Chapter 362

Wei Yuewu smiled at Wei Qiufu. Then, as she saw Wei Qiufu’s smile stiffen, she slowly retracted her gaze and continued to pay attention to the event in front of her.

“Who is it?” The Empress’ palace maid snapped.

The palace maid, who was kneeling on the ground, replied with a trembling voice, “I-It’s Eunuch Zhang Yu, who is usually working with us.” She knew that she would probably die soon, yet she hoped that she would not implicate her family.

“Go and investigate!” The Empress, who heard the remark, frowned, her expression cold and gloomy. Today’s ceremony was important to her too. Now that such a thing had happened, as the head of the harem, she was also very embarrassed.

Zhaoyi Tu hid herself in the darkness, coldly watching the Empress’ reaction.

A eunuch hurriedly ran out of the hall. The so-called Eunuch Zhang Yu was a staff working at the royal family’s small ancestral hall, so he did not need to go far. He just needed to bring him over from the side room.

In the hall, the Empress’ palace maid continued to interrogate. “Why do you feel that he is suspicious?”

“Eunuch Zhang Yu wasn’t in charge of things like clothes and sorts, but he suddenly came to us yesterday afternoon and said that he wanted to see the Third Princess’ rainbow-colored clothes. I figured that it was not a serious issue, so I brought him over to have a look. Then, someone looked for me, so I went away, and Eunuch Zhang Yu left when I came back.”

“I opened a few boxes to check the items and didn’t find anything unusual, so I closed the boxes and walked out.” The speaker was the palace maid who was holding the red clothes. She was obviously the leader of this group of palace maids.

“I-I remembered seeing Eunuch Zhang Yu bring a box out in the afternoon!” Another palace maid also thought of something and said anxiously.

“Yes, I saw him too. I asked him where he went after he came back, but he looked panicked and seemed as if he couldn’t answer my question!” Another palace maid spoke up.

At this moment, the palace maids started to provide information about the so-called Eunuch Zhang Yu. It was almost certain that there was something wrong with this eunuch.

It was highly likely that he stole the two sets of clothes, but as a eunuch, he couldn’t wear such dresses. Why did he steal them?

Wei Yuewu, who had been standing in the crowd, donned a surprised expression just like everybody else. Only when her long eyelashes fluttered slightly did her lips curl into a cold smile. Her gaze fell on the two palace maids who were filled with despair.

This mastermind did everything he or she could for the sake of framing her. Zhang Yu and these two palace maids were their first batch of scapegoats.

Judging from this, the mastermind was indeed vicious. Just a few words could make people die miserably, and no one could see anything malicious about the method.

Compared to those arrogant and domineering criminals, this method was even more vicious and diabolical!

The eunuch, who was sent away by the Empress, rushed back in a hurry to the Empress’ side and reported in a low voice, “Your Majesty, Zhang Yu hung himself in his own room!”

“He’s dead?” The Empress looked at the Emperor, who stood beside her and also heard the news.

The Emperor’s face immediately darkened.

“Send someone to investigate how he died, how long he has been dead, and if there’s any sign of intruders!” The Empress ordered sternly. “Also, check if anyone saw where Zhang Yu went!”

Of course, Empress Tu did not believe that Zhang Yu kept the clothes because he wanted to wear them.

Only women would like this kind of dress. He was a eunuch, not a woman. Why would he risk his life to steal those clothes?

“Yes!” The eunuch hurriedly ran down again.

The Third Princess leisurely walked to the Emperor and Empress and called out, “Father Emperor, Mother Empress!”

Tears fell from the corners of her eyes, but she forced a smile on her face. Anyone who looked at her would think that she was sensible and mature. “Father Emperor, Mother Empress, now that things have come to this, we can only worship the mountain and river deities with these clothes. Although two sets were missing, at least we still have twelve complete sets of clothes!”

Realizing that she was crying, the Third Princess quickly turned her head and wiped away the tears in her eyes with a handkerchief. She tried to smile even more brightly.

She wasn’t irritated and she didn’t demand the Emperor and Empress to investigate the matter either. She only succumbed to reality and was ready to make do with two sets of clothes missing.

A woman’s coming-of-age ceremony was the most important thing in her life, let alone a princess of the royal family. In addition, the princess had been praying for the prosperity of the country. How could it go on casually?

“Empress, what do you think about this?” The Emperor asked coldly, his face as dark as the night sky.

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I will get someone to investigate it. I won’t let the Third Princess suffer. Since the clothes were missing, I’ll ask my maid to get two more sets, but the color will be a little different.” Empress Tu pondered for a moment and said, “The Fourth Princess had actually also prepared a few sets…”

“Mother, those are mine!” When the Fourth Princess, who was standing at the side, heard that the Empress was going to give the clothes she had prepared to the Third Princess, she immediately became furious.

