Chapter 418

Chapter 418 Consort Jingshu, having been rebutted, couldn't be bothered to keep up pretenses. Before Xie Run could even speak, she found a chair and sat down on her own. "So many things have happened in the palace during this time, Noble Consort Zhao's month of confinement must have been quite comfortable." Xie Run played dumb, calmly retorting, "No matter how many things happened, none of them were done by me, nor are they related to me. Why wouldn't I be comfortable?" Consort Jingshu: "..." Consort Jingshu: "Noble Consort Zhao stays in Zhaohua Palace day after day—do you know what's happening outside?" "Which 'outside' does my sister mean?" Xie Run knew Consort Jingshu wouldn't come without a reason. "If my sister could be more specific, perhaps I could take a guess?" Consort Jingshu: "Consort Hui." Xie Run: "I don't know, but I'm certainly curious, and I find it alarming as well." "Consort Hui had a solitary nature and didn't care to socialize with the Six Palaces, but she wasn't a bad person. As a fellow palace consort, her untimely death in the Cold Palace must have frightened you too, Consort Jingshu?" "Indeed," Consort Jingshu said. "The day I heard the news, I nearly dropped the teacup in my hand. Lying in bed that night, I had nightmares without end, terrified that one day I'd be staying peacefully in my own palace and suddenly meet with foul play." Consort Jingshu rarely spoke so honestly. "Consort Hui rarely left her quarters on ordinary days, spending every day in Fude Hall with the Third Princess." "Fude Hall is an hour's journey from the Cold Palace. Why would she go so far for no reason?" "I once asked the palace staff, and some said they personally saw Consort Hui heading to the Cold Palace with her own maidservant!" Consort Hui walked to the Cold Palace on her own? Xie Run: "When I heard the news at the time, I was also very puzzled." "Thinking about it now, perhaps there was someone or something in the Cold Palace that Consort Hui was curious about?" But Consort Hui was a person of few desires. The only thing that could spark her curiosity was the death of the Empress—nothing else. Consort Jingshu lowered her voice and said, "My sister probably doesn't know yet—Consort Hui was stabbed to death with a hairpin, blood pooling all over the ground." "She wasn't dead yet when she was stabbed. She even tore off a pearl necklace she was wearing and threw it on the ground... that necklace was exactly the one the Empress had bestowed upon her." Xie Run's gaze sharpened as she abruptly looked at Consort Jingshu. Consort Jingshu wore a knowing smile on her face as well. Xie Run understood—Consort Hui had truly died investigating the Empress's death! Her mind raced as she spoke slowly, "If it was someone from the harem who did this, it shouldn't be difficult to investigate." "One only needs to check where everyone in the various palaces was during the time Consort Hui went to the Cold Palace, and clues can be found." If someone from the harem had harmed Consort Hui, they would certainly have been at the Cold Palace at that time. The distance from the Cold Palace to other palaces was considerable—not something that could be covered up with a few casual words. Consort Jingshu: "I knew my sister was clever and would immediately see the crux of the matter." Xie Run: "..." That compliment didn't sound sincere at all. Consort Jingshu: "The Emperor has already had people investigate this matter... logically speaking, it shouldn't be hard to find out." "Even Consort Hui could find the person suspected of harming the Empress—why has there been no news from the people around the Emperor for so long?" "Fortunately, I have Management of the Six Palaces, so I can learn a bit more than ordinary people." Xie Run: "Does Consort Jingshu have any suspects in mind?" "Indeed I do." Consort Jingshu didn't keep her in suspense. "It's precisely because I'm unsettled and uncertain that I wanted to share this information with Noble Consort Zhao, so that someone could share my worries." Consort Jingshu was plainly saying that she was terrified after learning this news and thought it better to have someone share the burden with her. Consort Jingshu: "I've discovered that on the day Consort Hui died, the most suspicious people were Noble Lady Xi and Talented Lady Xue." "Those two vouched for each other, claiming they talked for over an hour in Noble Lady Xi's palace." Consort Jingshu smiled. "In the past, Talented Lady Xue did often come to chat with Noble Lady Xi, but rarely did she stay for a full hour." "Moreover, if the two of them could chat for an hour, could the Eighth Prince, at such a young age, endure an hour without seeing his mother?" Consort Jingshu: "Noble Lady Xi takes very good care of the Eighth Prince, so he's very attached to her. Occasionally when he cries and fusses, no one in the entire palace can soothe him—only Noble Lady Xi can calm him by holding him personally." "Coincidentally, a palace maid from my palace happened to pass by their courtyard that day and heard the Eighth Prince crying and fussing for a full half-hour at that time. She even exchanged a few pleasantries with Noble Lady Xi's attendants out of curiosity." "All of these matters have witnesses and testimony." Xie Run's gaze was calm and steady. "Aside from Noble Lady Xi and Talented Lady Xue, there's no one else suspicious?" Consort Jingshu shook her head. "The Emperor has investigated for so long without any news, but two days ago, Noble Lady Xi seemed to fall ill. At first it was said she'd exhausted herself from mourning, but now her illness has grown increasingly severe." "She's always been healthy, but this time her illness came on so suddenly, like a mountain collapsing." She said meaningfully, "I wonder if Noble Lady Xi will survive this ordeal?" Xie Run hadn't expected Consort Jingshu to bring her such significant news. The Emperor had already found out who killed Consort Hui, and had likely also discovered that Noble Lady Xi was behind the Empress's death. He had remained silent, only preparing to let Noble Lady Xi quietly die of illness. That's true—the Empress is the nation's mother and also a princess of the Xia Dynasty. If the Empress were harmed by the Xia Dynasty, the Emperor could righteously campaign against them, occupying the moral high ground. But once it was discovered that the Empress's death was connected to the Yu Dynasty's harem, the Xia Dynasty would inevitably make a big issue of it and would no longer be subject to the Emperor's accusations. When the two sides engaged in verbal sparring, they would be able to trade blows evenly. Moreover, the matter of palace consorts murdering one another would be terribly scandalous if it got out. The Emperor had too many concerns, and the best outcome was to let Noble Lady Xi, the culprit, quietly die of illness, attribute the Empress's death to the Xia Dynasty, and bury the truth underground. As for Consort Hui—a palace consort who wasn't particularly favored—if she died, she died. Consort Hui had no family, no friends, only a young Third Princess. If the Emperor didn't investigate, no one would dig deeper. Xie Run suddenly saw the whole picture clearly, and an inexplicable chill settled in his heart. Xie Run sighed: "Once I've finished my confinement period, I'll go personally to burn a stick of incense before Consort Hui's spirit tablet." "Back then, I misjudged Consort Hui as someone seeking fame and reputation, thinking she deliberately made a scene to interrogate others merely out of selfish desire." "Now she has kept her word—to find out who truly harmed Her Majesty the Empress, she has already paid with her life... I owe her that stick of incense." Talking without acting is mere pretense, and naturally invites everyone's disgust. But if one speaks and then follows through, that earns people's respect. I fear that when the Empress casually extended her protection to Consort Hui back then, she never imagined Consort Hui would truly repay her with her life. Consort Jingshu also sighed with emotion: "Indeed!" "Back then, I too thought Consort Hui was merely being overly aloof—stubborn and foolish." "Who would have thought that when the Empress died under unclear circumstances, Her Majesty's own sister spent her days merely weeping and wailing, while this stubborn and foolish person was willing to risk her life to find the murderer."