Proud Feather

Chapter 10 Three Questions
Gao Mian blinked twice, looked at the little girl in front of him, and asked uncertainly: "Princess Jiahe?"

Chu Ling responded, "It's me, Master Gao, don't be afraid."

Gao Mian let out a long sigh, his tone tinged with complaint: "Why is the princess here out of the blue?"

Chu Ling said, "Why is Mr. Gao here? That's why I am here."

Huh? Gao Mian looked her over and said sternly, "Princess, I know you and the Crown Prince have a deep relationship, but investigating a case is no joke."

"If I was joking, I wouldn't have come out to greet you." Chu Ling pointed outside, "How about you shout and ask them to take me away?"

"..." Gao Mian thought to himself, everyone knows that His Majesty dotes on Princess Jiahe to the sky, why would he, a mere Dali Temple Minister, offend her for no reason?
"If you don't shout, I'll take it as your consent." Chu Ling took the candlestick from his hand and said, "I'll help hold the candle. It will be convenient for you, right?"

Forget it, let’s just get away with it for now. Once I leave this door, no matter how much trouble the princess makes, it will be none of my business.

Gao Mian cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Princess."

Chu Ling nodded with satisfaction and made a gesture of invitation.

Gao Mian withdrew his gaze and focused on the body in the coffin.

After several days of lying still, the signs of poisoning became more apparent. Gao Mian carefully looked through the remains, lost in thought.

"Master Gao, what are you thinking about?"

Gao Mian replied, "I am pondering the cause of His Royal Highness's death. Was it poisoning or drowning?"

"Can you tell?"

"Okay, but..." Gao Mian hesitated and stopped talking.

Unexpectedly, Chu Ling continued the second half of the sentence: "But it will destroy the remains. Father won't agree to it, right?"

Gao Mian looked at her in surprise.

Chu Ling also stared at him and said calmly, "The Emperor will definitely not agree to this, so even if you come to perform an autopsy, there will be no results at all."

This sentence really doesn't seem like something an innocent little princess would say. Gao Mian looked at her silently.

Chu Ling continued, "Whether Big Brother died of poison or drowning is not important. Even if you find the real cause of death, it will only prove how sophisticated the other party's plan was, but it won't catch the real culprit."

Gao Mian disagreed with this and could not help but argue, "Princess, you may not know much about prisons. If you can restore the circumstances before death, you can follow the clues to find the cause..."

"Do you think the real murderer will do it himself?" Chu Ling interrupted him.

After Gao Mian paused, he continued to ask, "Would you be able to find out who in the world could poison the Crown Prince without anyone noticing?"

"Even if you figured it out, can you testify against me in court?"

After asking these three questions, Gao Mian suddenly realized that he might be wrong.

"Princess……"

Chu Ling said calmly, "Master Gao, think carefully. If you can't answer, let alone one month, even if the emperor really gives you three months, you will not be able to find the real culprit."

How did she know that a month...

The thought flashed through Chu Ling's mind, and he answered: "I was just at Funing Palace, I just got there a little earlier than you."

"..." The position of Dali Temple Minister, a fourth-rank official, was considered high-ranking by any measure. Gao Mian had reached this position before the age of forty, demonstrating not only exceptional talent but also considerable shrewdness. Yet, at this moment, he felt he couldn't quite grasp this notoriously spoiled little princess. Could it be that members of the royal family couldn't be judged by common sense?

"Okay, let's close the coffin!" Chu Ling put the candlestick back. "Think it through. Come back and tell Xiao Shunzi at the door next time. If you can't figure it out, there's no need to come again. Anyway, finding the real murderer and reporting back are two different things. Mr. Gao can still get promoted and make a fortune."

After saying that, Chu Ling clasped his hands together and bowed to the coffin: "Brother, you have a good rest. I will come to see you next time."

Gao Mian watched her close the coffin lid, lift the curtain in the corner, and disappear silently.

"Sir, the blanket is here." The eunuch's footsteps woke him up.

Gao Mian let out a long sigh, thanked him, and asked as he left, "Excuse me, what is your name, sir?"

The eunuch, who was about thirteen or fourteen years old, showed a childish smile and said, "My name is Xiao Shunzi."

Gao Mian nodded, thanked him again, and left the palace.
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Chu Ling returned to Nanming Palace, and Zheng Qiu came to greet her: "The princess is back. I asked someone to make some wontons. Would you like a bowl?"

Chu Ling was indeed hungry, so he said, "Give me a bowl!"

Then, the wontons were served with some side dishes.

Chu Ling said in surprise: "Is this Chen's pancake from Yongkang Bridge? I haven't eaten it for a long time."

Zheng Qiu replied, "The princess hasn't eaten much these days, so I sent someone to buy some. It just came out of the pot."

Although the prince's funeral was over, the body was still in state. Zheng Qiu didn't want to prepare any heavy food, so he racked his brains and bought some snacks that the princess usually liked to eat, hoping that she would be in a good mood.

Chu Ling enjoyed the meal very much.

She had been away from the capital for too long, and many things had become vague memories. Although these things were small, they gradually made her feel real.

She returned to the capital in the 21st year of Jianning. Although she couldn't save her elder brother, her father was still alive, and many things could still be saved.

After the meal, Chu Ling talked to Zheng Qiu while digesting the food.

"Have you been to the East Palace? How is my sister-in-law?"

"The Crown Princess is fine, and the little grandson is also fine. The Crown Princess said that the little grandson might be a little uncomfortable, and often wakes up in the middle of the night to look for his father."

Chu Ling was sad when he heard this: "He will get used to it slowly."

After her elder brother left in her previous life, she was not used to it. She always felt that if she turned around, she would see her elder brother standing there with a smile. After repeated disappointments, she finally accepted reality.

Seeing her sad, Zheng Qiu changed the subject: "By the way, word came from the Anguo Mansion that the old lady missed the princess and asked if you would like to stay with her for a few days."

The Feng family of the Anguogong Mansion was her maternal grandfather's family. Their ancestors had fought alongside the Taizu to conquer the country and were granted the title of Duke. Remarkably, their descendants had never failed to produce talented individuals, and the title has been passed down to this day—but that was about to end.

The Feng family played a significant role in the emperor's ascension to the throne. The Northern Hu took advantage of the turmoil in the Daxiang Empire to invade the south. Chu Ling's maternal grandfather, Duke Feng, was ordered to lead the expedition and stop the foreign army.

In that battle, the Feng family suffered heavy casualties. Almost all of Chu Ling's uncles died for their country, leaving only a young uncle who was too weak to practice martial arts to inherit the title.

Because of this past, the emperor showed special respect to Empress Feng and repeatedly granted grace to the Feng family. However, the Feng family currently only had one male heir, and even the younger uncle hadn't given birth to a son. It was expected that the Duke of Anguo's mansion would no longer exist in a hundred years.

Chu Ling lost her mother at a young age, and the old lady loved her very much, often taking her to stay with them. A while ago, the crown prince passed away, and the old lady didn't expect to lose not only her daughter but also her grandson, so she fell ill.

"Oh, right, I have to go see my grandmother." Chu Ling remembered, "Tell someone to pack my things. I'll tell my father tomorrow that I'm going to stay at the Duke of Anguo's mansion for a few days to accompany my grandmother."

(End of this chapter)