Imperial Physician Wen took out the handkerchief and examined it carefully, but still couldn't see anything unusual.
Seeing Shen Yu's calm and composed demeanor, as if he had truly grasped a handle against him, he couldn't help but lose his composure and said in a trembling voice, "Don't... frame me, don't fabricate things out of thin air."
Shen Yu glanced at Imperial Physician Wen, then reported to Lord He: "My sister drowned last night. There was a thread stuck in her split fingernail, and later I found another one in her mouth. I suspect that the thread must have come from the murderer's handkerchief, and my sister hid it in her mouth to leave evidence..."
Upon hearing this, Imperial Physician Wen was shocked and hurriedly picked up the handkerchief to check. Sure enough, two threads were missing, which seemed to have been scraped away by Chenxiang's fingernails.
He absolutely refused to admit it. There were countless identical handkerchiefs in the world; how could he be sure it was the thread from his own? So he quickly retorted, "May I ask, sir, where did you find this handkerchief? It must have been Chen Yu who stole it, removed the thread, and then used it to slander me..."
Snap!
Lord He slammed his gavel, his anger blazing. "Stop making excuses! Last night, the coroner personally examined the body. There was indeed a silk thread in Chenxiang's cracked fingernail, which the historian has recorded. Moreover, neither thread was stained with blood. Your lost handkerchief is blood red, so how could you possibly pull out a clean white thread?"
Imperial Physician Wen was speechless. Then, with a loud bang, the Empress suddenly stood up, pointed at Imperial Physician Wen, and demanded, "Speak! Who ordered you to do this?"
There was no need to ask further; Zhang Yue'er, standing beside Imperial Physician Wen, had already lowered her head, covered her face, and was trembling.
In fact, it was Zhang Yue'er who instigated Imperial Physician Wen to murder Chenxiang, just to frame the Empress for the crime.
When the Empress saw that Imperial Physician Wen refused to confess, she had him taken to the Imperial City Guard for interrogation.
------
Three days later.
Although the funeral of Chenxiang has passed, the Mu family is still immersed in grief. Madam Mu is bedridden and has no appetite.
Chen Yu sat by the bed, watching her mother so sad, but dared not tell her that Chen Xiang had left the capital with Li Lao, because yesterday the Empress had given the prayer beads to Madam Mu as her personal maid.
This rosary has an extraordinary identity; she was once the Empress's female bodyguard. The Empress's move is likely intended to have the rosary monitor the Mu family.
Nianzhu carried a bowl of chicken soup into the room, but before she even reached the bedside, Chenyu covered her mouth and ran out. Suppressing her nausea, she crossed three courtyards and ran back to her bedroom in Yile Garden, where she finally lay down on the basin and began to dry heave.
Seeing this, Cuiwei panicked and gently patted Chenyu's back, asking, "Miss, have you caught a cold?"
Shen Yu straightened up, leaned on the round table, and sat down, inwardly cursing the child in her womb as the son of an evil person, who had begun to torment her so early. She decided to go to the villa outside the city tomorrow to get rid of the child, and then rest for a few days before returning to the capital.
Just then, Jiu'er's voice came from inside the courtyard: "Sister Nianzhu is here?"
"The old lady said that the eldest daughter has been overworked these past few days, and ordered me to bring her a bowl of chicken soup."
Chicken soup? Shen Yu covered her mouth and gagged again. However, Nianzhu had already walked in and placed the chicken soup in front of her.
"Young lady, the old lady instructed me to send you a bowl of chicken soup every few days to help you recover."
"Ugh... I don't have an appetite right now, let's leave it for now."
Seeing this, Nianzhu became suspicious and remembered the Empress's instructions. The Empress had instructed her to keep an eye on whether Chenyu was pregnant, and if so, to get rid of her.
Seeing Chen Yu gesture for Jiu'er to take away the chicken soup, Nianzhu feigned surprise and exclaimed loudly, "Great news! General Bai has passed away, could it be that he left behind the Bai family bloodline?"
Cuiwei retorted angrily, "My daughter has only caught a cold."
Shen Yu sensed something was wrong. She suspected that Nianzhu was undoubtedly the Empress's spy. She quickly drank tea to suppress her nausea and said slowly, "I have typhoid fever and am vomiting and having diarrhea. I am afraid I will not be able to drink chicken soup for the next two days. I would like to trouble Nianzhu to tell the old lady that I will drink chicken soup to recuperate once I recover from my typhoid fever."
