Little Aunt was dead.
Xing Ruolan’s voice carried a slight choke: “This Servant’s fate is not good. My parents died early. It was my Little Aunt’s constant support that allowed this Servant to survive. To this Servant, Little Aunt was extremely important. Her death was something this Servant could not accept. Thus, this Servant resolved to uncover the truth of the matter. But to uncover the truth, this Servant had to enter the Imperial Palace.”
“Fortunately, Little Aunt had trained this Servant beforehand. This Servant had some knowledge of the palace’s various etiquettes and rules, and thus passed the palace maid examination smoothly, becoming a palace maid from then on.”
“This Servant’s goal was simply to find the person who framed Little Aunt and seek revenge. To this end, this Servant investigated all the senior palace maids, but was never able to uncover the truth. It seems very few people knew about this matter. But this Servant did not give up and has been investigating ever since.”
Xing Ruolan spoke slowly.
She had spent over a decade investigating this matter, but the more time passed, the harder it became to find the truth. To this day, she was actually somewhat despairing, feeling she might never be able to uncover it.
After all, she had committed an unforgivable mistake. Among the palace maids she led, so many had come with the intent to assassinate Di Lingwei.
Although this was not her will, the people were brought in by her, so she had to take responsibility.
In her current state, how could she continue to hold the position of Chief Palace Steward?
In her current state, how could she remain in the palace?
Once she left the Imperial Palace, there was no doubt she would never be able to continue investigating her Little Aunt’s framing. So, in the end, she confessed everything.
When she finally spoke of this matter that had been bottled up in her heart for over a decade, Xing Ruolan inexplicably felt much more relaxed, as if a great mountain that had been pressing down on her shoulders was finally removed.
“Was your Little Aunt named Xing Lan?” Di Lingwei asked after hearing Xing Ruolan’s account.
Upon hearing this, Xing Ruolan was greatly startled.
Because her Little Aunt was indeed named Xing Lan, yet Di Lingwei already knew this.
In that instant, Xing Ruolan understood. No wonder Di Lingwei had been so certain she was hiding something. So Her Majesty truly knew everything.
But how did Her Majesty know?
She clearly hadn’t told anyone about this matter. Why did the other party know? Was it really true that nothing could be hidden from her? And in front of such a sovereign, one who could seemingly perceive all things, she had actually tried to conceal things. How utterly foolish she had been.
Thinking this, Xing Ruolan sighed and said, “Yes, this Servant’s Little Aunt was named Xing Lan.”
There was nothing left to hide.
Xing Ruolan had come seeking revenge for her own matter. Although the target of her revenge had yet to be identified, it likely had nothing to do with Di Lingwei. That meant the assassination attempt on Di Lingwei was indeed a separate matter from hers.
On this point, Di Lingwei chose to believe her. After all, she could see Xing Ruolan’s information panel. That information was the answer.
What to do next?
Di Lingwei fell into thought.
Regarding the matter of Xing Lan, rigorously interrogating those senior palace maids might have yielded some clues. But those senior palace maids were all dead, killed by Yun Xiang and her group. Currently, there was no way to question them.
It seemed she would have to find former palace maids or Imperial Guards who had retired from the palace to possibly learn something.
No, there was still one candidate!
Di Lingwei suddenly thought of something and instructed Mu Fuwan: “Go and summon Eunuch Zhao De to see Zhen.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Mu Fuwan immediately withdrew.
Zhao De was the Chief Palace Steward during the Shenyuan Era. He had spent many years in the Imperial Palace and was a eunuch… Before Di Lingwei ascended the throne, the imperial throne was generally occupied by male members of the royal family. The Chief Palace Steward had always been a eunuch, and there were quite a few eunuchs in the palace.
However, since Di Lingwei was a woman, many things had changed after her ascension. Now, not a single eunuch could be seen in the Imperial Palace, and the number of palace maids had increased considerably.
The former Chief Palace Steward, Eunuch Zhao, hadn’t retired solely because of Di Lingwei’s ascension. In truth, he had backed the wrong faction during the political upheaval. Although he hadn’t sided with the Crown Prince’s faction but with another prince’s faction, backing the wrong side ultimately came with a price.
Di Lingwei naturally had no memory of the events back then, but she had learned from some records that Zhao De was eventually given to the Peerless General, Wu Jitian.
But why was he given to Wu Jitian?
Di Lingwei thought for a moment, then simply asked Wang Feifei beside her: “Feifei, do you still remember why Zhao De became General Wu’s man?”
Wang Feifei immediately showed an odd expression: “Isn’t it because Zhao De was an excellent bootlicker? Wu Jitian almost beat him to death, but in the end, because he licked his boots so well, he pleased Wu Jitian. Then Wu Jitian asked Your Majesty for Zhao De.”
Di Lingwei nodded thoughtfully.
Wu Jitian, as one of the Four Great Generals, had asked her for a single person—the insignificant Zhao De. It was only natural for Di Lingwei to agree directly.
“Your Majesty wishes to learn about Chief Steward Xing’s Little Aunt through Zhao De?” Wang Feifei asked curiously.
Hearing this, Xing Ruolan, who was still kneeling on the ground, felt her heart stir. She looked up at Di Lingwei with some hope.
She held little expectation of remaining in the palace. But if she could, before anything else, figure out who exactly framed her Little Aunt, that would mean more to her than anything.
“Yes, Zhen wants to get to the bottom of this. After all, Ruolan is Our Chief Steward, is she not? Zhen must always consider the concerns of Our subordinates,” Di Lingwei said calmly.
Hearing Di Lingwei’s words, Xing Ruolan was stunned.
Consider the concerns of subordinates?
Such words left a mixture of complicated feelings in her heart.
She felt she still didn’t understand Di Lingwei well enough. If she had known earlier that Di Lingwei would choose to help her, she would have confessed this secret she had kept hidden in her heart for who knows how long. Why had she insisted on acting alone in the shadows? It was precisely because she concealed things that this incident of palace maids attempting to assassinate Her Majesty had happened.
For a moment, a feeling of guilt inevitably arose in Xing Ruolan’s heart.
“Ruolan.” Di Lingwei’s voice came.
“Your Majesty, this Servant is here.” Xing Ruolan responded respectfully.
“You do not need to keep kneeling. Stand and wait to the side,” Di Lingwei instructed calmly.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Xing Ruolan rose and obediently stood to one side.
Wang Feifei glanced at Xing Ruolan, then her gaze returned to Di Lingwei.
A ruler willing to consider her subordinates’ concerns would undoubtedly earn greater gratitude and devotion from those below. Wang Feifei felt that Di Lingwei was now undoubtedly the best emperor in history, bar none.
They did not have to wait long before Mu Fuwan returned, accompanied by the former Chief Palace Steward, Zhao De.
