Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Is It Reluctance or Distrust?

When Yun Si put aside the matter of Consort Jing, the issue with Liu-shi finally erupted.

The night was thick, with faint moonlight spilling over the temporary palace. Just as everyone was preparing to sleep, a sudden scream pierced the quiet of the palace.

In Song Ya Pavilion, the lights were lit. Yun Shi was instantly awakened. Before Qiu Yuan could lift the bed curtain, she sat up directly, pulling on her outer robe and frowning as she asked,

“What happened?”

Qiu Yuan shook her head gravely. “Your servant does not know, but I went out to take a look and saw that even the imperial guards have been alerted.”

Yun Si’s heart skipped a beat, alerted the imperial guards?

Suddenly remembering that the temporary palace was now under her charge, Yun Si immediately felt a headache coming on and muttered irritably.

“Not a single day of peace.”

Qiu Yuan said nothing but inwardly agreed with her mistress.

They hurried all the way to the lakeside. Yun Si heard the low whispers and fearful voices of the palace maids. When she saw what was there, her expression changed immediately, and her whole body instinctively turned her head aside.

There was a person lying by the lake.

Her entire body was swollen from soaking, her face bloated, eyeballs protruding, lips enlarged and turned outward. The whole person looked like a swollen ball, almost unrecognizable. At a glance, Yun Si could not tell who she was.

She lay soaking wet on the ground, obviously just pulled from the lake.

Yun Si had seen dead bodies and drowned people before, but this was the first time she saw such a terrifying state of death. She didn’t know how long the body had been soaked in the water to become like this. Just one glance made her stomach churn. Her face paled, and she raised her hand to cover her mouth, almost vomiting on the spot.

Qiu Yuan immediately supported her and didn’t dare look back, voice worried. “Mistress?”

Yun Si forced down the discomfort inside.

“I’m fine.”

No sooner had she spoken than she endured again, barely pulling herself together enough to observe the surroundings. She faintly heard crying and immediately turned her head toward the sound. When she saw a woman dressed in luxurious clothes but clearly different from palace attire, she furrowed her brows sharply.

This time, the summer retreat at the temporary palace was not only attended by the imperial consorts but also by ministers of the court and their families.

Yun Si’s expression grew colder. Although she hadn’t managed affairs before, she understood well the principle that family shame must not be spread outside. She immediately spoke, “Who is she?”

Qiu Yuan didn’t recognize her either.

But someone in the crowd did.
Today, Lu Dongxun had brought men to patrol. Hearing the commotion, he rushed over immediately. Upon hearing Yun Si’s question, he glanced at the woman with a complicated look and whispered,

“Replying to Yun Jieyu, she is the Young Madam of the Marquis of Chong’an, and also the legitimate Second Young Lady of the Duke’s mansion.”

Duke’s mansion?

Yun Si’s eyes flickered subtly. Consort Jing was also from the Duke’s mansion. She did not miss the word “legitimate” in Lu Dongxun’s words. Instantly, Yun Si understood the woman’s identity. She furrowed her brows.

“How did she get here?”

Lu Dongxun said, “She said she went out for a walk in the evening to aid digestion. From afar, she saw something suddenly floating on the lake’s surface. Curious, she approached, and then saw the scene Mistress Jieyu witnessed.”

The woman was still sobbing and wailing. Yun Si glanced once and then withdrew her gaze, her tone indifferent,

“Send her back to rest, and tell her that if she wants to take a walk again, she mustn’t wander around recklessly.”

Although living in the same temporary palace, the residences of ministers’ wives and imperial consorts were far apart, separated by a clear boundary. Ministers and their families ordinarily would never appear here.

Yun Si’s words were not soft; everyone around heard them clearly. Naturally, the young wife also heard and looked over in this direction.

She seemed about to say something but was pulled by a maid beside her. Immediately, she swallowed her words in displeasure.

Yun Si ignored her.
The Young Madam was politely but firmly escorted away by the imperial guards. The imperial consorts arrived one by one, and around them rose a series of successive retching sounds. Yun Si’s carefully adjusted composure was nearly undone again by these people, making her almost nauseous once more.

She had a slight headache, rarely understanding the difficulties of the Empress. She said coldly,

“Enough. You know you shouldn’t be looking, so why do you still crowd forward? Don’t you think it’s chaotic enough?!”

With Yun Si’s reprimand, the surroundings immediately quieted down considerably. Those still feeling unwell forced themselves to endure it. Seeing her bad expression, no one wanted to bring her bad luck at this moment.