After the prayer beads left, Jiu'er came to report: "Miss, the eldest young master has returned and is waiting for you in the study. He said he has important matters to discuss."
Upon arriving at the study, Mu Nanfeng was already waiting at the door. Seeing Chen Yu enter, he quickly approached her and urgently told her that the Emperor had entrusted him with continuing the investigation of the Chenxiang case, and that he must find the mastermind behind the plot to harm Chenxiang by Imperial Physician Wen within three days.
Shen Yu asked in confusion, "Where is my uncle?"
Mu Nanfeng shook his head, also feeling suspicious: "I don't know. I heard that the Emperor received a secret report and seems to have found the culprit who assassinated Bai Yehua."
Who is it?
"It's a secret, the government forbids it from being revealed, and even my uncle wouldn't tell."
After Mu Nanfeng finished speaking, he gestured for Chenyu to sit down. The two sat facing each other at the desk. Mu Nanfeng took out a waist token and pushed it in front of Chenyu: "This is a waist token that Cuiwei stole from Zhang Yue'er. Take a look at what is written on it."
Shen Yu took the waist token and examined it, then asked in surprise, "Zhang Yue'er is from the Li Prince's Mansion, yet she has the waist token of the Hong Prince's Mansion?"
"Now we suspect that something went wrong with Cuiwei."
Shen Yu shook her head repeatedly as she recalled the events of that day. On the day of Chen Xiang's funeral, no one from the Prince Hong's residence arrived. Besides, Cui Wei was cautious in her actions, and she was certain that the waist token belonged to Zhang Yue'er.
or……
Shen Yu slammed her hand on the table and exclaimed in surprise, "Big brother, the mastermind behind Imperial Physician Wen is none other than Zhang Yue'er!"
"Although I have some convictions, I have no evidence. I re-examined the people of the Prince Hong's mansion. This time, with the official's approval, no one dared to lie. They all said that the Fourth Prince entered the mansion alone with his waist token. However, the Fourth Prince in prison did not have the Prince Hong's mansion waist token on him, and even after searching the Fourth Prince's mansion, nothing was found. Now, the Fourth Prince has been agitated and knows nothing when asked, only mentioning the two words 'Xiangxiang'."
Shen Yu listened to Mu Nanfeng's words, stroked the waist token in thought, and murmured, "The Fourth Prince is mentally challenged and it is impossible for him to have gone to the Hong Prince's residence alone, or for someone to be waiting for him elsewhere. Has anyone seen the Fourth Prince on the street?"
"Yes, on August 13th, I summoned Liu Yu to the palace to meet the emperor, and I saw the fourth prince on the street."
"Alone?"
Mu Nanfeng was taken aback, recalling the scene from that day: He was in a hurry to reach the Hong Prince's residence and saw the Fourth Prince walking together on the main street with a guard. Because the guard was walking in front, he took a second look at him. He noticed that the guard was tall and slender, with a face like jade, and walked with an air of arrogance, like a lady from a noble family. Considering that the Fourth Prince was mentally challenged and needed a servant to lead him, he didn't think much of it. Now, however, he found the guard quite suspicious.
At this moment, Chen Yu asked, "Big brother, have you seen Zhang Yue'er appear with the Fourth Prince?"
Mu Nanfeng nodded repeatedly, "Yes, that guard must have been Zhang Yue'er in disguise."
He was overjoyed for a moment, then his face fell with worry: "This waist token belongs to the Prince Hong's mansion and was stolen. Zhang Yue'er will definitely deny it. Besides, no one saw with their own eyes that Zhang Yue'er brought the Fourth Prince into the Prince Hong's mansion. How can we convict her?"
snort!
Chen Yu scoffed. She had heard that Prince Heng had returned to the capital to visit the Emperor yesterday, but the Emperor was too busy with official duties to hold a banquet. Instead, Prince Yan's residence held a grand banquet to welcome Prince Heng, and Zhang Yue'er would definitely attend.
Did Zhang Yue'er lure the Fourth Prince into the Hong Prince's mansion and instruct Imperial Physician Wen to murder Chen Xiang? The answer can be found by having Hong Yu help stage a play.
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