I was just solving crimes, how could I become an immortal?

Chapter 128 The lover of my dreams is actually the queen?
  It’s another sunny morning.

Facing the sunshine, Cao An put on his handsome green robe, tidied up his appearance, and went out with brisk steps.

Is he going to the morning court?
  Of course not, he was going to visit the harem.

At this time, the emperor should be attending court, and he would have to deal with state affairs afterwards, which was really tiring.

I might as well be cool and unrestrained, sleeping until I wake up naturally. The emperor is at work, and I go to visit the harem and talk about life with the concubines while the emperor is away.

After entering the palace, Cao An revealed his identity, and soon an old eunuch hurried over. He was the one who accompanied Wen Zhao yesterday.

The two of them greeted each other.

The old eunuch smiled and congratulated: "Cao Shuixiu is an expert in solving cases. His Highness appreciates him and gives him a special gold medal for investigating cases. This has been rare since the founding of our country. Cao Shuixiu is really young and promising!"

"Hey, I'm a junior, I hope my father-in-law can give me more advice." Cao An smiled, took out a 20-tael banknote from his sleeve, and stuffed it directly.

The smile on the old eunuch's face became stronger and stronger: "Okay, okay, Cao Shuixiu is really a talented person. There are many things in the harem, and our family will answer them for you."

"Then I'll bother you, father-in-law. I don't know what to call him."

"Our family name is Yu, please invite Cao Shuixiu."

"Grandpa Yu, please."

A standard piece of flattery, hypocrisy accounts for 70%, but sometimes you have to go through this process.

After all, this is the inner courtyard of the harem, and Cao An doesn't know the rules. If he is caught doing something inappropriate, he will also have a headache. Building a good relationship with the father-in-law who leads the way is the best choice.

Including the 20 taels, it is also very particular. If you give too much, it means that you are too greedy and spend a lot of time searching for money.

If you give less, others will look down upon you.

20 taels should be just right, making the smile on this father-in-law's face look more sincere.

Of course, Cao An is not that generous. He paid 20 taels of silver here, and naturally he has to find a way to earn it back elsewhere.

Those idiots from the Sanfa Division are very suitable. They collect some protection fees when they have time, and everything comes back.

The inner courtyard of the palace was larger than Cao An's imagination.

The office area of ​​Tsing Yi Department is just a small garden here.

Winter has arrived, and the cold wind is starting to pick up.

The vegetation along the streets in the city has long since withered and faded, but the courtyard of the harem is still full of vitality. The luxurious formations make the place green as spring, very warm, but also very monotonous.

As an official, although Cao An has a gold medal, he cannot run around at will. Eunuch Yu's duty is to lead the way for Cao An, but he also shoulders the role of supervision to prevent Cao An from engaging in inappropriate behavior.

Despite his age, this eunuch seems to be not weak at all! The eunuch beside the emperor was indeed extraordinary.

As for the direction of the investigation, Cao An had already prepared. The first stop was to find Princess Wen Zhao.

……

Zhaohua Palace.

The residence of Princess Wenzhao, the exquisite palace buildings are like a fairyland in a dream, and the gardens are full of green trees.

Next to the pavilion, an elegant clear pool makes everything look so beautiful.

Except not angry.

In the pavilion, Princess Wen Zhao was sitting alone like a koi in the pond. There were several maids around, but no one could make her smile.

The Master of the Privy Council, who treated her extremely well, passed away yesterday, and no one will teach her martial arts anymore.

But fortunately, the leader left, but Cao An appeared at the right time.

This guy is quite interesting.

"Old slave, please see Her Royal Highness the Princess."

"Your Excellency, please see Your Highness the Princess. The Princess is here alone. What is she thinking about?"

Two greetings sounded at the same time, but it was obvious that Cao An's greeting also included a joke, which attracted a glare from Eunuch Yu.

This is a princess. If you talk frivolously, you will be beheaded. How dare you greet me like this?
  Cao An shrugged helplessly. It's not that I'm frivolous, but that your princess is very frivolous.

Sure enough, when Wen Zhao heard the greetings, a smile finally appeared on his face, and he ran over quickly: "Cao An, you are here! Oh, Mr. Yu, there is no need to be polite."

"Thank you, Your Highness, Princess." After hearing this, Eunuch Yu lifted up his bowed waist.

But aside, Cao An and Wen Zhao had been chatting enthusiastically for a long time.

Returning to the palace, Wen Zhao naturally put on gorgeous clothes.

Wearing a pink long skirt with gold embroidery on it, it danced gently in the breeze, looking smart and beautiful.

She has white jade skin, a small cherry mouth, long black hair hanging down to her waist, and her jewel-like eyes are full of life again, and she is as cute as an elf.

