Chapter 24 "I Believe in You" - Xiao Xie's self-conquest begins again...
In an instant, this rumor propelled Xie Qianli to the forefront of public opinion.
It was so perfect that no one could question whether the rumor was true.
Xie Qianli was known for his deep knowledge of military equipment from a young age.
His maternal uncle was none other than the late emperor.
While playing in the palace, he dismantled the new armor-piercing crossbow, a weapon that the Ministry of War had reported to the late emperor, which greatly surprised the late emperor.
The late emperor was absurd, but he respected the sister who raised him. What uncle doesn't like his nephew?
Therefore, not only did he not take offense, but the late emperor also granted Xie Qianli, who was not yet ten years old, permission to enter and leave the Imperial Arsenal.
They treated him like their own son, nurtured him like a thoroughbred horse, and spoiled him so much that he had long since figured out the ins and outs of all kinds of equipment.
Back then, Xie Qianli's parents were still alive, and he had the support of his uncle, the late emperor, making him the most prominent young nobleman in Chang'an.
Now, with a new emperor comes a new court. The emperor has changed, his parents have died, and there's a fabricated story about a murder of his father.
Even if the current emperor allows him to inherit the title and grants him the newly established Longwu Army, no one knows whether this is an act of kindness, a way to lull him into complacency, or compensation.
Xie Qianli had a motive to kill the emperor.
In an instant, all the blades were aimed at him, their cold glints as bright as snowflakes.
However, Xie Qianli neither resisted nor hid.
His composure was more powerful than any argument, for the Duke of England's calmness made the guards who had pointed their knives at him seem to lose their courage.
The captain of the guard's hand trembled slightly as he gripped the knife.
Then, without changing the position of the knife tip, his gaze shifted to the emperor, hoping for a clear answer: to kill or not to kill?
Ying Xi paused for a moment, then concluded that Xie Qianli was the least likely person to assassinate her.
Not to mention the numerous conflicts they had in their past lives, which finally erupted, I have been intentionally controlling the pace of their relationship deteriorating in this life.
Based solely on Ying Xi's understanding of Xie Qianli—
Armed assassination, seemingly a way to avenge his father.
But what if I had just died so hastily...?
The sacrifice of Xie Ji, the former Duke of Ying, truly became an unsolved mystery with no trace left to be found!
Xie Qianli should hope that his father's death will be exonerated.
By leaving the world in such a state of chaos, he cannot guarantee that he can control the situation in Shanglin Garden and become the new ruler.
He only brought two deputy generals with him today.
What is he after?
Ying Xi put herself in Xie Qianli's shoes and ordered the guards to put away their swords.
The guards were once again incredulous, sheathing their swords and gathering their gleaming, cold light.
Within the human wall, in the gaps between people, the young emperor revealed half his face. His features were refined and noble, and he cast a gaze outwards. That gaze was firm, conveying complete trust.
"Xie Qianli, I believe you." But Ying Xi secretly added at the end of her sentence, "Until I obtain the evidence."
Outside the human wall, Xie Qianli's indifferent expression softened as the guards, obeying the emperor's orders, laid down their weapons on him once more. He pondered the word "trust," and his face unconsciously brightened with a touch of radiance.
Xie Qianli: "Your subject will do everything in his power to cooperate with the investigation, to live up to Your Majesty's trust, and to clear my name."
Now that the emperor had given a clear answer, officials on the island began to speak one after another: "Your Majesty, we did see the Duke of Yingguo when the flower viewing event began."
"The Englishman was walking alone in the garden, his hands behind his back, carrying a branch with tender leaves in his hand."
"When we approached the British Duke to greet him, a snow-white fawn popped out of his knee."
"Perhaps the fawn saw that the Duke of England had food in his hand and was attracted by it. The Duke of England is so majestic that we all felt oppressed when we were talking, and the fawn kept circling around him."
"Even after we parted from the Duke of England, we still found the situation quite interesting and wanted to draw it."
These officials corroborated each other's testimonies.
These were Xu Wenze, Feng Hua, and others who were going to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment venue) after the party to investigate the origins of the lyrics and music of "Unforgettable Tonight".
