"So where do you think the suspicious parts are?" Xin Zizhao looked at Wei Shuxuan. He thought Wei Shuxuan's intuition was actually quite accurate.
Being asked this by Xin Zizhao, Wei Shuxuan couldn't tell exactly what was strange. After all, it was just her intuition. She looked at Xin Zizhao dejectedly. "I just don't know! That's why I'm so frustrated!"
"What's there to be frustrated about? If there's no evidence to prove anything, all evidence and suspicions are invalid. Didn't you once say that?"
"I did say that, but I just have this strange feeling," Wei Shuxuan sighed. "Maybe you're right. Intuition can be wrong. I shouldn't be so obsessed with this problem."
"It's best if you can think it through. Since the matter has been resolved, let's go back for dinner. I think you must be hungry."
Looking at Xin Zizhao's gentle and handsome face, Wei Shuxuan felt warm in her heart. Sure enough, Xin Zizhao understood her better. "Okay then, let's go back and have dinner together. Should we go back to Qianyu Palace or Fenghe Hall?"
"Up to you. It depends on where you want to stay tonight."
Xin Zizhao gave Wei Shuxuan an ambiguous smile. Wei Shuxuan blushed and reached out to pinch Xin Zizhao's face. "Humph, you're just good at talking. Let's go back. It's getting chilly here if we stay any longer."
"I thought you liked this kind of feeling."
Hearing Wei Shuxuan say this, Xin Zizhao looked at her thoughtfully, but Wei Shuxuan gave him a disdainful look. "If it weren't for work, who would like to stay here? Although I'm not afraid at all."
The two walked while bickering. The more they quarreled, the deeper their affection grew.
After Wei Shuxuan had thoroughly investigated the incident, she released the three little maids who had been locked in the confinement room. Then she sent someone to call the head maid to her bedroom to interrogate her about why she had concealed this matter.
The head maid knelt on the ground trembling. Wei Shuxuan looked at the head maid, who was in her fifties, with a serious face. "Aren't you going to say? Why did you conceal the fact that a maid had died?"
"R...returning to Her Majesty the Queen, this slave... this slave just... just..." The head maid was afraid of the oppressive aura emanating from Wei Shuxuan.
"Just what?" Wei Shuxuan lowered her eyes, her gaze intimidating. The head maid didn't dare to look up at her.
"Because..." The head maid gritted her teeth and finally said, "After Your Majesty the Queen ascended to the throne, you established many different rules from before. This slave was afraid that you would blame this slave, so, in a moment of confusion, this slave... concealed this matter..." The head maid didn't dare to say the rest.
Now, even Wei Shuxuan didn't know what to say. It turned out to be for this reason. But this matter had nothing to do with this head maid in front of her. She was just afraid of being punished. Wei Shuxuan rubbed her forehead. "This palace will not punish you severely since this is your first offense, but there must be a punishment to set an example for the others. From today on, your position as the head maid will be revoked, and you will go to manage Fengyu Hall."
"Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty the Queen, for your mercy! This slave will definitely not make such a mistake again!" The head maid who had received the pardon kowtowed repeatedly to thank Wei Shuxuan for sparing her life.
However, the demoted head maid only stayed in Fengyu Hall for three days before her body was discovered by a little eunuch from the imperial kitchen who had come to deliver offerings. The little eunuch was so scared that he dropped the offerings in his hands and ran out of Fengyu Hall quickly, shouting loudly as he ran, "Something's happened! Something's happened! Something's happened! Come quickly! Come quickly!"
After the little eunuch ran away from Fengyu Hall, the red cloth covering the phoenix-feather mirror fluttered gently, revealing a bit of the smooth mirror surface, but it quickly fell back down, blocking the mirror that was reflecting a strange light.
In Fenghe Hall, Wei Shuxuan was sitting by the fishpond fishing. The setting sun shone on the sparkling lake. The lake was as calm as a mirror but glistening with layers of orange light. She propped her chin up and stared at the motionless fishing hook dejectedly. There were still some water droplets left in the fish bucket, but there was not a single fish.
"Why aren't there any fish biting now?" Wei Shuxuan had caught a bucket of small fish not long ago, but she had just poured them all back into the lake.
Just as Wei Shuxuan was feeling frustrated, suddenly there came a rush of footsteps, and a familiar voice sounded in her ear. "Miss, something terrible has happened."
"What?" Wei Shuxuan turned her head and looked at Wei Wei, who had a calm face.
By the time Wei Shuxuan arrived at Fengyu Hall, the setting sun that had just been hanging in the sky had already sunk halfway. The light blue of the sky and the warm orange of the sunset glow were intertwined. The glow was not strong, giving a dreamy feeling.
The maid's body had already been carried out of Fengyu Hall and placed on a stretcher. The coroner had also examined the body. Wei Shuxuan strode over. "How about it? What's the cause?"
"Returning to Her Majesty the Queen, it was a stroke. It's the same way of death as the previous old maid."
The coroner answered Wei Shuxuan respectfully. Hearing this, Wei Shuxuan frowned. It was still due to a stroke. She squatted down to examine the maid's body as well. There was not a single wound, and there were no signs of poisoning. She could only order the body to be taken back to the morgue first.
"Take her back to the morgue and put her in the underground ice cellar."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Queen."
There was a crowd outside Fengyu Hall, busy dealing with the sudden murder. Wei Shuxuan stood there, turned her head, and looked inside Fengyu Hall. Since it was already evening and the surroundings were quite tightly covered, it was very dark inside. The only source of light was a small window on the top, but this dark and gloomy Fengyu Hall still seemed like a big mouth that could devour lives, endless.
Xin Zizhao learned about what had happened this evening. He rushed from the imperial study to Fenghe Hall. When he entered Wei Shuxuan's room, he saw her sitting on the windowsill. The room was not lit, and a big full moon outside shone on Wei Shuxuan's side face, making her look a bit sad.
This made Xin Zizhao feel even more worried. He tiptoed to Wei Shuxuan's side, hugged her from behind, and gently asked her, "What's wrong? You seem so troubled."
"I'm just a bit confused about Fengyu Hall. Two people have died in a row, both from strokes. I feel there must be a reason behind it."
"Hmm? Are you so sure?" Xin Zizhao asked her back.