After hearing her question, Princess Yuanheng said: "When I was taken to the Queen Mother's Palace, the emperor was already quite old. He was very diligent in studying. I almost never saw him going out for a stroll. Every time I saw him, he almost When he went to pay his respects to the Queen Mother, I had an impression of Ruying. Although I can no longer remember her appearance, she seemed to have a very pleasant appearance and a good temper. She took care of the emperor's food and daily life. However, Suddenly one day, she was no longer seen..."
Princess Yuanheng remembered that that morning, she was sleeping in the side building and heard a few quarrels between the emperor and the queen mother outside.
The emperor's tone was a little urgent and he said: "Mother, you assigned Ruying to me. She has been cautious and dedicated for many years. What are you dissatisfied with that you can't tolerate her so much? Didn't you agree to let her stay before?" Why did she go back on her word again? Where is she now?"
The Queen Mother's voice was cold as she said, "The Aijia did this for their own reasons. Just pretend that you have never seen this person before!"
Li Qingyi was stunned after hearing her story.
Princess Yuanheng came back from her memory and asked her, "Did you notice what the emperor said?"
"Well, the emperor said that the Queen Mother has promised him to let Ruying stay."
Princess Yuanheng knew the Queen Mother's temperament very well, "Yes, although the Queen Mother is tough, she will do whatever she promised. But she went back on her word on the Ruying matter."
"What mother means is that there was a sudden accident that forced the Queen Mother to deal with Ruying in another way?"
Princess Yuanheng stood up from her chair, took two steps slowly, and said, "At that time, it was a critical moment for the succession of the throne, and Ruying was so close to the emperor, did she accidentally know something secret? The Queen Mother refuses to let her go? But no one must know about these things, but why do you suddenly ask about Ruying? "
"It is said that Liang Guiren became the concubine because her appearance is somewhat similar to Ruying."
Princess Yuanheng was surprised: "Really?"
"Well, Qin Zeng has seen Ruying's portrait and showed me a few strokes."
She took the portrait Qin Zeng had drawn and handed it to Princess Yuanheng.
Princess Yuanheng had been vague about Ruying's appearance for a long time, so she didn't think anything of it when she saw Liang Guiren. However, Ruying's portrait finally awakened some memories of Princess Yuanheng.
"Actually, it looks like the little girl standing next to Tan that day was Liang Guiren's sister. She looks more like Ruying."
Li Qingyi looked surprised, "I didn't notice."
Princess Yuanheng said: "This has nothing to do with the case, and you don't need to pay too much attention to it. After all, it is an old matter of the emperor, and it is not easy to delve into it."
Li Qingyi nodded, "Well, I just asked my mother casually, then I will go out to Dali Temple first."
*****
The palace servants serving Liang Guiren, as well as the palace servants in the Furong Palace where she lived when she was in Fanghua Palace, were all transferred to Dali Temple for detention.
When Li Qingyi arrived at Dali Temple, Cui Chun, the young minister of Dali Temple, was still busy with other things, so she went to the place where Yushu and others were detained, and casually called a chamberlain to come out and question them.
"What errand did you receive at Yuxiang Palace?"
The waiter had a delicate face and spoke very eloquently. He replied: "The villain just obeys the noble man's orders and runs errands to deliver messages."
Li Qingyi did not mince words and asked straight to the point: "So, you should have a better understanding of the people Lianggui comes into contact with on a daily basis. So, do you know if Linglong has had any contact with outsiders in recent times? Or in other palaces? , are there people you often interact with or are familiar with?"
The chamberlain didn't think much and said, "Linglong has a gentle temperament and is kind to others, but she is very timid and doesn't like to deal with strangers. When our master was in the palace, Linglong had almost no contact with people in other palaces. If When walking outside Yuxiang Palace, I usually go to Yushu."
"You said before that she had no conflict with Mr. Liang. But other than that, has Linglong ever made a request for Mr. Liang and was rejected?"
The chamberlain shook his head slowly and thought for a long time, "No.
Yes... Not to mention that Linglong didn't want anything, even if she did, she might not dare to mention it to her master. "..
Li Qingyi frowned: "If you think about it carefully, has Linglong ever said anything special, or shown any anger or dissatisfaction?"
The waiter looked troubled. After a while, he suddenly said: "I remembered that Linglong seems to have been worried about her future."
"Oh? Please tell me more specifically."
"Linglong is a sentimental person. She once mentioned by chance that the maid can leave the palace at twenty-five. But she is the personal maid of a good nobleman, and it is very likely that she will stay in the palace as an aunt in charge. She said she did not want to She stays in the palace, but she is afraid that good people will not let her leave."
"Why won't Mr. Liang let her leave? Isn't there a jade comb?"
"It is precisely because Yushu has obtained the master's permission that he can leave the palace as soon as he reaches the age, so Linglong is worried. After all, the two maids who serve personally cannot both leave. Usually one of them will stay in charge. My aunt’s.”
Li Qingyi wondered: "Why did Yushu decide to leave the palace so early?"
The quiet room where suspects are held in Dali Temple is quite dark.
The little chamberlain was used to serving people, so he picked the candlelight very smoothly and said: "The jade comb and Linglong are very useful to the master, especially the jade comb. Almost everything in the Yuxiang Palace is covered." She is in charge, so she has more face than anyone else in front of the master. If you want anything, just tell the master directly. How could you reveal it to the rest of us?"
