“What you said is indeed polite. But if it was really to avoid suspicion, Consort He could have stayed at Prince Yan’s residence instead. Saying it this way only makes things more suspicious.”
Some fragmented thoughts seemed to connect in my mind, yet they remained disjointed and unclear. I had a feeling that the reason Prince Yanmin framed Princess Zhu lay with Consort He. But what was the motive? What kind of pretext would drive a husband to betray his wife?
"Ruyan, since you are still in Yuhang, you should naturally go to pay your respects to the Imperial Concubine every day. The Qiantang River tide is probably coming soon, and she will return to the palace after watching it."
"Yes, you're right. Let's go back to Prince Yan's residence."
My original intention was not to return to Prince Yan's residence, but Lan Chengyu already knew where I was staying at the inn, and probably felt it was safer to go there. That man was like a madman; it was best for me to avoid him. So I simply went upstairs to pack my clothes and followed Dugu Leng back to Prince Yan's residence. Prince Yan Min was not in the residence, so I went to pay my respects to Consort He. She was lying on the couch, her face, which had not seen the light of day, showing a transparent pale white.
She waved her hand and laughed, "Alright, the other day I even sent a maid to invite you to chat with me, but she said you and Dugu Leng had a falling out and you left the palace. I knew it! Couples quarrel in bed and make up in bed, what hurdle can't they overcome? We women should keep to our proper place. Besides, Dugu Leng is such a handsome man, others have probably been eyeing him for a long time. Are you really going to just give him away like that?"
"Your Majesty is right. It was Ruyan who acted impulsively without thinking things through. Your Majesty's face is so pale; did you catch a cold last night?"
Consort He, supported by her maid, rose to her feet, seemingly exhausted, each step feeling weak and feeble. She stretched languidly, walking to the blue lotus screen and gently inhaling the purplish-blue petals. "Who knows? The imperial physician has come to see her, only instructing the cook to prepare black-boned chicken soup, saying she's probably been too tired these past few days." Consort He paused, then added, "By the way, how's the investigation into Yingchun's case going?"
"Your Majesty, the investigation is almost complete; all that's left is to find the murderer."
"Oh? Tell me quickly."
"That Yingchun girl is just a steward at Jinxiu Yuanyangfang. She has a master behind her. That mysterious person embroidered the blue lotus, but he just doesn't show his face."
"Ah. Why is that?"
"It's not clear yet."
"Then investigate as soon as possible." Consort He's slender fingers traced across the screen, and she sighed with regret, "Such a beautiful blue lotus, it would be such a pity if it became a top-quality specimen."
I quickly left Consort He's Lotus Fragrance Garden and went to Cold Bamboo Courtyard. This courtyard was indeed desolate, overgrown with weeds everywhere. Consort Zhu didn't seem to mind, and sat down at the stone table with her long hair loose, drinking tea. She wasn't annoyed when she saw me, as if she hadn't seen me at all, and just stared at the overgrown weeds in the courtyard.
That strong, coarse tea was probably made without any special care; it must have been so bitter that it was hard to swallow, but that suited her mood at the moment.
Xi'er brought out some snacks from the room. She was taken aback when she saw me and exclaimed, "Miss Ruyan, what brings you here?"
"Xi'er, why aren't you combing Her Majesty's hair?"
"The Empress said that the Prince will not come to this courtyard, so no matter how beautifully she styles her hair, no one will see it."
"Yes, I've already spoken to the kitchen. If they mistreat you, they won't let them off the hook. Don't worry, you won't be staying here for long."
Xi'er's eyes darkened instantly, and she knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down her face like broken beads. She said, "Miss Ruyan, you must save our Lady! I still can't understand why Meixiang died after drinking the bird's nest soup I made for you that day, which was clearly not poisonous. Although I was trying to protect you from the Lady, I would never have the slightest intention to harm you. Please believe me, Lady."
Princess Zhu remained as if she hadn't heard anything, her eyes as empty as a clear sky, filled with boundless sorrow and loneliness, which was heartbreaking to see.
I sighed and said, "Good Xi'er, get up quickly. If you're willing, tell me the whole story slowly from the beginning. If Princess Zhu is really wronged, then Mei Xiang's good days are over."
