Children of Loulan

Chapter 276 Coming for the Palace

However, after handing over the cup this time, there was no response from Yumei. Concubine Xian couldn't help but frown, looked at Yumei in confusion, and asked, "Yumei, what's wrong with you? Why don't you speak?"

Yumei was awakened from her thoughts. She looked at Concubine Xian with horror and said in a trembling voice, "My Lady, it's not good, it's not good..."

Xianfei's eyes widened immediately and she shouted angrily, "What's wrong? I'm fine now! What do you want to say?"

Yumei shook her head vigorously and explained anxiously, "No, Madam, please listen to me. If only Madam and I fell into the water, it could be barely considered an accident. However, at the same place where she fell into the water, Lady Lan almost fell in. Not only that, even the palace maids who went to rescue her fell into the lake one after another. Madam, this can't be a simple accident!"

After hearing her words, Concubine Xian was shocked and shouted quickly: "What? It wasn't an accident? Then who could it be? How dare they so boldly murder the king's offspring!" As she spoke, she thought of all the new people she had intentionally supported over the years, but without exception, they all lost their fetuses in their wombs due to various accidents.

A rage suddenly ignited in her heart, and she said hatefully, "Yumei, go and investigate this matter for me immediately. You must find out who is against me!"

After hearing the order from Concubine Xian, Yumei did not dare to neglect it at all and immediately sent people to inquire about the news. However, after some twists and turns, she finally learned that the king had handed over the matter to Eunuch Aishan to handle, and Aishan was personally interrogating the relevant personnel!

Yumei reported the situation to Concubine Xian with great concern. After hearing it, Concubine Xian looked relieved. She said with confidence: "Since Aishan is interrogating personally, I believe it won't take long to find out the real culprit behind the scenes. This will save me a lot of trouble."

Compared to Concubine Xian's optimism, Yumei seemed a little worried. She frowned and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, do you think this matter is directed at you?"

Upon hearing this, Concubine Xian looked confused and asked, "Come for me? What does that mean?"

Yumei quickly explained, "Your Majesty, you see, since she and the Madam fell into the lake today, the King has arranged for her to stay in the Queen's Kunning Palace, and has also asked Eunuch Aishan to investigate the matter personally."

After hearing this, Concubine Xian still didn't think anything was wrong, and asked doubtfully, "Really? But what does this have to do with me?"

Yumei replied anxiously: "Madam, don't you think these things are too coincidental? First, the lady and I fell into the lake inexplicably, and then Lady Lan rushed to the lake. Not only that, Lady Lan also fell, and the most ironic thing is that even the person who rescued her fell into the lake. Doesn't this clearly tell everyone that this is a conspiracy?"

"Moreover, in recent years, we have recommended so many new people to serve as concubines, but none of them have successfully given birth to a prince. Although Your Majesty is trying hard to let them give birth to a prince, other people don't know. Do you think they will think that those children are Your Majesty's work? And you and Madam have been nurturing the pregnancy in the Summer Palace. If someone accuses Your Majesty now, then, Your Majesty, you will have no way to defend yourself?"

After hearing this, Concubine Xian was also a little scared. She immediately thought of asking her father for help, but when she thought of her father, she was not so scared anymore. "Why are you panicking? If someone wants to frame me, you have to see how capable he is!"

Her eyes were as deep and resolute as a deep pool, and her tone was full of unquestionable majesty as she ordered, "Send someone to keep an eye on it, and report back immediately if there is any news!"

At the same time, Aisan, who was in charge of the case, did not get any useful clues after the first round of initial interrogation. As if they had discussed it in advance, everyone insisted that they knew nothing about the matter.

However, Aisan did not give up. He returned to the scene of the incident again, hoping to find some clues. His efforts paid off. As expected, right where he and his wife fell, he keenly noticed that there seemed to be some oil stains on the ground.

He carefully squatted down, stretched out his finger and gently touched the little bit of oil stain, then put his finger to the tip of his nose and smelled it gently, and a faint smell of mutton came to his nose - it turned out to be sheep fat! This amazing discovery made him feel moved, could this be the culprit that caused his wife and him to slip?

Aishan continued to investigate along the lakeside and soon discovered more shocking facts. It turned out that a long section of the road was smeared with sheep fat, and there were obvious traces of wiping. Apparently, when everyone was rushing to rescue people, someone took the opportunity to try to wipe off the sheep fat, trying to create the illusion that it was just an accident.

However, Aisan was not fooled by these disguises. After repeated careful inspections, he finally found that these traces were wiped off very roughly, which meant that the other party had no time to carefully wipe off all the sheep fat and could only hastily wipe off some of the surface.

Thinking of this, he first ruled out those who fell into the water, because people who were soaked all over would not be able to wipe off the sheep oil, whether it was clothes or soles of shoes, as long as they were wet. So he sent his men to look for abandoned handkerchiefs or other items in the area.

After a careful search, he did not find anything suspicious. This meant that the thing was probably still on the person. So he returned for a second interrogation. This time, he checked everyone's clothes, handkerchiefs, and shoe soles one by one. Most people's shoe soles were stained with some sheep fat when they rescued people, but the amount was not much.

Finally, during the investigation, he found that the soles of a maid's shoes were completely soaked with sheep fat, and not only that, her handkerchief was also covered with sheep fat. Faced with the irrefutable evidence, the maid neither showed fear nor tried to quibble.

She stared at Aisan with cold eyes and shouted in a high-pitched voice: "All this was ordered by the queen!"

Aisan did not believe a word of her sudden confession. After all, he had been in the palace for a long time and knew that a maid like her, who was willing to serve her master, would not fear death and would not easily reveal the identity of the mastermind. If he met someone with a strong character, he would never reveal a word even if he suffered cruel punishment.

However, her voice was so loud when she confessed that many people clearly heard what she said - the queen was the mastermind. So Aisan asked again: "You claim that it was the queen who ordered it, but do you have any solid evidence?"

The maid replied: "Of course there is, but you must clear out everyone here first, and then I will tell you where the evidence is hidden!"

Upon hearing this, Aisan waved his hand without hesitation, signaling all those involved in the interrogation to leave. After everyone left, Aisan sneered at the palace maid in front of him and said, "Okay. Now that everyone has left, you can talk now!"

However, what surprised Aishan was that the maid actually knelt down straight, with a gleam of determination in her eyes, and looked at Aishan fearlessly, "I will tell you after I see the king."