"In other words, you only know that she will leave the palace when she reaches her age, but you don't know why she wants to leave the palace?"
The little chamberlain's tone was neither urgent nor slow, with a hint of softness and clarity in his voice, which made people feel comfortable listening: "You can't say that. Although I don't know what Yushu's plans are, there are only two ways out for the palace maid. . Some people like the wealth and honor in the palace, so they stay as stewards and follow their master's glory. Some people don't like the intrigue and fear in the palace, so they leave the palace to find a lover and live an ordinary life, although they may not necessarily live a good life. , but at least I don’t have to wait on anyone anymore.”
Li Qingyi heard that what he said was indeed the truth, so he asked: "So Jade Comb is so powerful in front of good nobles, but she wants to leave the palace. Is there someone she cares about outside the palace?"
"I don't know about that." The young eunuch shook his head and added, "Linglong has a soft temper and usually gets closer to us, so everyone knows a little bit about her. She is timid, and she is very timid in the palace. I'm walking on thin ice, and I'm not living a good life. If something happens, I'll be so scared that I can't sleep all night, so it's common sense to be anxious to leave the palace, and it's not necessarily because of other reasons."
"Um."
Li Qingyi nodded, thought in silence for a while, and then let him go back.
She herself returned to the front and found that Cui Chun had already finished what he was doing. His expression was still gloomy, and he must have not slept well last night. At this time, we were discussing with everyone where to start Liang Guiren's case, but there was no progress due to many taboos.
When everyone saw Li Qingyi coming, they all stopped what they were doing.
She has outstanding appearance. Even if she is dressed as a man, it is difficult not to attract attention. And because she was appointed by the emperor himself, everyone is full of curiosity about her, wondering whether she is as amazing as her second uncle. ability.
Li Qingyi behaved like a man, and greeted everyone with open hands, and gave a detailed explanation of the condition of the body, then stopped talking.
Cui Chun picked out the things that could be assigned and asked everyone to do them. After everyone else had received their tasks and left, Li Qingyi told Cui Chun about the marriage between Liang Guiren and the Yu family before entering the palace.
But after Cui Chun heard this, he felt a little taboo.
After all, Liang Guiren is already the emperor's woman. Even if she is dead now, it is hard to disclose Liang Guiren's involvement with other men.
Li Qingyi looked at his hesitant expression and knew that he was undecided whether to investigate or not. She pondered for a moment and said, "The emperor only gave you three days. Mr. Cui must have many things to arrange. Why don't you go to Pan Leave it to me to ask questions about the family and the Yu family, do you think it’s feasible?"
Cui Chun breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this and said to Li Qing
Yi said: "In that case, I'd better ask Miss Li to worry more."
Li Qingyi smiled and said, "You're welcome, sir."
It's not that she wants to show off her skills to find out the real culprit, but that Cui Chun wants to find out but doesn't dare to find out. She doesn't know when the result will be obtained, and she can't keep spending time on this matter.
Besides, the emperor has given a time limit, and we won’t be able to find out the reason by then, and we don’t know who will be the unlucky one.
Changlan murmured in a low voice: "This Cui Shaoqing is famous for being timid and afraid of getting into trouble. I really don't know how he managed to get involved with the young minister of Dali Temple..."
"Being timid may not mean that you can't do good things." Li Qingyi smiled softly, not caring that Cui Chun threw the cooked potato to him, and said, "Let's go, let's go to Pan's house first, and then come back to question Linglong and the others. people."
"I heard that Linglong burst into tears early in the morning. She wouldn't be so frightened that she would go crazy, right?"
"Being able to cry means that she has vented her fear. If she keeps holding it in without saying a word, she will easily go crazy."
As soon as the master and servants left Dali Temple, they bumped into Qin Zeng's car.
Qin Zeng poked his head out and said, "Get in the car."
Li Qingyi followed the good and followed the flow.
After getting on the carriage, she asked: "Your Excellency, are you not busy today?"
"I'll take you there on the way."
Li Qingyi smiled with crooked eyes. No matter where he went in the capital, he followed him. Didn't he want to see him?
Seeing her proud look, Qin Zeng turned his head and ignored her, like a proud peacock.
The Pan family lives not far away.
It only takes one stick of incense.
Qin Zeng also got off the carriage and planned to go in with Li Qingyi.
Hearing that the people handling the case came to ask questions, and seeing the emblem of the East Factory on the carriage, the porter quickly and carefully welcomed them in.
The death of Liang Guiren made the atmosphere in the Pan family extremely depressed. The servants did not dare to speak loudly, and it was quiet wherever they went.
Mrs. Pan's eyes were swollen and bloodshot. When she saw the two men who examined her daughter's body yesterday, she couldn't help crying.
Li Qingyi consoled him: "Madam, please have my condolences. The most important thing now is to find out the cause of Mr. Liang's death. If I have any questions, please tell me the details."
However, Tan was so out of breath from crying that he couldn't listen to her words at all.
Qin Zeng said in a deep voice: "The emperor only gave you three days to find out the cause. If you can't give the emperor an answer by then, I'm afraid the Pan family will also be implicated. How can Master Pan still obey orders in front of the emperor?"
Mr. Tan himself was a little afraid of Qin Zeng. When he heard this, his eyebrows became more sad, but he gradually stopped crying and said, "Whatever you want to ask, just ask..."
