"Oh?" Yun Shang raised her head and looked at Cai Yi up and down, "Who were sent by you to guard the Mingcui Palace last night. Could you bring them here? I have some question to ask them. I'm just curious how could Lady Liu get out of the eastern side hall of Mingcui Palace and arrive at the Yancui Lake?"
Cai Yi frowned and kept silent for a while before she answered in a low voice, "Two eunuchs, Xiang Fu and Xiang Wen, were guarding Mingcui Palace last night. To be honest, Your Highness, I haven't seen them since this morning. I have been looking for them since I heard Lady Liu was drown."
"They are missing?" Yun Shang raised her eyebrows, lost in thought.
Cai Yi's face also darkened. Then she said, "I can't make a conclusion yet. The servants who went to find the two of them have been there for about a quarter of an hour. The result should be coming soon."
Yun Shang thought for a while, and her hand, which was tapping on the table, paused slightly. "Since it still needs a while, you can go get me the files of the two eunuch first."
Cai Yi nodded slightly. "The files are kept in Neishi Bureau. I'll go get them now." Then she left.
Yun Shang frowned. Yesterday, many people witnessed that she punished Lady Liu at Luoxia Pavilion by Yancui Lake. The two eunuchs who guarded Lady Liu disappeared and Liu's corpse appeared in the lake. Everything was more like a trap specially aimed at her. But she didn't know who set up the trap.
"Your Highness, do you think Cai Yi is not reliable?" Qin Yi whispered when she squatted down and poured a cup of tea for Yun Shang.
Yun Shang thought for a while and shook her head. "Since Liu Wenan selected her to serve me in the Zhaoxia Palace, she should be reliable. However, she had served Xia Huanyu in TaIji Palace before, she must've hoped that she could get Xia Huanyu's favor one day. Liu Wenan sent her to the Zhaoxia Palace all of a sudden. She must be a little reluctant, so she didn't look very hospitable, but she did what she should do. I don't suspect her. But Xiang Wen and Xiang Fu... "
Yun Shang squinted slightly, "I have an intuition that there must be something wrong with them."
However, before Cai Yi could send the information about Xiang Wen and Xiang Fu, the officer of Neishi Bureau had come. It was Lord Qi whom she had met by the Yancui Lake.
Lord Qi was very polite to Yun Shang. After being led in by the servants, he bowed to Yun Shang in a hurry and said, "It's my honor to meet Your Highness. I'm the officer of Neishi Bereau Qi Ruihai."
Seeing this, Yun Shang smiled, "Lord Qi, you're being too polite. Please rise. Qin Yi, take a seat for Lord Qi."
Qin Yi hurriedly put a seat behind Qi Ruihai who then thanked her and sat down.
Yun Shang lifted her hand and removed the teacup lid before
ease the Empress, but the Emperor has sent it here directly."
Hearing what Ning Qian said, Yun Shang frowned. "Have you talked with Xia Huanyu?"
After a moment's silence, Ning Qian nodded slightly and said, "Of course I did. When His Majesty came to Xiang Zhu Palace, I told him that these rewards were too precious and asked him not to do this." His Majesty has agreed, but then he continues to act like this. I don't dare to use these things. If I use them or give them to others, I'm afraid they will think that I'm showing off. So I have to keep them in the storehouse."
Yun Shang nodded, thinking that it was impossible for Xia Huanyu not to know the consequences of these rewards, but he still acted on his own. He might want to use Ning Qian as a bait to target Su Ruji and the Su clan.
But not everyone could afford to offend the Su clan. That might put Ning Qian in great danger.
Yun Shang kept silent for a long time and said indifferently, "Reach out your hand and I'll feel your pulse."
Hearing this, Ning Qian stretched out her hand in a hurry. Yun Shang put her fingers on it. after a while, she said, "The slippery pulse is still weak. You've been pregnant for more than a month. It's not right."
Hearing this, Nian Qian withdrew her hand and said nothing.
Yun Shang didn't mention it anymore. She looked around and saw two pots of jasmines in the room. It was just February, but the white flowers had bloomed with a faint fragrance.
Yun Shang frowned, "Why does the jasmine bloom now?"
Ning Qian's eyes fell on the jasmines, and the corners of her mouth curved up slightly. She said with a bit of playfulness, "His Majesty likes jasmine for its elegance, so I have tried a lot of methods. I put a lot of braziers in the house during the winter, so the jasmines have bloomed in this season. There are more jasmines in my bedroom."