Chapter 1251 Zhaoyi Di Left Something Behind
“Cousin-in-law, do you know Zhaoyi Di in the Palace?” Hearing a few more questions, Qin Yiyan could no longer keep the secret. She pulled her chair close to Shao Wanru and asked in a low voice.
“Yes. What do you mean?” Shao Wanru frowned and nodded. Of course, she knew Zhaoyi Di.
“That day, she stopped me in the Palace and said something specious and groundless. It’s very strange,” Qin Yiyan said.
“What did she say?” Shao Wanru slightly raised her watery eyes and became even more surprised. There was little connection between Qin Yiyan and Zhaoyi Di. Why would they get together?
Shao Wanru clearly remembered Zhaoyi Di. But since they had met, Shao Wanru never saw her in the Palace again. Anyway, how could she care about a woman unrelated to her? At present, Consort Lan was the beloved woman of the Emperor. The Emperor was said to have spent most of his time in a month with Consort Lan and rarely had any other favored consorts.
“She said… She said you and my cousin were deeply in love with each other. My cousin’s love for you was as deep as the sea. Besides, no other person could sabotage your close relationship. She also sighed with emotion that my cousin was also a truthful and devoted lover…” Qin Yiyan said. She couldn’t remember much at the moment, so she simply said, “Anyway, she said a lot of good words about you. For example, you two were inseparable, and my cousin treated you wholeheartedly.”
“So, how did you react?” Qin Yiyan looked a little annoyed. Seeing this, Shao Wanru couldn’t help smiling.
Right now, Qin Yiyan revealed her true feelings. Shao Wanru remembered how Qin Yiyan put on an act when they saw each other for the first time. Recalling the scene, she found it indeed interesting.
Qin Yiyan did a lousy job of hiding her genuine purposes. Yet, she pretended to be experienced and astute. Back then, Shao Wanru was a little intimidated by her swashbuckling posture. But now, when thinking about it, Shao Wanru found it amusing.
Qin Yiyan rolled her eyes and replied, “How could I react? I just watched her and pondered the meaning of her words. Consort Lan had told me words said by the people in the Palace were half-true. When I had difficulty figuring out their real intentions, I might as well remain silent, showing them that I didn’t understand.”
Then she sighed and said, ” Lives of people in the Palace are tiring. In my eyes, they might as well go back to their original families. At least they are far less likely to face so many schemes and plots.”
“Did she leave later?” Shao Wanru asked with a smile. Ever since Qin Yiyan gave up her ambitious idea, she became frank and outspoken before her. This made Shao Wanru feel that she was actually a straightforward girl without so many twists and turns in her mind.
Because of this, Shao Wanru became much closer to her.
Simple people were happy. At least Qin Yiyan seemed to be in a good mood now. Except for such unexpected troublesome things, she enjoyed her life now.
“She walked away later. Before that, she gave me an item. Could you look at it for me? I didn’t dare to show it to Consort Lan. She is always in a bad mood. Though she is smiling, I feel she has never been happy. From time to time, she would ask about my cousin. Could you let my cousin go to see her? Consort Lan would love to see him.”
Speaking of this, Qin Yiyan forgot about her own business.
She felt sorry for Consort Lan. Sometimes, Consort Lan would ask her to bring food to her cousin when Qin Yiyan visited her. Consort Lan said that Prince Chen would like it. However, when Qin Yiyan brought the food to her cousin, he casually threw it aside without even looking at it. Of course, she wanted to persuade him not to do so. But when she saw his steel eyes, she was discouraged.
She had been living in the mansion during this period. Therefore, she figured one thing: no one else but Shao Wanru could change her cousin’s mind.
She reached out to pull Shao Wanru’s sleeve and said, “Cousin-in-law, could you talk to my cousin about it? No matter how much he dislikes Consort Lan, she is still his aunt. Besides, Consort Lan doesn’t have any other children. Except for my cousin, whom could she rely on?”
Qin Yiyan pitied Consort Lan because she never gave birth to any child. Even if she only had a daughter, it would be good. At least she would have a biological daughter. However, although the Emperor favored Consort Lan, she had no children. At her current age, she should not be able to give birth to any. Thus, no matter how much the Emperor doted on her, so what?
Whenever Qin Yiyan thought of this, she felt she could understand Consort Lan. Living lonely in the Palace, the only person related to her by blood was Chu Liuchen. However, it seemed that her cousin detested her. She did not know what was wrong with him.
“Well, I know. Sometimes, I have tried to persuade your cousin, but… I’m afraid it won’t work. Don’t get your hopes too high. Most importantly, don’t tell Consort Lan about it.”
Shao Wanru couldn’t help laughing and comforted Qin Yiyan in a soft voice.
This matter was a knot in Chu Liuchen’s heart. She couldn’t just go straight to persuade him. Besides, she could not say what she had guessed for fear that Chu Liuchen would be sad again. If he did not mention it, she would never ask.
It was better not to tear open the old wound in his heart. Gradually, it would heal. If others kept touching it, the painful wound might never stop troubling him…
“Well, I know it. It’s not easy to get close to my cousin. After all, he is somewhat unapproachable.” Qin Yiyan curled her lips. Knowing she couldn’t do anything about this matter now, she drifted back to the previous topic. She took a small pouch from the pocket before her chest, handed it to Shao Wanru, and said, “See? Zhaoyi Di left it for me.”
