Rumor Has It That I'm Pregnant with His Highness' Child

308 You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

Xiao Juan said, “Granny, how much do you know about the Glazed Jade Palace?”

Granny Xiu Yan was puzzled. “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

“Niaoniao happened to dig out the remains of a baby from the Glazed Jade Palace. After that, the emperor ordered me to investigate this matter. I don’t know much about the Glazed Jade Palace, so I came to ask you.”

Granny Xiu Yan was very surprised. “There’s actually such a thing?”

“Do you remember if there was someone else who was pregnant in the Glazed Jade Palace other than Imperial Concubine Yue?”

Granny Xiu Yan said without hesitation, “No.”

Xiao Juan said, “After so many years, are you sure your memories are not wrong?”

Granny Xiu Yan said, “At that time, I had a little sister from the same hometown who was working in the Glazed Jade Palace. She often told me about the Glazed Jade Palace. If a palace maid was pregnant in the Glazed Jade Palace, it was impossible for her not to tell me anything.”

Xiao Juan quietly erased the hypothesis that a palace maid was pregnant.

Granny Xiu Yan seemed to have thought of something and said anxiously.

“That little sister once told me that someone wanted to harm Imperial Concubine Yue.”

“Imperial Concubine Yue had been harmed several times during her pregnancy, but she had always avoided it because she was lucky.”

“I thought that Imperial Concubine Yue and her son would be blessed by the heavens, but I didn’t expect them to lose their lives in the last round.”

She let out a long sigh, feeling sorry for Imperial Concubine Yue and her son.

Xiao Juan understood what she meant.

“Are you saying that Imperial Concubine Yue’s difficult labor was caused by someone?”

If anyone else asked about such dirty things in the harem, Granny Xiu Yan would definitely say that she did not know. However, facing Duke Lang, whom she had watched grow up, there was nothing she could not say.

“There’s no hard evidence, but that’s what my little sisters and I are guessing.”

Xiao Juan was deep in thought.

Granny Xiu Yan sighed. “When Imperial Concubine Yue was pregnant, we all thought that she could use this opportunity to advance further. With the emperor’s love for her, it was not impossible for her to be conferred a noble consort. Who would have thought that she would end up like this? What a joke.”

Xiao Juan said, “Do you know who is harming Imperial Concubine Yue?”

Granny Xiu Yan shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

Back then, she was only a little palace maid. It was already good enough that she could take care of herself. As for the power struggle in the harem, she could only treat it as gossip and listen. She did not dare to know anything else.

Xiao Juan said, “Then do you know who did not get along with Imperial Concubine Yue in the palace back then?”

Granny Xiu Yan recalled carefully.

“Concubine Yue was good-looking and had a gentle personality. She got along well with the other concubines. At that time, only Empress Wen did not have a good relationship with her.”

At this point, Granny Xiu Yan’s expression became very complicated.

“Actually, Empress Wen and Imperial Concubine Yue are cousins. The two of them entered the palace one after another.”

“Logically speaking, the sisters should have supported each other in the palace, but the two of them had fallen out because of the competition for the emperor’s favor.”

“Back then, Empress Wen was not as aloof from worldly affairs as she was now. At that time, she was also a powerful person and refused to suffer any losses.”

“Seeing that Imperial Concubine Yue was favored, she was jealous and tried to suppress Imperial Concubine Yue.”

“In the end, not only did it not succeed, but it also made the emperor love and pity Imperial Concubine Yue even more.”

She suddenly slapped her thigh.

“Oh right! I almost forgot that Empress Wen and Imperial Concubine Yue were pregnant in the same year! Even the months of their pregnancy were about the same.”

“At that time, there were rumors in the palace that if Concubine Yue’s child was a prince, the emperor would make her child the Crown Prince.”

“Do you think Empress Wen did something to Imperial Concubine Yue so that her child could become the Crown Prince?”

Without evidence, Xiao Juan could not come to a conclusion.

However, the information provided by Granny Xiu Yan confirmed the direction of his investigation.

“I have to investigate this matter again. I’ll go back to the Justice Department first. Don’t tell anyone about what I asked you just now.”

Granny Xiu Yan patted her chest and promised.

“Don’t worry, I’m very tight-lipped!”

She got someone to pack up all the things the County Princess usually used and asked Duke Lang to bring them to the Justice Department. She also repeatedly reminded him to take good care of the County Princess and not let her suffer.

Because Granny Xiu Yan had packed too many things, it was not convenient to bring so many things on horseback. When Xiao Juan returned to the Justice Department, he changed his transportation to a carriage.

At this moment, Yu Niaoniao was flipping through the dossiers in Mirror House.

She felt that sitting around was too boring, so she specially asked Lo Pingsha to find all the dossiers related to the Glazed Jade Palace.

Previously, when Xiao Juan faced Wei Liao, he said that there were no dossiers about the palace in the Justice Department. In fact, there were many dossiers related to the palace hidden in the Justice Department.

There was only one dossier regarding the Glazed Jade Palace.

Yu Niaoniao read the dossier from beginning to end. When Xiao Juan returned, he saw Yu Niaoniao staring blankly at the dossier.

Hearing footsteps, Yu Niaoniao came back to her senses.

She looked up at Xiao Juan, who had just walked in, and said.

“I read the files of the Glazed Jade Palace and found something.”

Xiao Juan glanced at the dossier in front of her. Logically speaking, the dossier in the Justice Department could not be read without permission, but he knew that Niaoniao wanted to investigate the case as soon as possible, so he did not blame her.

He said calmly, “I just asked Granny Xiu Yan. She told me something.”

...

Yu Niaoniao said, “What is it?”

Xiao Juan said, “Tell me your discovery first.”

Yu Niaoniao combed the dossier in front of her and tried a line of words.

“The dossier says that when Imperial Concubine Yue died in childbirth, the imperial physician in charge of treating her was dismissed and investigated.”

“I checked the Imperial Physician Hospital’s register and found that the imperial physician in charge of treating Imperial Concubine Moon was called Lo Heng.”

“Lo Heng is Lo Pingsha’s father.”

Xiao Juan was not surprised at all.

Yu Niaoniao could not help but ask, “Why didn’t you react at all? Did you already know?”

Xiao Juan explained calmly.

“When Little Lo joined the Eagle Guards, I had already investigated his background.”

“His father was sentenced because he was involved in Imperial Concubine Yue’s death in childbirth. Everyone thought that he had caused the death of the newborn prince. His reputation and future were ruined.”

...

“Unable to withstand the pressure, he hung himself from a beam at home. Little Lo didn’t want to believe that his father had caused someone’s death. He wanted to find out the truth, but he could not do it alone. So he came to me, hoping I could help him.”

Yu Niaoniao did not expect Little Lo to have such a past.

She took the opportunity to ask, “Did you promise him?”

Xiao Juan said, “Xiao Lo’s medical skills are very outstanding. The Justice Department just happens to lack such talent. I agreed to help him find out the truth. In exchange, he would join the Justice Department.”

Yu Niaoniao clicked her tongue. She did not expect the usually upright Duke Lang to be so scheming.

Next, Xiao Juan told her about the clues provided by Granny Xiu Yan.

Yu Niaoniao was very surprised.

“I’ve met Empress Wen. She doesn’t look like the kind of person who would harm her sisters.”

Xiao Juan said lightly, “You can’t judge a book by its cover. This concerns the position of the Crown Prince. No matter who it is, they won’t sit still and wait for death.”