Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 116 That person is lying! (First update)
"The Prince Consort Xie Zhao pleaded guilty and admitted to killing Li Shaoting?"

"Yes."

"Where's the motive?"

"He simply admitted to murder, but didn't explain why he killed people, or whether it was related to the princess's private meeting with Gao Zhongyuan!"

"High school senior?"

Inside and outside the mansion, separated by a wall, Haiyue and Li Yuying exchanged case details again.

The two of them pondered the motive, and it seemed that only the real Cowherd who met on the Magpie Bridge was the one who answered the question.

Xie Zhao was indeed not Princess Yongchun's first choice. In addition, he was bald at a young age, so the princess couldn't help but fantasize that it would be great if the Ministry of Rites had chosen the more handsome Gao Zhongyuanhui when selecting a son-in-law.

Basically, if you think this way, the couple will not have a good ending, but Xie Zhao in history was very wise. He once specially invited Gao Zhongyuan to visit his house and let the princess watch secretly. As a result, when the once suave Gao Zhongyuan appeared, the princess was dumbfounded.

Years are a killer knife.

Not only did Yan Shifan become a completely different person as he grew older, but Gao Zhongyuan's behavior was even more exaggerated. In just less than ten years, he became fat and out of shape, "looking like a country boy from Hebei, no longer having the posture of a young man." The princess stopped having wild thoughts and lived a good life with her husband, and "the relationship between the couple became even stronger."

In fact, we can see from this incident that Xie Zhao was tolerant and forbearing in moderation, and used a very rational method to deal with the conflict between husband and wife.

Princess Yongchun was not a stubborn person. She had some beautiful dreams when she was young, but as she grew older, she should gradually face the reality and accept the existence of differences so that she could live a good life.

However, there is now a deviation from history, and the influence of Gao Zhongyuan has been mixed in with the case and has erupted. Haiyue cannot guarantee whether the son-in-law Xie Zhao did something irrational because of being stimulated.

But killing Li Shaoting...

Hai Yue suddenly asked, "Is the wound on the back of Prince Consort Xie Zhao's hand the only one? Are there any other signs of a struggle?"

Li Yuying said: "No."

"The murder was carried out late last night?"

"Yes!"

"Did anyone hear the cry for help?"

"No... The guards in the princess's mansion are very negligent, and the Jinyiwei are furious about this!"

"But there are people living near the guest rooms. If there really was a big commotion before Li Shaoting was murdered, it would surely have alerted others, right?"

"Indeed."

"That's weird!"

Hai Yue's eyes narrowed. "According to our previous analysis, the imperial physician Li Shaoting gave the princess 'Gastrodia Powder,' which is the main culprit for her continued coma! Even if Li Shaoting was certain that 'Gastrodia Powder' wasn't poison and he wouldn't reveal himself, wouldn't he have been alert if the princess's husband, Xie Zhao, visited the guest room late last night?"

After a pause, Hai Yue drew a comparison: "Prince consort Xie Zhao is a weak scholar with no martial arts skills. Meanwhile, Li Shaoting, in pursuit of 'Gastrodia Powder', dared to send guild masters to Southeast Asia to fetch the medicine for him! Under what circumstances could the former kill the latter in the middle of the night, leaving no sign of a struggle, leaving only scratches on the back of his hand?"

"Yes!"

Li Yuying pondered and said, "Does Xie Zhao have an accomplice?"

Hai Yue shook her head: "Judging from his situation in the Princess's Mansion, it doesn't seem like he has a confidant. If there really is a confidant willing to kill for him, this person must have been very well disguised. Then there's no need to go to the scene in person, just let the confidant do it directly, and the one who left the scratches would be that person!"

Li Yuying was convinced and blinked her eyes, which were clearly black and white: "What's going on? The prince consort has already confessed his guilt!"

Haiyue was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "What if the truth behind the Prince Consort's confession is this..."

After hearing this, Li Yuying was immediately moved: "This! How is this possible!"

“When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how unbelievable, must be the truth!”

Hai Yue smiled: "Of course, we haven't ruled out other possibilities yet, so we have to ask the famous detective Miss Fang Lian to continue to work! Li Shaoting's death is actually not a bad thing. The more the murderer commits, the bigger the flaws will be! But you must remember, since this person has killed one person, he definitely doesn't care about committing more murders. The closer the detective is to the truth, the more dangerous it is. You must let the Jinyiwei protect you every step of the way!"

"Understood! I'm going!"

Li Yuying took a deep breath and headed towards the backyard under Haiyue's encouraging gaze.

She thought the method of poisoning had been uncovered, the motive was clear, the process was clear, and she was only one step away from the truth being revealed. However, Li Shaoting's death made the case complicated again.

But as Brother Yue said, the more the murderer does, the bigger the flaw becomes.

The first stop is to go to the crime scene and check for clues.

After Li Shaoting's body was examined by the coroner Li Ming, it was carried to Shuntian Mansion. At this time, the house was empty and there was a faint strange smell lingering in the air.

Li Yuying sniffed and found that compared to the stench of the Fang residence in Guangzhou that still impressed her, the smell of the corpse here was faint.

Li Shaoting had been strangled to death, but he had not lost control of his bladder. His body had been discovered promptly, and there was no stench. Instead, there was a strong herbal odor that masked everything else. Li Yuying followed the scent and walked around the room, finding the strongest herbal odor right in front of the desk, not even on the bed.

