Bastard's Counterattack [Rebirth]

When Rong Youtang heard the news, he turned around and saw that it was the Second Prince who came, so he hurriedly backed away a few steps, and immediately saluted to express his intention: "Your Majesty, Rong Youtang, is specially ordered to enter the palace to help solve the case, please refer to the Second Highness."

"What nonsense were you talking about just now? Huangkou Xiaoer, without any evidence, you actually slandered the prince at will? You will not know how powerful until His Highness intervenes with you!" The second prince was very aggressive, but in fact he became angry from embarrassment.

"The subordinate dare not."

"If you weren't favored by the emperor, how could you be qualified to enter the imperial garden? But you must keep your mouth shut and be careful to let the trouble come out of your mouth." The second prince scolded sharply, and did not ask the kneeling people to get up.

"Yes." Rong Youtang endured the humiliation and thought to himself: It seems that when the crime happened, the Second Highness was definitely not just drunk and lethargic, there must be something inside, otherwise why would he be so nervous?

King Qing was immediately displeased, and quickly stood beside Rong Youtang, explaining seriously: "Second brother, calm down, Mr. Rong was specially summoned by the emperor to help solve the case, and we are discussing the case."

"You? Father is very beautiful." The second prince raised his head, squinted at Rong Youtang, and sneered silently.He came from Kunhe Palace, he was severely reprimanded by the empress, and he was in an extremely bad mood.

"Second brother, you can speak directly if you have something to say. I'll always listen to you." King Qing was expressionless. He wanted to help Rong Youtang, but the other party was his elder brother. : "However, before that, my father ordered me to solve the case within three days, and no matter who is in charge of the case, they have to investigate the suspicious people near the crime scene when the incident happened. The deceased is our imperial sister, wouldn't the second brother want to?" Cooperate with the investigation? It is best to clear up the suspicion as soon as possible, brothers together, seek justice for Yilin and let her rest in peace."

"Third child! You—" The second prince was furious, his face livid.

"Second brother, Mr. Rong is meticulous and meticulous, and his analysis is very reasonable. At this critical moment, I hope you can help the dead Yilin to arrest the murderer as soon as possible, so as to comfort her spirit in heaven." King Rui said sadly, he is Eldest princess brother, words naturally carry weight.

The eldest prince took the time to watch for a while, Shi Shiran stepped forward, and as the elder brother, he kindly supported Rong Youtang, smoothed things over and said: "Okay, okay! We all feel uncomfortable in our hearts, and we all hope to solve the case as soon as possible. If we have something to say, sit down and talk about it." , working together, we can always capture the murderer."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Rong Youtang heaved a sigh of relief and stood up.

The three elder brothers choked on each other, while the other princes stood awkwardly, with embarrassment on their faces.Zhao Zening stood in an inconspicuous corner, looking cold, with his hands and sleeves folded all the time, dazed on the surface, but excited and excited inside, trying his best to suppress the ecstasy.

"It's important to solve the case, but please think about it: when the case happened, Lao Qi and I happened to be in the Royal Garden, but how could we harm Yilin? It's so absurd!" The second prince gritted his teeth and raised his fist. table, the sleeves were rolled up with the movement, revealing a few scratches, which fell into the eyes of Rong Youtang and King Qing.

Zhao Zewu greatly agreed, and echoed: "Exactly! I was with the eunuchs Shuangxi and Shuanggui when the crime happened. Even if they were sent to pick up sweet-scented osmanthus, I would not be able to fly from the rose altar to the lotus pond to commit crimes." , The two are located at opposite corners, separated by such a distance. Besides, Miss Huang is a family member, and I will only harm her if I am crazy! Are you kidding me?"

"Who asked you? Don't talk too much." Zhao Zewen pulled back his younger brother who took the lead, wishing he could sew the other's mouth and cut it open when necessary.

King Qing quietly gave Rong Youtang a comforting look, and the latter shook his head invisibly, signaling that it was okay.

King Qing did not drag his feet, but said clearly and decisively: "The imperial sister broke several nails in the struggle before she died, so we speculate that the murderer may have scratches. Just now, in order to prove his innocence, Lao Qi took off his clothes for a physical examination. We watched them together, and there was no scar from head to toe. Second brother, when the incident happened, you claimed to be drunk and lethargic in the rock cave in the southwest. After the incident, we were busy saving people and had no time to pay attention. Now, are you willing to follow suit Seventh, take off your clothes and prove your innocence?"

"I was innocent!"

The second prince poked his neck and said, he said in a rather embarrassing voice: "Third son, can I trouble you to use your brain to think about it? What reason do I have to kill Yilin? She is my sister!"

