Chapter 37: Palace Banquet Storm (7)

"Presumptuous!" The Empress's face changed drastically. The voice that had been considered friendly just now was now unusually harsh: "Sharp-tongued and full of nonsense. It seems you won't tell the truth without torture!"

As soon as the Empress finished speaking, the guards standing on the side rushed up and pressed Qing Ling firmly to the ground.

Zhuo Qing's heart tightened. She had just cheered for Qing Ling's witty answer, and now she was worried for her again. Looking at Yan Hongtian, he was still expressionless, not showing a shred of pity for Qing Ling. Also, this move by the Empress could be considered a big help to him. Qing Ling was a Haoyue person. If everything could be pushed onto Qing Ling, it would be too perfect, and everything would have nothing to do with Qiongyue! If Beiqi wanted to settle accounts, they could only look for Haoyue!

But could she let them impose this groundless charge on her just like that?! Watch her being tortured?

No!

There was a voice always clamoring in her heart, perhaps it was the call of blood, perhaps it was Zhuo Qing's own conscience that didn't allow it. In short, Zhuo Qing knew that she could not stand by and watch...

Two tall and strong guards rudely pressed Qing Ling to the ground, her slender arms almost broken. Qing Ling bit her teeth tightly, her thin body curled into a small circle, but she refused to beg for mercy. With a slightly hoarse voice, she called out coldly, "I did not poison it."

She could not and would not admit it. Even if her arms were twisted off, she would not admit it!

The pain made her already fair face even paler, and her lips were bitten until they were congested.

Looking at the stubborn, humiliated, yet enduring and firm woman on the ground, a flash of heartache crossed Zhuo Qing's eyes. But just as her feet moved a step, Mo Bai, who seemed to have completely ignored her, was faster than her and blocked her path.

Zhuo Qing's footsteps stalled. She moved to the left, and Mo Bai seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, moving his figure extremely quickly to block her way again. After a few times, Zhuo Qing was also annoyed. Just as she was about to push Mo Bai away with her hand, she saw Lou Xiyan, who had been sitting as steady as Mount Tai, suddenly turn his head.

Meeting his deep and calm eyes, looking over Mo Bai's shoulder, Lou Xiyan looked at her deeply, his head shaking slightly without a trace. In those narrow eyes, Zhuo Qing saw a power that settled people's hearts. Because of this power, Zhuo Qing finally stopped her footsteps and leaned slowly against the stone pillar behind her again. Her heart was somewhat lost and confused at this moment; she actually believed because of a look that he would handle this matter for her.

Yan Ruxuan had been pulling her skirt tightly. She didn't expect to see such a scene. A person who was alive just a moment ago suddenly died in front of her. She was really panicked and wanted to scream, but because he was by her side, even though her body was still shaking uncontrollably, Yan Ruxuan's heart didn't have much fear.

But what was Brother Yan looking at? And he only took one look and turned his head back. Yan Ruxuan looked up and only saw Brother Lou's personal guard, so she quickly lowered her head again. She didn't dare to look at the corpse with wide-open eyes in the hall; it was too terrifying!

Here, eyes met and dark waves surged; there, it was already a sky-high rage. Clearly a lowly maid, yet she still had such a high and unyielding appearance. The Empress gave a low hum and shouted, "I want to see how long you can keep your mouth shut! Someone!"

Three men dressed like eunuchs immediately stepped forward to take orders. Zhuo Qing's heart tightened again. Fortunately, Lou Xiyan did not disappoint her. His thin figure stood up slowly, and his clear voice, like a low chant, rang out unhurriedly: "Empress, please calm your anger. Do not get angry over a palace maid. It would be better to hand them all over to Official Dan and let him investigate, so as not to hurt your body by getting angry again."

Just a little bit more, and she could have taught this arrogant woman a lesson. The Empress's face darkened significantly. Among all the civil and military officials, there were only two people who could not be offended: one was Lou Xiyan, and the other was Su Ling! Lou Xiyan had spoken, and she had to give him this face. Gritting her teeth secretly, the Empress still nodded elegantly and replied, "Prime Minister Lou is still the most thoughtful. Then let these people be handed over to Official Dan."

