At night, the Fourth Prince was reviewing memorials in the Hall of Mental Cultivation when Su Peisheng rushed over and whispered something in his ear. The Fourth Prince's expression tightened, and he waved away everyone else in the hall, leaving only Su Peisheng to serve him.
The side door of the Hall of Mental Cultivation creaked open, and a dark figure darted in, quickly walking up to the Fourth Prince and kneeling to pay respects: "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty..."
The Fourth Prince nodded, and only then did the Prefect of the Capital look up and face the Fourth Prince directly.
"Your Majesty, I have already obtained some clues regarding the assassination attempt on the Fourteenth Prince's residence, as Your Majesty previously instructed me to investigate this matter..." the Prefect of the Capital said, enunciating each word clearly.
Fourth Master frowned and murmured, "What clue?"
The Prefect of the Capital took out a strip of black cloth from his sleeve, stained with dark red blood, and handed it to Su Peisheng. Su Peisheng presented it to the Fourth Prince, who looked at it in surprise and asked, "What is this?"
The Prefect of the Capital stared at the strip of cloth and asserted, "This is a relic left behind by the assassin that I found in the Fourteenth Prince's residence... Please take a look, Your Majesty!" The Fourth Prince picked up the strip of cloth and examined it, then asked doubtfully, "This is from the assassin?"
The Prefect of the Capital nodded and said, "That night, the Fourteenth Prince's residence was attacked. Although the assassins were all dressed in black and their faces were covered, the Imperial Guards had no chance to see their faces. However, some people were still stabbed by the Imperial Guards during the fight. This strip of cloth was torn off by the sword."
Fourth Master put down the strip of cloth, calmly asked, "What clue is this strip of cloth?"
The Prefect of the Capital, his gaze sharp, said with absolute certainty, "I believe all of these assassins are women..."
Fourth Master was shocked, his gaze returning to the strip of cloth. Su Peisheng, who had been listening silently, also looked up in disbelief when he heard the word "woman." Noticing Fourth Master's expression, he asked softly, "Lord Jing, this is just a piece of cloth. How can you be sure it's a woman?"
The Prefect of the Capital laughed and said, "Your Majesty can come closer and smell it to find out..."
The Fourth Prince was taken aback. Su Peisheng quickly took the cloth, brought it close to his nose, and smelled it. There was nothing special about it. He smelled it again, then suddenly widened his eyes and looked at the Fourth Prince, stammering, "Your Majesty, this strip of cloth has a scent similar to perfume powder. Although it's very faint, you can still smell it if you sniff hard..."
The Prefect of the Capital said, “What Eunuch Su said is absolutely right; there was indeed a scent of rouge and powder on the skin. I also felt uneasy and secretly questioned those who were injured that day. According to their descriptions, the assassins not only resembled women in terms of physique and movements, but they also used soft swords… Your Majesty may not know, but soft swords are light and short, with hilts suitable for women to hold. Therefore, I concluded that the assassins that night were all women…”
The Prefect of the Capital paused for a moment, then continued, "Since she is a woman, she would presumably enjoy cosmetics and similar items, so it's natural that they would get on her clothes, which is why this strip of cloth retains a fragrance..."
The Fourth Master stood up, his eyes flashing with a fierce light, and said harshly, word by word, "Woman? Assassin? So, this matter and the assassination attempt at the Old Summer Palace are both committed by the same person?"
The Prefect of the Capital calmly replied, "His Majesty's guess may be correct... I also thought of this, so I went back and reviewed several cases I had investigated before. The wounds are very similar to those on the victim of this assassination attempt..."
Fourth Master glared at him angrily and said fiercely, "White Lotus Sect?"
The Prefect of the Capital glanced at the Fourth Prince, who was now seething with rage, and slowly nodded, saying, "Yes! Although the evidence is not yet sufficient to prove that the White Lotus Sect was responsible, I will continue to investigate..."
The Fourth Prince paced back and forth with his arms behind his back, pondering for a long time before asking with doubt, "Since they rescued the Fourteenth Prince, why did they turn back to assassinate the others in the Fourteenth Prince's mansion? What is their purpose?"
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