"Why do you ask?"
Hun Yuan instinctively sensed there was more to Yun Xi's words. After a moment's thought, he replied,
"I first saw Yi Zhen and Concubine Shen after I took over my master's mantle and guarded the palace. When I first met them, I did feel a sense of familiarity, but I couldn't remember where I had seen them before."
"I thought I was mistaken. Why? Is there something fishy going on?"
This question stumped Yun Xi as well.
Because she didn't know either.
She just wanted to ask to confirm that she hadn't misseen.
After truthfully telling Hun Yuan, Yun Xi didn't stay any longer. She changed her clothes and led Ling Yan and Sai Xing straight to the Archive Pavilion.
There were very few records about Concubine Qing in the Archive Pavilion. Yun Xi was reluctant to give up and rummaged around for a long time, but still found nothing.
"The traces of deliberate erasure are too obvious..." Yun Xi murmured in a low voice, which immediately attracted Sai Xing, who hadn't heard clearly, to ask in confusion:
"What did you say, miss?"
"Uh... nothing, nothing."
Yun Xi replied casually, then suddenly stood up and said:
"Forget it. Stop looking for records about Concubine Qing. Let's look for records about Concubine Shen, as well as the records of the epidemic in the palace fourteen years ago and the period when the late emperor went south."
"Okay."
Sai Xing responded, then turned to Ling Yan and nodded. The two of them followed Yun Xi and began to search for the corresponding archives according to the chronological order.
The records about the epidemic were quite detailed. The place of origin, symptoms, infection speed and situation, the number of deaths, etc. were all recorded in the archives.
Yun Xi flipped through them roughly and found that they were not very different from what she already knew.
Just as she was about to close the volume, a small line of words at the end of the volume suddenly caught her attention.
[There were three deposed concubines in the Cold Palace, the Zheng family, the Shen family, and the Yang family. All of them died without heirs.]
Yun Xi's onion-like fingertips rubbed back and forth on the words "Shen family" a few times. A glint of darkness flashed in her autumn-water-like eyes.
"Ling Yan,"
Yun Xi called out softly:
"Bring me the volume of records about the concubines of the late emperor."
"Yes, miss."
Hearing this, Ling Yan piled up all the volumes of concubine records she had just found beside her in front of Yun Xi.
Yun Xi rubbed her temples with a headache and said:
"Let's look together. Find anything related to the Shen family for me."
The three of them looked through the records together. Before long, they found many relevant records.
Shen Danqi, the illegitimate eldest daughter of Shen Zhai, entered the palace when she was fifteen. She was conferred the title of Lady of Talent and accompanied the emperor for three years, but received little favor. Because of jealousy, she pushed a pregnant concubine, causing her to have a miscarriage, and was thus sent to the Cold Palace. No one cared about her, and she died of the epidemic seven years later.
Seven years...
Yun Xi's eyes paused and she didn't move for a long time.
"What's wrong, miss?"
Seeing Yun Xi in a daze, Sai Xing asked curiously:
"Is there anything wrong?"
Yun Xi stared at Sai Xing thoughtfully and instead of answering, she asked:
"Sai Xing, if you were thrown into a dirty house and hardly anyone cared about you. You couldn't get out, and generally no one else would come in. Sometimes you would be given a bowl of moldy rice, and sometimes you might not have any food for several days in a row, and there was never any clean water. And there were people who hated you and might come to torture you cruelly at any time. What do you think... would happen to you?"
Sai Xing's face turned pale with fright and she started to stutter:
"M-miss, don't scare me. If I really ended up in such a scary place, I'm afraid I wouldn't live for a few days. Even if I survived, I might go crazy."
"Yes,"
Yun Xi's eyes lit up. She pointed at the archive with her fingertips and said:
"For a concubine who was sent to the Cold Palace for causing another concubine to have a miscarriage, regardless of the environment. How could a concubine who had lost her child and harbored resentment allow the culprit who harmed her child to live so long? Seven years is really too long."
