149: Murder and assassination

Chapter 148: Attempted Murder and Assassination

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Although it was already late autumn, tonight's moonlight was exceptionally bright, allowing one to see clearly.

After meeting Your Majesty, Song Zhao, accompanied by the Jinyi Guard, began to carefully inspect the surroundings of the Fish Dragon Pool.

More than a dozen Imperial Guards stood around, holding torches that illuminated the place as bright as day.

Zheng Yi sat beneath the pavilion, with a palace maid gently kneading his shoulders, watching Song Zhao's movements closely.

The surrounding eunuchs and palace maids were the same, and there were still quite a few people in the distance peering over this way.

Ever since learning that the Empress had accidentally fallen at the Fish Dragon Pool, Zheng Yi had ordered the place to be completely cordoned off, and even the eunuchs and palace maids managing the Imperial Garden were put under surveillance, all waiting to find evidence and foul play.

If it was an accident, that would be one thing, and they could only blame Lu Liner for having bad luck and slipping by mistake.

But if someone had secretly harmed her, Zheng Yi would never let them off!

In just half a day, Zheng Yi believed that if the culprit had truly acted, they would inevitably leave behind traces.

What he needed to do now was to catch these very traces.

Seeing this, Song Zhao first walked a circle around the Fish Dragon Pool, and then carefully inspected the three paths leading in other directions, breaking out in a sweat before long.

Although he was good at investigating cases, he at least needed witnesses or physical evidence.

Making him run to the edge of the pool to investigate in the middle of the night was truly making things difficult for him.

And most importantly, this matter definitely involved the imperial struggles.

Whether he found out the truth or failed to find it out, it was somewhat ominous for him.

However, feeling Your Majesty's intermittent gaze from behind, Song Zhao couldn't help but feel even more nervous.

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and from looking so much, he even began to feel a bit dizzy.

In the end, disregarding his image, he directly lay flat on the ground, using all four limbs to investigate his surroundings.

Finally, he lay down at the spot where Lu Liner slipped, carefully investigating and searching around.

Soon, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he suddenly grabbed two pebbles.

"Your Majesty! This subject has found it!"

"Oh? Come closer and speak."

"Understood!"

Song Zhao quickly walked up and respectfully handed the two pebbles to Zheng Yi's presence.

"Your Majesty, look. There is a faint layer of grease on the sides of these two pebbles. It is precisely this substance that caused the Empress to accidentally slip and fall to the ground."

"Grease?"

Zheng Yi took them and looked, reaching out to pinch them. Sure enough, there was a sticky feeling on his hand.

Song Zhao said, "Your Majesty, according to this subject's speculation, this should be the evidence left behind by the culprit."

"The culprit had long investigated the Empress's movement trajectory, so they secretly smeared a layer of grease on these two pebbles."

"After the Empress accidentally slipped, this person took advantage of the chaos in the inner palace to wipe away this layer of grease."

"But what this person did not expect was that although it is already late autumn, today was sunny, causing the temperature inside the park to be relatively high. The grease melted slightly and flowed into the gaps between the two pebbles, leaving a trace behind."

"And Your Majesty, with your farsightedness, promptly sealed off the crime scene, allowing this grease to successfully remain and be discovered by this subject."

Zheng Yi said, "No need to flatter me. If it is your merit, it is your merit; I will not forget it."

Song Zhao's expression was somewhat awkward as he said, "Everything depends solely on Your Majesty's instructions."

"If we follow your speculation, how should we proceed?"

"It is very simple. Control all the eunuchs and palace maids who manage the Imperial Garden, interrogate them in batches, and see who was on duty at the Fish Dragon Pool today and kept lingering around the surroundings of the Fish Dragon Pool."

Song Zhao said, "This grease should be lard. Calculating by the time, the culprit most likely acted around midnight to the hour of Chen today. We only need to heavily investigate the personnel coming and going at this time to find out."

"Liu Chengen!"

"Understood!"

Liu Chengen waved his hand, and immediately a bunch of Imperial Guards escorted a group of eunuchs and palace maids over.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Superintendent of the Imperial Garden and others have been brought."

"We are wronged, Your Majesty!"

"this servant knows nothing, Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty..."

"Shut up, all of you!"

Liu Chengen let out a cold shout, then respectfully said to Zheng Yi, "Your Majesty, all the servants of the Imperial Garden Directorate have been brought, numbering thirty-two people in total."

"Among them are twenty-four eunuchs and eight palace maids."

