I Refused The Male Lead And Got Claimed By His Triplet Sisters [GL]

Chapter 30: Whistle

Empress Shen Lihua had just taken a step when a flute sounded in the distance—only two notes, thin and hollow.

The sound came again when the Empress proceeded with another step. This time it was sharper. More message than music.

She turned back to the door with hurried steps. "Make sure no one else enters here." And to the guard he said, "Strike anyone that tries to sneak in down."

With that she gathered her garments and left, eyes searching the open courtyard to make sure no one was following or watching her.

It wasn’t until she made it to her residence that she slowed down. But instead of going in, she walked all the way to the back.

There was a veiled figure waiting for her.

"I’ve retrieved it all," Empress Shen Lihua said and handed the documents over. "Don’t mess it up this time."

A gloved hand took it from her.

"And the girl...have you found her?"

The figure shook their head.

Empress Shen Lihua raised her head and her companion flinched. She sighed heavily at the movement and stepped closer to them.

"You make it seem like I’m an evil woman that’s hurting you," she said in a sweet voice, the raised hand resting on their cheek. "You know I care about you, right?"

The veiled figure nodded, leaning into the Empress’s touch like it was a soothing balm to their aching heart.

"No one loves you as much as I do, not even your own father. But not to worry, after this is all over, we’ll finally be together."

"Promise?" The voice was tiny but it held so much emotion. "You haven’t called me to your chamber for a long time."

Shen Lihua rubbed the soft cheek in a soothing manner. "This is a very delicate time, I don’t want to bring suspicion upon us. Do everything I ask and you can finally be by my side."

"What do you want me to do with these?"

"Burn it all, they must never see the light of day," Lihua’s voice was firm. "And the wolves...I know they have something to do with the girl. Find out everything they know and report back to me."

"Okay."

"And that Shen Yexue..."

Her companion froze.

"She’s smarter than she looks. If any of them knows about the maid, she’s the one. Look into her but make sure not to get caught."

"Okay."

The Empress turned to leave when a gloved hand shot out and held her wrist. "No goodbye..."

"Now, my beautiful Peony. You haven’t earned another kiss yet." She kept her back to her companion. "Find me the girl and you can have as many kisses as you desire."

-

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The two figures hiding behind the screen waited until everyone had left before making their way out with a relieved sigh.

They’d been so close to getting their cover blown. No explanation whatsoever would’ve been able to save them.

Ru Yi rushed to the broken vase, trying to put the pieces together.

"You’re going to hurt yourself," Shen Lieyin said, going over to the overturned boxes to see if they’d missed anything. But they’d taken all the documents they came for which just took them back to point zero.

Lieyin stepped over the mess, checking if they’d missed anything. She was about to turn when she saw a hidden compartment right under one of the cabinets.

She reached down and pulled it open.

Inside were documents and a couple handwritten letters. "Hey, come over and look at this."

Ru Yi stood up from the ground and walked over. "These were the ones I’d gotten myself..." she flipped the pages. "Everything is right here. Do you think she knew she was in danger and hid this because she didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands?"

Lieyin read through the documents. "Probably. The princess was smart..." she looked at the bead of blood that had gathered at the tip of Ru Yi’s finger from picking up the broken glasses, "she was definitely not as stupid as you."

Without thinking Lieyin grabbed Ru Yi’s bleeding finger and popped it in her mouth. She couldn’t risk her blood staining any of the papers or leaving evidence of their presence.

Ru Yi’s eyes widened, her heart fluttering for a couple seconds before going into overdrive. She stifled a gasp when Lieyin’s warm tongue lapped up all the blood, the movement sending thousands of sensations down her stomach.

"I think it has stopped—"

Lieyin looked at her with a questioning gaze, the dim light from outside playing with the blueness of her eyes. They looked just like a calm sea before a heavy storm.

"I..." Ru Yi stuttered, her breath coming out faster when Shen Lieyin finally released her finger with a pop sound.

Lieyin turned back to the table, unaware of the chaos she’d set off in Ru Yi’s head.

"There’s a letter here from an unnamed person asking Lin Yuexin to meet them on the night of the ball." Lieyin picked up another letter. "Looks like whoever it was had been in communication with her longer than that."

"She didn’t mention any of it to me," Ru Yi muttered to herself.

"Maybe because you were not of any importance to her?" she scanned through another letter. "It’s a good thing they missed this. Come on, let’s leave before they decide to come back."

Ru Yi rushed over and picked up a jade bracelet she’d see the princess wear a couple times. It wouldn’t hurt to keep something of hers for remembrance. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

They went back the way they’d come, Ru Yi climbing Lieyin’s shoulders before being pushed over the wall.

Their feet landed softly on the ground before they made their way back to the Eastern Palace where they triplets resided.

Shen Qingyue was already waiting when they entered the courtyard.

"I had the maids retire early," she said in relief. "Ru Yi, you’ll go back to Yexue’s chamber. She’s waiting for you."

She faced her sister. "I’ll have a word with you first."

Ru Yi said nothing as she was escorted back to the youngest triplet’s room, wondering why they didn’t include Yexue in their discussion.

Shen Qingyue gave Lieyin a nod before they went to her room. "Tell me everything."

Lieyin dropped everything she’d brought with her on the table. "Like we suspected, Empress Shen Lihua is involved. She was at Lin Yuexin’s residence, right after we went in."

Shen Qingyue froze for a second.

"Don’t worry we didn’t get caught. Lin Yuexin was investigating the Empress, and from everything the maid girl said—I think Lihua has a hand in her murder."

"How did Lin Yuexin get all this?" Qingyue flipped through it, "with evidence like this, Lihua won’t be able to remain in court."

A particular document caught her eye, it had a seal in the form of a peony. "Do you think it’s all connected? The scroll that night..."

This was precisely why Yexue couldn’t be a part of the conversation.

"What if it’s not?" Shen Lieyin asked, "if we make the wrong move this could all be ruined."

Qingyue clenched her jaw.

Whether it was this night, or over ten years ago—she felt just as helpless. "What if we get Ru Yi to testify?"

"What do you mean?"

"If we can expose the real murderer and prove that she was framed, we can link it all back to Lihua and why she killed Lin Yuexin."

"She’s obviously going to deny it, Lihua is not stupid." Lieyin pinched the bridge of her nose, she could feel a headache coming.

"I know, but there’s bound to be a loophole we can use to our advantage." Qingyue pointed at the peony seal on one of the documents, "this same flower was carved into the swords of the men that attacked that night."

Qingyue closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Whether she’d ordered the assassination herself, or was acting on orders, there is only one undeniable truth." She looked at Lieyin, "Lihua had a hand in the death of the late Empress."