C22 Part3

...

Murong Ci asked Qin Ruo to return to the East Palace first and then came to the clothes store where Xiaolu worked and lived.

Murong Ci heard a lot of comments on the way.

It seemed that the recent events and the ballad have caused panic in the Palace and in the streets of the city.

A large cloud of haze enveloped the Imperial Palace of early summer.

The deceased Xiaolu was a Palace maid who worked in a clothes shop and lived in a shophouse in the Beiyuan district.

There were two common types of clothes shop:

one was relatively large and could accommodate 12 people, and the other was relatively small and only accommodated eight people.

The deceased Xiaolu used to live in a small shop with eight people.

The shopkeeper,Madam Wang, introduced herself patiently, bowed her head, with a courtesy smile, and bowed to her knees.

"Greetings, Your Royal Highness.

The maids who were in the same room with Xiaolu were all called over and will be now lined at the entrance."

After finishing the order, Murong Ci walked into the shop, and Madam Wang went immediately in without daring to delay.

The room was small.

There were eight sleeping beds in total from the right side to the left side, with a two-foot-high stove for each.

There was a closet on the left side, and eight small cabinets were divided for Palace residents to put their personal belongings in it.

There were two mottled tables in front of the stoves, and piles of miscellaneous things were stacked on the tables.

Shen Zhiyan walked closer to the Xiaolu's little bed.

His gaze scanned inch by inch, and then went to check the cabinet.

"Have you found anything?"

Murong Ci asked.

"No."

He looked around and walked out of the room.

At this time, Madam Wang had already made Xiaolu's seven little friends stand in a row, and said in a loud voice:

"Your Royal Highness and Master Shen want to ask questions about Xiaolu, you must answer one by one, understood?"

The seven servants said in unison:

"Yes."

The corners of Shen Zhiyan's lips slanted slightly, with a smile,

"You don't need to be nervous, this officer will just do a routine inquiry.

Do you know when Xiaolu finished working last night?"

"These humble servants usually have to rest after 9 p.m."

A servant said.

"I remember seeing Xiaolu going to sleep like the others."

Another servant said.

"Oh, I remember now!

I woke up midway through the night and went to the bathroom."

A small eyed servant said,

"After I came back, I saw that the bed of Xiaolu was empty."

"Do you remember if Xiaolu was in the room when you went out?"

Shen Zhiyan asked quickly.

"I don't remember very much.

At that time, I couldn't hold it back anymore, and ran out in a hurry without paying attention."

The little-eyed servant replied.

"What time was it?"

Murong Ci asked, giving Shen Zhiyan a glance.

"I don't know too well.

My guess is it was between 1 and 2 a.m."

The little-eyed servant's face was quite apologetic.

"Before going to bed last night, did Xiaolu have any unusual behaviors?"

Shen Zhiyan asked again.

"No. Xiaolu was as usual.

She took a shower and came back to sleep."

A servant replied,

"We had a little chat together before going to bed."

After that, Murong Ci and Shen Zhiyan came out of the shop, and she said as she walked:

"It feels as if the people behind the scenes just grabbed a person at will and killed them without premeditation. Xiaolu happened to go out in the middle of the night and suffered a catastrophe."

Shen Zhiyan nodded in agreement,

"I think so too.

However, why should the people behind this set up this 'act' of human-eating fish in both the Luo River and the Palace?"

She speculated:

"My guess is that the people responsible for this want to cause greater panic?

Or maybe they want to warn us of the imminent 'Jade steals the country' next?"

At this time, she was full of anxiety,

'Even if we know that the ballad and these incidents point to that person, what can we do?

Would he even be taken to the prison for interrogation?'

....

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END of CHAPTER 22 PART 3

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