Chapter 13 Affair
After all, she was a princess, so although Ling Tianshui was allowed to conduct the examination, Xiao Fuyu was watching from the side, not allowing him to undress, expose his body, or even damage his skin.
However, just as Ling Tianshui turned over the body of Princess Gao, the mud that he had coughed into his mouth and nose flowed out along with foreign objects and blood. The fishy and horrible sight made Xiao Fuyu cry out heart-wrenchingly, and he collapsed to the ground.
Everyone in the princess's mansion hurriedly helped her out and no longer dared to stay in the pavilion.
Ling Tianshui naturally didn't bother to pay attention to her. He quickly examined the body and issued a file -
The body of Princess Gao was intact, with no signs of external injuries. Her limbs were stiff as if she had struggled, her face was pale and distorted, her eyes were swollen and bulging, and there was fine grains of sand remaining in her fingernails.
The princess's hair was disheveled, with only one or two hairpins remaining; she was wearing an ultramarine brocade jacket, the silk ribbon of which had been lost due to her struggle, and her clothes were messy and loose, and a large amount of mud was picked up when she was dragged ashore; except for a white silk sock hanging on her right foot, her shoes and socks were nowhere to be found.
In addition, her palms were white, her skin was slightly wrinkled, there was light pink saliva in her mouth and nose, and her eyes were not cloudy. It can be concluded that she died of drowning between the hours of Shen and You in the afternoon and evening.
The four coroners conducted additional inspections and came to the same conclusion. Combined with the situation at the scene, it was confirmed that Princess Gaoguo had indeed died of drowning.
The people from the four departments were obviously relieved. After all, it was much easier to deal with an accident involving the princess than to deal with her being murdered.
Although it is still a question why Princess Gao was so close to the water, she had no external injuries on her body, and the people in the princess's mansion were guarding the surrounding paths, making it difficult for outsiders to enter or exit. Naturally, the only possibility was that she accidentally fell into the water.
The conclusion was clear and obvious. The people in the princess's mansion could only carry the princess's body back crying and shouting.
Qiandeng and the gentlemen returned to the Changhua Palace at three o'clock in the morning.
Too many things happened today. After returning to the palace, Qiandeng said goodbye to her husband and went back to her room. Only Meng Lanxi followed her to the front yard as usual to make tea and burn incense for the county lady to help her sleep.
"County Lady, do you want me to take care of Baibai and send her over to sleep with you?" Seeing Qiandeng's face full of worry, Meng Lanxi asked her.
Qian Deng shook her head, placed the orchid he had given her on the desk, and said, "Don't bother. It's late at night and the dew is heavy. It's not convenient for you to come or go. I'll just rest early."
Meng Lanxi nodded, waited for her to finish drinking the calming tea, burned incense for her and left.
Qiandeng let her hair down, washed her hands and face, and tried her best not to think about the death of Princess Gao. She let herself sink into the misty fragrance created for her in the room and gradually fell asleep.
However, just when he was half asleep and half awake, he heard a hurried and heavy sound of footsteps in the yard, obviously something big had happened.
She opened her eyes in a daze and saw the lights flickering outside the gauze curtain. Pearl, who was on night watch, walked in quickly and called softly, "County Lady, County Lady..."
Qiandeng lifted the gauze curtain, his consciousness still in a trance: "What's wrong?"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... and Princess Changyi are here."
Qiandeng’s sleepiness faded away and he quickly got up.
Time was short and she had no time to wash. She just splashed cold water on her face to wake herself up. The maids who rushed in tied her hair up, not even having time to cover the scar on her eyebrow, and hurried to the main hall.
The prince and Xiao Fuyu were already seated in the hall, and the maid had just served them some boiled tea.
Qian Deng stepped forward and saluted: "I wonder what orders your Highness and the Princess have for you, having come so late at night?"
The prince held the teacup and looked at her hesitantly, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Xiao Fuyu raised her hand and opened the teacup the maid had handed her. Amidst the crisp thud of the cup hitting the ground and the maid's exclamation, she abruptly stood up, gnashing her teeth as she stared at Qiandeng and asked, "Princess Lingling, I'd like to ask, where were you this afternoon?"
