Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Ninth Princess thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, I remember now. At that time, I responded to him, saying that the guest was only having a meal and not staying at the inn. The waiter then walked away."

Cheng Yuan continued, "That's right, but at that time, the waiter hesitated for a moment and mumbled something under his breath as he left."

Ninth Princess looked surprised: "I didn't notice that. What did he say?"

Cheng Yuan: "The waiter said, 'Strange, that guest clearly said he was going to stay at the inn.'"

Ninth Princess was surprised: "He said that?"

Cheng Yuan: "Yes, but he wasn't speaking loudly, and the hall was quite noisy, so it's normal that you didn't hear it."

Ninth Princess: "Why didn't you tell me then?"

Cheng Yuan: "At that time, cousin Shen Cang himself mentioned he was just passing through Yuezhou and wasn't staying overnight, so I didn't think much of it. Besides, there were a lot of guests coming and going in the inn that day, so I just assumed the waiter had made a mistake."

Ninth Princess: "Yes, there were a lot of people that day."

The Crown Prince paused to think, then looked at Cheng Yuan: "Tell me more about the details of your encounter that day."

Cheng Yuan continued to recall: "A Dai and I walked downstairs and saw a man talking to the waiter at the front desk."

The Crown Prince: "Did you hear what they were saying?"

Cheng Yuan shook his head: "We were some distance away, and their voices weren't very loud, so A Dai and I didn't hear what they were saying."

The Crown Prince nodded.

Cheng Yuan continued: "A Dai recognized him as cousin Shen Cang after a few glances and went over to greet him. Their conversation was cut short, and the waiter, seeing us chatting, went to help other guests."

"Later, A Dai and cousin Shen Cang recognized each other, and we had a meal together. After the meal, cousin Shen Cang said he was going to pay the bill, but I told him it had already been taken care of. He didn't linger, saying he was in a hurry to continue his journey, and then he left."

Ninth Princess followed Cheng Yuan's words and recalled: "Reflecting on it now, cousin Shen Cang was originally planning to stay at the inn, so why did he change his mind later?"

The Crown Prince pondered for a moment and speculated: "It seems that for some reason, he didn't want to interact much with you and deliberately kept his distance."

He then asked: "What did you talk about?"

Cheng Yuan repeated the topics of their conversation, which were almost the same as what Ninth Princess had just mentioned. The Crown Prince listened quietly and then asked: "Did he ask you for any information?"

Cheng Yuan thought for a moment, frowning slightly: "I remember that cousin Shen Cang shifted the conversation to His Majesty several times, but it was all about asking about His Majesty's health. At that time, I didn't know the details about Uncle's drowning, so I just thought he was concerned about His Majesty as a nephew."

The Crown Prince: "How did you respond?"

Cheng Yuan: "Regarding His Majesty's health, we naturally assured him everything was fine."

The Crown Prince nodded, then asked: "Did Shen Cang mention where his friend's home was that he was going to visit?"

Ninth Princess: "When cousin Shen Cang mentioned that, I casually inquired about the location of his friend, but he only said it was a few days' journey from Yuezhou. He didn't mention the exact location. Then he changed the subject, so I didn't press further."

The Crown Prince: "It seems that he was originally planning to stay in Yuezhou, but upon encountering the two of you, he didn't want to reveal his true intentions, so he came up with an excuse on the spot. The friend he mentioned was likely made up, so he couldn't provide a specific address."

Cheng Yuan nodded: "Reflecting on it now, that must be the case."

The Crown Prince asked again: "Did you find out where he has been all these years and where he currently resides?"

Ninth Princess: "We asked, but he simply said he was traveling around."

At this point, the Ninth Princess exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, I realize we didn’t get anything out of our cousin."

Cheng Yuan looked at his wife and nodded, "Yes, every time you asked a question, he always dodged it."

The Crown Prince remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Father hasn’t been well these past two days, so it’s best not to trouble him with this." Everyone agreed.

The 11th Prince asked, "Brother, what should we do about Shen Cang?"

The Crown Prince replied, "Send your Nine Abyss Guard to Yuezhou to see if they can find any leads."

After so long, there’s little hope, but in these dangerous times, we can’t overlook anything.

The 11th Prince nodded in agreement.

The Crown Prince continued, "Also, send someone back home to check on Shen Bai."

After saying this, without waiting for the 11th Prince's response, he changed his mind, "Actually, have your people work discreetly, and I’ll send someone to bring Shen Bai to the capital. It’s been years since we cousins last met; it’s time for a reunion."