"Second brother, be safe and don't be impatient." King Qing explained with a sullen face and a stern look: "I never want a tragedy of fratricide, but right now I just need to investigate the suspects as soon as possible. It is impossible to fabricate evidence to wrong someone. Two Why are you so angry?"

The eldest prince lowered his head, cleared his throat pretentiously, hid a playful smile, then raised his head, and told meaningfully: "Brother Xiang, Lord Rong speculated about the murderer's motive for the murder just now. ...Yilin may have inadvertently broken someone's secret, and the murderer panicked and murdered to silence her."

"What do you mean?" The second prince's face suddenly changed.

"It's nothing interesting, it's just stating objective facts." The eldest prince calmly asked, "Xiangdi, what are you afraid of? It's just a stripping and body examination, and Lao Qi is very straightforward. He also asked us to take a serious look. We It's brother, aren't you shy?"

"Brother!" The second prince's eyes were red, but his face was pale, and the scar on his neck was unusually red.

That's, that's... Rong Youtang quietly observed the second prince's neck, thinking hard, and after a while, suddenly realized: Ah!That should be the mood after indulgence, could it be that the Second Highness was having sex with someone when the crime happened?

God!Rong Youtang thought quickly, although he didn't have proof, but his intuition was very strong.

King Qing took a deep breath and reminded forcefully: "Father has entrusted me with the heavy task of solving the case, and the time limit is only three days. If the second brother refuses to cooperate, after dawn, I can only report to Father and ask him to make a decision."

"Third brother!" The second prince was devastated, his face was red and his neck was thick, and he was in distress.

"Second brother, please think about it yourself." After finishing his speech, King Qing greeted Rong Youtang without further delay: "Lord Xiao Rong, come and take a look. This is the cloth used by gardeners to protect precious flowers at night and block the cold dew. When I found it at the bottom of the pool , with two nails embedded in it."

Rong Youtang took advantage of the opportunity to walk to the side of King Qing, and looked down carefully:

I saw a piece of half-old white coarse cloth about two feet, soaked at this time, stained with mud, gravel and grass clippings.The scary thing is that there is still some flesh and hair on it.

King Rui closed his eyes in pain, turned his face away, and couldn't bear to look at his younger sister's flesh and hair.

"This is..." Rong Youtang bent down and lowered his head, the tip of his nose almost touched the coarse cloth, sniffing carefully, some of the prince's throats were nauseated - it was so disgusting!Thank goodness he got down on the ground.

"According to the imperial physician's inspection, the victim's head lacked a few pieces of scalp and a few pieces of hair were torn off. Could it be that this cloth was used to cover the head?" Rong Youtang asked thoughtfully.

"Her head, face, chest and abdomen were fatally hit, most of which were kicked by her toes." King Qing mourned, and pointed out in a deep voice: "At that time, she was wearing two gold hairpins on her head. When she was attacked, the hairpins cut her scalp; when she was drowning, she struggled, and jewelry, fingers, etc. tore off her hair."

The fifth prince pondered for a long time, hesitated for a moment, finally made up his mind, and confessed his discovery: "Everyone, according to the severity of the injury, I suspect that the emperor's sister was covered with this cloth from the beginning, and she may never have seen the face of the murderer."

"If it's a stranger, even if Yilin sees him, she won't know him. Only acquaintances are worried about losing their hands, so they hide it." The first prince pointed to the second prince pointedly.

That's right, I also guessed that it was an acquaintance who committed the crime.

Rong Youtang silently agreed, feeling over the strife among the princes.

"You, what do you mean?" The second prince yelled unbearably, realizing that he couldn't hide it, he thumped the table with a "bang", untied his girdle without saying a word, and shouted angrily: "Isn't it just a physical examination? Come on I absolutely did not kill Yilin, I have no shame in my heart, if I lie, by heaven, I, Zhao Zexiang, will not suffer any punishment!"

Seeing that the second prince took off his clothes and belt, Rong Youtang tactfully turned his face away: "Your Highnesses are busy, I will take my leave for the time being."

"Dodge it." King Qing didn't think much, reached out and grabbed the opponent's arm, and took two steps away.

"Yes."

Rong Youtang resigned, walked outside the tent, took a few breaths, and scanned the surroundings of the crime scene.

"Sigh." Cao Liqun also resigned with him, his eyes were bloodshot and listless.

Rong Youtang walked to the side, asked the waiter in charge of tea for two cups of tea, handed them over and said, "Commander Cao, drink some tea to refresh yourself."

