Chapter 121: The Lin Family

After the two paid their respects, Lan Wu had seats brought for them.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Lan Wu’s gaze shifted to Yue Zhaorong, then she glanced briefly at Mu Xiurong.

Mu Xiurong’s expression was somewhat tense. That glance from Lan Wu made her particularly uncomfortable, so she spoke straightforwardly, “Today, Sister Yue said she wanted to visit Zhen Zhaorong. This concubine happened to run into her in the Imperial Garden and came along with Sister Yue.”

Yue Zhaorong added in her defense, “We did indeed meet by chance in the Imperial Garden. She’s a straightforward person—as soon as she heard I was coming, she said she wanted to see you, Your Highness, and even mentioned wanting to apologize for what happened last time.”

Lan Wu had no particular opinion of Yue Zhaorong. As for Mu Xiurong… although she spoke hastily, she hadn’t exactly crossed Lan Wu.

Lan Wu wasn’t the type to hold a grudge over trivial matters.

“There’s no need for an apology. The matter is already in the past, and besides, I did frighten her a bit. It’s not worth mentioning.”

Seeing that Lan Wu showed no signs of anger, Yue Zhaorong and Mu Xiorong both breathed a sigh of relief.

“Has Your Highness’s health improved?” Yue Zhaorong asked gently. “I brought some ginseng for nourishment. Although Your Highness surely lacks nothing, I hope you’ll accept it as a token of my sincerity.”

Lan Wu didn’t stand on ceremony and had it accepted.

“You once mentioned to me that in the Late Emperor’s harem, there was a palace maid skilled in making incense who served two Empress Dowagers. Do you still remember this?”

Yue Zhaorong nodded. “I remember. Does Your Highness have something to ask me? I will speak without reservation.”

“I wanted to ask you about this palace maid,” Lan Wu said, glancing at Mu Xiurong. “If Mu Xiurong knows anything, please share it as well.”

Most imperial concubines were daughters of court officials. Take Mu Xiurong, for example—even if she had no favor after entering the palace, as long as she didn’t cause trouble, Chu Mingheng wouldn’t disregard her family’s influence and would eventually raise her rank.

But her rank likely wouldn’t go much higher.

Lan Wu herself knew little about the disputes in the Late Emperor’s harem, but noble families like hers might have heard something.

“What does Your Highness wish to ask?” Yue Zhaorong looked at her.

“Do you remember the name of that palace maid?”

Yue Zhaorong shook her head gently, somewhat helpless. “It’s been so many years. I only heard about it in passing back then and never looked into it further.”

“Was it…” Lan Wu began, noticing Mu Xiurong’s puzzled expression.

“Was it a palace maid named Zi Ming?” she asked.

Lan Wu turned to her. “How did you know?”

The story was a long one.

Back then, a young lady from the Mu family participated in the Late Emperor’s harem selection and was chosen to become one of his concubines, though she never gained much favor. That person was Mu Xiurong’s aunt.

Mu Xiurong’s knowledge of the palace maid named Zi Ming came about by chance.

“Before my aunt came of age, she had been friends for several years with a young lady from the Lin family. They studied together at the same school. At that time, the Lin family’s young lady had a slightly older maid by her side, who was inseparable from her. Later, during the selection, both the Lin family’s young lady and my aunt were chosen and became imperial concubines.”

“Several years later, when my aunt went to Kunning Palace to pay respects to the Empress, she happened to see that maid. At first, she thought she had mistaken her identity but didn’t dwell on it.”

“Later, I heard that palace maid was transferred to Consort Qiao’s palace and eventually ended up at Wanshu Pavilion. My aunt even went to Wanshu Pavilion specifically to take a look. Although her childhood memories were no longer accurate, my aunt recognized her at once as the personal maid who had served the young lady of the Lin family back then.”

“After that, the incident at Kunning Palace occurred. My aunt was so frightened she dared not leave her palace gate and paid no further attention to the whereabouts of that palace maid named Zi Ming.”

