When Xiuzhu heard this, he glanced weakly at Lu Nianjin next to him, and said, "Prince, the slave can only tell you about this matter alone." ”

Xiao Xun was silent.

Lu Nianjin smiled knowingly and said, "Prince, then I'll go to the pharmacy first." With that, she turned and walked out.

Xiao Xun watched her leave until he couldn't see her figure, then his eyes fell on Xiuzhu's body again, and said, "Say it!" ”

Xiuzhu bit her lower lip, and her gaze at Xiao Xun suddenly became shy, and she didn't speak for a long time.

Xiao Xun has always had little patience with women other than Lu Nianjin, he frowned, and said coldly, "The crown princess has already avoided it, what conditions do you have?" ”

"No, no!"

"Then say!"

"Back to the prince's words," Xiuzhu raised her head, looked straight at Xiao Xun, and whispered, "What the slave wants to say is that the slave likes you, and when the slave and the maid first saw you, they already liked you deeply, the slave and the maid ......."

"Shut up!" When Xiao Xun heard that these were useless things, he immediately interrupted her impatiently and said, "That's what you want to tell this palace?" ”

"Yes......" Xiuzhu replied in a low voice.

Xiao Xun raised his hand, pointed out the door, and said, "Get out!" ”

"Prince......" Xiuzhu wanted to say something more, but Xiao Xun's eyes became sharper and sharper, looked at her coldly, and said, "Get out!" ”

Xiuzhu's eyes were red, she refused to go, and even wanted to step forward on her knees, hugging Xiao Xun's thighs, Xiao Xun was extremely disgusted by her sticky gaze, and when she was still half a step away from him, she suddenly raised her foot, kicked her chest fiercely, and shouted angrily, "Get out!" Don't let Hongu see you again! ”

"Prince!" Xiuzhu fell straight back, a trace of blood overflowed from the corner of her lips, looked at Xiao Xun, and said in despair, "The slave maid has served the prince in the National Teacher's Mansion for so many years, I didn't expect the prince to be so ruthless to the slave maid, what is the meaning of the slave maid alive, it is better to die in front of the prince today, so it can be regarded as having something to do with the prince......" When the words fell, she pulled off a silver hairpin on her head and stabbed it into her neck.

said that Lu Nianjin, she said that she was going to the pharmacy, but in fact she did not leave the dormitory, but hid behind the curtain outside to listen to the foothills.

Now that she heard Xiuzhu's painful cry of self-determination, she didn't dare to delay any longer, and rushed in directly, stepping forward to help Xiuzhu stop the bleeding, but Xiuzhu's eyes were full of resentment when she looked at her, until she completely closed her eyes.

"......" Lu Nianjin's hand was still on her carotid artery, but it was already beating at all.

"Jin'er, it's none of your business," Xiao Xun stepped out of bed, held Lu Nianjin's cold hand tightly, and said, "It's her own ghost, it's none of your business." ”

When Lu Nianjin heard this, she just didn't say anything, she looked at Xiuzhu's corpse in a daze, thinking about the last look she gave her, and said in a low voice, "I know that I don't blame me for this, but, but as long as I think of her last look, I don't know why, I just can't help but be sad." ”

"I'm here." Xiao Xun held her hand tighter, turned her head, and looked at her deeply, "Let's go out first, someone will deal with it here." ”

"Hmm." Lu Nianjin replied in a low voice, was dragged by Xiao Xun, and walked out step by step.

After leaving Luoshenyuan, Xiao Xun directly took Lu Nianjin to the main courtyard of the National Teacher's Mansion, which was the Yunjie Courtyard where he used to live.

The layout of the Cloud Ladder Courtyard is close to the overall layout of the National Teacher's Mansion, and there is hardly a single flower or plant in it, and some are just bushes that are about knee-high for children.

But at this time, Lu Nianjin didn't pay attention to these, she followed Xiao Xun straight into the bedroom.

The bedroom is also decorated in cool colors, with only one bed, one table, and two Duobao Pavilions, and the bedding on the bed is dark blue, close to ink.