“That day, the bird's nest I stewed was taken away by Meixiang. I was thinking of just making another bowl for the young lady. So, as I was about to head to the kitchen from the small courtyard, the Prince stopped me and said that two old friends of his had come and asked me to personally invite Miss Meixiang from Jinhong Courtyard. Naturally, I dared not neglect the Prince's orders, so I went to Jinhong Courtyard. I called for a long time outside Miss Meixiang's door, but no one answered. I was about to leave when I found the door ajar. As soon as I entered, I was terrified and almost screamed. Miss Meixiang was lying on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and the half-eaten bowl of bird's nest was smashed on the ground. I was very scared. I had stewed that bowl of bird's nest. If the matter were investigated, people would surely think that I had poisoned it, and I would never be able to clear my name. So I went to tell the Empress. The Empress said that there were many things to do in the mansion recently, and this matter might cause panic. So she asked me to spread the word that she had stolen something and run away. And I secretly transported her body out of the city and buried it at night.”
Xi'er was still shaken as she spoke, so I patted her back reassuringly and said, "Tell me slowly, don't rush, and don't omit any details."
"Yes, that night it wasn't like Meixiang said. She just fainted and woke up after vomiting poison halfway through the journey. We thought she was dead, so we dug a pit in the desolate wilderness to bury her. Just after the sedan chair carriers finished digging the pit, we suddenly heard wolves howling from behind."
"Wolf howls? Wolves live in the mountains, why would they be in the middle of nowhere? Are you sure it's a wolf?"
"Yes, it was the howling of wolves. One of the sedan chair carriers was a hunter from the Taihang Mountains. His legs went weak as soon as he heard the sound. He said that the wolves in the nearby mountains probably couldn't find food, so they came down the mountain at night to look for food. When I heard that, I thought, firstly, it would be too dangerous to encounter a pack of wolves if we didn't leave now. Secondly, wouldn't it be better if Meixiang's body was eaten by wolves? So I said that she encountered a pack of wolves while escaping from the mansion and was chewed up until there was no bone left. Then I heard the wolf howling getting clearer and clearer, so I hurriedly left. When I returned to the mansion, I didn't dare to tell the Empress the truth. I just said that she had been buried. Our Empress is very thoughtful, and I was afraid that she would worry, so I told her a lie."
"I see." I nodded knowingly, then asked, "Did anything strange happen when Your Highness went out to look for Miss Yingchun that night?"
“Strange thing? I wonder if it’s strange that Yingchun is covered up from head to toe?” Xi’er said uncertainly. “I heard the Empress say that, and after she returned to the manor, she seemed to have seen someone she shouldn’t have seen at Chewan Lake.”
"Who? Someone Her Highness the Princess knows?"
“No, it’s someone who died a long time ago, the Lanlian Lady who used to live in Wangchuan Temple. She committed suicide by throwing herself into Chewan Lake. Every April, around the anniversary of her death, a few people would hear a woman crying from Chewan Lake.” Xi’er paused, then lowered her voice mysteriously, “You know Wangchuan Temple, right? It’s right next to Lengzhu Temple. The other night, I heard crying in my room, so I put on my clothes and went out. The crying was coming from Wangchuan Temple, it was really creepy. Wangchuan Temple is locked all year round and no one goes near it. I heard that someone climbed over the wall and saw that the courtyard was as clean as the place where Lanlian Lady lived when she was alive. Isn’t that a ghost story?”
"Is it a woman crying too?"
Xi'er shook her head and said, "It's not a woman crying, it's a man."
2
Lady Lanlian was a taboo in the mansion.
It's likely that every seemingly glamorous family harbors one or two hidden secrets, using outward appearances to conceal deep-seated decay. She committed suicide by drowning sixteen years ago, and the maids who saw her have either left the manor to marry or remained as servants. Very few people know what happened back then.
Lady Lanlian was originally just an ordinary lotus-picking girl. Her family owned a lotus pond, and she earned a living by selling lotus roots and seeds. In winter, when the lake froze over, she would catch loaches on the lakeshore with a small shovel. When the old prince met Lady Lanlian, he was just over thirty years old and probably thought it was too cliché to tell others, having heard similar stories too many times. It was nothing more than a story of love at first sight between a man and a woman. The old prince, who was also Yan Min's father, Prince Jin, took her as a concubine without the consent of his principal wife, Princess Yun.
