Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

The Emperor was riding in his palanquin through the passageway when suddenly his brows furrowed slightly, and he raised his hand to signal, "Stop."

Bao Zhong bowed and approached the palanquin, whispering, "Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

"Why did I just hear someone shouting?"

The emperor raised his eyes and looked towards the long street on his right. The night shrouded the palace road, and he could not see the end of it.

Bao Zhong followed the Emperor's gaze, paused for a moment, and then looked away: "Your Majesty, this servant did not hear anything just now."

The Emperor, thinking he had misheard, leaned back in his chair and said, "Alright, let's go to the observatory. It's terribly stuffy today. I can't sleep either."

The palanquin was lifted again and slowly moved forward.

Bao Zhong followed behind, paused slightly, and couldn't help but turn back to take a deep look at the dark street.

The night wind, carrying a sweltering heat, rushed into my ears, inexplicably making my heart tighten.

He composed himself, quickly followed, and a sense of unease quietly rose in his heart.

Meanwhile, on West Street.

Zhou Zhengyin followed the short shout he had just heard, looking around but finding no one in sight on the empty palace road.

His heart sank, and he ran a few more steps forward when he suddenly heard a struggling sound coming from the corner of the wall.

Inside the deep alley, Jiang Shuoning was being dragged along by the little eunuch.

The man held her neck tightly with one hand and covered her mouth and nose with a medicated towel with the other.

She futilely kicked her feet and desperately tried to pry his arms off, but the effects of the drug gradually seeped into her limbs, her strength rapidly draining away, and her consciousness fading.

A scene suddenly flashed before my eyes.

Iron cage, icy pool water, clothes stripped off...

Bao Zhong saved her last time.

We can't let him be a burden this time.

With her last shred of consciousness, she reached out and groped around on the ground, her fingertips touching her hairpin.

She immediately grabbed it and, with all her might, stabbed the back of the eunuch's hand that was covering her.

"ah--"

The young eunuch winced in pain and abruptly loosened his grip.

Jiang Shuoning seized the opportunity to break free, staggered two steps, his limbs went weak, his vision went black, and he almost fell over.

But the person behind her wouldn't give up. He suddenly reached out and grabbed her ankle, pulling hard.

She lurched forward and fell straight down!

Just as her forehead was about to hit the ground, a pair of strong arms caught her steadily.

Zhou Zhengyin looked down at her disheveled appearance, his pupils contracted sharply, and he called out softly, "Auntie!"

Seeing that things were not going well, the young eunuch got up and tried to escape.

Jiang Shuoning gripped Zhou Zhengyin's sleeve tightly, his voice hoarse and weak, urgently urging, "Don't let him get away!"

Zhou Zhengyin looked up and shouted sharply into the shadows, "Guards! Someone is attempting assassination!"

He shouted urgently and loudly, his voice like a knife cleaving through the night, bouncing back and forth on the empty palace road.

The little eunuch was startled by the roar, then turned around abruptly and ran desperately into the depths of the alley.

The patrolling guards rushed over upon hearing the noise and saw a young eunuch running away frantically, so they immediately gave chase.

Another group of guards had already turned into the narrow alley and saw Jiang Shuoning being half-supported by Zhou Zhengyin, slumped on the ground, covered in sweat and with his clothes in disarray. They were immediately shocked.

The night breeze was slightly cool at the observatory.

The emperor lay quietly on an open-air couch, with incense smoke curling from a burner beside him. The flowers and trees around him were silent, and the night was still.

Suddenly, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps broke the silence.

The Emperor opened his eyes and frowned: "Baozhong, what's all this commotion?"

Bao Zhong looked up and saw the guards hurrying through the woods. He frowned, turned around and bowed to the emperor on the soft couch, saying, "This servant will go and see."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a squad of guards burst in. Upon seeing the Emperor, they were terrified and immediately knelt down. The lead guard, prostrate on the ground, spoke in a trembling voice:

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty! I was unaware that Your Majesty was here. Just now, an incident occurred on West Street. Someone committed a crime against Miss Shuoning of Yihua Palace."

Bao Zhong's heart sank.

