After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 487 The Zhao Family's Frustration

Previously, the Second Prince's wife isolated the Sixth Prince's concubine. The Empress had long held a grudge against Zhao Wanyi, but due to the Second Prince's messy affairs, she did not want to cause any more trouble and turned a blind eye.

She really couldn't stand it anymore after learning about Zhao Furong's actions today.

The Empress Dowager shook her head and sighed again, "So be it. She was Qingkang's daughter after all, and she had half of the royal blood in her. Now that she's gone, let's not dwell on it. I hope there won't be any more trouble at Jinlan Courtyard."

The Emperor and Empress exchanged a glance and remained silent. The situation at Jinlan Courtyard was clearly much more serious than Zhao Furong's matter, and they did not want to displease the Empress Dowager before the investigation made any progress.

Jinlan Courtyard.

Liu Laosan led the Imperial Guards to surround the well, but no one spoke first. Xiong Feng, who had been brought to assist in the investigation, was fearless and kept craning his neck to look into the well.

With that stretch, he actually fell headfirst down.

Fortunately, a member of the Imperial Guard reacted quickly and grabbed her leg, and the others rushed over to help.

A moment later, Xiong Feng's terrified and shrill screams came from the well: "Hair! There's hair in the water! So much hair!"

"It's all over!" Liu Laosan's last shred of hope vanished.

Quickly have someone pull Xiong Feng up, and at the same time arrange for soldiers who are good swimmers to go down and retrieve him.

Half a day passed.

When Liu Laosan came to the Imperial Study again.

The emperor immediately put down his vermilion brush and asked impatiently, "How is it? Is there no problem?"

Liu Laosan looked at the emperor with sympathy, took a deep breath, clasped his hands and knelt down, "Your Majesty, a body has been retrieved from the well, along with twenty-three skeletons."

The voice just fell.

Liu Laosan felt that the hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

A moment later, the emperor's furious roar echoed from the imperial study, "Find out who those people are! I will not let them off lightly!"

Within half a day, news of what happened at Jinlan Courtyard had spread.

Zhao Mansion.

Zhao Qinghe stormed into Princess Qingkang's courtyard, angrily accusing her, "Look what you've done! My whole family will be killed by you sooner or later!"

Princess Qingkang shoved Zhao Qinghe violently, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Zhao Qinghe! My daughter is dead! She was murdered! What's wrong with me seeking justice for her? Wasn't she your daughter?"

Zhao Qinghe was furious. "Do you know that because of Furong's matter, the Emperor discovered that a body was buried in Jinlan Courtyard! Don't you know what kind of place Jinlan Courtyard is? After something like this happened, how is the Emperor supposed to view our Zhao family in the future?"

Princess Qingkang remained stubborn, "I don't care! I must find the real culprit who killed my daughter! I want him to suffer a terrible death!"

"Slap!" In a fit of anger, Zhao Qinghe slapped Princess Qingkang, nervously warning, "Don't talk nonsense! Furong is my daughter. I'm just as heartbroken as you are by her death! But then again, she became Shen Congrong's scapegoat! Even if you want revenge, you should go directly to the Yong'an Marquis's mansion and Shen Congrong! If you dare to spout nonsense and implicate the Zhao family again, see how I deal with you!"

Princess Qingkang covered her face and glared at Zhao Qinghe with resentment.

Zhao Qinghe came to his senses and realized that he had gone too far, so he coaxed, "I was just too angry. You are a princess, so you should be able to guess some things. Our Zhao family can't afford to offend you. If you are angry, go to the Yong'an Marquis's mansion and Shen Congrong. Don't mention anything else or pursue it any further, understand?" Princess Qingkang understood immediately upon hearing this, and suddenly burst into mocking laughter, laughing until tears streamed down her face.

Zhao Qinghe's eyes flickered, and he dared not continue to face Princess Qingkang. He hurriedly went to Zhao Taifu's study.

“Father, I have already warned Qingkang. She won’t do anything reckless for the sake of her son.”

Grand Tutor Zhao nodded expressionlessly, his eyes slightly reddening, and said, "Handle Furong's funeral properly. Also, take back all the things the Second Prince gave you, and don't make a fuss about them."

Originally, the plan was for the Second Prince to target the Marquis of Yong'an and teach him a lesson. Unexpectedly, an accident occurred, and the one who died was actually a young lady from the Zhao family. They knew the truth but still had to suppress their anger, cover for the Second Prince, and divert attention from others.

Only Zhao Taifu could truly understand the feeling behind it.

Murong Xu showed no particular expression upon learning that the Zhao family had accepted those gifts; at present, all his attention was focused on Jinlan Courtyard.

"Fools! I only asked you to kill a ten-year-old child, and you've caused me such a huge mess! What use are you to me?"

The steward knelt on the ground, trembling with fear. "Your Highness, I have already taken care of everything. It was supposed to be foolproof. If it weren't for Miss Zhao's unexpected interference, Shen Congrong would have been dead long ago!"

Murong Xu grew increasingly angry as he listened. "What's the use of saying all this! You'd better think carefully about whether the matter at Jinlan Courtyard will be leaked! If Father Emperor finds out about me, I will tear you to pieces!"

Everyone is watching Jinlan Courtyard.

Chu Heng came with the Ministry of Justice to investigate. Seeing the bones all over the ground, even though he had prepared himself mentally, he still couldn't bear it and had to go outside to vomit before he could barely get used to it.

Seeing his expression, Liu Laosan immediately shook his head, "You've been working in the Ministry of Justice for so long, how come your courage hasn't improved at all! You're not even as brave as my Congrong!"

“Congrong? What happened to him?” Chu Heng asked, his face pale.

Liu Laosan pointed to the corpse covered with a white sheet, "Cong Rong and Xiong Feng just came to identify the body. They have confirmed that this person is the eunuch who took the golden silk cake. Eunuch Zhou has sent people to investigate the person's identity, and we expect to have results soon."

"And what about these?" Chu Heng pointed to the scattered skeletons, feeling utterly bewildered.

Liu Laosan then pointed to the group of Imperial Guards who were still digging in the well, saying, "Now we can only hope that they will find some clues in the well."

Chu Heng stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Have many people disappeared from the palace in recent years?"

Liu Laosan nodded dejectedly, "There are dozens, if not hundreds, but I don't understand it anyway, so I'll leave it to you! I still need to go to the Emperor to investigate the matter of the Academy."

There must be a connection between the eunuch delivering food and the Imperial Academy's malicious cutting off of supplies, and this might even provide some useful clues.

Liu Laosan's investigation lasted until dawn the next day before he returned to the Yong'an Marquis's residence.

Shen Congrong and the other two were not qualified to attend the morning court session; they only needed to enter the palace at Chenshi (7-9 AM). The three of them had just gotten up and immediately came to see Liu Laosan.

"Grandpa, how is it? Can we still go to Bo Academy today?"

Liu Laosan patted Shen Congrong's head and smiled gently, "Go! Just like always, Steward Qi and several officials from the Bo Academy have all been arrested. I also gave those people a warning yesterday, and this kind of thing will not happen again!"
However, there are countless intrigues and schemes in the palace. For your safety, you should not eat anything in the palace. We have plenty of food. Starting today, bring your own food into the palace. Once you enter the Imperial Academy, do not come out. Leave immediately after you are dismissed.

Mind your own business and avoid idle chatter. If you have any questions, come back and ask me.