"Thank you." Cao Liqun forced a smile, took the hot tea, put it to his lips absent-mindedly, and accidentally burned his mouth, and immediately became more anxious, just wanting to smash the teacup into pieces!Reluctantly, the occasion was not right, so I could only bear my emotions, blew it hard, drank it in a few sips, and the waiter who was waiting by the side immediately rushed forward to pour tea.

Moment of silence

"Commander Cao, how long will it take for the lotus pond to empty?" Rong Youtang asked.

"All the drains have been opened, and the craftsmen estimate that it will take three days." Cao Liqun replied sullenly.

"En." Rong Youtang thought for a while, and then asked knowingly: "Is the only way to enter and exit the Imperial Garden through various gates?"

"of course not."

Cao Liqun smiled wryly, and replied helplessly, "The imperial garden is huge, and it is impossible to set up a post every three or five steps, otherwise how many people would the imperial army have to keep on hand? As long as the murderer is familiar with it, that person can choose to climb over the wall somewhere to enter. The specific investigation will take a lot of time."

"Yes." Rong Youtang sighed and wanted to say something, but the second prince's voice of defense suddenly came from behind him: "I was drunk, and that lowly servant girl Miao Qing took the opportunity to seduce her, and the scratches on her back were all caused by her nails. Made it!"

"Brother Xiang, Miao Qing is the empress's personal maid, are you so hungry? But if you don't just focus on having sex with the maid, you may hear Yilin's call for help, and the tragedy will not happen!" The eldest prince is majestic. He yelled loudly, clenching his teeth tightly.

King Qing was not interested in arguing, he raised his voice and shouted, "Lord Rong? Commander Cao?"

Rong Youtang hurriedly put down the teacup, and the two returned to the tent together.

"Commander Cao, you immediately take someone to Kunhe Palace to capture the maid Miaoqing, bring her up for confrontation, and invite two more imperial physicians." King Qing ordered vigorously.

"Yes!" Cao Liqun took the order, holding the handle of the saber, and left in a hurry.

The second prince was already fully dressed, extremely embarrassed, and asked angrily: "Third brother, don't you believe me?"

King Qing calmly said, "Second brother, calm down. Since you have identified Miao Qing, shouldn't you bring someone up for interrogation? I am just acting impartially."

"How can one side's words count? Brother Xiang, you should be considerate and considerate of the third child. Father is in a hurry to solve the case within a time limit." The eldest prince persuaded slowly, almost unable to hold back his happy smile.

King Rui was as cold as ice, he gripped the file tightly, his slender knuckles turned blue, and asked word by word: "Second Brother, did you really not hear Yi Lin calling for help?"

"No! It's absolutely true, no!" The second prince couldn't argue with his mouth, he was angry and twisted his face. At this moment, he regretted entering the Royal Garden tonight. He patted his chest and explained righteously: "Fourth brother, I know you are uncomfortable. It was also very distressing—but, at that time, at that time... I really didn't hear any abnormal noises, and that lowly servant girl Miao Qing was pestering her shamelessly, I was busy pushing her away, and didn't pay attention to the surrounding movement."

"Push her away? Push her back so that your back is full of woman's fingerprints and chokes? The battle must be fierce, right?" The eldest prince can be described as aggressive, taking advantage of the victory to pursue. Compared with the case of the eldest princess, at this moment, he pays more attention to defeating the enemy in one fell swoop.

"You—" The second prince raised his eyebrows, aggrieved and anxious, but there was nothing to refute, and he just tried in vain to argue: "Brother, what is your intention for keeping the two things together? Isn't it time to solve the case with all your strength? ?"

"The case is being solved right now, and we are investigating suspicious persons! Brother Xiang, I never expected that you secretly fell in love with the Queen's personal maid and hid in the dark in the rock cave—"

The second prince stopped in embarrassment: "So what? Brother, you don't have to pretend to be a gentleman, who doesn't know that you have taken dozens of beauties into your room? You will carry one to the mansion every now and then, regardless of the concubine's reward, There are so many cousins, daughters of disciples, and so on, all comers are welcome! They are all men, who is forcing whom?"

"Brother Xiang, what are you doing staring at the woman in my room all day long? Could it be someone you've taken a fancy to? If you don't mind using it for my brother, just ask, and I'll give it to you." The eldest prince waved his hand in a gentle manner.

The two princes fought like black-eyed chickens, while the rest turned a deaf ear and continued to discuss the case.

Rong Youtang studied the coarse cloth for a while, then said softly: "If the victim's head had been covered by this coarse cloth, her head would be bleeding, and when she struggled and resisted, maybe the murderer's palm prints, fingerprints, etc. would be left behind."

