Rebirth: The flatterer prince I raised couldn't be so clingy

The originally warm room felt like an icy cave after only a heater was left. Gu Qingzhi stood up, poured a cup of hot tea for Feng Zhanye and handed it to him.

"Your Highness, have some tea to warm yourself up."

Feng Zhanye looked back at her and reached out to take the teacup.

The heavy stone in her heart finally loosened, and Gu Qingzhi took the opportunity to ask, "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"

Feng Zhanye returned to his dazed state, as if that moment of clarity was just a last burst of light.

Two days passed like this, and it was evening again. When Gu Qingzhi thought that he would continue to shut himself up like this, she heard the person in front of her speak.

"Azhi, you have to help me with something."

Feng Zhanye's voice was very soft, as if he was talking to himself, which made Gu Qingzhi feel as if she was in another world. If it weren't for her extraordinary hearing, she would have ignored this abrupt sentence.

"You said."

Gu Qingzhi leaned closer to him, waiting for his next words.

But after waiting for a long while, no sound came into her ears. Just when Gu Qingzhi was not sure whether she was hallucinating, Feng Zhanye's voice sounded again.

"I want to know who poisoned me. Please help me find out."

Gu Qingzhi's heart tightened. She had actually planned to do this a long time ago, but Feng Zhanye's condition in the past two days made her dare not leave for a single step, so she had to give up this idea temporarily.

"Okay, wait for me here."

Gu Qingzhi slipped out of the mourning hall while emptying the ashes, and began to think about how to investigate. The person she suspected the most was naturally the guard who checked the food box that day.

But this huge palace did not allow her to move around whenever she wanted. If she wanted to find the guard, how to leave the harem became the main problem.

After much thought, pretending to be a palace maid is the most appropriate way.

She looked around and saw a group of eunuchs queuing up and walking hurriedly towards her not far away. There were not many people passing by where she was, so it was a suitable place to take action.

Gu Qingzhi took off her mourning clothes and hid in the shadow of the alley, staring quietly at the people passing by her. No one noticed that there was a person hiding in the narrow alley beside her.

They didn't notice until a hand reached out from the darkness and instantly dragged away the person at the end of the team.

The eunuch who was dragged over by Gu Qingzhi was about to scream, but he didn't expect that a hand had already pinched the back of his neck. With a little force, the man's eyes turned black and he fainted.

Gu Qingzhi quietly knocked the man down, took off his dark red official robe, put it on herself, and walked out of the alley.

It was almost nightfall and it was time to light the lamps in the palace. The palace servants were the most tired at this time. Gu Qingzhi followed a group of eunuchs out of the harem very smoothly and walked towards the triple palace gates of that day.

She hid in the dark and carefully observed the team of guards who were currently guarding the third palace gate, but did not find the person she was looking for.

After thinking for a moment, she bravely grabbed the eunuch who was on duty not far away.

"Sir, may I ask, have you ever seen a palace guard with a fierce look?"

The eunuch glanced at her strangely and did not answer her question. Instead, he asked her, "Why are you so ignorant of the rules? Which palace are you from?"

Gu Qingzhi quickly thought about it and answered, "I was delivering food to the cold palace. Today, I passed by the funeral of Concubine Hui and was stopped by the Fifth Prince. He asked me to look for the guard. Please forgive me for offending you, sir."

Seeing that she was sincere in admitting her fault, the eunuch did not argue with her any more. He just thought for a moment and asked, "Fifth Prince? Why did he summon the palace guards?"

Gu Qingzhi shook her head and pretended to be embarrassed and said, "I'm sure you also know about that prince. It's really hard for a servant to guess what the master is thinking."

The image of His Royal Highness Prince Rui, who was deeply loved by the Emperor in the palace, naturally emerged in his mind. It seemed that he was indeed the kind of person who would act on his impulse.

"Okay, you are from the cold palace and have little knowledge. If you offend them again, I will go and ask for you."

The eunuch rolled his eyes at her, walked towards the palace gate, but after talking to the guards for a few words, he turned back.