"Who is the Director of the Directorate?"

"this servant Bao Dahai greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

A corpulent and large fat man knelt and walked two steps forward, kowtowing incessantly.

"Have all the servants of the Directorate arrived today?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, they have all arrived."

"Do not worry. I only need to ascertain each person's working time, area, and content in the Directorate today, and everyone must have two people to vouch for them."

"If they cannot vouch for them, then interrogate them strictly. Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

"Take them all down and interrogate them strictly."

"Understood!"

A team of Jinyi Guards immediately rushed out, taking all the people from the Directorate to a quiet place to begin batch interrogations.

At this moment, Song Zhao suddenly said, "Your Majesty, the eunuchs and palace maids of the Imperial Garden have no oil and water. If the culprit wants to bribe them, they must spend a large amount of gold, silver, or jewelry."

"Your Majesty can order someone to search the living quarters of the many eunuchs and palace maids in the Directorate. Perhaps there will be unexpected gains."

"Tang Cheng."

"This subordinate is here."

"You personally lead people to search. Be sure not to miss any corner."

"Understood!"

Tang Cheng waved his hand, and more than a dozen fierce Jinyi Guards rushed to the living quarters of the Directorate's eunuchs and palace maids, beginning to search.

At this time, there was simply no talk of fairness, justice, or personal privacy.

As long as the mastermind could be found, what did the privacy of a few eunuchs and palace maids matter?

Many eunuchs, palace maids, and guards were waiting here, and Zheng Yi also closed his eyes in deep thought, pondering in his mind who on earth would do such a thing.

Consort Duan Xu Qingluan?

Possible.

Nowadays, in the entire imperial palace, only she and the Empress were pregnant.

If something happened to the Empress and two lives were lost, the one who benefited the most would naturally be her.

But at this time, Xu Mujun had just resolved the rebellion matter of Xu Xuanwu. He should keep his tail tucked even more; how could he easily go and provoke the Empress?

Consort De Li Changle?

She indeed walked close to Xu Qingluan, but her personality leaned towards the kind that remained aloof from the world. For so many years, she had always kept her duty and had no excessive actions or words.

Then... Consort Cui?

Impossible as well...

She, just like Zheng Yi, Yuechan, and Immortal Master Yuheng, was a Cultivator with hopes of longevity. How could she get involved in the disputes among the inner palace consorts?

Then was it... Consort Wan Zhu Wanwan?

Qing Consort?

Miao Consort?

Or rather... Consort Bi?

Consort Bi was Zheng Yi's first woman, but she originated from the White Lotus Sect.

For so many years, she had always kept her duty, but her identity was a stain after all.

Now that the White Lotus Sect was rebelling once more, it was inevitable that Consort Bi might do something, wanting to harm the imperial heir?

Or perhaps... those daughters of noble families?!

Soon, Tang Cheng led people walking back quickly, saying respectfully, "Your Majesty, we found it!"

He held it up with both hands, only to see a cloth bag in his hands. When he poured it downwards, more than a dozen pieces of gold and two emerald-green hairpins unexpectedly fell out.

Zheng Yi picked them up to look, his brows furrowing.

Very ordinary gold, produced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the seal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on it.

It was what the consorts of various palaces usually rewarded to subordinates who made great contributions.

Even Zheng Yi himself had rewarded quite a lot.

But these two hairpins, at a glance, were precious items; they were simply not something this group of eunuchs and palace maids were qualified to possess.

"Whose things are these?"

"Bed Number 3 in Row A. This subordinate asked the people of the Directorate, and this bed belongs to a palace maid named 'Dujuan'."

"Bring Dujuan here!"

"Understood!"

Soon, a short palace maid in her twenties with an ordinary appearance was brought up.

At this moment, her face was full of panic. When she saw the gold and hairpins at Zheng Yi's feet, she was immediately so frightened that her whole body trembled.

"Y-Your Majesty... It wasn't me, I didn't do it!"

Zheng Yi said coldly, "Your rank is merely that of an ordinary palace maid, and you serve in a water-clear department like the Imperial Garden. How did you obtain so many pieces of gold and emerald hairpins?"

"Tell the truth, and I might still spare your life; otherwise..."

"Wuwuwu..."

Dujuan suddenly began to cry, dropping to her knees and saying with a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, this has nothing to do with this servant! S-Someone gave me so much gold and told me to pour the lard there."

"this servant knows nothing, nor did I know that the Empress would appear there..."

