"The sacrificial offerings here are way too sumptuous, aren't they? They're even more sumptuous than what I eat."
Xin Zizhao caught a hint of petty complaint in Wei Shuxuan's tone. A faint smile showed in his eyes. "Do you want more sumptuous meals? I'll tell the imperial kitchen to prepare something more elaborate for you."
"...... I was just saying. Don't take it so seriously." Wei Shuxuan gave him a disdainful look and turned away. Staying here any longer was boring. It would be better to go back to Fenghe Palace earlier and play Landlord with her servants. "I'm leaving. Are you coming? If not, I'll go by myself."
"Are you in such a hurry? Where are you going?"
"Back to Fenghe Palace to play Landlord. Don't you still have memorials to review? You'd better get back to the imperial study and attend to state affairs."
Wei Shuxuan originally thought that Qihar would stay here for a few more days before returning to Qiangfeng Country. But unexpectedly, on the second day after the repair of Fengyu Palace, Qihar voluntarily asked Xin Zizhao for permission to leave.
"Your Majesty of Yulong Country, I've received a letter from my servants at home saying that something important has happened and I need to go back quickly to handle it. So I won't stay here any longer. After I've taken care of the family matters, I'll ask our monarch about your request and come back with good news."
"Then I'll trouble Ambassador Qihar."
Xin Zizhao sent Qihar and his servant out of the palace. Qihar and his short servant sat in the carriage. Until they left the border of Yulong Country, Qihar just sat in the carriage with his eyes closed, resting. The short servant didn't dare to ask his master any questions, for fear of angering him again.
After they crossed the border of Yulong Country, Qihar didn't open his eyes. He just said to his servant, "Jixiang, if you have something to say, just ask. Don't keep hesitating like this. You're making it hard for me to sit in meditation."
"Master, why did we leave so early? Shouldn't we stay in the palace and watch the show?"
"That's why you're stupid. If we stayed, wouldn't it arouse the suspicion of the Emperor of Yulong Country? Moreover," Qihar opened his eyes and motioned for Jixiang to pour him a cup of tea. "We don't know when that mirror will activate its power. Staying there is just a waste of time. It's better to go back and meet up with the general earlier to see what his next move is."
Jixiang naturally didn't dare to refute his master. "Yes, master is far - sighted."
After seeing Qihar off, Xin Zizhao went back to the imperial study to deal with memorials. Recently, there always seemed to be a strange force lingering around the border. He wondered if it was the people from Qiangfeng Country causing trouble. It seemed that he had to send someone to investigate.
Life in the palace was too peaceful. Wei Shuxuan felt that both her body and mind had become very sluggish. She began to miss the days when she used to solve cases.
"Ah, it's so boring!" Although she hoped that this boring life could be disrupted, she still hoped that there wouldn't be any more murders.
In Fenghe Palace, after having afternoon tea, Wei Shuxuan planned to go out for a walk to digest the food and take a tour of the harem by the way. When passing by the garden, she saw three young maids looking strange. They seemed to be nervous and a bit flustered. Then her gaze moved down and she saw that they were carrying a big sack. Judging from the shape of the sack, it seemed that there was a person inside.
"Stop right there!" Wei Shuxuan stepped out from the dense bushes and stopped the three young maids.
Although they had just entered the palace not long ago, they still knew the real identity of this plain - dressed woman in front of them. They knelt down in a hurry. "Your Majesty the Empress! Sla... slaves pay respects to Your Majesty the Empress!"
Wei Shuxuan gave them a stern look and then glanced at the sack that they had thrown on the ground. "What's in this sack?"
Being asked this question, they began to panic. Oh no, the head maid had just told them not to let anyone else know about this. Now they had not only been caught, but also by the Empress. They lowered their heads and trembled, not daring to say a word.
Since they were uncooperative, Wei Shuxuan had to collect evidence herself. She first opened the sack to check if there really was a person inside. When she opened the mouth of the sack, there really was a person! And it was an elderly maid. She checked the maid and found that she was already dead, but her body was not completely stiff yet. It should have been less than a day.
After the check, Wei Shuxuan stood up. Seeing that they were still silent, her expression became even colder. "If you don't say anything, I'll have you tortured."
They had just entered the palace and didn't want to offend the Empress so soon. They quickly kowtowed. "Your Majesty the Empress, slaves will tell. We'll tell!"
"Then tell quickly!"
According to the confessions of the three young maids, two of them were called by the head maid to help, while one of them witnessed the scene. The maid who found the dead maid was going back to her room to rest after work. But when she got back to the room, she found the old maid lying motionless on the bed. She thought the old maid was just asleep.
So she walked over and shook the old maid. She knew that the maids in charge of Fengyu Palace were not allowed to leave the palace for a long time. If they were found by the head maid during the inspection, they would be punished. Out of kindness, the young maid just wanted to wake up the old maid. But when she touched the old maid, she found that her body was very cold, just like a dead person.
With this thought in mind, the young maid looked at the left chest of the old maid. It wasn't rising and falling at all. She trembled and reached out her finger to check the old maid's breath. There was no breath! At that moment, she was so scared that she fell to the ground and didn't react for a long time.
When she finally came to her senses, she quickly went to the head maid's room to report this. The head maid was also shocked and followed the young maid to the room to check. She found that the old maid in charge of Fengyu Palace was really dead. Although she was shocked at first, she was an experienced maid after all.
She thought for a while, glanced at the still - scared young maid, and had an idea in mind.