"Let's stay here in the future!" Xiao Xun settled her down at the table and poured her another glass of water.

Lu Nianjin took the water cup, held it and nodded, "Thank you!" After a pause, she looked at Xiao Xun and said, "Your body is not good, go to bed and lie down!" I'm fine, just take a moment. ”

"I'll accompany you," Xiao Xun didn't go to bed, he sat down next to her, and told her about other things, it was when he was in the Tianshumen, telling fortunes.

"At that time, I just entered the Tiansuanmen, although I learned Zhou Yi, but I don't understand the world, I followed the brothers and nephews down the mountain to practice, set up a stall to tell fortunes, they calculated bad things, and said very obscurely, only I don't know the world, a man brought his fiancée to count the wedding day, I told him seriously, his wife will have two hearts in the future; An old housekeeper came to calculate the time of the feast for their master, and I told him seriously that their lord would not live to the day of the birthday banquet; There is also a woman who came to choose a house for her son to be engaged, and after I finished the calculation, I told her the truth, the house in the world, her son is afraid that he will not need it, and he has to count it as a yin house......"

"And then?" Lu Nianjin was really attracted by what he said, held his cheek with one hand, and asked with great interest, "Has your stall been smashed countless times, and then the business is deserted, and you live in a daze every day?" ”

Xiao Xun shook his head, "You only guessed half right." ”

"Oh?"

"At that time, my stall was indeed smashed every day, but after that, there was no business deserted, but completely no business, and the people in the city said that I was a disaster star, a demon, and they directly sued me in court and wanted to behead me."

"What's next?"

"Laichen went to see the prefect at night and showed the waist card of the Ouchi guard. The prefect was afraid of the status of the minister, so he had to let me go, but he did not allow me to enter the city again. ”

Lu Nianjin was slightly relieved to hear that he didn't suffer, and then laughed again, "I didn't expect you to have such fireworks back then." ”

Xiao Xun didn't make a sound, took a sip of the tea in front of him, looked at her and said, "Are you sleepy, do you want to go to bed and sleep for a while?" ”

Lu Nianjin shook his head, "I'm not sleepy, I still want to hear the prince talk about the Tiansuanmen." ”

"Otherwise, there is nothing to say, but when the dust settles on this side of the capital, I can take you back to Tiansuanmen. Tiansuan Gate is built on the Tianshan Mountain, there is snow all year round, there are six or seven months of snowfall, in addition to the cold spot, the scenery is extremely beautiful, there are large cedars there, perennial verdant, very tall and handsome. ”

"Okay!" Lu Nianjin smiled lightly, "I'll wait for the prince to take me." ”

"Hmm." Xiao Xun answered.

After a while, he said, "Why don't you sleep for a while?" ”

"I said, I'm not sleepy!" Lu Nianjin stared at Xiao Xun with deep eyes, and suddenly asked rhetorically, "Ah Xun, you can't hide something from me, right?" ”

"How so?" Xiao Xun smiled, "I just think you're too tired and want you to rest." ”

"Really?" Lu Nianjin didn't believe it, she lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then raised her head and said, "Don't you think there is another murderer behind Xiuzhu's death?" ”

Xiao Xun sighed, "Since you have already guessed, I won't hide it from you." I do suspect that there is something else hidden in Xiuzhu's death. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"The four of them were all sent by me before you came, although the four of them are all locals in the capital, but the location of their household registration is not together, do you think that if there is no other reason, the four of them will appear in the National Teacher's Mansion at the same time in one day?"

"Seems unlikely!"

"So, there must be an article after that."

Lu Nianjin understood, "The prince has always wanted to send me to sleep, is he trying to arrange someone to investigate this matter?" ”

Xiao Xun nodded, "Being able to reach out to the National Teacher's Mansion, this person's power should not be underestimated." ”

"It's true, but your body is not suitable to worry about these things, or I'd better come."

"No need," Xiao Xun waved his hand, "You have always been timid, or come to this palace, besides, this kind of thing, this palace just moves its mouth and gives a word or two, and you don't need to run errands in this palace, you can't be tired." You rest first, go out to the main palace, and come back soon. ”

"Then you should be careful all the way." Lu Nianjin stood up and sent him out.

