Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou brought Qi Fenghua back to the Jiangzhou government office, while Ye Qi and Liu Qiao continued to track down the Second Prince.
Jiangzhou is located at the border between Qi State and Zhao State. The Second Prince and his delegation rode swiftly through the night and soon reached the border between the two countries. A group of people from Zhao State came to meet the Second Prince. Ye Qi immediately reported what he had seen and heard to Xiao Lou: "The Second Prince has returned to Zhao State and is being met by a group of people. Should Liu Qiao and I continue to follow him?"
Xiao Lou thought for a moment and said, "You two should come back first. The Invisibility Cloak is about to expire. If you are discovered and captured by the Zhao State people, it will only make things worse."
Ye Qi and Liu Qiao immediately obeyed and returned.
Yu Hanjiang interrogated Qi Fenghua overnight.
This young master was arrogant and proud, but he remained calm even after being captured.
Yu Hanjiang coldly said, "Young Master, what are you planning to do by disguising yourself as a guard and returning to the Prince's mansion on the fifteenth of this month, the day of the Prince's birthday banquet?"
Qi Fenghua said coldly, "You've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not some young master; I'm just a hunter from the mountains."
Yu Hanjiang raised an eyebrow, his sharp gaze fixed on his eyes: "In the backyard of the Prince's mansion, you happened to meet Miss Qi Yiyao. She recognized you and asked why you had returned. Fearing that your actions would be exposed, you cruelly poisoned your own sister and hid her body. Only when the backyard was deserted late at night did you hang her from a tree with white silk to make it look like a suicide, right?"
Qi Fenghua remained silent with a sullen face.
Yu Hanjiang continued, " When Lin Shaobo returned to the backyard of the Prince's Mansion, he wanted to explain things to the young lady, but he happened to see you hanging her on the tree. Lin Shaobo hurriedly ran away, and you immediately flew behind him and grabbed him tightly. In the struggle, he tore off a piece of cloth from your sleeve, and you pushed him into the pond before leaving the Prince's Mansion, right?"
Qi Fenghua's expression grew even uglier. Hearing this, he couldn't help but sneer, "Lord Yu, you really know how to make up stories. I don't know what you're talking about. Everything you've said is just your speculation. Do you have any evidence?"
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "The net of heaven is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it. Does the young master really believe that his scheme is flawless, leaving no trace whatsoever?"
Qi Fenghua was taken aback, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he was wondering whether he had left any physical evidence.
Yu Hanjiang did not continue the interrogation and secretly imprisoned Qi Fenghua in the prefect's backyard.
When he returned to the study, Xiao Lou was waiting anxiously. Seeing Yu Hanjiang's expression, he knew that the interrogation had not gone well. He stepped forward and asked with concern, " Is Qi Fenghua unwilling to confess?"
Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "He won't say anything. But the evidence of his involvement in the rebellion is now conclusive. Ye Qi and Liu Qiao witnessed him contacting the Second Prince of Zhao State and agreeing with him to'share this prosperous land.' We have the witnesses ready. As for physical evidence, we found this medicine bottle on him. Following this clue, we might be able to uncover even deeper secrets."
A deeper secret?
Xiao Lou immediately realized: "You mean the serial poisoning case my father solved back then?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded; "I remember Madam once said that your father discovered the poison used by the murderer in the poisoning case back in the capital?"
"That's right. At that time, several people in the capital suddenly committed suicide. The government almost ruled it a suicide, but after my father carefully examined the bodies and investigated the scene, he found residual powder in their food. After animal experiments, he confirmed that it was a colorless and odorless poison mixed into the food, so it was classified as a murder case." Xiao Lou thought for a moment and continued, "Later, the Ministry of Justice investigated and identified the culprits as several skilled drug manufacturers. Unfortunately, during the arrest, the mastermind escaped, and only two accomplices were captured. After being imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's jail, the two committed suicide that very night out of fear of punishment, and nothing was ever found out."
"Did he commit suicide out of fear of punishment, or was he silenced?" Yu Hanjiang suddenly asked.
"This..." Xiao Lou paused slightly, unsure of what to do, but upon closer thought, he realized the matter was not simple. "Could it be that those two accomplices knew some secrets, which is why they were silenced?"
"That's very likely," Yu Hanjiang said. "The Ministry of Justice's prison is heavily guarded, and it's very difficult for prisoners to commit suicide there. They are also searched before being put in prison, so the possibility of them hiding drugs on their person is almost zero. The theory that they committed suicide out of fear of punishment is just a facade. In reality, the Ministry of Justice may have spies who killed the two people on the very night they caught the criminals."
"That makes sense. Back then, when my father and his team were arresting criminals, why did the ringleader manage to escape? Maybe someone in the Ministry of Justice tipped them off!" Xiao Lou suddenly felt a sense of clarity. The case his father was involved in back then was no simple matter. The ringleader escaped, and the two accomplices "committed suicide out of fear of punishment" just after being imprisoned by a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice, ultimately leaving it an unsolved case, which also led to his father's tragic end!
