The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

After sending the most troublesome kid out of the palace, Xie Yuzhen continued to investigate the origin of the small wooden statue.

Compared to Yan Xun, who was unlucky enough to lose his life, his junior sister, the actress who was the former third prince consort's concubine, was much tougher and kept her mouth shut. It seemed that she had received special training in interrogation. It was not that she could not get anything out of the interrogation, but she was very good at giving some irrelevant answers to cover up more important information. If she was not careful, she would let go of the really important information.

Outside the palace, Xie Yi was still struggling with the evil cult woman.

Marquis Kangnan, who failed to educate his son well, was fined three years' salary at the morning court this morning. If Princess Fengning had not been busy drying her books and was unwilling to pursue the matter, and if Marquis Kangnan had been sincere in admitting his mistake and acted quickly, the punishment would probably have been more than just this.

"Your Majesty, I can confirm that the carving technique of this wooden statue was done by the Mi family of Luzhou (used as a surname that sounds the same as "Fu")." The supervisor in the craftsman's workshop was a middle-aged man with dark skin and thick knuckles. He carefully examined the small wooden statue from top to bottom three times before finally coming to his conclusion.

The supervisor pointed out several lines on the wooden statue to Xia Zhi, who was standing by, and explained in detail the special features of these carvings: "... Many people who are good at wood carving can do this kind of smooth knife skills, but the material of this wooden statue is a little special. It is softer than several commonly used woods and has a faint fragrance. The carvings on this wooden statue are not only smooth, but also can guide the very faint fragrance out of these carvings just right... This technique, I only had the honor of seeing it in the hands of the carving master of the Mi family in Luzhou 20 years ago when I followed my master to travel around."

"Mi?" Xie Yuzhen didn't really know much about this family.

Seeing this, the supervisor took the initiative to explain to her: "The Mi family of Luzhou is not very famous in other places, but in our wood carving business, it is one of the best 'old families'."

"The Mi family has been a skilled carver for generations, and some people have worked in the workshop, but that was 20 years ago during the reign of the previous emperor." Si Jian slowly recalled, "The head of the Mi family of that generation was ordered by the previous emperor to carve a birthday gift for Empress Dowager Ciqing - a screen with a hundred children offering birthday gifts. But somehow, on the day of the gift, when the screen came up, everyone discovered that the boy who led the birthday celebrations had a broken neck..."

Empress Dowager Ciqing was the mother of the late emperor and the grandmother of the current emperor. She had passed away long ago.

The ceremony of one hundred sons offering birthday congratulations was very particular in the Great Sheng Dynasty. Usually, the boy who took the lead in congratulating the birthday boy usually represented the eldest son or the most promising child of the birthday boy. In other words, on the screen of one hundred sons offering birthday congratulations carved by the master Mi, the boy representing the late emperor actually had a broken neck.

Although the late emperor at that time was not as crazy as he showed in his later years, he could not tolerate such an incident that was like a curse on himself.

Mi Da was immediately thrown into prison, and his family members in the capital were also arrested. Even his own family members who lived far away in Luzhou were implicated and all of them were reduced to slavery.

At this point, the supervisor sighed with great regret and said, "When I met the master in Luzhou, although he was a good carver, he was already a slave. He spent all his efforts to carve a thousand-armed and thousand-eyed Guanyin statue for the then Luzhou County Magistrate, just to ask for the whereabouts of his children who were also enslaved and sold to an unknown place..."

"It's a pity that there are so many people and he is a criminal. Even though the Guanyin statue is indeed stunning, he died of illness soon after exhausting all his efforts. How could anyone really remember his last regret and look for his children?"

Looking at the exquisite wooden statue, Xie Yuzhen felt a little sad about the Mi family's experience, but she was always hard-hearted towards possible enemies. After sighing softly, she grabbed Si Jian and asked, "He has a pair of children. Did they also inherit the master's craftsmanship?"

The supervisor was stunned for a moment, and recalled: "The eldest son of the master was already quite old when he was sold. I have heard that he should also be very good at wood carving. The master's daughter is younger than her brother, only five or six years old. Moreover, girls are weaker than boys. At her age, even if she is influenced by her family, she will not have many opportunities to practice the family's skills. In our line of work, it is most taboo to be inexperienced... If your majesty wants to find out who carved this wooden statue, I suggest you check the Mi family man."

"I understand. I have troubled the Supervisor to make this trip today. Lady Yang will see him off." Xie Yuzhen nodded.

Yang Xigu took her bulging purse and personally escorted the supervisor out of Shouning Palace.

Xia Zhi volunteered, "I will check the case files of the Mi family right away. Since the Mi family was demoted because they offended the previous emperor, their family members and descendants should be registered as official slaves. The sale of official slaves in each state would record their whereabouts. If we send someone to Luzhou today to retrieve the files, take a boat down the river, and come back as fast as possible, we will be able to find out where the two children are in less than two months."

Xie Yuzhen continued to nod. The case was too old, and she doubted whether she could find any records. But at least she had found a clue. She would find as much as she could. It was better than nothing. "The Red Sun Cult has always avoided the capital. This time they took the initiative to enter the capital. There must have been someone in the capital secretly supporting them. If I don't find this person, I will never be able to put my mind at ease and prepare for the tour."

"That woman is very stubborn, but it is not difficult to find out who held the pass and indenture between her and her senior brother, and who they came into contact with later. It's just too troublesome and will take more time and manpower." Xie Yuzhen has been trained by the many affairs of the previous dynasty and the harem and is very good at handling such complicated and troublesome matters.

She thought for a moment and said, "I seem to remember that Concubine Liu is also from the south, and her family is in Liangzhou?"

Liangzhou is not too far from Luzhou and is connected to Luzhou by an extremely convenient canal.

Although Concubine Liu's family was just an ordinary household and she herself was not a strong person, she gave birth to the emperor's sixth prince and had always been on good terms with Concubine Chen Hui, who came from a scholarly family.

These two raised the Sixth Prince to be well-behaved and docile. He was just average in both civil and military skills, and looked like he wanted to be a wealthy and noble prince. But...

Out of vigilance against the ambition that naturally flows in the Lu family's bloodline, Xie Yuzhen never relaxed her surveillance on the Sixth Prince. After getting confirmation from Xia Zhi about Concubine Liu's hometown, she thought for a moment and said, "Let's take Concubine Liu with us on this tour. Since she has given birth to a prince and gained wealth, how can she not return home in glory?"

Let these people move first. Only when they move will there be a flaw, so that I can see whether the sudden activity of the Red Yang Sect in the capital has anything to do with the Sixth Prince.