Chapter 186

Vicious Methods

Nie Jinxuan asked directly, but clearly, Chun'e was not a clever maid, so she was stunned for a moment. Seeing this, Nie Jinxuan was not in a hurry; she smiled again and said slowly.

"Don't be nervous, Chun'e. Actually, what I mean is... when the body was discovered last night, it was already very late and dark. Why did you go to the backyard of the Laundry Bureau at that time? And if you hadn't gone to the backyard, how would you have discovered the body? After all, the body was in a dry well. So I think you must have had some business there, right?"

Nie Jinxuan guided her slowly. This time, Chun'e finally understood. But once she understood, she shook her head without thinking.

"Uh... this, this Miss... Your servant went to the backyard, actually, not because I had any business..."

"Oh? No business?! Then since there was no business, why did you go there so late?"

Chun'e's words surprised Nie Jinxuan, but they were also within her expectations. At this moment, being pressed by Nie Jinxuan, Chun'e suddenly hesitated, then lowered her head and stopped speaking.

Seeing this, Yin Fengxuan, who was standing nearby and feeling anxious, wanted to rush over directly. But at this moment, he saw Nie Jinxuan glare at him, then she instantly changed her expression, lowered her head, and whispered gently to Chun'e.

"Chun'e, don't be afraid. You just need to tell the truth. I, Nie Jinxuan, can guarantee that as long as you tell the truth, no one will blame you~!"

"... Re, really?..."

"Yes, of course!"

Nie Jinxuan's gentleness truly moved Chun'e. Afterward, Chun'e looked at Nie Jinxuan slowly, and after hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.

"Actually, actually last night... Your servant had an appointment with someone, that's why I went out..."

"An appointment?"

"Yes, yes..."

Nodding with a tremble, Chun'e continued.

"More than a year ago, your servant entered the palace with Hong'er from the same village. But Hong'er is clever and literate, so as soon as she entered the palace, she was arranged to serve a master. Your servant is stupid, so I had to be arranged in the Laundry Bureau. There are rules in the palace that don't allow palace servants to run around at will, so during the day, it was hard for me to see Hong'er to avoid being caught and punished by the supervisor. So I had to make an appointment with Hong'er to meet on the first and fifteenth of every month to talk about our hearts, otherwise, your servant really couldn't bear it..."

"And last night, your servant, as before, waited until nightfall when everyone around was asleep, and got up to leave the room. But who would have thought, just at that moment, your servant suddenly saw a figure run past outside the courtyard..."

Chun'e's voice was very soft, but her story was complete. Hearing this, Nie Jinxuan's eyes flashed instantly.

"You saw a figure?"

"Yes, it was a figure... So, at that time, your servant was a bit curious, so I followed it, and followed it to the backyard of the Laundry Bureau. But at that time, the black shadow was gone. Afterward, your servant was curious, so I looked around, and as a result... I discovered..."

Trembling with fear, Chun'e finally told the whole story. Afterward, Nie Jinxuan asked her a few more things and then had someone take Chun'e away.

Once Chun'e was gone, Nie Jinxuan turned directly to Emperor Shuncheng.

"Your Majesty, there is indeed a problem with this matter. However, before talking about this, Jinxuan would like to consult Eunuch Gao about something."

Nie Jinxuan had doubts. Hearing this, Emperor Shuncheng's brows twitched, and he turned to look at Gao Caiyong beside him, then nodded.

"Ask."

"Yes."

Responding respectfully, Nie Jinxuan looked directly at Gao Caiyong.

"Eunuch Gao, may I ask, you mentioned before that a 'Soul-Nailing Stake' was found on Xiao Qing's body... May I ask what this Soul-Nailing Stake is?"

Nie Jinxuan truly did not know, but as soon as she said this, everyone present could not help but be stunned. Gao Caiyong could not help but chuckle lightly before explaining directly.

"So Third Miss is asking about this... Actually, a Soul-Nailing Stake is a type of curse. According to some knowledgeable sorcerers, if someone dies and you are afraid they will come out to cause trouble, you use a wooden stake made of peach wood to nail them into the coffin. Or you can nail it from the outside of the grave from top to bottom. In this way, the dead person's soul will be nailed down and won't come out to make trouble..."

"Of course, once the soul is nailed down, although they won't come out to make trouble, it also prevents the deceased from entering the underworld. Therefore, the deceased can neither become a lonely ghost nor be reincarnated. Thus, very few people use Soul-Nailing Stakes now because it is too vicious..."

The things ancient people feared most were nothing more than two: first, while alive, having descendants to carry on the family line. Second, after death, being laid to rest and reincarnated! If someone died and couldn't even be reincarnated, that was the most vicious curse! So upon hearing this, Nie Jinxuan was stunned for a moment, but then immediately understood.

Actually, when Nie Jinxuan heard the words 'Soul-Nailing Stake', she knew this thing was definitely not good. But she didn't expect the other party to be so vicious as to think of this trick!

Of course, Nie Jinxuan was not superstitious, so she didn't believe in souls or reincarnation. But the key now was that her disbelief was useless. The people around her believed it, and Emperor Shuncheng believed it, which was why Emperor Shuncheng was so furious.

