Queen, it seemed that she had bought a lot of supplements a few days ago, but she didn't seem to be in any serious condition.
He made a note of it in his mind and took out a jade pendant from his bosom, "Do you recognize this jade pendant?" This jade pendant was the one that fell from the assassins that day. Perhaps it could provide some clues.
But the warehouse accountant shook his head, saying that he had never seen any queen wearing such a jade pendant, and no one had ever bought it.
Lianyun nodded, and emphasized that she should not tell anyone else about her visit today, and then she left quickly.
"My lady, I have already asked all the questions you asked me to ask."
After returning to the yard, he informed Shen Qingwan of the results of the investigation.
"I understand." She already had some answers in her mind. The jade pendant should have been purchased privately, but it should be worth a lot of silver. It probably couldn't be saved in a day or two.
"Go and deliver this to Concubine Qi." She took out a note from her sleeve. Because of the Ninth Prince's incident last time, the Emperor had been indifferent to her. Although he was a little relieved, he still had to think before doing anything. Concubine Qi was already under the Emperor's surveillance, and she was afraid that if she went there at this time, she would be implicated.
The weather outside the window seems a bit gloomy, with rumbling thunder coming from time to time. It is bound to rain heavily tonight.
It seemed to be getting more and more restless, both the harem and the weather.
About half a cup of tea later, Concubine Qi heard a knock on the door. She had just gotten better and was happy to have some free time. She had just asked Qiu Shui to go out, so there was no one outside the door to inform her.
"Come in." He sat up from the bed and looked outside the door.
"Empress Qi." Lianyun poked her head in. She was the only one in the room, so she breathed a sigh of relief. "My queen asked me to give this to you." She pulled out a piece of paper from her sleeve and placed it in her hand.
"Was it sent by Sister Xianfei?" Li Ruotong opened the note and saw that it asked her which concubine nearby the emperor visited most often on weekdays.
After thinking for a while, he asked Lianyun to help him get a brush, and then took out another piece of paper. But just as he was about to write, he seemed to find it funny again, and curled his lips. He put the pen down and called Lianyun over. He whispered, "Go back and tell your mother that it was Concubine De."
Lianyun was a little confused and had never seen what the Queen had written, but she thought that this must be the answer on the paper.
"Yes." After she responded, Li Ruotong asked her to leave. "By the way, tell Sister Xianfei to come and chat with me often when she is free." She was really bored that day, but there were few people to talk to, which showed how bored she was.
When Qiu Shui came back, he ran into Lian Yun who was leaving here. After coming in, he asked Li Ruotong what she was doing here.
Shaking her head and smiling, Li Ruotong did not answer.
"De Fei..." Shen Qingwan leaned back on the chair, and paused the needle embroidering lotus flowers in her hand. It was really unfortunate. Today she finally remembered to do some needlework and wanted to embroider a handkerchief, but the needle tip pierced her hand and it bled. "It's really a worry." She put her finger in her mouth and sucked until the blood on it disappeared.
But my heart grew colder.
How could such a huge harem not accommodate her? She just wanted to stay here peacefully, and had no intention of provoking anyone or competing for anything.
But there are always some people who always come to cause her trouble. If she doesn't resist, she will probably be looked down upon and treated as a soft persimmon.
"Lianyun, don't you think it's good to live a peaceful life? Why do people always come to disturb you?" He had a frown on his face, and even his tone sounded a little sad.
"Empress..." Lianyun didn't know how to comfort her. She only knew that her master was feeling sad again. It seemed that since coming to the palace, her mistress had smiled less and less, and was replaced by more sorrow.
"Otherwise we will leave this palace." Lianyun felt anxious and a little annoyed.
Shen Qingwan quickly signaled her to shut up. This was not something that could be said carelessly. There were so many eyes in the palace watching their every word and action. If others heard it, who knows what trouble would arise. "How could this be said carelessly?"
Besides, she couldn't escape from this walled compound at all. After all, she was a member of the Shen family.