There is a god in the sky

Chapter 266 The Case of Wu Meiren's Sudden Death 5

Shen Lan waved to Lin Miaoniang.

She saw Lin Miaoniang running towards her with a bouquet of flowers in her hands, and immediately broke into a bright smile.

"Lan'er, these flowers are beautiful. Take them back and put them in a vase."

Lin Miaoniang gave all the flowers she had picked to Shen Lan.

"Okay, the flowers are beautiful and smell very nice."

Shen Lan took the flower and took a deep sniff. Suddenly, she realized that the fragrance of the flower was very familiar.

"Miao Niang, are there many apricot blossoms planted in the palace?"

"There should be many, but Consort Li likes plum blossoms, so the only place in Shuyu Palace with apricot blossoms is this courtyard."

By the way, Consort Xie likes apricot blossoms, and there's a large apricot grove behind Consort Wu's palace.

Xiao Ji strode out.

Clearly, he had thought of the same thing as Shen Lan.

"Miao Niang, I'm leaving now. Take care, and don't trust anyone in the palace."

Shen Lan and Lin Miaoniang bid each other farewell.

Lin Miaoniang escorted her to the outside of the palace, her gaze following her the whole way, a resolute smile on her lips.

"Lan'er, take care of yourself too," she said silently.

Xiao Ji walked into the apricot grove and reached out to catch a falling apricot blossom.

“The apricot blossoms in the palace are blooming earlier than outside,” Shen Lan said, standing behind him.

“The palace is heated by underground heating everywhere, making it warmer than outside, and the flowers bloom earlier there.”

Xiao Ji turned around and looked straight at Consort Wu's palace.

"It's not far away, right opposite the back window."

"Go over and have a look."

As they walked, they looked around and noticed that there were no footprints or anything like that left on the ground, and quite a few fallen flowers.

They had just realized at the same time that apricot blossom petals had appeared in Wu Meiren's room.

While it cannot be ruled out that the wind blew it in, it is also possible that the flower petals were on the clothes of the murderer when they entered the house.

The two walked to the window and opened it from the outside. They saw a screen separating the room, and behind the screen was the bathtub with a few flower petals floating in the water.

To be honest, Consort Wu was of low rank, so the side hall she lived in was not very big and was located in a rather remote area.

Xiao Ji jumped in through the window, glanced down, and noticed the mud and sand left on the ground by his shoes.

Before that, the floor of the house was spotless, without a single footprint.

Shen Lan also climbed in, and even though she was very careful, she still left marks on the window frame and the floor.

"It doesn't seem likely that they came in from here, unless someone cleaned it up afterwards."

Shen Lan looked around the bathtub, then squatted down and used tweezers to pick out a green feather from the bottom.

"These should be kingfisher feathers from the headdresses of the imperial concubines, a technique called 'diancui' (kingfisher feather inlay). This kind of jewelry is not seen in the common people."

"Are all of Lady Wu's belongings still in the house?"

“Everything is there. I haven’t let anyone touch it since I arrived.”

The two began searching through Wu Meiren's room, taking inventory of all her jewelry, but found no pieces with kingfisher feather decoration.

Unexpectedly, the two found a stack of silver notes, worth tens of thousands of taels, in Wu Meiren's pillow.

"Someone come here!" Xiao Ji shouted outside.

The first one to push open the door was the palace maid, who couldn't hide her surprise, wondering when the two of them had returned.

Seeing the signs that the room had been ransacked, she quickly asked, "What are the adults looking for?"

Xiao Ji didn't answer, but asked, "What about the others?"

"The Imperial Guards on duty outside have just changed shifts and will be back soon. Please feel free to give me any instructions, my lord."

Shen Lan stepped forward, looked her up and down, and asked, "How old are you this year? Where did you work before you served Consort Wu?"

"This servant is eighteen years old and previously worked in the laundry department."

"How long have you been with Consort Wu?"

"It's been over a year."

Does anyone usually go to the apricot grove behind the palace?

"The beauty likes to admire the flowers outside the window, but she doesn't allow the servants to go there on ordinary days."

