Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

The Imperial Household Department, duty room.

A young eunuch bowed and entered, seeing that Feng Xi was already dressed and about to go to stand guard before the emperor.

"Chief Steward Feng, the fire at Changmen Palace has been extinguished. What burned down was Eunuch Song's room, the one where he used to be the head eunuch of Changchun Palace. He's gone."

Feng Xizheng paused slightly as he picked up the steel fork cap, thought for a moment, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Song Zhang?"

The young eunuch nodded: "Yes. They say it was caused by a candle, which is strange. I don't know if it was intentional or an accident."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Feng Xi and saw that Feng Xi was squinting as if he was thinking about something. So he took the hat from Feng Xi's hand, walked behind him, and carefully put it on for him.

"Eunuch Baozhong, despite his illness, also went to Changmen Palace."

Feng Xi seemed not to have heard the second half of the sentence clearly, and only muttered one sentence in a low voice:

"That's strange. The person was tortured like that but didn't die, yet they were all killed by a fire."

Suddenly, Feng Xi sneered, "No wonder they're siblings, they even died in the same way."

After saying that, he lifted his foot to walk towards the door, but suddenly stopped, turned his head, and asked, "What else did you just say?"

The young eunuch hurriedly stepped forward: "This servant says that Eunuch Baozhong has been ill for many days, but tonight there was a fire at Changmen Palace, and he was running around quite a bit."

Upon hearing this, Feng Xi lowered his gaze and pondered for a moment, then a meaningful smile slowly appeared on his lips: "Did you see anyone else?"

"Miss Shuoning from Yihua Palace is also here."

Feng Xi nodded knowingly, his smile deepening, but his tone gradually turned cold:

"That's right. In the end, our godson was raised by someone else. We know all about how many things he did for Consort Rong behind our backs."

If it weren't for Xia He from Yihua Palace, who kept coming to our Imperial Household Department every night while he was ill, I really wouldn't have believed he had harbored any disloyalty.

He dusted off his sleeves and added in a light voice, "Once you've grown wings, you don't recognize your home anymore."

After saying that, he gave a cold snort, flicked his sleeves, and walked out of the house.

In the courtyard.

As Bao Zhong stepped into the Imperial Household Department, he bumped into Feng Xi and quickly bowed, saying, "Godfather."

Feng Xi didn't stop walking, only glancing at him sideways, a smile still lingering on her lips:

"Don't go out until you're fully recovered. Take good care of yourself and don't worry your godfather."

His tone was as gentle as if he were talking about something trivial, but he didn't stop walking at all.

Bao Zhong bowed his head and only straightened up slowly after the person had walked away, looking up at the figure that disappeared at the end of the long street.

After a moment of silence, Bao Zhong walked towards his room and saw Xiao Anzi coming out of Feng Xi's duty room.

When Xiao Anzi saw him, he paused, then a meaningful smile slowly spread across his face.

"Eunuch Baozhong is back?"

Bao Zhong didn't stop walking; he only glanced at him, but he knew perfectly well what was going on.

This kid is up to no good. He's been pacing around Feng Xi, hoping to take his place.

He often whispered and sowed discord in Feng Xi's ear; this person can't be kept around sooner or later.

"Xiao Anzi, come here." Bao Zhong called out casually.

Bao Zhong pushed open the door and entered the room. He didn't sit down, but stood by the table with his back to the door.

Sure enough, Xiao Anzi followed him in, closed the door behind him, and smiled.

"Eunuch Baozhong, what brings you here?"

Bao Zhong did not respond, but turned around and took out a small wooden box from the cabinet. He opened it and found a jade pendant of good quality inside.

He picked it up, weighed it in his hand, and then handed it to Xiao Anzi: "Take this and wear it; your clothes are too plain."

Xiao Anzi was stunned, as if he hadn't expected this to happen, but his eyes were already glued to the jade pendant.

He eagerly reached out and took it, his tone already changed:

"This...this jade pendant is so valuable, how could this servant possibly accept it..."

"Keep it," Bao Zhong said calmly. "It wouldn't look good if you walked around in front of my godfather without something decent on you. Wearing this will make you look more impressive."

Xiao Anzi clutched the jade pendant, his eyes crinkling with a wide smile: "Thank you for the reward, Eunuch!"

After saying that, he immediately put it in his pocket, thanked him profusely, and left.

After the door closed, Baozhong sat down at his desk, his gaze falling on the closed door. His expression gradually turned cold, and a faint smile appeared on his lips, like a glimmer of light on a blade.

