Chapter 31: Shu Fei

The gentle breeze brings warmth and sparkles.
A painting boat floated on the lake.
The servants of the palace are light and dexterous, lest they disturb the leisure of the nobles.
Two ladies in luxurious clothes are standing on the bow, enjoying the beautiful scenery of the water and the sky.
Concubine Zhuo Shu was 21 years old, she was born with a festive round face, and her facial features could only barely be said to be delicate. Standing next to the glamorous concubine empress, she looked even more bleak.
Yuan Luo talked casually, this was the first time she had come into contact with Concubine Zhuo Shu at such close range. She is also one of the four concubines. Concubine Shu is far behind her when it comes to power in the palace. Someone in the palace once satirized her by the echo worms around Queen Wei; but when it comes to fame, she is hard to beat her.
Concubine Zhuo Shu is a well-known filial daughter in the noble circle of Beijing. She has served her sick and weak grandmother for ten years. Even the marriage was delayed because of this. So after being hired into the palace, she was one of the four concubines. In terms of family background, the Zhuo family is actually only a middle-class family, not as good as Du Zhaoyi and the others.
"The imperial concubine is extremely true." She listened to Yuan Luo's words, nodding her head frequently, kind and respectful.
Only occasionally glanced over Yuan Luo's delicate and unparalleled face, revealing a hint of jealousy.
With such a unique beauty, who is not greedy.
In the rare good weather today, the imperial concubine invited her to visit Hanyue Lake. Concubine Zhuo Shu was surprised. It was not good for the two of them to have a personal relationship in the palace, but she couldn't refuse the invitation from the concubine.
I thought that after getting on the boat, the imperial concubine would try to win her. Unexpectedly, after half an hour, the imperial concubine only talked about boring topics such as weather clothes.
She gradually became impatient, wondering if she should find an excuse to leave.
Yuan Luo estimated that the time was almost up. Order the cruise ship to turn around.
If you overlook Hanyue Lake, it looks like a gourd as a whole, so it was dubbed Dahanyue and Xiaohanyue by palace officials.
All the way to the north, the mountain wall stands tall, and the middle channel is long and narrow, only a few feet wide. The cruise ship passed by and entered Xiaohanyue from Dahanyue.
Looking around, the small Hanyue Lake in the north is more exquisite than the Big Hanyue Lake, which is invisible at a glance. The gentle breeze provides warmth, and various lotus flowers bloom on the water. The palaces with green walls and gold tiles built on the mountain in the distance are exquisite and gorgeous.
Yuan Luo smiled and said: "The Shouxian Palace of Concubine Shu is indeed a residence for immortals, and she looks refreshed and full of immortality."
During the New Year’s Day, Concubine Shu ordered Shouxian Palace to draw hot spring water from the baths of the West Palace. Although the lotus pond outside Shouxian Palace was in cold winter, it was still in full bloom, and the plum blossom forest on the shore was also well-opened. I hosted a banquet here for the second time, inviting you concubines.
While talking, the cruise ship stopped on the shore.
Concubine Shu looked at her Shouxian Palace, and finally couldn't hold back her false smile, and asked: "What is the meaning of Empress?"
Now outside the Shouxian Palace, there was an extra team of guards, holding several roads to and fro. The original palace people were all driven to the side hall.
"Concubine Shu, please don't mind. I heard that there was a guard in the Shouxian Palace that was even rude, so I ordered someone to arrest it." Yuan Luo said flatly.
Concubine Zhuo Shu was frightened and furious: "If any guards offend Zichen Temple, I will send them over by myself, so why bother with such a big fanfare."
"Concubine Shu misunderstood, this guard did not offend Zichen Palace. It was Jieyu Li from Yuxiu Palace who came to Zichen Palace to file a complaint, saying that someone from the palace was rude to him and tried to kill him." Yuan Luo said slowly. "Send someone to investigate. The murderer who tried to kill Li Jieyu in the first place turned out to be the person next to Concubine Shu."
Concubine Zhuo Shu bit her lip, "If there is such a frenzied person, I would also be afraid to listen. I heard that Li Jieyu is low-key and clumsy. Because of her appearance, she never goes out of the palace, so how could she cause murder? ?"
Yuan Luo kept staring at Concubine Shu’s face, and said with a smile: "This... I feel that the murderer must be asked to find out."
