After the replacement of the delicate imperial concubine, my emperor will never come to court again

Chapter 45 Looking for corpses in mass graves

Ren Yuhuan lay on the bed until midnight and got up quietly.

The Yikun Palace was quiet, because Shen Yanzhi didn't come, so Ren Qianyu went to bed early, and the other people in the palace also went to sleep.

A clear moon shone on the ground. Ren Yuhuan held a lantern in his hand but did not light it. He ran around the patrolling guards and ran towards the palace gate.

There is a deserted land near the west city gate. If someone in the palace dies, they will be dealt with quietly here.

Ren Yuhuan saw the guards changing shifts beside the palace wall from a distance. She immediately bent over and lay down in the grass, and got out through the dog hole on the side of the palace wall.

She noticed the hole as soon as she looked for it, thinking that it would be useful one day, so she specially grabbed thatch and covered the hole.

At this moment, she got out of the palace wall, immediately grabbed the lantern and walked forward.

The wind blew her dress back, and she didn't know if it was because she was close to the wasteland. She just felt the wind blowing, and there seemed to be ghosts crying in the dense forest.

There were candles flickering in front, and it must be someone from the palace burying the body here.

Hearing the sound of shoveling, Ren Yuhuan immediately hid behind the tree and moved forward a little bit.

Sure enough, I saw two young palace men digging holes with shovels in their hands.

"Okay, as long as it can be covered."

One of the older palace servants said, put his hand on the shovel pole, and said to the younger palace servant: "Okay, stop digging, what time is it, don't you want to go back and rest early?"

Upon hearing this, the young palace man immediately stuck the shovel into the ground and said angrily: "Of course I want to go back, but I'm afraid this hole is not enough to cover his body."

"Oh, sooner or later the wild dogs will dig it out, just do it casually."

"I think he's just a lonely ghost. No one cares whether he dies or not."

The young palace attendant heard this and said quietly: "I heard that she was beaten to death because she offended the imperial concubine of Yikun Palace. How pitiful she is!"

The older palace man laughed and said: "Okay, if you don't get what you want in this life, try to find a good family in the next life. We are just following orders, and all grudges have nothing to do with us."

After he finished speaking, he threw the mat into the pit.

The hole was very shallow, just big enough for Xiao Liuzi to lie inside. They casually covered the loess with shovels, then called it a day and left.

"I'll have to get some rice wine to drink later to get rid of the evil spirits."

When they were far away, Ren Yuhuan immediately ran out from behind the tree and went to find the place where they had just worked. He saw that the straw mat had not even been covered.

Ren Yuhuan knelt on the ground, tears dripping into the loess, clenched his fists, and dug his nails into the palms of his hands.

"Who said Xiaoliuzi doesn't have a family?"

Ren Yuhuan couldn't think about what his family would do if they knew he was dead.

Xiao Liuzi told Ren Yuhuan that he would send his salary from the palace back every month. His family was very happy when they got it, and even asked a ghostwriter to write letters for him.

Xiao Liuzi was illiterate and always asked Ren Yuhuan to help him read.

Ren Yuhuan reached out and groped around on the ground, digging out the rolled straw mat from the sand.

Soon the sound of a carriage was heard, and a whistle was heard in the air.

That was the meeting mark agreed between her and Shen He.

Ren Yuhuan lit the lantern he had brought along and drew a circle in the air. Seeing her response, the carriage stepped from the avenue onto the path.

Ren Yuhuan saw that they were about to bring the carriage in, and immediately ran over, shouting as he ran: "Please don't let the carriage in, there must be people buried down here!"

Shen Hebei shouted loudly, and the men driving the carriage immediately stopped the carriage, turned to the sedan and said, "Your Majesty, there are mass graves all the way, how can you let Your Majesty go down and walk?"

But Shen Hebei waved his hand, walked out of the sedan, and jumped off the carriageway: "Drive the carriage back to the avenue and wait."

After saying that, he followed another subordinate and walked over, lighting a glass lantern.

Ren Yuhuan was panting. When he saw Shen Hebei dressed in white with a silver cloak, and his wind-blown hair flying towards both sides of his face, he looked at Ren Yuhuan with a worried look on his face.

"Why are you sweating all over your head?"

Ren Yuhuan was still weak. After running for a few steps, he felt exhausted all over and his legs were too weak to stand.

She put her hands on her knees, steeled herself and stood up.

"I am fine."

Shen Hebei looked worried, and reached out to hold her hand. Ren Yuhuan carefully broke free and said to Shen Hebei: "Thank you, Your Majesty, I'm fine. There is dirt on my hands, I'm afraid it's stained Your Majesty's hands." .”

Shen Hebei did have a mysophobia on weekdays, but now he didn't care so much. He just looked at Ren Yuhuan's face with his eyes. She looked like she might faint at any time, which was really uneasy.

"You said there was an emergency?"

Ren Yuhuan bit his lip and shed a few tears: "My... the palace servant Xiao Liuzi, who is like a younger brother, was killed by the imperial concubine's stick in order to help me, so he was left in front."

When Shen Hebei's men heard this, they immediately scolded him coldly: "It's ridiculous. You actually let the prince come to a place like this in the middle of the night because of a dead palace servant. If the prince comes out-"

Shen Hebei's tone was calm, but there was an air of coldness that was irresistible: "I'm fine, and nothing will happen to me."

After speaking, he said softly: "I understand. I will help you bury him properly and bring a message to his family."

Ren Yuhuan raised her teary eyes and looked at Shen Hebei, and was about to kneel down immediately, but Shen Hebei moved faster and had already grabbed her hands.

"This slave is grateful to the prince. No matter what, as long as the prince orders, the slave is willing to do anything."

Shen Hebei nodded to the man next to him, and that man passed by first.

He unfolded the straw mat and looked at it. After confirming the palace owner, he wrapped it again and put it on his shoulders, heading towards the direction of the carriage.

"Do you know where his family is?"

Ren Yuhuan wiped away his tears with his sleeve and took out a few letters from his arms: "This is written on it."

Ren Yuhuan held the letter and couldn't help but shed tears: "Xiao Liuzi worked as an errand in the palace, and the salary he sent back helped the family a lot. After saving money for a year, the whole family moved from the long house to Jingkou Lane. Here, we are about to start a good life..."

Shen Hebei reached out and put the letter into his sleeve: "Don't worry, I will explain and comfort you."

Ren Yuhuan used her hand to wipe her tears again. Shen Hebei saw that the dirt on her face was wiped onto her face, and her almond-shaped eyes were swollen from crying. He felt pity for her and couldn't help but gently pull her into his arms.

Ren Yuhuan did not hide, but leaned into Shen Hebei's arms and cried bitterly.

Shen Hebei's men cupped their hands in the distance and said, "Your Majesty, the patrol is coming soon, we have to leave."

Hearing this, Ren Yuhuan immediately came to his senses and broke away from Shen Hebei's arms: "Prince, please leave quickly. I was the one who sneaked out. I have to go back immediately."

(End of this chapter)