The Crown Prince is Actually a Princess! SEASON 1

Chapter 52 Part 1 - "The Handyman's Hall"

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Yuan Qiu was transferred to the Handyman's Hall, and the inside matters needed to be investigated.
The front yard of the Hall was very large, and all the staff there worked in it.
Yuan Qiu had been working in the Handyman's Hall for many days, sleeping in the common room with other court ladies.

According to the testimony of steward Li Tian Xiang, the servant in charge of the Handyman's Hall, and the maids in the shop, it had been two days since Yuan Qiu was last seen.

Shen Zhiyan asked with a cold face,

"As the steward in charge of this place, didn't you find it strange that you hadn't seen Yuan Qiu for two days?"

Murong Ci stared at the people there, and several court ladies were kneeling respectfully, bowing their heads deeply, trembling and trembling.
They didn't dare to move, holding their breath.
All of them looked in panic and awe, worried that they would be found guilty of looking at His Royal Highness directly.

Steward Li Tian Xiang was calmer.
After all, he lived a few years longer than them, and he had seen many big scenes, but he still held a respectful attitude and didn't dare to offend.
Yet, when else had the people in the Handyman's Hall ever had such an important person like the Crown Prince in front of them?
Therefore, all of them were in deep panic and fear, and dared not offend His Highness.

"In response to Master Shen's question, this servant thought she was just ill...
So I let her rest for a day or two..."
Li Tian Xiang stammered,

"She had just come to the Handyman's Hall and right afterwards, she had fallen ill within a few days, and once fainted.

The other people working here all saw it with their own eyes..."

"Yes, Yuan Qiu was ill."
The ladies of the Hall rushed to agree, as if they would be convicted if they didn't agree.

"You haven't seen her for two days straight...
Haven't you looked for her or asked about her?"
Murong Ci asked in a deep voice, exerting authority.

"No...Your Royal Highness.
The thing is, Yuan Qiu had always been like that.
She was either sick or she didn't see people all day...
So we didn't mind too much even if we didn't see her all day..."
He was so frightened,

"This servant never thought she would be dead...
Your Highness, Master Shen, this servant didn't kill anyone... this servant is wrongly accused..."

Yuan Qiu was just a humble court lady.
Steward Li Tian Xiang never thought that she would attract the attention and inquiries from the Crown Prince and the Minister of the Dali Temple when she died.
This was something he had never expected
to happen.
He regretted her death, and he should have looked for Yuan Qiu before.

Shen Zhiyan threatened:

"You'd better answer honestly, otherwise your life will be at stake..."

Li Tian Xiang trembled with fright,

"The servant will tell everything that I know and I dare not hide anything..."

Murong Ci asked again:

"Who found Yuan Qiu's body?"

A maid raised her head slightly, and said like a mosquito:

"It's this servant.
There was a water tank in the backyard that had been abandoned for a few years.
I was told to clean it and fill it with water, so today I went to take it and move it to the front yard......And so when I did...."
She said with her face pale, her limbs trembling violently, and the fear deep into her bones made her unable to restrain herself from trembling.

"This servant saw Yuan Qiu curled up inside it, not breathing..."

"No body saw Yuan Qiu for two days, so it's possible that she had been dead for two days.
Had no one noticed the water tank in the backyard?"
Murong Ci frowned and thought.

"Your Royal Highness, no one went to the backyard, because the Palace people working here have to work from morning to night, and there is no time to go.
Moreover, the water tank was abandoned in the grass under the tree, covered by the grass, so no one found it for two days."
Li Tianxiang answered.

"Where is Yuan Qiu's body?"
Shen Zhiyan asked decisively.

His handsome appearance and graceful face, like the wind, attracted the court ladies of the Hall, and they were shyly looking at him with coquettish or obsessive eyes clinging to him.

They also knew deeply inside that their status was different compared to that of Master Shen, who was the Vice-Minister of the Dali Temple.
They were people of complete different worlds, and it was impossible for them to have any hope.

However, this couldn't prevent them from admiring the his beauty and staring obsessively at him.

Seeing that His Highness didn't doubt his explanation, Li Tian Xiang's calmed down a little, and replied:

"We put Yuan Qiu's body in an unoccupied room."

Murong Ci and Shen Zhiyan looked at each other, and called the Palace lady who found the body to go to the backyard.
Li Tian Xiang led the way.

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END of CHAPTER 52 PART 1
.....................to be continued