TGCFNM -Chapter 459 The Royal Villa

After leaving the manor, Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin returned to the Wan Residence.

Once back, Chu Ling had Su He write a letter, which she then had Steward Liu arrange to send to the Fu Residence.

To prevent the letter from being thrown away outright, Chu Ling specifically instructed Su He to write the words “Case Investigation” on the envelope so it would safely reach Fu Qingyu’s hands.

Chu Ling’s request was straightforward: if she was to investigate the case, she had to visit the scene of the crime.

One site was a royal villa, the other was the palace itself—she had to go to both.

The royal villa might be manageable, but the palace would require Fu Qingyu to figure out a way in.

Unexpectedly, Fu Qingyu replied quickly. The royal villa could be visited the next day, and as for the palace, he would request the Empress Dowager’s decree.

After reading the reply, Chu Ling handed the letter to Wan Sanjin: “Fu Qingyu is very grateful for our efforts in investigating Empress Hexiao’s case.”

Wan Sanjin glanced at it. “If we can go to the royal villa tomorrow, then let’s call Uncle Hong to come along as well. We might as well take a look—royal places must be luxurious.”

Chu Ling’s eyes lit up. “You’re right, let’s all go together tomorrow.” With that, she asked Steward Liu to deliver the letter to Uncle Hong.

The next day.

Two carriages were parked in front of the Wan Residence. Zhang Dong, along with Steward Liu and Xiao Hua, sat in the back of one carriage, which also carried a lot of supplies. Chu Ling thought that a place like a royal villa would certainly have beautiful scenery and maybe even a spot for a picnic.

In the front carriage, Uncle Hong was in charge of driving and navigating. The other three did not sit inside; instead, they rode alongside him, chattering nonstop.

Uncle Hong frowned, unable to enjoy the scenery at all. He felt like they were barking like dogs the entire way.

Out of exasperation, Uncle Hong decided to speed up. By noon, they finally arrived at the royal villa.

Chu Ling stared at the dilapidated, crumbling buildings before her, pushing aside weeds almost as tall as her legs, utterly shocked and speechless as she looked at Uncle Hong.

Uncle Hong crossed his arms and nodded. “This is why I said you could come today. This place was burned down by His Majesty’s fire a long time ago. It’s been ruined ever since.”

Chu Ling: “…If we hadn’t been smart enough to bring food, wouldn’t we have starved halfway there?”

Uncle Hong nodded, unable to hold back a laugh, his mood lifting. “Exactly. Luckily we have food. So, the carriage will stay here. A few of us will stay behind to make a fire and cook, while the three of you go in to investigate.”

Chu Ling wanted to cry. “With grass this tall, there must be snakes.”

“Snakes are fine,” Uncle Hong said with a smile. “That just gives you an extra course. Go on, hurry up.”

Wan Sanjin sighed and took out his ceremonial dagger. This dagger was usually decorative, giving him an aura of wisdom and heroism, but now it could only be used to cut grass.

Chu Ling and Su He also sighed as they walked behind, stepping on the taller weeds that hadn’t been cut.

Zhang Dong was about to help when Uncle Hong grabbed him. “Let them burn off some energy—they’re annoying enough as it is… Come on, we’ll go prepare the fire and look for water nearby.”

Zhang Dong nodded and went with Xiao Hua to search for a water source.

Uncle Hong and Steward Liu moved some cookware down to the spot.

Meanwhile, after cutting a path for some distance, Wan Sanjin finally caught sight of a flight of steps. After clearing a bit more of the weeds, the three of them climbed the steps and saw a large stone engraved with the words: “Royal Villa”.

“Sir, there’s nothing much to investigate here, right?” Wan Sanjin frowned in disdain. “It’s all blackened from the fire, the building is about to collapse… who knows if it might fall on us…”

Su He’s eyes were sharp, and his hands moved quickly to cover Wan Sanjin’s mouth.

Chu Ling let out a sigh of relief and immediately said, “The three of us will search separately, just take a quick round, make it look like we’re thorough, and report back to Young Master Fu. That should be enough.” With that, she picked a direction and hurriedly stepped over the weeds.

Su He also picked a direction, and after letting go, quickly followed.

Wan Sanjin reached out, wanting to shout, “Isn’t it normal for a dangerous house like this to collapse?” He shook his head and chose a direction to go as well.

Chu Ling wasn’t wandering aimlessly. Following Bai Su’s directions, she accurately found the residence where the late Empress had once lived.

As for how Bai Su knew, it was because she had been there before—she had accompanied the former Crown Prince.

Chu Ling’s curiosity got the better of her. “Aunt Su, you and the former Crown Prince… were you close?”

“I’m good friends with the Crown Princess,” Bai Su said, her expression drifting into memory, a faint smile on her lips. “But when I first met her, I was being chased and seriously injured, and she was sick, her face thin and frail. We were both so pitiful…”

“Later, I stayed by the former Crown Prince’s side to help with matters, and when I passed by here, I came in for a quick look… The precious camellias, left unattended, had taken root and grown well. I even picked a few to bring back for the Princess.”

Bai Su smiled, touching the silver hairpin on her head—it had been a gift from the Crown Princess.

Chu Ling sighed, “Then it seems the Crown Princess must be a gentle and kind person.”

“Gentle?” Bai Su couldn’t help but smile. “Not really. Even though she’s a few years older than me, she was never steady… But later, she faced so many helpless situations, and her health gradually worsened day by day.”

Seeing he had touched on Bai Su’s sad memories, Chu Ling stepped forward and hugged her.

Bai Su gently patted her head. “Let’s go. Let’s take a look; we might make some unexpected discoveries.”

Chu Ling nodded, releasing her, and followed Bai Su’s directions down the stone steps into a courtyard.

“This courtyard doesn’t seem to be the largest,” Chu Ling said. “Wasn’t the Empress supposed to have the biggest courtyard?”

“Doesn’t look like it. I guess the largest belonged to the Empress Dowager,” Bai Su replied casually.

Chu Ling acknowledged with an “Oh” and entered the courtyard.

Bai Su instructed Ghost Scholar and Cui Xi to start searching the courtyard as well. Though it had been inspected many times, one could never be too careful…

Chu Ling chose a partially collapsed room and carefully stepped inside, avoiding the ruined sections while scanning with his eyes.

“This room was probably a dining hall,” Bai Su said. “That side was for storage. The tables and chairs here are still relatively intact.”

She led Chu Ling over.

“The Crown Prince even carved a camellia here,” Bai Su pointed to a spot.

Chu Ling brushed away the dust with her sleeve, revealing the carved flower clearly. “The carving is really beautiful.”

At some point, Ghost Scholar had come over, and he smiled slightly at the camellia carving. “It’s my first time seeing this.”

Chu Ling brushed off more dust, her hands turning black, and casually wiped them on her clothes.

“The camellia even has an insect carved on it?” Chu Ling couldn’t comprehend it. “It’s so pretty—why add a bug?”

Bai Su grabbed him. “The insect is eating the camellia. Back then, the Crown Prince noticed it!”