The coroner and the concubine doctor pursue the murderer in the Dali Temple

The twelfth prince couldn't come just by Xiao Mubei calling him. He had to be called by the emperor. He went there in person with the eunuch. He came back alone after a cup of tea.

"Eighth Princess, the twelfth prince has fallen asleep. The Queen said that he usually takes a nap after lunch, usually for about an hour."

Children usually have the habit of taking naps, so Chu Yunxi didn't doubt it, so she stood up and said, "I ate a little too much, Prince, will you accompany me for a walk?"

Xiao Mubei naturally had no objection. The Emperor Xiao Zhongyuan smiled and said, "Go ahead. Yunxi was in the palace for the first time yesterday. Old Eight, take her around the palace."

Chu Yunxi handed the medicine to the emperor, and immediately handed over some water with the eunuch. After Xiao Zhongyuan finished taking the medicine, Chu Yunxi said, "Grandfather, you should also go out for exercise more often. You can't stay in this bedroom all the time. Also, you must open the doors and windows of the bedroom more often for ventilation, otherwise the air will become turbid, which is not good for your illness."

He Gonggong couldn't stand the words "not good for your illness" anymore. He immediately opened all the windows and helped Xiao Zhongyuan up. "Your Majesty, let's go. I'll take you outside for a walk."

Xiao Zhongyuan complained, "It's so sunny at noon, do you want to kill me with the heat, old man? If you want to leave, wait until the sun sets in the evening."

Eunuch He looked at Chu Yunxi aggrievedly, and Chu Yunxi smiled and said, "Eunuch He, the emperor is right. In the future, you should accompany the emperor out for a walk early in the morning and late at night."

She took out another pack of masks and handed them to the eunuch, "When the emperor goes out, wear this and you can walk around the Imperial Garden. It will be much better if you encounter cats and dogs."

My father-in-law took it in confusion and asked, "What is this?"

Xiao Mubei took out one to demonstrate, "This is called a mask, it's disposable, throw it away when you're done wearing it, and use a new one next time. If Grandfather Huang has used it up, you can send someone to get Yunxi some."

Chu Yunxi felt very relieved, this boy is teachable.

Xiao Zhongyuan also took out one and put it on, wondering, "Yunxi, where did you get so many weird things? They are all quite useful."

Chu Yunxi smiled and said, "Grandfather, have you forgotten what I said yesterday? Keep it a secret. We are leaving and will be back soon."

After that, Chu Yunxi pulled Xiao Mubei out of Yongshou Palace. As soon as they left the palace, she lowered her voice and asked, "My Lord, where did Concubine Xian live before?"

Xiao Mubei's eyelids twitched, and his relaxed mood just now was completely gone. He said in a deep voice: "It's Fanghua Palace, I'll take you there."

The imperial palace was very large, and the roads inside were winding. The distance between Fanghua Palace and Yongshou Palace was not close, and it took about quarter of an hour to get there.

No one lives in Fanghua Palace now, but Emperor Sui Ming would have the palace maids and eunuchs come to clean it every two days, so it is not abandoned and still maintains the same appearance as when Concubine Xian left.

Chu Yunxi pushed open the door and saw the lush branches and leaves and clusters of flowers inside, so she said, "It seems that your father still likes your mother very much. For so long, he has sent people to take care of the palace where she lived."

Xiao Mubei was silent for a while, then said, "My mother was once his favorite person."

"I guessed it." Chu Yunxi sighed softly. It is not a good thing to be favored by the emperor. The harem is full of twists and turns. The women in the palace have endless means. They can do anything to win favor.

It was noon and the Fanghua Palace was quiet without a sound. The palace maids and eunuchs in charge of cleaning would not come at this time. Chu Yunxi and Xiao Mubei walked in.

There is a large courtyard as soon as you enter the door, with a ginkgo tree planted in the middle. At this season, the leaves have turned yellow, and the fallen leaves on the ground seem golden, like pieces of golden floor tiles.

Under the ginkgo tree, a swing is swaying gently in the wind. Various flowers are planted around the courtyard, including clusters of hydrangeas, elegant Clivia, pure white jasmine, and fiery red cannas...

Xiao Mubei stared at the swing and said in a low voice, "When I was a child, my mother would always play on the swing with me. She would push me for a while and then let me push her for a while. I was weak and could only push it up a little bit. My mother would lift the swing herself and lie to me, saying, 'Xiaobei is so good, you pushed it so high.'"

Chu Yunxi felt a little sad, this place was filled with Xiao Mubei's childhood memories and traces of Concubine Xian. Investigating Concubine Xian's case would be like digging up the scars in his heart.

She placed her hand on Xiao Mubei's shoulder and said firmly, "Don't worry, we will definitely find out the truth. If Empress Xian really died of illness, then we will visit her more often in the future. But if she was murdered by someone, we will find the real culprit and give justice to the Empress."

Xiao Mubei nodded heavily.

The two walked through the courtyard and came to the inner room of Fanghua Palace. Xiao Mubei pointed to the bedroom in the middle and said, "This is where my mother lives. I lived in the bedroom next to it when I was a child. To the north is where the palace maids and nurses live, and to the south is where the young eunuchs live. There are two head maids in Fanghua Palace, who are also my mother's personal maids, two nurses, four palace maids who are responsible for miscellaneous matters in the palace, and four eunuchs."

Chu Yunxi knew nothing about the human affairs in the palace. She couldn't help but be shocked when she heard this. "There is only one master in the palace, but there are so many servants?"

"My mother is only a concubine. If she were an imperial concubine or a queen, there would be more people in the palace." Xiao Mubei took Chu Yunxi into Concubine Xian's bedroom first. Chu Yunxi looked around first before slowly walking in to take a closer look.

The furniture used in Empress Xian's bedroom was not luxurious and looked similar to that in Yongshou Palace. The inside was the same as the outside. Although it had not been lived in for a long time, it was still spotless because it was cleaned frequently.

Xiao Mubei said, "I heard that my father often comes here to sit when he has nothing to do, so the palace maids and eunuchs dare not be lazy and clean up with all their heart and soul. Everything here looks the same as when my mother was here."

Did Emperor Sui Ming often come here to see things and recall his past? If he loved Concubine Xian so much, why did he let her leave the palace? Isn't this contradictory?

"Did Empress Xian tell you why she left the palace and lived in another courtyard?"

Xiao Mubei shook his head. "That year I was training in the army and preparing to go to the battlefield. I seldom went back to Fanghua Palace on weekdays. Mother sent someone to inform me after she went to the other courtyard. At that time, she just said that she was too bored living in the palace, so she asked for the emperor's grace to leave the palace and live in the other courtyard to breathe some free air. I didn't doubt it and thought that living in the other courtyard was also good. There were not so many rules, so I didn't think about it anymore. Later, I went to the battlefield. In the last four years of my mother's life, I hardly saw her. Now I think about it, I am really unfilial."