The Free Consort of the Rear Palace: The Virtuous Consort Who Died from Overwork Solves Mysteries - The Reclusive Consort Howls Against False Charges

A peach blossom petal drifted down, landing softly on the tip of her nose. She barely managed to suppress the sneeze that threatened to escape. Shu Rei rolled over lazily beneath her favorite weeping peach tree. The sky was high and blue. The clouds were white and fluffy. The breeze gently caressed her cheeks. It was the perfect day for a nap. [gentle] "I'll leave your tea here." Her lady-in-waiting, Suigyoku, placed a steaming teacup beside her pillow. It smelled wonderful. Jasmine tea today. "Thanks." She reached out, took the cup, and sipped noisily. Hot. But that was the best part. Three days had already passed since her reincarnation. The first day, she was utterly drained from shock and confusion. The second day, she renewed her resolve and drafted her hikikomori plan. And today, the third day. The plan was being executed flawlessly. The Three Prohibitions of the Rear Palace. Those three forbidden acts that Empress Ka Rin, whose eyes never smiled, had proclaimed. The third one—*No unauthorized entry into the living quarters of other consorts.* She had turned this rule on its head. In other words, no one could barge into her room uninvited. Which meant she didn't have to attend gatherings of the other consorts unless summoned. And even if summoned, she could just decline, saying she felt unwell, and they couldn't come to her. Wasn't that genius? [whispers] "Lady Virtuous Consort." Suigyoku crouched down beside her with a troubled expression. She looked about fourteen or fifteen. She was the lady-in-waiting assigned to take care of her here in Shuka Garden. "What is it?" [sad] "A notice arrived just a while ago... There is to be a gathering of the Virtuous Consorts today..." "I'm not going." She answered instantly. "B-but, if you don't attend, the Empress might again..." "It's fine. Tell them I'm resting because I feel unwell. Actually, I do have a bit of a headache." This wasn't a lie. After all, just thinking about troublesome things gave her a headache. Suigyoku nodded weakly with a sigh, saying nothing more. She was already starting to get used to Shu Rei's "No-Work Declaration." Alright, time to resume the nap. She closed her eyes. The scent of grass rose from the earth, and birds sang in the distance. Ah, bliss. This was what she had longed for. What on earth had those hours been, back when she was Akari in her previous life, desperately writing reports in the library late at night? Now, she could just be like this, thinking nothing, rushed by no one— [scared] "Lady Virtuous Consort! This is terrible, Lady Virtuous Consort!!" A sudden shout. It was so abrupt that Shu Rei literally sprang to her feet. A middle-aged eunuch had rushed into the garden, completely out of breath. He wore the uniform of the Suiran Office. His face was deathly pale. "Wh-what?! A fire?! An earthquake?!" "N-no! At Suiren Pond... L-Lady Reika, the Secondary Consort...!" His voice trembled. Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. "Lady Reika was floating there... She was no longer breathing...!" —A corpse, then. The word echoed in her mind. Her heart pounded loudly. *(You've got to be kidding...)* "Head Lady-in-Waiting Shen Fang has ordered you to come to the scene immediately! All consorts are being summoned!" "...Huh? Me too?" "Of course! Hurry!!" With that, the eunuch dashed off like an arrow. Shu Rei slumped down limply on the spot. *(Why... of all times...)* When she had just been on the verge of building a perfect shut-in life. [sad] "Ahh, what a pain..." But she couldn't exactly skip this. Saying "I was sleeping" when someone had died was seriously bad. Her common sense from her previous life barely managed to tell her that much. "Suigyoku, help me change. Just something to throw on is fine." "Y-yes!" Suiren Pond was a large artificial pond located almost in the center of Kinkyu Palace. Normally, colorful carp swam there, and it served as an elegant social venue for the consorts. But not now. When Shu Rei arrived, more than ten court ladies and eunuchs were already gathered around the pond, enveloped in an eerie, buzzing atmosphere. Pale pink lotus petals floated on the water's surface. But more than that, she felt a murky "something" hanging in the air. And then, before her eyes— [fearful] "Ah..." Words failed her. Near the gazebo, where the lotus leaves grew thick, it floated. White silk robes. Long black hair. Sleeves spreading limply across the water's surface. The face was submerged and couldn't be seen. But it was unmistakably a human body. Her legs froze. The first "corpse" she had ever seen. It looked almost like a prop, yet it was chillingly real. *(So this is... death.)* Had her own previous self ended up like this? Cold, motionless, reduced to a mere "thing." Nausea rose from the pit of her stomach. [cold] "It seems everyone is assembled." A low, authoritative voice broke the silence. Turning around, she saw an elderly court lady standing with her arms crossed. She wore a deep indigo robe, impeccably neat, her graying hair tied back in a single knot. Deep wrinkles were etched into her face, and her eyes were as sharp as a hawk eyeing its prey. Shen Fang, Head Lady-in-Waiting of the Suiran Office. The guardian of order in this Rear Palace. "The body of Secondary Consort Reika was discovered this morning by a eunuch cleaning the pond. According to the medical officer's assessment, the cause of death is drowning. However—" Shen Fang's eyes swept over the assembled consorts with a glare. "We will begin an investigation, keeping the possibility of foul play in mind. Examine the area around Suiren Pond." With a wave of her hand, several eunuchs began searching the bushes and gazebo near the pond. As for Shu Rei, she just stood there, rooted to the spot. A mix of morbid curiosity and the desperate desire to go home warred within her. She glanced sideways at the other consorts. They all wore anxious expressions, but she sensed something else lurking beneath. Curiosity. Or perhaps, eyes that seemed almost... amused. *(Everyone's acting so calm... I guess people in this world are used to death.)