Chapter 1053 - Almost the Same Time
Chapter 1053 Almost the Same Time
In his memory, the brocade box was forbidden to be seen by others!
The chief supervisor felt his heartbeat quicken, his panic-stricken eyes falling on a minor breach in its corner. Abruptly, he froze, and his eyes widened.
He recognized it — it was the brocade box that the former empress had lost.
Sure enough, it was that brocade box.
His previous master’s warning seemed to be still ringing in his ears. When she couldn’t find the box, she told him something important.
!!“Don’t open that brocade box. Even if you get it, don’t try to open it. Otherwise, you will die if the Emperor knows it.”
After the brocade box disappeared from her place, the former empress called him over and carefully warned him about the danger with a pale face. Even if he saw the box in the future, he should pretend that he didn’t see it and never open it because the Emperor back then didn’t want anyone to know what was inside.
If someone was found to have opened it without authorization, he was done for!
Sweat was beginning to break out on his forehead. The chief supervisor had never expected them to target him. If Princess Chen hadn’t reminded him in advance, he wouldn’t have recalled such an old story and might have already opened the brocade box!
Everything that had happened before was an illusion, and what was happening now was real!
It was sent to him but might also be given to Princess Chen, who knew nothing about the past. So, she would open it upon receiving it and get implicated. His back was soaked in a cold sweat as he thought of this possibility. The small box almost put the whole Prince Chen’s Mansion in danger…
“Sir, the imperial guards are here!” A servant ran in, followed by several imperial guards. As the Emperor’s personal guards, they wouldn’t even obey the Empress’s command.
As soon as their head in shining silver armor entered the room, his sharp eyes landed on the brocade box on the table. With a wave of his hand, several imperial guards immediately surrounded the chief supervisor.
The chief supervisor composed himself, stood up hurriedly, and asked with a smile, “Why have you called upon us, Your Excellency?”
“Where did this brocade box come from?” The head of the imperial guards pointed at the brocade box and asked.
“From him.” The chief supervisor answered, pointing at the young man who delivered the food. However, he didn’t elaborate on the details.
“Have you opened it?” With a faint murderous look, the head of the imperial guards looked gloomily at the chief supervisor, his hand on the sheath of the sword on him.
“No. I felt strange when this man handed in the brocade box. Since it looks like an item from the Palace, I don’t dare to open it casually,” The chief supervisor said calmly, with serious doubts in his calm eyes.
Once again, the guard leader looked the chief supervisor up and down but found nothing unusual. It seemed that he did have a suspicious brocade box, so he was not in a hurry to open it. He was cautious.
The chief supervisor of Princess Chen had worked as the general steward for the former empress. Indeed, his cautious manner was far more appropriate than ordinary people’s. No wonder he could earn his current position in the Prince Chen’s Mansion.
The guard leader turned to look at the young delivery man. “Did you bring this brocade box over?”
“Yes… It was from me…” The young man who delivered the ingredients stammered because he had a bad feeling about this.
“Where did you get it?” asked the guard leader coldly.
“Um… It was passed down from my ancestor. He… was a humble… a humble eunuch serving the former empress by her side!” The young man who delivered the cooking materials took a step back in a panic, looked around, and fixed his eyes on the chief supervisor with a pleading look.
“Why haven’t you opened the item from your ancestor?” The guard leader asked again as if he didn’t see the panic in the man’s eyes.
“No… no. My ancestor’s order… He didn’t allow the descendants to see…” Seeing that the chief supervisor stood aside in silence, the young delivery man got too panicked to finish his words.
“Your ancestor’s order? Guards, take him away!” The guard leader waved his hand.
Immediately, two imperial guards approached the young delivery man’s two sides and pulled him away.
“Your Excellency…” The young man fell into a sudden flutter and pleaded for mercy. He seemed totally in the dark. “Why did such a thing happen? The man promised to give me a rich reward after I did what he said. But what’s going on now?”
The two guards slapped him from his right and left sides. Blood flowed out from the corners of his mouth. He almost blacked out and couldn’t say anything more.
Then he was dragged out in a daze like a dead dog.
The courtyard quieted down. The guard leader took a few steps forward and got the brocade box in his hand. After checking it carefully for a while, he looked relaxed. It could be seen that no one had opened it for more than ten years.
“I’m sorry, Sir. I came in a hurry and disturbed you. His Majesty heard the leftover evils of the previous dynasty schemed to harm Princess Chen when Prince Chen was away, so he specially asked me to come here. If I bothered you, I sincerely hope you would excuse me.”
The guard leader put on a polite smile.
