Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 21 The Final Evidence
When she heard this question, Fu Liu gave a slightly sly smile, which made her seem a bit mischievous.

"Yu Lang has always looked down on us women from ordinary backgrounds, believing that it was a mistake for us to bear his children, so he has been giving us medication. But doesn't he ever consider that we would never willingly bear his children?"

"There was a woman named Green Pearl, who used to be a top courtesan at Cuiyun Tower. He tricked her into coming out, and after a few years, he wanted to sell her back. Green Pearl had a fiery temper and hanged herself. But before she did, she gave him a big gift! Cuiyun Tower's infertility medicine is world-renowned. That Yu Lang will never have his own child again in this life!"

"Does Yu Lang himself know about this?"

"Perhaps he knew, or perhaps he didn't. In any case, he was unwilling to admit that he had been schemed against by a woman he had always looked down upon."

Jiu Que pondered Yu Lang for a while. Since he was cold-hearted by nature, why did he speak up for the third-ranked scholar at the birthday banquet? Perhaps it was because he recognized him and knew that he was his only son that he stepped in to help.

However, it's too late to say anything now. Yu Lang is dead, and he died because of his own evil deeds.

At this moment, even Dr. Li and the others who had come to testify couldn't help but look at him with sympathy. How could these old folks, who had lived for decades, not know whether Yu Lang was a good person? But the law cannot tolerate wrongdoing…

Even so, Doctor Li and Old Man Mu wanted to plead for them. They were both girls from good families, and they killed Yu Lang to save an even younger child. They were all good people.

Hearing the series of pleas for mercy from those around him, Jiu Que felt a headache coming on.

"No, we never said from beginning to end that they killed Yu Lang, right? At most, they were accomplices."

"what?"

Everyone was confused.

A glance at Chunyu Shuang revealed that the other party was very perceptive.

"Yu Lang didn't die because of those medicines. Although you cultivated most of the herbs, there are still a considerable number of important ones that you haven't been able to find, right?"

"Yes……"

Jin Hua was somewhat bewildered, but instinctively felt that this might be a way out.

"Because some of them are too precious, I can't find them in the mountains..."

"Yu Lang's direct cause of death was the pill he took before he died. Although the pill contained a lot of tonics, it also contained more cinnabar. Excessive consumption of cinnabar can be fatal. At that time, he was already weak from a knife wound, but he still cleverly took the pill, which led to his death. The medicine you usually give him only causes his liver qi to stagnate and his mind to become agitated. Xie Enliang can testify to this."

Xie Mingchen nodded. As a doctor, he still had this much integrity. Even if he sympathized with these women, he wouldn't lie about such things.

Jiu Que quietly yawned. Eating those pills forged with massive amounts of heavy metals—he really wanted to die even faster. Especially cinnabar; too much of that stuff could cause arrhythmia, and maybe the palpitations he'd been diagnosed with before were due to it.

Having received confirmation from multiple sources, Fu Liu and the others exchanged glances, unable to suppress their delighted expressions. However, Chunyu Shuang's next words made them tense.

"But you did have the intention to harm Yu Lang, which is a crime. Now it depends on whether the higher-ups and Yu Lang's family will investigate. In any case, you will suffer some consequences. You'd better be mentally prepared."

Nine, no, ten girls were prepared for this, and they bowed to Jiu Que and the others in a circle.

As the spring breeze gently caressed them, the soft skirts of these girls traced a slight arc in the air as they bowed deeply, like flowers blooming in the fields.

We express our deepest gratitude to you all—

Even in the deepest hell, they still remain kind-hearted, helping the elderly and the weak—this is something that ordinary people cannot do.

Human nature, whether good or evil, is not easily revealed in ordinary times, but only in dire straits will it be fully exposed. Therefore, Jiu Que has great respect for these girls who are unwilling to accept their fate and keep struggling.

"No need to thank me, let's talk about it after things settle down."

Ying Jiuque went out first, followed by Chunyu Shuang and the others, heading directly to the shop that sold pills. It was a small Taoist temple called 'Qingyun Temple,' located on an open space ten miles south of the city. It originally looked rather drab and inconspicuous, but unexpectedly, the deadly pills had originated from here.

Just as Jiu Que was beginning to see the overall appearance of the Taoist temple, he noticed wisps of thick black smoke rising from it.

Wei Yuan's face darkened; his subordinates were stationed there!
In a flash, a figure appeared in front of the Taoist temple. Jiu Que watched in disbelief as the man kicked open the tightly closed door. His eyes widened in astonishment. This man was incredibly strong!
When everyone arrived at the door, Wei Yuan had already run out, dragging two unlucky guys covered in dust with one in each hand.

Xie Mingchen immediately stepped forward to check on them. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found that the two were still breathing. He took out a silver needle and pricked the acupoints twice, which woke them up.

"……grown ups……"

One of them coughed incessantly, his face filled with shame. He knew immediately upon waking that something terrible had happened. He had been ordered to guard the Taoist temple, yet he didn't even know how he had fainted; he had definitely messed things up!

Jiu Que did say something fair.

"As long as people are alive, that's enough."

Wei Yuan's expression was initially rather unpleasant, but after hearing Ying Jiuque's words, he stopped giving them attitude. It wasn't that he was inherently cold-hearted, but since his subordinates had made mistakes, he, as their superior, had to show some leniency.

However, that lead has gone cold.

When he first went in, all the bottles and jars of pills had been thrown into the brazier, and everyone inside had fled; it was just an empty shell. Moreover, the temple was built of wood, and the fire was too big to extinguish now.

This was a job that my godfather had painstakingly found for me, and everything had been going smoothly until the very last step when things went wrong!
Just as everyone was filled with regret, another city guard who was more seriously injured was finally able to speak and immediately took out a pair of amulets with burn marks from his pocket.

"My lord, cough cough cough! When I fainted, I grabbed a handful of amulets from the ground. I wonder if they'll work?"

Xie Mingchen immediately opened the box to check and found that it was exactly the same as the pill that Yu Lang had taken. He quickly nodded.

Jiuque also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of course it works!"

At least these two gentlemen won't be criticized anymore. Even if there's no watermelon, sesame seeds are not bad either.

After properly tidying up this thing, everyone faced a new problem.

Um, His Majesty gave them ten days to solve the case, right? How much time has passed now? It seems like only a little over a day?

Uh……

Thinking of those who were planning to make their moves in secret later on, Jiu Que felt a headache coming on for them.

Amitabha Buddha, may you be filled with sorrow.

(End of this chapter)