Yue Tingyu took the bamboo slip handed to him but did not open it at once. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Sui Ning's face. His voice was low, each word carrying a deep weight—
"Your Highness, I have investigated the matter you entrusted to me." His words were calm yet forceful.
Sui Ning waited for him to continue. She knew that what he was about to say would be the truth about her birth mother.
"Fifteen years ago, the Emperor imprisoned a woman of unknown origins in Fuhua Palace. All information about her was tightly sealed, and apart from the palace maids within Fuhua Palace, no one had ever seen her face."
"There is a small peach grove inside Fuhua Palace, so people jokingly called her Lady Peach Blossom—though in truth, she held no rank in the harem at all."
"Later, a daughter was born in Fuhua Palace. The Emperor lifted the confinement of Fuhua Palace and elevated one of the palace maids there to the rank of Concubine Shu to raise the Princess. Thus, everyone came to believe that Concubine Shu was Lady Peach Blossom."
Jun Suining held her breath as she listened, then retorted, "Concubine Shu could not possibly be my birth mother."
"So I then investigated the unusual events in the palace during those days. On the night the Princess was born, a palace maid in Fuhua Palace died suddenly. In recognition of her loyal service to her mistress, the Emperor permitted her remains to be returned to her homeland."
Jun Suining had never imagined her birth mother's fate would be like this. So she had already left this world—had already left her—long ago.
Her voice trembled slightly. "Where is she? Where is she buried?"
Yue Tingyu looked at her reddened eyes, his throat somewhat dry, and said softly, "According to the palace servants who carried the coffin out of the palace that night, once outside the palace walls, the coffin was empty."
No—this was wrong!
Jun Suining's mind raced. According to Concubine Shu, her birth mother had been deeply favored. Why would the Father Emperor refuse to grant her a title? Why would he have her buried with the status of a mere palace maid? And how could the person in the coffin have simply vanished?
Question upon question, all of them suspicious. None of this made any sense.
The truth had to be more than this.
"Is it possible… that my mother never died at all?" Sui Ning looked at Yue Tingyu with hope in her eyes, longing for his affirmation.
Yet Yue Tingyu did not respond at once. He remained silent for a long while, as if considering how to answer her question. Finally, he suddenly spoke. "Why doesn't Your Highness simply ask the Emperor?"
Sui Ning herself did not know whether, if she asked directly, her father the Emperor would tell her the truth. The question left her feeling lost.
Seeing her hesitation, Yue Tingyu said nothing more. Sui Ning suddenly recalled the assassin in the Xingsi and asked without thinking, "Has the assassin said anything lately?"
At her mention of the assassin, a strange look flickered briefly in Yue Tingyu's eyes before vanishing. "No," he said curtly.
Even now, Sui Ning still did not know who her birth mother was—did not even know whether she was alive or dead.
If she was alive, why had Sui Ning never seen her even once, right up until her death in her previous life?
If she was dead, why had the person in the coffin vanished…
As she was lost in worried thought, a sudden cry came from outside the window—
"Stop! What was that?!"
The abrupt shout snapped Jun Suining back to reality. She rushed out the door to find Cang Ling, eyes bleary with sleep, barking toward a patch of darkness.
The rain outside had stopped at some point. In the courtyard before her, only Cang Ling stood alone. When the little dog turned and saw the Princess standing outside the bedchamber watching her, she said sheepishly, "Your Highness, did I wake you…?"
Jun Suining shook her head and asked lightly, "What happened?"
"This servant thought she saw a figure darting about just now. I must have been mistaken."
As Cang Ling spoke, she walked toward Jun Suining, a somewhat dazed expression on her face.
As she drew near, Cang Ling suddenly glimpsed a tall, slender figure standing in the princess's bedchamber—someone who seemed vaguely familiar… She asked in surprise, "Your Highness, is A-Qi still here?"
As the words left her mouth, Cang Ling's gaze turned back toward the interior of the bedchamber, only to find that the spot where the figure had stood was now completely empty. She instinctively rubbed her eyes and lowered her head in embarrassment. "Your Highness, this servant must be too tired—I'm seeing people everywhere."
Jun Suining looked at Cang Ling, her expression perfectly calm, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. "Go back and get some sleep."
Her words were full of concern, but she did not tell Cang Ling that there had indeed been someone in the bedchamber.
By the time Jun Suining turned and returned to the bedchamber, the person inside had already quietly departed.
The windows of the bedchamber were tightly shut, leaving only silence behind. Sui Ning gazed at that closed window and smiled inwardly. How considerate of him?
The candles were extinguished, and once she slipped into bed, Sui Ning sank into a deep sleep.
But this night was far from over.
In the darkness of night, a young man whose shoes and socks were soaked hurried anxiously through the palace. Behind him, a young-looking little eunuch followed nervously. They passed through a long corridor and finally entered Pingji Palace.
Once inside the hall, the little eunuch kept his head lowered, his voice respectful yet tense. "Your Highness, Fifth Prince, please rest early."
In the candlelight, the young man turned around, and on that fair, delicate face appeared a harsh gloom unlike his usual self. His eyes fixed unblinkingly on the eunuch. "What did you just hear?"
Terrified by his gaze, the eunuch immediately dropped to his knees, his body trembling slightly, his voice full of fear. "This servant heard nothing!"
In the vast, empty hall, Jun Yao's cold laughter echoed. Looking down at the top of the eunuch's head, he recalled coldly, "You did hear. So it turns out that Elder Sister and I only share half our blood. Tell me, why would Elder Sister investigate this? Is bloodline really so important?"
His words were full of bewilderment and coldness, as if he did not care about this fact at all.
The little eunuch pressed his forehead hard against the floor. He knew the Fifth Prince was not as innocent as he appeared. Not daring to raise his head, he said in a trembling voice, "If Your Highness deems it unimportant, then it is unimportant."
"Hah!" Jun Yao sneered. "No wonder Elder Sister has been so much colder to me these past few days…" Irritated, he casually picked up the porcelain vase at his side and smashed it heavily to the ground.
"If you love kneeling so much, then kneel on the shards." Jun Yao looked down at the lowly eunuch and spoke in a careless tone.
The little eunuch before him went pale, but obediently crawled into the broken shards and knelt. Seeing him endure the pain without crying out, Jun Yao felt a surge of satisfaction, then suddenly said coldly, "You won't go complaining to Elder Sister or Mother Consort, will you?"
"This servant wouldn't dare!"
Jun Yao slowly approached the eunuch, his expression shifting in an instant—from that sinister, merciless look to the innocent face of a young boy.
His clear eyes sparkled with an unripened, childish light. Looking lost and bewildered, his voice was clear and innocent: "Why would Imperial Sister have the Nine-Thousand-Year Lord investigate? Someone as cold as the Nine-Thousand-Year Lord—why would he help Imperial Sister? Could it be…"
His words trailed off, but a trace of confusion flickered in his eyes.
The eunuch closed his eyes in anguish, lamenting inwardly. If he hadn't accompanied the Fifth Prince to see the Princess tonight, perhaps he could have avoided this disaster. In private, the Fifth Prince was no different from a madman—especially when it came to anything involving the Sixth Princess; that was what drove him particularly insane.
"Could it be that big sister fancies a eunuch?" Jun Yao seemed to be asking and answering himself.
The moment his words fell, his eyes filled with darkness and resentment. No—he couldn't accept it, big sister fancying a eunuch!
Even if he was a eunuch of great power.
"What right does a eunuch have to win Imperial Sister's affection!"