"Speaking of which, Li Jieyu is an honest and low-key person. If the innocent loses his life, those who don't know are afraid that they will put their sins on the head of the palace again."
At the time of speaking, the hull trembled and docked.
When everyone got off the boat, the chief Cheng Wei greeted him and hurriedly drew in Yuan Luo's ear and whispered.
Yuan Luo gradually narrowed his eyes.
Lian Yanqiu sent someone to stare at the murderer and confirmed that he was on duty at the Shouxian Palace today. So Concubine Shu was invited out to swim in the lake, took the opportunity to lock the Shouxian Palace, and entered the search, but after searching for a long time, the person was not found.
Concubine Zhuo Shu found the clue from Yuan Luo’s expression, and said sincerely: "The empress is so fanciful, she must have found the guard who is a criminal offender, so she might as well drag it up and have a look. The concubine was also shocked, and she was in the Shouxian Palace. There are such frantic minions."
Yuan Luo glanced at her, "Concubine Shu, don't worry."
The two entered the Shouxian Palace with their attendants one after the other, the palace furnishings were luxurious and elegant, and the fragrance was rich.
Listening to the report from the beside him, Yuan Luo frowned and scanned the surrounding area.
The Shouxian Palace was built on the top of a hill, surrounded by water on both sides, and there was only one passage to and from the mountain. The murderer was sure to hide in the palace, but he was nowhere to be seen.
He looked over the open window and cast his eyes on the sparkling lake.
"Can you search the bottom?"
"Return to the mother, I have already sent someone to call the water and searched it." Cheng Wei replied.
Concubine Zhuo Shu finally couldn't hold her face any longer, and said angrily: "What is the meaning of the empress? Do I even deliberately hide the palace."
"Concubine Shu is worried. Such sinners act without scruples and frantic. If you don't find out as soon as possible, Concubine Shu is also in danger."
Not long afterwards, there was a commotion at the platform that entered the water outside the palace. Three people dressed in black and lacquered against the water floated up from the bottom of the water, carrying something that looked like a human figure and sent it ashore.
A dozen guards and eunuchs gathered around.
Far away, Yuan Luo couldn't see the details clearly, and muttered secretly, maybe she committed suicide by throwing water into the water, so the clue would not be broken again.
His eyes turned to Concubine Shu, but she saw her face pale and her body trembling slightly.
Yuan Luo ignored him and walked out of the temple, wanting to take a closer look at the results.
Lu Bingzhong, the deputy commander of Tianwuwei, who was directing the search, came out more and more, stopped her pace, kneeled and reported: "The body is dirty, for fear of disturbing the concubine."
Yuan Luo stopped, looked past, and quickly retracted, and asked, "Is it the target of the search?"
Li Jieyu's portrait of a murderer, Lu Bingzhong, has also seen him, and he immediately shook his head and said: "It's not the target. The corpse that was just retrieved has been soaked for more than a month. According to a rough judgment, it has been soaked for more than a month with incomplete bones. And..." Lu Bingzhong paused. , Lowered his voice, "According to the people who entered the water, there are still several bones under the water, waiting to be salvaged."
Yuan Luo was taken aback, there are other unlucky people in this lake? Before there was time to say anything, there was another uproar in front of him, as if verifying Lu Bingzhong's words, and two more guards dressed in waterside swimming came from the bottom of the lake, and the two of them were dragging a humanoid thing.
This one seemed to be more corrupt than the one just now. It was so white and black that Yuan Luo didn't dare to look at it again after only a glance.
"This place is filthy, so Niangniang should return to Zichen Hall and wait for the news." Lu Bingzhong suggested thoughtfully.
Yuan Luo shook his head and said, "This palace is in charge of the affairs of the Sixth House. This matter is related to the safety of the palace and should not be underestimated. Just wait here for news."
"Niang Niang is diligent in palace affairs, not afraid of hardships, she is indeed the sixth house example." Lu Bingzhong admired sincerely.
Yuan Luo was speechless, this is the legendary fan filter.
No longer persuading Yuan Luo to return, Lu Bingzhong thoughtfully ordered the palace man to raise the curtain, lest the unclean picture and smell offend the nobleman.
With a thick layer of fabric, Yuan Luo also felt relieved. Turning her head to look at the side, Zhuo Shufei's face was pale, her head hung down without speaking.
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"How can so many people die in a decent way? Has there been a slave in the palace missing for no reason in the past few months?" Yuan Luo asked.