"What connection could there be between these victims in the capital back then?" Yu Hanjiang rested his thumb on his chin, deep in thought. After a moment, he suddenly asked, "In which year did your father investigate this case?"
"It seems to have been thirteen years ago," Xiao Lou recalled for a moment, then said definitively, "I fled with my mother for thirteen years."
"Thirteen years ago?" Yu Hanjiang carefully searched his memory for events that happened that year. When he was a child, he had served as the Crown Prince's study companion for a period of time. Upon reflection, it was indeed thirteen years ago!
At that time, the late emperor had just appointed this grandson as crown prince, and the young crown prince was only ten years old. Shortly before this, the empress and the concubine had both suddenly "died" in the palace; all of these events occurred in the same year.
Isn't this all too much of a coincidence?
Perhaps Xiao Lou's father was unwittingly involved in a poisoning case in the capital, which also involved palace secrets, and that's why he was silenced?
Thinking of this, Yu Hanjiang immediately became alert and looked at Xiao Lou, asking, "Do you remember how your father died?"
Xiao Lou carefully recalled the fragments of memory in his mind and said, "That day, my mother took me out. When we returned home, we found my father lying on the floor of the study. My mother immediately checked my father's body and found that he had died of poisoning. She guessed that the murderer had come back for revenge, so she packed her bags that day and took my brother and me and fled the capital overnight."
Although it was just a memory imposed on him by the Guardian, those past events were too clear in his mind. Xiao Lou still felt heartbroken when he thought of the scene of his father's death.
"Were there any signs that the scene had been disturbed?" Yu Hanjiang asked.
"It seems so." Xiao Lou frowned slightly, then said with certainty, "The desk was ransacked, and the books in the bookcase were thrown on the floor. It looks like someone broke into the house to steal."
"That person was probably trying to destroy evidence by searching for clues your father had gathered," Yu Hanjiang said.
"Yes, that's what I think too. The case my father was involved in was very strange. Two accomplices committed suicide out of fear of punishment, the main culprit escaped, and the families of the victims strangely stopped pursuing the matter. The Ministry of Justice also abandoned the investigation and simply closed the case." Xiao Lou looked up at Yu Hanjiang and asked softly, "Have you thought of anything?"
"I have a suspicion that this case may be related to the deaths of the Crown Prince and Empress back then," Yu Hanjiang said in a deep voice.
"The Crown Prince and the Empress?" Xiao Lou's eyes widened slightly. He was only ten years old at the time and knew nothing about the affairs of the court and the palace. He learned medicine from his mother and autopsy from his father every day. He never expected that his father's murder would involve so many secrets.
" The Peach Eight Secret Chamber is actually three cases." Only now has Yu Hanjiang finally figured out the structure of the Turmoil of War secret chamber.
—The Jiangzhou assassination case, the Prince's Mansion murder case, the serial poisoning cases in the capital years ago, and the possible internal court struggles behind them. With Qi Fenghua's arrest and the reappearance of colorless and odorless drug powder, this incident from thirteen years ago is finally unveiled.
"Thirteen years ago, many things happened in the capital." Yu Hanjiang took out a notebook and wrote as he spoke: "That spring, His Highness the Crown Prince went hunting and was wounded by a poisoned arrow from a masked man, dying on the spot. The Former Emperor was furious and ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate immediately. The Ministry of Justice found that it was the Third Prince's subordinate who did it, so the Former Emperor simply gave the Third Prince a cup of poisoned wine."
"..." Seeing Yu Hanjiang diligently drawing a timeline in his notebook, Xiao Lou also went over and stood beside him to watch.
"After the Crown Prince's misfortune, the Former Emperor began to choose another successor from among his sons. The Fifth Prince's mother was Consort Shu, and the Sixth Prince's mother was Consort Ming. A power struggle ensued in the harem. The Crown Prince's birth mother, the Empress, 'died of illness,' and the Former Emperor's careful investigation revealed that the Empress was likely poisoned by Consort Shu. Shortly afterward, Consort Shu also 'died of illness,' and the investigation revealed that she was poisoned by Consort Ming—this was also mentioned in the gossip that the Ninth Princess told Qu Wanyue. The deaths of the Empress and Consort Shu both occurred in the summer."
"Yes, I remember this part." Xiao Lou recalled the palace gossip Qu Wanyue had mentioned and analyzed, "Both Consort Shu and Consort Ming were involved in the palace struggles. The Former Emperor would be very disappointed with the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince, so he could only make the Eighth Prince the Crown Prince. Unexpectedly, the Eighth Prince took the initiative to submit a memorial suggesting that the Former Emperor make his eldest son and grandson the Crown Prince. So the Former Emperor finally made his grandson the Crown Prince?"