"That person has already changed his shift. He is probably already back to the guardhouse outside the palace. I'll ask his colleagues to tell him to report back tomorrow. You go and report back."

Gu Qingzhi thought that this might be the case, but today was the last day of Concubine Hui's funeral, and she and Feng Zhanye would leave the palace tomorrow.

She still thanked the eunuch profusely and handed over a few taels of silver. She saw that although he looked disgusted, he still pocketed it exactly.

On the way back to the harem, Gu Qingzhi thought to herself that this route of investigating the guards tonight was no longer feasible, and she could only make other plans after leaving the palace tomorrow. But where else could she investigate?

Suddenly, a figure appeared not far away, and Gu Qingzhi looked closely and found that it was the guard she was looking for.

Isn't this a piece of cake?

The palace gates had been closed at this time. Logically, in order to avoid suspicion, the palace guards should not stay in the palace. However, instead of going back, he entered the harem. It was really strange.

Gu Qingzhi followed him stealthily with light steps. The man was extremely cautious and would look back every few steps to confirm if there was anyone around. Fortunately, there were many dark places where they could hide along the way.

He turned left and right and finally slipped into an inconspicuous alley. At the end of the alley, a palace maid was waiting at a small door.

Gu Qingzhi looked at the low wall beside her, climbed up in a few steps, and moved towards the two people.

"Why are you taking so long?"

"Don't blame me, Aunt Xianzhi. I have to stay away from people. If someone sees me in the harem at this hour, my head will be in danger."

Gu Qingzhi finally found a position where she could hear clearly and lay down on the wall, listening carefully to the conversation between the two.

The palace maid snorted coldly: "You weren't worried when you poisoned the one in the cold palace?"

"Don't worry, aunt. I have the juggling skills inherited from my ancestors. The food box is deep, and I put it in a paper bag in the corner. No one will be able to find the flaw." The guard was quite proud.

Now Gu Qingzhi could confirm that it was this guard who poisoned the Poria cocos cake.

"What else can I say? You have been summoned for questioning. You are so inefficient. If Cao Shuyi hadn't given you advice, you would have really thought you had a eloquent tongue."

The guard smiled awkwardly: "Aunt is right, it's all thanks to Shuyi."

If what the two said was true, the person who directed the guards behind the scenes was probably Cao Shuyi mentioned by the palace maid.

If this wasn't the imperial palace, Gu Qingzhi would have wanted to kill both of them right now.

"This is your reward, take it."

The maid took out a purse, stuffed it into the guard's hand, and casually said, "Keep your mouth shut after you take the money. If I hear a word about this anywhere, you know the consequences."

"Don't worry, auntie. I won't go around saying anything. But now that the matter is done, please say a few good words to Cao Shuyi for me as agreed."

He looked at the palace maid expectantly, but she burst out laughing the next moment.

Gu Qingzhi only felt that there was something wrapped in her sleeve, but it was too dark around to see clearly, until the guard groaned.

He looked down and saw that his heart had been pierced by a dagger. Blood gushed out and he fell to the ground without even having time to call for help.

"As for not talking nonsense, the mouth of the dead is more reliable." The palace maid took out a handkerchief from her bosom, wiped the blood off her hands, and opened the small door behind her.

Several eunuchs were standing behind the door, and it seemed that they had been waiting there for a long time.

"Go and deal with him." The maid took the purse back from his hand and gave orders to the people behind her. Soon, the place was as clean as if nothing had happened.

Gu Qingzhi waited until everyone left before jumping off the wall. He looked at the sky and thought that since the matter had been investigated clearly, it would be better to go back and tell Feng Zhanye as soon as possible.

She changed her clothes and went back to the mourning hall, only to find a person standing in the room where Feng Zhanye had been.

She took two steps forward and saw the fifth prince Feng Yuhan walking around the room in circles, scratching his head with an anxious look on his face.

Seeing her, he hurriedly said, "You're finally back! Go check it out! I'm afraid Third Brother might be desperate and want to commit suicide!"