There was a signature at the bottom, along with the Empress's phoenix seal.
No wonder Jin Hua warned her not to fall for Chu Yuxiao—it seemed she was worried that if Su Yan became emotionally involved, she wouldn't be able to serve the Empress as effectively.
Jin Lan and Jin Hua were both maids assigned to her by the Empress, so it was expected that they were the Empress's people.
Yet, she didn't want to become entangled in these schemes; she simply desired to live her own life.
However, she couldn't tell Jin Lan and Jin Hua, since they were also sent by the Empress to monitor her.
Moreover, this Empress really held her in high regard, wasn't she afraid that Su Yan, who had just come to her senses and knew nothing, would mess up her plans?
Early the next morning, not long after Su Yan had gotten up, she heard from Jin Lan that someone had died in the city the night before.
And the time of death was shortly after she and Jin Hua had returned home.
"Who did it, have they found out?" Su Yan asked.
Jin Lan shook her head, "It's not known who did it, but the means were brutal.
It's said that all the blood of the young girl was drained with not a drop left. Now the whole city is abuzz with the news."
Startled, Su Yan asked incredulously, "All the blood was drained?"
"Yes, there were no wounds on the body, just a small hole on the neck.
Several of the family's guards went to see it, and they say the girl looked like a dried corpse, her pallor frightening."
Saying that, Jin Lan herself couldn't help but shiver, and Jin Hua also broke out in goosebumps.
Su Yan lowered her gaze in deep thought, fearing that the blood must have been sucked dry.
Without a drop of blood, of course, she would be frighteningly pale and resemble a dried corpse.
Nevertheless, that was a matter for the government and Chu Yuxiao to worry about, not her concern.
What Su Yan did not know, however, was that this storm was not going to subside so easily.
"Another one has died!" The next morning, Jin Lan burst into the room and said with shock.
Su Yan was practicing her calligraphy; she put down her brush and looked at her with confusion.
Jin Hua pulled her into the room and reprimanded, "How can you be so disrespectful to shout like that!"
"Princess, forgive this maid, I was just too shocked. Last night, another girl died, her death just like the one the night before last."
"Oh, how could such a thing happen. It seems we are dealing with a series of serial killings," analyzed Jin Hua gravely.