Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 126 The truth of the old case emerges
Cui Yuan held the marriage certificate tightly and refused to give in. Xiao Muchen simply withdrew his hand and said sternly, "Without a letter from the credential, how can we determine that they are envoys from Silla? How can we know that they are not spies sent by another country?
Xuan Yu, send those two people pretending to be Silla envoys to the Internal Guard to investigate their identities and find out who ordered them to disrupt my wedding.

"Here!"

Xuan Yu obeyed the order and immediately called a group of internal guards to come. The wedding hall was suddenly surrounded by a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

"Inner Guard House?"

It was also at this moment that the guests and major families present realized that this Chief Censor actually had another identity: the Grand Secretary in charge of the Internal Guards.

Cui Yuan's face changed, sensing the sudden rise in tension. Even though she feigned composure, she couldn't help but curse with trembling lips, "Xiao Muchen, what are you doing? Even if you're the Grand Master of the Inner Guard, are you really going to disrespect an envoy from another country? Are you trying to start a war between our two countries?"

"Since you say my mother is the queen of Silla, then I will capture these two messengers and wait for her to come to see me! I will explain to her!"

"you--"

The two messengers also pleaded, "My dear, we are indeed from Silla, but we are..."

Before the two envoys could finish their words, their faces suddenly turned blue, blood spurted from their mouths, and they fell straight down. The two internal guards who rushed over were unable to catch them in time.

This sudden change shocked the guests at the wedding banquet, especially those who were sitting at the same table with the two messengers, all of whom fled in fear.

Lu Ling and Lu Shiyilang rushed to the two people who had suddenly died.

"What happened? Why did they die suddenly? Could it be that the food was poisoned?"

"Hahaha... Xiao Muchen, you actually killed someone at your wedding banquet!"

Cui Yuan suddenly burst into laughter.

Lu Shiyilang said unhappily, "What nonsense are you talking about? Which eye of yours saw him kill someone?"

"This was his wedding banquet. If someone died after eating the food here, then it's related to him. Do you still want to deny it?"

"If they died of food poisoning, then why did these two fake messengers die while the other guests were fine?"

After Li Linghuan finished speaking, he came to the table and asked, "Where were they sitting just now? Who poured the wine for them? Where are the wine glasses?"

One guest pointed in horror at two silver-banded wine glasses with bird, animal, and grape designs on the table and said, "They're sitting here using these two wine glasses. And they brought them themselves. They said they weren't used to using other people's things, so they brought them with them."

Li Linghuan picked up the wine glass and smelled it, then asked someone to bring a silver needle. He tested it in the wine pot and the two wine glasses respectively, and found that the silver needle did not change color.

"Neither the wine nor the glass is poisonous," she said, her eyes suddenly glancing at the two handkerchiefs on the table. "What are these?"

"Oh, this is also the habit of these two people. After finishing the dishes, they like to wipe their hands with this wet handkerchief."

Li Linghuan nodded and placed the silver needle on one of the handkerchiefs. At this moment, everyone's eyes showed fear and sudden realization. They saw that the silver needle was indeed turning black at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"So these two handkerchiefs were poisoned. Who sent them?"

"Only the two of them have it. None of the other guests have it."

Everyone started whispering again, and Lu Ling said, "I'll take these two deceased people to the Dali Temple for examination!" Then he turned to Cui Yuan and said, "Please, Madam Cui, don't disturb the wedding banquet. I now have reason to suspect that these two Silla envoys you mentioned were murdered by you to silence them!"

"Lu Shaoling, there's no evidence, so don't say anything!" "Yes, so there's no evidence. Madam Cui, please don't spit blood at me. What exactly are you trying to do by sending people to disrupt Xiao Zhongcheng's wedding banquet with such fanfare?"

"As for this old Taoist priest, since he has personally admitted that he was instructed by you and has even committed some fraud and murder through prophecy, he should also be brought back to the Dali Temple for investigation!"

"Here!"

After Lu Shiyilang accepted the order, he quickly led a group of constables to carry out the bodies of the two messengers.

At this time, Lu Ling took another step closer to Cui Yuan and asked, "Madam Cui, why do you know so much about Xiao Zhongcheng's life story? And why do you say that you were asked by his mother to bring out this marriage certificate at this wedding banquet? Putting aside the question of whether Xiao Zhongcheng's mother was really the Queen of Silla, even if she was, what is your relationship with his mother?"

“Are you also a spy sent by Silla?”

"you!"

Cui Yuan was speechless for a moment and was hesitating about her words when Lu Ling snatched the marriage certificate from her hand.

Immediately he threw the marriage certificate into Xiao Muchen's hands.

Xiao Muchen carefully observed every word on the marriage certificate and found that the handwriting was exactly the same as his father's, but there were a few traces of patching and modification.

Seeing him frown, Cui Yuan curved her lips and said, "How is it? Xiao Muchen, this is your father's handwriting, right?"

"It is indeed my father's handwriting!"

After Xiao Muchen answered, Cui Yuan burst into laughter.

"So this marriage certificate is fake? Are you going to go against your father and mother's wishes and be an unfilial person?"

"However..." Xiao Muchen paused, "I wonder if you've all heard that during the Western Jin Dynasty, Crown Prince Sima Yi was falsely accused of treason and attempted regicide by his mother, Jia Nanfeng, because of a handwritten letter. The contents of the letter were confirmed to be written by the crown prince by the ministers of the time, but two highly respected officials, Zhang Hua and Pei Wei, discovered traces of tinkering and alteration."

At this point, Xiao Muchen opened the marriage certificate again and showed it to everyone, "And the handwriting on this marriage certificate happens to be the same."

At this point, Xiao Muchen seemed to have figured things out. He looked at Cui Yuan and said, "After my family suffered a disaster, I sorted through my father's belongings. He always loved calligraphy and copied many ancient books, but there's one book that's missing. I think you must have taken it away, Madam Cui?"

Cui Yuan was stunned for a moment, then listened to him continue:
"So, the letter that secretly reported my father's conspiracy with Crown Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian to rebel was also written by you and Helan Minzhi?"

When the story of the Xiao family's rebellion was brought up, Cui Yuan's expression finally broke down. In panic, she shouted hysterically, "What nonsense are you talking about? Just based on this marriage certificate, you want to put the blame of the Xiao family's rebellion on me? That's what your father deserves. He deserves to die!"

Her overreaction immediately made everyone suspicious.

"Is it true? I will present this marriage certificate to the Dali Temple and let all the ministers examine it together!"

Cui Yuan suddenly panicked and rushed over to snatch the marriage certificate from Xiao Muchen's hand.

"You... give me the marriage certificate! Give it to me! I admit that I forged this marriage certificate. Just pretend I never said anything. Give it back to me!"

Lu Ling stood in front of Cui Yuan and said, "Madam Cui, I'm afraid that even if you want to settle this matter peacefully now, it won't work. Not only did you disrupt Xiao Zhongcheng's wedding banquet, but you also caused two more deaths at the wedding banquet. Moreover, it seems that the old case of the Xiao family is related to you.

Therefore, please, Madam Cui, accompany me to the Dali Temple!"

"How dare you! I am the legitimate daughter of the Cui family!"