Of course, as a princess, Wen Zhao's unruly aura is indispensable.

Thinking of being left here alone for a long time, his smile faded away, he pouted and put his hands on his hips and asked:

"Cao An! We promised to come to investigate the case this morning, but you dare to deceive me!"

"I'm not lying to you. Isn't this morning?" Cao An looked up at the sky. Noon has not yet arrived, and it is considered morning if he has not eaten lunch.

"You! You know that I am waiting for you, but why are you coming so late?"

"Oh, I went to Dongshi and bought you some breakfast. Now, two pancakes, do you want to eat them?"

Cao An casually took out a paper packet from his sleeve, which scared Eunuch Yu to the point of exclaiming.

"How can things from the market..."

"Eat! This is mine." The little princess snatched it over and glared at Eunuch Yu, as if she was afraid of being robbed, which made Eunuch Yu look helpless.

There are no expensive pastries in this palace, so why go to the market stalls outside to eat pancakes.

But Wen Zhao didn't care. The food in the palace was about health and harmony. It was too rigid to match meat and vegetables and have balanced nutrition.

It's not as good as the market, those weird things.

"This is delicious. Where did you buy it? Did you buy it especially for me?"

"Of course, the teahouse in Dongshi has a new breakfast, and I went to line up specially."

The teahouse in Dongshi is naturally the property of their Tsing Yi Department.

Recently, due to the addition of storytelling as a side business, the teahouse has gradually gained business, and has also launched a morning tea business.

Of course, there was no need to queue up, and even the two pancakes he couldn't eat were packed.

The leftovers were used to feed Wen Zhao, and the effect was really good.

Seeing the happy look of the little princess, Cao An also struck while the iron was hot and won over a wealthy guest: "I often go to that teahouse. If the princess has a chance in the future, she can also try it."

"Okay! Something happened in the past few days, and the queen mother won't let me leave the palace. Next time I have a chance to sneak out, I will try it."

Eunuch Yu:......

Poor old eunuch, who stood aside and watched Cao An chatting happily with the princess, and even mentioned sneaking out of the palace in front of him. Now he can neither stand nor leave. He is so uncomfortable that he wants to wipe away tears.

Of course, from the bottom of his heart, Eunuch Yu was happy.

He watched Princess Wen Zhao grow up and knew that there were not many friends in the harem.

The death of the director was a huge blow to her. She couldn't eat anything yesterday.

Cao An came today, and with a few words he cheered Wen Zhao up, which was considered a happy event.

After eating and drinking, Wen Zhao smiled evilly and quietly wiped his greasy hands on Cao An, and asked: "Where should we go next? You said you want to investigate the harem, how should you investigate?"

"Of course I'll go to the Shangfu Bureau first."

The six nobles in the harem are all female officials and are responsible for the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the entire harem. Their status is much higher than that of ordinary maids.

The three of them walked all the way to the backyard. The figures coming and going seemed quite busy.

Upon discovering the arrival of the princess, the maids who helped her knelt down quickly, and the female officials in the house hurried out to greet her.

Eunuch Yu stepped forward and shouted in his voice: "This is Mr. Cao appointed by the emperor. In the next few days, he will be responsible for entering the palace to investigate some clues of the case. Regardless of the female officials or maids, they must cooperate. Do you understand?" "

"Yes, slaves obey."

The hierarchy in the harem is really strict. I saw them chatting enthusiastically before entering. As soon as this person arrived, there was a moment of silence. Even the noise of washing clothes was a little quieter.

With such a dull harem, no wonder Wen Zhao couldn't bear the loneliness and went outside to work as a spy.

Several female officials were called into the room, Cao An took the main seat, Wen Zhao and Eunuch Yu listened, and the investigation officially began.

Speaking of these female officials, some of them had higher positions than him, but seeing the gold medal displayed by Cao An, no one dared to reply at this moment, and stood obediently in the room, waiting for Cao An to ask questions.

"I'm just here to interrogate some confessions. You don't need to be nervous, just answer seriously."

"Yes, Master Cao."

"As for Ye Siyi, how is he usually?"

Cao An wanted to know the details. This person suddenly committed suicide and would always leave some weird remarks, such as who he had a dispute with? Who do you have a grudge against, etc.?

The female officers all looked to one side, and an older female officer came out: "Back to Mr. Cao, Ye Siyi is usually very cheerful and has a good relationship with everyone. There was nothing strange before the accident."

This man is Wupin Shangfu, Ye Siyi's immediate boss.

Ye Siyi has been in the palace for five years. Because of his hard work, decent manners and beautiful appearance, he was promoted to the position of Siyi.

I went to the Ministry of Etiquette that day to prepare the attire for the ceremony for the concubines. There were no special circumstances.

