Ailuo Wen, Lightning Magic, murder.
Each of these three words seemed ordinary on its own, but combined together, they left Meiluxina dumbfounded.
The biggest question was, how did she dare to kill someone?
If it were a matter of discovering the poisoning, logically speaking, given Ailuo Wen’s background, she should have been forced to let the matter go.
“Could it be… that she truly has a hidden power behind her?”
Meiluxina kept fiddling with the teacup on the table, her heart filled with extreme unease.
“Nandi, you investigated Ailuo Wen’s background before, didn’t you?”
Meiluxina cast her a teasing glance.
Nandi was one of Meiluxina’s most trusted confidants. Seeing Meiluxina say this, the color instantly drained from her face.
“Ailuo Wen indeed has no special background. I even combed through every connection in her family. I even know the habits of the few dogs they keep.”
Nandi was considered Meiluxina’s top investigator, possessing not only exceptional assassination skills but also terrifyingly strong reconnaissance abilities.
“So what you’re saying is, Ailuo Wen just happened to gain the ability to kill Dasha out of thin air, and she dares to disregard my Moon Serpent Royal Family and directly kill one of our clan’s servants?”
“This… I’m afraid the only explanation is that Ailuo Wen herself suddenly awakened, and that maid beside her has magical talent.”
“Nandi, you also know that maid of hers, who doesn’t know her place, is still learning first-tier magic. Could she have casually killed Dasha, who had already mastered second-rank magic and possessed knight-level combat strength?”
“Then it can only be the former.”
As the person in charge of investigating Ailuo Wen, Nandi was naturally even more confused than Meiluxina, and Meiluxina could see that.
Besides, no matter how psychologically twisted Meiluxina was, she wouldn’t actually do anything serious to Nandi.
“Go take a look at the scene.”
Meiluxina ordered.
Nandi stood up, slightly bowing her body to indicate her leave, then vanished on the spot, as if she had evaporated into thin air.
“So you’re just going to swallow this insult?”
Meiluxina took a gentle sip of her tea and glanced at the woman beside her.
“You haven’t been with me long, so I’ll forgive your impertinence this time, but don’t let it happen again.”
“Yes…”
Meiluxina understood perfectly well that Ailuo Wen’s actions were like a slap across her face.
There were plenty of people in the Inner Palace who would relish watching this joke unfold.
But until the investigation was complete, she couldn’t easily commit more manpower.
Lion vs rabbit, one must use full strength. The fact that Ailuo Wen could casually kill Dasha meant her strength was definitely not low.
Meiluxina had already lost her playful mindset.
“You’re called Tina, right? Now go fetch five boxes of pearl powder, ten pieces of jewelry, two diamond brooches, a sacred prayer book, a famous poetry collection, and write an apology letter in my tone. You know how to write it.”
“Deliver these things to Ailuo Wen.”
“Do it well, and you can stay. But if you can’t even handle this small task, I won’t hesitate to throw you to the little pets I keep in my underground chamber.”
Tina stood up and bowed.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly.
She could manage to keep her legs from shaking, but her upper body still quivered faintly.
The little pets Meiluxina spoke of were two giant snakes, each ten meters long. She had seen them.
“Lady Meiluxina, Princess Consort, I’ll go at once.”
Tina hurried away, and the courtyard instantly felt much colder and emptier.
……
On the other side, Ailuo Wen, who had narrowly escaped the scythe of death, finally woke up.
“Ailuo Wen!”
Nina’s anxious face was the first thing to come into view, and Ailuo Wen immediately felt much more at ease.
Their hands were clasped together.
“Nina… she force-fed me medicine…”
“I know. Rest easy for now, I’m here.”
“Drink some water.”
Nina brought a spoonful of clean water and fed it to Ailuo Wen.
Then she warmed up the medicine and attended to her while she drank it.
After taking the medicine, Ailuo Wen visibly improved, and color slowly returned to her face.
“Nina, I feel like someone has been helping me in secret.”
“You… you don’t know who it is either?”
Nina asked, her expression somewhat urgent.
But Ailuo Wen simply shook her head.
“I don’t need to know who it is. I’m very grateful to him. Even if it’s for his sake, I must live on no matter what.”
“Help me up. I need to drink more medicine to get better.”
“You can’t drink that much medicine at once! All you need to do is rest well.”
Seeing that Ailuo Wen had no complaints at all, only gratitude toward that mysterious person, Nina’s eyes grew misty.
After a while, Ailuo Wen fell into a peaceful sleep.
Nina prepared to clean up the traces left in the courtyard.
Although someone had already carried away the maid’s corpse, the Lightning Magic had been too powerful, leaving the grass and bricks in the courtyard badly damaged.
“Greetings! Is anyone there?!”
Nina opened the courtyard gate and found a woman wearing the same gray-blue maid uniform. She immediately became wary.
“I apologize, but Lady Ailuo Wen is unwell and cannot receive any guests.”
“There’s no need for the Princess Consort to appear in person. This is an apology letter from my mistress, Meiluxina.”
Tina handed over a letter sealed with a snake-shaped wax seal.
Behind her, several people carried various exquisite wooden boxes that were clearly filled with treasures.
“These are Lady Meiluxina’s tokens of sincerity. Some of her servants overstepped their bounds. Please ask Lady Ailuo Wen to forgive them as she sees fit…”
“Overstepped their bounds?”
Nina let out a cold laugh.
“Can attempted murder of a Princess Consort be explained away with ‘overstepping their bounds’?”
Tina did not grow angry at Nina’s rebuttal. Instead, she revealed a smile of guilt.
“This is merely a small token of compensation from Lady Meiluxina. A humble offering.”
“Put the things in the warehouse, then you can leave.”
Nina naturally wouldn’t refuse gifts delivered to her doorstep. Why not take what was freely given?
The courtyard where Ailuo Wen lived was not large, perhaps only a third the size of an ordinary Princess Consort’s residence, so even this small amount of goods was somewhat hard to fit.
Those precious jewels were piled up together with the vegetables and fruits bought during the morning market.
Seeing this, Tina was also puzzled. Just what kind of person was this Ailuo Wen?
“Not only is she out of favor, with no power behind her, how could she…”
Tina had only heard about Ailuo Wen’s situation before, but actually arriving at her shabby courtyard gave her a whole new perspective.
But she was merely following orders. Since the other party had accepted the goods, she had fulfilled her mission.
“I probably won’t be thrown to the snakes now…”
Tina finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After exchanging greetings with Nina, she left the courtyard.
But none of those present noticed that at the courtyard gate, Nandi was leaning against the wall.
She had used a battle technique to conceal her figure.
“Judging from the traces, it’s four-tier magic.”
“…”
“Hm? Who is it that actually saw me?”
A powerful surge of mana swept over her entire body, as if telling her: I see you right there.
That mana naturally came from Lai En.