"I heard that Consort Xie also likes apricot blossoms. Doesn't she come here to admire them?"

"The Lady Consort Zhao is not in good health this year and rarely goes out."

The palace maid handled the situation with grace and answered every question fluently.

From the speed with which she entered and the composure with which she answered questions, it was clear that she was a capable young woman.

It's hard to believe that someone as dedicated as her would fall asleep while her master was bathing, leading to his drowning.

On her way here, Shen Lan heard from the palace servants that Consort Xie was in poor health and was afraid that the palace where someone had died was too yin, so she requested to change her residence.

In fact, Shen Lan felt that her worries were unnecessary. Which palace in this city hadn't seen people die?

After she finished asking her question, Xiao Ji instructed the palace maid, "Go and invite the commander of the Imperial Guards on duty outside to come in."

"promise."

Soon, a young general entered.

Shen Lan and Xiao Ji both widened their eyes at the same time.

The reason it was Li Ye who came in was because he was the one who entered.

He put on a wig and armor, looking dashing and spirited, but he didn't look like a monk at all.

"What are your orders, Lord Xiao?"

"You are……?"

"This humble servant, Li Ye, a junior officer of the Imperial City Guard, has been assigned here to guard the Linhua Palace and to assist Lord Xiao in investigating the case."

His answer was so confident that Shen Lan and Xiao Ji were at a loss for words.

Because there were outsiders present, Shen Lan couldn't very well acknowledge Li Ye as her father.

Xiao Ji coughed, "Ahem... I would like to trouble Li Xiaoqi to send someone to Shuyu Palace to summon Consort Lin. I have some questions to ask her."

Li Ye glanced at Shen Lan, then turned and walked out.

"Then this servant will also wait outside." The palace maid followed her out.

"You suspect her?"

"Don't you think she's too calm? Putting aside emotions like sadness, she doesn't even seem very afraid."

Logically speaking, since Consort Wu died right under her nose, shouldn't she also bear some responsibility?

"The Emperor originally intended to have all the servants who served Consort Wu beaten to death, but I asked her to come and cooperate with the investigation."

Whether she will die in the end depends on the outcome of the case.

"Should we investigate the origin of those banknotes first?"

"Yes, I will send someone to investigate Wu Meiren's family. Perhaps her death is not so simple."

The two gathered all the valuables in the room, locked them in a wooden box, sealed it, and then left the bedroom.

From the backyard, it looks like a paradise.

However, from the front courtyard, the side hall was old and dilapidated, and the courtyard was desolate and lifeless.

From any perspective, Wu Meiren doesn't seem to be wealthy.

When Lin Miaoniang was brought in, Shen Lan noticed that Li Ye was not outside, and wondered if the two of them had already met.

Perhaps we wouldn't recognize each other even if we met?

Lin Miaoniang brushed past the palace maid without even glancing at her out of the corner of her eye.

Once inside, Xiao Ji ordered the door to be closed and everyone to leave the courtyard.

Lin Miaoniang asked loudly, "What does Lord Xiao want to ask me?"

Do you have any kingfisher feather jewelry?

Lin Miaoniang laughed self-deprecatingly, "How could a mere talented woman like me be worthy of such fine things? Although the Emperor often bestows gifts, they are all within the prescribed regulations. Diancui is a type of jewelry that only those of the rank of Zhaoyi or above can wear."

"When you were seeing Wu Meiren, did you notice anything unusual about her?"

For example, being extravagant with money, being particularly afraid of someone, or particularly hating someone.

Lin Miaoniang pointed to the gemstone hairpin on her head, "This hairpin was a gift from her. She said it was her most precious possession. The servants in her palace often disobeyed because they hadn't received any rewards."

As for the rest, she didn't tell me. When we got together, we either danced or talked about makeup, hair, and clothes.

From the moment Lin Miaoniang got close to the emperor, she never thought about the rest of her life. How could she possibly be friends with the concubines in the palace?

Wu Meiren deliberately tried to curry favor, and she pretended to accept it, only associating with her to see what she was really up to.