Could it be that it wasn’t her doing?
Yuanbao thought so.
Otherwise, why was there no trace left at all?
But all the signs indicated that Gu Yu was the most suspicious in harming Wan Qiu.
Moreover, if Eunuch Sanbao’s assumption was correct, Gu Yu must have so connection with Eunuch Hai of the Cleansing Room, and as long as the two had contact, they would definitely show a flaw.
Contact, contact...
Right, how did they get in touch?
Gu Yu was soone close to the Empress, and now the chief steward of the Eastern Palace inner courtyard. She couldn’t possibly go to the Cleansing Room, so Eunuch Hai could only co to her instead.
But Eunuch Hai couldn’t get into the Eastern Palace, so how did he communicate with Gu Yu?
Thinking of this, Yuanbao squinted his eyes, no longer obsessively searching through letters, but instead staring at the walls around. In an instant, an idea struck him, and he rushed out of the room, only to see Gu Yu already heading his way. Yuanbao quickly slowed his steps, smiling at her, "Auntie, have you already sent them all away so soon?"
Gu Yu replied, "I forgot there’s an account book in the room, so I ca to get it. You just yelled about wanting to sleep, why aren’t you asleep now?"
Yuanbao complained, "Auntie’s room slls so strange, I’m not used to it."
He continued, "No wonder His Highness doesn’t let you serve him closely; he has never liked incense. Sister Wanqiu never uses incense either, so there’s no strong fragrance on her, and that’s why His Highness allowed her to serve at Chengming Hall."
Yuanbao glanced at Gu Yu, "Auntie, you wouldn’t not even know this, would you?"
Gu Yu responded calmly, "Of course I know, but since His Highness doesn’t need to serve closely, what’s the problem with lighting so incense in my room?"
Lighting incense in the room was to cover the sll of burning letters.
Yuanbao felt sothing was off. Even if one likes incense, was it necessary to fill the whole room with it?
He furrowed his brow, imagining himself as Eunuch Hai, thinking about how to successfully pass a ssage to Gu Yu without being able to enter the Eastern Palace.
A carrier pigeon? Clearly unrealistic, as there were spies everywhere in the palace, and carrier pigeons could easily be intercepted.
If not carrier pigeons, then scaling the wall?
Yuanbao glanced at the height of the palace wall and quickly dismissed the idea.
If not carrier pigeons or scaling the wall, then it must be the wall-penetrating skill.
Wall-penetrating skill.
Thinking of this, Yuanbao’s gaze fell to the corner of the north wall covered by flowers.
Just then, Gu Yu ca out with the account book and saw him staring at that spot. Her expression changed before quickly calming down and pretending to push him, "If you dislike the incense sll in my room that much, why don’t you leave?"
Yuanbao discreetly shifted his gaze, "Auntie, His Highness has asked you to find who hard Wan Qiu, have you found anything?"
"It’s only been a day. Even if I had extraordinary abilities, I couldn’t just find the culprit imdiately. It’ll take a few more days," Gu Yu said, glaring at him, "I think you ca to disrupt my work purposely. How can I investigate when I haven’t even finished my tasks?"
Yuanbao smiled ambiguously, not responding.
——
Back at the Eastern Palace, Yuanbao narrated what he saw and deduced at the West Courtyard to Zhao Xi, "If my assumption is correct, there must be a hole in the wall of the West Courtyard where ssages can be passed through, and Gu Yu has the habit of burning ssages after reading them. But in the cold weather now, with little wind, the room easily retains the sll, so Gu Yu must incense to disperse the burnt sll."
"So, the person communicating with her is Eunuch Hai?" Zhao Xi asked.
"The possibility is high," Yuanbao nodded, "However, it certainly isn’t Eunuch Hai delivering the letters. If we can catch this person and intercept the letter, it would be equivalent to holding evidence, which will be very helpful in overturning the case against Wan Qiu."
"What if we can’t catch anyone?" Zhao Xi countered, "How do you know when they’ll communicate again?"
Yuanbao was at a loss, "As long as the truth isn’t out yet, they’ll have to contact each other again one day, won’t they?"
"This plan is too risky," Zhao Xi said, "And there’s no guarantee it will work. You should try a different approach."
"A different approach?"
"Yes, pretend to be the little eunuch delivering the letter to Gu Yu. Wouldn’t it be easier to test it out?"
Yuanbao was slightly startled, "Your Highness ans for to imitate Eunuch Hai and write to Gu Yu?"
Zhao Xi said, "You don’t have to worry about the letter; I’ll have the Shadow Guard imitate Eunuch Hai’s handwriting and write Gu Yu a letter, and you find an opportunity to place the letter outside the West Courtyard wall."
Enlightened, Yuanbao praised with a smile, "As expected, Your Highness is amazing."
He finished speaking and gave a thumbs-up, but Zhao Xi’s face no longer had its usual glow, seeming as if he was barely holding on.
