Chapter 462: Chapter 256 The Real Cause of Death of the Former Empress_3
"The late Empress was such a gentle and kind person, yet because of..." She clenched her fists tightly, her face showing an expression of anger.
"Mother Consort, in these noble families, isn’t it quite normal for such schemes against each other to occur, even though it’s wrong?" Zhao Yao saw Liang Zhaoyi looking furious and feared she might lose her temper and report this matter to the Emperor, so he quickly advised, "Mother Consort, this is only our suspicion. We have no evidence. Please don’t impulsively run to tell Father that the late Empress was harmed by the Empress."
Upon hearing this, Liang Zhaoyi’s clenched fists relaxed, and the angry expression on her face was replaced by helplessness.
"I won’t impulsively go and tell your father about this."
Seeing Liang Zhaoyi return to normal, Zhao Yao breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
"That’s good."
"I won’t tell His Majesty about this for now, but this matter cannot simply be brushed aside." Thinking about how the gentle and kind-hearted late Empress met with an untimely death, Liang Zhaoyi said furiously, "We must investigate this matter thoroughly."
"How should we investigate?" Zhao Yao asked in bewilderment, "The Duchess of the Old Duke certainly wouldn’t leave any trouble for the Empress. Before she died, she would have cleared all potential threats for the Empress without leaving a trace."
"That’s true, but we still need to investigate, to give justice to the late Empress."
It was the first time Zhao Yao had seen Liang Zhaoyi so indignant, and he was quite surprised. He knew that Liang Zhaoyi was usually very mild-tempered; in his memory, she had never lost her temper.
"Mother Consort, did you like the late Empress very much?"
"Everyone liked the late Empress; she took great care of us," Liang Zhaoyi said, "The late Empress was the best person in the world."
As Zhao Yao had never met the late Empress, he had no personal feelings towards her. After guessing the real cause of her death, he felt sorry for her, but he was not as angry as Liang Zhaoyi was.
"Mother Consort, do you want revenge for the late Empress?"
"No, I just want to bring justice to the late Empress," Liang Zhaoyi said coldly, "and let the Empress receive the punishment she deserves."
"Mother Consort, what do you plan to do?"
"Have your second uncle investigate the events of that year."
"Second Uncle doesn’t have the ability to investigate matters of the Duke Zhen Country Mansion, and if he really does probe into those affairs, he’ll definitely be in danger." Zhao Yao didn’t agree with letting Liang Run investigate, thinking for a moment, he said, "I should ask Second Uncle for help in the investigation."
Liang Zhaoyi didn’t want to trouble He Lianfang, but she understood that Liang Run couldn’t investigate or discover matters concerning the Duke Zhen Country Mansion.
"Then please have your Second Uncle assist with the investigation." With He Lianfang’s methods, he might actually find something.
"Did Father really have no suspicions about the late Empress’s death?"
"His Majesty did have suspicions and also sent people to investigate, but nothing unusual was found."
"If Father’s men found no abnormalities, it means the Duchess of the Old Duke destroyed all evidence or traces, so Second Uncle is unlikely to discover anything, either," Zhao Yao said to Liang Zhaoyi, "Mother Consort, you best not hold expectations."
Liang Zhaoyi nodded solemnly and said, "I understand."
Zhao Yao noticed that Liang Zhaoyi’s complexion was still unpleasant. With some unease, he asked again, "Mother Consort, are you truly alright?"
"No problem." Liang Zhaoyi reassured Zhao Yao with a smile, "Don’t worry, I won’t act impulsively."
"Alright, then I won’t be concerned."
Liang Zhaoyi raised her hand and lightly tapped Zhao Yao’s head, "It’s late, you should go rest."
"Then I’ll go rest." Zhao Yao gave Liang Zhaoyi a bright smile, "Mother Consort, you should rest early too."
Looking at the radiant smile on her son’s face, Liang Zhaoyi’s heart softened, and her eyes became gentle, "Alright."
Zhao Yao waved to Liang Zhaoyi, then returned to his room, where he saw Lai Yi nestled asleep against Xiao Jin. His heart stirred, and an idea immediately came to him.
"Lai Yi, wake up."
A dreaming Lai Yi was awakened by Zhao Yao, and looked at him displeased: [Yao Yao, you better have a reason.]
Zhao Yao reached out to pet Lai Yi’s little head, smiling as he said to it, "I have something very important to tell you."
Lai Yi: [Speak.]
"Do you know the parrot in Zhao Yang Palace?" A white parrot resides under the corridor of Zhao Yang Palace, an exceptionally rare and foreign breed.
[Do you mean that annoying parrot?] Of course, Lai Yi and its kind knew of the white parrot in Zhao Yang Palace. They often flew there to play with it, but that parrot was so arrogant, looking down on them sparrows, saying they weren’t worthy to speak with it.
Hearing the dissatisfaction in Lai Yi’s tone, Zhao Yao asked curiously, "Do you have a feud with it?"
[Yes, a huge feud...] Following this, Lai Yi chirruped endlessly, grumbling about how annoying the white parrot was.
After listening, Zhao Yao: "..." He hadn’t expected the white parrot in Zhao Yang Palace to be so detestable.
[Yao Yao, do you have business with that annoying parrot?]
"Forget it, don’t bother with it. Lai Yi, send your subordinate sparrows to keep watch at Zhao Yang Palace..." Zhao Yao leaned close to Lai Yi’s ear and whispered.
[Even though we despise that bothersome white parrot, for your sake, Yao Yao, we are willing to watch at Zhao Yang Palace.]
Zhao Yao lowered his head, kissing Lai Yi’s little head.
"Thank you very much."
Lai Yi raised its wing and patted its chest, saying: [Leave it to us.] With that said, Lai Yi flew out to arrange the matter.
Xiao Jin said: [I will also go keep watch at Zhao Yang Palace.]
Zhao Yao gently petted the feathers on Xiao Jin’s back, smiling as he said, "You can’t, you’re too conspicuous. If you go to Zhao Yang Palace, you’ll definitely be found out."
Xiao Jin looked at Zhao Yao, displeased.
"You have other tasks to do, later you’ll assist me by delivering a message to Second Uncle."
Upon hearing Zhao Yao’s words, Xiao Jin was finally happy.
Currently unable to leave the palace, Zhao Yao wrote letters daily to communicate with He Lianfang, naturally sending them through Xiao Jin.
He Lianfang sat at the desk, reading, when suddenly he heard a noise, then saw Xiao Jin swagger in front of him.
Xiao Jin proactively lifted its right leg, which had a letter tied to it.
He Lianfang smiled slightly, then reached out to untie the letter from Xiao Jin’s right leg, gently petting Xiao Jin’s little head.
After reading the letter sent by Zhao Yao, a look of surprise involuntarily appeared on his face.