The 11th Prince nodded again, and the Crown Prince turned to Cheng Yuan, "These are chaotic times. Since A Yuan is in the capital with nothing urgent, why not help A Duan at the Nine Abyss Guard?"

The Ninth Princess, who loved to watch Cheng Yuan's calm and cold demeanor during autopsies and investigations, nodded eagerly, "That would be perfect, perfect."

Cheng Yuan smiled at his wife, then bowed to the Crown Prince, "I’d be honored."

He then looked at the 11th Prince, "As long as Eleventh Imperial Brother doesn’t mind me."

The 11th Prince shot him a cold, disdainful look, making everyone laugh.

The Ninth Princess leaned closer to Cheng Yuan and whispered, "Eleventh Imperial Brother is usually cold to everyone, but he seems to dislike you. That’s quite something. Did something happen between you two that I missed?"

Cheng Yuan, impressed by his wife's sharpness but unable to disclose the matter, feigned ignorance, "No, nothing at all."

The Ninth Princess, who always trusted him, smiled and said, "Then Eleventh Imperial Brother must like you." Cheng Yuan laughed along.

---

Outside the imperial garden, on a bench under the long corridor, Shen Zhinuo swung her little feet, "Did Fuyao Jushi come to see Chun Xing?"

The system searched the plot and replied, "No, Chun Xing never saw Fuyao Jushi."

Shen Zhinuo was both surprised and felt it was expected, "Did Fuyao Jushi betray her?"

The system replied, "Based on the current plot, it’s unclear if Fuyao Jushi betrayed Chun Xing. Consort Chen learned the truth from Chun Xing’s secret letter, went to the cold palace, and had Imperial Noble Consort Rong burned to death. Not long after, Chun Xing also died."

Shen Zhinuo was shocked this time, her little feet stopped swinging, "Someone killed her, right?"

Shen Weiqing and others exchanged glances, sharing the same suspicion. Nowadays, whenever someone dies, the first thought is that they were killed.

The system said, "Young Master, you’re so sharp. Chun Xing was indeed murdered."

Shen Zhinuo thought as much and pressed, "Who did it? Was it Fuyao Jushi, who betrayed her and killed her to silence her?"

The system replied, "There’s no info on the killer; it’s unclear if it was Fuyao Jushi."

Shen Zhinuo asked, "Then how did Chun Xing die?"

The system answered, "She died from food poisoning after eating incompatible foods."

Shen Zhinuo asked, "Did anyone even investigate?"

The system replied, "The palace was in chaos back then, with masters dropping dead left and right. The death of a small palace maid was of no concern to anyone. After Imperial Noble Consort Rong was sent to the cold palace, Chun Xing was transferred there to do odd jobs, without a fixed master. So when she died, she was just dragged out and buried, and no one remembered her."

Life is as cheap as grass.

Shen Zhinuo sighed inwardly and then asked the question that was on her mind: "When my Fourth Imperial Uncle led troops to attack the capital, he tricked my Twenty-first Imperial Uncle into opening the city gates, and then he entered the palace with his troops. After that, wasn’t my Twenty-first Imperial Uncle killed by someone on my Fourth Imperial Uncle’s side? Was that person the Fuyao Hermit?"

System: "I don’t know about that."

Shen Zhinuo, not ready to give up, asked again: "And then my Fourth Imperial Uncle was also killed, right? Was the person who killed him the Fuyao Hermit?"

The system searched carefully: "That information isn’t available either."

Shen Zhinuo: "Then did the Fuyao Hermit come to the capital?"

System: "Sorry, Young Master, I still can’t find that information. We would need to locate the Fuyao Hermit for that."

Without knowing where the Fuyao Hermit is, how could we possibly locate him? Shen Zhinuo sighed inwardly: "Pup, when will you upgrade?"

Sensing her Young Master’s helplessness, the little black dog wagged its tail and darted around in front of the little girl: "Young Master, don’t worry, ATong is already working on it."

Shen Zhinuo didn’t understand how the system worked and couldn’t interfere, so she could only ask about other things first: "What about Cui Zhu? After Consort Chen was secretly taken out of the palace by my Ninth Aunt, where did Cui Zhu go?"

System: "Cui Zhu is just a minor character with little plot significance. It’s only mentioned that she delivered a letter to Chun Xing, and there’s no further mention after that."

