The Female Psychology PhD Who Time Traveled to the Royal Harem

Chapter 317

a skeleton was discovered in the lotus pond in front of xihe palace, suspected to be the remains of the missing xiao ronghua, causing quite a stir.

"wasn't xiao ronghua last seen at hexi palace when she disappeared?"

"it makes perfect sense. back then, xiao ronghua spoke disrespectfully and even asked the imperial noble consort to persuade the emperor to share his favor more equally. how could the imperial noble consort tolerate that? xihe palace was originally her residence, and she knows it well. it wouldn't have been difficult for her to dispose of a body while avoiding the patrol guards."

"it's terrifying! i snuck a peek earlier - only bones remain. it looks like she's been dead for half a year, but didn't xiao ronghua disappear just over three months ago?"

"either way, i think the imperial noble consort is frightening. noble lady jiang was so close to her, yet she dumped the body here. who is she trying to scare?"

"how can the emperor favor such a vicious consort? if she becomes empress, won't we all suffer whenever she's displeased?"

"why don't we jointly petition the emperor to make consort de the empress instead? consort de is kind-hearted, has borne a son, and has maintained an excellent reputation during her many years in the palace. she's far more suitable than the imperial noble consort."

"but who will take the lead? the emperor deeply favors the imperial noble consort. if we anger him..."

with this question raised, the previously animated discussion among the consorts fell silent.

all this talk was meant to encourage someone brave to step forward, but who would be foolish enough in the palace?

no one wanted to be the first to stick their neck out.

"well... judging by the degree of decomposition, the body has been dead for at least a year. however, being submerged in water accelerated the decay process, and the bones have been infested with insects that have eaten away at them, making it very difficult to determine the exact time of death."

after the coroner from the investigative bureau examined the body and reported his findings, noble lady jiang suddenly rubbed her head and said, "emperor, imperial noble consort, a few nights before i left the palace, i thought i heard something fall into the lotus pond. but since it was late at night, i was scared and thought it better not to investigate. now i think those bones might have been dumped in then."

three months wouldn't be enough time for a body to decompose to this state. if noble lady jiang's account is true, this might just be where the body was disposed of, not where the murder took place.

the coroner had some clues but hesitated to speak them, instead asking an seemingly unrelated question: "noble lady jiang, why aren't there any fish in this pond?"

"fish?"

noble lady jiang frowned in confusion: "i can barely take care of myself, how would i have time to raise fish? what does this have to do with fish?"

it must be said, noble lady jiang had hit upon something important.

jiang xinyue and the xuanwu emperor exchanged glances, both thinking of the man-eating fish in consort de's palace.

all the palace servants at hexi palace whose clothes had been soaked borrowed garments from noble lady jiang's palace.

regarding noble lady liu's tragic fate, jiang xinyue expressed regret but no sympathy.

if she hadn't been alert earlier, when that basin of water was thrown, she would have been the one falling into the lotus pond. she had no desire to drink water that had been steeping a corpse.

"you... you're all in cahoots..."

"enough!"

the xuanwu emperor glared at concubine cheng in fury: "the imperial noble consort and noble lady jiang both far outrank you. who taught you to be so disrespectful, making such slanderous accusations against them? if you continue to show such lack of manners, you'll be dragged out and beaten."

another beating?

concubine cheng shrank back, biting her lip into silence.

wait!

jiang xinyue's gaze sharpened as she looked behind consort de, noticing luyin's absence.

usually, luyin never left consort de's side.

why hadn't luyin come today?

it had been just the day after jiang xinyue returned to the palace that luyin had been beaten.

she knew the beating hadn't been too severe - at most leaving some redness, largely meant as a show for consort de.

so it shouldn't have left luyin unable to walk.

though suspicious, she couldn't voice her concerns. what if consort de accused her of false sympathy - having ordered the beating herself, only to now ask about the victim's absence?

it would sound like deliberate mockery, as if she were trying to provoke consort de.

but jiang xinyue couldn't shake her bad feeling, so when the emperor dismissed the consorts, she pulled him back to hexi palace and had jiang chuan release xiao ronghua.

the xuanwu emperor's eyes widened as he quickly ran to the door, closing it, his gaze profound: "it was really you?"

how should he handle the fact that his most favored consort was actually a murderer?