Shao Wanru took it. With a closer look, she found nothing special about this pouch. At least it looked ordinary. Except for the typical cloud pattern, there was nothing else worth mentioning. Shao Wanru turned it over and over in her hand but didn’t find anything usual.
“How did you know it was from Zhaoyi Di?” Shao Wanru asked. People in the Palace would often leave space for manoeuvers when handling issues. Even if something went wrong, no one could directly testify against them.
After the Duke Yong’s Mansion collapsed, Zhaoyi Di became more cautious. It was not appropriate for her to say those words to Qin Yiyan. Why would she even send Zhaoyi Di a small bag?
“She left it on the table when she left. I wanted to call her back and give it back to her, but she walked away so fast that I couldn’t catch up with her. It was obvious that she wanted me to keep it. She could not leave it behind by accident.” Qin Yiyan was frank by nature, but it didn’t mean she was stupid. She had gone to chase her. But since she was unfamiliar with the Palace, Qin Yiyan soon lost track of her after a few turns. In the end, she had to come back.
The purse was temporarily in her hands, so it was not convenient for her to ask Consort Lan about it. Consort Lan had been in a bad mood and needed to take medicine occasionally. Thus, Qin Yiyan didn’t want to worry her and came to find Shao Wanru.
“What did you find out?” Shao Wanru asked. Since Qin Yiyan felt it was inappropriate and went further after Zhaoyi Di, she must have checked the pouch.
“I checked it but didn’t find anything. I deliberately put it in the water. I even pulled out a piece of thread and burned it. But even so, I found nothing unusual!” Qin Yiyan pointed to a place under the pouch. Upon a closer inspection, she found that a length of thread had been pulled off. It looked a little messy, but if Shao Wanru didn’t look carefully, she couldn’t notice it.
“I can’t tell it either. I’ll ask your cousin to check it out later. It looks more like a man’s stuff,” Shao Wanru said.
The cloud pattern? Generally, women liked embroidering items with flowers and plants. Even if they didn’t do that, they would choose some lovely patterns. But this pouch only had the cloud pattern. Wasn’t it too simple?
But because there was only the cloud pattern, it was difficult to guess who the owner of this pouch was. The material of the purse looked good.
“It belonged to a man?” Qin Yiyan said with her face changing dramatically, “What did Zhaoyi Di mean?”
Shao Wanru put the purse on the table and slightly blinked her watery eyes. “Have you been in the Palace more often recently?”
“I had nothing to do anyway. Whenever I was free, I would go to see Consort Lan. You wouldn’t go with me even if I asked you to!” Qin Yiyan pouted her delicate lips and said unhappily. She wanted so much to go there with Shao Wanru. However, as soon as Shao Wanru entered the Palace, she would go to see the Empress Dowager or say that Chu Liuchen didn’t allow her to go. Anyway, she always had an excuse not to see Consort Lan.
“Don’t visit the Palace often during this period,” Shao Wanru said seriously.
“Why?” Qin Yiyan didn’t understand.
Shao Wanru pointed at the pouch on the table and said, “If I guess it right, some people are not happy to see Consort Lan win the Emperor’s favor. They can’t get near Consort Lan, so they can only lay their hands on you.”
“What… what do you mean?” Qin Yiyan shivered and looked nervous.
“Nothing in particular. They intend to get to Consort Lan through you.” Shao Wanru looked at Qin Yiyan with an extremely calm look and said. Consort Lan seemed to have no weakness. Besides, she enjoyed a unique status in the Palace, and even the Empress couldn’t meet her at will. No one could do anything to her unless she took the initiative to come out.
“Is it Zhaoyi Di?” Qin Yiyan asked angrily.
“Not her!” Shao Wanru shook her head and said. Zhaoyi Di was not in the Emperor’s good graces and didn’t fall into disfavor. Under these circumstances, she couldn’t target Consort Lan. Moreover, if it had been her, she wouldn’t have appeared so openly before Qin Yiyan. Of course, it couldn’t prove that she was not involved.
This pouch seemed more like an item used to sound out them.
“You’d better not go to the Palace so frequently during this period. If you have anything to say, tell me. Don’t act rashly. Consort Lan has been safe in the Palace for so many years. So, she will be okay at this time. I will ask your cousin about this pouch and tell you when I know the answer.”
Shao Wanru thought for a moment and said softly, eyes falling back on the pouch again. “This pouch is strange. Why would it be sent to Qin Yiyan?”
Holding it in her hand, she weighed. This pouch was sealed and of moderate weight. She had no idea what it was. There seemed to be something a little heavy except for the cotton. Was it gold, silver, or women’s accessories?
Qin Yiyan knew she couldn’t get anything out of it now, so she nodded helplessly and said, “Well, then, be careful. Maybe they’re coming at you.”
After talking for a while, Qin Yiyan was leaving. Shao Wanru asked Yujie to send her out, and her eyes fell on the pouch again. She reached out to hold it in her hand and gently weighed it. There was really something in it. She looked at it but found nothing after examining it for some time. Her watery eyes appeared more and more confused.
“There is something inside, and it must be special, isn’t it?
“When Chu Liuchen is back, I will ask him to have a good look at it.”
However, he didn’t return after she waited a long time. In the evening, he was said to be in the Palace and couldn’t go out. Shao Wanru panicked because this had never happened before. Chu Liuchen had never stayed in the Palace for so long. What had happened today?
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