Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

As night fell, Jiang Shuoning still hadn't returned to Yihua Palace. Consort Rong sat under the lamp, her tea having gone cold without her drinking. She set down the teacup, her voice tinged with mild anger:

"Fengchun, go to Changmen Palace and bring the person back. Have him receive twenty strokes of the cane, then bring him in to see me."

Feng Chun responded and quickly went out the door.

Bao Zhong was walking briskly across the long street toward Changmen Palace.

In the evening, Xia He came to the Imperial Household Department to find him, saying that Jiang Shuoning had not returned to Yihua Palace all day, and no one knew where she had gone.

He didn't ask any further questions at the time, only saying, "She left before noon." Then he sent Xia He away.

But after those words, he became restless and sent Xiao Luzi to inquire, who said that Jiang Shuoning had not yet returned.

Jiang Shuoning was never the type to disappear without a trace. She cried so much in his room during the day, and her eyes were still red when she left.

His heart sank deeper and deeper, wondering if something had happened to her, or if she simply didn't want to go back.

He quickened his pace, and the night wind rushed into his sleeves, making his fingertips stiff with cold.

Inside Changmen Palace, a great fire last night left it in ruins.

Eunuch Qiao and his group of eunuchs and maids spent the whole day cleaning up. Their faces and bodies were covered in cigarette ash. They were cursing and swearing angrily, but their hands never stopped working.

He was squatting on the ground picking up broken tiles when he looked up and saw Bao Zhong walking in with a gloomy face. He immediately dropped what he was holding and went to greet him, crying and complaining:

"Eunuch Baozhong, you've finally arrived! Look at the state of our Changmen Palace! All ten rooms are gone! When will the Imperial Household Department send someone to repair it?"

Bao Zhong didn't stop walking, only glanced at him, and asked in a deep voice, "Where's the mute servant?"

Eunuch Qiao paused for a moment, then pointed in a direction:

"His house burned down, so they settled him in the east courtyard and gave him a room that was usually occupied by palace maids. It was the last one."

Before he could finish speaking, Baozhong had already strode towards the east courtyard.

Grandpa Qiao was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed.

The palace maids in the east courtyard were washing clothes, and the fire did not reach them.

When they saw Bao Zhong and Eunuch Qiao enter, they all stood up and curtsied, saying, "Eunuch Bao Zhong."

Bao Zhong didn't even glance at them, quickening his pace as he walked inside.

Arriving at the last house, he pushed the door open, his pupils suddenly contracting.

A masked eunuch was seen tightly strangling Zhou Zhengyin's neck with a rope and pulling him backward violently.

Zhou Zhengyin lay on the ground, his feet digging into the earth, his cheeks flushed red from suffocation, his hands desperately digging into the ropes embedded in his flesh, and soft, hoarse sounds escaping his throat.

Eunuch Qiao turned deathly pale with fright and screamed in a high-pitched voice, "How dare you! Who are you to commit such a heinous act in the palace!"

Before he could finish speaking, Bao Zhong had already rushed forward. Seeing this, the masked eunuch released his grip, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. He pulled a dagger from his robes and swung it at him.

Eunuch Qiao rushed over to see Zhou Zhengyin, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Help! Someone's committing murder!"

Bao Zhong dodged to the side, grabbed the other man's wrist, and kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. The dagger in the man's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

"Who sent you?"

After falling to the ground, the man rolled over and saw guards rushing in from outside the courtyard. He didn't have time to pick up the dagger and turned to run.

Bao Zhong chased after him out of the house and saw that the man was agile and nimble. He leaped onto the roof and disappeared into the night in a few bounds.

The guards looked up and shouted, "Assassin! Catch the assassin!"

Bao Zhong stood in the courtyard, gazing in the direction the figure had left. After a moment of contemplation, he turned and strode into the house.

(under)

Eunuch Qiao had already untied the rope from Zhou Zhengyin's neck.

Zhou Zhengyin slumped to the ground, clutching his throat and coughing violently. His face was still flushed, and his eyes were full of tears from choking.

Bao Zhong squatted down, reached out and pulled aside his disheveled collar, and glanced down at him.

A deep ligature mark was left on his neck, red and swollen, with fine blood vessels visible through the exposed flesh.

He looked at it for a moment, said nothing, simply pulled his collar back up, and stood up.

"Eunuch Qiao," he said, his voice steady, "you go out first and close the door behind you. Don't let anyone in."

Eunuch Qiao opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but seeing Bao Zhong's uncompromising expression, he swallowed back the words he was about to say, and repeatedly replied "Yes" before leaving.

After the door closed, Eunuch Qiao turned to the still-stunned palace maids and eunuchs in the courtyard and shouted, "Disperse! Go back to what you were doing!"