Before Xiao Xun left, he told her to rest well, and then turned to leave.

He went straight to the study, and in the study, Laichen and Qingyi were already waiting.

When the two saw Xiao Xun coming in, they immediately bowed their hands.

Xiao Xun glanced at the ministers who hadn't been seen for a long time, and said, "You're back?" ”

The minister bowed his head, "If you go back to the prince, you just came back today." ”

"How many days do you want to rest and come back on an errand?"

"Thank you for the prince's kindness, but this is not moving, the subordinates are used to following the prince's side and doing things for the prince, and they have not followed the modulation in the past few months, and they really think about it."

Xiao Xun nodded, "There just happened to be one thing to be handed over to you." ”

"Prince, please speak!"

Xiao Xun first explained the abnormality of the four of Meilan Zhuju, and after finishing speaking, he looked at him and ordered, "This palace is not sure whether Luomei and Cunju have been bought, you take them and immediately go out of the house to Tianping Village, and assist Yuan Tong, the secretary of the Criminal Department, to find out the serial murder in Tianping Village!" It's best if the two of them are not bought, if they are sure to be bought, they will cut the grass and eradicate the roots! ”

"Yes, Prince!" Laichen agreed, and then asked again, "Does the prince have any other orders?" ”

"For the time being, this is the only one, you do it first!"

"Yes!" Laichen said and withdrew.

Xiao Xun watched him leave, then turned back to Qingyi, and said, "During this time, add thirty percent of the dead soldiers, and be sure to cover the entire National Teacher's Mansion with eyeliner, don't give people who have a heart to take advantage of it, do you understand?" ”

"My subordinates understand."

Xiao Xun snorted, and then asked after a while, "By the way, the person who was assassinated in the Wisteria Mansion last time, have you found out who the murderer is behind the scenes?" ”

"Back to the prince's words, those people were originally water bandits in Jiangnan, and the people in the torture room used a lot of means before they confessed, and it was the leader of the Tiger Guards who bought them."

"It's Tiger Guard again!" Xiao Xun's brows furrowed tightly, "It seems that Lu He's life is still too leisurely." ”

Qingyi was silent.

Xiao Xun remembered the news that Lu He had killed Mu Shi with his own hands, and turned his eyes to look at Qing Yiyi, "Find a way to send the news of Old Madam Lu's abnormal cause of death to Yilan Palace." ”

"Yes, Prince," Qingyi agreed, and withdrew.

Yilan Palace, not long after, Lu Guifei received the news from Qing Yi's life.

"What are you talking about?" She walked out from behind the quadrangular pavilion, walked three steps and two steps towards the handmaidens who were gossiping, and asked sharply, "What were you talking about?" ”

"The slave and the slave didn't say anything."

"Yes, the slave didn't say anything, the imperial concubine Mingjian!"

Naturally, several maidservants didn't dare to admit it, and they knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing.

"Bring them back to Yilan Palace!" Lu Guifei took a deep breath, looked at Aunt Wanhua behind her with a gloomy face, and said.

Aunt Wanhua took the order and glanced at the several eunuchs behind her, and the eunuchs immediately picked up the three palace maids and walked in the direction of Yilan Palace.

The main hall of Yilan Palace, the door of the palace is closed.

In the quiet and dull hall, Lu Guifei's face was iron-blue, and she stared at the three palace maids kneeling at her feet and said coldly, "Repeat what you just said in the garden!" If you don't want to die! ”

"......" The three palace maids looked at each other, and their bodies were already shaking into a sieve.

"Don't say it yet!" Lu Guifei couldn't wait for them to speak, and couldn't help but pat the low table hard.

The three palace maids were all timid, and immediately, the trembling was even worse, their bodies were pressed lower and lower, and after a long time, one of them finally spoke, "Hui, Hui Niangniang's words, the slaves and maids are not nonsense, but an old lady of the Shanggong Bureau said it herself after she was drunk, she said that there was a hand pinching mark on Mrs. Lu's neck, and the wound on her head did not look like she was hit by a rockery, but ......"

