Chapter 93: Imprisonment

Yan Penglai spoke with difficulty, his expression heavy.

"I shouldn't have been coerced by Princess Changyi into helping her harm Shangluo... Originally, after Princess Changyi discovered Shangluo held clues, she wanted to kill him to silence him. But how could I bear to watch Shangluo die? So I hid him here, hoping that after the case was over, Princess Changyi would not kill him... Fortunately, Shangluo is alive and well now, otherwise, I would be deeply sinful."

Shangluo's voice trembled a little: "Yes, County Master, Brother Penglai... although he locked me up, he still fed me and took care of me..."

But Qian Deng shook his head, staring at Yan Penglai with a hint of coldness in his eyes: "Really? Were you really forced to attack Shangluo?"

Yan Penglai asked in a low voice: "The county lady doesn't believe me?"

"I remember that when Princess Changyi's evil deeds were exposed, she should have been immediately escorted to the Zongzheng Temple. However, she urgently needed to return to eliminate the evidence of her mother's heinous crimes, so she begged the Crown Prince to allow her to return home first. After being refused, I asked about Shangluo's whereabouts. Princess Changyi was initially bewildered, but then you suddenly spoke up, saying that Shangluo was imprisoned in a secret room in the Princess's Mansion. So, Princess Changyi took advantage of the situation and immediately seized the opportunity. She used the excuse of returning to the study to release Shangluo and escape."

At this point, Qian Deng's voice grew even colder. "Lord Yan, it seems the Princess of Changyi had no hand in Shangluo's affairs at all. From the beginning to the end, the one who imprisoned him, transferred him, and arranged for him to appear was you alone!"

Shangluo stared blankly at Yan Penglai, stammering his lips, and tried his best to raise his hand, as if wanting to point at him, but he fell back weakly after raising it less than two inches.

Yan Penglai looked at him, and his beautiful face turned pale. "I'm sorry, Xiao Luo, I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that I was too nervous and scared. I was too worried that people would find out about the mistakes I made..."

"Just a mistake? Are you really that nervous and scared?" Qian Deng retorted mercilessly, "I've seen that Master Yan has always been calm and meticulous, and every step he's taken has been incredibly well-thought-out. Even Shangluo's cinnabar pendant—you were able to use it to implement two plans simultaneously, and both were executed perfectly."

Shangluo couldn't help but exclaimed "Ah" when Qiandeng mentioned the cinnabar pendant. He struggled to move his hand and touched his waist, but only touched the civet cat sachet that Qiandeng had given him: "My cinnabar pendant... is gone."

"Yes, the cinnabar pendant is difficult to handle, especially since Shangluo was suspended above the water. The cinnabar would fade or even disintegrate in the humidity, and someone might discover the truth. So, Lord Yan took the cinnabar pendant and used it as a key tool to kill Zheng Raoan!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was in an uproar again. Ji Linyou blurted out, "Zheng Raoan, the military doctor, was actually... actually murdered? But everyone in the court and the public said that he accidentally suffocated to death while handling things related to Princess Gao."

Yan Penglai smiled bitterly and shook his head: "County Lady, this is something that everyone in the court knows about. You can't put the blame on me just because I did something wrong to the palace, right?"

"Lord Yan, in this case, you've wronged me, and you've also helped me. Whether you've been good to me or bad to me is hard to say. So I won't talk about grudges, only evidence and traces. A person's heart can be hidden deeply, but the actions they take and the consequences they leave behind are untraceable!"

"But the county lady's accusation that I murdered Zheng Raoan is completely groundless, isn't it?" Yan Penglai said, his expression innocent and even a little bewildered. "Doctor Zheng died unexpectedly in his study. The door was locked tightly, no one came in or out. The servants and even Shang Biejia can attest to this. And since I returned from court that day, I have remained in the palace's backyard without setting foot outside. How could I have killed Doctor Zheng in the sealed study of the Zheng residence in Wubenfang, right in the palace's backyard in Kaihuafang?"

This was truly bizarre, and everyone's faces showed confusion.