When Tan Yuanchu arrived, he saw the woman’s face turn cold. Before he could be surprised, the woman saw him; her apricot eyes suddenly brightened, and she looked like she was about to cry from grievance. She walked over, grabbed his sleeve, and pouted softly.

“I’m scared to death. If you don’t come soon, I won’t be able to control the situation.”

Tan Yuanchu glanced at her, then scanned the silent imperial consorts around, thinking she should reconsider her words.

Yun Si didn’t think that way; she was too lazy to handle these troubles. Since it was his harem causing the trouble, wasn’t it only natural to throw it back to him to solve?

Tan Yuanchu didn’t expose the woman because half of her body was leaning against his chest, as if a little exhausted, with pale lips and complexion. It seemed her words about being scared to death were not an exaggeration.

Tan Yuanchu could only take over the burden from her. When he saw the person pulled up from the middle, he couldn’t help but frown.

“What happened?”

Lu Dongxun respectfully bowed his head and explained the whole matter from start to finish.

Upon hearing the words “Young Madam of the Marquis of Chong’an,” Tan Yuanchu raised his eyes and asked a question almost identical to Yun Si’s:

“How did she end up here?”

His tone was indifferent; no one could tell what emotion he had.

But it was obvious: how could the Emperor be pleased if such a royal scandal spread outside the palace?

Lu Dongxun had no answer.

Tan Yuanchu glanced coldly at Xu Shunfu. Xu Shunfu immediately understood and quietly sent Lu Yuan to visit the residence of the Marquis of Chong’an.

After Lu Yuan left, Tan Yuanchu looked again at the person soaking wet and unrecognizable.

“Who is she?”

Yun Si actually had somewhat recognized who the drowned person was.

She blinked her apricot eyes, unsure how to feel about Tan Yuanchu’s question. She had seen Liu-shi a few times and could recognize her, yet Tan Yuanchu, who should have been Liu-shi’s close companion, didn’t recognize her at all.

Sure enough, she heard Lu Dongxun say, “I sent people to investigate; it should be… the commoner Liu-shi.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Shi calmly glanced at Qi Guipin, whose expression turned somewhat embarrassed.
Yun Si was not surprised at all.

Since Liu-shi had lost her life, the accusation that Qi Guipin had harmed her became a case without evidence, making it difficult to overturn.

It was a pity that with Consort De under house arrest, Yun Si couldn’t observe what expression she had when seeing this scene.

But whether Consort De was present or not, Yun Si and Qi Guipin both knew in their hearts, the culprit who harmed Liu-shi could only be Consort De, and only Consort De needed to wipe out the evidence completely.

Tan Yuanchu frowned slightly, his mood low.

“How did she end up here?”

The cold and brief question had almost no emotion, making everyone feel a chill. Some instinctively recalled the scene when Yun Jieyu had fallen into the water some days ago.

Yun Jieyu had merely fallen into the water, with no real danger to her life, but Liu-shi had lost her life.

The Emperor’s corresponding reactions were worlds apart.

At that time, the Emperor was furious beyond control. Those involved in harming Yun Jieyu had either died or been demoted, and Consort De had even been placed under house arrest until now.

But now?

Some felt that if Yun Jieyu hadn’t looked so unwell and unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility, the Emperor might not have cared about this matter at all.

Today’s incident had nothing to do with Yun Si, yet someone looked at her with a complicated expression.

Same people, different fates.

Favor or no favor, the difference was really this obvious?

Qi Guipin glanced at Yun Shi, then coldly withdrew her gaze, not looking further. She knew clearly in her heart that since the Emperor now favored Yun Si, continuing to target Yun Si was only adding trouble for herself.

Tong Yun was right; what she needed now was to plan slowly and carefully.

The corpse lay there, constantly emitting a stench of decay. Yun Si could no longer bear it. She covered her mouth, hastily pushed Tan Yuanchu away, and quickly walked to the side, dry heaving several times.

She had just seen Consort Jing today, her mood complicated, and had barely eaten anything at dinner.

Now she was dry heaving without vomiting anything, only feeling a bitter sadness in her chest. Yun Si frowned in discomfort.

Tan Yuanchu frowned, “Carry it away. Summon the coroner.”

Their group had come to the summer palace to escape the heat and naturally had no coroner with them, so they had to send someone to the local county office to fetch one. That round trip would surely take a long time.

Tan Yuanchu pulled Yun Si slightly and asked in a low voice, “How are you?”

Yun Si tugged at her lips but couldn’t form a smile and only shook her head to indicate she was fine. “I’ve gotten used to it.”

