Chapter 60 - 2#

He suddenly said: “Lotus Leaf was poisoned by Nanny Ming.”

Jingzhe looked sharply at Lidong.

But Lidong didn’t even look at Jingzhe, speaking rapidly: “She killed Lotus Leaf because Lotus Leaf knew too many of her secrets. After that, Nanny Ming no longer let outsiders know about her doings, and every time she went out, she must go alone. But I followed her once, so I know who she was meeting.”

When speaking of this, Lidong’s voice finally had a bit of difference.

He swallowed and said softly: “The person she met was Kangman.”

Jingzhe suddenly felt cold all over.

…Kangman?

Could the person Nanny Ming contacted later be Consort Kang? But why would Consort Kang care about what happened in the North Wing?

Lidong looked at Jingzhe’s slightly changed face and finally had a slightly satisfied expression, “See, even you are moved by this.”

Jingzhe looked at Lidong: “I am just an ordinary person. How can I not feel anything about such shocking news?”

He had already sensed something wrong.

Consort Kang used to live in Yongning Palace, and initially, the person Nanny Ming tried to contact was exactly Talented Lady Liu, who lived in the side hall of Yongning Palace.

It was precisely the persimmon soup that Talented Lady Liu wanted to drink that made Nanny Ming target Jingzhe.

After Talented Lady Liu and the original Manager of the Imperial Kitchen, Qian Qin, had an accident, Nanny Ming was silent for a long time. After poisoning Lotus Leaf, she turned around and hooked up with Kangman?

Did Consort Kang know about the dealings between Nanny Ming and the people around Talented Lady Liu from the beginning?

Now that the original stewards of the North Wing were all dead, one of the newcomers transferred over was actually Nanny Chen, who had been demoted to the North Wing after Yongning Palace was punished.

What a perfect coincidence.

Jingzhe: “Lidong, why are you staring at me?” His tone was slightly cool, as if permeating more chill with the wind in this corridor.

Lidong gritted his teeth and whispered: “If I had a choice, why would I do this?”

After Nanny Ming pulled herself together again, Lidong and the new Lotus Leaf knew from the beginning of their transfer that they should obey this person’s orders.

Nanny Ming didn’t want Lidong to stare at Jingzhe; she wanted him to stare at everyone in the North Wing.

It’s just that one of the people Lidong was responsible for was Jingzhe.

Jingzhe: “You did it a bit obviously.”

As long as one was human, it was impossible not to see that Lidong was “staking out”; this was simply a naked target.

Lidong said coldly: “Because I didn’t want to do it.”

Jingzhe was silent for a moment, then saw Lidong look at him and slowly say: “Jingzhe, you were really lucky to leave the North Wing smoothly.”

His murmuring voice revealed a bit of suppressed strangeness.

Jingzhe subconsciously grabbed Lidong’s arm and said in confusion: “Why is the North Wing so important?”

Whether it was the Empress Dowager or Consort Kang, they had been secretly watching the North Wing.

Even if the Empress Dowager was worried about secrets being exposed because Talented Lady Yao probably died at her hands, which was a reason to watch the North Wing, why Consort Kang?

And now Nanny Chen is still her person?

Lidong hesitated to speak, finally standing silently in place.

Jingzhe could tell he wanted to speak, but due to some pressure, he couldn’t say it.

Jingzhe: “If it’s too dangerous, you don’t have to say it.”

Since the North Wing was dangerous, saying so much might bring trouble to Lidong.

Lidong: “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but I don’t know what exactly they are investigating either. You don’t have to worry too much; at least before you provoked Kangman this time, that side didn’t think much about you.”

…Does this mean that what is important about the North Wing is not the people, but the place itself?

Jingzhe frowned strangely.

“Kangman was arrested, Yongning Palace was burned; does this affect you greatly?” Jingzhe suddenly realized that if Kangman was the one contacting Nanny Ming, then these successive accidents would definitely affect those related.

If Kangman didn’t keep his mouth shut and leaked the secrets, then all of them would die.

At this moment, Jingzhe finally understood what Lidong was terrified of.

Jingzhe thoughtfully looked at the somewhat anxious Lidong.

He wasn’t old, with ordinary looks, and there was a bit of confusion on his face that wasn’t particularly good-looking.