Sai Xing blinked her eyes in confusion, not understanding. She asked:
"Miss, do you mean..."
Yun Xi raised her eyes and glanced at the two of them. She said:
"Why were there only three deposed concubines of the late emperor who died of the epidemic? Because except for the other two deposed concubines who had just been sent to the Cold Palace not long ago, most of the concubines who entered the Cold Palace died within a year or half a year. The longest one didn't even last three years."
"Only this Lady of Talent Shen lived for seven years in good health, despite being dirty, having no medical treatment for her injuries and illnesses, and having a deep hatred with other concubines."
"I don't believe that there wasn't someone helping her in the middle."
Moreover...
She remembered that when she came out of the tunnel under the bed in the Jianjia Palace, she was right in the Cold Palace!
In other words, Concubine Qing was very likely the "kind person" who helped Lady of Talent Shen!
Then, why did she help Shen Danqi?
Could it be that Shen Zhai and Shen Danqi were also from the Ying Kingdom!? If so, then Concubine Shen and Yi Zhen...
No!
The subjects of the Great Yin who entered officialdom were either recommended or passed the imperial examinations. Whether their family backgrounds were clean or not would be investigated. Even if Shen Zhai's character might not be good, there would definitely be no problem with his family background.
Moreover, if he was really from the Ying Kingdom, why would the Holy Master and others wait so long to take action?
During the previous epidemic, Master Qingyi had already investigated Concubine Qing. It was unreasonable that he didn't know anything about Lady of Talent Shen, who was so obviously related.
It was very likely that the Shen family was simply colluding with the Ying Kingdom inside and outside for their own benefits.
As for Lady of Talent Shen, perhaps she was on good terms with Concubine Qing for other reasons. Or maybe Concubine Qing owed her a favor?
In any case, the palace where Lady of Talent Shen used to live had already been occupied by other concubines and ladies of talent. There must be nothing else to find.
But the Cold Palace, which had been uninhabited for a long time, might have some clues.
Yun Xi suddenly raised her head and said quickly:
"Sai Xing, Ling Yan, hurry up. Put these archives back. Let's change our route and go to the Cold Palace!"
The two of them responded. Although they were a little surprised, they never doubted Yun Xi's decision. Immediately, they neatly put away the scattered archives and followed Yun Xi to the Cold Palace together.
The Cold Palace was still remote and desolate.
The harem of Emperor Zhaohuan was relatively peaceful. Firstly, because he had taken in few concubines and tried to be fair to all of them; secondly, because Cao Shu, as the queen, was always very sensible and had always managed the harem well. She only had more conflicts with Concubine Shen.
However, Emperor Zhaohuan was not a fatuous emperor. Although he favored Concubine Shen a little more, he would not only listen to her words blindly. Generally speaking, he was still quite fair.
Therefore, there were no concubines in Emperor Zhaohuan's Cold Palace for the time being.
It was very convenient for Yun Xi and the others to search.
It was just a bit dirty.
The traces of many old events were buried in the dark and dirty mud. Even though they found many things, they couldn't tell what they originally looked like. They didn't know if they were related to Lady of Talent Shen and Concubine Qing either.
The three of them carefully rummaged around.
I don't know how many hours had passed when Ling Yan suddenly dug out a dirty piece of cloth from a pile of fallen wood. She picked it up with her long sword and asked:
"Miss, take a look. What is this?"
Hearing this, Yun Xi and Sai Xing both came over.
It was a small, square piece of torn cloth with many holes in it. After years of being soaked by rain and sun, the cloth was dirty and rotten. It was impossible to tell what was on it.
Sai Xing waved her hand in disgust:
"It's just a piece of torn cloth. I don't know which concubine's ragged clothes were left here. Don't bring it in front of the miss. You might dirty her clothes later."
But Yun Xi stopped Sai Xing and said:
"Come on, Sai Xing. Don't be so delicate. Ling Yan, bring it closer. I'll take a look. Judging from its size and material, it doesn't seem like a concubine's clothes."
"It looks more like... a swaddling cloth."