The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 688 - 650: Unable to Protect Her (Part 1)

Song Yuanbao thought of what he saw when he first entered Qingfang Palace, and felt a cold sensation running from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He gave Zhao Xi a cold smile, "What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you be asking yourself this question?"

Zhao Xi hesitated for a moment, then ordered the litter to be lowered. He disembarked and walked towards Song Yuanbao along the stone arch bridge.

Song Yuanbao stood still, enveloped by an aura of remorse, self-blame, and sorrow.

Zhao Xi had already reached him, and it was clear that Wan Qiu was no longer breathing.

His heart sank, "What exactly happened?"

Song Yuanbao clenched his fists, his teeth gritted with audible fury, but managed not to explode. He lowered his eyes and said, "Arrange for a palace maid to clean her body so I can send her to Anle Hall."

"Can’t you speak?"

Zhao Xi’s voice was even calmer and more restrained than before.

But Song Yuanbao understood that Zhao Xi’s outward calmness meant his inner anger was even greater.

"It was Zhi Xia who did it." Song Yuanbao struggled to control his emotions, "Don’t ask me, ask those women in your backyard. What have they done to vie for favor? Haven’t you always valued rules? Haven’t you disallowed intrigue among servants? Aren’t you capable? Why couldn’t you even protect a female official? Ah?"

Zhao Xi pressed his lips tightly together, not uttering a word.

At this moment, Eunuch Sanbao stepped forward, seeing Wan Qiu’s body covered in filth and her face lifeless, he stiffened, "What on earth happened to Miss Wan Qiu?"

Song Yuanbao didn’t want to explain, he simply looked coldly at Zhao Xi, "If you don’t find a way to give her an answer, I won’t come to see you again!"

Eunuch Sanbao hurried to mediate, "Young Master Song, leave the body to me!"

"Get lost!"

Song Yuanbao shouted, holding Wan Qiu as he stomped heavily onto the bridge.

He had always been fond of lively crowds and loved to cherish beauty. Back in Yutang Palace, he often spent time playing with her and the other three whenever he had free time.

He had even jokingly said that if Zhao Xi didn’t want them in the end, they should all come with him.

At that time, how pure Zhi Xia was! She was young and innocent, everyone took care of her and cherished her.

How could such a lively and lovely little girl dare to commit such a heinous act to sully one’s reputation?

Eunuch Sanbao didn’t catch up with Song Yuanbao and could only look at Zhao Xi for help, "Your Highness, what should we do now?"

"Investigate!" Zhao Xi’s expression was cold enough to make one’s flesh creep, "I don’t care what means you use, you must find out what Zhi Xia has done in the shortest time possible."

Eunuch Sanbao shivered slightly and quickly responded, "Yes."

After speaking, he quietly asked, "Should we return to the palace?"

Zhao Xi said, "Let them go back first, there’s no need to follow."

Seeing his master’s foul mood, Eunuch Sanbao dared not say more, and gestured to the few little eunuchs waiting quietly at the bridge’s edge to return to the palace first.

After that, Zhao Xi also sent Eunuch Sanbao away, instructing him to mobilize all the servants nearby to interrogate them, and to arrange for two palace maids to clean Wan Qiu’s body.

After Eunuch Sanbao left, Zhao Xi followed Song Yuanbao’s path, soon catching up to him. Song Yuanbao was sitting in front of Anle Hall, Wan Qiu’s corpse lying flat beside him.

He leaned against the wall, looking despondent and lost, the bloodshot veins in his eyes yet to subside.

Seeing Zhao Xi approaching, he lowered his gaze, his voice full of indescribable pain, "If I could have pushed the door open then, she wouldn’t have been humiliated and she wouldn’t have died."

Listening to this, Zhao Xi clenched his fists inside his sleeves.

Silence spread between the two, and after an unknown amount of time, Song Yuanbao suddenly gave a bitter smile, "Has Your Highness always cultivated a lifestyle of purity and restraint? You probably don’t know how many women in this world have gone mad for your face. In their competition for favor, for your attention, the schemes they use are more poisonous than the deadliest poisons in the world. Haven’t you considered, the more women you have in your backyard, the more common such incidents will become?"

At the end of his words, Song Yuanbao’s eyes grew wet, "Growing up, it’s the first time I’ve seen someone die right before my eyes. Until her final breath, she wouldn’t let me touch her, saying she was dirty, afraid of sullying me, and wouldn’t let me tell you. But why shouldn’t I tell you? It was all because of you; you are the one who personally killed her!"

Realizing Song Yuanbao was speaking in anger, Zhao Xi didn’t hold it against him, he closed his eyes and said, "I will find out the real culprit behind the scenes and give her justice."

"Justice?" Song Yuanbao sneered, "Can justice restore her innocence, her body?"

Zhao Xi frowned slightly, "The person is already gone, what more do you want?"

