Xianyue cleared her throat and said, "Your Majesty, are you going out?"
Hongli nodded and said, "Yes, I and Hong Zhou have some things to do. What do you have to do?"
"It's nothing. Seeing that the prince has been working hard recently, I stewed some Cordyceps sinensis to replenish your body. In that case, I will take it back to the kitchen and bring it to you in the evening."
Hongli responded and said: "I don't know when I will be back. It may be very late. Just ask the maid to bring it to you then, so as to save yourself the trouble of running around."
Xianyue smiled warmly and said: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I won't be in the way. Since you and Wu Beile still have something to do, I won't disturb you any more and I will retire."
After she walked away, Hong Zhou withdrew his gaze and said with emotion: "Looking at Fourth Brother and her like this now, it's really hard to imagine the scene back then. Things in the world are unpredictable, so this must be the way it is."
Hongli said: "After all, she saved my life, and she can be considered law-abiding in the house now. Don't treat me too lightly."
Hong Zhou thought of Xiayue's unscrupulous way to achieve her goals, and shook his head: "I hope she can really stay like this and keep her peace."
Having said that, the two stopped talking about Xianyue and quickly left Prince Bao's palace and rushed to the palace. Both of them were elder brothers, and one of them was a supervisor, so the guards would not stop him.
When they arrived at the Leng Palace, the palace servants hurriedly came to greet them and saluted, and then said cautiously: "I wonder what orders you two brothers have when you come here?"
Hongli pondered for a moment and said: "Go and call all the eunuchs in the cold palace. No one can be missed."
The palace people didn't know why he gave such an order, but since he had spoken, they had to comply. Soon, all the eunuchs, seven in total, were called in front of Hongli and the two of them.
Hong Zhou glanced at him and said, "Which of you are responsible for taking care of Nala?"
Following his words, four eunuchs came out. It was Ling Ruo who came to monitor Nala. In addition to them, there were four other maids.
Hong Zhou stared at the four eunuchs and said, "In the recent past, which one of you has been out of the palace?"
One of them came out timidly and said: "As for the fifth elder brother, the servants and others were ordered to guard the Nala family. Without the imperial concubine, no one dares to leave the confines of this cold palace."
Another person also said: "Yes, fifth elder brother, my family sent a letter a few days ago, saying that my mother is seriously ill. I just asked someone to bring some money and didn't dare to leave the palace."
Whether you have left the palace or not, you only need to go to the royal palace to check. I believe they don't have the guts to lie, but if it weren't for these four eunuchs, who would be spreading the rumors outside the palace.
Hongli put his hands behind his back and said: "Besides you, there are other eunuchs who have come to Leng Palace recently, or you have talked to them about Leng Palace, especially Jing Xinxiang."
After hearing this, all the eunuchs shook their heads and said: "The slaves have all been ordered by the imperial concubine. They stay in the cold palace on weekdays. They rarely go out. Even if they go out, they will never mention the cold palace. The word "quiet heart" is used.
It is the most taboo among taboos. As for other eunuchs, this cold palace is an ominous place. Except for the father-in-law who is responsible for three meals a day in the royal kitchen, no one comes there, and the servants never talk to him. "
"Didn't you even mention it accidentally?" Facing Hong Zhou's questioning, they looked at each other and unanimously denied that they didn't.
This is really strange. I have neither left the palace nor told anyone about it. How did Jing Xinxiang leak out?
Hong Zhou pulled Hong Li aside and said: "Fourth brother, judging from their appearance, they must not have lied. And if they were not strict with their words, how could they have leaked this matter four years later?"
"You are right, but apart from the two of us, they are the only ones left in the palace who know about this matter. Could it be that... the matter came from the Old Summer Palace?" Hongli frowned tightly.
He raised his eyebrows. If this is the case, it will definitely alarm Ling Ruo. When the time comes, how far things will develop will be beyond his control.
"That's not true. I think there must be something else that we have missed." While speaking, a eunuch said cautiously: "I would like to inform you two elder brothers. Although no one has been to Leng Gong, Leng Gong has indeed discovered something recently.
Something weird."
Hong Zhou perked up and quickly asked: "What's this weird thing? Tell me quickly!"
"I remember it was more than a month ago. At that time, I and Shang Rong were responsible for watching Nala Shi at night. But suddenly, I felt a pain on the back of my neck, and then I didn't know anything. When I woke up,
, found the slave monk Rong sleeping on the table
Then, when I asked other people, they said there was nothing special. It seemed that La Shi had made a noise in the middle of the night, but when I asked her, she said she was asleep at the time and couldn't remember clearly. This kind of thing has not happened before.
Yes, so the slaves didn’t think much about it.”
Hongli and Hongzhou exchanged a quick look. If the young eunuch was right, he and the palace maid should have been knocked unconscious at that time. In other words, that person knew martial arts.
Hong Zhou asked eagerly: "Besides this, what else is there? Or, in other words, has anything like that happened before?"
The young eunuch shook his head and said, "As for Fifth Brother, it was just once. After that, although I occasionally fell asleep during the night watch, it was all because of sleepiness, and I didn't have the pain in my neck like the first time."
Hearing this, Hongli frowned and said, "Do you guys often fall asleep during vigil? What if Nala commits suicide while you are sleeping?"
When the young eunuch heard this, he knelt down quickly and said with a mournful face: "Returning to Fourth Brother, I don't know what's going on. I never fell asleep in the middle of the night watch before. At most, I would take a nap and wake up soon.
I'm here, but in the past month, I don't know if it's because of the lack of autumn, but sometimes I feel very sleepy. I swear that I won't do it again in the future, and I beg Fourth Brother to forgive me."
Hongli thought about his words carefully and said: "So, when I was watching the night with you, I also fell asleep?" After the eunuch nodded, he looked at the other four eunuchs and said: "You guys were watching the night together.
Has the same situation ever happened?"
One of the eunuchs lowered his head and said tremblingly: "No...no."
Hongli suddenly emphasized his tone and said sternly: "Tell me, is there any?"
After being shouted at by him, the eunuchs were all frightened. They all knelt down and apologized one after another. Then several of them stammered and recounted their respective situations. These eunuchs all had the same experience, that is, they were keeping vigil.
Feeling sleepy for a while, then falling asleep.
Hong Zhou also heard something was wrong and said: "Fourth brother, something is wrong. It would not be strange if one person occasionally falls asleep, but if they all appear in the same situation, there must be a ghost among them."