Ye Zhiqiu had been in the palace for half a month. Although Song Yan also wanted to visit him often, his status didn't allow him to enter the palace freely.
He could only enter the palace when summoned by the emperor or when reporting the integration of cases. By the time Song Yan saw Ye Zhiqiu again, half a month had passed.
Given his different status in the harem, it was not appropriate for him to visit Ye Zhiqiu rashly. So he had a guard deliver a letter to Ye Zhiqiu in advance, saying that he would wait for him in the imperial garden.
Song Yan stood in the pavilion, feeling rather restless. During the time Ye Zhiqiu was in the palace, although his informants in the palace had reported Ye Zhiqiu's situation to him.
The reports were all the same: everything was fine.
Song Yan didn't know why he always felt that things couldn't be this simple. The imperial concubine suddenly named Ye Zhiqiu to enter the palace. It couldn't just be for him to teach the seventh princess.
The calmer the surface, the more it indicated the undercurrent surging below.
Song Yan didn't know what the imperial concubine's purpose was. He just wanted to protect Ye Zhiqiu to the best of his ability.
Just as he was lost in wild thoughts, a figure slowly approached in the distance. His white robe fluttered gently in the wind, and his black hair was neatly tied up. He still looked the same as Song Yan remembered.
It could also be seen that the imperial concubine hadn't made things difficult for him after he entered the palace.
"How... have you been these days?" Song Yan looked in Ye Zhiqiu's direction, took a few steps forward, and stood in front of him. He looked Ye Zhiqiu up and down, afraid that he had been injured without his notice.
Ye Zhiqiu felt a bit helpless looking at Song Yan's nervous expression, but he could also see that the other person was really worried about him. "It's okay. During the time I've been in the palace, neither the imperial concubine nor the seventh princess has made things difficult for me. It's just..."
"Just what?" Song Yan heard Ye Zhiqiu suddenly stop talking. After waiting for a while and seeing that he didn't continue, he asked.
Ye Zhiqiu lowered his eyes. His handsome eyebrows were tightly knitted as he recalled his time in the palace. He always felt that something was strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"How much do you know about the rumors regarding the seventh princess?" Ye Zhiqiu relaxed his eyebrows. Instead of continuing the previous topic, he changed the subject.
Although Song Yan thought it was a bit strange that Ye Zhiqiu changed the subject, since he didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't ask. Following Ye Zhiqiu's question, he lowered his head and thought for a moment.
"I don't know much about the rumors regarding the seventh princess. I only know that she was found in the cold palace. It's said that her biological mother was Concubine Luo. But on the day she was found, everyone in the cold palace was dead. The imperial concubine took pity on her and took her away to raise as her own."
Song Yan said these words as he recalled. He didn't know much about the seventh princess. She didn't often appear in the palace, and he had never seen her during his previous visits to the palace.
The lantern festival last time was the first time he had seen the seventh princess.
"Do you know the cause of death of the concubines in the cold palace?" Ye Zhiqiu felt something was strange when he heard her past from Le Ning last time.
What was the cause of death of everyone in the cold palace?
How could they all die overnight, and except for Le Ning, not a single person was left alive.
Although he had secretly investigated this matter, his scope of activities was limited. In the end, he could only find some vague clues from the fragmented words of the palace servants.
He had intended to see Song Yan again. If Song Yan hadn't come to see him this time, Ye Zhiqiu would have found an opportunity to meet him.
Regarding the case of the cold palace back then, perhaps the investigation department still had the case file.
"The emperor sealed the news of the cold palace case back then, and the case file was also destroyed." Song Yan was silent for a while before finally answering.
The hope in Ye Zhiqiu's eyes faded after hearing this. The strange thing about this matter was the murderer of the cold palace case. This person was able to kill everyone in the cold palace without alerting anyone in the palace, and had not been caught until now...
This person's means and martial arts must be extremely high. The cold palace case was now an unsolved mystery. He had hoped to find some clues from the case file, but now even the case file had been destroyed.
It seemed that this case would never be solved.
Song Yan also noticed the disappointment in Ye Zhiqiu's eyes. He quickly said, "I was also involved in the cold palace case back then. Although I was only assisting the coroner in the autopsy, there was... a child's body at that time."
"A child's body?" Ye Zhiqiu was quite surprised when he heard this. Generally speaking, there were only abandoned concubines in the cold palace. There shouldn't be any children.
Moreover, the only child born in the cold palace back then was the seventh princess. But now it was said that there was a child's body among the corpses...
"Yes, but the child's body was mutilated beyond recognition by a sharp blade. Most of the internal organs were missing, and it was impossible to tell whether it was a boy or a girl. The only thing that could be determined was the baby teeth of the body. The child had reached the age of losing teeth. The coroner judged that the body should be around four or five years old."