Cheng Wei quickly replied: "I haven't heard the report in recent months."
People are often dead in the palace, especially the low-ranking little palace ladies and little eunuchs, but they all need to have a place, and they are never allowed to disappear out of thin air for no reason.
As I continued to wait, there was a commotion at the main entrance of Shouxian Palace.
Accompanied by the who led the way with a loud voice: "The queen is here!" Empress Wei's figure appeared by the door and hurried into the hall.
Yuan Luo was surprised, and stood up to greet him: "Why did the empress come here?"
Queen Wei scanned the hall with a torch, then stared at Yuan Luo: "I heard that the imperial concubine sent troops to besiege the Shouxian Palace of Concubine Shu, and thought that something major had happened, so she came over to persuade her."
Send troops to besiege...You have read a lot of books recently, right? Yuan Luo was speechless.
"I ordered people to search the Shouxian Palace because it is very likely that there are gangsters hiding in the Shufei Palace who are frantically endangering the concubine."
"Oh, this palace thought that all the bad guys in this palace who would be frantic and endanger the concubine..." Queen Wei's tone deliberately prolonged.
Yuan Luo's eyebrows twitched, what does this girl mean, although most of the concubines who had been twitched before were her masterpieces in the Zichen Palace.
Queen Wei completely ignored Yuan Luo's dissatisfaction and went straight to Concubine Zhuo Shu.
"How does Concubine Shu feel? Ah, why did you become like this? Could it be..." Empress Wei cast her accusing eyes on Yuan Luo.
In a short period of time, Consort Zhuo Shu's round face was bloodless and pale, as if she was about to faint in the next moment. Queen Wei strongly suspected that Yuan Luo had tortured her.
Since Concubine Shu entered the palace, she has regarded her as the head of her horse. The Zhuo family is also a member of their Wei family. Empress Wei held her wrist tenderly and said softly: "Concubine Shu, don’t panic, this palace knows you have always been respectful and polite, what happened. Let me talk to my palace first."
With comforting effort, she did not forget to wink at the little palace lady beside her. The maid of the court knew immediately and sneaked out to find reinforcements.
Yuan Luo looked at him coldly, and did not stop at all. She roughly knows who Queen Wei will find, and she just needs to call someone over.
The heat from her palm made Concubine Zhuo Shu tremble, and she finally woke up, her eyes fell on Empress Wei's face, as if she had seen the backbone.
"Niang, empress, you have to be the master of your concubine!" Zhuo Shu's voice trembled, and she was extremely angry. "Just now the imperial concubine said that someone in my palace offended the empress, she brought her concubine to Shouxian Palace. then……"
Queen Wei frowned: "The imperial concubine is too much. How the person from the Shouxian Palace offended Zichen Palace, the imperial concubine might as well talk about it."
Yuan Luo said calmly: "First of all, let me correct a little bit. Concubine Shu’s person did not offend this palace, but the Jieyu Li family of Yuxiu Palace who came to Zichen Palace to accuse someone of the palace for being rude and trying to kill him. ."
Queen Wei thought for a long time, only to remember that Li Jieyu was the hapless person who was disfigured as soon as he entered the palace, and she was full of disdain: "Even if a slave is committed, the imperial concubine does not have to be so fanatical."
Yuan Luo continued: "Because of the ruined appearance, Li Jieyu never went out during the day. She only went to the woods behind Yuxiu Palace to relax at night. A few months ago, it was the first snow of this winter. She entered the forest to relax and heard a noise. I went to check and saw a sensational scene..."
Queen Wei reacted with a look of horror on her face: "You mean she saw Liu Cairen who had an accident?"
Yuan Luo nodded: "Li Jieyu has nothing to do with the world, but he has brought a murderous disaster. I am afraid it is because of this incident."
In fact, what she said was only speculation. After learning that the assassin of "Li Jieyu" was the guard of the Shouxian Palace, she immediately re-interrogated the maids around Li Jieyu and brought Li Jieyu into the palace. The details are exhaustive, and I said it all. One small detail stands out. On the night when Liu Cairen was raped, Li Jieyu also went for a walk in the plum blossom forest, and then ran back to Yuxiu Palace with a panic expression. In the following months, he completely changed the habit of going out for a walk at night.
Since the King of the East Sea did not send anyone to assassinate Li Jieyu and kill him, the origin of the assassin Yuan Luo encountered that day is intriguing.
