All the ancestors in the capital begged me to be a substitute

Shen Lingxi froze.

She never expected that Chu Yan would hold herself in her arms.

Although she had had "intimate" contact with him before, it was just a deliberate pretense for others to see, and most of it was her initiative.

Shen Lingxi has not forgotten that this person is a clean freak, and every time she approaches, she can feel his resistance.

"I can go by myself..."

Shen Lingxi put her hands on his shoulders, and slightly opened the distance between the two of them.

Chu Yan's black pupils were slightly deep, and she raised her eyebrows to look at her, "Your feet are alright?"

As if to put her down, he intends to see how she avoided his sword move just now.

Shen Lingxi: ...

Forget it.

"No." She grabbed his skirt subconsciously and lowered her eyes, "Then I will thank you, Your Highness."

When Chunjun rushed over, he saw his highness walking out of the room with a woman in his arms, his jaw dropped in shock.

But when he saw that the person was Shen Lingxi, he felt very reasonable.

Very well, he should be able to rest soon.

However, the next moment——
"Take this person on the ground to the Beiya for interrogation, and don't let her die." Chu Yan handed the palace lantern in his hand to Chun Jun, and ordered, "By the way, ask Mu Huaian to bring someone here. There is him in the ice cellar." something you want."

Chun Jun: ...

Seeing that Chu Yan hardly had any doubts, Shen Lingxi believed what she said just now, her slightly drooping eyelashes trembled slightly, silently relaxed her stiff body, and let go of the hand that was tightly grasping his skirt.

If he believed in her, she would naturally believe in him.

Chun Jun held up the palace lantern, shone on the face of the woman in black who fell to the ground, and whispered, "Isn't this the maidservant next to the eldest princess?"

It's Princess Pingyang again.

Chu Yan was also obviously surprised, and frowned slightly, "Send someone to watch the eldest princess."

Chun Jun agreed.

"I'll take you back first."

After Chu Yan finished speaking in a low voice, she hugged Shen Lingxi tightly, and after a few ups and downs, she left the East Palace.

The night breeze was blowing, and there was an imperceptible, pear-white fragrance that floated from his body into Shen Lingxi's nose.

The question that Shen Lingxi had been lingering in his heart just now had a reasonable explanation.

It turned out to be drunk.

No wonder he took the initiative to hug her.

It's just that he didn't show up at the palace banquet just now, where did he drink this wine?
Shen Lingxi looked at the east palace that was drifting away, and vaguely had an answer in her heart.

The road from the East Palace to the Shoukang Palace was not short, and it was the "first" meeting between the two. It was inappropriate to say anything, and they chose to remain silent along the way.

Chu Yan sent Shen Lingxi back to the west hall of Shoukang Palace, and put her on a soft couch by the window, "You hurt..."

"It's okay, I'll just take a break."

Shen Lingxi urged, "Thank you, Your Highness, there are still many things to be busy in the ice cellar in the East Palace, so you can do it yourself. If there is anything wrong with my injury, Xiaodouzi will hire an imperial doctor for me."

Chu Yan gave her a meaningful look, turned around and left without saying anything more, and went to the main hall.

*
About half an hour later, when Chu Yan left Shoukang Palace, the Queen Mother went to the side hall to find Shen Lingxi in person.

She sat in front of the couch, dismissed everyone, with a sad look on her face, "Girl, I heard from Liu Lang that you found Xue Tuan's body? Is it in the East Palace?"

Shen Lingxi nodded, and slowly explained the cause of Xuetuan's death and the situation in the ice cellar.

"The Ai family knew that Xuetuan didn't run away, he must have been killed." The queen mother said angrily, "It's just that they would hide Xuetuan's body in the East Palace. !"

Shen Lingxi heard the mystery in the Queen Mother's words, "Didn't your empress already guess who did it?"

"Who else could it be?"

The Empress Dowager snorted, "She wished she could do whatever she wanted in this harem by making Aijia angry. Previously, Aijia wanted to make trouble with her because of the emperor's face, but she didn't want to have trouble with her. People hid the body in the East Palace, what did she want to do? She wanted to harm Liu Lang! Now it seems that the Ai family can't bear it any longer."

In this harem, if it is said that after the death of the empress dowager, the only person who can "do whatever she wants" is the empress dowager from Yutan Palace.

"Your Majesty said... but Concubine Zhao from Yutan Palace?" Although Shen Lingxi was asking about the Queen Mother, she glanced at Xue Tuan at the side.

The snow ball was rolled into a ball, lying on the Queen Mother's lap, without even lifting its tail.

No response to the name.

This means that the murderer is probably not the one the queen mother said.

Sensing her gaze, the Queen Mother also looked down at her knees.

"How? What did Xuetuan say?" She asked directly, "Is the murderer Zhao Shurong?"

Shen Lingxi: ...

"Girl, you don't have to hide it from the Ai family." The queen mother's eyes turned a little earnest, "The Ai family can see it, you must be able to see the snow ball, right? Xue Tuan used to play with the hydrangea ball, and he liked to catch the yellow tassel the most. .You haven’t seen it, but you can paint it so vividly, you must be able to see things we can’t see.”

She lowered her head, raised her hand to caress her knees a few times, tears welled up in her eyes, "Is it... is it sleeping right now?"

"Xuetuan is listening to us. When you touch it, it will snore." Shen Lingxi said softly, "It will never let you go, remembers you, and wants to return to you, so it will let me go to Heming Tower , apply for Xiuniang, and bring it into the palace."

"It's really a silly child." The empress dowager's eyes were red, and tears fell on Xuetuan's soul.

"Meow..." Xue Tuan rubbed against her arms.

Shen Lingxi: "It wants you to take good care of your body and stop being sad because it left."

"Good, good, good."

The Empress Dowager said three times, and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, "Ask Xuetuan if Zhao Shurong did it. If she did, the Ai Family will never let her go lightly."

"No." Shen Lingxi said warmly: "Xue Tuan didn't respond to Concubine Zhao's name, so it probably has nothing to do with her. Just now His Highness King Ning caught a suspect in the East Palace. You can leave this matter to His Highness for investigation, and it will definitely be found out. of."

"No, I can't ask him to investigate. This matter involves the East Palace. Let him investigate. I'm afraid that trouble will happen. If I'm not careful, I may fall into their trap." The Queen Mother said firmly.

She looked at Shen Lingxi, "son, the Ai family heard that you had helped the Dali Temple investigate several cases before, and tomorrow the Ai family will draw up a decree ordering you to supervise the case as the special envoy of the Ai family. Let's investigate this case together, what do you think?"

With the Queen Mother as the backer, it must be very convenient to investigate the case.

Donggongyuan was the place Shen Lingxi had always wanted to enter, but couldn't.

But even so, Shen Lingxi didn't want to be led by the nose by an enemy who had never shown up.

"I can share the worries of the queen mother, and my daughter is willing..."

She paused, raised her eyelids, looked directly at the Queen Mother, and asked the doubts in her heart: "Just before that, can you tell me what happened to the East Palace, so that it will be abandoned here. You just said that the other party hid the body in the empress dowager. The East Palace is meant to harm His Royal Highness King Ning, what does this sentence mean?"