Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 110: The Famous Detective Princess Fanglian? (Updated)
"The princess died?"

Li Yuying followed Lu Bing, walking lightly into the bedroom.

The scene that came into her eyes shocked her.

Several plain gauze palace lanterns swayed in the bedroom, casting a dim light on the brocade curtains, which covered the lacquered sandalwood couch with carved phoenixes.

The couch was extremely spacious, enough for three or four people to sleep on, and the princess's small body lay in the middle.

The incense in the incense burner beside the couch has burned out, leaving only a wisp of cold ash hanging in vain at the mouth of the burner.

Noticing that Li Yuying's breathing had tightened, Lu Bing, who was standing beside her, felt a little helpless. He pressed his hand slightly, indicating that it was okay, and asked her to lift the brocade curtain and go to the bed.

Li Yuying walked in, took a closer look, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Princess Yongchun was lying there, her chest rising and falling with noticeable breathing, her face slightly pale, but not obviously ill.

When we met yesterday, he also looked frail. Now that he is asleep, he only looks even more pitiful.

People are still alive.

There is hope in life.

Li Yuying looked around again and found that the key to such a desolate scene was that all the personal servants were in a panic, kneeling in front of the couch, sobbing softly, and she couldn't help but frown.

Just as her brother Li Weining said before he died, tears can vent grief and anger, but they can hardly resolve the troubles of the world. Crying is the most useless thing. Finding ways to solve problems is the key.

Unfortunately, these maids were all at a loss. Li Yuying turned her gaze and fell on the eunuch standing not far away.

He is tall but not strong, a little fat, with gentle features, and looks like someone who is easy to talk to.

This person was none other than Cai Yong, the Chief Justice, the person in charge of the Princess's Mansion. At this moment, he had a sad expression on his face, hunched over, and muttered something.

Li Yuying opened the brocade curtain, tiptoed to the front, and whispered, "Cai Sizheng."

Cai Yong did not react at all, still muttering in a low voice: "Buddha bless you... Buddha bless you..."

Li Yuying had no choice but to call out twice: "Cai Sizheng... Cai Sizheng!"

Cai Yong finally woke up from his dream and found someone standing in front of him. He was startled and said, "Princess Li?"

"it's me!"

Li Yuying said sternly, "Imperial Physician Li Shaoting has already admitted his mistake. His claims about the hemp seed flower are based on no direct evidence and are based on much speculation, which has damaged my reputation! However, even if this incident didn't happen, Empress Dowager Jiang has treated me like a loving mother and her kindness is as great as a mountain. Now that the princess is in a coma, I must do my part to help Empress Dowager Jiang and find out the truth!"

"what?"

Cai Yong was stunned when he heard this and said blankly, "Princess, you want to investigate the case?"

Li Yuying said, "I hope Cai Sizheng will cooperate!"

Cai Yong was still stunned. He never expected that this foreign princess who came to visit would be interested in finding out the truth about the princess's fainting, but he would not be moved by these few words.

Until Lu Bing's burly figure walked over, came to the side behind Li Yuying, and nodded slightly at him.

"Lu Sheren?"

Cai Yong's attitude changed. He pursed his lips and nodded, saying, "Princess Li, please ask me something!"

Li Yuying had originally prepared a speech, starting with the son-in-law Xie Zhao, but after seeing the state of the bedroom, she suddenly changed her mind: "Why is this bed so huge? It must be very inconvenient for Your Highness to rest."

"This……"

Cai Yong hesitated for a moment, but still spoke truthfully, "Her Highness suffers from sleepwalking. To prevent her from waking up at night and harming her body, the palace specially built this sandalwood couch..."

Li Yuying asked, "Your Highness, have you had sleepwalking since childhood?"

Cai Yong shook his head. "No, I didn't have it while I was in the palace. I developed this strange disease after I moved to the capital, perhaps because I couldn't adapt to the living environment in the Forbidden City."

Li Yuying asked, "Since the princess got married and moved into this mansion, has her sleepwalking improved?"

Cai Yong sighed softly, "No."

"aggregated?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Maybe it's even more uncomfortable..."

"The imperial physician's examination was useless?"

"Not only the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital, but also divine doctors from the public were invited to the capital to diagnose Your Highness. However, no matter how many decoctions he took, his condition remained unwell. Some even said that this was a precursor to the Soul-Separation Syndrome."

"What do you mean?" "According to the world's view, the spirit, soul, and aura are closely related! Nightmares are caused by the spirit moving, but the soul not responding, so it wants to move but cannot; sleepwalking is when a person walks around in a dream without the spirit being aware; sleep talking is when the person talks in their sleep without the spirit being aware. These are all examples of dream and soul confusion... Soul separation is a more serious symptom. Some say they feel like they are two different people, walking and lying side by side, unable to distinguish between real and fake. Others say the soul and aura have left the body, leaving them unconscious..."

"Isn't this statement a reflection of the princess's coma?"

Li Yuying's eyes narrowed upon hearing this, and she slowly said, "According to Xie Zhao, the prince consort's commander, Princess Yongchun suffers from sleepwalking, and the servants in the palace are using this as an excuse to prevent the princess and her husband from being close, forcing them to live separately."

Upon hearing this question, Cai Yong realized that the other party had come prepared and had to admit, "Indeed! Captain Xie is not afraid of His Highness sleepwalking. He is here to keep an eye on him. However, Deputy Mo Si and Nanny Liu reported this to the palace, and the palace became concerned. So, according to the Imperial Physician Lin's suggestion, His Highness and Captain Xie are separated at night..."