Tan Yuanchu was at a loss for words.

‘Got used to it’? She had been vomiting the entire way from the capital to Yuzhou city.

The corpse was carried away, but the investigation had not ended. Especially with Liu-shi’s condition, it was clear the time of death was definitely more than one day.

What were the palace servants doing, not noticing anything wrong all this time?

When Xu Shunfu left to investigate and then returned, everyone finally got an answer.
Xu Shunfu respectfully lowered his head.

“It was because the servants below, seeing Liu-shi demoted to a commoner, neglected their duties and did not bring her meals to Cuishang Pavilion. That led to Liu-shi’s disappearance without anyone noticing.”

While Xu Shunfu went to investigate, the group moved to Song Ya Pavilion. Yun Si had the palace servants show everyone to their seats. Feeling uncomfortable, she kept sipping tea, which somewhat eased her nausea.

Hearing this, Yun Shi couldn’t help but raise her brow.
The servants in this palace were truly bold.

First, someone had taken bribes to plot against a palace consort, and now, while the Emperor’s guards were still at the summer palace and had not left, someone else dared to neglect their duties?

Liu-shi had indeed been demoted to a commoner, but she had once been a palace consort, so she was kept imprisoned in Cuishang Pavilion.

To put it bluntly, even prisoners in jail are provided meals, let alone Liu-shi.

Tan Yuanchu realized this too and his expression darkened a bit.

“Who is in charge of the summer palace?”

Xu Shunfu: “It’s Zhou Quanyou, Eunuch Zhou. He is kneeling outside, wanting to personally apologize to the Emperor.”

Tan Yuanchu didn’t even lift his eyelids, said coldly,

“No need to see him. Directly dismiss him from office, drag him away to be beaten with fifty strokes. I handed the summer palace to him, and this is how he manages it?”

Fifty strokes?

Enough to beat an adult to death. Zhou Quanyou has been in charge of the summer palace for many years; he’s probably long accustomed to a life of ease.
Thinking he could survive those fifty strokes is just wishful thinking.

The summer palace kept having so many mistakes in a row. Clearly, the Emperor did not intend to let Zhou Quanyou live.

Soon outside came wails of begging for mercy. Everyone realized the Emperor was in a bad mood and immediately fell silent. The entire hall became so quiet that a pin could drop and be heard.

In the end, it was Yun Shi who broke the silence in the hall. She frowned, seeming somewhat puzzled:

“Liu-shi has been demoted to a commoner and will never cause trouble again in the future. Who would want her life?”

No evidence found doesn’t mean no clues.

The motive alone is enough to spark wild imagination.

Since Liu-shi’s body was dragged out, An Cairen had been a little nervous all along. She was one of only two who witnessed the real culprit committing the crime. She has always been someone who cannot keep things inside. If it weren’t for Gui Chun constantly reminding her, she might have already slipped up.

But even so, after holding it in for a long time, when Yun Jieyu finished speaking, she couldn’t help but blurt out.

“Murder to silence?”

This was also the answer An Cairen had pondered for several days.

If it weren’t murder to silence, why would Defei have Gu Qiu cause Liu-shi’s death?

Yun Shi was not surprised at An Cairen’s reply at all, but when she glanced at An Cairen, she noticed something unusual. While everyone else looked uncomfortable, only An Cairen seemed a little too excited to suppress.

Yun-shi lightly raised her brow and perfectly showed a hint of doubt.

“Why is An Cairen so proactive today? Could it be that she knows something?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Qi Guipin tugged at the corner of her mouth, feeling Yun Si was just grasping at straws.
Who in the palace didn’t know what kind of person An Cairen was?

An Cairen was never enthusiastic about any excitement.

An Cairen was caught off guard and hesitated a bit; she wasn’t sure if she should reveal the truth.

Gui Chun was so scared she was almost dumbfounded. She quietly tugged at her mistress’s sleeve, not daring to make a big move, only able to pray silently that her mistress would stay calm.

Her behavior made several people in the hall raise their eyebrows in surprise, especially Lu Pin. She already felt that An Cairen had been acting strange lately. Since she had quite a bit of contact with An Cairen, she understood her temperament. She casually said,

“Jieyu, don’t trouble An Cairen. Don’t you know her well? She just likes to chime in; she wouldn’t really know any real news.”

Though this sounded like defending An Cairen, An Cairen felt a bit uncomfortable. Maybe if it were someone else, she wouldn’t be so sensitive, but deep down she knew that Lu Pin basically looked down on her.

Rather than saying Lu Pin was defending her, it was more like mocking her.