After all, her father had once said that Noble Consort Ning was the woman Emperor Shuncheng loved most in his life. Although Nie Jinxuan didn't know what had happened back then that made Emperor Shuncheng not even allow others to pay respects to Noble Consort Ning after she died—perhaps it was hatred, perhaps it was annoyance—regardless, even if Emperor Shuncheng hated or was annoyed, he would certainly not allow others to do such a thing to Noble Consort Ning!

Therefore, thinking of this, Nie Jinxuan understood in her heart. After contemplating for a moment, she looked directly at Emperor Shuncheng and said.

"Your Majesty, presumably when Xiao Qing's body was discovered, Your Majesty and everyone must have felt that Xiao Qing's death was definitely Noble Consort Zhang killing her to silence her. After all, it was Xiao Qing who dismissed the palace maids on night duty. This undoubtedly shows that in the whole matter, Xiao Qing knew the details very well. So Noble Consort Zhang was afraid and silenced Xiao Qing... But Your Majesty, doing this carries great risk!"

"After all, before last night, although Noble Consort Zhang had been under house arrest and was even about to be sent to the Cold Palace by Your Majesty, the situation had actually eased. And before, Your Majesty was just furious for a moment, which is why you spoke so harshly. But as time passed, Your Majesty gradually calmed down. Presumably, there is no need for Jinxuan to show off here; Your Majesty would surely understand that there is something suspicious in this and would let Noble Consort Zhang go. Jinxuan believes Noble Consort Zhang knows this in her heart, which is why she hasn't spoken. Because Noble Consort Zhang has served Your Majesty for more than twenty years, she naturally understands Your Majesty. And Noble Consort Zhang also believes in Your Majesty, believing that once Your Majesty calms down, you will naturally restore her innocence!"

Helping others speak well and putting labels on them is truly a technical job. Nie Jinxuan rarely did this, but that didn't mean she couldn't!

"Noble Consort Zhang believes in Your Majesty, but just at this juncture, when things were looking up, Xiao Qing suddenly died... Then may I ask Your Majesty, before Xiao Qing died, did anyone suspect her? Or did anyone suspect that Noble Consort Zhang used a curse like a Soul-Nailing Stake to curse Noble Consort Ning, who has been dead for many years?! No, presumably not! So why would Noble Consort Zhang kill Xiao Qing to silence her when no one suspected anything? And the consequence of doing so is undoubtedly inviting disaster upon herself!"

Nie Jinxuan spoke with certainty. But at this moment, a cold laugh suddenly interrupted her.

"Hmph... Third Miss is wrong, right! Xiao Qing was already found to have dismissed the night-duty maids, so how could she not be suspected? And Noble Consort Zhang knew the matter was exposed, and Xiao Qing had been caught in a handle, so if she were interrogated carefully, she might have told the truth, which is naturally something Noble Consort Zhang wouldn't want to see. So killing her to silence her is reasonable, right!"

The person speaking was naturally Prince Yun, Yin Fengjin. Hearing this, Yin Fengxuan nearby was instantly furious. But before he could speak, he saw Nie Jinxuan glare at him.

"Then, if it were Your Highness Prince Yun, would you kill to silence someone?!"

"You..."

"But Your Highness, don't forget. Although Xiao Qing was indeed suspected at the time and was being watched, it was precisely because of this that she couldn't be touched! Otherwise, once something happened to her, it would be tantamount to telling everyone that she had a problem. There wouldn't even need to be any excuse, because the person is dead, what else could it be but silencing her?! So such behavior can be said to be extremely stupid, and Jinxuan does not believe Noble Consort Zhang is a stupid person, so she naturally wouldn't do this!"

A few sentences left Yin Fengjin speechless. Afterward, Nie Jinxuan followed this line of thought and continued.

"Therefore, at this time, killing Xiao Qing was by no means a wise move. But Xiao Qing really died. So Your Majesty, Jinxuan believes that besides someone deliberately framing her, there is no other explanation!"

"At the same time, it doesn't matter if Xiao Qing died, or rather, even if Xiao Qing died, Your Majesty would suspect Noble Consort Zhang, but you wouldn't have had the murderous intent. What truly made Your Majesty have murderous intent was the Soul-Nailing Stake carried on Xiao Qing when she died... After all, finding a Soul-Nailing Stake on Xiao Qing, and then associating it with the spirit tablet of Noble Consort Ning previously found in Yongxin Palace, one would naturally think of one thing: that Noble Consort Zhang was not paying respects to Noble Consort Ning that night, but was cursing her. But since Noble Consort Ning has been dead for so many years, she had to use the spirit tablet as a substitute!"

"This is what everyone would think when they know about the Soul-Nailing Stake. But Your Majesty and everyone, don't forget: Xiao Qing was silenced by Noble Consort Zhang, and according to Chun'e's statement just now, she only saw 'a' shadow. That is to say, the situation at that time was not Xiao Qing hiding from someone's pursuit, but that Xiao Qing was already dead, and the murderer was carrying Xiao Qing's body to dispose of it! But if Xiao Qing was already dead at that time, why would the crucial Soul-Nailing Stake be found on her body?!"

Second update uploaded, see you tomorrow~! (When stating the case and analyzing the trick, there is a lot of talk and it takes up space. Everyone, please be patient. The case will end tomorrow~!)