Lanqin ignored Liu's curses and ordered her men to search Liu's house thoroughly, inside and out.
"Niohuru, don't even think about smearing me!" Liu was convinced that Lanqin was trying to pin the Third Prince's poisoning on her, so she viciously lunged at Lanqin. At this point, she didn't care about anything else; she only hated Lanqin for poisoning her and monopolizing the Fourth Prince's favor. She felt that her current predicament was all because of Lanqin.
"If you haven't done anything, then don't be so quick to deny it. Now that the real culprit behind the Third Prince's poisoning hasn't been found, everyone in the inner quarters is a suspect. It's just a pity that Consort Nian suspected you first. That's why she brought people to search your room today. You're resisting like this, do you really have something hidden that you're afraid we'll find?" Lanqin retorted, also angered by Liu's scolding.
Sure enough, these words immediately calmed the agitated Liu Shi down. Based on her understanding of Lanqin, she didn't seem to be the type to kick someone when they're down. She herself had almost been sent to Zhanghua Terrace by the Fourth Master before, and Lanqin hadn't taken advantage of her then; why would she want to kill someone now?
“Liu, you don’t deserve my sympathy, because you are indeed a vicious woman! You can even harm your own child, what else are you incapable of doing? But I don’t think this is your fault.” Lanqin said calmly, “However, the Prince is very understanding of Consort Nian’s grief over losing her son, and her request can only be met as much as possible.”
Liu had no choice but to let them search her. Anyway, she knew she hadn't poisoned the Third Prince, so she wasn't too panicked.
About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a young woman who had been searching Liu's bedroom came out carrying something. "Concubine, there's something!"
"What!" Liu's face showed disbelief as she stared blankly at the woman presenting the items to Lanqin.
Lanqin glanced at Liu Shi in surprise, then quickly gestured for someone to pull Liu Shi back, while she herself began to open the thing.
"That's not mine! You're framing me!" Liu suddenly shouted. "Niohuru clan, you're framing me!"
Lanqin ignored Liu's loss of control and ordered the woman to open it.
"Consort, what is this?" The woman opened the package, revealing its contents, which turned out to be some red powder.
Cinnabar!
When Lanqin saw the powder, she thought it was cinnabar. Although she wasn't entirely sure, the red color and powdery texture of the cinnabar made it clear that it was cinnabar.
He had just thought it couldn't be Liu, but now the evidence was right in front of him, leaving him no choice but to believe it!
"Lock her in the inner room! Keep her under guard!" Lanqin had no choice but to keep Liu under guard for the time being.
Liu cried out. Lanqin's words had convinced her that it wasn't Lanqin, but at this moment, she seemed to think that Lanqin must have deliberately had someone put that thing in her room.
Meanwhile, Fourth Master took the packet of powder from Lanqin, examined it, and immediately summoned Doctor Lin to test for poison.
"You vile woman! She's involved in this too. This time, I will not tolerate her any longer." Fourth Master said with a stern face, while Lanqin still felt that something was amiss. She had been investigating for so many days without finding any clues, so how could it be that Nian Shi suddenly pointed out that Liu Shi was the murderer and found evidence so easily?
"Your Highness, this is indeed cinnabar!" Doctor Lin reported after completing the examination.
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