"That's right. The late emperor changed the crown prince in the autumn. That autumn, I entered the palace as the crown prince's companion and heard some rumors about the death of the empress and the concubine. The late emperor investigated in the harem, but there was no evidence, so in the end, the case could only be concluded as 'death from illness'."
"I remember the case my father was involved in very clearly; it was winter." Xiao Lou frowned thoughtfully.
The capital city was in chaos all year.
In the spring, at the royal hunting grounds outside the capital, His Highness the Crown Prince was killed by a poisoned arrow while hunting.
In the summer, the Empress and Consort Shu were poisoned one after another. Ultimately, due to the lack of evidence, it could only be said to the outside world that they "died of illness".
In the autumn, Prince Eighth wrote to the late emperor, hoping that the late emperor would establish a rule that the throne would only be passed to the eldest son and grandson. So the late emperor listened to his youngest son's suggestion and officially made his grandson the new crown prince. At the same time, he summoned the grandson of the then prime minister Yu, who was Yu Hanjiang in his childhood, to the palace to be the crown prince's study companion.
In winter, a series of murders suddenly occurred in the capital. Xiao Lou's father was unwittingly drawn into the case and was murdered by the killer. This series of poisonings was ultimately covered up by the Ministry of Justice and became a cold case.
Looking at the timeline clearly marked by Yu Hanjiang in his notebook, Xiao Lou suddenly realized something: "Judging from the chronological order, the serial poisoning occurred last, which seems like someone was cleaning up the mess, killing a group of people to silence them? Killing everyone who knew a secret?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Moreover, all the cases involve a common factor—drugs."
The Crown Prince was struck by a poisoned arrow, the Empress was poisoned, the Consort Shu was poisoned, the serial murders in the capital were also committed with poison, and Xiao Lou's father was also poisoned to death. All the seemingly unrelated cases actually have one core—the murder weapon is the same, and they are all "poisoned"!
It is very likely that all those who died in the accident that year were poisoned by the same poison, the same poison that Qi Fenghua gave to the Second Prince of Zhao State —it looks a lot like rock sugar powder, and when added to food, it becomes colorless and tasteless, allowing people to be poisoned to death without anyone noticing.
Xiao Lou became increasingly suspicious: "Upon closer analysis, there are many suspicious points in this matter. The Crown Prince is dead, and the murderer was found to be the Third Prince; the Empress is dead, and the most suspicious person is Consort Shu; Consort Shu is dead, first..."
The Emperor suspects Consort Ming… This suspicion is far too broad. How could so many people simultaneously obtain such a rare and deadly poison? The harem has a strict system; it's impossible that Third Prince, Consort Shu, and Consort Ming all received the poison!
Yu Hanjiang frowned and said, "Madam is right. It's impossible for so many murderers in the harem to use the same method to kill people. Deadly poisons should be prohibited and not so easy to bring into the palace. It's unlikely that the Third Prince, Consort Shu, and Consort Ming all had deadly poisons on them. So, the more likely scenario is... they were framed!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lou felt a chill run down his spine: "So, the real culprit has been lurking in the harem all along?"
If that's the case, then the murderer's cunning is terrifyingly deep!
Yu Hanjiang analyzed carefully: "Assuming our speculation is correct, the real culprit first sent someone to kill the Crown Prince with a poisoned arrow, framing the Third Prince, causing the late Emperor to mistakenly kill the Third Prince. Then, she secretly poisoned the Empress, framing Consort Shu, causing the late Emperor to be utterly disappointed in Consort Shu's son, the Fifth Prince. She then poisoned Consort Shu, framing Consort Ming, making the late Emperor dislike Consort Ming's son, the Sixth Prince. The late Emperor only had five sons in total. The Crown Prince and the Third Prince are dead, and the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince have fallen out of favor with the late Emperor—who would be the most advantageous?"
Xiao Lou: "......"
That leaves only Eighth Prince, who is now known as Eighth Prince.
Aside from those antisocial and deranged killers, most murderers have a motive. According to Yu Hanjiang's analysis, this real culprit used others to kill and leveraged their power, almost single-handedly taking down the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, the Empress, Consort Shu, Consort Ming, and a whole host of other powerful figures. All of the late emperor's sons were brought down, with only the Eighth Prince remaining unaffected.
Who could it be?
It's clear that Eighth Prince didn't crave power. After his brothers died one by one and fell out of favor, the Former Emperor intended to pass the throne to him, but he actually submitted a memorial asking the late emperor to appoint his grandson as crown prince, which was tantamount to him voluntarily giving up the throne.
If he hadn't given up voluntarily, he would have been the rightful crown prince back then.
Who would scheme for him to this extent?
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance and said at the same time, " Eighth Prince's mother?"
******