Chapter 171

At this moment, Li Musheng gently extended his hand, and an object appeared out of thin air in his palm.

However, Lady Murong Xiaoya, having kept her head bowed the entire time, had not witnessed this scene.

After Li Musheng's gaze swept over the item in his hand, his expression suddenly turned to one of realization, and he spoke up:

"So that is how it is. No wonder Miss Lady Murong needed to hide this thing."

Upon hearing these words, Lady Murong Xiaoya was slightly stunned, then her face suddenly changed.

She hurriedly reached into her bosom, and upon sensing something, she suddenly looked up at Li Musheng standing before her.

And when she saw the jade tablet held in the other's hand, she froze completely on the spot, utterly unable to speak for a moment.

"I..."

Lady Murong Xiaoya's breathing rose and fell with a slight tremor; the stray hairs on her forehead were tousled by the wind, frantically sweeping across her pink, snow-white cheeks.

However, she was clearly extremely panicked at this moment, completely at a loss for what to say.

She merely stood in place, stammering in her mouth, her mind in turmoil and her heart in chaos, appearing extremely uneasy.

At this time, Hu Rui and the others also noticed the anomaly over here, but since Li Musheng said nothing, they naturally dared not come over to inquire.

At this moment, Li Musheng glanced at Lady Murong Xiaoya and said:

"I just saw you quietly pick up this jade tablet, so I came over out of curiosity to take a look. Now it seems this jade tablet must have been dropped by someone from your Lady Murong family."

Saying this, he handed the jade tablet back into the other's hand and said:

"Just now, you must have seen those corpses in the inner courtyard. If it was truly the Lady Murong family's doing, it has nothing to do with you, Miss Lady Murong. It is best not to get involved in this matter."

Having spoken, Li Musheng turned and left, while Lady Murong Xiaoya clenched the jade tablet in her hand, then lowered her head and sighed softly.

Next, as she followed Li Musheng back, she handed the jade tablet in her hand to Hu Rui.

Hu Rui examined the jade tablet in his hand for a moment, a strange color flashing in his eyes.

He glanced at Li Musheng, then turned his gaze to Lady Murong Xiaoya standing before him and asked:

"The material of this jade tablet is extraordinary. Anyone from the Lady Murong family who could wear such jade must hold a high status. Does Miss Lady Murong know who the owner is?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Murong Xiaoya hesitated for a moment, then stole a glance at Li Musheng before her gaze dimmed as she said:

"It is... my elder brother, Lady Murong Feng."

After saying this, her lowered head bowed even deeper; in her heart, she felt both disappointment and a certain amount of grief and indignation.

Clearly, she still could not accept that her own brother had committed such a heartless and frenzied act of slaughter.

The gruesome sight of those more than a hundred corpses earlier now floated in her mind, truly shocking to behold.

Seeing this, Hu Rui pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"You need not draw such a conclusion so easily. Although the Lady Murong family is indeed highly suspected since this jade tablet fell here, it cannot be ruled out that someone deliberately framed them. The truth of this matter can only be known after an investigation."

Saying this, his expression grew slightly more solemn, and he spoke in a deep voice:

"However, harboring evidence and shielding a criminal are serious crimes according to the laws of Great Li. Miss Lady Murong, do not do such things in the future."

"I... I understand."

Upon hearing this, Lady Murong Xiaoya dared not raise her head at all, merely agreeing in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.

At this moment, she also felt ashamed of her own previous actions.

Just now, it was simply because she was too worried about Lady Murong Feng and the Lady Murong family that she acted against her conscience and hid the jade tablet.

In fact, before Li Musheng approached her, she had been struggling in her heart, but Li Musheng acted far too quickly; the jade tablet she had hidden in her bosom appeared in the other's hand silently and without a sound.

There was simply no room for her to hesitate.

Lady Murong Xiaoya's emotions surged; after remaining silent for a while, she finally moved her feet and walked to stand before Li Musheng, lowering her head and speaking softly:

"Your Highness, I am sorry..."

Upon hearing this, Li Musheng waved his hand and did not say much.

No one is a sage; everyone has moments of selfishness.

To be honest, unless one has a heart of iron and stone, anyone encountering such a situation would, to some extent, hesitate and find it difficult to choose.

At this moment, Shen Anran walked over and gently patted Lady Murong Xiaoya's shoulder.

About two incense sticks of time passed, and Cao Gaoshan returned riding a horse at full gallop, bringing with him a group from the Tianjin Guard.

"My lord, the Tianjin Guard has already sent people to notify the Six Fan Gate and the Shengzhou garrison. I have brought them back first."

Cao Gaoshan reported the situation to Hu Rui, and Hu Rui turned his gaze to the person who had come from the Tianjin Guard.

What surprised him somewhat was that the person leading the Tianjin Guard this time was none other than Han Meiyan's son, Mei Yanyu, whom he had seen last night.

At this moment, Mei Yanyu glanced at Hu Rui and Wu Shang, narrowed his eyes slightly, and clasped his hands in a bow, saying:

"My lord Hu, we meet again."

Hu Rui nodded slightly, and then Mei Yanyu shifted his gaze, looking at Li Musheng not far away. He immediately walked over quickly and bowed, saying:

"Greetings to the Eighth Imperial Prince."

Li Musheng raised his eyes slightly, glanced at the other, and his gaze swept over a servant following behind him.

He then merely waved his hand, indicating that the bow was unnecessary.

The Mei family is a legitimate imperial relative; by rights, there is a blood relation between Mei Yanyu and Li Musheng.

Although the Mei family belongs to the lineage of the Queen's eldest son, Li Musheng is a newly recognized Imperial Prince and currently has no conflict of interest with the eldest son; on the contrary, the other party might have intentions to win him over.

Seeing that Li Musheng did not intend to pay him much attention, Mei Yanyu remained composed, said nothing more, and accompanied by Hu Rui, went to the inner courtyard of the government office to inspect the case.

During this period, the people of the Tianjin Guard did not disturb the scene from beginning to end. This matter was too significant; if the three parties were not present, whichever side it was would have to avoid suspicion and could not act rashly.

However, after roughly inspecting the situation in the inner courtyard, Mei Yanyu seemed to have discerned something and said:

"Nearly half of the people were killed with a single sword strike sealing their throats. This sword technique looks strangely familiar. If I am not mistaken, the sword art used by the killer should be the Lady Murong family's 'Azure Dragon Thousand Swords'."

Upon hearing these words, Hu Rui's eyes shifted slightly, and he glanced at Lady Murong Xiaoya.

And Mei Yanyu clearly knew Lady Murong Xiaoya as well; a meaningful expression appeared on his face as he said:

"The Azure Dragon Thousand Swords is a sword art passed down exclusively within the Lady Murong family — this is common knowledge among virtually every martial arts clan in the entire prefecture city. However, very few people have actually seen this sword art."

Hearing this, Lady Murong Xiaoya parted her lips, but she had no idea what to say.

At that moment, Mei Yanyu looked at her and slowly began to speak:

"Miss Lady Murong Xiaoya, there's no need to rush. Since it's common knowledge that the Azure Dragon Thousand Swords belongs to the Lady Murong family, if this matter truly were the Lady Murong family's doing — and they brazenly used this sword art to kill someone — wouldn't that be confessing on their own?"

"Therefore, in my view, this is most likely someone deliberately framing and setting up the Lady Murong family, intending to drive them to their deaths."

(End of chapter)