Jingzhe said slowly: “If you are worried that you will be implicated next, why not take drastic measures?”

Lidong looked sharply at Jingzhe: “What do you mean?”

Jingzhe: “Go to the Office of Punishment.”

Lidong’s face changed greatly: “Are you crazy?”

“Anyway, it won’t be worse than now, right?” Jingzhe said calmly, “You must be clear that Kangman will definitely not be the last person. If he can’t keep his mouth shut and reveals something, then the people behind him, the people who handled things, none can escape.”

Lidong’s face was pale; this was exactly one of the reasons for his worry.

But the Office of Punishment?

Palace servants were terrified of this place; no one wanted to go in.

Jingzhe: “If you don’t want to go to the Office of Punishment, I have another way.”

“What way?”

“Go to the Imperial Guards Office.”

“Imperial Guards Office?” Lidong repeated in confusion, “What can I do at the Imperial Guards Office? Aren’t they…”

Jingzhe interrupted him, “Tell them what you can’t tell me.”

Lidong’s expression changed slightly, looking at Jingzhe warily.

For a long time, he tentatively said: “You, guessed it?”

There was one more thing he kept silent about, but this thing was too terrifying. It was the reason he desperately left the North Wing today, but also the reason he was certain he would die.

Jingzhe shook his head: “I don’t know.”

He just remembered Ding Peng.

The dead Ding Peng was the one who pulled Kangman into the group, so Ding Peng used to be Consort Kang’s person too. Although the poisoning incident had ended at the harem level so far, Jingzhe knew that the real culprit hadn’t been caught.

Looking at it now, Kangman appearing near the Imperial Kitchen and the Imperial Tea and Dining Room was definitely not an accident.

Then the person who acted might really be Consort Kang.

Consort Kang wanted to strike at Concubine De?

Even if she really poisoned Concubine De’s noodles, Consort Kang’s status might not be able to take over Concubine De’s power. Wouldn’t it be divided up by others then?

What good would Concubine De’s downfall do for Consort Kang?

But regardless, if the poisoning was done by Consort Kang, plus the vague and ’leave and die’ style of Ding Peng and Kangman, an insignificant character like Lidong would be more easily sacrificed.

The end would only be worse than Ding Peng.

Lidong must know something; otherwise, he wouldn’t be like a frightened bird.

“Do you think the Imperial Guards Office will really be useful?” Lidong said tentatively, “Let me tell you, coming out this time, I took a great risk.”

Jingzhe: “I also know that if you don’t choose now, I’m afraid you won’t be able to come out again after going back today.”

Lidong was horrified: “What do you mean?”

“You came out to find me; would others not know? Recently, many things have happened around me. If someone is interested, they will always be watching. This won’t be a secret. You have to be quick, otherwise it will be too late.”

Jingzhe said frankly.

This made Lidong anxious and uneasy. For a long time, the expression on his face changed several times, finally returning to calm.

He looked at Jingzhe and bowed: “Thank you for pointing out the way.”

Jingzhe shook his head: “It’s you who are confused by being involved.”

This was nothing.

Lidong smiled bitterly: “But if you didn’t tell me, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have thought of this move even if I had no way out.”

To some extent, this was considered actively surrendering to the enemy.

Before leaving, Lidong looked around, approached Jingzhe, whispered something in his ear, and then left hurriedly.

Jingzhe looked at Lidong’s figure disappearing at the end of the palace path with a strange expression, supporting his forehead with his hand.

…What?

…

In the cold winter days, getting up in the morning was troublesome.

The people from the Department of Palatial Affairs, taking advantage of the dim sky, yawned while silently rushing on their way.

“Ouch,” someone tripped over a tree branch and almost fell on the ground, “Why is there such a thing here?”

The wind blew all day yesterday, and by night, heavy snow fell. In the morning, the accumulated snow was over the ankles.

“This isn’t the place we need to clean. What are you doing?” His companion, waiting for him, looked at him bending down to touch, somewhat unable to understand.

“Still have to move it to the side first, lest someone else trips over it later, then…”

That person was originally speaking with a smile, but before he finished speaking, his fingers had already touched the so-called tree branch.

That wasn’t a tree branch; that was a human leg.

He gasped, fell onto the snow, and stared at the wall in a daze.

