I'm a humble concubine. My acting skills are off the charts. You can check my performance.

Zhao Fangyu handed a thin envelope to Lan Ye and went back to the Sutra Hall to look for Hongzhu.

Hongzhu took a pair of scissors with her before leaving the house, and she really didn't seem to have any other intentions: "Let's cut more lotus pods and bring them back. We can dry them and cook them into porridge."

Zhao Fangyu's eyes moved around the sharp scissors, and his smile did not reach his eyes: "That's great, I'll ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to buy some red dates and longans, so that we can have a warm drink in winter."

There were so many lotus pods in the lotus pond that they could not be picked all. The people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not dare to pick the lotus pods by the pond, for fear that the mistress might pass by there one day and want to pick lotus pods for fun.

Most of the eunuchs in the Ministry of Internal Affairs came from poor families. If anything happened to them, no one would cover them up, and if they died, they were dead, so they were extremely good at understanding the intentions of their superiors.

Seeing Zhao Fangyu coming, the eunuchs who were used to changing their attitude according to the situation bowed and greeted the two of them. After all, Zhao Fangyu was now a prominent figure in the palace.

It was a great honor to be the center of attention at the Queen's flower banquet. Besides, she was a female official, so it was easy for her to stand out.

Hongzhu had been with Zhao Fangyu for a long time and had gotten used to it. She looked around and said that most of the lotus pods here had been picked.

"Let's go inside. There are fewer people and more lotus pods there."

That location was also deeper than where Zhao Fangyu fell into the water last time.

It is extremely quiet, connected to a huge area of houses with mountain views, with a wide crack in the middle that is just right for pedestrians to pass through.

The two walked through the cave, and Hongzhu pointed at the lotus pods at the edge and said, "Sister, pick them here. I'll go find some bigger ones inside."

Zhao Fangyu responded without hesitation and turned around to pick the fruits by the pond without any preparation.

There are fewer people here, and perhaps because more fertilizer was spread on the flowers, Zhao Fangyu noticed that the lotus leaves here were a circle larger than those elsewhere.

In the shade of the flowers, there are few human voices, but the sounds of birds and insects are endless, and the tender red and pink lotus flowers are in full bloom.

The lotus leaves in the lotus pond are densely packed and half a person tall. Combined with the ups and downs and winding paths along the mountain house, in some places the lotus leaves are even taller than people.

Zhao Fangyu only picked the big ones, with half of his body outside the fence.

At this moment, if there was an extra hand behind her and gave her a gentle push, she would fall into the lotus pond.

A faint fragrance gradually wafted over, and the corners of Zhao Fangyu's lips curled up, and he actually felt a little excited.

The eldest prince really underestimated her. Among the four people in the Sutra Hall, he only instigated one to kill her.

Hongzhu suddenly stretched out a hand and pushed Zhao Fangyu's right shoulder with great force! The force was so great that she almost rushed into the lotus pond!

Zhao Fangyu bent down to avoid it, staring at Hongzhu's stunned expression with a half-smile, his eyes suddenly became fierce: "You want to kill me?"

Seeing that the truth was revealed, Hongzhu simply stopped explaining and went all out. Her eyes became fierce, and she opened her arms as if hugging Zhao Fangyu, actually wanting to hold him and knock his head against the stone!

This is because they are afraid that she won’t be drowned, so they knock her unconscious and then throw her in!

No wonder the flowers here grow so well, there must be a lot of bones buried underneath.

Zhao Fangyu had been on guard against Hongzhu. Seeing her change her strategy, he quickly pulled out a pearl hairpin from her bun and stabbed it hard at the approaching Hongzhu!

She had polished the hairpin earlier and it was very sharp. When it was pointed at a person's weak spot, blood was drawn immediately!

Hongzhu was not Deadpool, but an ordinary palace maid who wanted to surrender to the prince. When she saw the blood, she screamed, lost her strength, and begged for mercy. Zhao Fangyu seized the opportunity and stabbed her several more times!

"If I'm not mistaken, it was you who pushed me into the lotus pond last time?"