Ying Xi is not interested in hindsight.
However, the scene of Xie Qianli interacting with the deer still flashed through his mind.
Ying Xi gathered her thoughts and chased away the person and the deer.
Suddenly, Xie Qianli said, "I have a clue to report."
Ying Xi paused slightly: "Speak."
After he finished speaking, Xie Qianli approached the corpse, squatted down, and further lifted the white cloth covering Cheng Shun's body.
The white cloth had only reached his neck, revealing the fatal wound.
Now Xie Qianli turned the white cloth down, revealing the deceased's hand. When Cheng Shun tried to block, his fingers were severed.
Despite his desperate struggle to survive, Cheng Shun could not escape death.
Ying Xi lowered her eyes slightly.
Sweetie let out a sob.
Xie Qianli said, "He has two wounds. One is a defensive wound, and the other is a fatal wound. Both are knife wounds."
"Having served in the military for many years, I have seen countless knife wounds. Although my ability to assess injuries is not as good as that of coroners in the Ministry of Justice and other government offices, I still have some experience."
Xie Qianli was very close to the body.
He pointed with his finger, showing Cheng Shun's wounds to the monarch and his colleagues on Yingzhou Island.
He had fought amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood for many years, and unlike Su Xueyi's obvious disdain, Xie Qianli remained calm, as if facing the most ordinary thing.
"This knife is about seven or eight inches long, and can fit inside a sleeve."
"Why a knife and not something else?"
"Because the knife is only one-sided, the conventional method is to chop."
"Both of Eunuch Cheng's wounds are cuts."
As Xie Qianli asked and answered his own questions, Yingzhou Island fell silent. He had a peculiar influence; his words were few but precise, devoid of emotion, which made people listen more attentively.
Ying Xi: "You mean you want to find someone who carries a knife?"
"That's not all, please take a look."
He revealed Cheng Shun's fatal wound, the knife mark on his neck that almost beheaded him.
Even though Ying Xi was prepared, she still found it hard to look directly at the deep, bone-revealing wound.
Ying Xi narrowed her eyes slightly.
Sweet Tong was so frightened that her voice trembled: "Your Majesty... please stop looking, I... I'm scared."
"Don't worry," Ying Xi comforted him. "I'll take on more missions from now on."
Sweetie replied timidly, "Oh."
Xie Qianli said, "The sword movement is from the upper left to the lower right, which is very special and is the opposite of the normal way of holding a sword."
He picked up a twig from the ground, held the end in his right palm, and slowly gestured with it.
Even though he didn't exert any force, the sight of his hand and the prominent veins on the back of his hand instantly reminded people of the power he wielded when wielding the 108-pound Youlong E.
Xie Qianli: "If I were to kill someone with my right hand, the wound should run from the upper right to the lower left. But the wound is reversed. It's impossible for someone to deliberately use a reverse hand gesture when they are nervous."
"If he were truly calm enough to conceal his knife-wielding habits, he wouldn't have hastily pushed the body and crossbow into the water, abandoned the assassination attempt, and left a finger sticking out. It's obvious he panicked."
Xie Qianli: "He is left-handed."
On Yingzhou Island, Lian Qing's brow twitched violently!
Then Lian Qing looked around, his face turning from flushed to deathly pale, his gaze still searching.
"How...could this be..."
"Why...why did he dare..."
At this point in the analysis, Xie Qianli's expression froze. He seemed unwilling to believe it, thinking there was still a misunderstanding and room for maneuver.
Just then, Ying Dang peeked over and looked down at the corpse, as if he were just looking at it for fun. Ying Dang had a rebellious attitude of indifference towards everything.
But as soon as he gathered his sleeves and leaned forward, the thing inside his sleeves seemed to trigger a switch that made Xie Qianli react.
Xie Qianli tensed his back muscles, and in an instant, he raised the tree branch and thrust it out!
Prince Yong was caught off guard.
Prince Yong did not want to be stabbed and injured by Xie Qianli, nor did he want to lose face in front of so many court officials. A flash of light appeared in his sleeve, and he suddenly clenched a seven-inch-long dagger into his palm!
