Upon hearing Yu Hanjiang say that the deceased was Lin Shaobo, the prince's lips twitched slightly, and his brows instantly furrowed into a deep frown. Although the eldest son of the Lin family wasn't the most favored, the fact that he had died in the prince's residence was a serious matter. How could he explain this to the Lin family?
The prince, his face grim, looked at the guards beside him and hissed, "I ordered you to thoroughly search the palace last night, didn't you search this place?!"
In the pitch-black night, with lotus flowers blooming in the pond, a body floating under the cover of the lotus leaves would indeed be difficult to spot. The guard felt wronged and explained in a low voice, "I searched the area around the pond, but I didn't go into the pond to retrieve it. It was too dark to see the body floating in the pond... I... I didn't expect Young Master Lin to have accidentally fallen into the water!"
Just then, a gentle voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears: " Young Master Lin did not accidentally fall into the water."
The voice seems to be coming from Madam Yu?
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then turned around in unison—the body was bloated from being submerged in water, and looked disgusting. Madam Yu didn't seem to mind at all. She calmly squatted down next to the body, pointed at it, and said, " Young Master Lin also died from murder, but the cause of death was not drowning."
Upon hearing this, Yu Hanjiang also went over and squatted down next to Xiao Lou, carefully examining the marks on the corpse.
Xiao Lou pointed to the piece of clothing tightly clutched in the corpse's hand and the bruises on his neck, and said softly, "Look, although the marks on his neck are swollen from being soaked in water, you can still vaguely make out the fingerprints. The murderer must have attacked him suddenly from behind and grabbed his neck. When he struggled, he tore the murderer's sleeve, and the piece of cloth he was holding tightly in his hand probably belonged to the murderer."
Yu Hanjiang pulled the cloth from the corpse's hand and examined it closely. Frowning, he handed the cloth to Long Sen and asked, "Where did this cloth come from? Can you be sure?"
Long Sen took it and carefully compared it with his own clothes, saying, "It should be a guard's uniform. The guards of the Prince's Mansion wear this kind of dark blue uniform. It's a uniform and easy to identify."
Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou: "Does Madam believe that Lin Shaobo was strangled to death before being thrown into the pond?"
Xiao Lou nodded and said, "That's right. If he accidentally fell into the water, he would struggle after falling in, so there should be water plants, mud and other things from the pond under his fingernails. A large amount of water would rush into his mouth and nose, which would also cause foam and mud."
Xiao Lou turned the body over and said, "There was no foam or mud in his mouth and nose." Then he lifted the body's clothes and pointed to the muscles on the body, saying, "In addition, because the water temperature is lower than the body temperature, his muscles twitched from the cold after he fell into the water, so the stiffness of the body would be more obvious. Lividity is usually light pink or dark red - but his body does not meet the characteristics of drowning."
Xiao Lou stated confidently, "He didn't struggle after falling into the water, which means he died the moment he fell in. Judging from the degree of decomposition of the body, Young Master Lin's time of death was also around 5 PM yesterday, which is very close to the time of the young lady's death."
Everyone around stared in disbelief at Xiao Lou. They hadn't expected Madam Yu to remain so composed in the face of the corpse, even offering so many explanations. If Madam Yu's words were true, then Young Master Lin had also been murdered in the Prince's mansion—two people had died in the Prince's mansion in one day? This meant that a very terrifying murderer was lurking in the Prince's mansion!
Upon realizing this, the servants' faces turned grim.
Yu Hanjiang reached out and gently helped Xiao Lou to his feet. He walked up to the prince and said, "Your Highness should have heard what my wife just said. According to the autopsy results, Lin Shaobo was strangled to death and then thrown into the pond. His time of death is very close to the time when the young lady was poisoned. I wonder what Your Highness's opinion is on this?"
The prince frowned slightly: "Lord Yu, what do you mean by that?"
Yu Hanjiang looked at the prince and said frankly, "Someone is committing murders indiscriminately within the prince's mansion, repeatedly killing the young lady and Young Master Lin. The murderer would not have killed these two without a reason. What could the murderer's motive be?" He deliberately lowered his voice and said meaningfully, "Could it be because the young lady and Young Master Lin accidentally saw something they shouldn't have seen and were silenced?"
The prince thought about it carefully, then nodded and said, "What you say makes sense, sir." He turned to Long Sen and said, "Guard Long, immediately summon everyone to the front courtyard. I want to ask where everyone in the palace was yesterday afternoon at dusk, and what they were doing!"
