The seat of government of Qianzhou was Pengshui County.

After receiving Li Shimin's order, Yuchi Fan arrived in Qianzhou with a dozen or so men.

However, upon arriving in Qianzhou, he discovered that things were far more complicated than he had imagined.

Because the officials involved in the case had all been demoted to Lingnan, only some servants from the former Crown Prince Li Chengqian's residence remained, as well as Li Xiang, the eldest grandson of the Tang Dynasty, who could neither be interrogated nor tortured.

"Young Master Xiang, we are here on His Majesty's orders to investigate the death of the eldest grandson..."

Before Yuchi Fan and the others could finish speaking, Li Xiang rudely interrupted them.

"My brother is dead and has been laid to rest. Please don't disturb him!"

"Your Highness, it's not that we're being nosy, it's just that we encountered someone in Chang'an who looks remarkably like the grandson of the Emperor..."

"What?"

Li Xiang was visibly flustered upon hearing this, but he quickly calmed down.

"You must have made a mistake. My brother clearly perished in the fire, how could he possibly be in Chang'an!"

"You don't need to investigate this matter. That person has nothing to do with our Crown Prince's residence!"

Yuchi Fan was an expert at interrogating prisoners; just by looking at Li Xiang's expression, he knew that Li Xiang definitely knew something.

"Young Master Xiang, if that's what you're saying, then we can execute that person in Chang'an who looks exactly like the Imperial Grandson on charges of impersonating him?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiang clenched his fists tightly, and for a moment he almost confessed. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and realized that the other party might be bluffing him, so he gradually relaxed his fists.

Although the Emperor had exiled his family to Qianzhou, he was still the Emperor's grandfather to him and his younger brother. If the Emperor's grandfather discovered this, how could he bear to kill his younger brother?

"Hmph!"

“I’ve already said that person has nothing to do with our Crown Prince’s residence. My younger brother died a long time ago and is now buried next to my father’s grave!”

"Is he really dead?"

"If you don't believe me, why don't you dig up the grave and take a look?"

"good!"

"This humble servant will obey Prince Xiang's command!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiang felt an urge to slap himself twice, realizing he had fallen for this man's trick after all.

"no!"

"Although my brother and I have been exiled, we are still imperial grandsons, how can we allow you to bully us!"

"If you dare to open the coffin and examine the body, I will petition my grandfather and have him severely punish you!"

If it were any other threat, Yuchi Fan might be a little afraid. But when it comes to submitting a memorial to His Majesty, he's not only not afraid, he's even afraid the other party won't dare to submit it.

"We are acting on His Majesty's orders, why would we be afraid of your petition?"

"you!"

After saying this, Yuchi Fan immediately led his men to Li Jue's tomb.

Yuchi Fan had already ordered people to prepare the tools for digging the grave, and even found a craftsman to switch the grave-digging switch. He was just waiting to get some information from Li Xiang before he started.

Li Xiang hurriedly led his servants to catch up, but seeing that Yuchi Fan was already prepared, he knew he couldn't stop them, so he had no choice but to let them dig.

When Li Xiang saw Li Jue's coffin being dug out, he silently prayed in his heart.

"Little brother, this is all the help I can give you. The rest is up to your luck..."

In fact, Li Xiang already knew that the corpse in the tomb was fake.

After all, he had watched Li Jue grow up, so how could he, as the older brother, not know what marks Li Jue had?

In addition, before setting the fire, Li Jue had subtly asked him if he wanted to run away with him.

Li Xiang refused on the spot because, as the eldest son, he was obliged to guard his father's tomb.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Li Xiang knew that his younger brother wanted to escape Qianzhou and go to the bustling Chang'an.

The coffin was dragged up from the grave by a dozen men. After setting up an incense table, Yuchi Fan immediately ordered the coffin to be opened and the body examined.

But when the coffin was opened, Yu Chi Fan and the others were all dumbfounded.

Because the body inside the coffin was completely mangled, burned to a crisp...

Even if they didn't recognize the grandson of the emperor, and even if they used to play with the grandson of the emperor every day, they would find it difficult to distinguish any resemblance from the charred corpse at this moment.

"this……"

"Captain, what do we do next?"

After thinking for a moment, Yu Chi Fan realized that the matter was now a dead end and the only solution was to send a top-notch coroner from the capital.

"Let's seal it up first, and then I'll consult with Lord Zhang..."

Yu Chi Fan was delayed for half a month, and finally the arrival of Wei Cheng, a master coroner from Chang'an, was finally made.

Wei Cheng was under the jurisdiction of the Dali Temple and was one of the best among the dozen or so coroners in the Dali Temple.

Although the body in the coffin had been burned to a crisp and was unrecognizable, it was still not difficult for him.

However, before conducting the formal autopsy, he first interrogated all the servants in the Crown Prince's residence and then carefully inquired about the course of events concerning Li Xiang.

After doing all this, he then ordered his men to open the coffin.

"Young Master Xiang, according to what you just said, your younger brother, the Imperial Grandson, died in his sleep in a fire?"

"yes!"

"If someone dies in a fire while sleeping, they will inevitably be awakened by the smoke and dust, and will then scratch and struggle."

"However, the corpse in the coffin seems to have died peacefully, without any struggle..."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiang immediately thought to himself, "Oh no!" How could he have forgotten about this?

“My brother had been drinking that day. How could he struggle when he was drunk?”

"oh oh……"

"Drunk?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Cheng immediately pulled out a small knife from his sleeve and gently sliced ​​open the charred skin, revealing the white organs inside.

“Young Master Xiang, if the corpse died in a fire, its throat, mouth and nose would have inhaled a lot of smoke and ash.”

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