What happened after that is unknown. All that is known is that Princess Yun made things difficult for Lady Lian at every turn. Servants witnessed Lady Lian being slapped several times when the prince was not in the mansion. She never complained or got angry, and always had a smiling face, as if she had nothing on her mind.
This gentle and cheerful woman suddenly committed suicide by drowning herself in the lake sixteen years ago. Some say that Lady Lian could not bear the abuse, while others say that she was thrown into the lake and drowned by Princess Yun.
But these are all just rumors.
Six months after Lady Lian's death, Princess Yun hanged herself in her room. Her personal maid said that the princess had nightmares every day, dreaming that Lady Lian came to her, soaking wet. "He who has done no wrong has nothing to fear at night." After Princess Yun's death, the cause of Lady Lian's death became even more mysterious.
Prince Yan Min couldn't help but sigh as he spoke. He was only thirteen when Madam Lian died, and only had a vague memory of her. He remembered her as an extremely gentle and beautiful woman with exceptionally gentle hands. At this point, he felt a little strange: "Ruyan, have you heard about the haunting of Chewan Lake? Don't worry about it; it's just idle gossip made up by the servants when they're bored."
I frowned and said in surprise, "That's strange. That night when I passed by Wangchuan Temple, I heard someone crying inside."
Prince Yan Min's face turned cold as he said, "So the rumors of it being haunted were true?"
I covered my mouth and pretended to be frightened, saying, "Your Highness, the lock on that courtyard hasn't been opened for over ten years. Who would run to a deserted courtyard to cry? Perhaps Madam Lian died unjustly and that's why she refuses to leave."
"Let's hold a religious ceremony."
"Heh, Your Highness, you actually believed that. Ghosts in this world don't cause trouble; those who stir up trouble are probably living people."
"You mean that ghost was someone in disguise?"
"How about we go to Wangchuan Temple to catch a ghost tonight?" I raised my index finger in a shushing gesture. "However, only the two of us should know about this. Don't disturb anyone else, otherwise, the ghost might not take the bait."
"Since Miss is in such a good mood, I will certainly accompany her."
The pavilion was filled with a stifling heat at midday. We'd almost finished the incense cakes and tea. Night White Girl, her toes barely touching the ground in the sun, moved with the grace of a willow branch swaying in the breeze. My gaze met hers repeatedly, then parted again. Her eyes seemed filled with a deep, melancholic sorrow that sent a chill down my spine.
3
The lock on the Wangchuan Courtyard was knocked open by the attendant, and a maid led the way with a lantern. The gate seemed to awaken eerily from a thousand-year slumber. The creaking, groaning sound was particularly eerie in the pitch-black night. The dust on the gate choked the air, causing one to cough. The attendant said somewhat timidly, "Your Highness, this house is probably abandoned. Perhaps we could clean it up tomorrow before you come back. There's nothing to see on this dark and windy night."
Before the attendant could finish speaking, the maid carrying the lantern in front exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness, Miss, this courtyard..."
"How come this courtyard is so clean?" Prince Yanmin was also startled, and then said, "No wonder Ruyan said she was coming to catch ghosts, it seems this courtyard is indeed something special."
The maid and attendants were so frightened that they dared not take a single step forward. I simply picked up the lantern and said, "Alright, you two just stay at the door and don't go in." They were more than happy to agree, and after saying "Be careful," they slipped outside the gate. Prince Yanmin and I exchanged a helpless glance, and then walked towards the main hall.
A flash of firelight illuminated the room, casting a clear silhouette on the window. It was a woman with long, flowing hair, seemingly combing it slowly with a peach wood comb. Even though I was somewhat prepared, I was still taken aback. Prince Yanmin, his face pale, walked forward without a word and flung open the door with a "whoosh."
I could hardly believe my eyes; I thought I had stumbled into a world of blue lotuses. Everywhere I looked, there were embroidered blue lotuses, even the woman combing her hair with her back to us was wearing a robe embroidered with blue lotuses. The wind was blowing in from outside the door, and the candlelight was flickering erratically.
