Harem Daily Life

There was a dead silence in the cold palace. After De Fei was demoted to Rong Cairen, all her expenses were gone. She was now dressed in simple clothes, with only a simple hairpin in her hair. She lay quietly on the couch without a cushion. The shocking scar on her neck had turned black, her lips were bloodless, and her eyes were slightly open, with a hint of unwillingness and determination.

When Tao Yanyan brought Eunuch Qin over, Chief Steward Li was already inspecting the scene and hurriedly stepped forward to stop them, saying, "Empress, the cold palace is unlucky, you'd better not go in and take a look."

Eunuch Qin also stopped Tao Yanyan outside the door and said, "Empress, I will just go in and take a look." After he said that, he went in and checked again. Seeing that Rong Cairen's eyes were still open, he just shook his head and gently closed her eyes.

After ordering people to bury Rong Cairen's body, Eunuch Qin left the room and said sadly: "Empress, Rong Cairen must have been unable to get over the past moment..." Eunuch Qin sighed and said no more.

Tao Yanyan looked around. There was no palace maid serving Rong Cairen. If she really committed suicide, there would not even be a witness.

"Who was the first to discover that Rong Cairen had committed suicide?" Tao Yanyan asked.

A palace servant who was shivering in the corner stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, it's me. I am responsible for delivering food to the cold palace every day. In the past, I only needed to shout at the door and Rong Cairen would come out to get it, but today, I shouted several times and no one came. I was worried that something had happened, so I came in to check, but who would have thought that as soon as I entered the room, I saw Rong Cairen hanging herself."

As the palace maid spoke, her whole body was still shaking, and it was obvious that she was very frightened.

Tao Yanyan asked again: "She committed suicide, did she use white silk or something else?"

Chief Steward Li quickly had someone bring out a torn piece of clothing from the room: "Madam, it's not white silk, it's torn clothes that were hung up there."

"Is there no sign of homicide? Are you sure it was suicide?" Tao Yanyan looked at Manager Li.

Steward Li nodded: "I have checked it several times inside and out, and I really don't find anything wrong."

Eunuch Qin stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, do you think something is fishy? But this scene won't lie. If you are worried, you can ask the Dali Temple to send a coroner, but... if that happens, it may not sound good if it gets out. It is a serious crime for a concubine to commit suicide, and if a talented person commits suicide, we can only say that she died of illness, which is much better, and it will not implicate the Loyal and Brave Marquis's Mansion."

Tao Yanyan was a little confused for a moment. Based on her intuition, she couldn't understand why Rong Cairen wanted to commit suicide. Chang Tai had been watching her before. She brought a lot of food and clothes, and it was obvious that she was planning for the long term. How could she not want to live so soon after coming in?

Moreover, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery has not been held accountable and its power is still there. Didn't the two parties communicate with each other in advance and say that they would rescue Rong Cairen later?

But she couldn't ignore what Eunuch Qin said. Now that the incident had happened, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department had checked it out and found nothing unusual. Maintaining the face of the royal family was also one of her current jobs.

"Since there are no signs of homicide, let's assume that Rong Cairen committed suicide. We can also tell outsiders...that she died of illness." After Tao Yanyan finished speaking, he asked Chief Steward Li to seal off the cold palace and sent someone to notify the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery. Rong Cairen's funeral was also handled simply, and she was buried directly in the concubine's tomb three days later.

At night, Shuang'er went to the cold palace on Tao Yanyan's orders. She had to take advantage of the night to check the cold palace inside and out before she could feel at ease.

Tao Yanyan only broke the news of Rong Cairen's death the next day when the concubines came to pay their respects.

"The weather has been alternating between hot and cold recently, and Concubine Rong was unwell and passed away suddenly. I am deeply surprised and saddened." After she said that, she glanced at Concubine Shu and then at Concubine Li, her eyes dark and unclear.

Concubine Ning was a little sad because of Concubine Rong's death: "It's a pity that the eldest prince lost his mother at such a young age."

Shu Fei sneered, "The eldest prince is not the only one who lost his mother in this palace. If the former queen had not committed a crime, would you have been able to raise the third princess? Ha, you are too hypocritical to take advantage of others."

Concubine Ning originally just felt sorry for the child, but after being criticized by Concubine Shu, she became so angry that her face turned red.

Liang Zhaoyi coughed lightly and said, "Madam Shufei doesn't need to be so aggressive. Concubine Ning is just soft-hearted and pities the prince because he is too young."

Shu Fei glanced at her and said bluntly, "Everyone knows that you, Liang Zhaoyi, have also benefited from it. You have four princesses by your side, and each of them has adopted someone else's children. And you are still here crying over the rat, pretending to be sympathetic. You two really are a pair of good sisters!"

Liang Zhaoyi was so angry that she was speechless and was defeated.

Seeing that Shu Fei had criticized two concubines who were on good terms with her, Tao Yanyan said unhappily, "Shu Fei, please stop talking. Lu Cairen and Rong Cairen passed away one after another, and everyone felt sorry for them. The child was innocent, and Ning Fei and Liang Zhaoyi were just expressing their feelings."

When Shu Fei heard Queen Tao speak, she had no choice but to shut up.

Tao Yanyan looked around at everyone and said, "Rong Cairen's coffin will be kept in the Cidu Hall in the Western Garden for three days. She entered the palace early and has friendships with many of you. Anyone who wants to go and pay their respects may go."

After she finished speaking, the concubines below began to whisper. Li Jieyu said, "Empress, this Concubine Rong was demoted. If we go to pay homage to her, will His Majesty be angry?"

It would be a huge loss if His Majesty disliked me because of a dead demoted person.

Tao Yanyan frowned and looked at Li Jieyu: "If I remember correctly, Li Jieyu, you entered the palace the year His Majesty ascended the throne, right? So, you have known Rong Cairen for almost nine years. You had a close relationship with her when she was alive. You should just treat it as paying homage to an old friend. But the first thing you considered was whether His Majesty would be angry?"

Tao Yanyan's voice was quite cold: "Your Majesty is a magnanimous king. Rong Cairen was demoted because she did something wrong. Now that she has passed away, Your Majesty will not hold on to her mistakes and vent her anger on others. It is so clear, you can go to pay your respects without worry."

Concubine Li had a look of shame on her face. She responded and sat down with her neck shrunk, trying to reduce her presence as much as possible.

Seeing that no one had anything else to report, Tao Yanyan let everyone go and returned to the bedroom with a blank expression.

When Shuang'er saw her coming, she immediately stepped forward and continued to report all the clues she had discovered last night.

"My queen, in addition to the messy footprints outside the cold palace, I also found this." Shuang'er said, handing over a bag of unused powder: "This contains knockout drugs. It's really strange to see it in a place like the cold palace."

Tao Yanyan took the medicine bag and looked at it. Most of the powder inside had been used up, leaving only a little bit. "As for the footprints, they don't mean anything outside the cold palace. Li Zongguan didn't find this medicine bag. Where did you find it?"