Traveling through ancient times to escape famine, the prince led me to rebel

Chapter 347 Death of Lin Yuanfang

On the second day of the Qianqiu Festival, Lin Yuanfang, who was supposed to continue on duty, did not appear in the palace, which instantly aroused the vigilance of Huo Qingyun, who was also on duty that day.

Although Lin Yuanfang was not so willing to be the commander of the Imperial Guard, he never neglected his duties and never missed a day on duty.

After discovering that Lin Yuanfang did not come to the palace, Huo Qingyun's first thought was that something had happened to the Lin family, which prevented Lin Yuanfang from leaving.

But not long after, Emperor Tianqi summoned Huo Qingyun, his face was very gloomy.

"Huo Qingyun, I order you to turn the previous dynasty upside down and make sure to find Lin Yuanfang!"

Lin Yuanfang...is missing?

Huo Qingyun's pupils shrank slightly, but he quickly came to his senses, reported to Emperor Tianqi, and then retreated.

The imperial palace is divided into the front court and the harem, and guards are not allowed to enter the harem.

The search of the harem was in full swing under the leadership of Wang Defa, the chief eunuch beside the Queen Mother.

……

After a dreamless night, Luo Xiaoran felt a little strange when she opened her eyes. She hadn't slept so deeply in a long time.

"Weian! Wei'an!"

Wei An pushed the door open with toiletries in his hand, looked at Luo Xiaoran who was sleeping like a mess, and said with a smirk:

"Princess, are you awake?"

Luo Xiaoran turned her neck which was a little stiff from sleeping, and asked Wei An in confusion:

"How long have I slept? Didn't you call me?"

"Princess, you only slept half an hour longer than usual. I saw that you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't call you.

The princess is not like the concubines in the harem who have to pay respects to the queen every day and don’t have to get up early every day.”

As Wei An spoke, he placed the toiletries one by one, waiting for Luo Xiaoran to wash her face and brush her teeth.

Luo Xiaoran stretched lazily, her eyes still a little sleepy, and she forced herself to wash up.

“Maybe it’s because I ate too late last night, so I slept a little deeply.

The Qianqiu Festival finally passed peacefully. After Concubine Tang was confined, I guess the women in the harem should know clearly that Emperor Tianqi is protecting me, and there should be no more blind people. "

Wei An thought of Concubine Tang's stupid behavior yesterday, a hint of disgust flashed in his eyes, and he quickly looked at his own princess twice to wash his eyes.

"My brother sent a message saying that His Highness has already set off for Kyoto.

It won’t be long before the princess will be able to reunite with His Highness, and we won’t have to stay in the palace and be restricted, and we can return to Prince Yan’s Mansion!”

Luo Xiaoran paused in her washing and did not take the sweat towel handed to her by Wei An in time, letting the water droplets flow down to her chin without her noticing.

She was still talking about this matter last night, but unexpectedly, the news came today.

"Tell His Royal Highness Prince Yan everything we have found out these days and our experiences in the palace, so that we can share information."

"Yes!"

Not long after Luo Xiaoran washed up and had breakfast, Xiao Xingzi's voice asking for a meeting came from outside the hall.

Wei An opened the door for him. Xiao Xingzi came in with his back bent, lowered his head and said:

"Miss Luo, the eunuch Wang who is beside the Queen Mother has come. He said that something was lost in the Queen Mother's palace and they are searching every palace!"

Luo Xiaoran was stunned, and became alert. She turned her head to look at Wei An. When she saw Wei An nodded, she felt relieved knowing that this thing would not appear in her bedroom.

"Did you say you lost something?"

"It's the Queen Mother's favorite jade dragon head hairpin."

Xiao Xingzi answered Luo Xiaoran's questions fluently, but the faint smell of rust, or blood, coming from his body made Luo Xiaoran frown unconsciously.

"Xiao Xingzi, where did you go this morning? Your clothes seem to have... a strange smell."

Xiao Xingzi bent his waist even more, lowered his head even lower, and finally he just knelt down.

"To Miss Luo, I went to the prison early this morning. I must have been contaminated by the bloody smell there, which must have offended you. I deserve to die!"

Luo Xiaoran's beautiful eyes flickered slightly, "What are you doing in the Heavenly Prison? Isn't that where the palace maids who have committed mistakes are imprisoned?"

"My brother is imprisoned in the prison. The weather is getting colder, so I bribed some people to send him some thick clothes."

Xiao Xingzi's words were gloomy, as if he was trying hard to suppress his sadness.

Luo Xiaoran wanted to continue asking, but leaving the eunuch Wang mentioned by Xiao Xingzi out in the open was not a good idea.

