Chapter 1033: Chapter 754: Corpse
Shang Ruyi immediately sat up from the bed when she heard, but because she got up too quickly, she almost fell back down from dizziness.
Tushere rushed forward like an arrow to support her: "Princess, be careful!"
Shang Ruyi also held onto her arm, took a deep breath to calm herself, then nodded and hurriedly sat up straight before asking, "Where is the person? Where were they found?"
Tushere’s face showed a trace of regret and anger. She leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "They were found in an abandoned dry well behind Bai Fu Hall."
"A dry well?"
Upon hearing these words, Shang Ruyi’s face darkened again. The ominous feeling that had been haunting her in recent days manifested into reality at this moment. She said in a deep voice, "The person is already—"
Tushere replied, "Dead."
"How did they die?"
"We don’t know yet. It was heard from the little eunuch over at Bai Fu Hall, who sneakily ran over to tell me."
"Help me up, I want to go see."
Startled, Tushere hurriedly held Shang Ruyi down: "Princess, you can’t go. It’s inauspicious, what if it targets you?"
Shang Ruyi was both amused and annoyed: "What’s so inauspicious about it?"
Seeing her about to get up again, Tushere refused to let go, pressing her back down firmly, and said in a serious tone: "Princess, you are with child now, it’s different from before. You mustn’t see such things."
"..."
Hearing this, Shang Ruyi finally came to her senses a little.
In fact, she never put much stock in such matters, besides, back in Fufeng, she had killed tens of thousands of Longxi Army with just one Liaoyuan Arrow. According to army lore, her presence alone was considered ominous, why would she fear the body of a little palace maid? But Tushere simply wouldn’t let go, and since it was still early in her pregnancy, she feared it might indeed be inappropriate.
After some thought, she called for Wo Xue: "You go take a look, report back immediately if you notice anything amiss."
Wo Xue received the order and immediately turned to leave.
Although she was petite, she walked very quickly and soon reached the back of Bai Fu Hall. By this time, a crowd had already gathered there, with a few little eunuchs pointing and whispering around the well, and two little palace maids, their faces ashen, stood by speechless, clearly too frightened to speak, while several other palace maids were comforting them.
On the ground near the mouth of the well lay a corpse.
Wo Xue recognized it as Jian Chun from Jinyu Garden. Although she had only seen her a few times, her memory was far superior to most, so even though the face had become rigid and ghastly white, and the eyes were wide open, the eyeballs protruding, even though by the looks of it, she had been dead for several days, she still bore a terrified expression from the moment of death. Despite being frightening, Wo Xue easily discerned her identity.
Moreover, it was immediately apparent that Jian Chun’s neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
Wo Xue crouched down and was just about to extend her hand when the little eunuch beside her immediately said, "What are you doing? That’s filthy."
Wo Xue said nothing, pinched the neck lightly with two fingers, and immediately felt something. She turned to look at the people next to her and asked, "Who discovered this?"
One of the little palace maids, her face ghastly pale, replied, "We, we did..."
"How was it discovered?"
"It was just, just seen by accident."
"By accident?"
Wo Xue raised an eyebrow and glanced at a basket filled with wilted vegetable leaves beside the maid, apparently understanding something. She then turned her gaze back to Jian Chun’s corpse and noticed that one of her hands was tightly clenched into a fist, seemingly holding something.
Just as Wo Xue was about to reach for it, footsteps sounded behind her, and a familiar voice said, "Make way, everyone make way!"
She turned around to see Aunt Hui approaching with several little eunuchs.
Upon seeing her, Aunt Hui’s face showed a flicker of hesitance but she quickly instructed, "Don’t stand around here making noise, everyone move aside." Then, she directed the little eunuchs behind her, "Hurry, go over and move the body to the back."
The little eunuchs immediately rushed over, crowding Wo Xue aside.
Wo Xue barely managed to stand as Aunt Hui walked over to her. With no time to evade, Wo Xue bowed in salute: "Aunt—Lord Han."
Smiling, Aunt Hui said, "Miss Wo Xue, what brings you to Bai Fu Hall?"
Wo Xue replied, "I heard something happened here, so I came to see."
Aunt Hui said, "Whatever happens here doesn’t concern you, and it’s best not to prying into such matters."
Wo Xue smiled politely, "Naturally, Bai Fu Hall matters don’t concern me. However, since this place isn’t far from Qianqiu Palace, the commotion here is disruptive, impacting the Princess’ rest. Therefore, I was specially sent to check so that if anything really happened, it wouldn’t affect the Princess’ pregnancy, else the Emperor might blame us servants."
Mention of the Princess’ pregnancy brought a shadow across Aunt Hui’s eyes.
She coldly stated, "Then you should return to attend to the Princess, avoid spreading rumors that might upset her."
Meanwhile, the little eunuchs had already placed the corpse onto a wooden board, covered it with a white cloth to conceal the frightening visage of the deceased, and were lifting it to leave. Wo Xue turned her body slightly, blocking the little eunuchs’ path, and with a smile, asked Aunt Hui, "I just wonder, how does Aunt Hui intend to handle this? The Princess asked me to inquire."
Aunt Hui furrowed her brows: "The Princess knows there was a death here?"
Wo Xue confirmed, "Yes."
Aunt Hui pondered briefly before responding, "Once I identify the body and ascertain the cause of death, I will naturally report to the Princess. However, from the looks of it," she glanced again at the dry well, adding, "it’s probably just these little palace maids sneaking over here to play and accidentally falling in. Deliver the message gently when you return, if the Princess is startled, it means you haven’t been serving her well."
Wo Xue replied with a smile, "Yes."
Aunt Hui instructed, "Now stand aside."
Wo Xue reiterated, "Yes."
With that, she turned sideways, allowing the little eunuchs carrying the body to pass by her. Just then, a gust of wind blew through, causing a stiff hand to slip off the wooden board, dangling in the air.
Aunt Hui frowned: "Quick, cover it properly, don’t let anyone see."
One little eunuch obediently stepped forward and tucked the hand back under the white cloth.
Aunt Hui turned and gave Wo Xue a glance, then looked at the shell-shocked little palace maids and eunuchs around her, asking, "Just now, who found the body in the well?"
The two little palace maids, already scared out of their wits, could only shuffle forward, shaking, as Aunt Hui coldly said, "Come with me, I have some questions for you."
They had no choice but to follow, heads lowered.
Meanwhile, Wo Xue said nothing, but kept watching their departing figures, a sharp cold gleam suddenly flashing in her eyes.