“Since childhood, I’ve loved talking and asking questions about everything. My aunt, living a lonely and dull life in the rear palace, would always chat with me whenever I visited. And having a good memory since I was young, I gradually remembered all these things.”

After listening, Lan Wu couldn’t help but lower her gaze and reach for the teacup on the table. Her fingers touched the cup’s edge—though it wasn’t hot at all, she felt as if her fingertips had been scorched.

“So, Zi Ming was originally a maid from the Lin family and later entered the palace,” Lan Wu murmured after a moment of contemplation.

Speaking of the Lin family, one couldn’t help but think of Prince Wei.

The Lin family lady mentioned by Mu Xiurong as having entered the palace was none other than Consort Hui of the Late Emperor. Back then, Wen Shi had thrown the rear palace into chaos, yet under such circumstances, Consort Hui’s son was carefully protected and grew up unharmed, becoming the present Prince Wei. He later married a woman from the Lin family as his princess consort, while Consort Hui had passed away from illness some years earlier.

The Lin family, Prince Wei…

But in her previous life, why did Zhu Qing kill her? She had never known anyone from the Lin family, nor had she ever met Prince Wei.

After seeing off Yue Zhaorong and Mu Xiurong, Lan Wu began writing and sketching on paper.

She tried to untangle the connections, hoping to find the reason behind Zhu Qing’s attempt on her life.

Zi Ming was Zhu Qing, and Zhu Qing was connected to the Lin family, who were supporters of Prince Wei.

What did Prince Wei want?

Could it be that he still harbored thoughts of rebellion?

Lan Wu stared at the paper on the table, her face almost scrunching up in frustration.

Just then, a familiar voice came from outside the hall.

Lan Wu looked up and saw Aunt Dan Shan.

She let go of what she was holding, rose from her seat, and went to greet her.

“Auntie, please rise quickly,” Lan Wu said with a smile. “With you absent from the hall these past few days, I’ve felt quite unaccustomed.”

A gentle curve lifted the corners of Dan Shan’s lips as she softly replied, “I heard that Your Majesty has been taking your medicine quite willingly these past few days, without needing any urging.”

How could Lan Wu dare to hesitate? If she slowed down even half a step, Chu Mingheng would insist on feeding her the medicine sip by sip. As the saying goes, it’s better to endure short-term pain than long-term suffering—taking medicine sip by sip was true agony.

“Why did it take you so long to return, Auntie? Did Shenxing Si ask you to stay?”

Dan Shan shook her head. “It was by His Majesty’s order. After the fire at Kunning Palace, a palace maid escaped and has now been recaptured. His Majesty instructed me to interrogate her.”

Lan Wu was taken aback, her temple throbbing intensely.

So it wasn’t as simple as she thought. She had originally believed her death was merely the result of schemes among the imperial concubines, but the deeper she delved, the more connections emerged—Prince Wei, the fire at Kunning Palace… What else was there?

“Auntie, this afternoon, Mu Xiurong came to my palace and mentioned that she had heard from Aunt Mu that the palace maid named Zi Ming was once the personal maid of Consort Hui.”

Lan Wu handed the paper she had just written on to Dan Shan.

“I thought, since you once served Empress Dowager Jingwen, did you ever notice which imperial concubines Zi Ming interacted with? Did she ever speak with anyone from the Lin family?”

Dan Shan looked at the paper, her hand tightening slightly, as if she had already anticipated this outcome, yet also as if she could not believe it. Hearing Lan Wu’s question, it took her a moment to gather her thoughts before she shook her head after a pause: “Zi Ming has always been the most low-key. If not… if not for what Your Ladyship said about being accidentally seen and recognized by Consort Mu, I’m afraid we still wouldn’t have discovered her connection to the Lin family.”

As she spoke, she suddenly looked up: “Your Ladyship, this matter should be reported to Your Majesty—”

Lan Wu naturally intended to tell Chu Mingheng, but Chu Mingheng had forbidden her from leaving the palace. She could only wait until he returned to speak with him, or perhaps…

“Aunt, you go and report this matter to Your Majesty.”