When Wang Defa saw Luo Xiaoran coming out, he saluted her politely and said with a smile:

"Excuse me Miss Luo, I am following the order of the Empress Dowager to search the palace one by one, including the palace of Concubine Tang who is under house arrest. This is the last one."

The other palaces were not searched, and only this one was missing. How did Luo Xiaoran smell the scent of conspiracy...

But blocking the palace search is definitely not an option.

"I will obey the Empress Dowager's order, please do as you wish, eunuch!"

Afterwards, Wang Defa made a gesture, and the eunuch following him bent down and walked into Luo Xiaoran's bedroom and began to search.

A few other young eunuchs walked towards the side rooms where the palace maids who served in Fukang Palace lived.

Not long after, the eunuchs who had entered Luo Xiaoran's bedroom came out and shook their heads at Wang Defa.

Wang Defa felt mixed emotions about this result.

The good news is that Commander Lin is not with Miss Luo, so she is innocent.

After the incident at the palace banquet last night, Concubine Tang and Miss Luo were both confined by the emperor. This is what the emperor wanted to tell everyone:

Luo Xiaoran, he protected her! Whoever made Luo Xiaoran unhappy was making him unhappy!

I don't want to cause trouble for the emperor.

I am worried about where Commander Lin has gone. If I can't find you, the Queen Mother will blame me, and I will be in big trouble!

Since even the sleeping palace had not been searched, it was even more impossible to find the auxiliary rooms where the palace servants lived. Thinking of this, Wang Defa put on a smile and prepared to say goodbye to Luo Xiaoran.

At this moment, a young eunuch came out of a side room, shouting:

"Someone's dead! There's a dead person in this room!"

In an instant, everyone present looked towards the auxiliary room where the little eunuch had rolled out, with panic on their faces.

And when Luo Xiaoran saw clearly which room it was, the strange feeling that had been vaguely in her mind since she woke up in the morning suddenly became a reality!

That’s Xiao Xingzi’s room!

Luo Xiaoran suddenly looked towards Xiao Xingzi, and saw him looking towards her, with deep guilt clearly in his eyes!

……

In the Empress Dowager's palace, the Queen was feeling uneasy.

"Aunt, you said my elder brother..."

Before the queen could finish her words, the exquisitely made-up queen mother glanced at her calmly, a look that contained a warning in her majesty.

The queen pursed her lips, suppressed her anxiety, and said slowly:

"Mother, every year on the morning of the second day of my birthday, Commander Lin would come to visit me. He has never been absent in all these years, but this morning... he did not come.

The guards on duty at the palace gate have confirmed that Commander Lin did not leave the palace yesterday. The news from the Lin family also indirectly confirmed that he did not return to the Lin family last night.

Strangely, no one saw him in the duty room during the handover.

Mother, I am worried that Commander Lin might have made some mistake! "

The Queen Mother was puzzled by the Queen's worries.

"The Queen is getting more and more outrageous! Commander Lin is such a grown man, and he has several children. How could he get lost?"

"Aunt!!!" The queen no longer cared about the so-called "title".

"My elder brother has loved me the most since I was a child. He will definitely not break his promise. I have a feeling that something must have happened to him. Why don't you believe Zhuohua's words?"

"Snapped!"

The Queen Mother slapped the table.

"Queen, have I been too indulgent towards you on weekdays, or has yesterday's grand Qianqiu Festival made your heart swell a lot, and you dare to speak to me like this!"

After a pause, noticing the anxious look on the Queen's face, the Queen Mother sighed softly.

"Zhuohua, your eldest brother is the future head of our Lin family, who dares to touch him?

You know, your eldest brother doesn't really want to be the commander of the Imperial Guard. Your father put him in this position to temper his temper. Otherwise, how can he be entrusted with important tasks in the future?

Your elder brother has been busy for a while during the Qianqiu Festival. Maybe after the palace banquet ended last night, he was hiding in some palace drinking and resting, and he hasn’t woken up yet!

Now, both the former court and the harem are looking for him, and news will come soon.

You are the queen. If you lose your composure at the slightest disturbance, how can you lead the harem and rule the country in the future?"

Just at this moment, Wang Defa walked in.

He was a fat and white man, and because of his job, he had to search almost all the harems, so there were beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Your servant pays respects to Her Majesty the Queen Mother and Her Majesty the Empress. Commander Lin has been found!"

A hint of pride flashed in the Queen Mother's eyes. What did she say? Now she has found it!

The Queen was already in a state of panic because she was worried about Lin Yuanfang, and she felt even more upset after being reprimanded by the Empress Dowager.

After hearing Wang Defa's words, my heart, which should have relaxed, somehow rose to my throat.

"Where is Commander Lin?"