* Just as she was thinking that— "Head Lady-in-Waiting!" A young eunuch ran up, holding something in his hand. It was a small, green object, like a seal. "This was found by the edge of the pond." Shen Fang took it and examined it closely. And then, her eyes— "This is a consort's seal." Her gaze shot straight at Shu Rei. [cold] "Shu Rei, Virtuous Consort. This is yours, is it not?" "...Huh?" Her mind went completely blank. What was this woman saying? "Don't play dumb. Can you not even recognize your own consort's seal?" The eunuch thrust the seal before Shu Rei's eyes. She stared at it intently. It certainly looked exactly like the one she possessed. A small seal made of jade. The character for "Shu" was faintly carved on the side. But. *(Wait... is that really... mine?)* She had definitely lost it yesterday. *(Huh, hold on. Could this be...)* A cold, unpleasant sweat trickled down her back. [scared] "N-no, it's not! I lost that yesterday...!" "Hmm?" At that moment, the atmosphere shifted. The Noble Consort—the woman holding the rank just below Empress—pressed her fan to her lips and giggled. She stepped forward, her glittering gold hair ornaments swaying. "Dropping your consort's seal? Perhaps you fled in a panic after killing her?" The words were unbelievable. [shocked] "Wha..." "Yes, exactly! Didn't Lady Reika recently criticize the Virtuous Consort's laziness in front of the Empress? She must have resented that and committed the crime—" "Oh, how frightening. And she has such a gentle-looking face." Voices rose one after another, as if on cue. Laughter. Whispered murmurs. They clung to the inside of her ears, echoing round and round in her head. *(N-no, it's not true, it's not true!!)* She wanted to scream until her throat tore, but no voice came out. Her mouth just opened and closed uselessly. The nervous tension of exams in her previous life was nothing compared to this. This was a more primal terror—the fear that her life might be taken. [whispers] "So the culprit is that lazy Virtuous Consort. Well, it's plausible." [sarcastic] "Surely you won't make the excuse that you were sleeping, even at a time like this?" It wasn't true. She hadn't done anything. She was just taking a nap. That's what she wanted to say, but her lips trembled and wouldn't form the words. Right now, she was completely the "bullied kid" in this elegant gathering. Everyone was treating her like the villain without a shred of evidence. This sensation was a familiar one from her past life—that insidious "atmosphere." [angry] "—Silence!" Shen Fang's sharp command instantly stopped the buzz. She fixed Shu Rei with a cold stare. [cold] "Shu Rei. Suspicion falls upon you. You will be formally interrogated in the Suiran Office's affairs room. Come with me." The Suiran Office's affairs room was a simple chamber located near the main gate of Kinkyu Palace. An unadorned wooden desk, a few document shelves. A framed calligraphy reading "Strict Adherence to Regulations" hung on the wall. The air was cold and rigid. Shen Fang plopped down heavily on the other side of the desk and made Shu Rei stand before her. They were the only two in the room. "First, tell me everything about your relationship with Reika." [sad] "Relationship... I've never even spoken to her. Honestly..." "Then why was your consort's seal found at the scene?" "Like I said, I lost it yesterday. While I was walking around the East Gate..." "Oh? Around the East Gate?" Shen Fang's eyes swept over Shu Rei's entire body, scrutinizing her. "Why did you skip the Virtuous Consorts' gathering this morning? I hear you've been shirking all your duties like this for the past three days." The words caught in her throat. "Your reason? Surely you're not going to say you were sleeping the whole time." "—I was sleeping." She said it. Honesty was the best policy. Shen Fang let out a deep sigh. It was a sigh of the utmost exasperation. [cold] "Very well. I'll leave it at that for now. However, Shu Rei, the fact remains that you have disrupted the order of the Rear Palace and neglected your duties as a consort. I will report this, along with the current incident, to Empress Ka Rin." "...!" What flashed in her mind were those unsmiling eyes behind that fan. *(This is bad.)* It was pure intuition. If that woman, Ka Rin, took any more notice of her, it would absolutely be the end. Troublesome punishment? It wasn't on that level. This Rear Palace was glamorous on the surface, but behind the scenes, anything went. Shu Rei—the previous owner of this body—had died from overwork. But was it really just overwork? *(My freedom... will be taken away.)* That was what she feared most. She might be thrown in prison. Sent to an even worse place. Above all, she would never again be able to nap under that peach tree. *(That... I won't allow it. Absolutely not.)* This second life, obtained after studying herself to death—she couldn't give it up here. Her mind burned hot. It felt similar to those all-nighter exam sessions in her previous life. Sleepy. Exhausted. But she had no choice but to do it. That feeling of forcing her brain into full gear, mobilizing every scrap of knowledge she had. [serious] "—Give me three days." Shu Rei raised her head and looked Shen Fang straight in the eye. "What?" "In three days, I will find the real culprit. So until then, please allow me my freedom." To her surprise, her voice didn't tremble. Shen Fang blinked, looking slightly taken aback. Then, she stared intently into Shu Rei's eyes. A gaze that seemed to appraise, to probe. "...You say something interesting. I thought you were a lazy good-for-nothing who wouldn't lift a finger." "I'll move if it's to pr

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Episode 2

Name: The Free Consort of the Rear Palace: The Virtuous Consort Who Died from Overwork Solves Mysteries
Author: Novelia

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