An Cairen frowned tightly and suddenly said,

“Who says I don’t know? I personally saw it, Gu Qiu from Consort De’s palace pushed Liu-shi!”

As soon as these words dropped, the hall instantly erupted in uproar.

Yun Si couldn’t help but be stunned; she was just casually probing, who could have expected An Cairen to drop such a thunderclap?

Qi Guipin also quickly turned her head to look at An Cairen.

“Are you sure you saw clearly?”

Seeing everyone’s reaction, An Cairen was actually a little frightened inside, but when questioned by Qi Guipin, she still couldn’t hold back and said:

“I have been in the palace for over two years. I see Consort De almost daily during greetings. I definitely wouldn’t mistake her!”

Someone in the hall immediately changed their expression and asked before Qi Guipin could.

“You say you saw Gu Qiu from Yihe Palace push Liu-shi into the water. Why didn’t you report it back then?!”

Yun Si quickly swept her eyes over the expressions of everyone in the hall. Although Consort De was not here, it was obvious who belonged to Consort De.

While everyone was shocked and wanted to stay out of trouble, some people immediately jumped up to question An Cairen.

Yun Si’s gaze passed over Ning Pin, who had jumped up, then flickered toward Qi Guipin, but she remained silent at this moment.

Comparatively, Qi Guipjn probably wanted to find out more about this matter’s connection to Consort De even more than Yun Shi did.

Moreover…

Yun Si glanced without emotion at Tan Yuanchu; since An Cairen mentioned Consort De, he hadn’t spoken, coldly watching the argument below. Yun Si found it hard to figure out his thoughts.

Gui Chun swallowed hard, drenched in cold sweat from fear.

An Cairen frowned deeply when questioned but answered naturally, “You say it easily, but you didn’t see the scene at that time. I didn’t expose it then because I was afraid!”

Ning Pin was completely silenced by this, she never expected someone to justify their fear so righteously.

Fear was indeed there, but she also wanted to use that as leverage to threaten Consort De. Later, after Gui Chun’s persuasion, she realized that if she really threatened Consort De with this matter, she would only meet the same fate as Liu-shi.

However, her real thoughts needed no further words, she understood that deep down. An Cairen caught a terrified look on Gui Chun’s face and belatedly realized that since she had revealed the truth, if Consort De wasn’t killed today, her own future would be unbearable!

Consort De would never let her go!

An Cairen had no time for regret. Her reaction was quick. She bit her lip, her face full of lingering fear.

“If I had exposed Gui Qiu at that time, who knows if I would have been killed to cover it up? I probably wouldn’t be alive now!”

Ning Pin clenched her handkerchief tightly. An Cairen kept pressing on Consort De, but Consort De wasn’t here. She had always been close to Consort De; if Consort De fell from grace, it would bring her no benefit at all.
She could only defend Consort De. “Then why do you dare to say it now?”

An Cairen’s eyes widened. “The Emperor is here. Would Consort De dare to harm me in front of His Majesty? Moreover, after what happened today, if anything happens to me in the future, everyone will know exactly who the culprit is!”

An Cairen completely gave up. Ning Pin was furious but could only frown.

“You insist that Gui Qiu pushed her into the water, do you have any evidence?”

Before An Cairen could answer, Qi Guipin interrupted Ning Pin.

“Why is Ning Pin in such a hurry?”

Ning Pin’s expression changed when she saw Qi Guipin. Qi Guipin had long been powerful; even though she was suddenly demoted, Ning Pin dared not be as rude to her as she was to An Cairen.

After blocking her, Qi Guipin didn’t wait for an answer and looked directly at Tan Yuanchu.

“Your Majesty, since this matter involves Consort De, shouldn’t we summon Consort De here?”

Qi Guipin’s tone was urgent. Having finally caught a flaw in Consort De, she was naturally unwilling to let it go easily.

Tan Yuanchu hadn’t yet spoken when he noticed the woman beside him subtly gazing at him. He did not avoid it and looked directly at her.

Their eyes met, but the woman lowered her eyelids.

She said nothing, yet it seemed she had said everything.

Liu-shi’s misfortune was clearly closely related to her recent fall into the water. Whoever harmed Liu Shi was essentially the real culprit who harmed her.

She should have reacted like Qi Guipin.

But she said nothing and did not pressure him at all.

Tan Yuanchu, however, did not feel at ease. Was her not pressuring him because she didn’t want to make things difficult for him, or because she did not trust him?

The answer was clear.

Without hesitation, Tan Yuanchu’s voice was cold.

“Send for Consort De.”

—