"You've finally arrived."
"Miss Ye Bai, you waited here so specially, how could I not come?"
The girl in white slowly turned around, a captivating and radiant smile on her face. She said, "How do you want to die?"
Prince Yanmin stared at her in surprise: "Who are you? What is your relationship with Madam Lian?"
The young lady, Ye Bai, ignored us and simply turned the candlestick on the table. The screen opened with a click, revealing a small secret room inside. Consort He was bound inside, only her two terrified eyes visible. She said, "Your lives for hers, how about it? It's a good deal."
"Who exactly are you? What do you want?" Cold sweat began to bead on Prince Yan Min's forehead. He was about to rush forward when I stopped him. I secretly gave him a wink, but then I heard Ye Bai chuckle: "Miss Ru Yan, save your breath. If you fall into my hands, you'll just be prisoners and won't be able to get out of this door to call for help."
Prince Yan Min knelt on the ground with a thud, as if he were enduring immense pain. Ye Bai clicked his tongue twice and said, "I already applied the bone-softening powder outside the door."
This calmed me down. I held the hidden weapon in my hand and said, "You just want me dead. Let them go."
"Are you really confused, or are you just pretending? I will take your life, but this pair of adulterers must also die. If I'm not mistaken, you now know the whole story, but one of them is a prince and the other is the emperor's woman. If this isn't handled properly, it could cause even bigger trouble."
I nodded and said, "You're right, I already know the whole story."
"Oh? Then tell me about it. I only heard it from someone else, but I didn't expect it to be true."
"Are you kidding me?"
“You tricked Princess Zhu in the same way, I’m just imitating you.” Ye Bai brought the wine to his lips and said, “I advise you not to move. Look at your feet. That silk thread is connected to the secret chamber. If you move the thread, it will activate the secret chamber’s mechanism, and that woman will be poisoned inside.”
Upon closer inspection, I saw that there was indeed an extremely thin silk thread wrapped around her ankle. Consort He was terrified and pleaded, "Yan Min, please save me!"
Prince Yanmin tried to sit up, but it was all in vain. He called out weakly, "Red Fish, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I will definitely find a way to save you."
Ye Bai wiped his eyes with his sleeve and said, "That's really touching. The love between you two is truly moving."
Prince Yan Min blushed with excitement, and I laughed out loud while looking at Ye Bai's face. She frowned slightly and asked, somewhat displeased, "What's so funny?"
"I'm laughing. It's so touching that a man would give up the woman he loves for his own future." I clapped my hands and said, "What's even more touching is that this man still can't forget his old feelings and regrets his decision. So he and this woman came up with a brilliant plan so that the two of them could fly together from now on."
"Ruyan, you..." Prince Yanmin looked at me in surprise, "How did you know?"
"Let's start with the blue lotus screen from Consort He's family entering the mansion. Consort He deliberately wanted Master He to move from his home to Prince Yan's mansion because the screen was very special, embroidered by a famous embroiderer in the city. Before it entered the mansion, Prince Yan went to the Embroidery Shop and gave Miss Yingchun a large sum of money, instructing her to buy the finest silk to embroider a blue lotus screen. Although Miss Yingchun had some refined taste, she was, after all, a merchant, and also greedy for money. Prince Yan, on the other hand, hid the blue lotus screen and then privately told Princess Zhu that the screen's mysterious disappearance might offend Consort He. Princess Zhu, of course, obeyed her husband's words without question, so she took the design to the Embroidery Shop. However, Princess Zhu did not know that this was a trap, nor did Miss Yingchun know that the moment she handed over the completed embroidery would be her death day." I glanced at Prince Yan with a charming smile and asked, "Am I right?"
Ye Bai's astonishment was no less than that of Prince Yan Min, and he sneered, "What a vicious prince."
“Prince Yan Min naturally went to the Brocade Mandarin Duck Workshop to kill Miss Yingchun, killing her with a single blow to the throat. However, he did not know that this Yingchun was just a decoy, and the real skillful embroiderer was someone else.”
"Someone else?" Prince Yanmin and Consort He exchanged a glance, then said in surprise, "That's impossible. That blue lotus embroidered screen was a gift from Miss Yingchun a few years ago. If the embroiderer is someone else, then who is she?"
