"But Old Princess Consort Yu is already dead." Ning Shu frowned. Nine days ago, she died in front of her eyes. That was irrefutable.
Xiahou Qing nodded in agreement, "So, it can't be Old Princess Consort Yu's doing."
"Then there's only one explanation: Old Princess Consort Yu prepared this note before she died, and then arranged for someone to sneak into the prince's mansion and leave it there." Ning Shu thought for a moment before asking, "Then three days ago, did anyone visit the prince's mansion?"
"There was one. It was an envoy from Southern Yan who came to the capital. He was very obsessed with chess. Because he heard that my skills were outstanding, he specially sent a letter to play a game with me. However, after he finished his lunch, he left. The time of his departure was not past the hour of the sun, and the time of this note was at the third quarter of the sun. "
"The envoy from Southern Yan originally came to ask for the princess's hand in marriage, and the thirteenth princess was the chosen candidate for this marriage. He had no reason to take the initiative to destroy this marriage. Moreover, the time doesn't match, so the possibility of it being him is very small." Ning Shu slowly shook her head, rejecting this too obvious guess. She hurriedly scooped some water from the water mirror beside her, dipped her finger in it, and repeatedly wrote on the small table in front of her, "The third quarter of the sun … That's about the same time as the current time!"
The water in the silver pot boiled, and the sound of bubbles popping could be heard. Jiu Si bent down and carefully handed the handle of the pot to Xiahou Qing. His slender fingers held the small pot, and slowly poured the water from the pot into the freshly ground tea bowl, "Yes, because every day before going to sleep at the hour of the sun, I would come here to grind tea or sit for a while."
Ning Shu gently tilted her head, "Your Highness, have you ever told anyone about this habit? I mean, other than the people in the prince's mansion. "
Xiahou Qing slightly raised his chin and asked, "Do you know?"
Ning Shu shook her head.
The sound of the water continued to flow. Xiahou Qing's voice was low, "Then there's no one else."
It sounded like a casual sentence, but for some reason, it suddenly made Ning Shu blush a little. His words just now seemed to imply that if she didn't know about it, no one else had the right to know about it. She knew many things that other people didn't know about like the back of her hand. He had thousands of secrets, and if he had to find someone to share them with, it could only be her.
He had clearly only said a few words. How could she make so many connections? Perhaps he didn't have any of these intentions at all. She was just flattering herself.
She turned her face to the side and let the breeze outside the window blow away the inexplicable thoughts in her mind. Then, she lowered her head and continued to think about business. She lowered her eyes and walked to Xiahou Qing's side. She knelt down and said in a low voice, "So the possibility of this note being written by someone close to Your Highness is very high. Because other than the people in the Wang Fu, no one could find out the little habits and details of His Highness' daily life. So, there are two possibilities. First, it was a guard or servant girl in the Wang Fu who was bribed by Old Princess Yu to do this. They are familiar with all the big and small affairs in the Wang Fu and are most likely to do this without being noticed. Second, it was a conspiracy. Someone secretly told someone about His Highness' daily habits, and that person took the opportunity to sneak into the Wang Fu and put down the note. With the help of the informant, they sneaked out without anyone noticing. "
Jiusi said, "The second possibility is impossible. Everyone in the Wang Fu, including the helpers in the kitchen who are responsible for washing vegetables, I know their appearance, habits, family background, and other information by heart. It's impossible for a stranger to sneak in. Moreover, before the incident happened, Hui Mo had always been in the Wang Fu. No one could fool his eyes by disguising themselves, not to mention the eighty guards who randomly patrol the entire Wang Fu every day. "
Ning Shu's finger tapped on the drawing just now, "In that case, it can only be the first possibility. From what I know, most of the people in His Highness's Wang Fu are trusted aides who were brought over from Cloud Swallow Province. However, the Wang Fu is still lacking some people to do chores. Aside from the people who were originally in charge of cleaning and guarding the gates, there are also some people who were arranged by His Majesty's Internal Affairs Department. These two groups of people are more likely to have been bribed by Old Princess Yu. Perhaps we can start by investigating them one by one. Also … "
She paused and suddenly thought of something. However, that thought seemed to be too frightening and she didn't know where to start.
In front of her, the finely ground tea powder gave off a refreshing aroma after being brewed in the boiling water. Xiahou Qing took the tea sieve from Jiusi and slowly filtered the tea dregs.
Other than the soft sound of the green tea flowing through the sieve, the room was silent. Only Ning Shu suddenly clenched her fists and a cold sweat silently formed.
After all the steps were completed, Xiahou Qing pushed a cup of fragrant celadon in front of Ning Shu and said, "What else? Why didn't you continue?"
Faced with Xiahou Qing's questioning, Ning Shu's thick and long eyelashes fluttered. She took a light breath and said in a voice as low as a mosquito's buzz, "I wanted to say that there might be another possibility, and that is … that is …"
She wanted to say the words several times, but because it was too scary, she couldn't squeeze them out of her throat. Xiahou Qing smiled and said faintly, "I know what you want to say. You want to say: Could the person who put the note be the person who has been hiding by my side and giving me the plum blossom kiss time and time again? "
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