Lou Xiyan sat down peacefully, looking like nothing had happened. Dan Yulan could only step forward and bow, replying, "This subject will definitely investigate this case with all his strength." Prime Minister Lou was indeed Prime Minister Lou; in the end, he logically threw this mess to him! "Someone, take them aside first."

Qing Ling was pulled up and, along with several eunuchs, pushed to the side of the hall. Qing Ling finally had the opportunity to see Lou Xiyan's appearance clearly. He was indeed handsome and imposing. Qing Ling finally smiled with relief. Following him, she shouldn't suffer, right!

Dan Yulan didn't interrogate the prisoners but walked straight to the Seventh Princess who was still lying in Xu Xunsi's arms, bowed slightly, performed a ceremony, and said in a low voice, "Seventh Princess, I have offended you."

Holding down Dan Yulan's reaching hand, Xu Xunsi shouted, "What are you doing?"

Withdrawing his hand, Dan Yulan explained, "The Seventh Princess died from poisoning. The corpse should be examined as soon as possible to preserve early evidence."

His brows furrowed again. The usually refined Xu Xunsi also seemed to get angry: "It was you who said Seventh Sister died from poisoning, and it was also confirmed that there was poison in the wine. How else do you want to examine it?"

"Third Prince, rest assured. What I am doing is just a routine corpse examination, making a record of the state the corpse shows, whether there are other wounds on the corpse, etc., for the purpose of investigating the case. It will not harm the Princess's corpse. If the Third Prince is worried, you can watch from the side."

Qing Ling was temporarily out of danger, and Zhuo Qing also turned her gaze here. Dan Yulan was right. For such poisoning cases, the earlier the corpse is examined, the smaller the changes will be. And no matter what kind of case it is, doing a good autopsy is very important.

Zhuo Qing praised Dan Yulan, but unfortunately, someone's face was black and frightening: "So you mean you want to undress and examine her?"

Dan Yulan was full of righteousness and replied without any awkwardness or affectation: "Yes."

"No!" Xu Xunsi roared! Gently putting down the Seventh Princess's corpse, Xu Xunsi took off his outer robe, covered the thinly dressed corpse, stood up and walked to the center of the hall, passed Dan Yulan, and said loudly to Yan Hongtian: "Although my Beiqi is a small country, Seventh Sister is, after all, the most noble Princess of our country. I absolutely cannot allow a man to handle her corpse. If she knew after death, she would also feel humiliated!"

Yan Hongtian's face had always been dark and gloomy, uncertain. He did not express his stance. Dan Yulan stepped forward again and explained sincerely, "Third Prince, the Princess's corpse must be examined. In order to find the murderer who poisoned the Princess as soon as possible, please forgive me, Third Prince."

"Who dares to touch the Princess?!" Flying forward, Hu Xi'ang blocked in front of the Seventh Princess's corpse. He was a martial general, and in extreme anger, he couldn't care about so much. He shouted directly: "The Princess was clearly poisoned intentionally in the Great Hall, and poison was also found in the wine. You don't go to investigate the murderer, but instead want to insult the Princess's corpse. Don't bully us Qiongyue too much!"

"Then how does the Third Prince want to handle it?"

Xu Xunsi finally turned back, faced him, and said sternly, "Official Dan can examine her while she is clothed, can just look like this. After looking, I want to transport Seventh Sister back to the country. In any case, you, a big man, absolutely cannot perform a naked examination on Seventh Sister!"

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely heavy. If Hu Xi'ang had weapons on him, he probably would have already drawn them.

You can't force an autopsy, right? But if you don't perform an autopsy, how can you judge the case?! Dan Yulan fell into deep thought. Suddenly, a flash of brilliance flashed in his eyes. When he raised his head again, Dan Yulan was full of clarity and asked, "A man won't do, but a woman can touch her, right?"