"Yesterday, Li Shaoting came to the guest room and worked at his desk. He hadn't fallen asleep before he died!"

"According to the palace guards, this man first browsed medical books in the room, and then went out to ask if the princess had woken up. He gave the princess 'Gastrodia Powder' himself. Doesn't he know when she would wake up? Is he just pretending?"

Li Yuying thought about this and looked at the medical books on the table. They were just ordinary books like "Imperial Pharmacy Prescriptions", "Imperial Materia Medica", "Thousand Gold Prescriptions", etc. She flipped through them briefly, smelled the smell on them, and said, "When the body was found this morning, were there any other papers on the table?"

Hong Qi, who was following the guards, replied, "No, these were all on the table at the time. What doubts does Princess Li have?"

"look!"

Li Yuying pointed to the inkstone next to her. "There are traces of grinding ink here, but none of these books smell of fresh ink. If Imperial Physician Li wasn't just reading last night, but writing something, then what he wrote should have disappeared!"

Hong Qi's expression changed: "Was it taken away by the Prince Consort?"

Li Yuying corrected: "It was taken away by the murderer!"

Hong Qi was puzzled: "Prince Consort...why would the murderer do this?"

"We don't know yet. Perhaps the things they took away were the murderer's true motive for killing Imperial Physician Li. Perhaps Imperial Physician Li left behind a key clue that could point to the murderer's identity..."

Li Yuying looked at the doors and windows: "Are the locks of the guest rooms all intact?"

Hong Qi said: "It's intact, there is no damage."

Li Yuying asked, "So you suspect that Captain Xie knocked on the door and Imperial Physician Li let him in? But what if the murderer didn't go in through the main door and came in directly through the window?"

Hong Qi made a similar judgment: "The prince consort doesn't know martial arts. Unless he has accomplices, he won't be able to get in. Even if he manages to get in, Imperial Physician Li will definitely call for help..."

At this point, he scratched his head: "My princess, you mean that the prince consort is not the murderer? But he admitted it himself!"

"It seems Brother Yue's judgment is indeed correct. Excluding other impossibilities, the remaining ones, no matter how unbelievable, are the facts!"

Li Yuying's thoughts became clearer, and she said in a deep voice, "Let's go! Let's go to the princess's bedroom!"

The last time I came to the palace, it looked so gloomy, as if Princess Yongchun had passed away.

This time, when he returned to the palace, he felt a chaotic mess. He immediately encountered Chief Justice Cai Yong, like an ant on a hot pan, pacing in circles, muttering, "Imperial Physician Li was murdered! How could Imperial Physician Li be murdered? Your Highness's illness... Your Highness's illness is getting worse... What should I do?"

Li Yuying's expression changed slightly, and she hurried to the couch and opened the brocade curtain.

The princess who came into view was still lying motionless on the couch, her chest covered with a thin blanket rising and falling slightly, and the symptoms were no different from what she saw yesterday.

It's just that her hair was a little messy, as if it had been let down and then tied up again. For a court lady who paid great attention to her appearance, it was quite conspicuous.

Li Yuying turned around and said, "Cai Sizheng, you just said that the princess's condition is getting worse. What do you mean by that?"

Cai Yong's eyes flickered, and he quickly averted his gaze: "Old slave... Old slave was just talking nonsense!"

Li Yuying frowned: "Then why did you re-do the princess's hair?"

Cai Yong reluctantly explained, "Your Highness has always been very particular about cleanliness, and especially about appearance. Whenever he looks at himself in the mirror, he always makes sure his hair is as smooth as clouds, meticulously kept. So... so..."

"But your hair is so messy!"

Li Yuying leaned closer and sniffed: "What kind of spices did Your Highness use?"

Cai Yong actually doesn't need to answer.
Cai Yong's mind was distracted at the moment, so he didn't need to answer every question. However, his throat moved twice, and he answered bluntly, "Sandalwood! Your Majesty and His Highness both like to use sandalwood to fumigate their clothes!"

When Li Yuying entered the palace before, she met many ladies of high rank and noble birth, most of whom used sandalwood. This spice can be used to fumigate clothes. Placing sandalwood chips in the wardrobe will make the clothes have a light and elegant fragrance. It can also be used to calm the mind. Burning sandalwood in the study or bedroom will help concentrate on reading.

The ones used by Empress Dowager Jiang and Princess Yongchun were naturally the best. Li Yuying had smelled them yesterday, but in comparison, the sandalwood scent on their bodies was a bit stronger.

"What on earth has Princess Yongchun's personal servant been doing these past two days?"

'Comb the princess' hair? And apply more strong spices?'

Li Yuying felt baffled. As the pleasant smell lingered in her nostrils, a thought suddenly crossed her mind: "I seem to have overlooked something... What is it?"

She lowered her eyes in thought and walked out of the bedroom unconsciously.

When I came to my senses, I was already standing on the bluestone slabs in the backyard. I looked up and saw Haiyue standing outside the wall, the two of them looking at each other from a distance.

Facing the other person's trusting gaze, an idea suddenly struck him: "That's right! The princess loves to use sandalwood to perfume her clothes, and everything she touches is imbued with a pure and elegant scent, but I don't smell it on that person!"

"That man is lying!"

(End of this chapter)