Chapter 86: People Have Calculations 17 The Truth (I)

There was a spacious martial arts arena in the backyard of the Pingyang Marquis's mansion, left behind by Li Xuanhe's great-grandfather. From a young age, the young men in the family would practice martial arts here daily, strengthening their bodies and not falling into the trappings of military families.

The family is now small, the Crown Prince has no interest in martial arts, the Young Master is still young, and the only one who regularly practices martial arts has been away from home for over six months. The martial arts arena has been deserted for a long time, but today it is bustling with activity.

All the maids and servants from the inner chambers of the Pingyang Marquis's mansion were summoned to the arena. They lined up in rows, like merchandise at a market, their heads held high, awaiting their master's selection. The masters of the Pingyang Marquis's mansion were invited to the edge of the arena, where they were given seats to observe everything unfolding.

The old lady sat in the center, her brow furrowed and her face drooping as she stared fiercely at the person before her, eager to see who had murdered her beloved grandson and great-grandson. Impatient thoughts flashed across the Marquis of Pingyang's face, but when he caught sight of his pregnant concubine standing off to the side, without even a chair, his impatience gave way to worry. He wanted to speak to the eldest princess beside him, but seeing her cold expression, he felt guilty and dared not speak.

The eldest princess sat dignified, her makeup and hair meticulously done, her gaze cold but peaceful. Qin Huixin sat on her other side. She had lost a great deal of weight in just a few days, her clothes were tattered, and she looked visibly frail. Her eyelashes drooped, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

They had been informed of the situation of the Crown Prince's case. Although everyone was puzzled as to why they were invited here, the eldest princess and the old lady did not say anything, so naturally they had no right to speak either.

In the martial arts arena, Chi Xiao led Qin Lanxin past rows of servants, identifying the maid she had seen in Li Xuanhe's courtyard that night. Qin Lanxin clutched the handkerchief in her hand, examining it with intense scrutiny, her eyelashes trembling slightly. Xun Shu stood nearby, following her gaze, a touch of surprise as she walked calmly past the servants of the Crown Prince's courtyard.

Could it be that they were wrong? Did the medicine really come from somewhere else, and not from Qin Huixin?

Qin Lanxin continued walking forward, passing row after row, and finally stopped in front of a maid who was about seventeen or eighteen years old. She stared at her for a long while and said with certainty, "The person who handed me tea in the Third Young Master's courtyard that day and asked me to go in and wait was her."

The eyes of everyone in the martial arts arena were instantly focused on the person Qin Lanxin pointed out. After a moment, their expressions changed. Some people recognized the maid Qin Lanxin pointed out, and the bold ones secretly glanced in the direction of the eldest princess.

She was a maid in the Princess's Courtyard, and she often walked around in the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion. Many people knew her.

After being pointed out, the maid hurriedly lowered her head and said, "Second Miss Qin, you have the wrong person. I belong to the Princess's courtyard. How could I possibly be in the Third Young Master's courtyard?"

Qin Lanxin looked at her a few more times and said firmly: "My memory is very good, I won't make a mistake."

The maid turned to look at the eldest princess. Seeing her face as cold as ice, she panicked and knelt down in the direction of the eldest princess. "Your Highness, you must believe me. I have never been to the Third Young Master's courtyard."

The princess lowered her eyes and looked at her: "Since you said that you didn't go to He'er's yard that night, then tell me where you were that night. Is there anyone who can testify for you?"

The maid trembled and stammered, "I was not feeling well that night and rested in my room. The other sisters were on duty, so there was no one to testify for me."

Whispers began to rise. Some looked at the eldest princess, others at the kneeling maid. For a moment, the discussion continued, and it seemed like a stalemate. Li Xuanhe's eyes never showed an unbreakable deadlock. Almost as soon as he finished speaking, he said to the person beside him, "Take someone to search her room. Report anything you find immediately."

He didn't hold back his voice, so the maid naturally heard him clearly. Thinking of the medicine bottle and the banknotes she'd hidden under her pillow, never finding the chance to take out of the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion, her body trembled uncontrollably. Her face was filled with panic, unable to conceal it any longer. She prostrated herself on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "Your Highness, spare my life."

Seeing her like this, how could anyone not guess the truth? This maid was clearly the one who had served in Li Xuanhe's courtyard that night, but looking at the Princess and Li Xuanhe, they seemed unaware of the incident, even going so far as to order the maid's room to be searched without a trace. It was unclear whether they were certain nothing would be found and simply wanted to silence Youyou, or whether they were simply above suspicion, fearing nothing, no matter what they found.

The old lady slammed her cane on the ground, looked at the princess angrily and said, "The Marquis' Mansion has treated you well, why do you treat Hou'er like this? Hou'er lost his mother when he was free. I dote on him and gave him the throne. Why would you, the dignified Princess of Daliang, kill for such a small thing?"

These words were harsh to hear, and the eldest princess looked at the old lady with a surprisingly calm gaze.

She recalled the more than twenty years since she married into the Marquis's Mansion.

The old lady is arrogant and extravagant. She has always spoken and acted according to her own preferences. When the old marquis was still alive, she could still give her some advice, but since the old marquis passed away a few years ago, the old lady began to make trouble for her in various ways and even wanted to set rules for her.