(under)

The next morning.

Jiang Shuoning was combing Rongfei's hair with an ivory comb. Fengchun stood aside and recounted in detail the fire that broke out at Changmen Palace the previous night.

Finally, he added, "An old eunuch was burned to death."

After speaking, she deliberately glanced at Jiang Shuoning before lowering her head to wait for Consort Rong's response.

Consort Rong slightly opened her eyes, looked at her somewhat weary expression in the bronze mirror, and said faintly, "How did a fire start out of nowhere?"

Feng Chun hurriedly said, "They said it was a candle that fell over. The fire spread quickly and burned down several houses. People from the Imperial Household Department went there too, and the fire has already been extinguished."

Consort Rong didn't reply, only giving a soft "hmm," as if the matter wasn't worth the trouble of saying more.

Jiang Shuoning lowered his eyes, the comb in his hand running through his hair one stroke at a time.

Suddenly, her gaze sharpened slightly. A few strands of silver hair were hidden among Consort Rong's jet-black hair, gleaming faintly in the morning light.

Her fingers paused for a moment, then she continued combing downwards as if nothing had happened, gently brushing a few strands of white hair through her hair with her fingertips.

Consort Rong glanced at Jiang Shuoning in the bronze mirror, then closed her eyes:

"The sun is getting strong. Shuoning, go to the Imperial Household Department and get some ice. My jar of plum blossom snow wine is almost ready; it will only come out better with ice."

She paused, then added casually, "Let Xia He come in and comb my hair."

Jiang Shuoning paused for a moment while holding the comb, then replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

She put down the ivory comb, turned around and called Xia He in, carefully instructing her on what hairstyle to wear and what jewelry to pair it with, speaking at a measured pace, as thorough as ever.

After giving her instructions, Jiang Shuoning bowed and left. The palace doors closed, and she stood under the eaves, the morning light falling on her shoulders, slightly dazzling.

She glanced back at the palace gate, then walked towards it, her mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.

Song Zhang's death was too suspicious, and it just so happened that the incident occurred not long after Eunuch Xin revealed his identity.

Was it an accident or a cover-up? There were so many people at Changmen Palace last night. If it was arson, the arsonist would be hiding among them.

She hadn't had a chance to ask Zhou Zhengyin what he had run off to chase last night.

Now that Changmen Palace has burned down, this is a good opportunity to transfer him to the library.

As for Song Zhang's matter, we need to investigate it secretly; perhaps we can uncover something by following the clues.

She closed her eyes, suppressed her thoughts, and continued walking towards the Imperial Household Department without stopping.

Inside the palace, Consort Rong, seeing that Feng Chun hadn't left yet, seemed to understand something and said:

"Xia He, go to the small kitchen and see if the white fungus and red date porridge I'm making is ready yet?"

Xia He slightly curtsied: "This servant will go and urge them right away."

When Consort Rong saw Xia He walk out of the room, she smiled and said, "This girl has been paying more attention to her appearance lately than before. I hadn't noticed before, but she has developed quite a good appearance."

Feng Chun glanced back at Xia He's retreating figure, then bent down and approached Rong Fei:

"Your Highness, you are a wise woman. Ever since Eunuch Baozhong started visiting our Yihua Palace more often, Xiahe has become restless. During the days when Eunuch Baozhong was ill, she frequently went to the Imperial Household Department at night."

Upon hearing this, Consort Rong smiled gently and twirled a strand of hair at her chest: "It's quite endearing that Bao Zhong has come to our Yihua Palace."

Feng Chun smiled, then leaned forward and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, last night you had me follow Shuoning. Guess what I saw?"

Consort Rong glanced at him sideways: "What?"

Feng Chun's voice lowered even further: "That mute servant in Changmen Palace calls Shuo Ning 'aunt'."

Consort Rong paused, her fingers stilling on her hair. "Aunt?" she asked, as if gently pricked by something. "He can talk?"

Feng Chun nodded: "I was thinking about this matter when I got back last night. It seems that the mute servant is not mute at all, as the rumors say. I saw him talk to Shuo Ning for quite a while with my own eyes."

Later, the two of them left Changmen Palace one after the other, heading towards Panting Lake. There's another matter: last night, when the fire was raging, Shuoning almost rushed into the flames to save him.

As he spoke, he glanced at Consort Rong's expression and said, "Your Majesty, this servant feels that the relationship between these two people is probably not so simple in private."