256 Rude Little Thing (1/2)
”We'll have to wait until your father returns,” Duchess Wang Qixing finally said. Her voice was a bit choked up with emotions but she continued on. ”He'll inform us of the status of the remaining Royal family.”
”The concubines can be set free,” Li Chenyang said. ”We only need to get rid of the heirs like the Princes or Princesses.”
All the while, Li Wenmin sulked in his chair. It wasn't his place to speak up. He felt like a fool for taking so long to choose a side. There wasn't anything he could contribute to the conversation.
Li Xueyue was also lost in thought. She wanted to tell the Duchess about Li Minghua, but at this point, it felt like it was no use. It wasn't like Li Xueyue had physical evidence of Li Minghua's presence. Chenyang's reaction was enough to silence her.
Holding back a sigh, she could only stare out the window and try her best to listen to the discussion between Chenyang and Duchess Wang Qixing.
”Xueyue?” Duchess Wang Qixing said. ”What are you thinking about?”
Li Xueyue shifted her attention from the night sky. ”Uhm…” she trailed off, glancing at Chenyang who firmly shook his head. The action was small and was only noticed by her.
”I-it's just weird,” she said. ”Who was the one that killed the Empress? Why would someone knock me unconscious and put me in her bedroom? It was almost as if someone tried to frame me for her death.”
Duchess Wang Qixing nodded in agreement. ”Yes, it's peculiar and suspicious. This is what I found on the Empress's body.” She reached into her sleeves and pulled out the bloodied handkerchief.
At the sight of blood, Li Wenmin finally straightened up. His eyes grew as large as the moon outside.
Li Chenyang sucked in a deep breath. ”This hydrangea hairpin, didn't it belong to Minghua—”
”It's the murder weapon that finished off the Empress,” Duchess Wang Qixing grimly said.
”Mother, do you recall that meeting you were supposed to be a part of? The one with Wen Jinkai in it?” Li Chenyang brought up. ”Well, Father presented this hairpin to Wen Jinkai and informed him that the hairpin was initially in Hechen since Minghua brought it with her there… it should've disappeared in the fire.”
Li Chenyang took a peek at Xueyue as regret filled him. No matter how much he wanted to believe her, he couldn't. ”But then the hairpin was found in the Capital. To be specific, it was discovered in the Empress's bedroom. I think Wen Jinkai knows that as well.”
”What?” Duchess Wang Qixing breathed out, shocked at the news. Didn't this mean the Empress was near the fire? Or her servants were? How else would the Empress acquire the hairpin?
”Wen Jinkai stormed out of Dad's private study after realizing what we were hinting. He took the hairpin and diary with him,” Li Chenyang explained. ”Do you think…” he trailed off, unable to utter his conclusion.
Everyone shared the same thought. If the hairpin was supposed to be in the hands of Wen Jinkai, but then it was found to be a murder weapon…
”Wen Jinkai killed the Empress?” Li Wenmin hesitatingly said.
”But that doesn't make sense,” Li Xueyue said. ”Wen Jinkai was the one who escorted me home. I heard of how close he was with the Empress. If he was the one who killed her, how could he look so sane today—”
”The idea of murder and death does not faze Wen Jinkai,” Li Wenmin calmly said. ”As a seasoned soldier, he wouldn't have even reacted to her death.”
”No,” Li Xueyue disagreed. ”I know for a fact that Wen Jinkai didn't kill her. It wouldn't make sense. He should've at least been heartbroken. When he told me the Emperor died, it was almost as if he was testing me to see if I was the killer.”
Duchess Wang Qixing pressed her lips together and she showed the hairpin to everyone. ”There was someone trying to frame the entire Li Family. The engraving on the hairpin would've given our identity away.”
Li Xueyue curiously peered at the engraving. 'To my Minghua, may your future bloom like that of hydrangeas.'
Li Xueyue glanced at the beautiful flowers clustered at the top of the hairpin. This hairpin was easily one of the most stunning accessories her eyes had ever laid on, but what caught her attention was the type of flower it was shaped after.
Hydrangeas… Li Xueyue didn't think this flower held so much significance until now. Each and every day, the Duchess always tended to her flowers. She paid the most attention to hydrangeas.
Now, Li Xueyue knew why.
”If Wen Jinkai is the killer,” Li Chenyang began. ”It'd mean he was trying to frame us by leaving this hairpin inside of the Empress. That way, when the Empress's dead body was found, the examiner could trace the hairpin back to us.”
”Exactly,” Duchess Wang Qixing bit out. ”It seems this man is trying to bring us all down.”
Li Xueyue knew it was either now or never. ”Mother, there's something I should tell you.”
Li Chenyang threw her a warning glare.
Li Xueyue pretended he didn't exist. She turned to face the Duchess and decided the most important detail shouldn't be left out. ”Before I was knocked out outside the Empress's bedroom, I overheard a conversation she was having with someone inside.”
Li Xueyue bit her bottom lip. She saw Chenyang clench his fingers into fists. He was furious that she was disobeying his wishes. But she had to say it. The Duchess herself said she never wanted to be kept in the dark. It wouldn't be fair to not share this information.
”The murderer definitely has an accomplice since I was grabbed from behind,” Li Xueyue pointed out. ”But the most crucial detail is the person that the Empress was last talking to before her death.”
Li Chenyang ground his teeth and glowered at the ground. He was also angry at himself for wanting to keep his mother oblivious. He couldn't help it. The melancholy she experienced after Minghua's death was haunting. The Duchess had never been so depressed in her life.
Li Chenyang didn't want his mother to be hurt by the truth or this speculation. There could be hundreds of other girls named Minghua. Xueyue also didn't have solid evidence to back her claim that it was actually Li Minghua.
”The Empress was angrily arguing with someone in her bedroom,” Li Xueyue said. ”She uhm… called the other woman Minghua. And then she talked about some sort of fire and—”
”Are you implying my Minghua is alive?” Duchess Wang Qixing asked as her voice cracked towards the end. The thought of such a miracle was enough for her eyes to tear up. ”M-My darling Minghua didn't perish in that fire?”
”We can't be too sure,” Li Xueyue said. ”But that's what I heard in the bedroom. When I tried to sneak a peek, it was too late, I was grabbed from the behind. It's just strange that Wen Jinkai would've killed the Empress.”