The Collapsing Sheng Palace
The item was brought out in a wooden box by Lu Ping. Feng Yu Heng looked over and found that it was an edible bird nest.
Lu Ping said: “This is something that I stole. Because it’s something that came from the palace, it is very valuable, and it was being personally taken care of by Ge shi. It was because Lu Yan fell ill a few days earlier that she no longer had the energy to keep an eye on these things, and I managed to obtain it.” While she spoke, she handed over the item to Feng Yu Heng, “Last time, His Highness the ninth prince and imperial daughter came to the manor to deliver some things, and there were also these bird nests. I don’t know how the relationship between imperial daughter and Her Highness the Empress is, but I will speak truthfully. Although the doctors always said that there were no problems with these bird nests after examining them, Lu Yan indeed became poisoned after eating these.”
Lu Ping stopped speaking at this point and waited for Feng Yu Heng to examine it. In truth, Feng Yu Heng did not need to examine it carefully. Back when Lu Ping had opened the box, she could already smell something was off with the bird nest. The fierce smell that came from inside was identical to the poison that she had diagnosed as having poisoned Lu Yan. The problem lay with the bird nest. But… why did the Empress do this?
For a while, she could not figure out the reasoning for this and only said to Lu Ping: “Thank you. If you did not steal this bird nest, I would have found a way to get some to look at. Indeed, there is a bit of a problem. I will take it away for now. If Ge shi finds out that there are some missing, bear the responsibility for it.”
Lu Ping smiled bitterly, “How could Ge shi have the energy to worry about this sort of thing. I stole it yesterday morning, and she did not notice any missing. She has placed all of her focus on Lu Yan. She might not even remember how many were eaten.” She was a daughter of a concubine, but she never referred to Ge shi as mother. It could be seen that Ge shi had been critical of daughters of concubines in the past.
Feng Yu Heng nodded, and the two chatted for a while. After roughly two hours had passed, she bid farewell to Lu Ping and was guided back to Lu Yan’s side. When she arrived, the infusion bottle was nearly empty. Feng Yu Heng waited until the last drop before removing the needle from the back of Lu Yan’s hand. Lu Yan had regained a bit of spirit and was supported by a maidservant to be seated in bed. She wholeheartedly thanked Feng Yu Heng. Even Ge shi and Lu Song repeatedly thanked her, as Ge shi said: “The manor truly does not have anything good to give to Imperial Daughter. There are some rare items, but those were sent by His Highness the eighth prince and Her Highness the Empress a little while ago, and our family did not dare touch those things.”
After she finished speaking, Lu Song immediately realized that there had been a mistake in the wording, and he quickly added: “Imperial Daughter, do not misunderstand. My wife’s words definitely did not have any feelings of resentment toward the Yao family.” Ge shi repeatedly nodded, realizing that she had chosen her words poorly.
Feng Yu Heng also knew that they had not done it intentionally and did not mind it. She just told Lu Yan: “Although you seem to be a bit better now, you are not truly getting better. It’s all the effect of the medicine. Once the medicine’s effects have worn off, your situation will immediately regress to the original state.” Her words were not evasive in the slightest, as she spoke directly. She was not afraid that Lu Yan would not be able to accept it. As she spoke, she pulled out a box of medicine and handed it to Ge shi, saying: “Take two pills each night before going to sleep. Have her continue eating it. Do not stop.”
This was a medicine that forcefully and quickly strengthened the immune system. In truth, it was quite expensive, and it was hard to buy. Even in the 21st century, only important people and doctors would be able to use such a thing. Of course, Feng Yu Heng’s space had some stored, but there was not much. There were no more than ten boxes, but her space had the ability to automatically replenish itself. She did not fear that the medicine would be wasted. In truth, Lu Yan’s poisoning would be very easy to explain using modern medicine. On one front, it disrupted the bone marrow’s ability to produce blood while spreading through the blood. On another front, it destroyed the body’s immune system. Once a person lost their immune system, they no longer had even the slightest defense against illness. Quickly deteriorating, it was natural that she would end up looking like this.
Ge shi received the medicine and wiped away some tears; however, Lu Yan said: “Mother, don’t cry. Even if you cry, it won’t bring me back. It would be better to think of how you will avenge me.” After saying this, she looked at Feng Yu Heng once more: “If you find the culprit, you must tell me. No matter where the culprit is, even if I must bite them, I will bite them to death!”
The current Lu Yan was already like an evil spirit. Feng Yu Heng did not intend to continue remaining in the manor. She just casually replied then told them that she would visit again after a few days. She then quickly exited the left prime minister’s manor. The bird nest had been thrown inside her space, as had Lu Yan and Lu Ping’s blood samples. They would all need to be tested once she got back.
She stayed in the Lu manor until the afternoon; however, she did not know that the Sheng Palace had been in a state of chaos since the early morning. It started with the servants that had gone into the mountain vault to clean up the pooling water letting out a shrill scream. Following this, the guards entered to investigate and were horrified to find that the formerly full room was now completely bare. Aside from puddles of water and the cold walls on all four sides, the treasures that His Highness Prince Sheng had accumulated over many years had all disappeared in a mysterious way.
The guards felt that something was off. Even if there had been some thieves, opening up a chest and filling a bundle with the treasures was already plenty. At most, two bundles could be filled. That would already be considered a massive failure for them. Of course, if only a bundle or two were taken away, it would not be noticed. These things were only opened by the guards from time to time. It was impossible for them to check every single day. There were so many chests, and just one chest could fill many bundles. If only a handful was taken from each chest, it would not even be noticed by the naked eye. But now that all of the chests had disappeared, what did it mean? This meant that there was a strategy used to ship them out! The defenses here were very tight. There were tens of hidden guards here. How could it have been secretly taken away by someone?
