Long Harem Road

Chapter 66

The next day, the emperor woke up satisfied, kissed the sleeping woman beside him, and tiptoed away. Before saying hello, Baozhu got up with her sore waist, and secretly scolded the emperor why he didn't have an iron pestle to grind it into a needle, and sooner or later the peony flowers would die.

"Master, there are clues about the traitor, and we can basically confirm it." Huanxi hurried into the inner room, and after the maids came out after washing up, she stood beside Baozhu and reported.

"Tell me in detail." Baozhu got up and supported Joy, walked out of the inner room, sat on the grand teacher's chair outside, took a sip of the tea cup that Joy offered, with a serious expression.

"Returning to the master, there are five servants in the Qingfeng Palace who can be close to the study room. The servants, Huanxi, and Luliu are responsible for cleaning the interior of the study room and sorting out the books. They can enter at will. Decai and Wangcai are mainly responsible for guarding the study room on weekdays. They also have the opportunity Enter."

"Well, have you checked everything?"

"Returning to the master, the servant first checked from Decai and Wangcai, and then inquired secretly. The two people's mouths were basically the same, and they didn't enter the study or let others in. Therefore, the servant locked the target on Luliu."

"Green willow?"

Luliu, sent by Li Mingzhong a year ago, Baozhu has a good impression of this girl, although she looks plain, she has an indifferent temperament, she is not impatient or aggressive, smart and cautious, after a period of investigation, she is arranged in the important place of the study. It was she who guarded herself.

"What doubts did you find?"

"The servant girl secretly checked Luliu's clothes, and found a few hundred taels of silver bills, which were secretly sewn between the cuffs of the palace dress."

"It's in line with her style of behavior. She is cautious, only accepts cashier receipts, and does not leave any identifiable items. Can you find out who in the palace she is connected with?" Baozhu continued to ask with a gloomy expression.

"The servant was ashamed, and sent people to follow her for more than ten days, and found that she followed the rules every day. After she was on duty, she stayed in the room to do needlework. She did not find that she had tipped off or had too much contact with anyone.

The only clue is that yesterday morning, Luliu went to the imperial dining room and handed two bank notes to Zhang Shun, the eunuch who bought them, and asked Zhang Shun to buy some rouge and gouache for her. "

The court ladies and eunuchs in the palace would often ask some eunuchs who were able to leave the palace to bring back some gadgets. This was understandable, but it seemed that there was nothing worth noting. The happy face showed shame, and they hadn’t found any specific clues for more than ten days.

"Have you ever arranged for someone to watch Zhang Shun?" Bao Zhu thought for a while before putting down the teacup in her hand.

"Returning to Master, Xiao Shitou is also in the buying team. The slave has already told him to pay attention to Zhang Shun's every move."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. When will the court lady buy some ordinary rouge powder and need a hundred taels of silver, there must be something wrong with it. I will arrange someone to watch Niang Shun, and I want to see who is behind the scenes."

Baozhu pondered for a moment, then continued, "In addition, look for some maids and eunuchs who entered the palace with Luliu, maybe you will find something unexpected, and focus on her experience before entering the palace."

The emperor's people have one thing in common, that is, they are orphans, and they have been in the palace for a long time, like Lu Liu, who entered the palace at the age of ten, and has been struggling in the palace for nearly ten years. It is not easy for such a person who has no worries Being restrained is more loyal, obviously the emperor knows how to do it well.

"Yes, master."

"Well, go to the imperial dining room quickly, find the little stone, and report the situation outside the palace. Remember, you can't miss any clues. In addition, keep an eye on Luliu and carefully check what Zhang Shun brought back for her."

"Yes, the servant understands."

"Well, you can go in person. Huanxi and Liu Quan will accompany Ben Gong to Kunning Palace today."

"Yes!"

Today's greetings were very harmonious, everyone seemed to be frightened by Concubine De's sharpness yesterday, and no one was entangled with her.

"Master." Huanxi had already returned, helped Baozhu into the inner hall, served sour plum soup to relieve the heat, Huanxi nodded slightly, led everyone back, and guarded the door.

"Go ahead."

"Returning to Master, Zhang Shun and his group went to a makeup shop named 'Jinse' on Zhuque Avenue after finishing their business yesterday, and bought some ordinary gouache."

"Oh? What can you find out about this shop?"

"Returning to the master, it's only a day, and the news from outside the palace is limited. The owner of this shop is a young couple surnamed Wang. It has only been open for a year, and nothing wrong has been found out."

"Check out the owner of this shop, and find an opportunity to trick Zhang Shun."

