Chapter 250

The imperial physician was too scared to speak, and the ministers were silent. Yan Hongtian was about to get angry, when a clear and steady voice sounded at the right time, "The princess had convulsions in her limbs, teeth clenched, breathing closed and suffocated, and her complexion was dark blue-purple before she died. After death, her eyes protruded, and her limbs were stiff and cold. It should be that she died of snake venom. And the only snake venom that can be toxic in such a short time is the Red Ring Silk Worm." When the man said the words "Red Ring Silk Worm," there was a commotion among the civil and military officials.

Red Ring Silk Worm? Qingfeng pondered for a while. If she remembered correctly, the Red Ring Silk Worm should be a poisonous snake unique to the northwest of Qiongyue, living in dark ditches and stone crevices, with a red body and extremely strong toxicity.

Qingfeng sneered in her heart. The Beiqi princess actually died of the strange poison unique to Qiongyue in the Qiongyue hall. This time, the knot between Beiqi and Qiongyue was afraid it would be difficult to solve.

"Single Criminal Justice Official, the Beiqi princess died in my Qiongyue hall, which is a major matter that cannot be discussed lightly. This case is handed over to you to investigate with all your strength. You must find the princess's true cause of death and the murderer." Yan Hongtian's voice still maintained the majesty of a ruler of a country, but his face also darkened instantly.

Kneeling on one knee, Shan Yulan replied loudly, "The minister accepts the decree."

In Haoyue, Qingfeng had heard that Shan Yulan of the Qiongyue Criminal Justice Department was impartial and broke cases like a god. Was this the person? Qingfeng raised her eyes again. He didn't look very handsome, but the courage and responsibility to admit that the Beiqi princess died of Red Ring Silk Worm poison in the hall were quite admirable.

Xu Xunsi, who had been holding the woman tightly in his arms, seemed to have recovered some reason. On his young face was the spirit and dignity that a prince of a country should have. He raised his head and looked directly at Yan Hongtian, who was high above, and said coldly, "If I remember correctly, the Red Ring Silk Worm is a poisonous creature unique to Qiongyue. Seventh Sister died miserably in the Qiongyue hall today. Beiqi dares to ask the Qiong Emperor for an explanation. Single Criminal Justice Official personally handles this case, and Xu Xunsi has no objection, but I hope the Single Criminal Justice Official can handle this case in front of us."

"Granted!" Things had reached this point, and this request was not too much. After all, no matter what, the princess dying in the hall was a fact.

Qingfeng stood quietly on the side and watched the changes. At this time, a strong man suddenly rushed to her side. Qingfeng was slightly startled. Looking carefully, this person was another envoy of Beiqi. He seemed to call himself Hu Xi'ang, the son of the Beiqi Great General, just now. He picked up the wine pot the princess had used and shouted loudly, "In the hall, where did the poisonous snake come from?! The princess was fine just now, and only drank one cup of wine. Could it be that this wine is poisonous!" The rough voice sounded in such an empty hall, and it could actually make people's ears hurt, which showed how loud the voice was.

Shan Yulan walked toward him, took the wine pot from his hand, and whispered a few words to the attendant beside him. The attendant ran away in a hurry. The attendant brought a white porcelain dish and a silver needle about ten centimeters long. He poured the wine in the pot onto the dish. The originally pure wine was tinged with a faint red. He placed the silver needle in his hand on the dish. The silver needle submerged in the wine immediately turned pitch black. Shan Yulan took out the silver needle, wiped it with a white cloth, and the silver needle remained pitch black.

Hu Xi'ang said urgently, "Is there poison in the wine?!"

Putting away the silver needle, Shan Yulan didn't make any defense and said truthfully, "The silver needle is pitch black, the wine color is slightly red, and the taste is salty and fishy. The wine does contain the poison of the Red Ring Silk Worm."

Once Shan Yulan confirmed that there was poison in the wine, Hu Xi'ang's furious roar sounded again, "Then someone must have poisoned the wine! You hand over the person."

Hu Xi'ang was so presumptuous. Yan Hongtian could have imprisoned him, but doing so at this time would only be more humiliating to the country and bullying a small country. If it spread, how could he face the other Six Kingdoms?! Yan Hongtian's face grew darker and darker, like the prelude to a storm, and the hall fell into dead silence again.

A clear and gentle female voice sounded softly, resolving a trace of heavy atmosphere that made people suffocated, "Poison was actually put in the wine at the palace banquet. It is this palace's dereliction of duty. Eunuch Wu, bring all the servants who touched the princess's wine pot to this palace."

On such an occasion, the Empress shouldn't have spoken, but as the mother of a country and it happened in the palace, it was nothing for her to say a few words. Her appearance just eased the atmosphere.

"Yes." Glancing at the Emperor's expression, he didn't stop it, and Wu Rong immediately turned and left.

Qingfeng's heart sank. Was she the one who poured wine for the princess?

Several guards stepped forward, dragging her and three servants to the front of the hall. The three had long been scared out of their wits, lying on the ground and shouting, "Empress, spare our lives. We are only responsible for dividing the wine into the pot and don't know which pot of wine is for the princess. Even if we had a hundred guts, we wouldn't dare to poison it!"

Compared to the dog-legged begging of the three servants, Qingfeng knelt straight, didn't say a word, and her face was cold.