The Emperor abruptly sat upright, his gaze sharp, his voice turning icy: "What did you say?!"

(under)

The guards led Jiang Shuoning and Zhou Zhengyin to the observatory.

The young eunuch was forced to kneel at the foot of the steps. A deep gash ran down the back of his right hand, blood still dripping onto the blue bricks.

The three of them knelt down at the same time.

The head guard presented a face towel with both hands and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, this is evidence of the crime. I have examined it and found that it was soaked in sleeping potion, enough to cause someone to faint."

Bao Zhong stepped forward, reached out and took the face towel. As his fingertips touched the fabric, his expression grew increasingly serious. He glanced at Jiang Shuoning.

She almost collapsed to the ground, her body trembling slightly, one cheek flushed and swollen, her hair disheveled, her forehead covered in cold sweat, and she was so weak that she seemed about to fall.

Zhou Zhengyin, standing beside her, kept his head down, his fingertips gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, his knuckles turning white, unable to hide the panic in his heart.

Bao Zhong knew that Zhou Zhengyin had never met the emperor since he came to the palace, and that he must be terrified and uneasy to witness the murder in the palace tonight.

He suppressed his chaotic thoughts and bowed to present the evidence: "Your Majesty, please take a look."

The Emperor's gaze swept over the face mask, his cold eyes landing on the young eunuch below the steps: "Which palace are you from?"

The young eunuch trembled violently, stammering incoherently, "Your Majesty... this servant... this servant is from the flower room..."

"Who ordered this?" the Emperor asked, his voice as cold as frost.

The young eunuch's jaw trembled, and he dared not answer.

The emperor remained calm and composed. He picked up the teacup, gently skimmed off the foam, took a small sip, and slowly set it down, his demeanor chillingly calm.

"If you refuse to speak, drag you to the Department of Cautious Punishment. Let the torture chambers speak for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the little eunuch broke down instantly, kowtowing repeatedly, his forehead hitting the blue bricks with a loud thud, crying and begging for mercy:

"Your Majesty, spare my life! This servant confesses! This servant has long admired Miss Shuoning, and in a moment of infatuation, I acted on my own initiative and committed this wrongdoing! No one instructed me! I beg Your Majesty for mercy!"

The observatory fell silent for a moment.

The night wind blew through the woods, carrying this clumsy explanation to everyone's ears.

Jiang Shuoning dug his fingertips into the cracks in the brickwork, forcing his head up despite his groggy state, his voice hoarse and weak:

"Your Majesty, he is lying. We beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."

The Emperor lowered his eyes and looked at her.

Her clothes were disheveled, her hair was completely undone, and she knelt under the moonlight, frail yet stubborn.

Anger surged in his eyes. He reached up, took off his cloak, strode forward, and draped it over her slender shoulders, his tone sharp and stern:

"As someone serving Consort Rong, how can you be so disheveled! Put this on!"

Jiang Shuoning was startled, not daring to look up. She lowered her head, clutched her cloak tightly, and whispered her thanks: "This servant thanks Your Majesty."

The Emperor turned and sat down, looking down at the trembling eunuch with a cold, angry voice:

"I am considerate of the hard work of the palace servants and have allowed you to eat together in the palace and live peacefully. I never imagined that my benevolence would embolden you to commit such despicable acts."

"Do you think a simple expression of affection can cover up a murder and attempted murder?"

His eyes were sharp, and his words were intimidating:

"Since you refuse to tell the truth, take you to the Censorate for severe interrogation. I want to find out who dares to harm people so wantonly in my palace."

The guards immediately stepped forward, grabbed the wailing eunuch, and dragged him away from the observatory. His pitiful pleas for mercy faded into the distance and were eventually swallowed up by the night wind.

The observatory fell silent again.

The Emperor sat in front of the soft couch, remained silent for a moment, and when his gaze fell on Jiang Shuoning again, he suddenly noticed a person kneeling beside her.

The boy knelt upright, his shoulders and back taut, his head bowed, his face obscured, only his outline faintly visible in the moonlight.

The Emperor sized him up for a moment: "Who are you? Which palace are you from?"