Eat the whole family? I emptied the storehouse of the Marquis' Mansion and married the crippled

Zhenghai picked up the portrait of the palace maid and looked at it carefully. The more he looked, the tighter his brows furrowed.

"Why do I think the maid in the portrait looks a bit like Ge Mianmian, the head maid in Rufei's palace?"

"But I don't have much contact with Ge Mianmian. She usually stays in Ru Fei's palace and rarely comes out."

"A few months after the late queen passed away, she was released from the palace when she reached the age required."

When Ye Jintang heard Zheng Hai say this, he immediately had a question mark in his mind.

"As far as I know, Chief Steward Zheng, senior maids in the palace who are favored by their masters will not leave the palace when they reach a certain age. Some will even stay in the palace for their entire lives. This Ge Mianmian is a senior maid, so it stands to reason that she should delay leaving the palace for a few years at least."

"Your Majesty is right. I vaguely remember that Ge Mianmian asked to leave the palace on her own, saying that her parents had arranged a marriage for her. At that time, Concubine Ru also gave her a generous dowry. Many maids in the palace envied her at that time."

The timing when Ge Mianmian left the palace was really a coincidence.

Afterwards, Xiao Mo asked Jin Yuan to find the palace maid who had served in Concubine Ru's palace in the past, to come and identify whether the woman in Ye Jintang's painting was Ge Mianmian.

After getting the exact answer, he sent someone to find the booklet about Ge Mianmian.

"Your Majesty, we, more than a dozen eunuchs and guards, have looked through all the lists of people who left the palace that year, but we didn't see the name Ge Mianmian."

Jin Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He knew the seriousness of the matter and wanted to find all the records related to Ge Mianmian immediately.

But Ge Mianmian seemed to have disappeared. Not only was there no record of her leaving the palace, even the record of her entering the palace had disappeared completely.

"It seems that someone doesn't want us to know about Ge Mianmian's existence. It's hard to say whether she is still alive after leaving the palace."

Xiao Mo was very disappointed at this moment. The truth was right in front of him, but he couldn't break through the last layer of window paper.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. As long as Ge Mianmian has lived in the palace, she will leave traces."

"Jin Yuan, start your investigation from the group of palace maids that entered the palace with Ge Mianmian. As long as you check carefully all the people who had contact with her before, you will always find clues."

"Yes."

There was no clue about Ge Mianmian's matter for the time being, so Xiao Mo started asking about his sister.

"After the little princess was born, she was taken care of by Aunt Qiu who was by the side of the late queen. It was also Aunt Qiu who later placed the little princess' body."

"Then do you know how Aunt Qiu arranged it?"

"I don't know about this."

"Can we still find Aunt Qiu now?"

"Not long after the late queen passed away, Madam Qiu also left the palace due to illness. I don't know her whereabouts."

Xiao Mo did not give up, and immediately asked Jin Yuan to check Nanny Qiu's record of leaving the palace. This time it was easy to find. In just two cups of tea, Jin Yuan brought Nanny Qiu's record of leaving the palace.

The record of leaving the palace detailed the address where Nanny Qiu lived after leaving the palace.

Xiao Mo immediately asked the Yulin Guards to investigate. He wanted to find out everything about Nanny Qiu as quickly as possible.

Things were ordered one after another, and soon only Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo were left in the warm room.

"Now it seems that my mother was really murdered by a bad guy. Why didn't she suspect the person who delivered the poison?"

Xiao Mo was in a depressed mood. This matter was like a needle piercing his heart, causing him dull pain from time to time.

"It's also possible that the late queen just didn't want to delve into it."

Ye Jintang looked at Xiao Mo helplessly.

Before the death of the late queen, the Jiang family had already fallen into decline, with some dying and some falling sick. Such a large family collapsed before her eyes, and her former friends and relatives were suppressed by the late emperor and were living a hard life.

Coupled with the betrayal of the love of her life and the death of her youngest daughter, every event was a shackle for the late queen.

When she can't bear it anymore, death may bring her relief.

Ye Jintang gently comforted Xiao Mo for a while, and he quickly came to his senses. Regardless of whether the late queen knew that the poison was not sent by the late emperor, he wanted to find out.

If he found out that it was Concubine Ru who did it, he would kill all nine clans of Concubine Ru to vent his anger.

The efficiency of the Yulin Guards was very fast. The next day, as soon as Xiao Mo finished the morning court, the Yulin Guards sent him news that they had actually found Nanny Qiu.

However, Nanny Qiu died suddenly a long time ago, and now only one daughter is still alive in her family. She used to run a restaurant in another city and only returned to the capital last year.

The restaurant she opened was called Deyue Tower, and was quite famous in the capital.

"Jintang, come with me to Deyue Tower. I want to ask Xu Guixiang in person whether she knows what happened back then."

"Okay, I'll go with you."

Xiao Mo and Ye Jintang changed into casual clothes, dressed like an ordinary couple, and took a carriage to Deyue Tower together.

The winter wind is biting cold and there are not many pedestrians on the streets.

After the carriage entered the restaurant street, more people started to pass by.

"Food, clothing, housing and transportation are four industries that can earn money with your eyes closed. Brother Xiao, look at these restaurants and taverns. There are many people passing by their doors."

Ye Jintang lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out. Her mood improved as she looked at the bustling streets.

She always helps Xiao Mo deal with government affairs in the palace, and she feels very exhausted.

She could obviously lie down and enjoy life, but she ends up having to go to bed early every day.

"If the common people have money in their hands, naturally there will be more people in restaurants and taverns."

If a country's economy can achieve a virtuous cycle, the lives of its people will get better and better.

Xiao Mo and Ye Jintang have been working hard to get the Tianqin State's state machinery back on the right track.

"Look, there's a queue outside the store ahead. This must be really delicious to have people lining up."

There are many restaurants in the capital, each with its own specialty, and you rarely have to wait in line for a table.

When the carriage arrived in front of the restaurant, Jin Yuan said, "Master, Madam, this is Deyue Tower. I have booked a private room. We can go up directly without waiting in line."

"Oh, when did you book the private room?"

Ye Jintang got off the carriage. They wanted to come and take a look on a whim. It would have been impossible for them to book a private room in Yuelou, which was so popular.

"Madam, you don't know that the proprietress of Deyue Building is a good businessman. There are two private rooms on the second floor of Deyue Building. They are not open to the public on weekdays. Only distinguished guests will be invited in."

"General Zhou is a frequent visitor to Deyue Tower. I have booked a private room for General Zhou."

"I see. It seems that the lady boss of Deyue Tower is not a simple person."

Leaving the two private rooms idle all year round would mean losing a lot of money, but there is also an advantage: it would allow her to make many good friends, which would be very helpful to her business.

As soon as Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo got off the carriage, a waiter from Deyue Tower came out to greet them. After asking the name of Qingya Room, he took the two of them into the restaurant lobby. The shopkeeper, who received the news, came out to greet them with a smile.