The Empress looked at Qingfeng and said coldly, "Qing Ling, you are a woman sent into the palace by Haoyue. Now that you have been demoted to a palace maid, are you resentful and poisoned the Beiqi princess, or did the Haoyue ruler instruct you to poison and harm the Beiqi princess, provoking the relationship between Qiongyue and Beiqi?"

She wanted to frame her! Pushing this crime onto her could not only put her to death but also resolve the crisis in Qiongyue. Or was it that arranging for her to serve the Beiqi princess today was simply to solve two women at once? If this was the case, the Empress was indeed vicious! Qingfeng pondered how to clear her name and spat out three words coldly, "I didn't."

"You tried to assassinate the Emperor yesterday, and you still dare to say you have no evil intentions?! This palace will give you one chance. Confess what you did, and this palace will spare you from physical punishment!"

Qingfeng had always thought that her sisters were dead, and she had no meaning in staying in this world alone. Death was a relief for her, but today she saw Eldest Sister, and she absolutely couldn't let the Empress push the crime onto her, otherwise, it would definitely harm them and the innocent people of Haoyue.

After a long time, Qingfeng finally raised her head slowly, looked at the woman who was high above and pretended to be pitiful but was actually fake and disgusting, and with a sneer, Qingfeng shouted, "Yesterday I just accidentally broke a vase and cut the Emperor, failing to fulfill my duty of service. The Emperor was furious and demoted me to a palace maid. And the reason I am standing here to pour wine for the Beiqi princess today is entirely the Empress's decree. I didn't know about it beforehand. If you say the poison was put by me, then it was also arranged by the Empress."

"Presumptuous!" The Empress's face changed greatly, "Sharp-tongued and full of lies. It seems you won't tell the truth without punishment."

Just as the Empress finished speaking, the guards beside her rushed up and pressed Qingfeng tightly to the ground. Her slender arms were almost broken. Qingfeng gritted her teeth, her thin body curled into a small circle, but she refused to beg for mercy, and with a slightly hoarse voice, she shouted coldly, "I didn't poison it."

She couldn't, and wouldn't admit it. Even if her arms were twisted, she wouldn't admit it.

Yan Hongtian looked coldly at the woman on the ground. The pain made her originally fair face even paler, and her lips were bitten and congested, but the arrogance in her eyes remained unchanged. Accidentally broke a vase? She really dared to say it. Besides being stubborn enough, her ability to tell lies with her eyes open was not weak. Yan Hongtian withdrew his gaze, a faint sneer crossed his dark eyes, but there was not a trace of pity.

Clearly a lowly maid, yet still so aloof and unyielding. Xin Yuening snorted and shouted, "This palace wants to see how long you can be stubborn! Someone!"

Three men dressed as eunuchs stepped forward to take orders. Qingfeng's heart froze, and she gritted her teeth, determined that she wouldn't make a sound even if she died.

Just as Qingfeng was picked up by the eunuchs, a low, clear voice sounded unhurriedly, "Empress, calm your anger, don't get angry for a palace maid. Why not hand the person over to the Single Criminal Justice Official and let him handle it, so as not to hurt your body by getting angry again."

Qingfeng couldn't see the owner of this voice, but she could see the Empress's brows furrowed. Even so, her tone was completely different from just now, raising a faint smile that almost melted away, and she nodded elegantly, "The Prime Minister Lou is still thoughtful. Then hand these people over to the Single Criminal Justice Official."

Qingfeng and several eunuchs were pushed to the side of the hall. She finally had the opportunity to see what the owner of that voice looked like. That was a handsome man, wearing a light blue long robe with rolled edges and a purple gold hair crown. His elegant posture and peaceful temperament made him look not like a person who mixed in the officialdom at all. Just now she heard the Empress call him Prime Minister Lou, and her attitude toward him was also very polite. He should be Lou Xiyan. Sure enough, he was elegant, noble, gentle, and clear. Qingfeng smiled with relief. Eldest Sister followed him, so she shouldn't suffer.

"What are you doing?" In the hall, Xu Xunsi suddenly shouted. Qingfeng turned to look, only to see Shan Yulan half-crouched beside the Seventh Princess's corpse, his hand reaching toward the Seventh Princess's collar, but it was tightly grabbed by Xu Xunsi.

Shan Yulan froze there and explained, "The Seventh Princess died of poison, so the corpse should be examined as soon as possible to preserve early evidence."

Her brows furrowed again. Xu Xunsi, who had always been gentle, seemed to be angry, "It was you who said Seventh Sister died of poison, and the wine was also confirmed to be poisonous. What else do you want to examine."

"Third Prince, rest assured, what Single does is just a normal corpse examination. I will make a record of the state of the corpse, whether there are other wounds on the corpse, etc., for the purpose of investigating the case, and it will not harm the princess's corpse. If the Third Prince is worried, you can watch from the side."

Xu Xunsi's face was dark and scary, "So you want to strip and examine?"

Shan Yulan was righteous and didn't twist or make up, replying, "Yes."

"No!" Xu Xunsi roared. Gently putting down the Seventh Princess's corpse, Xu Xunsi took off his outer robe, covered it on the thinly dressed corpse, got up and walked to the center of the hall, passed Shan Yulan, and said loudly to Yan Hongtian, "Although my Beiqi is a small country, Seventh Sister is also the most noble princess of my country. I absolutely cannot allow a man to touch her corpse. If she knows after death, she will also feel humiliated."

(End of chapter)