C44 Part2

....

In the afternoon, she slept, and it was dusk when she woke up.

Qin Ruo came in lightly, tied the Jade-colored gauze tent with a golden lotus hook, and said,

"Your Highness, Xiao Tao from the Spring Wuyuan Courtyard is here, requesting to see Your Highness.

She has already been waiting for half an hour."

Murong Ci had just woke up, and was still a little confused, so she couldn't remember which Palace lady was named Xiao Tao.

When she saw Xiao Tao, she remembered that she was the maid working under Madam Li in the Spring Wuyuan Courtyard.

That was also when she remembered what she had told them before.

She said before that if they thought of anything else suspicious, they were to report it to the East Palace.

Ruyi prepared meals in the main Hall, and Murong Ci sat in the main seat of the north side.

She took a sip from the teacup, waved to make Xiao Tao get up, and said,

"Xiao Tao, what is the reason for your visit today?"

Xiao Tao stood up, lowered her head and said:

"Your Highness, this servant has been working in the Springs Wuyuan Courtyard for more than 20 years now.

Today in the afternoon, when this servant saw someone burning something, I remembered one thing, and recalled an event occurred in the Springs Wuyuan Courtyard a few years ago."

"What about it?"

Qin Ruo asked.

"I believe it should have been five or six years ago.

Because of the heavy heat, many people slept on the floor in the backyard to make it cooler.

One midnight suddenly someone caught fire.

At first, no one noticed that someone had burned to death, and it took time before someone woke up.

After that, everyone got up and splashed water at the body, but the person was burned beyond recognition and couldn't be told apart."

Xiao Tao said vividly.

"Someone caught fire and was burned to death in the middle of the night, so wouldn't that person be shouting for help?

How could the people around not hear the shouting?"

Qin Ruo asked puzzled.

"This maidservant also found it strange.

But I remembered clearly that none of the people who slept in the backyard heard the call."

Xiao Tao replied.

"Who was the person who burned to death?"

Murong Ci asked directly, showing quite some interest in the story.

"This servant....dares not saying..."

Xiao Tao whispered, a little panicked.

"Your Highness forgives you from any guilty things you might say."

Qin Ruo said.

"The name of the person who was burned to death was....Cui Nong.

She was... not a Palace person, nor was she a Concubine of the Emperor who had committed a crime.

It seems that she was...the maidservant of... King Rui."

Xiao Tao secretly glanced at His Royal Highness, and seeing that His Royal Highness was not angry, she took a deep breath.

Murong Ci was shocked and frowned.

'It was King Rui again...!'

She asked:

"Did this happen before or after Liu Mei entered the Spring Wuyuan Courtyard?"

Xiao Tao thought for a while, and definitely said:

"Yes, a few days after Cui Nong was burned to death, Liu Mei entered the Spring Wuyuan Courtyard."

Murong Ci stood up and walked towards the dining table,

"Cui Nong was a servant in the Royal Palace of King Rui, and King Rui is a taboo in the Palace.

You should not mention it to others in the future."

Xiao Tao bowed her head in a panic,

"Yes, this servant will remember."

Murong Ci picked up two plates of pastries on the table and handed them to Qin Ruo.

Qin Ruo put the two plates of pastries together, wrapped them with silk paws, and handed them to Xiao Tao,

"This is a reward for your report, from Your Highness.

You can go back now."

Xiao Tao held the wrapped pastries, feeling happy, and bowed her head to thank His Highness, then left.

....

"Your Royal Highness, Cui Nong who was burned to death was a maidservant in the Royal Palace of King Rui.

This is a bit weird."

Qin Ruo thought.

"As long as fire is involved, she would definitely scream in pain and for help, so how could the people around her not hear it?"

Murong Ci took the silver chopsticks and tapped the dining table,

"That is...unless she was killed first, and then burned!"

"Your Royal Highness is extremely right!

If something like this happened in the Spring Wuyuan Courtyard, it should have been reported in a normal situation.

But Cui Nong's identity was special, and Mother Li must have not dared to report it, being a taboo in the Palace.

So she must have only reported that someone had died, and requested the Internal Service Bureau to drag the corpse out of the Palace, without caring to explain who the person that died was."

Qin Ruo said.

"Cui Nong was burned to death, and right after, quite a timing, Liu Mei entered the Spring Wuyuan Courtyard? This seems too coincidental..."

Murong Ci's eyes turned,

"Tomorrow you go to find out if there was really a maidservant named Cui Nong in the Royal Palace of King Rui."

"Yes."

Qin Ruo replied.

"Your Royal Highness, please eat first."

Ruyi reminded.

....

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END of CHAPTER 44 PART 2

.....................to be continued