TJAIP Chapter 29

“Master!” Ting Zhu stood outside the tent. Zhuang Luo Yan couldn’t see her expression, but from her voice, it seemed something bad had happened.

“What happened?” Zhuang Luo Yan took a deep breath, letting Ting Zhu set up the tent. She listened to the sound of the rain outside, while lightning and thunder made the night feel especially frightening.

“I think I heard screams from outside,” Ting Zhu furrowed her brows. “I don’t know what happened.”

“The thunder is so loud and the rain is so heavy tonight, we didn’t hear anything,” Zhuang Luo Yan pondered for a moment. “No one needs to go out tonight.” Whether or not this was related to her, she had decided not to go out. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she added, “You should sleep too.”

“But what if someone did it on purpose…” Ting Zhu was still worried.

“There are no fools in this palace. What’s right or wrong is up to the Emperor,” Zhuang Luo Yan was pleased with Ting Zhu’s attention to detail. At this moment, she didn’t even have the lantern lit, clearly not wanting to attract trouble. “With this heavy rain, who would go outside for no reason?”

Ting Zhu nodded and glanced at the lightning outside the window before quietly leaving.

The thunder and lightning raged through the night, and by the time morning came, the sky had finally cleared. Gao Dezhong had already gotten up early and waited outside the Emperor’s sleeping quarters, ready for the Emperor’s summons. At that moment, a young eunuch came running in with a frightened expression.

“Master Gao, three bodies were found in the peach orchard by Lord Zhao’s residence. Lord Zhao and the palace maids who were with him were so shocked that they lost their wits and have already summoned the imperial doctor.”

Upon hearing this, Gao Dezhong’s brows furrowed. What was going on with the peach orchard these days, and why were people’s lives being lost?

Just then, he heard a noise from inside the room. He lowered his voice and said, “Don’t spread the word for now. Go quickly and inform the Empress.” This could be a serious matter and needed to be handled carefully. He then led a group of eunuchs and maids inside.

After changing his attire, Gao Dezhong bent down to straighten the Emperor’s robes. Just then, the Emperor spoke.

“What happened outside?” Feng Jin stretched out his arms, allowing the female officer next to him to adjust his sleeves.

“I heard that Lord Zhao was frightened and the imperial doctor is already on his way to the Peach Jade Pavilion,” Gao Dezhong replied cautiously.

“Frightened?” Feng Jin furrowed his brows. “What’s going on?”

“I heard that Lord Zhao went for a morning stroll in the peach garden, and there he saw three bodies. He was so shocked that he fainted.” Gao Dezhong finished adjusting the Emperor’s robes and stepped back.

“Three bodies suddenly appeared outside the garden?” Feng Jin scoffed coldly. “We’ll deal with this after court.”

“Understood,” Gao Dezhong knew the Emperor intended to intervene in this matter, and it seemed this wasn’t as simple as it appeared.

“Empress, these are the three bodies.” The Empress was seated in the main hall, her gaze sweeping over the three bodies covered with white cloth. She didn’t ask anyone to uncover the cloth but covered her nose with a handkerchief and said, “Have you identified who they are?”

“Your Majesty, because the three were struck by lightning, their faces are hard to recognize. However, after a thorough investigation, I found that one of them was the eunuch Xiao Fangzi from the Hall of Supreme Light, and the other two were palace maids Hong Zhu and Jin Guo from the Palace of Eternal Heaven. Jin Guo was the older sister of the maid who was executed a few days ago.” The Imperial Guard glanced at the bodies, already knowing roughly what had happened. “I also found that Jin Guo had a half-burned gauze necklace around her neck.”

The Empress looked at the tray presented by the eunuch, which contained some yellowed pieces of cloth. Some of the edges had already turned black, but it was still recognizable for its intended use.

“This is interesting. Could it be that Jin Guo, after her sister passed away, intended to hang herself outside the peach orchard and took two companions with her?” The Empress waved her hand to dismiss the eunuch holding the tray. Her face showed a mocking expression as she suddenly turned to the other concubines in the hall, “What do you think? Doesn’t this sound like an interesting story?”

The Virtuous Concubine covered her mouth and said, “How strange. I fear someone is trying to stir up trouble.”

If last night, Jin Guo had been found alone hanging in the peach orchard, anyone would have thought that she had intended to haunt Zhao Chongyi as a ghost. Unfortunately, the person who devised this plan probably didn’t expect that bad deeds could result in being struck by lightning.

The Chief of the Imperial Guard instructed people to carry the bodies away, then clasped his fists and said, “Your Majesty, Jin Guo’s neck was broken. If I’m not mistaken, she was already dead before being struck by lightning.”

With the bodies removed, the Empress and the others seemed to relax a little. The Noble Concubine sneered, “What else is there to investigate? It’s just a failed attempt at framing.”

“There’s still much to investigate. Who did this and why?” The Empress sighed. “It’s a pity for Zhao Chongyi, who had such a fright early this morning. I wonder how she is now?”

“Your Majesty, Zhao Chongyi has been given medicine and will wake up soon,” replied the imperial doctor, who had been standing in the corner. “But she cannot be startled again shortly, or it may harm her brain.”

The Empress nodded and reminded the doctor to take good care of her.

The concubines in the room all appeared concerned, but who among them was truly concerned? It was just that Zhao Chongyi was lucky—she was framed, but heaven helped her, or else the lightning would have struck earlier or later, but it waited until the bodies of the two maids were under the tree.

“His Majesty is here.”

The Empress and the other concubines stood and curtsied as the Emperor entered. Seeing that his face was grim, the Empress knew he didn’t like these kinds of palace disturbances and didn’t know how to begin.

“How is Zhao Chongyi?” Feng Jin asked as he entered, having already learned most of the details. His face was dark. “This palace is getting more and more chaotic. First, there’s trouble here, then someone dies there. There’s never a peaceful moment!”

“Please calm down, Your Majesty. The doctor has examined her and says Zhao Chongyi only received a shock. With proper rest, she’ll be fine,” the Empress responded carefully.

Hearing this, Gao Dezhong’s heart skipped a beat. In the harem, any concubine who needed to rest like that would probably never leave it again. Was the Empress doing this intentionally or was it just coincidence?

“Can this place still be used for resting?” Feng Jin took a seat and picked up his tea, his gaze sweeping over the head eunuch standing in the center of the room. “Investigate this thoroughly. I want to see how many people in the harem have ulterior motives.” He then looked around at the people in the room.

All the concubines, though they may not have had much experience, knew how to keep their composure. But under the Emperor’s gaze, not a single one dared to look up, even the Empress subtly lowered her gaze.

“Empress, clean up the harem thoroughly,” Feng Jin said as he stood and set the teacup down forcefully. “I’ll go check on Zhao Chongyi.”

“Yes.” The Empress stood up quickly and, after seeing the Emperor leave with a cold expression, turned back to the concubines. “You all heard His Majesty. If anyone is playing tricks in the palace, just get rid of them.” Her words weren’t so much for the concubines as a warning to them to put aside any schemes they might have. She didn’t mention Zhao Chongyi’s need for rest, as if she hadn’t said those words at all.