Chapter 65: Final Writing

Seeing he'd been exposed, Ling Tianshui didn't bother to hide it, saying, "The military often employs skilled craftsmen who specialize in changing the appearance of spies. A skilled craftsman can simply create a thin sheet of leather and apply it to the face, then slightly modify the key features to completely transform a person's appearance. Of course, adjustments will be needed every ten to half a month, and those who are particularly familiar with the person will still be able to recognize the original."

Qian Deng asked tentatively, "But why do you want to hide your identity when you come to the capital to take up your post?"

Mingjiu became excited when he heard this: "Of course it's because of him..."

Cui Fufeng glanced at him calmly, and the warning in his eyes made Mingjiu stick out his tongue and swallow the rest of his words.

He said calmly, "This is a military secret. It would be bad for the county lady if she knew about it."

After hearing this, Qian Deng realized the seriousness of the matter and naturally could not ask any further questions.

She looked at his face and thought, and felt that the idea in her mind was absurd.

Apart from that inexplicable and imposing aura, Ling Tianshui and that person...how could they have any connection at all?

Apart from anything else, when Ling Tianshui was helping with the autopsy in her backyard, Prince Linhuai, who was far away in Shuofang, accepted her thank-you gift and had his guards take a handwritten reply letter, the handwriting of which was absolutely genuine.

She pulled herself back to her thoughts and asked Mingjiu, "Are you still living in Xiliuwu?"

"Stop." Mingjiu said, about to stand up, but then remembered something, and a strangely coy expression appeared on his usually arrogant face. "Then, give me back the letter... that last letter."

Qian Deng, who had been thinking about how to calmly inquire about the "letter" from Princess Gao's residence, was a little surprised when she heard his words: "A final letter?"

"Yeah," Screeching Eagle pointed to the study window. "When you guys kicked me out, I was so angry I stuffed it in there."

Qiandeng glanced at him, walked over and opened the window of the study.

Just as she opened the window, something stuck in the gap fell down and landed at her feet.

The crowing eagle rushed over with a loud cry, but Qiandeng had already picked it up. He saw that it was a folded piece of paper with two large crooked characters written on the outside, which were the words "last writing".

Qiandeng, who had just received his pseudonym, immediately recognized it as Mingjiu's handwriting.

Mingjiu hurriedly reached out to pull it off: "What it says is wrong, give it back to me!"

Qiandeng dodged it in a flash: "How can I not read the 'last words' that Prince Mingjiu wrote to me?"

Ling Tianshui stretched out her long arms to block the eagle, helping her slow down its speed.

Taking this opportunity, Qiandeng opened the envelope and took out the letter inside. There was only this sentence written on it -

The person who plays tricks on me will not be able to get away with it.

The signature was written in a flamboyant style, with the two big characters "Mingjiu".

Qian Deng suppressed the corner of his mouth and said, "What the prince wanted to write is: 'Those who wronged me will not have a good end. We will see'?"

"Damn it! It's stuck in the window!" Song Jiu turned his head away angrily. "Don't look at it, don't look at it. I'll be angry then!"

Even though she was feeling depressed, Qiandeng couldn't help but laugh at his frustrated look. "Even if you're angry, you can't write this. Does Prince Mingjiu know what 'last writing' means?"

"Isn't it just that I'm leaving and want to say a few words before I leave?"

Looking at this man who had only a vague understanding of Central Plains culture, Qian Deng explained, "The 'jue' in farewell isn't the same as the 'jue'. The last will and testament left by a person at the end of their life is called a suibi."

Mingjiu was embarrassed and annoyed, muttering something like "Han people are all literary" and then, as if remembering something, asked back, "You're lying! How did the Slap Princess know she was going to die?"

Ling Tianshui frowned slightly and glanced at Qiandeng with an inquiring look.

Qian Deng, who had just discussed this matter with Cui Fufeng, blinked at him and turned to Ming Jiu, "Tell me first, how did you find the letter after sneaking into Princess Gao's mansion?"

Mingjiu described it this way: "When I stuffed the horse's head into the princess's bed, I moved the pillow so that the horse's head was facing upwards..."

Qian Deng understood what he meant: "You propped up the horse's head with a pillow so that Princess Gao would see the horse's head staring at her from above when she woke up."

"Yes, when I took the pillow, there was a letter underneath. It said 'From my beloved daughter.' It looked like it had just been written and hastily tucked away, with a corner sticking out. I casually turned the corner over and saw the words 'My mother's last words' written on it."

Qian Deng asked, "Are you sure the letter under Princess Gao's pillow was signed by your mother?"

"Of course! I recognize all those words!" Screeching Eagle insisted. "When I saw it, I thought Princess Slap was scared of me and was going out to hide, so I didn't bother to read it. But I realized the pillow couldn't prop up the horse's head... right? So I put it back where it was, still holding the letter, and didn't touch it."

Fortunately, the lights were on in the hall, so the noise he made did not alarm anyone.

However, as someone who couldn't keep secrets, he subconsciously revealed the matter in front of Qujiang Pool, allowing Xiao Fuyu or the person hiding in the backyard to judge that he was the one who sneaked into the princess's mansion to cause trouble.

But because Mingjiu said at the time, "The letter has been written, where do you want to escape to?" Therefore, the other party concluded that he had just seen a letter under the pillow, but because the situation was tense or the foreigner could not understand the content, he thought it was just a letter to explain things before leaving.

But just in case, if Mingjiu realized the content, it would be in big trouble for them, so when they chose to frame the man in her backyard, Mingjiu would be the first choice.

Qian Deng turned back and whispered to Ling Tianshui, "So, our suspicions have come true."

"No way... Is this Princess Slap's way of thinking that she knows she's going to die?" Mingjiu thought about it and was also shocked. "But don't you Han people always say that a good death is worse than a toad's? And she died right in front of us, shocking us?"

Ling Tianshui folded his arms in silence for a long time before he slowly said, "If we've come all this way, only to be pawns in a scheme set up by Princess Gao at the cost of her own life, and even indirectly fueled the situation in the Princess's Mansion and became part of the case, then I won't let him off."

In front of Mingjiu, Qiandeng tried to conceal the facts of the case: "With only the prince's single glance, I'm afraid this cannot be used as strong evidence, and the court judges will not believe it as evidence."

Mingjiu was unconvinced: "I'm such a reliable witness, one glance should be worth seven or eight! A hundred glances!"

Qian Deng could only say, "Yes, yes, thank you Prince Mingjiu for providing such an important clue. We will definitely follow this line of thought and investigate thoroughly."

After many investigations into Princess Gao's death, a breakthrough was finally made from Mingjiu.

After sending Mingjiu back to Xiliuwu, Qiandeng and Ling Tianshui walked slowly along the backyard path for a while.

"If someone leaves a suicide note, it means they realize they don't have much time left. Princess Gao is in good health, and I haven't heard of her having any hidden illness that could lead to her death." Qian Deng pondered and said slowly, "So, if she really did leave a suicide note, there is only one possibility."

She didn't say it out loud, but the same thought had already occurred to both of them.

The idea was inevitably absurd, but it happened to explain everything they had previously imagined.

In silence, Qiandeng recalled the dream from last night and what Cui Fufeng had said about Princess Gao's crisis and choice, and her reversal from a dead end to a living situation.

All the clues and traces are hard to believe at first, but they seem to be the closest to the truth.