She naturally ignored her, but was too lazy to argue with her. However, she didn't expect that she would encourage her arrogance and make her even more ridiculous. Now she was scolding her in front of so many people for a trumped-up thing.

She remembered what Xun Shu said that day. Why was she doing this?

She stood straight, her chin slightly raised, and spoke with a hint of mockery: "Old Madam, you know I'm the eldest princess. If I wanted the throne, why would I need to kill anyone? It's just a matter of speaking to my brother, why bother with so much trouble? At most, I'd get a few memorials from the censors afterwards, with a few mild reprimands. If I'm determined to let my son take the throne, who among you can stop me?"

The old lady didn't expect that the eldest princess, who was always peaceful in front of her, would contradict her today. She frowned, the wrinkles on her face became more obvious, and she pursed her lips without saying a word.

The princess chuckled softly, "I don't care for these little things. I didn't want them before, and I have no interest in them now. I want to see what you will do if my son doesn't become the Marquis of Pingyang and doesn't inherit the title of Marquis of Pingyang." She turned her head and looked at the maid kneeling before her. She vaguely remembered that she had been selected to join the mansion a few years ago and was doing housekeeping in her courtyard. She sneered, "There are so many things in this mansion that are not worthy of being presented. You can't even tell who your master is. Tell me, what did you do when you went to my son's courtyard that night? Is the prince's death related to you?"

The maid trembled more violently, hesitating and unable to utter a word for a long time. Pingyang Hou, who was standing by, could not bear to see this and advised, "She's just a maid, why are you being so aggressive?"

"Marquis Pingyang has taken a fancy to her and wants to take her into his chambers?" the eldest princess said calmly, her face full of sarcasm. "No problem. Tomorrow, my concubine will move back to the Princess's Mansion. My courtyard will be vacant, perfect for accommodating this new concubine. Princess Daliang has lived in the Princess's Mansion since her marriage. I've condescended to live in this house for over twenty years and am already tired of it. It's time I went back to take a look." As she finished her words, she saw that Marquis Pingyang seemed about to argue, so she interrupted him. "We'll discuss this matter later. He'er has gathered everyone in this mansion here today because of a murder case. It's best not to take over the main event."

Pingyang Hou rarely argued with the princess in the past, but today, his temper was aroused. He sneered, "Since you say you didn't do these things, do you have any evidence?"

The princess sneered, "Why would I need such proof?! The prince entering He'er's room that day was completely unexpected. I'm afraid even this maid didn't know it was the prince and not He'er. If it was He'er, I've always despised the Qin family girls, so why would I resort to such a shady trick to force my son to marry her? Moreover, even if I really wanted to drug her, why would I use so much to hurt my son? I only have one son and one daughter, both of whom are my beloved treasures. If anyone dares to hurt them, I will definitely not let them go!"

This reasoning was clear and convincing. For a moment, no one in the room dared to say anything more.

Except Qin Lanxin.

The princess's words were like an invisible slap in the face, leaving her ashamed to face everyone and wishing she could just crawl into the ground. The overt and covert implication was that she was the one who had given the poison, but she truly had nothing to do with it! If you think about it, she was also a victim that day, so why had no one spoken up for her, to seek justice for her?

Thinking of this, Qin Lanxin also stepped forward and knelt beside the maid, saying in a mournful voice: "Your Highness, although I am attracted to the Third Young Master, I would never do such a thing. Please understand!"

Qin Lanxin was naturally fragile, and her beautiful eyes were even more pitiful. At this moment, tears were hanging in her eyes, about to fall, which made her even more distressing, making people unconsciously believe her words and believe her innocence.

Li Xuanhe stood aside, watching her movements and expressions, and couldn't help laughing. "Second Miss Qin, this case is being overseen by the Dali Temple. You went to ask my mother for help, but you asked the wrong person. The Dali Temple has always enforced the law impartially. They will not wrongly accuse an innocent person, nor will they let a guilty person go." Seeing Qin Lanxin's gaze turned to him, he bent down, moved closer, and lowered his voice. "Before coming here, I had already been to the Qin Mansion and met your father. There are some things that the government knows more than you think. So, Second Miss Qin, whether you are innocent or not, I have already made up my mind. It's better not to argue anymore."

He stood up and looked at everyone in the room. His eyes were grim, but there was a smile on the corner of his lips. "Let's put my brother's case aside for now, and let's first talk about the death of my nephew, Xinu. Xinu once ate a plate of cakes that were snatched from my mother's small kitchen. Coincidentally, Uncle Huang, who made the cakes, left three pieces in the kitchen, proving that the cakes were not poisoned after they were made. Afterwards, the cakes were placed on a shelf in front of the small kitchen door. A total of three people had the opportunity to touch the cakes. One was a maid in the courtyard of the prince's wife, one was my father's servant, and the other was Xinu's wet nurse who snatched the cakes from the small kitchen like a robber.

"If the cake was poisoned after it was placed in the food box, then the person who poisoned it must be one of these three." Li Xuanhe's gaze swept across the crowd before finally stopping at the servant standing in the first row. He beckoned with a finger, and waited until the man walked up to him and stood still before saying, "You are the one guarding the small kitchen, right? Go and identify the other two people who were close to the cake that day, besides the rhino's wet nurse."