"A woman?"

Once this was said, the whole hall was shocked. Who had ever heard of a woman performing an autopsy?!

A bad premonition immediately rose in Zhuo Qing's heart.

A flash of strangeness also crossed Lou Xiyan's eyes...

"A woman?" Xu Xunsi's brows tightened, and he asked, "Does Qiongyue still have female coroners?"

A female coroner? Once this was said, the whole hall was shocked. Who had ever heard of a woman performing an autopsy?!

A bad premonition immediately rose in Zhuo Qing's heart. Her body shrank involuntarily behind Mo Bai's tall figure, almost disappearing between the pillar and the hanging long curtain.

A flash of strangeness crossed Lou Xiyan's eyes, but it was so small that no one would notice.

Regarding Xu Xunsi's question, Dan Yulan did not answer, only insisting on asking, "The Third Prince only needs to say yes or no."

It seemed that this autopsy was imperative for them. Xu Xunsi thought for a while, and finally nodded and replied, "Good, if it is a woman, she can examine her on my behalf."

Getting a positive answer, Dan Yulan turned around and walked straight toward Lou Xiyan's position. Lou Xiyan flicked his index finger, his face calm and leisurely, but he couldn't help but curse in his heart, Damn it, he actually discovered it!

Everyone was waiting to see what woman Dan Yulan had found to perform the autopsy, or if he had secretly taken a female apprentice. They only saw him bypass Lou Xiyan, walk in front of a tall man with orchid eyes, and bow slightly, saying, "Miss Qing, please help examine the Princess."

Seeing Qing Ling suffer, she showed impatience, and she looked too much like Qing Ling, and she was beside Prime Minister Lou. Although he couldn't see her face clearly in the prison that time, he could be sure that she was Feng, the teenager who had brought him quite a shock that day!

In the Great Hall, there was another uproar. That was clearly a big man, where was she a young lady?

Zhuo Qing cursed Lou Xiyan in her heart. Why didn't he speak up at a time like this?! Leaning against the slightly cool stone pillar, she made up her mind to ignore him.

Seeming to have seen through Zhuo Qing's thoughts, Dan Yulan didn't step forward anymore, only saying loudly, "If the Princess's corpse cannot be examined today, and no new clues and evidence can be found, all those involved in this case will not be able to escape the charge of poisoning the Beiqi Princess, and will find it even harder to escape death."

Damn it, he was warning her! If she didn't examine it, Qing Ling would die!

She had once thought he was an upright and open person; it turned out he could also play such petty tricks!

Dan Yulan put his hands behind his back and said no more. Not long after, a female voice, cold and carrying a bit of hatred, rang out abruptly—

"I will examine it."

Accompanied by this voice, a slender figure stood out from behind the tall man.

That was a woman dressed in the clothes of a servant of Prime Minister Lou's house. Yes, a woman. Even if her long hair was combed into a bun and she wore a loose outer robe, no one who looked closely at her fair and beautiful face would doubt that she was a woman.

Clang~

A crisp sound of a cup falling to the ground. Everyone looked toward the place where the sound originated. They saw the cup on the long table in front of the Emperor tilted to the ground, and the fine wine splashed drop by drop onto the golden silk carpet along the edge of the table. The Emperor's black eyes stared fixedly at the woman who had suddenly appeared. The ministers secretly speculated about the woman's identity, only because the emotions contained in the Emperor's eyes looking at her were too complex. It seemed to be disbelief, and it also seemed to be full of deep affection, but anyone could see the obvious anger.

Zhuo Qing got goosebumps from Yan Hongtian's look. Why was he looking at her like that?! Did she know him? No, wait, did Feng know him?! Zhuo Qing looked at Lou Xiyan for help, but he had a rare calm face, his eyes full of deep thought.

What exactly is going on now?! Zhuo Qing was also angry. She simply averted her eyes, not looking at the man on the high seat who was using her to practice his eyesight, and shouted at Dan Yulan, "Are you going to examine it or not!?"

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 38 =====