It was too dark just now, so he didn’t look carefully. It turned out that something was leaning against this wall. It was just that the snow was too thick, covering this thing, making it unclear in the dimness.

“What’s wrong with you?”

The companion came to help him up, but saw him scramble up, trembling hands, to touch the wall.

Soon, a pale human face was patted out from the snow.

…

Lidong was dead.

When Jingzhe heard this news, his movement of holding the brush froze, and the ink condensed on the brush tip couldn’t hold on, dropping onto the paper with a splash.

The crisp sound startled Jingzhe.

Yesterday when Lidong left, Jingzhe originally wanted to see him off.

The Imperial Guards Office wasn’t far from here, and he knew the way well. But Lidong refused to let him send him, shaking his head with a smile: “Although I haven’t been to the Imperial Guards Office, I know where it is. There’s no need for you to send me personally.”

He said meaningfully.

“You have enough trouble on you.”

If Jingzhe and Lidong appeared at the gate of the Imperial Guards Office at the same time, the attention Jingzhe attracted would be even more than before.

Lidong chose the Imperial Guards Office after all.

Because he was afraid of the torture of the Office of Punishment.

However, he didn’t expect that Lidong didn’t even touch the door of the Imperial Guards Office.

Jingzhe threw away the brush, pinching the center of his brows.

No, it wasn’t that he didn’t expect it. Yesterday he wanted to send Lidong because he thought of this possibility.

It’s just that after Lidong refused, Jingzhe didn’t insist.

After all, this was a negligible possibility. There was no need to stare at an ordinary palace servant like this. If Lidong went back, he might not come out again, but chasing and killing him was too big a fuss.

But Lidong really had an accident!

To do this, it was only possible to follow Lidong all the way and kill him before he arrived at the Imperial Guards Office.

Jingzhe’s ears still heard the voices of Jiang Jinming talking to other eunuchs.

“…No external injuries…”

“Yes, just some chilblains. On the body, there are no…”

“…Should be an accident…”

The body was discovered by the Department of Palatial Affairs. After reporting it and having it taken away, the identity was found out, and the Department of Palatial Affairs was notified as usual.

Jingzhe also knew because of this that the dead person was Lidong.

But this wouldn’t be an accident.

Jingzhe’s face was somewhat ugly.

If even a small palace servant like Lidong would be given such attention, to the point of risking action in the palace, it only meant that Lidong had an importance he himself hadn’t realized.

…For example, the last paragraph he said to Jingzhe before leaving.

Lidong said: “After Nanny Ming died, I once wanted to go to Yongning Palace to explore some ways. I thought, Nanny Ming was already dead, maybe I could do something. But I didn’t find Kangman, but stumbled upon something else.”

His voice was low, and then went even lower.

“I heard that Consort Kang, at that time, wasn’t speaking the official language.”

He directly omitted what he stumbled upon, only saying the last sentence.

The Helian Dynasty was vast and abundant.

There were various local accents from south to north. If one really wanted to count, it couldn’t be finished in a day and a night.

Therefore, for communication between different places, the official language was spoken.

The more authentic the accent, the less likely one would be laughed at. And in this palace, it was even more necessary to speak the official language; otherwise, how to communicate?

Consort Kang wasn’t speaking the official language… But Consort Kang was born in the capital, and her ancestral home was also in the capital. She could only and would only speak the official language.

If Consort Kang could speak not only the official language, then either… this person was no longer Consort Kang long ago, or Consort Kang did something…

Jingzhe’s heart beat wildly, and a bizarre and strange guess emerged in his heart.

He repeatedly recalled the terrified expression of Lidong when he came to find him yesterday, and the caution in his words before leaving.

…Did Lidong hear what language Consort Kang was speaking?

Lidong was from the Northwest. He sold himself to human traffickers back then, changed hands several times, and was lucky to arrive in the capital.

This was what Wuyou told Jingzhe back then.

Could it be that what Lidong heard was the Northwest dialect?

No, it shouldn’t be like this. Northwest, Northwest… Jingzhe murmured. If it was this place, it would only remind people of the boundless desolation outside the Great Wall…

Outside the Great Wall, foreign tribes, not the official language!

Jingzhe stood up suddenly, his eyes full of disbelief.