Chapter 835 Mutual Suspicion
Zhang Anyu explained, "It's not that I doubt Your Highness, but the Fourth Princess's kneeling posture was very strange. She was kneeling on the ground at such a low height, with her back to the door. How could the assassin have cut her neck with a wire from such a distance? It would have to be at close range. But even that is strange, because according to Your Highness, there was no one outside the door."
Zhang Anyu only analyzed the true facts of the case. Jiang Fenghua understood what he meant. She couldn't say that she had gone to the Fourth Prince to find Zhang Yurou, otherwise she would be the murderer.
She did feel a cold wind blow in, and there were shadows of trees swaying outside the door, but she immediately ran out to check and found no one there.
She said, "Then only the roof is left. Could the assassin be hiding on the roof beams? But it's impossible for him to have made no noise at all."
She has always had excellent senses, and she didn't even notice the assassin's attack before it happened.
“If, as Your Majesty says, the assassin escaped from the rooftop without making a sound, it means his lightness skill is excellent, which is why he didn’t make a sound at all,” Zhang Anyu added.
Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice: "No matter what, killing someone in front of me means either that the other party is trying to provoke me or that they are trying to frame me."
Jiang Fenghua didn't get any useful information from Zhang Anyu, so she decided to make the best of it since she was already there.
She decided to leave first, hoping that the person behind her would come knocking on her door.
Seeing that they were about to leave, Zhang Anyu said, "Where is Your Highness going? This humble official will see you off."
"Let's go back to the Jiang residence first," Jiang Fenghua said. "Our carriage is just outside the yamen, Lord Zhang, please wait!"
Knowing the cause of Zhang Yurou's death, she did not go to see her body again.
Zhang Anyu's eyes remained fixed on their departing figures as he murmured, "When will Her Majesty the Empress allow Miss Hongxiu to leave the palace to handle cases again? This case is so complicated, and Her Majesty is involved in it; she will surely send Miss Hongxiu to remain outside the palace!"
Feng Sheng suddenly appeared behind Zhang Anyu and patted him on the shoulder, "Sir."
Zhang Anyu was startled and scolded, "Don't you make any noise when you walk? You're going to scare me to death! Don't you know there's a decapitated corpse in the morgue?"
Feng Sheng touched his neck, recalling how gruesome the Fourth Princess's corpse was. He said, "I walked over openly and honestly, and I didn't hear what you were muttering to yourself, so you're blaming me..."
Zhang Anyu slapped him on the head, "Hurry up and investigate the case and find clues. If you can't find the murderer, I will hold you accountable."
"If Miss Hongxiu knew how fierce the master was, she would be very afraid of you." Feng Sheng had been with the master for so long, how could he not know what the master was thinking?
"Am I fierce? Where am I fierce?" Zhang Anyu softened his voice.
"Of course I know that the Prefect is not fierce, but rather very kind-hearted. But Miss Hongxiu doesn't know that!"
"The master likes Miss Hongxiu, but every time she comes, she acts like she's just doing her job. It seems like she has no interest in the master at all!"
Zhang Anyu watched the Empress's carriage leave the Jingzhao Prefecture. He said, "I believe that sincerity can move even the most obdurate heart. Sooner or later, I will move her."
"But it seems you haven't taken the first step yet!" he added. "Lady Hongxiu was also there during the last case, why didn't you confess your feelings then?"
"Enough with the talking, get back to the case." Zhang Anyu dismissed him abruptly, then stood at the entrance of the yamen, indulging in a lovesick reverie.
If he could see Miss Hongxiu every day, he would be happy to solve even the most difficult cases.
As Jiang Fenghua emerged from the yamen, Hongxiu said, "There's no news at all. Now Lord Zhang knows that Her Highness went to the Fourth Prince's residence and suspects that Her Highness killed the Fourth Prince's wife. I guess this matter will soon be reported back to the palace."
Jiang Fenghua dared to go to the Jingzhao Prefecture to tell Zhang Anyu the situation, so she wasn't afraid that Xie Shang would also know that Zhang Yurou was dead. This news would probably spread throughout the streets and alleys tomorrow.
However, her reputation is already ruined, and even if Zhang Yurou dies, no one will speak up for her.
She couldn't hide the fact that she went to see Zhang Yurou from Xie Shang, and now her only thought was how to avoid the topic of Su Qingqing.
The secret guards sent by Xie Shang have both advantages and disadvantages. If she doesn't shake them off, she will always be under Xie Shang's surveillance.
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The Imperial Palace.
Xie Shang was busy handling state affairs as soon as he returned, when the secret guards informed the emperor of the empress's disappearance.
He said coldly, "I told you to protect the Empress, how could she, a living person, just disappear?"
The guard said, "The Jiang residence has its own guards. They are the ones who covered the Empress's departure from the residence. The Empress is deliberately trying to avoid us, and there's nothing we can do about it."
Xie Shang knew that Jiang Fenghua and Lin Yu had their own power base outside, and she wouldn't put herself in danger, so why was she avoiding his bodyguards?
Soon, news of the assassination of the Fourth Princess reached Xie Shang's ears, and he also learned that Jiang Fenghua had gone to the Fourth Prince's residence.
"How is the Empress? Has the assassin been caught?"
"Her Majesty is safe and sound. The authorities are still investigating who assassinated the Fourth Princess. Her Majesty went to the Jingzhao Prefecture to see Lord Zhang, and then left to return to the Jiang residence."
Xie Shang fell into deep thought. What was Ruan Ruan going to Zhang Yurou for? Who killed Zhang Yurou? Why didn't the other party harm Jiang Fenghua, and even let her leave the Fourth Prince's Mansion in the end?
Who exactly is it? Is Xie Yang still hiding something?
"Summon Zhang Anyu to the palace to see the Emperor." Xie Shang added, "Don't make a fuss, bring him into the palace quietly."
Zhang Anyu also had a headache about having to go to the palace late at night. In his memory, it seemed that he always had to go to the palace at night.
"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty." Zhang Anyu bowed respectfully.
"How did the Fourth Princess Consort die?" This was the first question Xie Shang asked.
Zhang Anyu didn't dare to hide anything and recounted the whole story in detail.
Upon hearing this, Xie Shang asked, "Did the Empress see it with her own eyes?"
"That's what Your Highness said," Zhang Anyu said. "At the time, I was also completely confused. I also led people to search the Fourth Prince's residence. There were always people on guard outside. According to what Your Highness said, I suspect that the murderer did not escape at all. So now the most likely thing is that the murderer is still hiding in the Fourth Prince's residence."
Xie Shang understood their meaning and Zhang Anyu's concerns. "Since the Empress has extricated herself from this matter, and she has not entered the Fourth Prince's residence, you must keep this matter to yourself."
Zhang Anyu was taken aback at first. He originally wanted to say yes, but the Empress said before she left that she would definitely catch the real culprit.
He said, "Have His Majesty and the Empress discussed this? If the investigation continues, what the Empress said will definitely be brought up again, which will be very disadvantageous for the Empress."
Xie Shang frowned. Who killed Zhang Yurou in front of Ruan Ruan? He had no idea.
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