I reassured him with my eyes not to rush. Ye Bai sat at the table leisurely drinking tea, her seductive aura gone, and she indeed looked wise and intelligent.
“I think Prince Yan Min had no reason to tear Yingchun to pieces. He left after killing her. At that moment, the real embroiderer appeared. She knew that the experienced coroner from the yamen would discover Yingchun's secret when examining the body. That is, she had never held a needle and thread before, and her fingers were delicate and white, which is why she never did embroidery in front of other embroiderers. But cutting off just her hands would be too obvious, so she cut the woman into several pieces.” I chuckled. “It's just that this person was too clever and gave herself away. How could an ordinary person notice so many details? This is called being too clever for one's own good.”
"You..." Miss Ye Bai said disdainfully, "Didn't that also give you a lot of headaches?"
"Yes, if it weren't for the fact that Miss Ye Bai always wrapped her fingers with fine silk when she danced, I probably wouldn't have guessed that the embroiderer with superb skills was you. Moreover, you didn't love Dugu Leng, but you tried every means to seduce him, which eventually caused us to break up and forced me to leave Prince Yan's mansion. That was your purpose. I just don't understand why you did this. If you find me an eyesore, you can find a way to kill me."
"Do you think I don't want to kill you?" Ye Bai's bewitching green eyes concealed a suppressed resentment. "Tonight is your death day."
“You did want to kill me, but you couldn’t. Because someone didn’t want me to die.” I sighed and said, “It’s a pity that Prince Yanmin, so wise throughout his life, stumbled because of a woman. The bird’s nest soup that Xi’er stewed that day wasn’t poisoned; he was just using Meixiang as a pawn. You must have used Meixiang’s delusions of becoming a phoenix to deceive her. With Princess Zhu dead, she would become the princess. So Meixiang took the fake death medicine, and Prince Yanmin sent Xi’er to Jin Hong Courtyard to ask Meixiang to dance for the guests. When Xi’er saw Meixiang, fearing trouble, she went to discuss it with Princess Zhu. Prince Yanmin really knew this woman too well; everything went according to his plan. He hired a vocal artist to imitate a wolf’s howl to scare away the cowards and rescue Meixiang for later use. Your Highness, am I right?”
Prince Yanmin nodded approvingly: "Ruyan, I thought you had done it perfectly, but you are too clever."
"It's not that I'm too smart, it's that you're all too presumptuous. There's usually only one truth. After removing all the unreasonable things, what remains is the most reasonable truth. First of all, if you have a guest asking Meixiang to dance, you would definitely accompany the guest and have your maid call her. There's no need to leave your seat to find Xier to call her. The pavilion where you entertain your guests is very close to Jin Hong Courtyard, but it's quite far from Chewan Lake. It's unreasonable for you to go the long way around like this."
The girl in the night agreed, saying, "That is indeed unreasonable."
I turned to look at her: "I think Miss Ye Bai must know the reason why the Prince did this, right? I think you must know the situation better than I do."
Ye Bai couldn't help but laugh: "These two really think their affair is perfectly hidden. Unfortunately, a few years ago, before He Hongyu even entered the palace, she and Prince Yanmin made a solemn vow of love. However, when the Emperor came to Yuhang to visit, Prince Yanmin accompanied him the whole time. Once, when He Hongyu came to see Prince Yanmin, she bumped into the Emperor. Upon seeing him, she was immediately struck by his beauty."
Consort He said with a bitter smile, "But at that time, the Emperor had already bestowed a marriage upon Yan Min, and he did not know that we had already secretly pledged our lives to each other. However, the Emperor's decree could not be disobeyed, so we had no choice but to separate the lovers."
"You resent Prince Yan Min, don't you?" I said.
"What?" Consort He exclaimed in surprise, "Why do you say that?"
"If Prince Yan Min had explained the situation back then, the Emperor might have agreed. But serving the emperor is like walking on thin ice; doing so might have incurred his wrath. Yan Min was unwilling to take the risk and easily handed you over to someone else. You must have harbored resentment, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have stayed at the Prince's residence during your visit home and then tried to frame Prince Yan Min for injustice."