Song Yuanbao suddenly stood up, glaring at Zhao Xi, "What do I want, what can I do? You are the Crown Prince, the heir apparent, all the beauties under heaven belong to you. Whom you wish to favor is your choice, whom you don’t wish to favor is also your right. But can you think properly for these girls? You only let Wan Qiu serve you closely every day, thinking you were good to her, when in fact, you pushed her to the forefront, making her bear much pressure. Did you ever consider that? The bullying she suffered behind your back, you never even saw, and thought she lived well. You only knew to follow your preferences, automatically excluding others. Now, look, she was plotted against and sent into the hands of eunuchs, humiliated to death, turned into a corpse lying before you, are you satisfied?"

"Song Hao!" Zhao Xi’s voice was cold and deep, "Wan Qiu’s death was beyond my expectations. Now that it has come to this, settling scores with me afterward won’t bring her back to life. Give her to me, I will arrange for a proper burial."

Song Yuanbao clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot.

Zhao Xi is the Crown Prince, while Wan Qiu was merely a bedroom maid.

By rights, with such disparity in status, even if Wan Qiu were insulted to death, or even if the Crown Prince personally killed her, as a mere bystander, Song Yuanbao would have no right to comment. Yet, his heart felt clogged, with a breath stuck in his chest, neither coming up nor going down.

Zhao Xi walked over and bent down.

Song Yuanbao realized what he intended to do and angrily said, "Don’t touch her!"

Zhao Xi’s voice was deep, "She belonged to the Eastern Palace."

Song Yuanbao coldly said, "Her dying wish was for you not to touch her again. To let her depart without regrets, abide by her wish."

Zhao Xi’s extended hand paused for a moment.

Not long after, the two palace maids, who Zhao Xi had summoned last night to serve Wan Qiu, arrived at Anle Hall, breathless. Seeing Wan Qiu already dead, they shivered with fear.

Song Yuanbao instructed, "Take her inside and clean her up. Let the female official inside cremate her."

Zhao Xi frowned deeply, "I said I would give her a proper burial; why are you insisting on cremation?"

"Even now, don’t you understand? It was your special treatment that harmed her. She’s already in this state, and you still want her to die without peace?"

Zhao Xi’s expression turned ugly, "Song Hao!"

Song Yuanbao was not afraid, meeting his gaze, "Can you protect anyone? Just protect whoever you can, is that not enough? If you can’t even protect a female official, how will you protect the many women of the three palaces and six courts in the future? Or do you want to see more people end up like Wan Qiu?"

Zhao Xi was completely frozen, unable to recover for a long time.

Song Yuanbao instructed the two palace maids, "Take her inside."

Only after watching them enter Anle Hall did Song Yuanbao turn back, only to see Zhao Xi standing there in a daze, as if under an immobilization spell. Song Yuanbao sighed, "Still not leaving?"

Zhao Xi’s expression was somewhat wooden as he turned towards the Eastern Palace, and Song Yuanbao could only follow behind him.

With such a huge incident happening, Zhao Xi no longer had the mood to question why Song Yuanbao hadn’t left the Imperial Palace earlier and was lingering around Qingfang Palace. After returning, he instructed Mr. Mu to call those three from the East Courtyard.

Though Mr. Mu didn’t know what had happened, seeing the Crown Prince’s sullen expression, he knew it was something significant and quickly hurried to the East Courtyard.

Upon arrival, he realized Wan Qiu wasn’t there, nor was Zhi Xia; only Nian Chun and Xiu Dong were in the courtyard.

"Where have Miss Wan Qiu and Miss Zhi Xia gone?" Mr. Mu asked.

Nian Chun shook her head, "It seems they haven’t been seen since after lunch. What does the Crown Prince want with them?"

Mr. Mu sighed, "It’s not me looking; the Crown Prince wants you to go to Chengming Hall."

Nian Chun and Xiu Dong exchanged glances, roughly understanding the reason.

Earlier that morning, Eunuch Sanbao had come with a message saying only Wan Qiu would stay in the Eastern Palace as the bedroom maid, and everyone else had to move out by the sixth. Now, with the Crown Prince suddenly wanting to see them, it seemed he had changed his mind and wanted them to leave early. The two didn’t think much of it.

Nian Chun said, "Since they’re not here, why don’t you wait a bit longer?"

Mr. Mu was very anxious, "If I wait any longer, I won’t be able to account for it. How about this, you two come with me first, and I’ll explain to the Crown Prince."

A quarter of an hour later, the two followed Mr. Mu to Chengming Hall.

Zhao Xi was seated on the zitan and enamel throne in the main hall, while Song Yuanbao sat on a black wood round chair below, both bearing solemn expressions.

Mr. Mu stayed outside, urging Nian Chun and Xiu Dong to enter.

The moment they entered the hall, they shivered and didn’t dare look up at those above. Kneeling, they saluted, "The servants greet the Crown Prince."

Zhao Xi did not excuse them from the salute, his sharp gaze sweeping down, "Do you know where Wan Qiu went?"

Nian Chun shook her head, "She was still here in the morning. After Eunuch Sanbao delivered the news, she disappeared soon after. I knocked on the door, but Sister Wan Qiu and Sister Zhi Xia were both gone."

Xiu Dong also chimed in, "Perhaps the Empress called them over for a lecture."

Song Yuanbao asked, "So, you’re saying Wan Qiu’s death has nothing to do with you two?"

"What?!" Both of them exclaimed, unable to hide their disbelief and terror on their faces.