The Secret Chamber of the Card Game

Hearing Yu Hanjiang say that the deceased was Lin Shaobo, the prince's mouth twitched slightly, and his brows instantly twisted into the word "Chuan".Although the young master of the Lin family was not the most favored son in the Lin family, but he died in the palace, how should he explain this to the Lin family?

The prince looked at the guard beside him with a sullen face, and scolded in a low voice: "I asked you to search the palace carefully last night, didn't you search here?!"

In the dark night, the pond was full of lotus flowers again, and the corpse floating under the cover of the lotus leaves was really hard to attract attention.The guard was also very wronged, and explained in a low voice: "The subordinate searched around the pond, but did not go into the pond to salvage it. It was too dark to see the corpse floating in the pond... No, I didn't expect that Young Master Lin would slip and fall into the water!"

At this moment, a gentle voice suddenly sounded in everyone's ears: "Master Lin didn't fall into the water by mistake."

This voice seems to come from Mrs. Yu?

Everyone was stunned, and they all turned their heads—the body was swollen from soaking, and it was disgusting to look at.Madam Yu actually didn't mind at all, she saw "she" squatting beside the corpse calmly, pointing to the corpse and said, "Master Lin also died of murder, but the cause of death was not drowning."

When Yu Hanjiang heard this, he also walked over and squatted beside Xiao Lou, carefully observing the traces on the corpse.

Xiao Lou pointed to the fragments of clothes tightly clutched in the hands of the corpse, as well as the bruises on the neck, and said softly: "Look, although the marks on his neck were swollen with water, but the fingerprints could be discerned vaguely, the murderer should be Attacked him suddenly from behind, strangled his neck forcefully, tore the sleeve of the murderer as he struggled, and the piece of cloth he was holding tightly in his hand probably belonged to the murderer."

Yu Hanjiang pulled out the cloth from the hands of the corpse and looked at it carefully. He frowned and handed the cloth to Long Sen, asking, "Where does this cloth come from, can you be sure?"

Long Sen took it over, compared it with the clothes on his body carefully, and said, "It should be the clothes of the guards. The royal guards wear this kind of navy blue clothes. They are uniformly ordered and easy to identify."

Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou: "Madam thinks that Lin Shaobo was thrown into the pond after being strangled to death?"

Xiao Lou nodded and said: "That's right. If he stumbled and fell into the water, he would struggle after falling into the water, then there should be water plants, silt and other things in the pond in his fingernails, and there should be a lot of water pouring into his mouth and nose, and there will also be water. Foam and silt."

Xiao Lou turned the corpse over and said, "There is no foam or sand in his nose and mouth." Then he picked up the clothes of the corpse, pointed to the muscles on the corpse and said, "Besides, since the temperature of the water is lower than that of the human body, After he fell into the water, the muscles all over his body were convulsed by the cold, and the stiffness of the corpse would be more obvious, and the spots on the corpse were generally light pink or dark red—but his corpse did not meet the characteristics of drowning."

Xiao Lou said firmly: "He didn't struggle after falling into the water, which means that he was already dead when he fell into the water. Judging from the degree of decay of the body, the time of death of Young Master Lin was also around [-]:[-] o'clock yesterday afternoon, which is very similar to that of Missy. near."

Everyone around looked at Xiao Lou dumbfounded.Unexpectedly, this Mrs. Yu would not change her face when she saw the corpse, and she would explain so many reasons.If what Madam Yu said is true, then Young Master Lin was also murdered in the palace - two people died in the palace in one day?It shows that there is a very terrible murderer lurking in the palace!

Thinking of this, the faces of the servants became ugly.

Yu Hanjiang stretched out his hand, gently supported Xiao Lou to stand up, walked up to the prince and said, "The prince should have heard what my wife said just now. Judging from the results of the autopsy, Lin Shaobo was strangled to death and thrown into the In the pond, the time of his death was very close to the time when the eldest lady was poisoned, I wonder what the prince thinks about this?"

The prince frowned slightly: "Master Yu, what do you mean?"

Yu Hanjiang looked at the prince, and said calmly: "There are people in the prince's mansion wantonly committing crimes, killing the eldest lady and young master Lin in succession. Naturally, the murderer will not kill these two people for no reason. What is the murderer's motive for killing?" He deliberately lowered his voice. The voice pointedly said: "Could it be because the eldest lady and young master Lin accidentally saw something they shouldn't have seen, and were silenced?"

The prince thought about it carefully, then nodded and said: "Your Excellency is right." He turned to look at Long Sen: "Guard Long, immediately call everyone to the front yard. Where are people and what are they doing!"

Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou looked at each other.

This prince is still so calm until now, either he is really innocent, or his acting skills are too superb.What Yu Hanjiang said just now was actually a test, but the prince was actually indifferent.

Soon, everyone in the palace gathered in the lobby, and Yu Hanjiang interrogated them one by one again.

Most of the guards were busy in the front yard yesterday afternoon, a group of people in the kitchen could testify to each other, the maids were setting up the banquet scene, and only a handful of people stayed in the backyard yesterday.

Yu Hanjiang called those who did not have an alibi to the side hall, and interrogated them emphatically.

A maid tilted her head and thought about it, and suddenly said: "By the way, Caiyue and I went back to the backyard to get things yesterday afternoon. When we passed the lotus pond, we heard a sound from a distance, as if something had fallen into the water. We searched for the sound, but there was nothing in the pond, but we saw Qin Huwei walking over in a hurry."

Caiyue also confirmed this point, saying that she saw the guard Qin Rui in the backyard yesterday afternoon, and it happened to be around You hour.

The guards are not allowed to enter and leave the backyard of the palace at will - because the guards are all men, and the backyard is full of female relatives, men and women are different, in order to avoid suspicion, usually the guards will not take the initiative to go to the backyard to cause trouble for themselves, unless they are ordered to do so in private. Backyard trespassing is a felony.

Yu Hanjiang asked the prince: "Did the prince send a guard named Qin Rui to the backyard at you yesterday?"

The Eighth Prince immediately denied: "No. The guard of the palace was responsible for the defense of the palace yesterday. Master Yu can ask him."

Long Sen also shook his head when he heard this: "I didn't let Qin Rui go to the backyard. There were too many guests in the palace yesterday afternoon. We have been patrolling the front yard. In order to prevent guests from entering the backyard by mistake and affecting the lady, the backyard The door is always guarded."

Yu Hanjiang called the two guards over, and they both said, "I haven't seen Qin Huwei."

Since the gate guards have never seen him, how did Qin Rui get into the backyard?

Long Sen followed up and said: "If I remember correctly, Qin Rui is good at light kungfu, and his martial arts are very strong. It is not difficult to climb over the wall without going through the main entrance."

Hearing this sentence, the prince's face suddenly sank.

Yu Hanjiang also frowned and thought about it—it's not easy for the guards to climb over the wall and go to the backyard secretly.

The backyard is full of female relatives, could it be that a certain wife or young lady of the palace had an affair with this Qin Rui? !

Among the three wives, Mrs. Yun checked the dinner menu with the chef. Many people can testify to her, and her alibi is the most convincing; Mrs. Qing supervised people cleaning the yard at home. can testify.

Only Mrs. Han—she said that she had been sleeping in the house yesterday afternoon, and there were only two personal maids to prove it.

Xiaoxue and Xiaoshuang are two maidservants brought by her from her natal family. They have served her since she was a child and are loyal to her. She will say whatever she asks the maidservant to say. It is possible for the personal maidservant to perjure her , so her alibi is not convincing.

Mrs. Han was weak and sick, so she didn't have the strength to kill the eldest lady—but what if she had an affair with the guard?

The guards with high martial arts skills are naturally crisp and neat.

Moreover, Mrs. Han is the mother of Miss Fourth, and she has heard that Mrs. Han is good at medicine before.If she had an affair with the guard and was discovered, she would have the motive to kill and silence her.It makes sense to secretly poison the eldest lady, and then let the guards deal with Young Master Lin who witnessed all this.

Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou looked at each other and said in a low voice, "Tell Qin Rui to come over."

Qin Rui quickly entered the interrogation hall.

This guard is tall and handsome, and he is indeed a talent.

He looked about 25 years old, with a saber around his waist, he was the most handsome guard in the entire palace.He changed into very clean new clothes, and he wondered if a piece of the old clothes had been torn off.

Yu Hanjiang asked directly: "Guardian Qin, why did you go to the backyard at You o'clock yesterday afternoon?"

Qin Rui's complexion changed slightly, and he explained in a low voice: "This subordinate heard a noise in the backyard and saw a figure jumping over the wall. He was worried that it was an assassin and would endanger the safety of the ladies and ladies, so he went to investigate."

Yu Hanjiang stared into his eyes coldly: "Why didn't you report to the prince when you found the assassin?"

Qin Rui said: "The situation was urgent at that time, the man had already entered the backyard, and the subordinates had no time to report."

Yu Hanjiang said: "Why didn't you mention this when you asked last night?"