“Your Excellency, you shouldn’t have. The remnant evil elements of the previous dynasty should be captured. Since His Highness isn’t around, a few of us are responsible for Her Highness’s safety. If anything bad happens to her, we won’t be able to absolve ourselves from the blame. Our mansion’s security measures are indeed not good enough. Since you’re here, please check around the mansion as well.”
The chief supervisor said with a smile, stepping aside to invite them in. He made this concession to gain some advantages.
It would not be easy to find out who did this to the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Originally, he thought it was the person who delivered the food, but now the young man seemed to be merely a pawn that had already been discarded. If the chief supervisor wanted to prove their innocence, asking these guards to do an overall inspection of the mansion would be the best way.
“His Highness is not at home, and now there is only Her Highness. So, it’s inconvenient for us to investigate.” The guard leader hesitated.
If it were another prince’s mansion, he might scout the mansion. But this place was the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Everybody knew the Emperor liked Prince Chen best. Once Prince Chen learned about this when he returned, he would never let him off.
“Your Excellency, since you’ve come, we’ll have to trouble you to investigate. We will not be at ease if you don’t do that,” said the chief supervisor earnestly.
“Well…”
“Your Excellency, please check it out. We could get prepared if you find out who is plotting against our mansion. When His Highness is away, only Her Highness stays in the mansion. It’s indeed not safe for her,” the chief supervisor urged him to take action.
The guard leader was tempted by his repeated pleas.
”It would indeed be best if we could check it out.“
“Then…” The guard leader was about to agree, but another imperial guard tugged at his sleeve.
The leader immediately came to his senses. Hurriedly, he waved his hand and refused it. “Since it has nothing to do with Prince Chen’s Mansion, then forget it. Arrange people in your mansion well to protect Princess Chen, and don’t let anything happen to her!”
The so-called dregs of the previous dynasty were just an excuse for them to get this brocade box. Someone reported that they had seen a person take Princess Chen the brocade box that the previous empress had lost more than ten years ago.
The Emperor got furious and sent some guards here. Moreover, he had told the guard leader to kill anyone who had seen what was inside the box. If it were Princess Chen, they should bring her under control and wait for the new order from the Emperor.
If they searched this mansion now, they would suffer when Prince Chen was back.
Prince Chen, though he appeared vulnerable, was wicked and merciless. Imperial guards had suffered a lot because of him. As they entered the Prince Chen’s Mansion just now, several of them couldn’t help thinking it was lucky that Prince Chen was not there. Otherwise, all of them who rushed into his mansion would come to no good end.
They had completed their job, and no one had ever opened this brocade box, which meant they wouldn’t come into conflict with anyone from the Prince Chen’s Mansion. That was the best result, so how could they investigate further to cause trouble?
Nothing serious happened, which was the best result for them.
The imperial-guard leader left with the brocade box.
The chief supervisor walked them to the gate. Only then did he find out that except for the few imperial guards who entered the mansion, a group of guards with fierce eyes was standing by outside. Ordinary guards could not compare with them.
The imperial guards went back to report. The chief supervisor at the gate watched them leave with a big smile. But when they were out of his sight, his face changed drastically, and he hurried to the inner court.
A servant was sent to run and report the arrival of the imperial guards to Shao Wanru, and the chief supervisor headed there after him.
He had approved of Shao Wanru. At such a critical time, he would certainly have to discuss the urgent matter with Shao Wanru. Only masters in this mansion had the right to decide on such a thing.
Even though he used to be the general steward in the Palace, he didn’t dare to take the risk and decide all by himself. The leader of the imperial guards came in with a murderous look, which showed that it must be the Emperor who gave them the order.
They left in peace only because the brocade box hadn’t been opened. When the chief supervisor suddenly realized he had been so close to death, he felt a chill in his heart and was still in a cold sweat.
Shao Wanru first got the news from a servant and was very surprised by the incident related to the brocade box.
She had guessed that some people had been secretly plotting against the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Since starting on significant matters was difficult, they might play some little tricks. To her great surprise, this small brocade box seemed important and was related to the Emperor, which frightened her.
Initially, she thought that these things would be exposed one by one, but she did not expect that things would change so quickly. Fortunately, the chief steward was cautious. Otherwise, bad things might have happened at this time.
The chief supervisor came quickly. Hardly when the servant finished telling the whole story in detail, the chief supervisor came over and asked someone to tell Shao Wanru that he had arrived. Then, he waited near the corridor.
It didn’t take long for Shao Wanru to invite him in. She had asked all the other maids to withdraw, leaving only Yujie and Qu Le, her two trusted subordinates.
Looking at the chief supervisor’s pallid face, Shao Wanru slightly knitted her willowy eyebrows. Without beating around the bush, she asked directly, “Sir, do you know that someone intended to kill us?”