Hou Ye's palm heart is a black lotus

Chapter 777 Poison (First Update)
Soon, a man was brought in.

Everyone looked him over, but no one recognized him.

“This man is named Baxia, the owner of a pharmacy in the capital,” Shen Yanchuan explained. “Princess Yuhe was previously hidden in the courtyard behind his shop.”

Everyone looked on with a sudden realization.

"It turns out to be him!"

"I had long heard that Princess Yuhe faked her death to leave the palace and was then imprisoned. That day, Shen Yanchuan personally led the Black Cavalry to search for Princess Yuhe!"

"Who is this person? How dare he do such a thing?"

"Looking at him, he's unremarkable, yet he's so bold. You can tell he has powerful connections..."

Many people secretly glanced at Xiao Chenglin.

Xiao Chenglin remained expressionless throughout, only glancing at Basha once at the very beginning before giving him no further look.

Bashar knelt on the ground, trembling all over.

He glanced up at it briefly before quickly looking down again.

Shen Yanchuan asked, "His Majesty is here. If you have any grievances or injustices, you may speak them. Who exactly hid Princess Yuhe in your backyard?"

Bashar knelt on the ground, his voice trembling.

"I...I...I don't know anything! What princess...I really don't know her!"

"do not know?"

Shen Yanchuan smiled in a half-smile.
"If you didn't know her, would you go to such lengths to lock her in a house and guard her every day without ever leaving her side? If you didn't know her, would you secretly kill any man she came into contact with, then go out of town to dig a pit and bury the body?"

Xiao Chenglin's eyelids twitched suddenly.

He was unaware of what had happened!
Even when Emperor Muwu personally interrogated them, not a single word was mentioned!
No wonder... no wonder Xiao Chengqi dared to confront him head-on today!
Shen Yanchuan really tricked us!
Bashar instinctively retorted, "No! I didn't kill anyone!"

Shen Yanchuan raised an eyebrow. "What, do you have to see the corpse you buried with your own eyes before you'll admit it?"

Bashar was extremely anxious and stammered, "I, I..."

He finally understood how Shen Yanchuan had managed to find him directly!
So it was exposed from the very beginning!
He could tell that Shen Yanchuan was not lying to him. Since he said that, he must have already seen the corpse!
That, that wouldn't be—

Basha couldn't help but raise his eyes, looking at Xiao Chenglin with trepidation.

Xiao Chenglin's face was cold and indifferent, and countless guesses flashed through his mind at that moment.

If Shen Yanchuan has indeed found the body, then things are in trouble.

Sure enough, Shen Yanchuan looked over immediately afterward.
“Your Highness Prince Jing, I haven’t seen that attendant you used to always have with you these past few days.”

Xiao Chenglin remained silent.

However, everyone around was intelligent, so how could they not understand the meaning behind those words?
Chen Songshi asked, "If that's what you're saying, Your Highness, could it be... that the person killed by this man was the one who served Prince Jing?"

Shen Yanchuan nodded. "Not bad."

After a brief silence, the crowd erupted in uproar!
Xiao Chenglin rarely went out, so naturally no one noticed the servants who followed him.

But if what Shen Yanchuan said is true, and Xiao Chenglin's men died in the place where Yuhe and the princess were imprisoned... then it's definitely worth investigating!
"Could it be... that Princess Yuhe's faked death and escape from the palace is really related to Prince Jing?" someone asked quietly.

"More than that! Before the late emperor died, he saw both Prince Jing and Princess Yuhe at the same time, and Princess Yuhe died on the spot! It might also be because of Prince Jing!"

"Why...why would he do this? He has no grudge against Princess Yuhe..."

Xiao Chengqi narrowed his eyes.
"Fourth brother, don't you have anything to say about this?"

Xiao Chenglin calmly raised his head. "My personal attendant has indeed served me for many years, but he disappeared some time ago. I don't know where he went. I sent people to search for him privately, but there was no news. If the person who died was indeed him..."

He tilted his head slightly.
“I must thank the Crown Prince. He served me for many years, yet he met such an end; it was my negligence. I will do my utmost to comfort and treat his family well.” Shen Yanchuan stared at him and asked, “So, His Highness Prince Jing was completely unaware of this?”

"Of course I don't know."

Xiao Chenglin lifted his eyelids, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"It is the Crown Prince who was able to pinpoint the exact location of Princess Yuhe's imprisonment in this vast capital city, and even witnessed the act of burying her body. He seems to know everything that has happened inside and outside the capital, which is truly admirable."

Shen Yanchuan seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in his words, his thin lips curving slightly upward.

"Not at all. Shen and the Black Cavalry Guards are already under His Majesty's command, and we would go through fire and water without hesitation, even at the cost of our lives. These are just our duties."

"you--"

Xiao Chenglin was furious, but didn't know how to refute it.

Shen Yanchuan was quite frank!

Xiao Chenglin simply stopped arguing with him and said coldly, "I've said everything I need to say. Believe it or not, it's up to you!"

This is something they'd rather die than admit.

Shen Yanchuan looked at Basha.

"You say you didn't kill the person, then who did? By the way, so much time has passed, you may have forgotten some things."

Shen Yanchuan said calmly,
"Your backyard, though cleaned thoroughly, is still a little overseen. There are a few drops of blood left on Princess Yuhe's door, indicating that the person died right in front of her door, struck by a hidden weapon, the blood splattering out. Otherwise, how about we test you?"

"no no!"

Bashar panicked instantly.

"I...it wasn't me! Yes, yes—I don't know who that person was either. He...he was highly skilled in martial arts, and he was wearing a mask. I really didn't recognize him! He came quickly and left quickly; I didn't even—"

“If you don’t know him, why did you let him in?” Shen Yanchuan interrupted his argument. “Also, you must know who sent Princess Yuhe to you, right?”

Bashar lowered his head, his lips trembling, completely at a loss.

"Report——"

Just as the stalemate was reaching its conclusion, another guard rushed in to report.

Xiao Chengqi asked, "What is it?"

The guard knelt on one knee. "Your Majesty! A palace servant just tried to sneak away from Qiyuan Palace, but we have apprehended him! We found this on him!"

As he spoke, he took out a cloth and presented it to the person with both hands.

Everyone looked over and saw a small pinch of dark brown powder inside, with a faint bitter smell.

Xiao Chengqi leaned forward slightly, "This is..."

"This is aconite powder."

A clear and gentle voice came from outside the hall, like the murmuring of a clear stream.

"Toxic."

Upon hearing the sound, everyone turned to look.

Ye Chutang and Chu Qiyuan arrived together.

Xiao Chengqi frowned slightly.
"This stuff is poisonous? Isn't it a medicine?"

"For some, it is medicine, but for the late emperor—"

Ye Chutang paused for a moment before speaking, word by word.
"It is highly poisonous."