Qin Rui clenched his hands lightly: "This subordinate was worried about causing a misunderstanding, so he didn't tell the adults."

Yu Hanjiang said: "Why did you change into new clothes? Where did your old clothes go?"

Qin Rui looked embarrassed, and explained: "Yesterday, when I was chasing, I was cut by a branch, and my subordinates took it back to the house, and are going to mend it before wearing it."

This set of testimony is totally unreliable.

The prince said angrily: "How dare you break into the backyard of the palace!"

Qin Rui immediately knelt down on the ground, clasped his fists with both hands, and said in a low voice: "My lord, my subordinates indeed saw someone climb over the wall and enter the backyard of the Wang mansion, so they chased after him to investigate, please learn from me!"

The prince said: "Then what about the assassin you chased?"

Qin Rui was silent for a moment, then lowered his head: "...that man ran away."

The prince slapped the table hard: "Full of nonsense!"

He glanced coldly at Long Sen, and said, "Go and call Mrs. Han."

Long Sen went next door to summon Mrs. Han.

After a while, Mrs. Han came to the side hall. She was already sick, her complexion was pale, and she was so weak that she almost fell down when she was walking. The prince stared at her and asked directly: "Did you see Qin Huwei yesterday afternoon?"

Madam Han's face lost all color, and she tremblingly said: "Why does the prince ask such a question? I have never seen Qin Huwei before!"

The prince said coldly: "As far as I know, you and Qin Huwei are both from Linzhou. A servant reported that you were unwell, and Qin Huwei brought medicine for you. Is it true?"

Mrs. Han tremblingly said: "It was the concubine who asked Qin Huwei to grab the medicine along the way..."

The prince slapped the tea table again, almost smashing the table: "Bastard! There are so many maids in the palace, you want to buy medicine, and you need Qin guards to help you? How dare you two have an affair behind my king's back?" , You have such a big burden!"

Mrs. Han trembled in fright, and knelt down in front of the prince with a plop. She looked at the prince with tears in her eyes, and said in a trembling voice: "Please check carefully! Qin Rui is actually my concubine's half-brother. He came to the palace as a guard. To be honest, the concubine dare not tell the prince the truth... He and I are brothers and sisters..."

When she said this, she suddenly rolled her eyes and fainted to the ground.

Mrs. Han, who was already weak, probably couldn't stand the stimulation and passed out on the spot.

Qin Rui immediately shouted nervously: "Sister!"

Although the prince was angry in his heart, he still felt sorry for the lady, and immediately said: "Hurry up and ask Dr. Lin at the medical clinic!"

He walked forward quickly, picked up the fainted Mrs. Han, and put her on the bed in the next room.

After a while, a gray-haired doctor came into the palace with a medicine box, sat beside the wife's bed, and took her pulse.

Everyone is nervously waiting for the result.

The doctor stroked his beard and pondered for a while before saying: "Congratulations, my lord, this is a happy pulse, madam."

Xiao Lou: "..."

Yu Hanjiang: "..."

The prince was slightly taken aback when he heard this, and soon he was pleasantly surprised: "Really?"

The doctor said: "Ma'am is indeed a happy pulse, but her pulse is weak, has she lost her appetite recently?"

The maid Xiaoshuang hurried forward and said, "Yes, Madam can only eat one bowl of porridge for each meal."

The doctor thought for a while and said: "My lord, my wife has always been weak. Pregnancy at this time is really dangerous. Cao Min first prescribed an anti-fetal medicine for my wife. She is currently lacking in nutrition and needs to take good care of her. Don't be excited or sad. In case If the fetal gas is moved, it is really hard to protect the gods."

The prince looked distressed and regretful, and immediately said: "Thank you, doctor."

The doctor turned to write the prescription, and the prince was watching over his wife by the bed. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou looked at each other with embarrassment.

It seems that the reasoning just now has to be completely overturned.

Mrs. Han and Qin Huwei are actually sisters and brothers. Mrs. Han's complexion is not good, and she can't eat, which is actually a reaction in the early pregnancy... Xiao Lou never expected that things would develop like this.

At this moment, Miss San, who was dressed in red and had two neat ponytails, suddenly hurried towards this side.

As soon as she entered the door, she knelt down in front of the prince, and said, "Father, yesterday afternoon, my daughter and Qin Huwei met in the backyard. My daughter and Brother Qin are in love with each other. We already have a physical relationship, and I ask Father to be perfect." !” After she finished speaking, she knocked her head hard on the ground.

Prince: "..."

The prince, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, was almost so angry that he had a heart attack.