"It's very possible." King Qing nodded in agreement, and sighed sadly: "It's a pity that after soaking in the water for too long, all traces will be destroyed."

When Zhao Zening heard this, he was very proud of himself, thinking that the clothes were perfect, and watched with great interest as the brothers involved desperately tried to clear the suspicion.

"Your Highness, I have a method that may restore the traces of blood staining." Rong Youtang proposed.

"Say it quickly!" King Rui urged impatiently.

"What method?" King Qing turned his head, his eyes full of encouragement.

Rong Youtang said sternly: "my father runs a small cloth factory to make a living, and the officials are able to get in touch with various kinds of cloth and leather-making methods. Some newly harvested animal skins have only been roughly processed, and the flesh and blood are still there, so special medicine must be used The liquid can be cleaned up, and the use of the liquid medicine is limited for a limited time, and it will be reversed after a long time-"

King Rui didn't care to finish listening, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked: "Medical solution? What's the formula? Take it quickly and restore the cloth to see if there are any traces left by the murderer!"

"There are ordinary cloth workshops and leather shops in the folk, and they are not rare." Rong Youtang replied.

Zhao Zening's face changed slightly, and he felt a "thump" in his heart: Oops!When Zhao Yilin was struggling in the water, I pressed her head for a while...

"Good boy!" King Qing couldn't help but patted Rong Youtang on the shoulder, and praised: "If you can find useful clues by doing this, I will credit you!"

"It's just a little bit of effort, how dare you claim credit? The officials are terrified." Rong Youtang hurriedly said.

King Rui was still unable to calm down. He was hit so hard, he gritted his teeth and tried his best to catch the murderer and comfort his sister's soul.At this moment, he anxiously urged: "Third brother, hurry up, hurry up!"

"I understand, fourth brother, don't be so anxious." King Qing gently comforted him, and said, "Since it's an ordinary liquid medicine for treating leather, I guess there should be one in the palace, come here!"

"Yes." The imperial guards waiting outside the tent entered in response, and asked respectfully, "What orders does Your Highness have?"

"Go to the Department of Internal Affairs and pass on the king's order to get some medicine for treating leather immediately." King Qing ordered.

"Yes!"

Zhao Zening quietly took a deep breath to suppress his anxiety.

At this moment, several imperial guards who had been ordered to go out to search earlier returned, and reported with unconcealed excitement: "His Royal Highness Qing, the humble staff and the gardeners will thoroughly investigate the valuables in the garden that need to be protected at night. Flowers, it is now confirmed that the white coarse cloth found at the bottom of the pond is missing from the orchid garden."

"Lanyuan in the southeast corner?"

"Yes!"

King Qing frowned and pondered.

Rong Youtang racked his brains to deliberate, and said cautiously: "Your Highness, the murderer may have chosen a certain place to climb over the wall to enter the garden. The victim was wandering around at will, passing through many scenery, and even lost his attendants. I think... "His final sound gradually weakened, and he clicked to the end.

"Hey, Lanyuan is quite far from the lotus pond. Why did the murderer steal a piece of blue cloth from there?"

King Qing made a brief point: "Seventh Brother, the murderer may have sneaked into the Imperial Garden near Lanyuan, and he wanted to cover Yilin's head with a coarse cloth from the very beginning, because Yilin was running around aimlessly, the man may have spent a lot of effort Look for it. Of course, all this is just speculation."

The second prince was overjoyed, and blurted out: "I didn't go to Lan Yuan tonight! After entering the garden, three or five servants followed, Miao Qing...that lowly servant girl, even accompanied me the whole time, she can prove my innocence!"

"I haven't been to Lanyuan either!"

Zhao Zewu jumped up and called out, solemnly stating: "My concubine sent Shuangxi and Shuanggui to follow. Rose and Osmanthus are separated by roses, chatting from time to time, how can I have the ability to separate myself and go to Lanyuan to steal cloth?"

The eldest prince categorically vetoed it: "The third brother is just speculation! The details are unknown yet."

The second prince and the seventh prince turned their heads at the same time and glared at the elder brother angrily!

Zhao Zewu's face was filled with disbelief, and he was about to ask a question, but his brother pinched him hard, and he was forced to shut up with an "ouch".

I have been busy for a long time, and before I know it, it is Yin time, the dark sky covers the earth, and it is lonely and empty.Although a major event happened, the Imperial Palace only had a moment of turmoil in the imperial garden, and many people didn't even know about it, and they were still sleeping soundly.

King Qing had no time to pay attention to the brothers who were fighting inside, and directly ordered the guards: "It's not easy to search at night. After dawn, you carefully search the garden wall near Lanyuan, and try to find clues that the murderer sneaked into the imperial garden."