Shen Zhinuo asked again: "Pup, didn’t you say that in the original plot, after Imperial Noble Consort Rong was demoted to the rank of concubine, she still went to the Old Emperor to offer soup and snacks to please him? Why haven’t we seen her take any action? I also want to know who that young consort with the floral forehead decoration is."

System: "In the original plot, Imperial Noble Consort Rong was demoted to the rank of concubine during the spring hunt, but now she has been demoted early. The butterfly effect has altered the course of events, which is to be expected."

Shen Zhinuo: "Alright then."

Shen Zhinuo thought for a moment and realized there wasn’t much else to ask, so she got up from Di Guihong's lap and took his hand: "Little General, I’m a bit hungry, let’s go home."

Di Guihong naturally agreed, jumping off the bench first and reaching out to lift the chubby little girl down. He held her chubby little hand and led her towards the Eastern Palace.

The children all stood up and followed. The Eighteenth Princess, recalling Consort Chen’s instructions, whispered to Shen Weiqing and the others: "I’m going to Consort Chen’s palace." The children nodded, waved goodbye, and went their separate ways.

When Shen Zhinuo and the others got back to the Eastern Palace, they found many people at home: the 11th Prince, the Ninth Princess, and her husband Cheng Yuan were all there.

The children stepped forward to greet them, and then Shen Zhinuo threw herself into the Crown Princess’s arms, her little head resting affectionately on her shoulder: "Mother, Nuo Er is hungry."

"Alright, Mother will take Nuo Er to eat," the Crown Princess quickly picked up the little girl and looked at the other children, asking if they wanted to join for a bite.

Shen Weiqing, Princess Wen’an, and Princess Huayue all shook their heads, saying they weren’t hungry. Only Di Guihong nodded, so the Crown Princess got up and took the two little ones out of the guest hall and back to the main hall to eat.

As soon as they left, Shen Weiqing immediately approached the Crown Prince: "Father, I have something to say."

Everyone, seeing the excitement in Shen Weiqing’s expression, knew it must be something A Tong had said. The Crown Prince nodded: "Go ahead."

The three children nodded in unison, speaking one after another, supplementing each other, and recounted the story of the Fuyao Hermit by the Fourth Prince’s side in detail.

After listening quietly, the Crown Prince looked at the 11th Prince and the Ninth Princess: "The spring hunt when Old Fourth was in the capital was three years ago, right? At that time, I was staying in the palace, not at the hunting grounds. Did any of you see the Fuyao Hermit?"

Hearing this, the Ninth Princess and Cheng Yuan instinctively glanced at each other.

The Ninth Princess’s cheeks turned slightly red, and she averted her gaze.

Cheng Yuan’s ears also warmed, and he glanced at the Ninth Princess a couple more times. Seeing his wife’s cheeks flushed, he lowered his eyes, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

At that time, the two had just gotten married, still in the honeymoon phase, sweet as honey, with eyes only for each other. The small woods on the mountain weren’t enough for the two of them to explore, let alone have the leisure to care about what happened in front of Imperial Noble Consort Rong’s tent. They had seen the Fourth Prince only a handful of times, let alone any attendants by his side.

Seeing them like this, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head.

Princess Huayue and Princess Wen'an sat side by side, observing the subtle exchanges between Ninth Princess and Cheng Yuan. The two young girls couldn't help but giggle, leaning their heads together to whisper.

Princess Wen'an: "Ninth Auntie is smiling so happily."

Princess Huayue: "And she's even blushing. Seeing Ninth Auntie like this, I can hardly imagine her moving those terrifying skeletons around and pretending to be crazy. What was she like in those days?"

Ninth Princess noticed the curious and teasing gazes of the two young girls and pretended to be angry, glaring at them, which only made the girls burst into laughter.

Shen Weiqing glanced at Ninth Princess and Cheng Yuan, then at his two younger sisters, before turning to his steadfastly seated 11th Imperial Uncle with a look of confusion. He asked curiously, "Imperial Uncle, what are Hui Er and Ning Er laughing about?"

The 11th Prince glanced at the two girls and replied indifferently, "I don't know."

Those two silly girls. The Crown Prince suppressed a laugh and turned to the 11th Prince. "Eleventh, did you see the person following Fourth Brother? What did that Fuyao Scholar look like?"

The 11th Prince: "I only noticed that Fourth Brother often had someone with him, but whether it was the Fuyao Scholar, I can't say for sure. I didn't pay much attention to his face."

The Crown Prince was both amused and exasperated. "Eleventh, you're in charge of the Nine Abyss Guard. You should work on your habit of being so indifferent. When you meet strangers, take a closer look."