“It’s still early to use your clothes, so we can make new ones in the future, but the Third Princess’ event is more urgent.” Empress Tu gently comforted the Fourth Princess and winked at her. However, the Fourth Princess was exasperated. Wen Caidie’s clothes were gone, but why did she have to take her clothes? She wanted to use the clothes to worship the heavens too.

“Mother Empress, I…” The Fourth Princess wanted to argue her points, but Wen Tianyao interjected her directly. “That’s it. Go to the place where the Fourth Princess’ sacrificial gifts were prepared and bring two sets of clothes over. If there is no pure blue or purple, bring the ones that are in similar colors.”

The Third Princess prepared the seven-colored clothes that symbolized the rainbow in the sky, while the Fourth Princess prepared a set of clothes with twelve colors that symbolized each month of the year.

When the eunuch heard this, he retreated and hurriedly assigned someone to take the Fourth Princess’ clothes.

“Brother!” The Fourth Princess was so aggrieved that tears were about to fall. She glared at the Third Princess indignantly, feeling that she always had to be the one to suffer in the end even though it was Wen Caidie’s fault in the first place. The same thing had happened repeatedly since they were little girls.

It was clearly Wen Caidie’s fault, but everyone was on her side, including her own brother and mother.

“Mother Empress, Royal Brother, you don’t have to do this. The Fourth Younger Sister’s clothes are also going to be used as a whole. It’ll be incomplete if I take two sets of her clothes,” The Third Princess uttered softly with tears in her eyes.

“Never mind, we’ve made the decision. There’s still more than a month to go for your sister’s ceremony!” The Emperor decisively affirmed while waving his hand.

The Fourth Princess wanted to say something, but when she saw her mother’s cold gaze and the Emperor’s unhappy face, she could only grit her teeth and swallow her anger. Although she was the arrogant Fourth Princess, she knew that she could not talk back to her Father Emperor.

“Thank you, Father Emperor. Thank you, Mother Empress. Fourth Younger Sister, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. When this matter is over, I will send someone to supervise the seamstresses who make your clothes and make sure that the clothes look exactly the same as before.” The Third Princess politely thanked the Emperor and Empress. Then, she apologized to the Fourth Princess with a modest tone.

But her words enraged the Fourth Princess even more. What did the Third Princess mean by that?! She could send someone to supervise the seamstresses herself. It sounded as if the Third Princess’ people could do a better job than hers!

However, the Fourth Princess only glared at the Third Princess with hatred. She didn’t say anything.

Wei Yuewu observed the mental confrontation between the two princesses, and her gaze slightly deepened. The Third Princess feigned her fragility and weakness and seemed to suppress the Fourth Princess, but with the Fourth Princess’ temperament, she would definitely not let herself suffer any grievance.

Wei Yuewu believed that if the Emperor was not present at this time, the current situation would be different, and the Emperor could not keep an eye on everything in the harem.

Soon, two sets of the Fourth Princess’ clothes were brought over. Although they were somewhat different, they basically looked very similar.

Thus, the fourteen sets of clothes were stacked layer by layer. The Third Princess took a small fire stick from the monk’s hand and lit the clothes. Immediately, the few sets of beautiful clothes burned violently.

Before long, the clothes turned into ashes!

At this time, the eunuch, whom Empress had sent out to investigate, also came back. He walked to the Empress’ side and reported in a low voice.

“Your Majesty, I’ve asked around. Zhang Yu took a box to Chu Xiu Palace, and I was told that he went to see the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang’s Sixth Young Lady and Fourth Young Lady. He claimed that he went there to send pastries to them on behalf of Zhaoyi Tu, and then he left in a hurry.”

“Sister, have you sent pastries to the two young ladies of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang?” The Empress turned to look at Zhaoyi Tu in surprise.

“Sister, I-I haven’t. Even if I had, I would have sent the pastries to all the young ladies and not just the two of them. Also, I’ve never seen that Zhang Yu before. You can verify it.” Zhaoyi Tu raised her eyes and answered gently in confusion.

The Third Princess was her biological daughter. After such a thing had happened during her daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony, Zhaoyi Tu was still able to maintain such a solemn bearing. It was truly rare.

“Empress, this matter should have nothing to do with Zhaoyi Tu. I’m thinking that the bastard eunuch did such a thing by using her name,” The Emperor said to the Empress while looking at Zhaoyi Tu with a pitiful glance.

The long pearl curtain of the crown on his head covered his face. From Wei Yuewu’s angle, she could only see that it was a dignified middle-aged man. Perhaps it was because of the lighting, Wei Yuewu felt that his side profile looked rather familiar as if she had seen him before.

But when Wei Yuewu looked more closely, it was clearly a middle-aged man that she had never seen before. Ever since she entered the capital, she had not met many people, and there was no such dignified middle-aged man in her memory.

She lowered her head slightly and concealed the doubt in her eyes. Was it because of Crown Prince Wen Tianyao that she felt that the Emperor’s side profile looked somewhat familiar?

“Call the two young ladies of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang over!” The Empress raised her eyes and coldly looked at Wei Yuewu.