Chapter 053
Chapter 53: Where Is She?
Leaving the Imperial Study, Duan Yi Chen heard two palace maids whispering. When he caught Xia Meng Yan’s name, he jolted.
He blocked their path and asked coldly: “What did you just say?”
The maids fell to their knees: “Heir Apparent Duan, we said nothing…”
He pressed them: “Speak. What happened to the Xia Family’s eldest miss?” He had not expected Xia Meng Yan to enter the palace today as well.
Terrified, one maid told him what she had heard: “The Xia Family’s eldest miss killed Xiao Mu Zi, the eunuch who serves before the throne. Consort Ping is sending people to find her.”
Duan Yi Chen was shocked. Xiao Mu Zi? When he entered the palace, he had run into a maid looking for Xiao Mu Zi. It had been a long while since then. [Had she been involved all this time?]
He did not dare imagine the rest and strode quickly toward the lake.
At that moment, Xia Meng Yan still hid under the boat. Using the stern as cover, she poked her head out for a breath, then slipped back under.
By the lake, Old Madam Xia put on a frightened face and said, “Your Highness, it is all Meng Yan’s fault. Once I find her, I will give Your Highness an answer.”
[That wretch must be hiding nearby. We must find her and nail this down.]
With many palace maids and eunuchs around, Consort Ping sighed with a troubled look and said, “We do not yet know if the eldest Miss Xia did this. But someone saw her go to the far shore. We still need to find her and explain things clearly.”
[My people are all around. No one saw Xia Meng Yan leave. Where did she go?]
Old Madam Xia gnashed her teeth, guessing that Xia Meng Yan had woken, seen Xiao Mu Zi, and killed him by accident.
[There is no other way now. We can only pin this on Xia Meng Yan alone.]
[But where is Xia Meng Yan?]
Old Madam Xia looked at the nanny by Consort Ping. The woman shook her head and flicked her eyes toward the far shore.
Old Madam Xia paused. Was she saying Xia Meng Yan had not left and was still in the cave?
Her eyes lit. If Xia Meng Yan was still there, she had a way to drag her out.
She said, “Your Highness, since someone saw Meng Yan go over, why not send people to search again? The cave is dim. They might have missed her.”
Consort Ping looked hesitant and asked Old Madam Xia: “This concerns the eldest Miss Xia’s reputation. Are you sure you want to send another search?”
The onlooking maids and eunuchs sighed over Consort Ping’s kind heart. Even with evidence, she still protected Miss Xia’s name.
“Consort Ping is right,” a voice cut in. Everyone turned to see Duan Yi Chen striding over with an imperial physician.
Seeing him, Consort Ping frowned slightly, then smoothed her face and said, “Heir Apparent Duan, you have not left the palace yet?”
Duan Yi Chen often entered the palace to accompany Emperor Xuan Ming. All the ladies of the Inner Palace knew him, and none dared cross him.
Duan’s gaze swept the area. He had already asked around on the way and guessed Xia Meng Yan was still nearby, so he said, “I was about to leave. I heard there was trouble by the lake, so I came to look.”
He turned to the imperial physician and said, “Please examine him. How are Xiao Mu Zi’s injuries?”
[Not dead, but injured.]
The physician already knew what had happened. Hearing Duan Yi Chen’s wording, his heart sank. It meant he had to say “injured,” not “dead.”
[The imperial court work could crush a man,] he thought bitterly.
[On one side was Consort Ping, on the other the Eldest Princess’s son. Offend either and you die.]
Consort Ping and Old Madam Xia shared a look. Both knew Heir Apparent Duan was close to Xia Meng Yan. His arrival was a bad sign. They needed to crush this fast.
While everyone watched the physician, Duan Yi Chen scanned around again, trying to find where Xia Meng Yan hid.
Suddenly, the boat at the bank stirred.
His eyes narrowed. That boat had moved.
[Is Xia Meng Yan in the water?]
The thought flashed by, and his face changed. So much time had passed. [Would Xia Meng Yan drown?]
