On the other side, Xiuzhu took out a handkerchief and wiped away Zhangsun Shi’s tears while saying: “Miss always thinks of Noble Consort Yang in everything, yet she repays kindness with enmity and caused the death of the young heir. This matter absolutely cannot be settled like this. In this servant’s opinion, such a vicious person should pay with her life to console the spirit of the young heir in heaven!”

Ruyi angrily said: “The matter hasn’t been investigated clearly yet, and you already want to put our princess to death. You are the vicious one!” As she spoke, fearing that Zhangsun Shi might believe Xiuzhu’s words, she urgently said: “Princess Consort, this servant can stake her life to guarantee that the young heir’s premature birth has absolutely nothing to do with our princess. There must be another—”

“You are her person, of course you speak for her.” Saying this, Xiuzhu turned to Zhangsun Shi again: “Miss, don’t listen to their sophistry. Noble Consort Yang is fundamentally a hypocrite with honeyed words and a venomous heart. She…”

Zhangsun Shi irritably interrupted her: “I’m very confused and don’t want to discuss this matter. All of you get out!”

How could Xiuzhu give up so easily? With Li Shimin absent, this was the best opportunity to deal with Yunyi. “Miss, this concerns the death of the young heir. You absolutely cannot be soft-hearted again!”

Zhangsun Shi wearily waved her hand: “I told you all to get out, get out!”

Seeing her say this, Xiuzhu could only reluctantly swallow the words on her lips and withdrew with Yunyi and the others. After closing the palace door, Xiuzhu glared hatefully at Yunyi before turning to leave.

Watching her retreating figure, Ruyi said indignantly: “This Xiuzhu, relying on being the Princess Consort’s dowry maid, dares to publicly accuse the princess without any sense of hierarchy. It’s truly too excessive. If Jixiang were here, she would be so angry she’d slap her!”

Jixiang, having just returned from escorting Imperial Physician Li, happened to hear Ruyi’s last sentence and asked puzzledly: “What about slapping?”

Ruyi irritably recounted what had just happened. After hearing it, Jixiang was indeed furious: “The princess has always been courteous to her out of respect for the Princess Consort, yet she has the audacity to climb all over us, completely disregarding the princess. I’m going to teach her a lesson right now and see if she dares to be so presumptuous again!”

Jixiang had only taken two steps when Yunyi’s voice came from behind: “Stop!”

Jixiang said unwillingly: “Princess, she’s already bullying you. Are we still going to keep tolerating this?”

Yunyi ignored her words and walked toward Qiluo Pavilion while asking Ruyi: “When we were in the palace earlier, did you notice Xiuzhu’s handkerchief?”

Ruyi hadn’t expected her to suddenly ask this and was stunned for a moment before saying: “This servant did see her take out a handkerchief to wipe the Princess Consort’s tears. What about it?”

Yunyi looked in the direction Xiuzhu had left and said coldly: “In one corner of the handkerchief, there was an embroidered character ‘Xiu’.”

Jixiang casually said: “Her name is Xiuzhu, so using the character ‘Xiu’ as a mark isn’t strange at all.”

Yunyi’s gaze turned to Ruyi: “What about you? Didn’t you think of anything?”

“Xiu… Xiu…” Ruyi murmured this character, and after repeating it several times, her eyes suddenly brightened as she exclaimed: “This servant remembers! A few days ago when we went to the Eastern Palace to congratulate Consort Ji on her pregnancy, Jixiang collided with Ding Yang, and a handkerchief fell from him. That one also had an embroidered character ‘Xiu’.”

Hearing this, Jixiang also remembered, her expression surprised: “Could it be… that handkerchief was also from Xiuzhu’s hand?”

“When I saw that character ‘Xiu’ that day, I had a feeling of familiarity, but I couldn’t remember where I’d seen it. It wasn’t until I saw Xiuzhu’s handkerchief just now that I finally recalled.”

Jixiang frowned: “So that handkerchief really was Xiuzhu’s, but… why would she give a handkerchief to Ding Yang for no reason?”

“It’s possible that Ding Yang was injured and Xiuzhu happened to encounter him, casually giving him the handkerchief to bandage his wound. Or it could be given as a token of love.”

“Token of love?” Jixiang’s expression became strange: “Princess, are you saying they have a private relationship? But one serves in the Eastern Palace and the other works in the Prince of Qin’s residence. How could they be connected?”

Ruyi bit her lip lightly: “Imperial Physician Li said that the Princess Consort’s premature birth was most likely caused by someone drugging her. We didn’t do it, which means it was done by someone close to the Princess Consort. Speaking boldly, before the truth is clarified, Xiuzhu… she is also suspicious.”

Jixiang was startled by these words. Although she disliked Xiuzhu, the latter had followed Zhangsun Shi since childhood, and her loyalty to Zhangsun Shi was unquestionable. To say she would harm the child in Zhangsun Shi’s womb was truly inconceivable.

“Go watch Xiuzhu. I want to know what relationship she has with Ding Yang exactly. Be careful not to let her discover you.” After Ruyi left, Jixiang asked tentatively: “Princess, do you really suspect it was Xiuzhu?”

“If it were just Xiuzhu alone, I might not suspect her, but with Ding Yang added to the mix…” Yunyi bent down and picked a small purple flower of unknown species from the grass beside the bluestone, playing with it in her hands. “Do you remember what I told you about Consort Ji’s character?”

“This servant remembers. In the past when the princess was at the Governor’s residence, she was framed by her, and she rose from being merely a dancing girl to becoming the Crown Prince’s consort today, showing she’s someone with great schemes.” Speaking to this point, she seemed to understand something: “Master thinks that Consort Ji, through Ding Yang, instructed Xiuzhu to harm the Princess Consort? But our Prince of Qin’s residence and the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace keep to ourselves. Why would she do this?”

Yunyi was silent for a moment before saying: “I don’t know either. Let’s see what Ruyi can find out.”

Back then, she had poisoned Ji Rong’s muscle-regenerating powder, intending to harm Li Jiancheng, and Zhang Chenyue had become the scapegoat. But later when her identity was exposed, Ji Rong should have known that the real poisoner was her. Could it be that Ji Rong harbored lasting resentment over this matter and was using today’s incident to harm her?

As for Ruyi, after receiving Yunyi’s instructions, she quietly followed Xiuzhu. The latter stayed in her room for a short while before hurrying out. She made her way to East Street, found a messenger, and handed over a letter along with more than ten coins before leaving. She walked for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense before stopping by a small stream, occasionally glancing back the way she came, apparently waiting for someone.

Fearing discovery, Ruyi didn’t dare get too close and hid behind a thick willow tree to monitor Xiuzhu.

After about half an hour, a figure appeared in her line of sight. When the person got closer, Ruyi was shocked to discover it was Ding Yang. Xiuzhu’s earlier search for a messenger must have been to send a message to the Eastern Palace, arranging to meet Ding Yang.

Ding Yang walked very slowly, as if invisible chains bound his feet together. When he finally reached Xiuzhu, before he could speak, she had already slapped him hard across the face, her eyes bloodshot as she hissed: “Why did you lie to me?”