"Your Highness, are you alright?" Yuanbao, seeing him like this, moved to support him.
Zhao Xi deftly avoided him, shaking his head, "I’m fine, you go down first, I’ll rest for a while."
Song Yuanbao pursed his lips; it seed that since yesterday, Zhao Xi’s spirit had been off.
He wondered if the words he had said had hurt him.
"Your Highness, I..."
"Get out!"
Zhao Xi’s voice beca even colder.
Song Yuanbao was montarily stunned. Even when Zhao Xi had faced him coldly before, he could always sense a tacit understanding between them, a connection hard to express in words.
But now, that connection had sunk to the bottom.
Zhao Xi had changed, becoming despondent, numb, and depressed.
This realization left Song Yuanbao feeling an indescribable sense of confusion and helplessness.
——
Zhao Xi had a Shadow Guard, best at imitating other people’s handwriting.
In just two hours, he had captured the essence and prepared a letter, delivering it into Song Yuanbao’s hands.
The letter had been sealed with wax, and Song Yuanbao couldn’t see what was inside, but the Hidden Guard instructed him to go to the Cleansing Room early tomorrow morning.
Mr. Mu opened the door to the side hall for him, and Song Yuanbao lay inside for half a day. Taking advantage of nightfall, he went outside the palace wall facing the West Courtyard and indeed found a hidden hole in the wall, adeptly pressing the envelope under a brick.
Gu Yu had likely been waiting for a letter from Eunuch Hai, so shortly after Song Yuanbao made his move, she hurried to the wall, quickly hiding the letter in her bosom when no one was around, and rushed back to her room. Upon opening it, she found a note asking her to visit the Cleansing Room early tomorrow morning.
Gu Yu frowned deeply; from the beginning, they used secret correspondence to shield others’ eyes. Why suddenly instruct her to go to the Cleansing Room? Could there have been an accident?
As she burned the letter, she pondered whether or not she should go.
Eunuch Hai was a man blinded by profit; he had agreed to cooperate with her initially because she promised to remove Eunuch Sanbao once things were settled and bring him to the Eastern Palace.
That ant if there were any divergence or threat to Eunuch Hai’s interests, he would betray her without hesitation.
Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Gu Yu’s back.
——
The following day, Gu Yu arranged matters in the Eastern Palace and, seizing a mont while the others were unprepared, quietly went to the Cleansing Room. Upon entering, she saw Song Yuanbao sitting alone in the courtyard drinking tea, with not even a shadow of Eunuch Hai.
Gu Yu was visibly stunned, "Sir... Master? Why are you here?"
Song Yuanbao, hearing her, curled his lips slightly, "What, are you surprised to see ?"
Gu Yu glanced around, but she couldn’t see Eunuch Hai. She felt a hint of urgency but dared not show it, rely pulling at her lips and saying, "I heard from the servants that you ca this way specifically to find you. Didn’t we agree to investigate the case together earlier? Let’s go!"
Song Yuanbao poured a cup of tea and handed it to her, "This is the finest Junshan Silver Needle tea; would Aunt like to try it?"
Gu Yu took the cup, tilted her head, and drank it in one gulp, placing the cup back on the stone table.
Song Yuanbao smiled contentedly, stood up, and followed Gu Yu out of the Cleansing Room. As they walked along the palace road, Song Yuanbao asked her, "Did Aunt really co to find ?"
"Who else would I look for if not you?" Gu Yu said, "I don’t recognize anyone in the Cleansing Room."
As she spoke, she wrinkled her nose in disdain.
Song Yuanbao chuckled, "Before you ca, I saw Eunuch Hai. He told a joke."
Gu Yu inexplicably felt a sense of dread, instinctively asking, "What joke?"
"He told there’s a really interesting female official in this palace, who didn’t leave when she reached the age and went to steal things from the Immortal Pavilion. Tsk tsk, quite a peculiar taste." Ignoring Gu Yu’s stiffened expression, Song Yuanbao looked up at her, "Aunt, what kind of twisted woman would do such a thing?"
Gu Yu: "You’re joking. How could anyone do that?"
"There is soone!" Song Yuanbao said, "The nas of the eunuchs in the Immortal Pavilion are still there, but the items are missing, which is a fact. Previously, Eunuch Hai took to see it."
"He, he really took you to see it?"
Gu Yu panicked, her voice faltering.
"Of course, it’s true." Song Yuanbao said with a naive expression, "And Eunuch Hai told that person is you, Aunt!"
"What, what..."
Before Gu Yu could finish speaking, Song Yuanbao’s expression had already turned cold. He clapped his hands, and two stern-faced palace guards appeared, holding ropes.
Gu Yu was terrified as if her soul was about to leave her body, staring at Song Yuanbao, "What do you intend to do?"
Song Yuanbao replied coldly, "Take your life!"
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