Even Mingjiu, who was at odds with Yan Penglai, scratched his head and questioned, "Yeah, even if he could fly, he couldn't get through the door, right?"

"No, Master Yan doesn't even need to be present at the scene, let alone take action himself. Just a few words are enough to make Zheng Raoan seek his own death." Qian Deng said, looking at Aunt Xuanji, "Aunt, is the old servant from the Zheng residence here?"

"The county lady just ordered us to come over." Aunt Xuanji said hurriedly.

The old servant who was summoned into the palace was nervous, and when he saw Qian Deng, he kowtowed to him.

"No need for formalities. I asked you to come here because I wanted to know what happened in your house during those few days. I want to ask you, did Doctor Zheng bring anything home on the day he had the accident?"

The old servant quickly replied, "No, the doctor came back from the government office that day and didn't bring anything with him."

"He didn't bring anything with him, and he didn't meet anyone. So, Doctor Zheng just happened to have the urge to burn the cinnabar pendant, and was accidentally exposed to the poisonous gas. He also happened to close the doors and windows tightly, preventing the gas from spreading, and thus died?"

The old servant wiped his tears and said, "That's right. Even if there is a mistake in one place, the doctor will not be in trouble."

"No, your doctor is destined to get into trouble. All these steps are carefully planned. He can't escape it."

Qiandeng glanced at Yan Penglai, and his expression finally showed a slight fluctuation. He opened his mouth but no sound came out.

She raised her hand and pointed, then asked the old servant, "Do you know this Mr. Yan?"

The old servant said hurriedly, "Of course I know him. When Yan Bucheng went to the capital, it was my master who accompanied him. Later, we both served in the court, so we ran into each other every now and then."

"Did Mr. Yan go to Zheng's house a few days ago?"

The old servant thought for a moment and said, "Yes, two days after Princess Gao's accident, Yan Bucheng came to the mansion to visit my doctor. It happened that the doctor had not yet returned from the government office, so he sat in the study for a while and then left."

"Did he go there empty-handed?"

The old servant recalled, looking at Yan Penglai's slightly embarrassed expression, "Yan Bucheng was... carrying a box. I thought it was a gift and reached out to take it, but Yan Bucheng dodged me and took it to his study. I'm a bit of a weirdo, so I remember it clearly."

Qiandeng looked into Zhaoyingxuan. There were not many things inside, but a small box in the corner of the room was clearly visible.

"Is that it?"

The old servant took a look and nodded quickly: "That's right."

Qian Deng then asked Cui Fufeng and Ling Tianshui, "Have Cui Shaoqing and Ling Sijie ever seen this box?"

Ling Tianshui: "I saw her two days after Princess Gao passed away."

Cui Fufeng elaborated, "That day, when we accompanied the county lady back from investigating the scene at Qujiang Pond, we ran into Master Yan outside the Zheng residence. He was holding this box, saying it was something his family had brought to the capital and had left at the Zheng residence for him—I remember there were two blue garments inside."

Yan Penglai lost his composure and said reluctantly, "My family made the clothes for me and sent them to me. What's wrong with that?"

"That's not a big deal." Qian Deng didn't argue, but asked the Zheng family's old servant, "Does your doorman keep records of things he collects for others?"

"Of course, all the income and expenditure are recorded. With so few people in the family, we know everything clearly." The old servant said, looking at Yan Penglai with a puzzled expression, "But recently, only our doctor brought back a box half a month ago, and it has been kept in the study. As for the one sent by Yan Bucheng's family, I have no memory of it."

"That's strange. Then where did Yan Bucheng get the box from Zheng's house?" Qian Deng looked at Yan Penglai and chuckled. "Oh... I remember now. When you entered Zheng's house, you were carrying a box. Then you stayed in the study for a while and left with the box again."

The old servant nodded: "Indeed."

"That's not right, Mr. Yan. When we met you, did the box in your hand come from your hometown, or did you bring it to the Zheng residence yourself? Or..."

She patted the box in her hand gently: "When you went in, it was the box you brought with you. When you came out, it had been replaced with the one in the study?"