"What are you laughing at? I'm seriously thinking, and you're actually snickering?" Wei Shuxuan frowned at Xin Zizhao, who was sitting beside her, snickering.
"No, no. You must be seeing things," Xin Zizhao said, his survival instinct kicking in. "You haven't told me yet. Do you have any leads on this case?"
".....No," Wei Shuxuan said, sounding a bit dejected. "So, I want you to help me investigate."
"Well, it's not that I can't, but you'll have to wait until I'm done with my work."
Xin Zizhao reached out and placed his hand on Wei Shuxuan's shoulder. She understood that he was very busy as the king of the country. She smiled and said, "I know. Just come and accompany me when you're free."
"Let's go back. It's not good to stay in the morgue for too long," Xin Zizhao said, pulling Wei Shuxuan's hand. As they walked out of the morgue, they saw Wei Wei and Xin Shang waiting outside.
"Wei Wei!" Wei Shuxuan waved her other hand at him.
"What's wrong, Miss?" Wei Wei saw the hands that Xin Zizhao and Wei Shuxuan were holding. He felt a twinge of discomfort in his heart. He was trying to suppress his true feelings for Wei Shuxuan, not wanting his feelings to affect her relationship with Xin Zizhao. After all, she was already married to him.
"I'm sorry about what happened just now. I didn't control my temper well. I just couldn't think straight for a moment."
Hearing Wei Shuxuan's apology, Wei Wei shook his head. "Miss, you don't need to apologize to your subordinate. It's my duty. You should apologize to the coroner. You scared him."
"You're right," Wei Shuxuan remembered that she had also lost her temper with the coroner. It wasn't his fault, yet she had been angry with him. She really wasn't mature enough. So, she walked up to the coroner and apologized sincerely, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Coroner."
The coroner was flustered when the queen apologized to him. He quickly waved his hands. "No, no, Your Majesty. You don't need to apologize to a lowly person like me. I don't mind."
"Yes, I do need to."
Xin Zizhao glanced at the coroner and gave him a look, indicating that he should accept Wei Shuxuan's apology quickly. The coroner had no choice but to accept it under Xin Zizhao's "pressure."
After making up her mind, Wei Shuxuan went to investigate the three victims the next day. She first interviewed the maids and eunuchs who had worked with the three victims. From them, she learned some details about their lives. Before and after they were transferred to the Wind and Rain Palace, their lives hadn't changed much. So, the problem probably didn't lie with the victims themselves.
Wei Shuxuan thought that the murderer must be hiding in the Wind and Rain Palace, but she didn't know who it was.
So, she went to the Wind and Rain Palace and sat at the entrance. She didn't go inside. It was a cloudy day. Sitting outside like this felt a bit cold. The thick clouds blocked the sun's fierce light. The light inside the palace was already dim, and with the cloudy weather, it looked even more gloomy.
She sat there from morning until evening, but she didn't notice anything strange in the palace. It was getting late. Xin Zizhao was waiting for her in the Wind and Harmony Palace for dinner. Before leaving the Wind and Rain Palace, she turned around and looked at the inside of the palace with its open doors. The Phoenix Feather Mirror covered with a red cloth was lying quietly on the stone platform.
When she got back to the Wind and Harmony Palace, Wei Shuxuan was in a bad mood even during dinner. Xin Zizhao was worried about her, so he picked up her favorite sweet and sour spare ribs and put them on her plate. "What's wrong? Didn't you find any leads in the Wind and Rain Palace?"
"I've investigated the three of them. Their living habits didn't change much after they went to the Wind and Rain Palace. So, I think the problem lies in the palace. But I sat there all day today and didn't find any leads."
Wei Shuxuan felt completely at a loss now. She was very frustrated and didn't even have an appetite for her favorite sweet and sour spare ribs. Xin Zizhao comforted her, "Are you sure you've investigated everything?"
"What else?" Wei Shuxuan looked at Xin Zizhao with her chin in her hands. "By the way, I don't plan to send anyone to manage that broken mirror in the Wind and Rain Palace anymore. Do you have any objections?"
"Of course not. I don't want another terrible murder to happen either. And it's no use just worrying by yourself. Remember to eat. You can't do a good job if you're not well-fed."
"Well, it's easier said than done..." Wei Shuxuan still felt a bit dejected. Maybe it was because she hadn't investigated a case for a long time, and her inspiration had left and hadn't come back.
"If you give up so easily, who will find the real murderer for the three victims? Don't you want to find the real murderer for them? Why do you give up so easily at the first sign of setback?"
".....Are you trying to comfort me?" Wei Shuxuan turned her head and looked at Xin Zizhao.
"Can't you tell?" Xin Zizhao looked at her in confusion.
"I've noticed that your personality has changed a lot since we got married!" Wei Shuxuan felt warm in her heart.
"I'm only like this with you."
Hearing Xin Zizhao's words, Wei Shuxuan was deeply touched. She slapped her cheeks hard to wake herself up. She couldn't give up like this!
Xin Zizhao was startled by Wei Shuxuan's sudden action. But when he saw the two clear handprints on her cheeks, he couldn't help but smile. Then he reached out and grabbed her hands. "This is a good way to wake up, but I think you should take better care of yourself. I'll feel bad if you hurt yourself."
".....I'm not used to you saying such sweet words. You'd better go back to being the sarcastic Xin Zizhao."
"Okay, let's eat. I'm hungry."
After Xin Zizhao's comfort and encouragement, the old Wei Shuxuan was back. She came to the Wind and Rain Palace again. She stood outside and looked at the plaque hanging above the door. Maybe, as Xin Zizhao had said, there were still some leads that she hadn't discovered.
There had been a storm last night. It was an extremely fierce one. The maids and eunuchs had closed the doors and windows of almost all the palaces in the palace. Even the trees had lost most of their leaves in the strong wind.
Wei Shuxuan walked into the courtyard of the Wind and Rain Palace. The ground was covered with leaves that had been blown down by the wind last night. She looked up and saw the inner hall in a mess because no maid had come to close the doors.