"Audacious! How dare you deceive Your Majesty!"

Liu Chengen suddenly cursed, "Ever since the Empress became pregnant, she has come to the Fish Dragon Pool to relax almost every few days, and this has been going on for over half a year."

"As a palace maid cleaning the Imperial Garden, how could you not know the Empress's whereabouts?"

"This old servant thinks you deliberately wanted to harm the Empress and the imperial heir. Are you not afraid of having your entire clan executed?!"

"Father-in-law, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life!"

Dujuan was so frightened that she kowtowed repeatedly, her forehead bleeding profusely.

"I-It was Sister Siling who told me to do this, wuwuwu. She gave me a lot of gold, and she also said she had arrested my younger brother. She said if I didn't listen to her, she would castrate my younger brother and send him into the imperial palace to be a eunuch."

"Wuwuwu, my Family only has my younger brother, a single boy, and nothing can happen to him! Furthermore, my father and mother have both been controlled by her..."

"Sister Siling? Who is that?"

Zheng Yi said in a strange tone; in his memory, there seemed to be no such person's name.

Liu Chengen, standing to the side, shifted his thoughts and suddenly said, "Your Majesty, this old servant remembers."

"Sister Siling seems to be the head palace maid of Jinxiu Palace, and also the personal palace maid brought by Beauty Wang when she entered the palace."

"Jinxiu Palace? Beauty Wang?" Zheng Yi asked strangely, "Which Beauty Wang?"

"Your Majesty, Wang Shi Wangchan. Previously, because her Family interceded, Your Majesty executed her three clans and demoted her rank to Beauty."

"The Wang Family... Wangchan... So it was you!"

"Move the imperial carriage to Jinxiu Palace!"

"Understood!"

A group of people walked towards Jinxiu Palace. Along the way, many eunuchs and palace maids were as silent as cicadas in winter, and no one dared to speak.

And that batch of eunuchs and palace maids managing the Imperial Garden was not released either; they were still being strictly interrogated to see if there were any accomplices hiding among them.

Before long, Zheng Yi led people to Jinxiu Palace.

"Your Majesty has arrived~!"

Before the palace attendants of Jinxiu Palace could rush up to greet him, Zheng Yi walked inside in large strides.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Eunuch by eunuch, palace maid by palace maid, all nervously knelt down to welcome him.

Zheng Yi glanced at the few eunuchs kneeling by his side, paid no attention to them, and walked towards the main hall.

At this time, Wangchan also hurried out running, without even wearing hair ornaments on her head, but this also made Wangchan look youthful and radiant.

"This concubine greets Your Majesty."

Wangchan hurriedly saluted, "Why didn't Your Majesty send someone to give word in advance when coming over? This concubine hasn't even had time to wash up."

"There is no need."

Zheng Yi didn't even enter the main hall, saying with a solemn voice, "Beloved Consort, where is Siling, the head palace maid of Jinxiu Palace?"

"Looking for Sister Siling?"

Wangchan asked strangely, "Come to think of it, it is strange. Sister Siling does not seem to have come to serve today. Juan'er, you go look for Sister Siling."

"Yes, Beauty."

A little palace maid quickly got up and walked towards the side hall.

With a glance from Liu Chengen, Tang Cheng also followed up.

Wangchan said again, "Your Majesty, the night is deep and the dew is heavy. Let us go inside."

"No need, let us wait right here."

Soon, that palace maid named Juan'er ran over in a panic.

"Beauty! B-Bad news, Sister Siling has hanged herself and committed suicide!"

"Ah? Sister?"

Wangchan's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly ran towards the side hall: "Sister~!"

Tang Cheng walked over and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, Sister Siling is indeed dead."

"This subordinate has checked; it is indeed suicide, and she was not forced by anyone."

"Committing suicide out of fear of crime?"

Zheng Yi frowned and said, "Song Zhao."

"This subject is here."

"Go over and check to see if any traces can be found."

"Understood!"

A group of people walked towards the side hall. When passing the two eunuchs still kneeling on the ground, the Blood Moon Gu in Zheng Yi's bosom suddenly stirred, and alarm bells also rang loudly in Zheng Yi's heart. He abruptly turned his body to look back.

One of the two kneeling eunuchs suddenly drew a soft sword and stabbed straight at Zheng Yi's throat!

Seeking monthly tickets~

Seeking monthly tickets~

Seeking monthly tickets~

Seeking monthly tickets~

Seeking monthly tickets~