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance.
This prince remains so calm even now; either he is genuinely innocent, or his acting is exceptionally skillful. Yu Hanjiang's words just now were actually a test, yet the prince remained unmoved.
Soon, everyone from the Prince's Mansion gathered in the main hall, and Yu Hanjiang interrogated them one by one once again.
Most of the guards were busy in the front yard yesterday afternoon, a group of people in the kitchen can testify to each other, and the maids were setting up the banquet. Only a handful of people stayed in the back yard yesterday.
Yu Hanjiang summoned those without alibis to a side room and questioned them thoroughly.
One of the maids tilted her head and thought carefully for a moment, then suddenly said, "Oh right, yesterday afternoon when Caiyue and I went back to the backyard to get something, we heard a sound coming from afar as we passed the lotus pond. It sounded like something had fallen into the water. We looked around, but there was nothing in the pond. However, we saw Guard Qin hurrying past."
Caiyue also confirmed this, saying that she saw the guard Qin Rui in the backyard yesterday afternoon, around 5 PM.
Guards were not allowed to freely enter or leave the inner courtyard of the Prince's residence—because the guards were all male, while the inner courtyard was inhabited entirely by women; there was a distinction between men and women, and this was to avoid suspicion.
Normally, guards would not go to the backyard to cause trouble for themselves unless they received orders; otherwise, trespassing into the backyard was a serious crime.
Yu Hanjiang asked the prince, "Yesterday at 5 PM, did Your Highness send a guard named Qin Rui to the backyard?"
Prince Eighth immediately denied it: "No. Yesterday, the security of the palace was handled by Guard Dragon. Lord Yu can ask him."
Long Sen shook his head upon hearing this: "I did not allow Qin Rui to go to the backyard. There were too many guests at the Prince's Mansion yesterday afternoon, so we were patrolling the front yard the whole time. To prevent guests from accidentally entering the backyard and disturbing the Madam and Miss, the backyard gate was always guarded."
Yu Hanjiang summoned the two guards, both of whom said, "We have never seen Guard Qin."
If the gatekeepers had never seen him, how did Qin Rui get into the backyard?
Long Sen followed up, saying, "If I remember correctly, Qin Rui has Lightness Skill and is highly skilled in martial arts. It wouldn't be difficult for him to bypass the main gate and simply climb over the wall."
Upon hearing this, the prince's face suddenly darkened.
Yu Hanjiang also frowned and began to think—it was no simple matter for the guards to sneak over the wall to the backyard.
The backyard was full of women. Could it be that one of the ladies or young ladies of the Prince's mansion was having an affair with this Qin Rui?!
Of the three ladies, Madam Yun checked the dinner menu with the head chef, and many people can testify to this, making her alibi the most convincing; Madam Qing supervised people cleaning the courtyard at home, and several maids and servants can testify to this.
Madam Han was the only one who testified – she said she had been sleeping in the house all afternoon, and only her two personal maids could vouch for her.
Xiaoxue and Xiaoshuang were her maids from her maiden home. They had served her since childhood and were extremely loyal to her. They would say whatever she asked them to say. Since personal maids could give false testimony, their alibis were not convincing.
Madam Han is weak and ill, and doesn't have the strength to kill the young lady—but what if she has an affair with the guard?
The guards, skilled in martial arts, acted swiftly and decisively.
Furthermore, Madam Han is the fourth young lady's mother, and it was previously known that Madam Han possessed medical skills. If she were having an affair with the guard and it were discovered, she would have a motive to kill him to cover it up. Secretly poisoning the eldest young lady and then having the guard eliminate Young Master Lin, who witnessed everything, would make sense.
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance and whispered, "Summon Qin Rui over."
Qin Rui quickly entered the side room where the interrogation was being conducted.
This guard was tall and handsome; he was indeed a man of great talent.
He looked to be around twenty-five years old, with a sword at his waist, and was the most handsome of all the guards in the entire palace. He had changed into a very clean new set of clothes; it was unclear whether a piece of his old clothes had been torn off.
Yu Hanjiang asked directly, "Guard Qin, why did you go to the backyard yesterday afternoon at dusk?"
Qin Rui's expression changed slightly, and he explained in a low voice, "I heard a noise in the backyard and saw a figure climbing over the wall. I was worried that it was an assassin who might endanger the safety of the ladies, so I went to investigate."
Yu Hanjiang stared coldly into his eyes: "You discovered an assassin, why didn't you report it to the Prince?"