"And what?" Lu Guifei became more and more impatient.

The palace maid gritted her teeth and said, "Instead, it hit something sharp, such as a table corner......"

After Lu Guifei listened, her whole body fell backwards.

She remembered that her mother was with her father before the accident, and if she said that if there was really any secret to her mother's death, wouldn't her father be the biggest suspect?

Otherwise, why didn't he mention it? When she wanted to see her mother for the last time, her father also used clever words to stop her.

"Niangniang," Aunt Wanhua saw that Lu Guifei was deep in thought, and called her in a low voice, and looked at the three palace maids kneeling on the ground, the meaning was obvious, what should these three palace maids who chewed their tongues do?

"If this palace is not mistaken, they should be people from Concubine Jing's palace?" Lu Guifei glanced at a few people and suddenly asked.

Aunt Wanhua nodded, "The three of them are all second-class palace maids in Chonghua Palace. ”

"Send it to the Penal Division." Lu Guifei already knew the fate of Concubine Jing, and naturally she would not be soft on the people in her palace, and a cold sentence decided the life and death of the three of them.

The three of them listened to Lu Guifei's words, and immediately begged for mercy, lying there, kowtowing their heads, "Niangniang, Imperial Concubine Niangniang, please spare the slave and maid this time, as long as you spare the slaves and maids this time, the slave and maid are willing to do anything for you!"

"What can you do for me?" Lu Guifei sneered.

The three of them looked at each other again, and said in unison, "The slave is willing to be your spy in Chonghua Palace." ”

"Really?" Lu Guifei sneered and said, "But the palace doesn't need it anymore, come here, drag them down, and send them directly to the Shen Criminal Division!" ”

"Yes, sis!" Aunt Wanhua agreed and went out to call someone.

The three palace maids were quickly dragged down.

Aunt Wanhua returned to Concubine Lu Guifei's side, gently pinched her shoulders, and said, "In this matter, does Niangniang really believe in those three palace maids?" ”

Lu Guifei sighed with a heavy face, "This palace doesn't know. ”

"Then do you want to call that old lady from the Shanggong Bureau to ask?"

"You let Hongu think again." Lu Guifei still couldn't believe that her father would kill her mother.

She thought about this for a long time, and it wasn't until half an hour later that she opened her eyes and instructed Aunt Wanhua, "Find that old lady!" Remember, secretly, don't let anyone know. ”

"Yes, sis!" Aunt Wanhua agreed, "Then when it gets night, the slave will go over in person." ”

"Hmm." Lu Guifei agreed.

Night is coming soon.

After nightfall, Aunt Wanhua dressed in the clothes of an ordinary palace maid, went to the Shanggong Bureau in person, and quietly touched the old lady's room.

The old lady is old, and her body can't bear the work in the palace, so she has gone to bed and is ready to rest.

Therefore, when she saw Aunt Wanhua, she was a little stunned, and after a while, she recognized the person, poofed, rolled out of bed, knelt in front of Aunt Wanhua, and said, "You are, the Wanhua female official of Yilan Palace?" ”

Aunt Wanhua nodded lightly and said meaningfully, "Mama, our mother wants to see you, please come with me." ”

"The imperial concubine wants to see the slave?" The old lady looked shocked, she looked nervous, kept rubbing her hands, and said, "Then, that dare to ask the female officer, why is this?" ”

"Naturally, it's a good thing, Mama let's go!" With that, she turned and walked out.

The old lady lived in fear all her life, although she guessed something in her heart, but she didn't dare to disobey Lu Guifei's will, she followed behind Aunt Wanhua, and walked in the direction of Yilan Palace with a complicated heart.

In the Yilan Palace, Concubine Lu finally waited for Aunt Wanhua to bring her, she opened her eyes, and looked at the old lady with a little complexity and a little sharpness.

"Aunt Bao." She called out the old grandmother's name, and said in a long tone, "You have been in the palace for more than forty years, right?" ”

"Yes, it's forty-seven years, and I'm worried about it."