"Yes!"

A quarter of an hour later, the eunuch in charge of the Department of Internal Affairs held a bottle of liquid medicine in his hand, panting, trotted to bring it in person, and presented it respectfully.

King Qing took it and handed it directly to Rong Youtang.

Under the eyes of everyone, Rong Youtang suddenly felt a great responsibility, so he concentrated his attention, carefully spread the coarse cloth into the wooden basin, skillfully mixed the liquid medicine with water, and poured it slowly.

"How long will it take to recover the blood stain?" King Rui asked expectantly.

Rong Youtang replied softly: "About an hour."

"it is good."

"Fourth brother, why don't you go back to the palace for a rest?" King Qing urged worriedly.

"No. Third brother, I want to watch in person."

His Royal Highness King Rui's complexion is too bad.Rong Youtang was very sympathetic, it was hard to imagine that a person would not be able to get rid of the pain of the disease for the rest of his life.

"That's fine." King Qing suggested a compromise: "Then why don't you rest here for a while?"

"Bring a deck chair or an arhat couch, wouldn't that be enough?" The fifth prince suggested, yawning continuously.

King Qing nodded in agreement: "Just take a rest and get busy after dawn." He immediately told the guards to do it.

At this moment, the eldest prince, the second prince and the twin brothers left the tent, lowered their voices by the side of the lotus pond, and fought fiercely, tit for tat.

"How is the interrogation of Yilin's nanny and maids? They are also suspected and cannot escape severe punishment." The Fifth Prince asked.

"When it comes to the slaves in the harem, the father asked the empress to interrogate her. Miaoqing must have been detained, and she won't be able to bring it up for a while." King Qing replied in a low voice.He was so busy that he didn't bother to take a sip of tea, his voice was slightly hoarse.

"Third brother, let's have a cup of tea." Zhao Zening held up the tea tray and returned.

"Well, thank you very much." King Qing nodded and took it.

"Fourth brother, yours, this is lukewarm water." Zhao Zening wandered around with a tea tray, obedient and docile.

King Rui nodded wearily.

"Fifth Brother, please have some tea."

"it is good."

Tsk, the Eighth Prince has always been very strong and tricky, but he pretended to be obedient in front of his elder brother... Rong Youtang was thinking to himself, Zhao Zening turned around, moved closer, turned his back to everyone, and said with a smile: "Master Rong, do you want some tea?"

"Your official is terrified, how dare you bother His Highness the Eighth Highness? It's really frustrating." Rong Youtang politely declined.

The corners of Zhao Zening's mouth curled up, and he was very enthusiastic. He insisted on giving him a cup, and said kindly, "Why are you being polite? You and I worked together in Beiying, and I didn't know how much tea you cooked at that time."

"That's what I should do, I really don't dare to bother you." Rong Youtang was cautious in his words and deeds, and repeatedly declined.

King Qing helped out in time: "Master Rong, go to the tent next to you and sleep for a while."

"Yes. Don't disturb your highness, let's rest. I will leave." Rong Youtang walked to the tent next to him as if he had been pardoned, and lay down on the Arhat couch with his clothes closed, resting his mind.

"Fourth brother, you sleep here."

"Little Ba, just let it go." King Qing ordered the reclining chairs to be arranged and arranged for the younger brothers to take a nap.

"It doesn't matter, I can fall asleep if I lie down." The fifth prince murmured, he was very tired, he lay limp, his eyes closed, and his breathing quickly became long and steady.

But the eldest prince and others are still arguing outside, and it is easy to tell the winner.

The small tent, with only one candle left, was dark and gloomy. The round table in the middle was filled with the relics of the eldest princess, files, coarse cloth soaked in medicinal liquid, etc.

half an hour later

Zhao Zening, who was curled up sideways, quietly opened his eyes, and the snoring sound of the fifth prince came from behind him. He looked at King Rui and King Qing who were lying on the reclining chairs next to him, and his heart beat like a drum: Are they asleep?

Rong Youtang deserves death!Can the liquid medicine really restore the traces of blood stains?

Will there be my handprints and fingerprints on the cloth?

Zhao Zening was unavoidably apprehensive. He tried his best to restrain himself, lay quietly on his side, and gazed into the distance—unfortunately, it was impossible to see the changes in the wooden basin on the round table.

After a while, he felt guilty and fearful, and couldn't bear it any longer. He made up his mind, got up little by little, and walked towards the round table on tiptoe.

The light and shadow swayed, and a very weak wind surged around, alarming the vigilant Prince Qing!

King Qing immediately opened his eyes and raised his head in doubt:

Xiaoba?What does he want to do?