Shen Mingzhu pursed her lips, wrapped herself in a robe, and called out, "Who's there?"
Right after she said that, she heard a voice that made her grind her teeth in annoyance.
"Your Highness, please open the door. I'm your royal consort."
Shen Mingzhu stared at the closed door for a moment, then turned around and sat back down at the small table. She called out to the person outside again, "Leave. I don't want to see you."
How annoying! Shen Mingzhu didn't want to see Xie Lang's face at all right now. As it was getting dark, just the thought of Xie Lang's cynical face made her recall last night's events, and her heart started pounding.
So annoying!
But Xie Lang seemed not to understand her words. His voice sounded deliberately aggrieved as he said, "Your Highness, if you don't let me in, do I have to sleep outside the door tonight?"
Shen Mingzhu was about to nod and say yes when she suddenly realized that this was Xie Lang's room.
But in such a large General's Mansion, didn't Xie Lang have any other place to stay?
Knowing that she was being unreasonable, Shen Mingzhu gritted her teeth and got up to open the door for Xie Lang. She planned to find another place to sleep tonight.
As soon as she opened the door, there stood Xie Lang, wrapped in a thick white cloak. His face looked rather pale.
"You..." Shen Mingzhu stared at him in shock. She had no idea why Xie Lang looked so disheveled. She invited him in and asked, "What on earth happened to you?"
As she said that, not quite believing that Xie Lang would tell the truth, Shen Mingzhu reached out to take off his cloak.
[Tsk, it's all because of you, Shen Mingzhu.]
[Such a nuisance! I don't know who is scheming against you. I've been investigating for so long and only found out where that stupid Xie Fangfei bought the medicine. Goodness, Shen Mingzhu, don't you want to exhaust me?]
Did he really make a move?
Shen Mingzhu was surprised.
Hearing Shen Mingzhu's question, Xie Lang just looked at her tiredly and then picked up the tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp.
"Hey! Wait!"
Shen Mingzhu was a step too late. When she saw Xie Lang pick up the cup, she exclaimed and reached out to grab it.
Xie Lang dodged quickly. His hand brushed against the back of Shen Mingzhu's hand.
[Shen Mingzhu! Aren't you a princess? Why are you so stingy? Won't you even let me have a sip of water?]
Then, looking down, Xie Lang saw the red lipstick on the rim of the cup. He froze on the spot, looking a bit dazed.
Looking up, he saw Shen Mingzhu looking at him with a half - smile.
Stingy? She thought Xie Lang always liked to judge her with a small - minded attitude.
"...... Cough, cough, cough." Xie Lang cleared his throat, pretending nothing had happened, and then said, "Today I chased down some leads. It was Xie Fangfei who drugged you last night."
Hearing him change the subject, Shen Mingzhu didn't pursue it further. But when she saw him put the cup in his sleeve, she couldn't help but feel a headache at Xie Lang's attempt to "destroy the evidence."
"But that stupid Xie Fangfei must have been instigated by someone." Xie Lang continued, "Three days before the wedding banquet, Xie Fangfei left the mansion. With the help of the maids and old servants, she went to that medical clinic.
"The medicine was most likely obtained at that time."
"But does Xie Fangfei have the guts?" Shen Mingzhu questioned, raising her eyebrows at him. "Moreover, as a concubine - born daughter, she couldn't have slipped out of the mansion without help."
When Shen Mingzhu said this, she realized that there might be someone else in the mansion helping Xie Fangfei. So she frowned and asked, "Who's helping her?"
Xie Lang didn't expect Shen Mingzhu to realize this problem so quickly. A look of surprise flashed in his eyes. "Yes, but I've only traced it back to Lady Liu. All the following clues have disappeared. There must be someone of high power behind this to wipe out all these traces so cleanly."
"Who on earth has Your Highness offended?"
"Completely clean?"
Hearing these four words, Shen Mingzhu couldn't help but laugh. She said to Xie Lang, "How could there be anything completely clean in this world? It's just that you haven't found the traces yet."
"Your Highness is right."
"By the way," Shen Mingzhu changed the subject and stared at Xie Lang. "This is not just my matter. You offended Lady Liu, which led to me being drugged."
Hearing this, Xie Lang looked at Shen Mingzhu and sighed. "Your Highness really can't bear the slightest loss."
"I've also found out some things. Recently, the eldest legitimate son of Lady Liu's maternal family, that is, the son of Lady Liu's elder brother, suddenly got rich and started living a dissipated life."
"You can continue your investigation from this point."
Xie Lang's expression turned solemn. He looked at Shen Mingzhu. "So the person behind this actually dragged Lady Liu and that stupid Xie Fangfei into this mess?"
Shen Mingzhu nodded.
Knock, knock, knock -
"Your Highness, this maid has come to serve dinner."
"Come in."
Chun Tao led several maids into the room. But the moment she saw Xie Lang, her hand trembled, and she almost let out a scream.
Seeing Shen Mingzhu looking calm, Chun Tao held back her doubts. She lit a few more lamps to brighten the room completely, then laid out the dishes and left.
Something's not right. There were many guards outside, but when she came in, she didn't hear the guards report that the royal consort had come.
How did the royal consort get in?
A cold glint flashed in Chun Tao's eyes. She frowned and left, planning to report this to Shen Mingzhu after Xie Lang left.
After dinner, just as Shen Mingzhu was about to speak, she saw Xie Lang walking straight towards the cabinet.
"What are you doing?"
Hearing this, Xie Lang stopped for a moment. He turned his head and rolled his eyes at Shen Mingzhu, then took out a quilt on his own and spread it on the floor just like last night. "Your Highness, this is my room."
"Doesn't your Xie family even have an extra room?"
Xie Lang looked at Shen Mingzhu. A faint smile curled up on his lips. He said, "I can't compare to Your Highness's family, which is so prosperous. I, Xie Lang, really only have this one room."
Seeing the expression on his face, Shen Mingzhu knew that Xie Lang was just talking nonsense. She felt her temples throbbing.
But if there were other spies in the Xie family, then...
Forget it. Endure it for now. Wait until she found a way to clean up the Xie family and then drive Xie Lang out.
Thinking this way, Shen Mingzhu calmed down. She even said to Chun Tao outside the door, "Chun Tao, make a pallet for Xie Lang."
Seeing Chun Tao really come in, Xie Lang was stunned for a moment and then continued, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your thoughtfulness. It seems that Your Highness does have me in your heart."
Chun Tao, who had just come in, thought, "......??? Is Mr. Xie crazy! How dare he flirt with Your Highness!"
Shen Mingzhu was used to Xie Lang's glib tongue and didn't bother to care. She just gave him a cold look and then said, "Hmm."
"But you should also be more careful. After all, I'm the current eldest princess. Too much of this kind of concern might shorten your lifespan."
Xie Lang smiled. There was a relaxed look in his eyes. He silently looked at Shen Mingzhu with a smile.
...
Nothing special happened the next day. The spring rain started to fall gradually, so Xie Lang and Shen Mingzhu couldn't go out to handle matters. They had to stay in the room and read documents.
The rare calm between them even lasted until the third day when they went to the palace.
Shen Mingzhu had free access to the palace. She could even enter in a sedan chair.
As soon as she got off the sedan chair, she was in front of the Golden Luan Hall.
Eunuch Wen, the emperor's chief eunuch, had been waiting at the door for a long time. Seeing Shen Mingzhu, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Highness has come. His Majesty has been waiting for you inside for a long time."