"Forty-seven years?" Lu Guifei glanced at her again, "I heard in this palace that you have always been a cautious person, never drinking, and never making mistakes. ”

"The mother praises, the old slave is ashamed and doesn't dare to be," Bao Mama's eyes were sneering, and her face was full of remorse. She already knew what the problem was, but it was too late to make up for it.

"Then why did you drink last night?" Sure enough, the next moment, Lu Guifei asked about the whole,

"Not only drinking, but also talking nonsense!"

"Niangniang, Niangniang......" Mama Bao was anxious, she wanted to justify,

But I don't know what to say, a face is purple and purple.

"There is no need to talk about the past, this palace only asks you now, are those words you said drunk true or false?"

"Those words, of course, are ......"

"Be careful what you say!" Mama Bao was about to speak, when Aunt Wanhua suddenly pressed her shoulder,

A word of mentions.

When Mama Bao was about to speak, she swallowed back from her throat all of a sudden, only to see her eyes looking at Concubine Lu with complicated eyes,

"Niangniang, the old slave doesn't understand now, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

Lu Guifei looked at her deeply, "What do you say?" ”

When Mama Bao heard this, she was full of excitement, and finally understood,

This matter is too complicated, this master is afraid that he doesn't understand what he wants to hear, so he exerted coercion on her in every way, but what does she have to say!

If you tell a lie, I'm afraid that you will be deceived and punished!

If you tell the truth, you will be killed again!

Alas, why did she drink last night, and who was it that replaced the tea in her room with spirits, and let her go down with a drink, and she was drunk and unconscious......

"Haven't you thought about it yet?" Seeing that Mama Bao just lowered her head, but did not speak,

Lu Gui couldn't help but open his mouth to urge.

Mama Bao looked at Lu Guifei, and under her deep eyes, she finally opened her mouth slightly, and said, "Back to Niangniang's words, what the slave said after she was drunk yesterday was all drunken and drunk, and it should not be true." ”

"Really?" Lu Guifei asked rhetorically, "Are you sure?" ”

"Slave is sure!" Mama Bao knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily, "The slave is sure, the mother is clear." ”

"Alright, then you can go back!" Lu Guifei glanced at her deeply, waved at her and said,

"Remember, be careful on the way back to the Shanggong Bureau, don't be discovered."

"Yes, sis!" Mama Bao agreed, and retreated on her knees.

Aunt Wanhua watched her leave, closed the door, walked to Lu Guifei's side, and said,

"Niangniang, are you going to care?"

"You want to care?" Lu Guifei looked at Aunt Wanhua, "Want to avenge your sister?" ”

When Aunt Wanhua heard her master ask, she hurriedly knelt on the ground,

said continuously, "The slave doesn't dare! ”

"Get up!" Lu Guifei bent down, personally helped Aunt Wanhua up, and said, "I know, you have not forgotten your sister for so many years. To tell the truth, if the person who forced your sister was someone else, no matter who I offended, I would avenge this great revenge for you.

Ke Wanhua, that person is my father, my father who has been told by my husband, my mother, and my grandparents since I can remember that I must be filial. ”

"I really have no way to avenge you, all I can do is take you into the palace,

Far away from the General's Mansion. ”

"Slaves and maids know this," Aunt Wanhua looked at Lu Guifei with tears in her eyes, and said, "Actually, over the years, slaves and maids have long seen it and don't want to take revenge.

The slave just wants to accompany the mother to live a plain and stable life. ”

"Good Wanhua, I know how good you are to me." Lu Guifei said, already choked up.

Aunt Wanhua gently patted her on the back and didn't say anything more.

A quarter of an hour later, Lu Guifei went to bed under her service, but she didn't fall asleep all night, she had nightmares all night, and the dream was full of pictures of her mother being strangled to death by her father.

When she woke up, her eyes were full of anger, and her eyelids trembled.

"Mother, didn't you sleep well last night?" Aunt Wanhua stepped forward and raised the curtain and asked with concern.

Lu Guifei nodded, "Last night, I had a nightmare in this palace and slept badly. ”