NOVPUBShen Roujia was taken aback. “Why would they do that?”
Tao Hua spread his hands. “This matter is impossible to investigate deeply. Although it happened three years ago, it was handled so cleanly that no clues remain.”
He then added with a sly grin, “But there is one thing you might find interesting.” 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Shen Roujia nodded. “Go on, tell me.”
Tao Hua glanced at the plump Zhang San standing nearby.
Shen Roujia waved Zhang San off.
As soon as Zhang San saw the gesture, he discreetly turned and left.
Only then did Shen Roujia speak, “He’s one of my trusted aides in the Hidden Pavilion. Even if he knows something, he won’t betray me easily.”
Tao Hua shook his head slightly. “It’s not really a secret, but it’s a complicated matter. Those who hear it might bring trouble upon themselves.”
Shen Roujia thought to herself that she already had enough trouble and a bit more wouldn’t make a difference.
She nodded. “Go ahead.”
Tao Hua slowly sipped his tea before he began. “I found something unexpected while investigating the timeline. Three years ago, during a spring hunt, the late Empress was assaulted by bandits and later took her own life due to mental distress.”
“Although the royal family covered it up well, today, while investigating, I found that those bandits appeared far too suddenly.”
“It’s as if they were brought there deliberately. The initial disturbance started a few days before the spring hunt, in a small town on the northern border.”
Shen Roujia frowned, sensing something was amiss.
“Are you suggesting...”
Tao Hua smirked, “Isn’t it interesting? No matter how skilled the bandits were, they couldn’t have traveled from the border to the imperial spring hunting palace in Capital city within three days.”
“And with such a large force prepared for an assassination.”
Shen Roujia’s expression froze. It became clear that the issue wasn’t solely about the scented balm—there were deeper problems at play.