The 11th Prince nodded. "I will remember your advice, Elder Brother, and will be more attentive in the future."

Though the 11th Prince's words were polite, his indifferent expression made it clear to the Crown Prince that he wasn't really listening. The Crown Prince shook his head helplessly.

Cheng Yuan glanced subtly at the 11th Prince, understanding him well.

According to the 11th Prince, in his eyes, everyone's faces looked almost the same, regardless of gender or age. He found it difficult to distinguish between them.

No one knew how he managed to remember different people, but it certainly wasn't easy. Therefore, he likely didn't bother to expend energy remembering those who were unimportant.

Although no one knew who that person was, based on the information A Tong had provided, the Fuyao Scholar, who had orchestrated the death of Imperial Noble Consort Rong, must have had ulterior motives for staying close to Fourth Brother.

Some even speculated that the person who suddenly killed Fourth Brother might very well be the Fuyao Scholar himself.

But why would he do that? What was his purpose?

The group discussed for a while longer, but since they knew nothing about the Fuyao Scholar, no matter how they analyzed it from different angles, they still couldn't figure it out. Eventually, they had to give up.

Seeing everyone looking troubled, Shen Weiqing proposed, "Since A Tong said that the nanny from Fourth Auntie's side will soon come to the capital to deliver something to Imperial Noble Consort Rong—oh, I mean, to Consort Rong—why don't we have that nanny brought before Nuo Er and let A Tong scan her? Then we'll know everything."

The Crown Prince patted his son's shoulder. "That's a good idea, but the situation is different now. With the bandits causing trouble in Qianzhou and your Eighth Uncle going to your Fourth Uncle's fief, these are events that didn't occur in the original plot. So, we don't know if your Fourth Auntie will still send someone to the capital."

Shen Weiqing nodded. "That's true."

---

In Consort Chen's palace, the Eighteenth Princess informed Consort Chen about Chun Xing. Consort Chen remained silent.

In the original plot, regardless of why Chun Xing had sent her that secret letter, it had helped her resolve years of confusion, find her enemy, and exact her revenge. For that, she was deeply grateful to Chun Xing.

After finishing her conversation with Consort Chen, the Eighteenth Princess, remembering she still needed to visit the small Buddhist hall, stood up to take her leave.

Consort Chen escorted the Eighteenth Princess to the door and said with a smile, "If your mother has some free time, bring her to my palace for a visit."

The Eighteenth Princess smiled, her tone slightly helpless. "To be honest, Consort Chen, my mother has been increasingly reluctant to go out lately."

Thinking of Noble Lady Jing, Consort Chen sighed softly and smiled. "Then I'll visit her at Luomei Pavilion another day."

The Eighteenth Princess smiled. "That would be wonderful. My mother would be delighted. Thank you, Consort Chen."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the Eighteenth Princess bid farewell to Consort Chen and headed to the small Buddhist hall. When she arrived, she found it empty—Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Princesses were all gone.

She slapped her forehead. "Oh no, I forgot. Today, my sisters were released from their confinement."

---

The Crown Princess arranged the food and then sat at the table, smiling as she watched the two children eat.

Shen Zhinuo held a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, enjoying her shrimp wontons.

Di Guihong sat beside the little girl, quietly eating his chicken noodle soup. While eating, he kept an eye on the little girl, brushing her bangs back when they fell over her eyes and wiping the soup from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, showing great care.

Over the past few days, Shen Zhinuo had grown accustomed to being taken care of by the Little General. At first, she would politely say, "Thank you, Little General," but now she had become so used to it that she no longer even bothered to smile politely.

Sometimes, when her sleeves got in the way, she would naturally reach out her little hand to him, and the Little General would immediately put down his bowl and chopsticks, quickly grabbing her hand and rolling up her sleeve.

Seeing Di Guihong taking such meticulous care of Shen Zhinuo, as if they had been living together for a long time, the Crown Princess couldn't help but chuckle. She reached out and patted the little boy's head, saying, "Hong is such a good older brother, already taking care of his little sister."

Shen Zhinuo nodded her little head, "The Little General is amazing, he can do everything."

The Crown Princess mimicked her chubby daughter's proud tone, "Really? What can our Little General do?"

Shen Zhinuo began to list them off one by one, "When Nuo Er gets tired from walking, the Little General massages her legs for her, and then they don't feel sore anymore."

"The Little General can also perform sword dances, do martial arts, somersault, and even use a staff. He knows how to use every weapon in our family's training ground."

