Overnight, Yu Zixi had actually managed to find Granny Gao's weak point for her and even personally brought her to the Ministry of Punishment's prison to persuade Granny Gao to surrender.
Her Zixi was really so cool!
As there were still many trivial matters in the palace, Wei Dongling didn't stay outside for long. After having a meal, she rushed back to the palace in a hurry.
As soon as she stepped into the gate of Yaoguang Pavilion, she saw a steward aunt scolding a maid loudly in a corner of the yard. From time to time, she would also give the maid a few hard slaps. The little maid kneeling on the ground covered her face but didn't dare to cry.
Wei Dongling stepped forward and asked coldly, "What's going on?"
All the maids, aunts and eunuchs who were watching quickly came over to pay their respects.
Wei Dongling saw that the person being beaten was Yue'e, the maid she had taken to pay respects to the Empress Dowager in the morning. She turned to the new steward aunt and asked, "Why did you beat her for no reason?"
The slightly plump steward aunt came over to pay her respects and replied coldly, "Reporting to the Fifth Princess, Yue'e lost sight of Your Highness after paying respects to the Empress Dowager. Such a useless maid should be thrown into the Laundry Bureau to do hard labor!"
Wei Dongling glanced at Yue'e's red eyes and the severely swollen face, and asked the aunt coldly, "Who are you?"
The aunt replied respectfully, "This slave's name is La Mei. As the position of the head steward aunt of Yaoguang Pavilion was vacant, the Noble Consort Rong personally selected this slave to serve the Fifth Princess."
Wei Dongling saw that although Aunt La Mei looked respectful on the surface, the contempt in her eyes was hardly concealed at all. She felt a bit displeased secretly, but she didn't dare to offend the people of the Noble Consort Rong. She stepped forward, waved her hand and said with a smile, "Aunt La Mei has worked hard. However, this princess has always been kind to her servants. Aunt La Mei doesn't need to be so strict in the future."
Aunt La Mei stood up proudly and said, "How can this be done? Since the Noble Consort Rong has been assisting in managing the six palaces, there has never been such a rule!"
Hearing that every two sentences of hers were related to the Noble Consort Rong, Wei Dongling found it a bit funny in her heart. But on the surface, she still said amiably, "Yue'e is a maid personally selected and sent by this princess's father. This princess has always indulged them a lot. Aunt La Mei doesn't need to take it to heart. Besides, even if she couldn't keep up with this princess, it's not her fault. It's just that this princess walks too fast. How can we blame them?"
Hearing Wei Dongling speak up for her like this, Yue'e felt a warm feeling in her heart. Seeing this, strange looks flashed in the eyes of the other maids.
Seeing that the Fifth Princess was amiable on the surface but actually giving her a warning, Aunt La Mei looked a bit ugly. She said arrogantly, "The Fifth Princess has just returned from outside the palace. It's reasonable that her etiquette still needs to be improved. But as a princess of the royal family, every word and deed should be proper! I hope the Fifth Princess will slow down her steps and walk more steadily in the future, so as not to be laughed at when going out!"
Oh? On her first day here, she was already putting on an air of preaching and acting pretentious? Wei Dongling sneered secretly in her heart, but on the surface, she said calmly, "Aunt La Mei is absolutely right! This princess will surely learn the palace rules well. However, aunt, when you work in my Yaoguang Pavilion in the future, you'd better be more careful! After all, the previous head steward aunt didn't last long here."
"You!" Aunt La Mei was so choked that her face turned red. She almost wanted to jump up and curse. But due to the difference between the master and the servant, even though the Fifth Princess had no mother concubine to rely on in the palace, she was still of royal blood. Aunt La Mei had to forcefully suppress the nameless anger in her heart and stepped back to one side silently.
She had originally thought that the princess from the folk who suddenly entered this huge palace must have never seen much of the world and would surely be cautious in words and deeds. But this princess didn't seem to be an easy person to handle!
"Alright, stop gathering here. Go and do what you should do!" Wei Dongling waved her hand to disperse all the servants, then stepped towards the main hall. Seeing several mourning clothes neatly stacked on the table, she asked in surprise, "What are these?"
Aunt La Mei replied, "These are the mourning clothes sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The body of the Crown Prince has been transported back to the capital, and the mourning ceremony will be held tomorrow."
Tomorrow? Wei Dongling thought for a moment, then took out a token from her lapel and handed it to Aunt La Mei. She said with a light smile, "This princess just went to play with the Seventh Princess for a while and won this token from her in a bet. Please trouble Aunt La Mei to send it to Princess Yunxi!"
She didn't avoid suspicion and let Aunt La Mei send it because the Emperor would surely know that she had been to the Ministry of Punishment's prison today. So there was no need to hide it anymore.
Aunt La Mei took the token with a suspicious look and left after receiving the order.
Wei Dongling asked someone to take out some good wound medicine from the bedroom and stuffed it into Yue'e's hand, then told her to go and apply the medicine.
"You can all step back. This princess will take a short nap."
"Yes!"
After dismissing the following maids, Wei Dongling quietly climbed out of the window and ran away.
Fortunately, Yu Zixi, who stood behind her, was very capable. He stayed up all night to dig out Granny Gao's fatal weakness, which helped her a great deal.
The rest would depend on herself!
Following the direction in her memory, Wei Dongling climbed over the eaves and walked on the walls quietly into the Forbidden Palace. First, she went to deliver medicine to Mrs. He. Then she turned to look for Mrs. Xue.
Walking through the dilapidated and shabby corridor, she pushed open the innermost room. There were still a few disheveled abandoned women locked in the room. When they saw Wei Dongling coming again while chattering, they were so frightened that they shrank to the corner and kept silent.
Wei Dongling went straight to look at a familiar figure lying on the ground. She kicked it with her foot, but the person on the ground didn't move at all.
Wei Dongling asked the woman beside her, "What's wrong with her?"
The woman replied timidly, "Since the princess's last visit, she has been like this, not eating a single grain of rice and not saying a single word."
In the Forbidden Palace, weren't there many women who died silently like her?
The body was still soft. It seemed that she wasn't completely dead yet. Wei Dongling kicked her again and sneered, "Mrs. Xue! This princess is here to tell you a great piece of good news. The body of the Fourth Prince, Murong Jingyu, has been transported back to the capital, and the mourning ceremony will be held tomorrow."
Hearing this, Mrs. Xue, who had been lying on the ground motionless, trembled her fingers slightly. Then she covered her face and cried loudly. Her voice was hoarse and weak, which made the people around her fall silent for a while.
Wei Dongling saw a few shriveled and hard steamed buns in the food box at the door. She picked them up and stuffed them into Mrs. Xue's hand, then sighed and said, "The servants around the Fourth Brother claimed that he didn't hang himself. But unfortunately, there is no evidence."
Mrs. Xue sat up suddenly and threw the cold steamed bun far away. She cried, "You don't need to pretend to be kind here! Who knows if it was you who did it?"
Wei Dongling raised her eyebrows and said, "I'm just a woman. Even if I didn't like him, I would just beat him up. What good would it do me if I killed him?"
Mrs. Xue looked extremely haggard. She gave Wei Dongling a fierce look, but she also knew that what she said was the truth. She just lowered her head and shed tears silently.
Wei Dongling touched her nose and whispered word by word, "But it may not be the same for the Tenth Prince, Murong Yunqian. He is the one who will reap the benefits!"