Chapter 815: The Belongings of the Late Empress
"Your Highness, Crown Princess, Chief Seamstress Gu requests an audience," Hongyu announced from outside just as Shen Xihe finished reading Shen Yueshan's letter.
"Let her in," Shen Xihe set the letter aside and extended her hand for Biyu to support her as she rose to walk out.
Gu Zexiang had not come alone but brought several seamstresses from the Wardrobe Office of the Directorate of Imperial Regalia to take Shen Xihe's measurements for new garments.
The Directorate of Imperial Regalia was responsible for clothing the women of the Imperial Harem. As Shen Xihe was pregnant and her figure changed monthly, the frequent visits from the directorate drew no particular attention.
After the measurements were taken and the styles, fabrics, and patterns finalized, Gu Zexiang was about to leave with her attendants when Shen Xihe spoke up, "Chief Seamstress Gu, I also sew privately and have some embroidery patterns. Would you care to take a look?"
"Of course," Gu Zexiang replied meekly, following Shen Xihe to the room where the Crown Princess usually did her needlework. "Your Highness wishes to inquire about the late Empress?"
"Do you have any leads?" Shen Xihe asked.
Over the years, Gu Zexiang had endured life in the palace—first in the Imperial Prison for Women, then navigating the complex web of the Six Bureaus and Twenty-Four Offices. No matter where she was, she had shown remarkable resilience, earning Shen Xihe's regard as a potential future Chief Palace Matron.
"Your Highness, when I was in the Side Court Palace, I encountered an elderly woman," Gu Zexiang recalled after a moment's thought. "She was often deranged—though madness was common there, so no one paid her much mind. Occasionally, she was lucid, and I spent some time with her during those periods.
She once told me she had served the late Empress. The late Empress passed away before His Majesty ascended the throne. Until the Crown Prince was three, there were still attendants left by the late Empress at his side, but they were later released from the palace when they reached the appropriate age, making them difficult to trace.
This woman had been demoted to the Side Court Palace after making a mistake while caring for the Crown Prince."
"Where is she now?" Shen Xihe inquired.
"She passed away from illness five years ago," Gu Zexiang replied, producing a jade pendant. "In the Side Court Palace, lives are as cheap as grass; no one spares a second glance when someone dies. I was the first to discover her body. She was clutching this jade pendant in her hand. Having come from an official's family, I have some discernment and recognized this was no ordinary item, so I kept it."
Gu Zexiang handed the pendant to Zhenzhu, who passed it to Shen Xihe.
It was crafted from superior mutton-fat jade, exquisitely carved with a peony in full bloom, its stamens stretching vividly under the light.
Such an item was beyond the means of not just a convict slave but even many ordinary official families.
"The late Empress's personal name included the character 'Peony'," Zhenzhu reminded her.
Shen Xihe needed no reminder; she was well aware.
Holding the pendant by its tassel, Shen Xihe fell silent for a moment before asking, "Did she say anything else?"
Gu Zexiang shook her head. "Most of the time, she was incoherent and silent, lashing out at anyone nearby. When lucid... she would just curl up in a corner, staring blankly into space."
The only time she had spoken was during one New Year when Gu Zexiang brought her an extra bowl of dumplings. That was when the woman had let slip that she had served the Empress, attended her in the Eastern Palace, and eaten fare far more refined than what was offered then.
She immediately realized her mistake and glanced sharply at Gu Zexiang, who had heard everything but continued her tasks unaffected, as if she hadn't noticed.
"What was her name?" Shen Xihe pressed.
Again, Gu Zexiang shook her head. "I do not know, Your Highness. She had already been in the Side Court Palace for over a decade by the time I arrived."The Crown Prince was three years old in the third year of Youning, exactly twenty-one years ago. She passed away five years ago, which means she spent a full sixteen years in the Side Court Palace.
Gu Zexiang entered the Side Court Palace—this person had indeed been there for over ten years.
"I understand. You may return." Shen Xihe did not detain Gu Zexiang for long, as prolonged contact could arouse suspicion.
After Gu Zexiang left the Eastern Palace, Shen Xihe instructed Zhenzhu, "Investigate who among the Empress's people served by the Crown Prince's side back then, and when these individuals were transferred away."
"Understood."
It was actually quite easy to investigate because Shen Xihe had once handled palace affairs, and all internal records had been transferred to her. Long ago, Shen Xihe had remarked that authority over palace affairs might not remain in her hands indefinitely—sometimes, to better lull the enemy into complacency, one must relinquish control.
Especially after Xiao Huayong decided to leave, Shen Xihe understood that without Xiao Huayong, she was no longer the Crown Princess, and holding onto palace authority would be improper. Some matters, like Zhenzhu and others, were routinely transcribed when there was nothing urgent to attend to.
The registry of personnel changes in the palace from the first year of Youning to the twenty-fourth year of Youning was of utmost importance. Shen Xihe could discern patterns in the comings and goings of certain individuals from it and, with the assistance of Senior Attendant Lan, clarify the factions within the palace.
Naturally, they transcribed the first copy.
Zhenzhu easily found the information, but her expression turned grave. "Your Highness, in the third year of Youning, no one was demoted from the Eastern Palace to the Side Court Palace."
It wasn't that there was no one—rather, the record had been erased.
Tianyuan soon arrived with information: a list of the palace maids who had served the Empress back then, along with their whereabouts.
"They are all dead." Shen Xihe skimmed through the list briefly.
Their deaths were not suspicious, as they did not occur in the same year—some died of illness, others in accidents.
The last one died in the eighth year of Youning.
What a coincidence—the eighth year of Youning was the year Xiao Huayong accidentally consumed Cheese Cherry in the Hall of Bright Governance and was poisoned.
"The person Zexiang encountered might have been an insignificant low-ranking maid, but she must have received care from one of the Empress's clever senior maids." Shen Xihe closed her eyes and began to deduce. "This senior maid..."
Opening her eyes, Shen Xihe glanced at the register Tianyuan had handed her, her gaze settling on the name of someone who had drowned in the Eastern Palace in the third year of Youning.
She was the Empress's senior maid and, after the Empress's death, the female official in charge of the Eastern Palace.
Her cause of death was slipping and falling into the Eastern Palace pond while getting up at night during the harsh winter.
At that time, Xiao Huayong was only three years old, and Tianyuan had not yet come to serve him. They likely knew nothing about it.
The Empress died saving the Emperor, and the Crown Prince was established in the Eastern Palace. The Empress's maids could not all vanish overnight, as that would arouse suspicion.
According to Shen Yueshan's account, everyone who accompanied the Empress that day had died. This senior maid likely did not participate in the Empress's scheme against Qian Wang's consort and was not present at the time, which is why she was not silenced immediately and died along with the others at the hands of the "enemy troops" in the ambush.
She naturally became the first choice to care for Xiao Huayong. However, she probably discovered something she shouldn't have, leaving her helpless. She then entrusted the Empress's relic to someone she trusted most.
She had this person demoted to the Side Court Palace under a different pretext, forbidding them from revealing their origins, thus allowing them to escape disaster.
Perhaps she instructed this person to wait for the Crown Prince to seek her out, but Xiao Huayong never did, and he remained unaware of the matter."This is the late empress's relic." Shen Xihe was absolutely certain at this moment.
Her deduction might have some discrepancies, but as long as Gu Zexiang hadn't lied, such an exquisite object must have belonged to the late empress.
(End of Chapter)
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