Looking at the servants and young men hanging white banners at the gate, Xie Yu felt as if he had been transported to another world. Just three hours ago, the people from the Yan family were still aggressively pressing him at the gate, preventing him from even entering.
Now they actually have to send someone to invite him in a polite manner. This is the first time in Xie Yu's life that someone has shot themselves in the foot.
What goes around comes around; karma is a wheel.
Ever since Su Yan learned what Yan Shuo and Meng Heng had done to Leng Qiuling, she felt disgusted and repulsed by the Yan family.
But he was well aware of his responsibilities as an official, so after dismounting, he handed the reins to a servant in the Yan residence and walked towards the gate.
Xie Yu was still gloating on horseback when, by the time he came to his senses, Su Yan had already almost reached the gate.
"Su Yan, wait for me!"
After saying that, Xie Yu quickly dismounted, threw the reins to the servant, and hurriedly caught up with Su Yan.
With the people from the Yan family leading the way, the journey was smooth and unimpeded.
The two were led to a quaint backyard, not far from which were artificial hills, pavilions, and a lake.
Inside the park, clear streams flow, trees are lush, grasses are fragrant, and flowers are in full bloom. Paths lead in all directions, connecting with pavilions and arched bridges, and every step reveals a beautiful view.
Su Yan thought that the ancestral home passed down by Shen Yao was luxurious enough, but it was not even half as luxurious as the Yan family mansion.
Soon, the people from the Yan family led Su Yan and Xie Yu to a pavilion.
Su Yan stood outside the door and could already hear the cries and wails coming from inside the building.
It's unclear what the person leading the way said to the guards outside, but not long after, a man with a rugged face and a scar across his cheek that went all the way to his chin, who looked to be about fifty or sixty years old, came out of the building.
Although the man was overweight and his muscles were loose, he still couldn't hide his domineering and murderous aura, and it was clear at a glance that he was a soldier.
Judging from the appearance, the man in front of him should be Yan Shuo's father, Yan Hong.
The pillar of the state of Liang, and the Empress Dowager's maternal family.
Both were decorated for their military exploits, but Shen Yao exuded a more righteous and awe-inspiring aura, while Yan Hong was more like a vicious and violent demon.
Yan Hong looked the two of them up and down, seemingly quite surprised by their young age.
"You two are from the Oversight Council?"
Su Yan and Xie Yu bowed to Yan Hong in unison, saying, "Su Yan (Xie Yu) of the Oversight Council greets Pillar Yan..."
Yan Hong seemed to distrust the two men's abilities, so he pressed for details about Wenren Yi's whereabouts, "Why isn't Wenren Yi here? I clearly asked His Majesty to send Wenren Yi to investigate."
This was the first time the two of them had been looked down upon, and Xie Yu felt a huge sense of loss, while Su Yan remained indifferent.
He stepped forward and explained to Yan Hong, “Reporting to Pillar State Yan, our Dean has been unwell recently and unable to come, so he sent me and Dean Xie to investigate the cause of Prince Yan’s death. Pillar State, please rest assured, we two have rich experience in solving cases and are by no means just empty talk.”
Although Yan Hong didn't quite trust the two young men, he still believed in Wenren Yi's ability to judge people.
He led the two to the attic.
The attic was the scene of Yan Shuo's death. Yan Hong was heartbroken at the loss of his son, but he still protected the scene immediately.
Upon entering the scene, Su Yan and Xie Yu split into two groups.
Xie Yu questioned the people present, while Su Yan carried her toolbox into the house to examine the body.
As soon as Su Yan stepped into the house, she smelled a foul odor, which was not like the smell of a rotting corpse, but more like the smell emanating from a latrine.
Su Yan quickly put on a face mask and opened the window to dispel the stench in the room.
He slowly walked toward the bed where the body lay. The deceased's mouth was slightly open, his eyes were wide open staring at the ceiling, and his face was filled with fear.
Her clothes were disheveled, revealing large areas of skin. Only the blanket covered her lower body, and her pale skin was covered with large scratches.
The deceased had dark circles under his eyes and looked terrified, as if he had been frightened to death.
Su Yan put on gloves and bent down to remove the clothes from the deceased's body. As soon as she lifted them, a stench hit her.
Su Yan took two steps back and looked at the pool of filth on the deceased's lower body, roughly guessing where the stench in the house was coming from.
The deceased's incontinence is indeed consistent with the situation of being frightened to death.
As for the scratches on his body, they were scratches he made himself before he died. Su Yan found skin tissue under his fingernails.
The cause of death was within half an hour; apart from that, there were no other fatal wounds on the body.
The deceased's condition was consistent with the conclusion that they had suffered extreme shock, leading to heart failure and death.
There were no other traces of anyone else in the house, and Su Yan frowned in surprise.
Although it was a murder, Su Yan did not find any trace of a second person at the scene.
There were no signs of the murderer's presence, but the victim was indeed frightened to death. Could it be that the death was caused by hallucinations?
When Su Yan recalled the case of the courtesan, she learned that Zhang Lanzhen had drugged Yun Ying with a sleeping potion, causing Yun Ying to lose consciousness and be controlled by others, before she hanged herself.
However, Yan Shuo was scared to death, and obviously he did not lose his consciousness before he died.
Finding no results on the body, Su Yan went to Xie Yu to check on his progress.
At this moment, Xie Yu was questioning Yan Shuo's personal servant.
"Your Highness, I've been having nightmares lately. They keep saying there's a white-haired, red-lipped female ghost in the house, but every time I go in, there's no one there."
A few days later, the prince's condition worsened. He frequently developed a high fever at night and couldn't sleep a wink. Half an hour ago, I went to bring him his medicine, and as soon as I entered the room, the prince... the prince... stopped breathing..."
The servant grew increasingly sorrowful as he spoke, and began to weep loudly, whether out of fear or deep affection for Yan Shuo, it was unclear.
"Besides you, has Prince Yan never been to your room?"
The servant shook his head. "The lady found a highly virtuous monk who said that the young master was possessed by a female ghost and that he should be placed in a place far away from women. That's why the lady moved the young master to the attic and ordered me and a few other servants to take turns watching over him day and night. Apart from me, only a few other servants are allowed to enter the young master's room."
After he finished speaking, several servants who had been helping to look after Yan Shuo nodded in agreement.
At this moment, Su Yan also asked, "What you just said about Prince Yan's situation, did it start after Meng Heng's death, or did it exist before?"
The servants exchanged glances, seemingly hesitant about whether to answer.
Seeing this, Su Yan couldn't help but smile. "Stop looking. There's no written agreement on your faces. If you can't tell the truth, even if the Supervisory Council lets you off, do you think Yan Zhuguo and Madam Yan will let you off so easily?"
Su Yan's words were like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, creating ripples all around.
The servants decided not to hide it any longer. "Reporting to you, sir, this situation has been occurring ever since the night Young Master Yan killed Young Master Meng."
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