The Crown Princess had already heard from the Crown Prince and Wei Yan and Wei Qing that Hong was a martial arts prodigy, but hearing it again from Nuo Er, she still acted surprised, "Our Little General is so amazing!"

Being praised non-stop by the mother and daughter, the little boy's fair and clean face turned bright red again, his thick, curly eyelashes fluttering slightly. His hand holding the chopsticks tried to pick up some noodles several times but failed.

Seeing the chubby girl blinking her big round eyes and continuing to praise him with the Crown Princess, he couldn't help but reach under the table and gently tug at the little girl's clothes, signaling her to stop.

The Crown Princess noticed the little boy's embarrassment and couldn't help but laugh. She reached out and gently pinched his cheek, "Is our Hong feeling shy?"

The little boy's face turned even redder.

Shen Zhinuo, seeing his red cheeks as if they were painted with rouge, found it amusing and imitated the Crown Princess, extending her chubby little hands to pinch both sides of the little boy's face, saying in a childish voice, "Hong is shy, huh?"

The little boy was stunned for a moment, then lowered his eyes and smiled silently.

The Crown Princess was amused by the two children and ruffled their hair, "Hurry up and eat, you can play after you finish."

While the Crown Princess and the children were enjoying a warm and lively meal, the Crown Prince and the others were solemnly analyzing the situation. As the sky outside gradually darkened, Princess Huayue, worried that her mother might be waiting anxiously for her, stood up to leave. She left the Eastern Palace and returned to Fengyi Palace.

Seeing Huayue return, Princess Lanzhen declined the Empress's invitation to stay for dinner and left the palace with her daughter, intending to return home to have dinner with her husband and son.

Back at the princess's residence, Princess Huayue, as usual, headed straight to her courtyard to find Xue Wan. However, as soon as she entered, she heard Qing Shuang say that Xue Wan had gone home.

Princess Huayue was startled and quickly asked, "Why did A Wan suddenly go back?"

Qing Shuang wet a towel and wiped her little princess's hands, "Madam Chen sent someone to call her back, saying there was something at home and she needed to go back."

Princess Huayue frowned, "Madam Chen?"

Qing Shuang, "Yes."

Madam Chen was A Wan's mother, and since she had called for A Wan, A Wan had no reason not to go back. Although she understood this, Princess Huayue was still unhappy. She snorted and asked, "Did she say what it was about? When did A Wan leave? Did she say when she would return?"

Qing Shuang, "She didn't say what it was about. Miss Wan left after lunch, didn't bring much with her, said she would go back to take a look, stay for one night, and return early tomorrow morning before you go to the palace. She also told me to tell you not to worry about her."

Princess Huayue thought for a moment and said, "That's true, A Wan's mother is always there. It's good for her to go back and spend some time with her mother."

With that thought, Princess Huayue stopped worrying. She changed into more comfortable clothes and went to the main courtyard to have dinner with her parents and brother, then returned to her own courtyard to rest.

The next morning, she and her mother were supposed to go to the palace as usual, but even though they left a little later than usual, Xue Wan had still not returned.

Princess Huayue knew that A Wan always kept her promises. If A Wan said she would return before Princess Huayue entered the palace today, she would definitely do so, unless something had happened to her.

As soon as this thought crossed her mind, her expression changed, and she decided not to go to the palace today but to visit the Xue family instead.

Before she could voice her plan, someone came in to report a message from the Xue family. Princess Huayue quickly allowed the messenger to enter.

The maidservant from the Xue residence entered, greeted respectfully, and then said, "Our young lady is indisposed and needs to rest at home for a couple of days. She won't be able to come over during this time. She was concerned you might worry, so she sent me to let you know."

Upon hearing this, a pang of worry struck Princess Huayue: "A Wan was fine yesterday. How could she suddenly feel unwell? Is she sick?"

The maidservant shook her head, avoiding eye contact: "I don't know."

Princess Lanzhen scrutinized the maidservant and asked, "Which courtyard do you serve in?"

The maidservant replied, "Your Highness, I serve in Jiang Yiniang's courtyard. I cannot stay out for long. I have delivered the message and must return now."

After saying this, she bowed and left.

Princess Huayue sat with a troubled look for a while, feeling more and more uneasy. She then sprang to her feet and started walking out: "Mother, I'm going to see A Wan."

Thinking of the treacherous Xue Laosan and his wife, Princess Lanzhen quickly grabbed her daughter: "Your elder brother is at home; let him go with you."