Song Yan recalled carefully. This case was quite shocking back then. Although he had been in the investigation department for a few years, the death conditions of those corpses were too miserable.
Not only were they scratched by sharp blades, but there were also traces of their hearts being dug out by hands on their chests. The blood had seeped into the ground on the bluestone road in the cold palace and could not be washed away until now.
Ye Zhiqiu had always felt something was strange. But now after hearing Song Yan's words, he vaguely felt something strange. The age of the four - or five - year - old child's body was exactly the same as the age when the seventh princess was found by the emperor.
If the dead child was the real seventh princess... then who was Le Ning?
The more Ye Zhiqiu thought about it, the colder his back felt. He remembered that not long ago, Le Ning had cried in front of him as she told her past. Her tearful appearance didn't seem to be faked.
But now the more he delved into the investigation, the more things he discovered, and the more he felt that things were not that simple. It was as if a sharp sword had silently hung above his head.
And he didn't know when this sword would fall.
"Zhiqiu? Ye Zhiqiu?" Song Yan saw that Ye Zhiqiu was lost in thought and his expression became more and more solemn. So he called his name a few times.
Ye Zhiqiu came back to his senses after hearing the voice. He looked in Song Yan's direction. Thinking that he might not have controlled his expression well just now, he quickly controlled his expression and didn't show any clues.
"Did you discover something in the palace? If there's anything I can help with, feel free to discuss it with me." Song Yan looked at Ye Zhiqiu's expression and knew that the other person must have discovered something. It should be related to the seventh princess.
Ye Zhiqiu didn't give a definite answer. Instead, he pulled his sleeves and pretended nothing had happened. "It's nothing. I just heard some rumors recently and was a bit concerned."
"But..." Song Yan wanted to say something else, but Ye Zhiqiu turned around and didn't meet his gaze.
"You've stayed in the palace for too long. It will arouse the emperor's dissatisfaction. You'd better go back quickly." Ye Zhiqiu unceremoniously issued an order to leave.
Song Yan didn't know why Ye Zhiqiu was hiding things from him, but he was right. It was not convenient for him to stay in the palace for too long. The emperor always attached great importance to this matter.
In the end, he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned around and left the pavilion.
Ye Zhiqiu looked back at his leaving back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a fluttering skirt corner beside the grass.
Now things were getting more and more complicated. He was already deeply involved in the situation and had no chance to escape. He couldn't involve Song Yan anymore.
Letting him leave this time was also for his own good.
Ye Zhiqiu sighed softly and then walked towards the side hall.
When he arrived at the pavilion in the middle of the lake, someone was already waiting. Le Ning propped her chin with her hand and was in a daze looking at the blooming flowers in the courtyard. After hearing the footsteps, she looked up and met Ye Zhiqiu's gaze.
She showed an innocent smile in his direction, quickly stood up, and trotted a few steps towards him. "Teacher Ye, I've been waiting for you here for a long time. Where did you go just now?"
Le Ning stood in front of Ye Zhiqiu and pulled his sleeve coquettishly. Although she was smiling now, her words seemed to have a hidden meaning.
Ye Zhiqiu calmly pulled his sleeve out of her hand without answering her question. Instead, he changed the subject. "Why is the seventh princess waiting for me here on purpose?"
"I've been thinking about the questions the teacher set for a long time but couldn't figure out how to solve them. I had no choice but to come and ask the teacher for guidance." Le Ning saw Ye Zhiqiu pull his sleeve out of her hand. A flash of displeasure passed through her eyes, but she quickly returned to her normal appearance.
She put her hands behind her back, lowered her head, and looked extremely distressed as she said this. Her delicate eyebrows were slightly knitted, and she looked a bit down.
Just looking at Le Ning's expression, it seemed that she was really troubled by the questions.
Ye Zhiqiu looked at her expression and patted her on the shoulder as usual. "I'll come and teach you after the time is up."
"Okay, then I'll wait for the teacher in Yongning Palace." Le Ning said this with a smiling face. After that, she turned around and left.
Ye Zhiqiu watched her leaving back and stretched out his hand to look at the leaf in his palm. He had just taken it from Le Ning's shoulder.
But if, as Le Ning said, she had been waiting for him in the pavilion all this time, how could there be a fallen leaf on her shoulder?
It seemed... that she had heard his conversation with Song Yan.
Just thinking about Le Ning's smile just now, he always felt that every word she said was trying to get information from him.
For some reason, Ye Zhiqiu suddenly felt a chill down his back.
This Le Ning was not as innocent and harmless as she seemed on the surface.
On the other side, in Yongning Palace, Liu Shiyao poured a cup of tea and took a sip. "Ye Zhiqiu... seems to have discovered something?"
She put the teacup on the table with a soft sound, slowly stood up, and walked to the window. She looked at the side hall across the lake and slightly narrowed her eyes.
"In that case, we should speed up our plan."