The room fell silent.

Bao Zhong looked down at Zhou Zhengyin. "Can you still speak?"

Zhou Zhengyin coughed hoarsely and said, "Yes."

Bao Zhong didn't reply. He turned to the side, walked to the window, opened it a crack, and glanced outside.

The people in the courtyard had already dispersed, and the guards were stationed at the entrance.

He closed the window, turned and walked to the table, sitting down. His tone was calm: "Did you see his face clearly?"

Zhou Zhengyin shook his head. He caught his breath, sat up straighter, and his voice was still hoarse:

"They were masked. They came in and started attacking without saying a word."

Bao Zhong hummed in agreement, lowered his head and thought for a moment, as if he were going over something in his mind, then looked up at Zhou Zhengyin, "Did you see Shuoning today?"

Zhou Zhengyin shook his head slightly and said in a hoarse voice, "Auntie hasn't come today."

Upon hearing this, Bao Zhong's heart sank, and his brows furrowed instantly.

"Shuoning has been missing since he left the Imperial Household Department at noon, and tonight you were attacked. What do you think is the reason for this?"

Zhou Zhengyin's face turned pale instantly, and he abruptly stood up from the ground:

"What do you mean Auntie hasn't been seen at all? Where did Auntie go?"

Bao Zhong suddenly stood up, took a step in front of Zhou Zhengyin, grabbed his collar, and pulled him forward sharply.

The two were almost nose to nose. His voice was lowered to a whisper, but each word was forced out through clenched teeth:

"Are you two hiding something from me?!"

Zhou Zhengyin's heart skipped a beat.

Song Zhang died, in that fire. If Song Zhang's death alerted that person, then tonight he won't be the only one whose life is taken; his aunt will too.

His mind went blank as he thought about it, and he had only one thought in mind: to find a way to go to his aunt.

"Auntie can't be hurt, I need to go find her."

He turned to rush out, but Baozhong grabbed his collar and pulled him back sharply, throwing him back.

"If you really care about her, say so now. Every moment you delay increases the danger for her. It's too late."

Zhou Zhengyin's mind was in complete turmoil. He looked up at Bao Zhong, his panic barely concealed.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you. I asked my aunt to help me investigate my mother's past. Then, my aunt helped Eunuch Xin out of his predicament, and only then did Eunuch Xin tell me that my mother did indeed die unjustly."

The eunuch who was burned to death last night was named Song Zhang. He was the head eunuch who served my mother and was also the younger brother of Granny Yu.

But I didn't trust what Eunuch Xin said, so last night I went to Song Zhang's room to verify it with him. He had his tongue cut out and his hands chopped off, but he left me a poem before he died. I suspect that poem points to the person behind him.

Last night I saw a woman crying at the palace gate. I was certain she was the one who killed my mother, but when I chased after her, she was gone.

As he said this, he grabbed Bao Zhong's shoulder, his eyes red-rimmed, his voice urgent and hoarse:

"But Song Zhang's death has nothing to do with me. However, I only found out this morning that he was burned to death by the candle I put in his room last night."

Baozhong, I didn't have time to tell my aunt about these things. Someone tried to attack me tonight; it was someone who sensed something was wrong. That person can send someone to kill me, and they can kill your aunt too.

I... I didn't expect it to be this serious. Baozhong, we have to go find Auntie now, or it will be too late.

After Bao Zhong finished speaking, his chest heaved violently, and the knuckles of his fingers, which were gripping his clothes, turned white.

He stared intently at Zhou Zhengyin, his jaw clenched so tightly that his jaw muscles were taut, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence from his throat:

"I have no right to stop you from investigating your mother's affairs. But you've dragged her into this time and time again. If something happens to Shuoning—"

He abruptly swallowed his words halfway through. He released his grip, shoved Zhou Zhengyin aside, and turned to walk towards the door.

Zhou Zhengyin followed without turning his head, and whispered his instructions:

"Keep everything you just said to yourself. Don't tell anyone. Also, you're sleeping in Eunuch Qiao's room tonight, and you're not allowed to go anywhere else."

The door was pushed open and then slammed shut. Footsteps hurried away into the distance.

Zhou Zhengyin stood still, tilted his head back, and forced back the tears welling up in his eyes. The mark on his neck burned with pain.

A moment later. When he opened his eyes, only a chilling coldness remained in them, and he murmured:

"Auntie, don't be afraid. I'm here to save you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of the dagger on the ground out of the corner of his eye. It was the one that the masked eunuch had dropped in haste.

He bent down, picked it up, put it in his sleeve, and pushed open the door to go out.