"Who is your accomplice?"

The palace maid who helped Hongzhu was not from the Sutra Hall.

Zhao Fangyu gave pearl cream to everyone in the Sutra Library. He added some unique spices to each person's pearl cream. Others might not be able to smell the difference, but Zhao Fangyu could.

And because it is specially made, the fragrance is extremely long-lasting. Even if you don't apply it for two days, the smell on your clothes and hair will not dissipate.

Zhao Fangyu would check every corner of the room every day to see if there was any scent of the pearl cream specially made for them. Fortunately, apart from the red beads that often entered her bedroom, there was no other smell.

Giving the pearl to Hongzhu was just an unintentional act at first, but who would have thought that it would end up catching a fish that wanted to kill her.

Hongzhu begged for mercy, covering her wound with one hand and supporting herself with the other hand to turn over and kneel, knelt and kowtowed to Zhao Fangyu. She didn't dare to wipe her tears, and blood gushed out like a spring, which frightened Hongzhu out of her wits.

"Sister! Sister Runyi, please have pity on me! I was forced to do this!"

Zhao Fangyu raised his voice, as if he was somewhat curious: "Who forced you?"

Hongzhu's face was covered with tear marks, blood, dust, and tears mixed together. Her horrified look obscured her former obedience and gentleness, leaving only fear and terror.

"I don't know either, but they have my family in their hands!"

Hongzhu crawled to Zhao Fangyu step by step, stretched out her hands and grabbed the hem of Zhao Fangyu's skirt tightly, crying and begging: "Sister Runyi, I was also forced! I only have one sister in my family! Please save her! I really have no other choice, sister!"

"You have a younger sister at home?"

Hongzhu nodded immediately and told the story that she and her sister depended on each other when they were young. After their parents died, the two sisters became beggars. In order to let her sister live a better life, she sold herself to the palace and often sent silver to her sister outside the palace.

This time, her sister outside the palace was seriously ill and was extremely short of money, so she was bewildered and did something wrong.

Zhao Fangyu was half-sitting on the fence. The bloody pearl hairpin in her hand was swept in the water and turned into a clean new hairpin.

"You and your sister both lost their parents, and you have no relatives to turn to. You had no choice but to enter the palace. You send money out of the palace every month for your sister to spend?"

Hongzhu nodded quickly, fearing that if she nodded a little slower she would lose her life.

Zhao Fangyu leaned down, pinched Hongzhu's chin, and looked at Hongzhu with his bright dark eyes.

Same face, same person. Perhaps it was after the eldest prince saw her that he instigated Hongzhu to rebel.

When she first came, Hongzhu treated her with some sincerity, but afterwards, she began to plot day and night on how to take her life.

He didn't dare to poison her for fear that the people from the imperial kitchen would come to investigate. Zhao Fangyu and Hongzhu ate the same food, but one died and the other survived. The survivor also had to go through severe torture and interrogation.

They didn't dare to kill openly, and the most common way of death in the palace was drowning.

It’s a pity that Zhao Fangyu had learned how to swim, and even though she froze in the lotus pond for a long time, she still couldn’t be drowned.

Hongzhu met Zhao Fangyu's cold eyes, she didn't dare to look at him.

But Zhao Fangyu pinched her chin, and she didn't dare to hide.

Forced to look Zhao Fangyu in the eye, Hongzhu was afraid at first, then confused, and finally there was a hint of unwillingness in her eyes.

"But the people sent to tell me that you don't have a sister at all. It's true that your parents died, and you went to live with your relatives and were almost sold to a brothel by them. So you signed up for the palace yourself during the selection."

"Now that you're afraid that I'll kill you, you suddenly have a younger sister? Are you expecting me to be unable to find someone to verify the truth of your words right away? So that I can let you go and then you can kill me when you get the chance?"

Hongzhu immediately shook her head twice, then kowtowed and said she didn't dare.

The shadows of the flowers were deep, covering up the blood color and also covering up Ms. Yang and the orchid leaves in the dark.