The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 676

Chapter 676: 321 Midnight

The little eunuch hastily headed to the Shanggong Bureau, and soon returned with Zhang Zhangshi.

Xiao Liulang waited for her outside the Renshou Palace.

Zhang Zhangshi is an old maid in the palace. In the imperial palace of the Zhan Country, palace maidens who have reached twenty-five can choose to leave the palace, and those who wish to stay can have their hair combed up in a bun, signifying their status as elderly, unmarried women.

Zhang Zhangshi chose the latter.

From palace maiden to elderly unmarried woman, then to elder maid, she had spent more than half her life in the imperial palace.

The little eunuch who brought the message did not explain the matter in detail. Zhang Zhangshi thought the Empress Dowager had summoned her. When she arrived at the entrance to the Renshou Palace and saw Xiao Liulang, she stood in shock for a moment, then retreated several steps in fright!

Her face apparently caused more than one person to mistake her for a ghost. Zhang Zhangshi, being of advanced years, was understandably even more afraid.

Xiao Liulang didn’t seem to mind. He said, "My family name is Xiao, and my first name is Liulang. I am a Hanlin academician."

"Xiao... Xiao Liulang? Not Xiao..." Zhang Zhangshi was about to say the name, but suddenly remembered her lowly status and that she wasn’t worthy of uttering the name of the young master of the Zhaodu City.

She calmed herself down, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, and said, "My apologies, I mistook you for someone else."

Xiao Liulang didn’t mind, he took out the token given to him by the old Jijiu - a missing piece from a piece of old ink stone.

Zhang Zhangshi’s face changed again when she saw the ink stone: "You..." She hesitated, then asked after a moment, "Did Huo Jijiu send you to find me?"

Xiao Liulang nodded and handed her the ink stone.

Zhang Zhangshi took the ink stone, her eyes reflecting complex emotions as if recalling something: "I never thought he would seek me out at this point. Is he well? I heard he returned to Capital City and resumed his position as Guozijian Jijiu... "

Xiao Liulang reassured her, "He’s doing well, please don’t worry, Zhang Zhangshi."

Zhang Zhangshi gave a bitter smile:, "What do I have to worry about? That man would never die away from home, even if he were exiled to the bitter cold. He would always take good care of himself..."

Xiao Liulang had the feeling that their relationship was not simple, but it wasn’t polite to inquire about personal matters.

Looking at the ink stone in her hand, Zhang Zhangshi seemed both amused and exasperated: "After all these years, he still keeps this old thing. I thought he would’ve thrown it away by now. It’s not even worth much, why bother keeping it? Since he trusts you enough to let you bring this to find me, what does he... No, what do you need from me? He would never seek me out again in this lifetime."

Xiao Liulang sighed at her roller-coaster of emotions, but he was not good at comforting people.

A hint of tears shimmered in Zhang Zhangshi’s eyes, she gave a light laugh, and brushed it off, saying: "I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you. What did you want to discuss?"

Xiao Liulang did not beat around the bush, stating bluntly: "I came to ask Zhang Zhangshi about a certain person."

"Who?" Zhang Zhangshi asked.

Xiao Liulang replied honestly: "A person who has a mole on her left wrist, and was already in the palace over a decade ago. I don’t know if she is a palace maid or a concubine." It couldn’t be the Empress Xiao since she was his biological aunt and wouldn’t harm him, moreover, Xiao Liulang was often held by her, so he knew what her wrist looked like.

Zhang Zhangshi frowned, deep in thought: "I don’t have any recollection... But I can help you find her. As long as she hasn’t left the palace in all these years, I’ll find her for you. But."

Xiao Liulang understood. After all, it had been over a decade, and palace maids were released every year. If she was one of them, then it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But very soon, Xiao Liulang shook his head: "No, she should not have left the palace."

Poisoning the legitimate heir of Xuanping was a grave crime, punishable by death if discovered. If she was a lady of the court, such women weren’t allowed to leave the palace; if she was a palace maid, she most likely acted under orders.

After doing such an important job for her master, how could the master let her leave the palace? The master would either kill her to prevent her from talking, or keep her by his side to continue serving him.

However, he did not hear about any palace maids dying wrongfully after he was poisoned.

That person was still alive.

Living in the palace.

Zhang Zhangshi asked: "Exactly how many years ago was it?"

Xiao Liulang replied: "Fourteen years ago."

"Ah..." Zhang Zhangshi seemed to realize something, she looked deeply at Xiao Liulang, nodded and said, "So you’re looking for someone who entered the palace fourteen years ago. Alright, I’ll handle this for you."

Zhang Zhangshi left with the ink stone in hand.

Xiao Liulang watched her gradually disappearing into the darkness, and for some reason he couldn’t quite pinpoint, her retreating figure seemed staggeringly lonely.

The night was setting in, and the imperial palace was about to close.

Little Jingkong bid farewell to Empress Dowager Zhuang.

Little Jingkong sternly said: "Auntie, you can sneak sweets, but you can’t drink sweet water, and you can’t sneak fried doughnuts. I will tell Jiaojiao."

Empress Dowager Zhuang looked annoyed: "Alright, alright, you talk too much! Now hurry up and leave!"

With his small hands behind his back and his head tilted, Jingkong raised his eyebrows: "Don’t miss me too much then."