Bad news suddenly came from outside the palace. The female officials couldn't believe it was true, and they are still panicked to this day.

Cao An was also mentally prepared for this outcome.

If Ye Siyi was really the orphan of the Ye family 20 years ago, he must have hidden his hatred deep in his heart during the five years he entered the palace, and ordinary people might not be able to see through it.

But that person suddenly committed suicide, did he really leave no clues? This doesn’t make sense!
  "Take me to Ye Siyi's residence to have a look."

"Yes, sir, please follow me."

Cao An stood up and followed the female officer around a few turns in the complicated palace before finally arriving at a side room.

As a female officer, the accommodation conditions are pretty good.

The house looks quite spacious, and there is even some rouge and gouache. You can dress up on weekdays. If you are lucky, you might even bump into Emperor Wan Jing.

Because it had just happened not long ago, the room was still as it was and had not been tidied up yet. The female officers were only allowed to look through it briefly.

"Have you found anything suspicious?" Cao An asked.

"My lord, I didn't find it." The female officer shook her head, paused again, and seemed to hesitate to speak.

Cao An felt something was wrong and stared at the other person with burning eyes: "You must have discovered something. Tell the truth."

The female officer was scolded by Cao An, feeling a little guilty, hesitating, and seemed a little unsure.

"Sir, there is indeed something wrong, but I don't know if it will help your investigation."

"You tell me first, and I will make a decision." Cao An didn't want to let go of any clues, even if they were abnormal.

The female officer nodded and said, "Ye Siyi works very hard on weekdays and pays great attention to the design of his clothes. He is highly praised by the Queen."

"Oh? You mean, the queen knows something?"

"The slaves dare not!"

The female officer immediately knelt down and explained in a panic: "My slave's intention is that she is highly appreciated by the Queen, and she would be rewarded with some money on weekdays, but these are gone."

"Gone? You mean all the money is gone?" Cao An was startled and looked at every corner of the room: "Have you searched carefully?"

"I searched for it and paid careful attention when packing it up. These need to be recorded. The money and some valuable jewelry are all gone."

The status of female officials in the harem is much higher than that of maids. Not only do they have a salary, but they also have a better chance of being appreciated.

According to records, Ye Siyi has no relatives, and there are very few opportunities to leave the palace on weekdays. At most, he only goes to the Ministry of Rites to do business.

Now suddenly all the money was gone. Either someone took advantage of the loophole and stole it all, or she had a companion who knew that she was about to die and gave all the money to others.

"Who does she have the best friendship with?"

"Sir, I really can't tell. She has a good personality and gets along well with everyone."

Ye Siyi committed suicide, indirectly forcing the head of the Privy Council to death.

In other words, the mastermind behind the scenes can understand her meaning and will definitely send someone here to investigate as soon as possible.

Ye Siyi must have known that no evidence could be kept in the room, so he moved the evidence elsewhere. The missing money might be a hint.

But how do I get to that person?

Just when Cao An frowned, a young father-in-law suddenly ran over.

First, he bowed to the princess and Eunuch Yu, then came to Cao An, bowed and said: "Cao Shuixiu, the queen has invited me."

What? Queen!

Cao An was startled and looked at Eunuch Yu and Princess Wenzhao standing aside.

Obviously, they were also a little surprised. Why did Cao An alarm the queen when he was handling the case?

"Yes, I'll go over there right away." Cao An didn't refuse, after all, he couldn't refuse.

That's the queen! If you ask your name to see me, you can't reply with 'no see', right?

I can only think about it carefully in my heart, hoping that there is nothing fishy about it.

Princess Wen Zhao was very happy, and took the initiative to run over and said: "My mother must appreciate your talent just like me. Don't worry, my mother is very talkative. I will go with you."

With Princess Wen Zhao accompanying her, Cao An felt a little relieved.

Follow the little father-in-law all the way to the queen's palace.

The more splendid palace, the eunuchs and maids on the roadside, combined, were more crowded than their Tsing Yi Department.

At the end of the palace, on a soft couch, the queen of the world, dressed in gorgeous clothes, was waiting for his arrival.

To be honest, Cao An is a very polite person.

Before he entered the palace, he also learned some greeting words from Zhu Xian specifically to deal with the concubines in the harem.

Only when he really saw the queen, his hands froze in salute, all etiquette was forgotten, and he was shocked.

It wasn't the queen's mother-in-law's appearance that made Cao An stunned on the spot.

But this queen, he has seen it before!

Isn't this the figure who appeared in the obsession after the leader's death?

Cao An finally understood who the weird farewell letter was written to.

My princess! The headmaster is so kind to you, not because he wants to be your master, but because he wants to be your father!

(End of this chapter)