Reporting Xing Ruolan?
Di Lingwei hadn’t taken this palace maid, Xiang He, very seriously at first, but upon hearing this, her interest was immediately piqued.
All the palace maids within the Imperial Palace fell under the jurisdiction of the Chief Palace Steward, Xing Ruolan. Yet now, a palace maid had come to report Xing Ruolan. What did this imply?
As a maid under Xing Ruolan’s management, she must know a great deal about her.
Di Lingwei was suddenly fully alert. On the surface, however, she remained calm and composed, displaying the unruffled demeanor of a ruler. She asked, “Tell Zhen in detail about this matter you wish to report. Let Zhen hear it.”
At that moment, Xiang He was under tremendous pressure. Di Lingwei’s poised and unperturbed stance made her back feel cold with sweat.
But she was unwilling to lose this opportunity. She had harbored resentment towards Xing Ruolan for a long time. However, as a mere palace maid, how could she possibly deal with Xing Ruolan? It was only recently that she had sensed an opening.
In the past few days, she had noticed that Xing Ruolan seemed to have fallen out of favor.
The people Di Lingwei frequently kept by her side had become Wang Feifei and even Mu Fuwan. Xing Ruolan’s status was greatly diminished compared to before.
Although Xiang He didn’t know the reason—didn’t understand how Xing Ruolan had offended Her Majesty—it was precisely this situation that made her feel her chance had come.
Without wasting any time, Xiang He dutifully began explaining: “In the palace, the Chief Steward has been secretly doing something all along. This Servant suspects the Chief Steward may be harboring ulterior motives.”
“What specifically is she doing?”
“She finds ways to push out those of us who have served in the palace for a long time—the ‘old-timers’—and then inserts her own people. Now, most of the palace maids in the Imperial Palace are her people.”
Xiang He spilled everything she knew.
Di Lingwei listened, and inwardly she was jolted. She realized she had overlooked a potential blind spot.
Within the Imperial Palace, all the palace maids were managed by Xing Ruolan. This meant Xing Ruolan could indeed use this authority to plant her own people as maids. If she truly wanted to stage an assassination, she could even arrange for every palace maid to be an assassin.
The thought sent a cold chill down Di Lingwei’s spine.
She questioned Xiang He further for details, and Xiang He told her everything she knew, including how the “old-timers” had been forced out by Xing Ruolan.
“This Servant witnessed with her own eyes a palace maid being beaten with rods by the Chief Steward. It was horrifically brutal.”
“This Servant has also heard that the Chief Steward has even killed some palace maids.”
“Unless they are her trusted confidantes, installed by her, any palace maid who displeases the Chief Steward will be treated with the utmost ruthlessness.”
“Your Majesty, the Chief Steward is nothing like the gentle figure she presents on the surface. That’s pure deception. In reality, she is terrifying.”
“Your Majesty, you must seek justice for us servants.”
As Xiang He spoke, she even began to cry, presenting the picture of someone utterly bullied by Xing Ruolan.
Di Lingwei listened with a heavy heart.
Without the unique ability of her Mystic Left Eye, she might not have believed Xiang He’s words. After all, Xing Ruolan’s usual demeanor was so full of gentleness, completely the ideal image of a virtuous wife and loving mother.
But the Left Eye could not be deceived.
Under the Left Eye’s scrutiny, Xing Ruolan’s problematic personality had long been discovered by Di Lingwei. Therefore, on that aspect at least, Di Lingwei could be certain that Xiang He was telling the truth.
If that part was true, then the rest was likely correct as well.
After pondering for a moment, Di Lingwei said to Xiang He, “Zhen has heard what you reported. You may withdraw for now. Zhen will decide how to handle this matter.”
“This Servant takes her leave.”
Xiang He didn’t dare press Di Lingwei. She could only respectfully withdraw.
After Xiang He left, Di Lingwei turned her head and asked, “Feifei, Little Wan, what are your opinions on this matter?”
Wang Feifei and Mu Fuwan exchanged a look.
They had heard Xiang He’s entire account. After listening, they found it utterly unbelievable.
Xing Ruolan was that kind of person?
To be honest, they had trouble believing it. As people who also lived in the Imperial Palace, they felt they had a decent understanding of Xing Ruolan. She didn’t seem like that type of person at all.
After a moment’s hesitation, Wang Feifei said, “Feifei feels that maid’s words are questionable. Chief Steward Xing has always been very gentle. It’s hard to imagine that gentleness was an act.”
Di Lingwei looked at Mu Fuwan: “Little Wan, what do you think?”
Mu Fuwan considered it for a moment. “This Subject’s view is similar to Feifei’s. Chief Steward Xing has always given people a very good impression.”
Neither of them had seen Xing Ruolan’s other side.
Di Lingwei thought for a moment, then said, “Regardless, since Xiang He claims that Ruolan has been planting palace maids, you two shall go and retrieve the identity dossier on the palace maids for Zhen to examine… Mm, Little Wan, you can go retrieve it alone.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Mu Fuwan nodded.
Such documents would be recorded at the Ministry of Personnel. As long as Mu Fuwan brought the golden token representing the Female Emperor’s authority and acted in Di Lingwei’s name, it wouldn’t be much trouble to retrieve them.
After Mu Fuwan left, Di Lingwei continued to ponder.
She recalled a past incident: the time someone had poisoned the chicken soup meant for her.
Although that incident had no effect on her because, as a transmigrator, she no longer liked chicken soup and thus avoided it, she hadn’t forgotten. The mastermind behind the poisoning attempt had never been found, and they were likely still plotting to poison her again.
Wei Nian might have known who the culprit was, but she had refused to say a word until her death. As for the palace maid, Ying He, who had been silenced by Wei Nian, she was merely an accomplice.
Could that mastermind behind the scenes be Xing Ruolan?
The thought had just surfaced when Di Lingwei dismissed it as unlikely.
If it were Xing Ruolan, she would have had too many opportunities to poison her. She likely would have succeeded long ago, especially considering the poison used in the chicken soup had seemed incredibly potent.
But if it wasn’t Xing Ruolan, then who could it be?
It wasn’t long before Mu Fuwan returned from the Ministry of Personnel.
Of course, before that, Xing Ruolan had come back first. Unaware of what had occurred, she found nothing amiss in Di Lingwei’s demeanor. Di Lingwei simply instructed her to wait outside.
After Mu Fuwan returned, she handed a thick dossier to Di Lingwei. “Your Majesty, please look. This is the dossier containing various information on the palace maids.”
Di Lingwei accepted the dossier and flipped through it. The records included dates, making it easy to check the timeline.
As she read, Di Lingwei’s brow furrowed slightly.
She noticed that all the palace maids recruited this year shared a common trait: their backgrounds were described as having no one to rely on, utterly alone… and while there were also descriptions like “clean background,” it was still suspicious.
These people had all been arranged by Xing Ruolan, so the Ministry of Personnel likely never asked many questions, and probably hadn’t examined this dossier either.
It seems Xing Ruolan really has been planting people here. What exactly is she trying to do?
Di Lingwei fell into deep thought.