After hearing the Queen's question, Wang Defa, who was filled with fear on his way back, not only got his entire inner clothes wet, he didn't even dare to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Early in the morning, not long after the Empress arrived, the Queen Mother ordered him to find Commander Lin in the name of searching for the Jade Dragon Head Hairpin. Unexpectedly...

Wang Defa was trembling all over. Facing the dignified gazes of the Queen Mother and the Empress, he gritted his teeth and replied:

"Commander Lin sent him...he went!

The body was found in the room of a young eunuch in Fukang Palace!"

"Nonsense!" The Queen shouted, regardless of her status. "How dare you deceive me? Do you, a slave, want to die?"

Wang Defa fell to his knees after being yelled at by the Queen. He crawled to the Queen Mother on his knees.

"Your Highness, I have been with you for so many years, I would never dare to lie to you!"

Wang Defa has followed the Empress Dowager since she entered the palace.

The Queen Mother certainly knew Wang Defa's loyalty to her, so she never doubted his words and was shocked.

How could it be? How could Yuan Fang die in the palace? He is the next head of the Lin family!

The carefully maintained nails pointed at Wang Defa like sharp arrows, "Tell me! What's going on!"

Wang Defa, who was filled with fear, kowtowed to the Queen Mother and the Empress one by one, and then quickly replied:

"In reply to the Empress Dowager, I have searched all the palaces in the harem according to your wishes, even the cold palace was not spared, and only Fukang Palace was left..."

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll pull out your tongue!"

Shouting for war and killing the leading eunuch in the Empress Dowager's palace, how could the Empress at this moment still look as calm and indifferent as usual?

While the Queen Mother was grief-stricken over Lin Yuanfang's death, she couldn't help but wonder whether her decision to make Lin Zhuohua the Queen was right or wrong.

Wang Defa was frightened again by the queen's roar.

With his many years of experience working in the palace, he quickly came to his senses and immediately organized his words, telling in one breath how the palace search reached Fukang Palace and how Lin Yuanfang's body was found in Xiao Xingzi's room.

After hearing this, the Queen still looked unconvinced and immediately wanted to go to Fukang Palace to see it with her own eyes, but was stopped by the Queen Mother.

"stop!"

The queen paused for only a moment before continuing to walk out.

At this time, Wang Defa, relying on his years of understanding of the empress dowager's thoughts, quickly stood up from the ground and stopped the queen.

"Your Majesty, you cannot disobey the order of the Queen Mother."

The queen's mind was now filled with the death of Lin Yuanfang. She was filled with sorrow, pain and anger. When she saw Wang Defa blocking her way, she slapped him in the face without thinking.

Wang Defa took a step back with a cry of "Ouch". His face was in pain, but he felt relieved in his heart.

The Queen Mother had been suppressed by the Grand Queen Mother for many years. Although she appeared willing to be an Queen Mother who did not care about the trivial matters in the harem, her pursuit of power in her heart had never disappeared.

Ever since the Empress Dowager fell ill and took charge of the harem affairs, her complexion has been getting better and better. This is all the effect of the power!

Therefore, the Queen Mother would never allow the Queen to disobey her, and her behavior of stopping the Queen was a reflection of her support for the Queen Mother's authority and her loyalty to her.

Because of his action, the Queen Mother would not vent her anger about Commander Lin's death on him.

"Empress, you slapped the chief eunuch beside me. How disgraceful of you!"

"Aunt, my eldest brother is dead, and you and Zhuohua are talking about 'property' here?"

The Queen turned around and continued to contradict the Queen Mother, but she saw that the Queen Mother's eyes were slightly red, so she asked without thinking:

"Aunt, your eyes are red. Are you sad because of my brother's death, or are you angry because of my contradiction?

My eldest brother is dead, your most beloved nephew is dead, why do you still have to follow these rules?"

"Inverted!"

"Inverted!"

"Inverted!"

The Queen Mother was so angry that she slammed the table three times. Her exquisite makeup could not hide her distorted expression.

"Wang Defa, pass the order down!

The Queen has fallen ill and will stay in Kunning Palace to recuperate from now on. The concubines in the harem are exempted from paying her a visit!

When the Queen recovers from her illness, she will come out of Kunning Palace again!"

Is the Queen Mother going to arrest the Queen?

Even Wang Defa was shocked by the Queen Mother's order, not to mention the Queen.

She was about to say something else when Wang Defa hurried forward to stop her:

"Your Majesty, please!"

The queen was unwilling to leave, and Wang Defa complained bitterly in his heart, so he had to continue:

“Empress Dowager, regarding Commander Lin’s matter, the Empress Dowager must be as angry and sad as you are, but you must gather your strength and find the murderer who killed Commander Lin.

The Queen Mother asked you to recuperate in the palace because she was afraid that you would do something impulsive that you would regret later.

You must understand the good intentions of the Queen Mother!"