176 Mystery Man

No doubt more schemes were lying in wait for Yan Zheyun and he did not have to wait for long to find out. 

Midway through peeling grapes for Liu Yao, Xiao De interrupted their casual chatter apologetically with a maidservant Yan Zheyun had never seen before in tow. 

"Please forgive this servant for intruding," Xiao De murmured, "this is Yuqiu, the head maid in charge of Yuanyin Palace and part of Imperial Concubine Pei Langjun's entourage, she says that Imperial Concubine Pei is…gravely ill and that the matter may not wait for His Majesty's celebrations to be over as her master might not…" He let the inauspicious words remain unspoken for fear of triggering the emperor's wrath. Indeed, Yuqiu's face was ashen and she trembled beneath their combined scrutiny, probably because she knew just how taboo it was for her to bring up the topic of death on a day such as this.