Qin Rui said, "The situation was urgent at the time. The man had already entered the backyard, and my subordinates didn't have time to report it."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Why didn't you mention this when I asked you last night?"
Qin Rui's hand clenched slightly: "I was worried about causing a misunderstanding, so I didn't tell you, sir."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "Why are you wearing new clothes? Where did your old clothes go?"
Qin Rui looked embarrassed and explained, "I was scratched by a tree branch while tracking yesterday. I took it back to the house to mend it before wearing it again."
This testimony is completely unreliable.
The prince roared, "How dare you trespass into the backyard of the Prince's mansion!"
Qin Rui immediately knelt down on the ground, clasped his hands in a fist and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, I did see someone climb over the wall and enter the backyard of the Prince's mansion, so I went to investigate. Please, Your Highness, see the truth!"
The prince asked, "What about the assassin you caught up with?"
Qin Rui was silent for a moment, then lowered his head: "...That person got away."
The prince slammed his hand on the table: "Utter nonsense!"
His cold gaze swept over Long Sen, and he said, "Go and call Madam Han here."
Long Sen went next door to summon Madam Han.
A moment later, Madam Han entered the side hall. She was already ill, her skin was pale, and she was so weak that she almost fell over when she walked. The prince stared at her and asked directly, "Did you see Guard Qin yesterday afternoon?"
Madam Han's face drained of color, and she said in a trembling voice, "Why does Your Highness ask such a question? I have never seen Guard Qin!"
The prince said coldly, "As far as I know, you and Guard Qin are both from Linzhou. A servant reported that you were unwell, and Guard Qin even brought you medicine. Is that true?"
Madam Han said tremblingly, "It was I who asked Guard Qin to fetch the medicine on his way..."
The prince slammed his hand on the tea table again, almost smashing it to pieces: "You scoundrels! With so many maids and servants in the palace, do you need Guard Qin to help you buy medicine? You two dare to have an affair behind my back! You've got quite a burden to bear!"
Madam Han trembled with fear and knelt down before the prince with a thud. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at him and said in a trembling voice, "Please, Your Highness, investigate! Qin Rui is actually my half-brother. He came to the palace as a guard, and to avoid giving others cause for gossip, I dared not tell you the truth… He and I are siblings…"
As she finished speaking, her eyes suddenly rolled back and she fainted.
Madam Han, who was already physically weak, probably couldn't handle the shock and fainted on the spot.
Qin Rui immediately became nervous.
She called out, "Sister!"
Although the prince was furious, he still felt sorry for the lady and immediately said, "Quickly go to the clinic and fetch Doctor Lin!"
He strode forward, scooped up the unconscious Madam Han in his arms, and placed her on the bed in the next guest room.
A moment later, a doctor with gray hair carried his medicine chest into the palace, sat down by the lady's bedside, and took her pulse.
Everyone waited anxiously for the result.
The doctor stroked his beard and pondered for a long time before saying, "Congratulations, Your Highness, your wife is pregnant."
Xiao Lou: "..."
Yu Hanjiang: "..."
The prince was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly his face lit up with surprise: "Really?"
The doctor said, "Madam is indeed pregnant, but her pulse is weak. Has she had a poor appetite lately?"
The maid Xiaoshuang hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Yes, Madam can only eat one bowl of porridge per meal."
The doctor thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, the lady has always been weak, and her pregnancy at this time is extremely dangerous. I will first prescribe a medicine to help her maintain the pregnancy. She is currently lacking nutrition and needs to be well cared for. She must not get excited or upset, otherwise, if the pregnancy is disturbed, even a god could not save her."
The prince looked distressed and regretful, and immediately said, "Thank you for your help, doctor."
The doctor turned to write a prescription, while the prince stayed by his wife's bedside. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance, their expressions quite awkward.
It seems that all of my previous reasoning has to be overturned.
Madam Han and Guard Qin are actually siblings. Madam Han's pale complexion and loss of appetite are actually early pregnancy symptoms... Xiao Lou never expected things to develop this way.
Just then, Third Miss, dressed in red and with two neat ponytails, suddenly walked over in a hurry.
As soon as she entered the door, she knelt down in front of the prince and said, "Father, yesterday afternoon I met with Guard Qin in the backyard. Brother Qin and I are in love and we have already been intimate. Please grant us your blessing!" After she finished speaking, she kowtowed loudly on the ground.
Prince: "..."
The prince, who had just caught his breath, almost had a heart attack from anger.