"Yes!"

The emperor seems to be busy with government affairs during this time, staying in the Qianqing Palace, occasionally visiting the princes and princesses in the harem, the new concubines stretched their necks and their eyes turned red.

The old people are used to the emperor's diligence and love for the people, and the empress is even more concerned about the emperor's health, and personally sent sweet soup to the Qianqing Palace. Although the concubines of the harem are not allowed to enter the Qianqing Palace, the emperor is also willing to deal with such innocuous matters. Give the Queen some respect.

Zhu Yan, the last female picker who just entered the palace, didn't know what to say. She blindly followed suit. Not only was she not summoned by the emperor, but she was thrown into the cold palace for disrupting official duties. We had dinner together.

When the noisy cicadas chirping outside the window one after another, annoying people, the midsummer is coming in July, the air is hot and dull, a gust of wind blows, it doesn't feel refreshed at all, and Baozhu becomes more and more lazy, unwilling to go out.

The emperor, who had been neglected in the harem for more than half a month, finally stepped into the harem again and stayed in the empress's Kunning Palace. The next day, when he greeted him, the empress looked ruddy and smiling, obviously moistened.

Back at Qingfeng Palace, Baozhu hurriedly picked up the sour plum soup beside her, and gulped it down. She felt that this summer was extremely hot, and her chest was so tight that she couldn't breathe.

"Master, I finally found out."

"Well, let's talk." Baozhu drank another sip of sour plum juice to suppress the discomfort in her chest.

"Yes, the name of the shopkeeper of Rouge Shop is Wang Defa. He is an orphan. He is 20 years old. He used to be a clerk in the garment shop in the east of the city.

A year ago, Wang Defa suddenly made a small fortune, sold the current rouge shop, and married his wife, Mei Niang.

Meiniang is an orphan girl who came to the capital from the south a year ago to seek refuge with her relatives. Unexpectedly, her relatives were not found and her money was exhausted. She was rescued by Wang Defa and promised her with her body. ", after Huanxi finished speaking, she took out two portraits and handed them to Baozhu, "This is the portrait of two people. "

"One year ago? It's quite a coincidence." Baozhu unfolded the portrait in front of her. The one on the top was a young man in his 20s, with a thin body, ordinary appearance, small eyes and high nose bridge, but he was honest and honest.

The next one is an ordinary young woman of fifteen or sixteen years old. She doesn't look outstanding at all. The only thing that people can remember is the mole on the lower right corner of her mouth, which adds a bit of charm to this ordinary woman. .

"Huanxi, do you think this woman looks familiar?" Baozhu frowned.

"The master has good eyesight, and the servants also feel familiar. Have you noticed that her eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to those of Green Willow?"

"Oh, no wonder? Isn't Luliu an orphan? Does this woman have anything to do with her?"

"Returning to the master, during this period of time, the servant arranged for someone to find a few court ladies who entered the palace with Lu Liu, and got a few words from them. Before Lu Liu entered the palace, she had a younger sister who was five years younger than her.

When the two of them fled to the capital together, the younger sister was pushed away in the panic. Lu Liu searched for a few days but failed, thinking that the younger sister had died, so she entered the palace and became a palace maid. "

"Oh? It's a coincidence. Why did Luliu, who had been staying in the deep palace, suddenly find her younger sister? Since the emperor accepted Luliu, he must have checked it back then. Even the emperor couldn't find out. Who is so capable? ? Is there any other news?"

"Back to the master, Zhang Shun accidentally confessed when he was drunk. A year ago, Luliu approached her and bought him with 100 taels of silver to deliver letters to her family. Once a month, Zhang Shun felt that there was no serious problem. Being greedy for money, he became a middleman."

"Well, it seems that this beautiful lady is probably Luliu's younger sister, and she is the root of Luliu's betrayal, and the money Wang Defa gave was probably given by the people behind the scenes to settle Meiniang, and the source can be found ?”

"Returning to the master, our people, together with the second master, have investigated for more than ten days, but there is no progress. We only know that a year ago, Wang Defa was responsible for delivering clothes to the rich and powerful families. It should be related to these rich officials and rich families he contacted.

Reminiscent of the connection with the palace, there are still more than ten households after screening. ", Joy showed embarrassment, these people are all officials in the capital, it is really not easy to investigate.

"Well, it's hard for you. It's not so easy to investigate the affairs of high-ranking families. Let's start with the person involved. Since the other party can use Meiniang to restrain Luliu, we can also treat him in the same way.