He did not hesitate and signaled the men who guarded him from the shadows.
Moments later, a figure dropped into the water not far away.
He raised his voice to draw attention: “You say Meng Yan killed Xiao Mu Zi? Absurd. She had no quarrel with him. Why would she harm him? If you accuse someone, you need proof.”
The onlookers dropped their heads, hardly daring to breathe.
Old Madam Xia said quickly, “Heir Apparent Duan, I do not wish to guess wildly either. A maid saw Meng Yan go to the far side, and when we arrived, we found Xiao Mu Zi’s body. If not her, then who?”
Duan kept one eye on the boat. He saw a Shadow Guard’s hand slip into the water and then another hand emerge.
Joy and fear surged in him, though his face stayed calm as he said, “Old Madam Xia, as I understand it, you brought two granddaughters into the palace today. Yet neither has shown up. May I also guess that it could have been Xia Qing Yao who killed Xiao Mu Zi?”
At his words, the crowd found the point reasonable. Xia Meng Yan had not been seen at the scene, and no one had watched her kill. One maid’s claim alone did not hold.
Consort Ping sneered inwardly. To her, Xia Meng Yan was a divorced woman. She could not see what Duan Yi Chen liked about her.
Just then, while all eyes were on Duan Yi Chen, Xia Meng Yan surfaced. Hearing the Shadow Guard’s whisper, she reached up without hesitation.
Her gaze met Duan Yi Chen’s in the air, and the weight in his chest eased.
Old Madam Xia did not know how to refute him and cursed Xia Qing Yao for dragging her down, then said, “Heir Apparent Duan, I know you and Meng Yan are close…”
“Insolent,” Duan Yi Chen snapped, “Are you saying I bend the law for personal gain?”
“You misunderstand, Heir Apparent,” Old Madam Xia faltered. She could not explain, since Xia Meng Yan had not actually been at the scene.
The Shadow Guard whisked Xia Meng Yan away. Duan Yi Chen loosened the fist in his palm. A cold wind blew and chilled his hands.
The Shadow Guard brought Xia Meng Yan to a palace hall and said, “Miss Xia, here are the clothes the heir apparent prepared for you.”
“All right,” Xia Meng Yan said. When the guard turned away, she changed while asking, “Do you know where my second sister is?”
“I do. She twisted her ankle and is in the adjoining bedchamber,” the guard answered. Xia Meng Yan paused and asked, “Can you bring her here?”
“Please wait a moment,” the guard said and slipped out.
[Xia Qing Yao did not return straight to Consort Ping’s palace. Does that mean this was not her doing?]
Meanwhile, by the lake, the imperial physician had finished his check. He hesitated, unsure what to say.
Duan Yi Chen looked coldly at him and said, “Speak plainly.”
Knowing he would offend someone no matter what, the physician steadied himself and said, “There is a wound on Xiao Mu Zi’s head. It is not fatal, so he kept his life. But there is clotted blood in his head, so he will not wake for a while.”
“How can that be? I just checked and there was no breath,” the nanny blurted.
The physician explained: “His breathing is very faint, not gone. If you doubt me, you may call other imperial physicians to check.”
Old Madam Xia relaxed when she heard the man had not died. The Xia Family was safe.
At Consort Ping’s hint, she said to Duan Yi Chen, “Heir Apparent, this concerns Meng Yan’s reputation. Please send people to search the far side again. Otherwise I cannot face His Majesty.”
Duan Yi Chen gave a cold laugh. [Using His Majesty to pressure me.]
He said, “Old madam, are you sure you want another search? Xiao Mu Zi is only injured and will recover in a few days. With Consort Ping speaking on your behalf, this matter can end here.”
Old Madam Xia said righteously, “The Xia Family is a family of scholars and has always stayed clean. We cannot shelter wrongdoers. If Meng Yan is cruel and treats lives like grass, the Xia Family will not tolerate her.”
A cold voice came: “Grandmother, what do you plan to do with your granddaughter?”