Queen Wei never imagined that today's incident was related to Liu Cairen's case. After taking a look at Concubine Zhuo Shu, he hesitated and asked, "Did anyone catch it?"
"Not yet, but the guards fished out interesting things from the water." Yuan Luo puffed out at the back door of the hall.
Empress Wei had long seen the thick curtain surrounding the vast white stone platform behind the palace, full of curiosity.
"What's interesting?" She walked quickly over and lifted the curtain.
It was too late for Yuan Luo to stop, and watched Empress Wei probe past, and then his whole body froze.
She rushed over and saw Queen Wei's Ming Jing's big eyes roll up and fall backward.
The female officials around them screamed again and again and hurriedly helped others, but a figure was faster than them, and rushed up, slamming and catching the falling figure of Queen Wei.
It was Jin Wuwei who had just arrived, commander Wei Xi, and shouted angrily at the back: "How do you serve the empress?"
Several female officials hurriedly picked up the unconscious Queen Wei and carried them into the hall.
The curtain fell again, Yuan Luo looked over from the gap and couldn't help shivering, resisting the urge to vomit, and quickly turned her head back.
In a moment of effort, more and more corpses were recovered.
Lu Bingzhong sent someone to conduct a simple identification and went to the hall to report the details.
There are six corpses in total. The earliest dead have become bones and have been soaked in water for at least half a year, while the latest two are still short and still have muscles. From the bone width, it can be seen that they should all be adult men. His head and feet are tied with huge rocks, which should have sunk into the water after being killed. Moreover, the most important thing is that the two relatively new corpses have been identified and are both complete men, which means they are not eunuchs.
The man in the palace has that stuff, except for the imperial doctor, it is the guard.
"I checked before my humble position, and there have been no missing persons in the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Hospital for nearly a year." Lu Bingzhong said decisively. He has always been meticulous, and after finding that the two corpses had the stuff, he immediately sent someone to check the news.
Yuan Luo turned to look at Concubine Zhuo Shu: "Concubine Shu has anything to say?"
Consort Zhuo Shu trembled and her face was pale, but slowly, her back became extra straight.
She glared at Yuan Luo: "What does the imperial concubine empress mean, do you suspect that this palace has murdered these people?"
"Since entering the palace, no one inside or outside the palace knows that I have always been good to others, but you, the empress, often blame the slave and concubine. The concubine has never offended the empress since entering the palace, why did you set up such a situation and ruin my Qing reputation."
Yuan Luo didn't say anything. Lu Bingzhong couldn't help it next to him. He shouted angrily: "Shu Fei, please be careful."
Concubine Zhuo Shu looked at his young heroic face, her eyes flashed hostility: "I have long heard that the imperial concubine empresses are frivolous, every time they accompany driving, they sing songs every night, and often call for the men and women in the palace to indulge in lewdness. The number of people. And before, I was obsessed with a beautifully born luthier. I heard that the luthier has disappeared recently, and maybe he has become a dry bone at the bottom of the lake." As she said that, Zhuo Shufei showed grief and indignation on her face, as if she was herself. All believe this kind of discourse.
Yuan Luo was so upset by him that he actually hinted in his words that he killed these people and deliberately planted them on her.
This ability to reverse black and white is also considered great. She sneered: "I only heard that Concubine Shu is pure filial piety, and the most virtuous, but I never thought that such a wild cat would have sharp teeth."
As soon as Wei Xi returned from the partial hall to set up Queen Wei, she heard these words when she entered the door, and looked at Yuan Luo with a little complicated expression.
Since this woman broke the jar, she broke her face with herself. Yuan Luo also had no scruples, and called the two female officials of Shangyi Bureau behind him, and said in a cold voice: "Immediately take Concubine Shu into the sleeping hall for a medical examination."
The two female officials with cold expressions immediately stepped forward: "Lady Shu, please."
Concubine Zhuo Shu shrieked like being struck by lightning, "I'm not going!"
She struggled to run out, but a pampered concubine, nowhere comparable to a maid in the palace with a big waist, was immediately dragged to the apse by three or four people.
There were screams at first, and soon he was gagged.
After a while, the female officer came out and knelt down and said: "The imperial concubine, Concubine Shu is not the perfect body." She paused, leaning close to Yuan Luo's ear, and lowered her voice. Had a miscarriage."
Yuan Luo blinked. Consort Zhuo Shu was really a treasure girl, and there were so many secrets.