Eight Treasures Trousseau

101-105

Chapter One Hundred and One: Criminal Servant

When Yan Jin Qiu entered the room, he had the servants who were not needed leave. It was a habit that he had formed at some unknown time. He found that he did not need to be so guarded around Hua Xi Wan—as though around her, he had a chance to breathe.

Maybe it was the other's lazy habits that had infected him?

Seeing him enter, Hua Xi Wan only waved a hand at him out of laziness rather than get up, and motioned for him to sit down next to her.

Detecting something unusual in Hua Xi Wan's gaze, Yan Jin Qiu asked, "Did something happen?"

"Do you still remember Min Huai Junzhu?" Hua Xi Wan looked directly at Yan Jin Qiu and waited for his response.

Yan Jin Qiu's brow creased slightly. "She is making trouble for you?"

Hua Xi Wan shook her head and then said, "No, a few days ago when I went to Shu Fei's palace, I accidentally heard Shu Fei mention her. I hadn't thought anything of it, but just now I thought of a suspicious matter. Is Min Huai Junzhu really on the side of Princess Rui He?"

He hadn't expected Hua Xi Wan to have a thought like this. Yan Jin Qiu stilled slightly and then said indifferently, "It is not important what side she is on. Now that the Crown Prince's group has fallen, she, as a piece on the chessboard, has no use. The person in the shadows cannot be seen to be very kind in keeping her—he just doesn't want the chaotic Jing to be even more chaotic."

Hearing such ruthless words, Hua Xi Wan gave a complicated smile. She believed that Min Huai Junzhu felt something for Yan Jin Qiu, but that emotion was not strong enough for her to change sides. A person as smart as Yan Jin Qiu would definitely know what Min Huai Junzhu felt, but that bit of emotion wasn't enough for him to do anything.

Living in an environment like this, was it luck or calamity to be born as one of the Imperial House?

She had suspected Min Huai Junzhu a long time ago, and had a strong feeling that she was related to the poisoning of the Crown Prince.

In the time after the Crown Prince had come out of the heavenly prison, all of Zhu Que Palace had been barricaded and waterproof. All the ancestors and backgrounds of the people who were serving were clean, and anyone who was suspicious at all wouldn't be able to go near the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince had still died. The only people who could have done it were those on the Crown Prince's side and who were trusted by the Empress.

At the start, she had suspected it was the Crown Princess. However, the Crown Princess had been pregnant at the time. The previous empress had also had opinions about her affair with the Emperor. How could she not guard against the Crown Princess?

The ones most suspicious were Princess Rui He who was deeply trusted by the Empress, and Min Huai Junzhu. Princess Rui He was not likely to kill the Crown Prince unless she wanted to become emperor herself. This princess who was only interested in a luxurious life and her men did not have courage. So the the Crown Prince succeeding to the throne would be her first choice. A cousin could not compare to her brother.

Then the last possibility was Min Huai Junzhu. She had the ability and also the motive.

When she thought about some matters, she would feel that everyone around her was an unfathomable expert. Hua Xi Wan thought herself a lazy person, so she did not want to meddle much. She had told her guess to Yan Jin Qiu. It would be his own problem how he wanted to deal with this matter.

Yan Jin Qiu naturally understood that, with Hua Xi Wan's personality, she disliked worrying about such matters. He personally poured a cup of tea and presented it to her, saying with a smile, "This husband has nothing with which to repay Furen for thinking on behalf of this husband, and can only promise you my body."