"Lin Jin, where is the person now?"
Zhong Li, sitting in the carriage, lifted the curtain and asked Lin Jin, who was driving.
"Miss Zhong, that woman is currently at the mass grave. The young lord is keeping watch with his men, waiting for you to perform the autopsy."
"Autopsy? The person is dead?" Zhong Li caught the key point in Lin Jin's words.
Lin Jin paused, then slowly nodded. "Yes, by the time the young lord intercepted her from the young eunuch, she had already stopped breathing."
Hearing this, Zhong Li shook her head and closed her eyes. "I thought no matter what, she would spare someone's life. Who knew what Concubine Nangong said was entirely true; few servants around her could survive."
"Miss Zhong, please don't be sad. The young lord said the Emperor will surely know about this, and she won't have the chance again."
"Let's hope so," Zhong Li sighed, instructing, "Lin Jin, please hurry. Yes!"
At the same time, inside Chang Ting Palace.
Consort Rong lay in a bathtub, eyes closed, enjoying the massage and kneading her soft body by the servants.
"How does my lady feel?" the old wet nurse asked, not forgetting to inquire about her mistress's feelings while working hard.
Consort Rong smiled, looking sideways at the hands on her shoulder. Those hands were tender and smooth, forming a stark contrast with the wrinkled, aged face of their owner.
"They all say virgin blood nourishes the skin and makes it tender. My father the Emperor always used to say this was a fallacy. Now, looking at wet nurse Dou's hands, isn't this naked proof?"
"My lady," Wet Nurse Dou smiled, her hands bathed in candlelight as she admired them. "Am I able to have this also because I've benefited from my lady's radiance? Moreover... I am a servant, and my body is naturally not as delicate as my lady's. For so many years, I have merely served my lady during her baths and have become like this. Let alone my lady, you are still as stunning and beautiful as you were twenty years ago."
"Heh heh!" Consort Rong's laughter grew louder, her fingertips playing in the crimson water. "It's only because wet nurse has followed this consort for so long, and this consort knows your nature well, otherwise this consort would truly think you were flattering."
"How could that be!" Wet Nurse Dou playfully shot Consort Rong a glance.
Consort Rong leisurely picked up petals from beside the bathtub and added them to the water one by one. "The world all says corpse flowers have a foul stench and attract flies, but who would know that this flower bud, which blooms only once every fifty years, becomes the best beauty product when added to this blood water?"
"That's because they only know one aspect and not the other," Wet Nurse Dou said.
Consort Rong sighed, fiddling with the petals in her hand. "By the way, since Nan Man has been arrested by Dali Temple, her unfinished business..."
"My lady, rest assured, everything is proceeding as planned. I will prepare what my lady requires on time."
"Good!" Consort Rong nodded with satisfaction.
By the time Zhong Li arrived at the mass grave, the sky was about to break dawn.
Spring was the season when mosquitoes and insects began to breed. Bursts of foul odor assailed the sky. With every step she took behind Lin Jin, Zhong Li would disturb numerous small flying insects, causing them to scatter.
Lu Wuxie, with A Wu, was resting under a towering locust tree nearby. To ward off insects, both of them had lit several mugwort fumigation coils around them.
"Mo Cang." Zhong Li jumped down from the carriage.
Lu Wuxie, who had been feigning sleep against the tree, opened his eyes upon hearing his name. Recognizing the person, he stepped forward and took the medicine box from her. "The person is dead. She's over there."
Zhong Li followed Lu Wuxie's gaze to the other side of the locust tree. On the muddy ground lay a body covered with a white cloth.
She quickened her pace, crouched down, and quickly pulled open the cloth.
When a pale, young girl's face came into view, Zhong Li's brows furrowed tightly.
"I've seen this palace maid," she said.
"Miss Zhong has seen her?" Lin Jin couldn't help but ask in confusion.
Zhong Li nodded and glanced at Lu Wuxie. "At the Spring Banquet, she was following Consort Rong. Back then, Concubine Nangong even told her to be careful. I thought it was just a jest from Concubine Nangong, but who knew her words were actually true."
"If that's the case, Nangong Xiaodie must have known quite a bit about Consort Rong's affairs," Lu Wuxie walked over and squatted beside her, saying.
Zhong Li nodded, taking the gloves Lu Wuxie handed her. While examining the body, she continued his thought, "Yes, she knew a little, but not much."
"What do you mean?" Lu Wuxie asked.
Zhong Li replied, "Once the autopsy results are out, I'll be able to confirm my suspicions."
As the first rays of sunlight shone upon the mass grave, most of the flies and insects hid. Zhong Li took off her gloves and re-covered the woman's body with the cloth.
"How is it?" Lu Wuxie stepped forward, inquiring.
Zhong Li casually handed him the temporarily recorded autopsy report.
As they entered the carriage, Lu Wuxie finished reading and said, "Cause of death was blood loss?"
"Yes!" Zhong Li nodded. "The victim's limbs show signs of being bound and hung separately. There is a knife wound on the neck, which was the fatal blow."
"Bound separately and hung... why does that sound like slaughtering animals?" Lu Wuxie frowned slightly.
"Precisely," Zhong Li affirmed Lu Wuxie's guess. "It's similar to how animals are slaughtered to drain their blood."
"And this report also states that a piece of flesh was missing from her waist?" Lu Wuxie asked again.
"Mmm, but based on the blood clotting and the wound, it seems to have been cut off after death," Zhong Li said, her brow deeply furrowed. "It's just that I don't understand. If Consort Rong only wanted the young palace maid's flesh to nourish the flowers, why not just chop off her limbs? Why go to the trouble of killing her and draining her blood?"
Lu Wuxie looked at the distressed woman and casually took out a rolled-up piece of Xuan paper from his怀 and placed it before her.
"Yesterday, you asked me to come to the mass grave late at night to handle a matter. After much thought, I ordered someone to investigate Consort Rong. I received this early this morning. See if it's useful?"
Zhong Li took it and looked at the wax seal on the edge of the paper. She knew this must have just arrived in Lu Wuxie's hands, as he had been busy helping her and hadn't had time to examine it.
She took out a dissection knife from her怀, kicked off the seal, and slowly unfolded the paper.
The content written was not much, only a few sentences. However, once Zhong Li understood all the information, her already serene face instantly became solemn.
"I understand now. I know why Consort Rong wanted to kill her, and I know why she bled the young palace maid. We cannot return to Dali Temple now. Quickly! Take me around the North Gate and into the palace!"
This was the first time Lu Wuxie had seen Zhong Li so anxious.
He first instructed Lin Jin to turn the carriage around, then took the Xuan paper from Zhong Li to examine it.
After he finished reading the contents, he clenched the paper tightly in his hand and said, "Consort Rong wants the royal family to be without an heir!"