The Self-cultivation of a Salted Fish Concubine

After being criticized, Concubine Jing Shu was too lazy to pretend, so she found a chair and sat down without waiting for Xie Run to speak.

"With so much happening in the palace these days, Concubine Zhao is having a really comfortable confinement."

Xie Run played dumb and calmly asked, "No matter how many things happened, they were not my fault, and they have nothing to do with me. Why am I not feeling well?"

Concubine Jing Shu: “…”

Concubine Jing Shu: "Sister Zhao Guifei stays in the Zhaohe Palace every day. Do you know what's going on outside?"

"Sister, which outside are you talking about?" Xie Run knew that Concubine Jing Shu would not come to the palace for no reason. "Sister, please tell me in detail so that I can guess."

Consort Jingshu: "Consort Hui."

Xie Run: "I don't know, but I'm really curious and also a little scared."

"Concubine Hui was aloof and didn't like to socialize with the other concubines, but she wasn't a bad person. As a fellow concubine, she died in the cold palace for no apparent reason. I imagine Concubine Jingshu would be terrified too, right?"

"Isn't it?" Concubine Jing Shu said, "The day I heard the news, my sister almost dropped the teacup in her hand. At night, she lay in bed and had nightmares, terrified that one day, while she was peacefully staying in her own palace, she would suddenly be attacked by a murderer."

Concubine Jing Shu rarely spoke the truth, "Concubine Hui doesn't like to go out on weekdays. She stays in Fuze Palace every day to accompany the third princess."

"The Fuze Palace is an hour's journey from the Cold Palace. Why would she run so far for no reason?"

"My sister once asked the palace servants, and someone said that they saw Concubine Hui taking her maid to the cold palace with their own eyes!"

Did Concubine Hui go to the cold palace on her own?

Xie Run: "When I heard the news, I was also very confused."

"Now that I think about it, is there someone or something in the cold palace that Concubine Hui is curious about?"

But Concubine Hui was a person with no desires or demands. Nothing could arouse her curiosity except the death of the Empress.

Concubine Jing Shu lowered her voice and said, "Sister, I'm afraid you don't know yet, but Concubine Hui was stabbed to death by a hairpin, and her blood was all over the floor."

"She was probably still alive when she was stabbed. She even tore off a pearl necklace from her body and threw it on the ground. That necklace... was the one the Empress had given her."

Xie Run's gaze fixed, and he suddenly looked at Concubine Jing Shu.

Concubine Jingshu also had a meaningful smile on her face.

Xie Run understood that Concubine Hui really died in order to investigate the death of the Queen!

Her mind raced, and she spoke slowly, "If it was done by someone from the harem, it shouldn't be difficult to investigate."

"We only need to check where the palace people were during the time Concubine Hui went to the cold palace, and we can find clues."

If someone in the harem had harmed Concubine Hui, she would have definitely been imprisoned in the cold palace at that time.

The distance between the cold palace and other palaces is quite far, and it cannot be covered up in just a few words.

Concubine Jing Shu: "I know you are smart. You figured out the key to the matter right away."

Xie Run: “…”

This compliment doesn't sound sincere at all.

Concubine Jing Shu: "The Emperor has already sent people to investigate this matter... Logically speaking, it shouldn't be difficult to investigate."

"Even Concubine Hui was able to find the suspect who harmed the Empress. Shouldn't the people around the Emperor have been silent for so long?"

"Fortunately, my sister is in charge of the six palaces, so she knows more information than the average person."

Xie Run: "Sister Jing Shufei, do you have any suspicions?"

"That's right." Concubine Jing Shu didn't keep the secret any longer. "My sister is so worried and confused that she wants to tell the news to her sister, Concubine Zhao, so that she can share her worries."

Concubine Jing Shu was saying frankly that she was terrified by the news and felt it would be better if there was someone to help share her burden.

Concubine Jing Shu: "My sister found out that on the day Concubine Hui died, the most suspicious people were Xi Chongrong and Concubine Xue."

"The two testified to each other that they had spoken for over an hour in Xi Chongrong's palace."

Concubine Jingshu smiled and said, "In the past, Concubine Xue did like to come and chat with Xi Chongrong, but she rarely stayed for more than an hour."

"And they can chat for an hour. How can the Eighth Prince, at such a young age, endure not seeing his mother for an hour?"

Concubine Jing Shu: "Xi Chongrong treats the Eighth Prince very well, so he is very attached to her. Sometimes when he cries, no one in the palace can comfort him, and only Xi Chongrong can comfort him by holding him in her arms."

"It just so happened that a maid from my sister's palace passed by their courtyard that day and heard the Eighth Prince crying for a full half hour. Out of curiosity, she greeted the maid next to He Xi Chongrong."

"These things are all based on witness testimony."

Xie Run's eyes were calm. "Apart from Xi Chongrong and Xue Cairen, is there anyone else suspicious?"

Concubine Jing Shu shook her head. "Your Majesty has been searching for so long but there's been no news. Yet, Xi Chongrong seemed ill a couple of days ago. Initially, it was said to be from the long mourning period, but now his illness has worsened."

"She had always been in good health, but this time her illness came on suddenly, like a mountain collapsing."

She said meaningfully, "I wonder if Xi Chongrong can survive this time?"

Xie Run didn't expect that Concubine Jing Shu would bring him such big news.

The emperor has already found out who killed Concubine Hui, and I'm afraid he has also found out that Xi Chongrong was the one who caused the Queen's death.

He remained silent, intending to let Xi Chongrong die quietly.

Yes, the queen was the mother of the country and also a princess of the Xia Dynasty.

If the queen was killed by the Xia Dynasty, the emperor could justifiably conquer the Xia Dynasty and occupy the moral high ground.

Once it was discovered that the queen's death was related to the Yu Dynasty's harem, the Xia Dynasty would certainly make a big fuss about it and would no longer be blamed by the emperor.

When the two sides engage in verbal battles, they can exchange words back and forth.

Moreover, it would be really unpleasant to hear that the concubines in the palace murdered each other.

The emperor had too many concerns, and the best outcome was to let Xi Chongrong, the culprit, die quietly of illness, attribute the queen's death to the Xia Dynasty, and bury the truth underground.

As for Concubine Hui, she was a not very favored concubine in the palace, so she died and that was it.

Concubine Hui had no family, no friends, only the young third princess.

If the emperor doesn't investigate, no one will delve into it.

Xie Run immediately understood the whole story and felt an inexplicable chill in his heart.

Xie Run sighed, "After I'm out of confinement, I'll go to the spirit chamber of Concubine Hui and burn a stick of incense."

"At first, I misunderstood that Concubine Hui was seeking fame and reputation, and thought she was deliberately challenging and accusing me for her own selfish gain."

"Now she has kept her word. To find out who murdered the Empress, she has already sacrificed her life... I should burn a stick of incense for her."

If you just talk without doing anything, you will naturally make people dislike you.

But if you say it and do it, you are worthy of admiration.

I'm afraid that when the Queen protected Concubine Hui, she never thought that Concubine Hui would actually repay her with her life.

Concubine Jing Shu also sighed, "Yes!"

"At first, my sister also thought that Concubine Hui was just too aloof, stubborn and foolish."

"Who would have thought that the Queen's death would be so unclear, and her own sister would just cry all day long, but this stubborn and foolish man is willing to risk his life to find the murderer."