This was the pressure exerted by Empress Dowager Zhang, and the reason was also very reasonable. For the sake of the princess's body, although Cai Yong was the chief judge, he was ultimately unable to take on such a heavy responsibility and had no choice but to give in.

In fact, it is also incompetence.

Lu Bing frowned secretly. If this incident had not happened, he would never have thought that the emperor's only sister would be in such a difficult situation.

And Li Yuying also saw it.

Including Si Zheng Cai Yong, the servants around these princesses all came from the period of Prince Xing's Palace. In terms of loyalty, there is no problem, but in terms of ability, they are much lacking.

Of course, this does not mean that there are no capable people in Prince Xing's Mansion. The problem is that even if there are, such as Lu Bing, Huang Jin and others, they were all summoned by Empress Dowager Jiang and Zhu Houcong.

After all, when the mother and son first entered the palace, they also encountered difficulties and obstacles everywhere. The few trustworthy and capable elders in the royal palace naturally had to give priority to the empress dowager and the emperor. In comparison, no matter how favored Princess Yongchun was, she had to give in.

Only when Zhu Houcong and Empress Dowager Jiang have a firm foothold can they benefit the princess. Otherwise, the whole family will have to live in fear in this majestic palace.

"Empress Dowager Zhang was unable to do anything to Empress Dowager Jiang and His Majesty, so she could only force the evil servant to the princess's side."

"As for Empress Dowager Jiang and Your Majesty, they are not completely ignorant, but they have no choice but to make a choice."

"Under these circumstances, it was indeed necessary for the princess to take the risk of using the magic troupe to stage a play to seek help from the palace..."

Thinking of this, Li Yuying simply asked, "What was your original plan?"

Cai Yong's expression changed completely: "What do you mean by this, Princess Li?"

Li Yuying said, "It's the princess' birthday, and the illusion troupe 'Yunyin Society' came to perform a magic show to celebrate. But there's more to it than that. For example, the 'meeting on the magpie bridge', doesn't it hint at the pain of the princess and her husband being separated and unable to see each other?"

Cai Yong understood: "Is this what Commandant Xie told Princess Li?"

"He confided in another person, who then told Lu Sheren about it, and he also knew about it."

Li Yuying carried Lu Bing out and said earnestly, "Cai Sizheng, this concerns the princess's safety. Now is absolutely not the time to hide anything. Waking Her Highness up quickly is the top priority!"

Cai Yong took a deep breath. "Alright! This old servant said it! It's true! I specially selected that magic troupe. They've just arrived in the capital, have no connections with any party, and possess superb skills. They can take on this important task and speak for Your Highness!"

Li Yuying asked, "So the princess originally wanted to stage a unique 'magpie bridge meeting' for her birthday celebration?"

Cai Yong shook his head. "It's not 'The Meeting at the Magpie Bridge'! The original play was called 'Celebrating Birthday at the Jade Terrace'. According to Lady Hong, this play is divided into four acts: 'Welcoming Guests at the Immortal Palace', 'Presenting Auspicious Peach Offerings', 'A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix', and 'The Dragon's Splendor'. It's very exciting. The princess will perform in 'A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix' and 'The Dragon's Splendor', and confess her suffering to the Queen Mother and His Majesty!"

Li Yuying asked curiously, "Then why are they performing in advance?"

"This……"

Cai Yong hesitated again.

Lu Bing was a little impatient: "Cai Sizheng, please tell the truth!"

"Do you really want to hear the truth?"

Cai Yong moved his feet, subconsciously moving a little further away. "Your Highness has a crush on someone. If you could take this opportunity of meeting that person on the 'Magpie Bridge', it would be more than enough for Your Highness!"

This time it was Li Yuying's turn to be dumbfounded, while Lu Bing stepped back instantly as if he had gone deaf.

Oh my goodness! An unexpected bonus?
The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet, but the Cowherd is not the same Cowherd?
Now was not the time for gossip, so Li Yuying suppressed her thoughts and spoke frankly, "So this unexpected early performance led to the princess's unexpected coma?"

Cai Yong said in a hoarse voice, "That's exactly what happened. I don't know what to do. If Princess Li can find out the truth, I will repay her kindness even if it means staking my loyalty to her."

"That's not necessary..."

Li Yuying continued to ask various details, and the Princess's Mansion Director did tell her everything he knew, but he did not have any more valuable information.

After a while, the two of them came out of the room one after the other. Li Yuying turned to Lu Bing and said, "Next, I'm going to ask about the Yunyin Society. Have the Jinyiwei interrogated them?"

Lu Bing said, "Not yet. After the incident last night, this illusionist group was locked up in the woodshed in the backyard and has not been allowed in or out. Unfortunately, the government took it upon themselves to lock them up together, giving them the opportunity to collude with each other."

Li Yuying said, "If they truly had ill intentions, they should have coordinated their statements long before the operation. Separate detention is pointless. On the contrary, if they had ill intentions, they would surely reveal clues."

"That's true!"

Lu Bing nodded, looking at her with even greater admiration, and said sincerely, "Princess Li is truly as capable as any man. She and Shisanlang are truly a match made in heaven!"

In the past, Li Yuying's pretty face would have been rosy, but now she was surprisingly calm: "If I could really have Brother Yue's ability to unravel the mystery, to see the light through the clouds, to uncover the hidden truth, it wouldn't be too late for Brother Lu to praise me again!"

(End of this chapter)