By the way, kindly test for Luliu, whether her sister Meiniang is worthy of her betrayal. ", Baozhu's expression was solemn, and he sneered, with a trace of cruelty in his eyes.

"Yes, master, this servant understands." Joy's eyes lit up, and he saluted and retreated.

Simple and crude methods are sometimes the most effective. In the afternoon of the next day, joy could not hide the excitement in his eyes. Presumably, there was progress. Baozhu, who was playing sports cars with the fourth prince, was finally relieved. He leaned tiredly on the soft couch, listening to Happy report.

"Back to the master, Meiniang has confessed everything. For her little lover, she betrayed Luliu without hesitation." She was happy to gloat, but also a little contemptuous. Willow's life and death, I really feel sorry for the green willow.

"What are you talking about?"

"Master, Meiniang's original name was Chunxiang, she was sold to Wei Shilang's mansion by Ren Yazi when she was six or seven years old, and became the maid of Mrs. Wei's side two years ago.

And Wang Defa is a small job in the largest tailor-made clothing store in the capital, "Neon Clothes Pavilion", and he often goes to Wei's mansion to tailor clothes for the old lady.

A year ago, Wang Defa went to Wei's residence to deliver clothes, and Chunxiang was in charge of leading him to the old lady's yard. Just as the old lady was entertaining guests, the two went to the side hall to wait together. The maid and mother-in-law who came to look for it found it.

Chunxiang was labeled as an adulterer. In a rage, the old lady wanted to beat her to death with a stick, but Wang Defa desperately protected her. The two were finally imprisoned in the woodshed, waiting to be dealt with.

She thought she was doomed, but it turned out that the will was dark and the flowers were bright. Three days later, Chunxiang, who was suffering from hunger and cold, was released by the old lady, who kindly comforted her. At present, there is only one person who can save her and Wang Defa.

And repeatedly promised that after the matter is completed, not only will her slavery be eliminated, but she will also be given a new identity and enough money to allow her to live a good life with Wang Defa.

Only then did Chunxiang realize that the other party’s goal was her sister Lu Liu, whom she had lost contact with for nearly ten years. In order to save herself and Wang Defa’s life, she nodded in agreement. A few days later, Chunxiang followed Mrs. Secretly meet Lu Liu on the path.

Because of the similar appearance of the two, and the mole on the corner of Chunxiang's lips, Luliu would naturally not doubt it. Afterwards, the Wei family kept their word and sent her away, and gave them a sum of money to buy the rouge shop, so that Yu kept in touch with Luliu. "

"Wei Shilang's Mansion? Concubine Wei, the maid who was illicit by the boy in the clothing store, has an exquisite design." Baozhu put down the teacup in her hand with a bang, and mocked.

"Keeping Chunxiang is probably for the purpose of restraining Luliu from time to time for her use, and this Wang Defa, he should have been bought by the Wei family a long time ago, right?"

"Master is very aware of the details. According to Wang Defa's account, he was bought by Young Master Wei a year and a half ago. The purpose was to seduce Chunxiang and create the illusion of adultery." Joyful said in disgust that he didn't have any affection for this kind of man.

"How does Concubine Wei know that Chunxiang is Luliu's younger sister?" Baozhu frowned.

"Returning to Master, according to Chunxiang's account, during the third prince's full moon banquet, she entered the palace with Mrs. Wei and met Concubine Wei, and Concubine Wei knew Luliu. It is not surprising that the two were connected after a secret investigation."

"Concubine Wei is very careful, she must have designed it for a long time, a year and a half ago Luliu was not from our Qingfeng Palace, but a tea palace maid from Kunning Palace.

It seems that Concubine Wei's original goal was the emperor, but my palace has been implicated. You said that the emperor knows this, what will happen? ", Baozhu stroked the teacup in his hand, gloating.

"Those who dare to threaten to use Qianqing Palace, the emperor will never let them go easily."

Yes, although the original target was not her, Concubine Wei Gui and her were not friends, and she hated her even more, and did not make a move for a long time, but it was just that the time had not come.

Since Gan Bengong has buried a disaster under his nose, how can this Qiu Bengong let it go so easily?There was a cluster of flames burning in Baozhu's eyes, and a sullen feeling rushed up in her heart, and her chest felt uncomfortable.

In vain she thought she was smart, but she didn't know that there was a sword hanging above her head, "Baby." Suddenly thinking of the imperial concubine's hatred for Zhao Hao, Baozhu felt anxious.

Get up anxiously, suddenly feel black in front of your eyes, staggered and fell to the side, only heard the anxious shouts of Huanxi and others in a blur.

(End of this chapter)