C11

Looking at the respectful Ran Mei, Huai Jin nodded slightly and pondered. Originally, she did not inherit the original owner's memories, and it was even because of Zhao Yang pushing the original owner into the water that she was reborn. It was just that, since the original owner's body was occupied by Zhao Yang, and the original owner and Zhao Yang were sworn enemies, if she really did not attract the suspicion of others, but right now, the empress dowager was protecting Zhao Yang, so she put this matter to the side first.

Zhao Yang's matter could be put on hold, but not Ran Die's. Initially, she thought Ran Die's death was just an ordinary palace farce, but from the moment she saw Yuwen Fei personally taking care of Ran Die's corpse, she knew that he was probably not a simple person at all. If he tried to investigate, he would be afraid of getting caught up in it. If he didn't care about the trouble, he wouldn't even know how he would die.

After thinking for a long time, Huai Jin still decided to secretly investigate Ran Die's cause of death, so she called Ran Mei along to go to the Lotus Pond.

Huai Jin stopped in her tracks, and her face darkened. She had already suspected that Ran Die's matter was related to the Li Consort. After all, she was the only one who could make Yuwen Fei come forward, she just did not think that the Li Consort would come looking for her so openly.

With a smirk, Huai Jin walked into the pavilion while holding onto her skirt, trying to make herself look as harmless as possible.

"An Ping greets Imperial Concubine Fei."

Li Consort glanced at Huai Jin indifferently, and only replied after a while: "Stand up."

Huai Jin got up and sat opposite of Li Consort. She rubbed her sore legs, and with a puzzled look on her face, her eyes continued to circle around the group of palace maids and eunuchs. After walking for a long while, she tilted her head and glanced at Li Consort, and only opened her mouth after hesitating for a long time: "Imperial Concubine Fei is looking for something?"

Li Consort took a sip of the tea in her cup, then said casually: "En, I lost an earring over here."

Seeing that, Huai Jin did not ask anymore, and continued drinking the tea in her hand, and chatted with the Li Consort for a while.

"I heard that Zhao Yang has been with the empress dowager for the past few days?" Li Consort tidied up the cape handed to him by the side, glanced at Huai Jin and asked casually as if he was not paying attention.

Hearing that, Huai Jin angrily snorted, "If she has the ability, then she will stay in the Jubilee Palace and hide for the rest of her life!" She stomped her feet fiercely, as if she wanted to rush into the Jubilee Palace and beat Zhao Yang up badly.

Seeing her expression, Li Consort sneered, but advised gently: "It's just a small matter. Since Prince Jin carried a burden for her, what do you think? "After all, she's the granddaughter of the empress dowager's direct relative. Since the empress dowager is protecting her right now, you should take her in."

Huai Jin rolled her eyes in her heart and thought, if you really wanted to advise me, then you shouldn't have reminded your own granddaughter about this.

The Li Consort smiled slightly, turned the topic and asked, "But I am curious, why did you start a fight with Zhao Yang at the empress dowager's birthday banquet, and why did Prince Jin represent Zhao Yang?"

She herself had found out from the Prince Jin that the original owner and Zhao Yang were having an argument over the Xibo Marquis, but at the same time, she couldn't let others know the reason why. After hesitating for a moment, he said in a muffled voice, "I have long disliked her. "But Prince Jin …"

After saying that, Li Consort was obviously startled when she saw the young girl's expression. She pursed her lips, and her face flushed red but she was unable to say a single word. She couldn't help but laugh.

Actually, she also knew the situation inside, when someone told her that Huai Jin liked the Xibo Marquis and that Yuwen Fei had sent someone to inform her of the relationship between the Prince Jin and him so that she could defend against him, she had truly thought that the girl in front of her was someone who hid her shrewdness, but when she tried to probe him out with her own words, she actually lied to the point of being so inferior, and also had a look that of a little girl, only thinking that Huai Jin was being used by the Prince Jin for the affairs of her little daughter.

The "thought through" Li Consort finally relaxed her face when she saw Huai Jin, and because Huai Jin had thought of some past events, she let out a soft sigh, and her attitude became even more sincere.

"Found it!" A young eunuch shouted loudly in the distance, happily holding onto something as he ran into the pavilion.

"Did you find the Empress's earring?"

Hearing Huai Jin's voice, the young eunuch was stunned for a moment. She looked at Huai Jin strangely, grinned, and brought her tightly clenched hands over to Li Consort.

Huai Jin was curious and just as she was about to take a look, Li Consort had already taken everything and passed it to the maid by her side. On the way, she actually did not see a single bit of it.

After finding the item, the Li Consort waved for the palace maids to remove the item and got up to leave. However, just as she walked out of the pavilion, she stopped.

It was already late in the night, with bursts of autumn wind blowing the curtains of the pavilion, separating the two. Huai Jin trembled and felt a strange chill, and upon seeing that, Ran Mei immediately threw a cape over her shoulders.

"I heard that a palace maid died in Yongan Palace?" His light voice drifted in the wind, making it hard for people to hear him clearly from a distance.

Huai Jin's heart skipped a beat. She had finally gotten to the serious topic, and her eyes were wide open as she asked: "How did Imperial Concubine Fei know about this?"

"Didn't the princess already see Fei'er today? Of course he told me." Li Consort paused for a moment before chuckling softly. His voice also carried a trace of coldness in the surrounding environment: "It's just a palace maid, there's no need for the princess to be so concerned. After all, there are some things that you need to know, and it might not be a good thing."

With that, he turned around and led the group away.

Inside the pavilion, Huai Jin's two hands tightly clenched into two fists. From the looks of it, Ran Die's death was caused by Li Consort, and she wasn't looking for some earrings just now. It was clear that she had left behind the evidence, but even if she knew, there was nothing she could do. If this was a trap set against her, she didn't have the ability to protect herself right now. A deep feeling of powerlessness pervaded the air around Huai Jin.

"Princess, don't be upset, this servant and Ran Die were sent by the Marquis to protect the princess. If the princess is in danger because of us, then the servants won't be able to answer to the Marquis." Ran Mei consoled while looking at Huai Jin's gloomy face.

It was very obvious that Ran Mei attributed Huai Jin's depressed mood to Ran Die's death, and for a moment, she had a good impression of him, this young master.

Huai Jin responded faintly, and without explaining anything, the master and the servant left the Lotus Pond one after another.