The people in the palace analyzed the situation and thought that it might be possible that His Highness had changed their location personally and did not tell them. But this was just a thought. They still needed to ask clearly before they could determine anything. Of course, they did not dare look for Xuan Tian Mo to ask this question, thus they called for the housekeeper. Along the way, they quietly talked about this matter, and the housekeeper did not believe it, only saying: “How could that be possible. For so many chests to be taken away, even a blind person could hear the movements, right? How could it be that nobody knew about it.” But when they led him into the vault and had him personally take a look at the scene, the housekeeper let out a weird scream.
The servants were also anxious. Even a fool could see that the housekeeper was unaware of it. Since the housekeeper did not know about it, that meant that the prince most likely did not do this himself. Since he did not… everyone trembled. The vault had been emptied, and the treasures had been lost. That was all of the Sheng Palace’s stores! Just in terms of gold, there were over a million taels. That did not include all of the precious gems. How should they report this?
Someone comforted themselves: “Fortunately, all of the banknotes were kept in the treasurer’s room. Otherwise, our palace would become completely destitute. I fear that even our monthly wages could no longer be paid, right?”
There was nobody that picked up on this. Monthly wages, what sort of situation was it that they were still worrying about monthly wages? Just being able to keep their lives was not certain! A smarter person spoke up at this time: “Hidden guards, quickly go and find the hidden guards. Shout towards the top of the trees, and one should come out. They are the ones that are truly responsible for keeping an eye on the vault. Even if there is blame to be assigned, it cannot be placed on us!”
These words acted as a reminder to everyone, thus someone quickly ran out to call for a hidden guard to enter. There were a total of five; however, they were not the ones that had been stationed outside the previous night. But when they saw the “grand situation” inside the vault, they immediately made the decision to report to the eighth prince!
Xuan Tian Mo endured great grief while looking over this grand scene. He felt a sudden urge to kill people; however, he forcefully held it down. He was not stupid. His mind was constantly spinning, trying to figure out what had happened. The guards had said that they had specifically gone inside during the changing of the guard to check, and the vault was still full. Everything was still there. In just the span of a single night, everything had disappeared, but they did not see anything enter or exit. This vault was something that Xuan Tian Mo had personally ordered the construction of. There was only one entrance, and he clearly knew that it was impossible for someone to have taken out all of those things under the eyes of all of those hidden guards. Even if everyone present was drugged, to move out all of those chests of treasures would be impossible.
However, the impossible had happened. There was a brief moment where he felt as though it was a ghost; otherwise, how could it be done using common methods?
Of course, there was still a point that he could not discount. That was the existence of a spy in his palace, and it was not just one.
Only a strong spy network could hide such a thing. A large disturbance was caused in the palace, thus the spy network had to be connected to the palace’s head servants, guards and hidden guards.
In an instant, Xuan Tian Mo became soaked in a cold sweat. He had not returned to the capital in two years. If the palace had really become like this, was he not living in a wolf’s den? Having been given a start, he quickly recovered. Losing a vault of treasures was distressing, but if it allowed him to deal with a hidden plot inside his palace, it was not a loss. Either way, however much was taken, he would have it all coughed up!
On this side, the Sheng Palace had begun its search for a spy; however, Feng Yu Heng never thought that he would go in such a direction. It could be considered a lucky hit, as a foul atmosphere enveloped the Sheng Palace.
When she returned to the imperial daughter’s manor, Bai Ze was coming out. Seeing her, he quickly saluted and said: “Princess, this subordinate came to see Miss Bai. This subordinate was thinking of waiting until you returned to greet you, but His Highness Prince Yu has called for this subordinate to return immediately. This subordinate will not be staying.”
Feng Yu Heng was startled, “Is there something wrong with His Highness’ side?”
Bai Ze shook his head, “It’s nothing. He will just be going to the military camp outside the capital. It’s the new year. He will be sending some gifts to the soldiers.”
Only then did Feng Yu Heng calm down and dismiss Bai Ze. She then went to the guest room where Bai Fu Rong was living.
When she arrived, Bai Fu Rong was in the middle of embroidering a fan. Seeing Feng Yu Heng arrive, she put down the work in her hand and went to meet with her. Her spirits were high, and she did not look as though she was sick in the slightest.
Feng Yu Heng smiled and said to her: “Don’t stay cooped up in your room all day. walk around the manor a bit. Although I can’t be bothered to build some scenery in the manor, the location of this residence is quite good. The things left behind are plenty to look at.”
Bai Fu Rong shook her head and said: “How could I be in the mood to look at such things. Just living feels like this life was given to me. Of course, it was you that gave it back to me. I have wanted to thank you properly, but you also know that aside from being able to say thank you, I don’t have much else that I can give you. A-Heng, please don’t dislike it.”
Feng Yu Heng was helpless, “Where is there any need for such words between us? Even if it was not you back then, the enemy would have found someone else. The Duan Mu family and Qian Zhou’s eyes can be found all over the world. If you weren’t there, who knows what sort of people would get mixed in? The end result would be too ghastly to contemplate. Speaking of, His Highness the ninth prince and I must thank you.”
Bai Fu Rong sighed once more; however, she had no intention of spending too much time on this subject. She said to Feng Yu Heng: “A-Heng, if you didn’t come today, I was thinking of going to look for you. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”