Lin Feilu probably injured her vocal cords from screaming too much earlier in that frightful situation. Thinking about it now, she sounded as if there were ten screaming chickens at the same time. She stopped coughing, but felt like her throat was on fire, unable to say a word.
She shook her head with her eyes still filled with tears.
Consort Xian and Lin Jingyuan had also rushed over with their servants, followed by Lin Ting and Lin Qing who rushed into the room anxiously. Lin Nianzhi, who was unable to come because of Consort Hui, delegated Baoyou, her personal maid, to check out the situation.
The small room was instantly crowded with people. Song Yu repeated the scenario again while sobbing. She then added, “If the princess was not worried that this maid servant would catch cold sleeping outside and asked this maid servant to sleep with her on the bed, the assassin probably could have already smothered the princess to death.”
The assassin probably did not expect a maid servant to sleep on the bed. It was also too dark to identify his target so he commited the crime blindly. If the one smothered was Lin Feilu, a five year old girl who could barely fight back, she would probably be suffocated to death.
Everyone shivered fearfully at that notion.
Lin Jingyuan was furious. “Who dared to commit a crime here?! Where are the guards?! Have you caught the culprit?”
Lin Ting and Lin Qing’s faces were furious too. After all, they were older and much more thoughtful. It was Little Fifth Sister’s first time out of the palace. She was so young that it was impossible for her to make any enemies. Why would the assassin take such a big risk to kill a little girl?
Moreover, there were guards stationed outside. Outsiders would not be able to get in at all, so the assassin was most likely among the entourage.
Everyone reached the conclusion except for Lin Jingyuan, who was so angry that he lost his composure.
The Fifth Princess was probably affected by the grievances and grudges from her mother’s generation.
Xiao Lan had fallen out of favor for many years. Recently, Emperor Lin had gotten fond of the Fifth Princess which stirred up some worries that Xiao Lan would regain favor because of her daughter. Therefore, someone thought of using this trip as an opportunity to get rid of her.
After all, Emperor Lin was not extremely fond of the Fifth Princess yet, if the deed was done cleanly without any trace of evidence, Emperor Lin would not investigate the matter too much, even if he was furious. What’s more, this was a resting station which was used for only one night and the royal convoy would be leaving tomorrow.
The royal convoy would not extend their stay just for a little princess and all clues would be gone once they left. Therefore, it was the best place to commit the crime. Since the other party dared to do it right under the emperor’s nose, they must have planned it in detail. The guards would be returning from their search empty handed.
It was a clever move, but no one expected the Fifth Princess to let the maid sleep with her.