The dagger cut the branch.
The blade was extremely sharp, and the edge cut a clean surface off the branch, causing half of the branch to fall off.
Xie Qianli stared intently at him and said:
"Is Your Highness also left-handed, and secretly carrying a sword?"
***
For flower-viewing banquets like this, there is always a strict body search before everyone sits down.
Except for guards, no one is allowed to carry swords or sharp weapons.
However, there were also those like Prince Yong who were so unruly that even the emperor tolerated them, and no one dared to provoke them.
It's entirely possible that Prince Yong brought in a sword!
As for Prince Yong murdering the emperor... what wouldn't he do?
Simply hiding a knife in front of the emperor could be considered a serious crime of treason.
In an instant, the guards drew their swords once again!
The guards surrounded Prince Yong, and the murderous aura they had just suppressed surged wildly once more.
Prince Yong was already easily provoked, and now, in a fit of rage, he didn't care who he was facing, even if they were the emperor's guards, he still spoke rudely to them:
"My brother has long disliked me; let the dogs bite me."
“If you want to kill your younger brother, you don’t need to go through so many roundabout ways. There’s no point in setting a trap for me.”
“I’m left-handed, my brother has known that for a long time.”
"For whom I learned martial arts, and for whom I carried a sword, my brother knows all too well."
"Anyway, my brother's word is law now. If the Son of Heaven wants to kill me, let him kill me."
Before Prince Yong was even tried, he started throwing a tantrum.
Ying Dang's sword was a gleaming, sharp weapon with a slightly curved and bright blade. The back of the blade was inlaid with silver, the hilt was slightly curved, and a red pearl was set at the top.
Prince Yong flicked his short sword, and a blur of silver and red shadows appeared.
The short knife was stuck diagonally into the loose soil on the surface of the floating island.
Ying Dang raised his sleeves and said, "Come on, let the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs take my brother away."
Ying Dang, despite his dishonest appearance, was still a scoundrel.
But this only makes him seem innocent; if Prince Yong were truly identified as a suspect, it would obviously not convince the public.
The situation reached a stalemate at this point.
Ying Xi never expected that a mere severed finger would lead to a mysterious case of attempted regicide.
Although Yingxi had a thousand thoughts running through her mind, she could only piece together the thin clue that "the suspect was a left-handed person who used a knife".
Everyone can come to Yingzhou Island to enjoy the flowers.
The guards dared not investigate Prince Yong. If they could get Prince Yong to hide a knife, they might not dare to investigate anyone else. Perhaps someone else could bring the knife into the flower-viewing banquet and use it to cut arrows, ropes, etc., to assassinate the emperor!
As Ying Xi thought this, he felt surrounded by villains who might be smiling on the surface but secretly draw their knives on him.
Ying Xi looked around warily.
The courtiers noticed the emperor's gaze, and whether they felt guilty or not, they lowered their heads.
Ying Xi's high and mighty status meant that he often had difficulty accessing the truth, trusting others, and being trusted by others.
Ying Xi could sense that some court officials were watching from the sidelines, while others were watching her make a fool of herself.
If he doesn't find the real culprit, the mysterious person who wanted to harm him but was inadvertently discovered by Cheng Shun might still be plotting another attack, or even a subsequent assassination attempt...
Who can guarantee that such luck will happen again next time?
What about the next time?
Ying Xi felt a chill run down her spine.
When there is no one else to rely on, Ying Xi always thinks of relying on herself first.
He didn't believe that the murderer's numerous inconsistencies would ultimately leave no trace of the person.
There must be details that I haven't noticed.
Ying Xi held her breath.
Then, he thought of a dating system.
Ying Xi had considered many times how to make good use of the romance system's functions.
He summoned Tian Tong and commanded, "Use your close-up magnification ability to magnify this land before my eyes."
Sweet Tong: "Enlarge the land at the scene?"
"Can't you do it?"
“Yes, we can do it,” Tian Tong whispered, “but Your Majesty, we usually only emphasize the physical details, micro-expressions, and handsome faces of NPCs… I’m a romance system.”
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