Chapter 201: Affair (1/2)

“What does brother Feng think?” Qi Chen asked.

Jun Huang gave it a moment before saying, “This gentleman thinks that the letters are likely to be given to you on purpose.”

“What do you mean? Are these fake?”

“Not necessary,” Jun Huang said with a smile. “But I think that these are not all of the letters. Lady Wei doesn't seem worried that you would see the letters. Actually, it seems that she wants you to see them. The first few letters show you her genuine love for you, and her feelings justify what she did next. Isn't that how Your Highness think?”

Qi Chen nodded hesitantly and sighed. “When I first read the letters, I felt like it was me who forced her to take such extreme action. If I had paid more attention to her, she would not have tried to drug me.”

“Your Highness is mistaken,” Jun Huang said.

Qi Chen looked up at her, waiting for her to continue. Jun Huang read through the letters again. There was something odd about them. She pointed it out to Qi Chen. “Has Your Highness noticed the change in frequency of the letter exchange? At first, Lady Wei exchanged three letters with her parents per month on average. Last month, there was a sudden spike. There was a letter almost every day. Then, suddenly, there was a period of time when no letters were exchanged. Why is that?”

“What is brother Feng implying?”

“This gentleman believes that they have exchanged letters on those days as well, but they were planning something they didn't want Your Highness to know about. That was why the letters are missing. Of course, that's merely my speculation. I don't have any evidence yet.”

The maid who had left earlier came back with a pot of ginger tea. She poured Jun Huang a cup. The intense smell made Jun Huang scrunch her nose. She knew she didn't have a choice here. She took a deep breath and picked up the teacup. As soon as she took a whiff, though, it sent her into a coughing fit. Qi Chen startled and came up to steady her breathing.

It took a while for Jun Huang to recover. Her eyes were misty and her cheeks were red. Some of the ginger tea had been spilled, but not much. Even though her robe was stained, it wasn't obvious.

“What's wrong?” Qi Chen frowned. He was momentarily drawn by Jun Huang's appearance. He shook his thoughts away and cursed at himself. He turned to Jun Huang with a concerned expression.

Jun Huang took a deep breath and waved a hand dismissively. “Nothing. The smell is a little strong. That's all. I'll be fine. There's no need to worry.” She held her breath and took a small sip. The tang of ginger a.s.saulted her taste buds. She grimaced.

She tilted her head up and finished the whole cup. It tasted as bad as it worked well. Jun Huang's body warmed up and her face lost its sickly look. Qi Chen relaxed and sat back down.

“Brother Feng's words make sense,” Qi Chen said after drinking some tea. “But how should we recover the lost letters?”

Jun Huang curved her lips. “It's simple. Your Highness must remember that Lady Wei has a personal maid. The maid entered the manor with Lady Wei when you married her. I was told that the maid had been serving Lady Wei since they were little. If that's the case, the maid must know a lot of Lady Wei's secrets. Perhaps she was even behind some of the tricks Lady Wei's used.”

Qi Chen nodded. “You're right. How about I had her taken here for interrogation? If you have the time, you should stay and help.”

Jun Huang wasn't going to turn the offer down. She wanted to hear what the maid had to say. She also wanted to prevent the maid from getting her and her master out of the mess. What happened was no trivial matter. Jun Huang would not allow history to repeat itself. She would eliminate the roots of the problem.

The maid was brought to them. Her eyes were red from crying. Her pink dress was tainted with dirt. And her hair was a mess. She looked pitiful, but Jun Huang didn't feel a lick of sympathy for her. Jun Huang wasn't a merciful person, and she had been through much worse in the water prison. The state the maid was in was nothing in comparison.

The maid looked at Qi Chen, then at Jun Huang. A shudder ran down her spine. She knew Jun Huang would demand packback from her, but she didn't expect that to come so soon and so unexpectedly. She wasn't prepared at all.

“Kneel!” the guard restraining her snapped. The maid shuddered and dropped down to the ground. The impact sent a sharp pain through her knees. She grimaced and bowed down with a pale face.

“Your – Your Highness…”