Chapter 262 Evidence Two
Lu Qiying raised his foot and stepped on Xiang Meng's chest.
The ruthlessness unique to the Ministry of Justice was revealed in him: "Stop your pretense and crying your eyes out! The Crown Princess has provided us with such a crucial clue; she's a great hero! If you dare to disrespect her again, I'll break all your bones first!"
"We will naturally investigate and verify the characteristics of the Western Region Purple Crow! But until the verification results are in, you shut the hell up! We don't need you, you beast, to tell the Ministry of Justice how to do things!"
"This isn't something only the Crown Princess knows. She just said it herself; it's a characteristic that Second Young Master Gu mentioned! Second Young Master Gu is the number one child prodigy in Dafeng. You may not have witnessed his abilities, but I have! He must know things that others don't!"
Xiang Meng coughed up another mouthful of blood as he was stomped on, but he was always different from others. The more he was beaten and the more painful it was, the more ruthless and resilient he became.
"Lord Lü, investigations require evidence. Even if I had come into contact with the Western Region Purple Crow, what would that prove? Does someone who accidentally comes into contact with some kind of rare poison have to be convicted and beheaded?"
Xiang Meng's voice was filled with anguish: "General Xin, don't be fooled! I really didn't kill your family! You saw it yourself, I'm just a scapegoat, the real murderer is someone else! But if I die, the Ministry of Justice will definitely close the case, and then you'll never find the real killer!"
Xin Huailin clenched his fists tightly. If he hadn't been trying his best to control himself, his fist would have already landed on Xiang Meng.
The reason he didn't hit Xiang Meng wasn't because he was afraid, but because if he threw a punch, Xiang Meng would die instantly.
Regardless of whether Xiang Meng is the murderer or not, he is now the prime suspect, and he cannot die under any circumstances.
He looked at Lü Qiying and pleaded in a hoarse voice, "I beg Lord Lü to be lenient with him. The evidence is indeed as he says, but it is not sufficient."
“My family’s remains have not yet been found. If he really did kill them, then he might be the only one who knows where my family’s remains are buried. He cannot die.”
"My Xin family consists of thirteen people, young and old alike. We demand to see them alive or dead!"
Looking at his sunken eye sockets and bloodshot eyes, Lü Qiying finally sighed deeply: "Alright, General Xin, I promise you, I will keep Xiang Meng alive."
"Thank you, Lord Lü."
As Xin Huailin spoke, he bowed deeply to Shen Wantang and clasped his hands in greeting: "Today, with such a groundbreaking clue, I thank the Crown Princess. If the Xin family case can be brought to light, I will definitely come to express my gratitude in person!"
Shen Wantang said softly, "General Xin, there's no need to thank me. Although I felt that Xiang Meng's hands turning blue was unusual, I didn't really take it seriously because I didn't know the characteristics of the Western Region Purple Crow."
"I was chatting with Miss Gu today when I overheard her mentioning a strange poison that her second brother had mentioned, so I took note of it and came here specifically to verify it."
"If you want to thank someone, thank Young Master Gu!"
Xin Huailin said in a hoarse voice, "We should thank everyone. The Crown Princess should thank everyone, as should Miss Gu and Young Master Gu."
Lu Qiying had already ordered his men to tie Xiang Meng up. He was just about to take Xiang Meng back to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation when he heard Shen Wantang say again, "Lord Lu, please wait."
Lu Qiying turned around: "Princess Consort, is there anything else you would like to tell me?"
Shen Wantang shook her head: "I have nothing to tell you."
"Then what is this...?"
"I haven't finished talking about the abnormalities in Xiang Meng. I've only mentioned one, there's a second one."
Lu Qiying was shocked and looked at Shen Wantang in disbelief: "There's something wrong with him?!"
Yes, and it's out in the open.
Lu Qiying was both surprised and ashamed upon hearing this.
To his delight, more and more clues and evidence were being gathered today. To his shame, Shen Wantang said that the anomaly was obvious, but no one in the Ministry of Justice had noticed it. He felt ashamed and realized that he had wasted his time as Vice Minister of Justice.
Although he felt ashamed, Lü Qiying felt that saving face was a small matter compared to solving the case, so he immediately asked, "What's wrong with Xiang Meng? Please enlighten me, Your Highness."
Shen Wantang pointed to Meng's face: "Lord Lü, there's a small bruise on his face, have you noticed it?"
Lu Qiying glanced at Xiang Meng, then nodded: "I noticed it. I also asked Xiang Meng, and he said it's a birthmark."
“This is not a birthmark; Xiang Meng didn’t have this bruise on his face before.”
"Could this also be a toxin left behind by the Purple Crow from the Western Regions?"
"no."
Lu Qiying frowned: "It's not a birthmark, nor is it poison, then what is it?"
He couldn't help but step forward and press the bruise on Xiang Meng's face, which caused Xiang Meng to cry out in pain.
Lu Qiying became increasingly suspicious: "Why are you barking like a dog again? Are you in pain?"
Xiang Meng trembled slightly: "Lord Lü, I have injuries on my face. You...you hit me too hard again, so I couldn't hold back."
He did have injuries on his face, from the Ministry of Justice's beating, plus the one from Shen Guannian earlier. It seemed normal that it hurt when pressed.
But Lü Qiying was very perceptive. His years of experience in solving cases told him that sometimes the more normal something seems, the more abnormal it is.
He turned to look at Shen Wantang: "Princess Consort, do you remember when this bruise on his face first appeared?"
"Two years ago, around the time when Xiu Lu disappeared."
Although Lü Qiying trusted Shen Wantang, he still adhered to his duty to solve the case and asked a question that puzzled him: "Why does the Crown Princess remember so clearly? How could you notice such subtle changes in a mere guard?"
Shen Wantang looked at him calmly and composedly: "Lord Lü, I have a pretty good memory. I didn't just notice the subtle changes in Xiang Meng, a mere guard. I can remember the characteristics and changes of everyone. If you don't believe me, you can verify it here."
Lu Qiying was surprised. The last person he had heard of with this ability was Gu Qianhan. It was rumored that Gu Qianhan had an extraordinary memory and could remember everything he saw. He even felt pain because he could remember too many things.
He pointed at one of his men: "You, turn your back!"
The subordinates immediately obeyed the order.
"Princess Consort, how many moles does my subordinate have on his face?"
"Three: one on the corner of the mouth and two on the chin."
Lu Qiying pulled his subordinate over to take a look, and sure enough, there were three!
He didn't believe in superstitions, so he picked up one of Shen Guannian's books, opened it, showed it to Shen Wantang, closed the book, and asked her, "What is the fifth character in the third line?"
"It is age."
Lu Qiying asked casually; he himself didn't know what the character was.
With a skeptical mind, he turned the page again, counted the characters, and found that it really was the character for "year"!
He was utterly shocked: "You, you actually have a photographic memory!"
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