Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

Shen Wantang said in a cold voice: "Why are you in such a hurry to leave, my lord? Are you scared?"

"Joke! Am I afraid of you?"

"Since you are not afraid, then stay and answer my questions."

"Shen Wantang, who do you think you are? Why should I answer whatever you ask? Are you an official from the Ministry of Justice or the Dali Temple?"

Shen Wantang looked at him straight in the eyes: "I am the mistress of the palace. If a maid dies in the house, I have the right to ask about it! If I don't care about the death of a person, then what is the difference between me and the prince, an official of the Dali Temple who doesn't care about human life?"

Xiao Qingyuan was shocked and angry: "Shen Wantang, watch your words!"

Shen Wantang was somewhat disdainful: "I just asked a few common questions, why are you so anxious?"

"You bought a few lychees for Huayi, she ate a few, and there were a few left. Is this difficult to answer?"

"Your Highness, being so secretive makes people suspicious. You don't think that you are protecting the painting, do you?"

"Your Highness is totally wrong. If you take her away today, she will be the biggest suspect. From now on, others will suspect that Chundie's death is related to her."

Xiao Qingyuan said angrily, "Nonsense! Shen Wantang, don't wrongly accuse Huayi. How can you be so vicious? Huayi speaks well of you in front of me every day. She respects you sincerely, but you actually threw dirty water on her!"

Shen Wantang looked at his angry expression and the doubts in her heart grew even stronger. She originally only had three points of doubt, but now it became seven points.

"Why do you say that, Your Highness? Did I say that Chundie was killed by Huayi? I just asked her how many lychees she ate, why didn't you let her answer? What are you hiding, Your Highness?"

"I--"

Xiao Qingyuan only said one word, and the rest of the words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't say anything.

Of course, he was hiding the fact that he only brought back one lychee. More importantly, for some reason, he subconsciously wanted to hide the fact that the lychee he brought back was rotten.

Although his expression was angry and his voice was full of bravado, he was also feeling a little uneasy.

After he gave the litchi to Huayi, he asked Huayi to throw it away, but he didn't know whether Huayi threw it away or where she threw it.

If Huayi threw it away and Chundie picked it up and ate it, wouldn't that mean Chundie was killed by him?

Although he despised Chundie for being stupid and ugly, it was still a human life after all.

Chundie could choke to death, die of illness, fall to death, etc., but she couldn't be killed by him! Otherwise, what's the difference between him, Xiao Qingyuan, and those beasts who don't treat maids as human beings? !

Shen Wantang looked at Xiao Qingyuan's changing expression and knew that he was hiding something. She instructed Madam Chai, "Madam, take someone to Xingheyuan. After eating the lychees, there should be peels and cores left. Go and count how many there are."

"Yes."

"Also, go to the servants' room and see if there are any fruit peels or cores. If there are, bring them back. If not, look carefully to see if there are any other food brought back from outside the mansion."

"Yes."

Nanny Chai took the order and left.

Xiao Qingyuan's face turned a little green. He couldn't help but look at Huayi and asked her in a low voice: "Did you eat the lychees I gave you?"

Huayi shook her head slightly.

Xiao Qingyuan's expression suddenly changed: "You didn't eat?!"

Hua Yi said softly, "I couldn't bear to eat it, so I put it in the brocade box that the prince brought back!"

Xiao Qingyuan broke out in a cold sweat: "Are you sure it's still in the brocade box?"

Huayi smiled at him softly: "It must still be there. I was thinking of peeling it and eating it with the prince today."

"No! Don't eat it!"

"This...Okay, I'll follow your instructions."

Xiao Qingyuan breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Lizhi was still there, Chundie’s death had nothing to do with him.

Of course, it has nothing to do with the meaning of the painting.

After waiting for a while, Nanny Chai came back with her people.

Xiao Qingyuan stared at her closely and saw that she was wrapping something in a handkerchief. His heart skipped a beat. Did Madam Chai bring the bad lychee?

When Nanny Chai opened the handkerchief and he saw what was inside, his heart, which had been beating wildly, almost stopped instantly!

That's not a whole lychee, that's a bunch of lychee shells!

He cried out in disbelief: "Where are my lychees? Who? Who ate the lychees I gave to Huayi?!"

Huayi was shocked: "How did the lychees that the prince gave me become like this? Madam Chai, you found this in the brocade box?"

Madam Chai ignored her. She held the lychee shell in her hands and said to Shen Wantang respectfully, "Princess, I only found this. I pieced it together and found that this should be the shell of only one lychee. It cannot be put together to make two or more."

Shen Wantang took a look at the small ball of lychee shells. She had just eaten one yesterday, so she knew the amount of lychee shells. This was indeed only the amount of one.

She looked at Xiao Qingyuan: "Did the prince only bring back one lychee for Huayi?"

Xiao Qingyuan's pale face suddenly turned red: "So what? Are you trying to mock me and make fun of me?! I don't have any monthly allowance, don't you know that better than anyone else? If I don't have money, where can I buy so many lychees? This is the only one, and it was given to me by Yuan Zheng!"

For the first time, Shen Wantang's tone was filled with impatience: "Chundie is dead, I don't have the mood to mock you now, I'm just confirming the number of lychees with you! Please put away your messy thoughts and stop making malicious speculations!"

"You!! You still think you're right?!"

"Now answer me, Prince, who ate this lychee?"

"do not know!"

"Isn't it for the prince to eat?"

"Of course not me, I don't want to eat this kind of thing, I'm tired of it!"

"Is that what Huayi eats?"

"How is that possible? Huayi didn't even want to eat it. After I gave it to her, she put it in the brocade box!"

"Is that what Chundie eats?"

"do not know!"

Xiao Qingyuan's voice was very firm, but he felt weak in his heart. The truth of the matter seemed to become clearer and clearer under Shen Wantang's questioning, and it was becoming more and more difficult for him to accept.

At the top, Shen Wantang's icy voice penetrated the nearly frozen air and drilled into his ears: "Even though only the shell of this lychee is left, you can tell it's already rotten and can't be eaten at all!"

"Huayi, you answer this question. Did Chundie eat this lychee?"

Huayi lowered her head and said submissively, "Princess, the prince has just said that I put the lychees in the brocade box. I really don't know who ate it."

"But Chundie knew that I put it in the brocade box. After the prince came back last night, Chundie wanted to go in and help him bathe. I thought she had worked hard all day, so I didn't let her in. I went in and served the prince myself. When I came out, Chundie was no longer in the room."

"But I don't think Chundie stole the lychees. She is an honest person and not the type to steal. Besides, the brocade box doesn't look like it has been touched by anyone."