When Qiandeng saw her coming to his house and roaring in the middle of the night, he frowned slightly and looked at the prince.
The prince's face looked a little grim, and he hesitated and said, "Lingling, now the matter is somewhat related to your family. Please tell us about your itinerary for today."
Hearing him say this, Qian Deng knew that the matter must be serious, so he dismissed everyone. After they were alone in the hall, he replied, "Today is my birthday, and considering the kindness of my elders, I went to the mountain mausoleum with my maid to pay my respects. Around noon, Cui Shaoqing came to the mausoleum to look for me. At 4 p.m., we went down the mountain together and went to the Northern Yamen Forbidden Army. Around 3 p.m., I went to Qujiang Pond with Cui Shaoqing and Ling Sijie of the Shen Ce Army. Afterwards, we gathered with the other gentlemen at the waterside pavilion and never left."
She had a clear itinerary for the day, and there were always people around her, so there were no problems.
Xiao Fuyu continued to stare at her intently and shouted, "You're fine, but your fiancé killed my mother, and you're still sleeping soundly!"
Qian Deng was stunned and immediately asked, "The Grand Princess's death was confirmed to be an accidental fall into the water after a joint investigation by the four departments. Why does Princess Changyi say this?"
"My mother, she...she..." Xiao Fuyu was filled with sorrow and hatred, tears streaming down his face, his throat choked and he could no longer speak.
Seeing her grief, the prince helped her sit down first and asked a trembling maid beside her, "What's your name? Tell me everything that happened this afternoon."
The maid fell to her knees, kowtowed, and wept, "I am Nian Tao, the princess is tired and needs to rest this afternoon. I will be guarding outside Qichun Pavilion with the others."
Qian Deng understood. Princess Gao was both the Crown Prince's great-aunt and the mother of the future Crown Princess. It was only natural that the Crown Prince would go to the Princess's residence overnight to offer condolences after the incident. It seemed they had discovered something when questioning the maids.
"At the time, I was guarding the outer room. Suddenly, I felt... the urge to go to the bathroom, so I told the others and didn't dare stray too far. I hurried to a deserted patch of grass and squatted down..." It was naturally rude to say this in front of the Crown Prince. Her face flushed red as she covered her face and spoke reluctantly, "Just then, I heard footsteps. Someone was approaching from a short distance away, looking around, obviously checking to see if anyone was nearby. I naturally shrank back, afraid of being seen doing such a shameful thing. Seeing no movement around, he walked towards the back door of Qichun Pavilion, where the princess was."
Qian Deng immediately asked, "Who is he? What is he wearing? Can you see clearly?"
"No, I ducked in panic, and he hid behind the bushes, so his clothes were also hidden. But... he should be a tall young man."
"In that case, why didn't you immediately come forward and report this to the Four Departments when they were investigating the princess's death?"
"Because... because I didn't dare..." Nian Tao's body trembled as if she had the hiccups, and she fell to the ground and sobbed, "I was worried that the princess would be alarmed and blamed, so I quickly put my clothes in order and quietly approached the back door of the small pavilion, intending to chase them away. But just as I approached the half-open door, I heard the princess' voice from inside, as if scolding me. The princess said, 'You have no conscience. You came so slowly. Are you so obsessed with that little bitch that you forgot about me?'"
After these words were spoken, Qiandeng and the prince were extremely embarrassed. They didn't expect that the princess pretended to be sleepy and sent everyone away, and that she was going on a date with a man in Qichun Pavilion.
On the other hand, Xiao Fuyu had witnessed her mother's absurd behavior since she was a child. She knew that after losing her husband twice, she had been involved with many men. Therefore, she did not care about this romantic affair and only asked directly, "What did that person say?"
Nian Tao trembled and said, "I only heard him chuckle softly, but he didn't answer. Then the princess seemed to pick up something and asked, 'Is this your birthday present for that little bitch? Humph, you care so much about her, aren't you afraid that I will be jealous?'"
Qiandeng's hand trembled slightly, and the tea in the cup splashed out, scalding her palm. But she seemed unaware of it, and only looked up at the maid in astonishment.
Qujiang Pond, a birthday gift.
It turns out that the man who had an affair with Princess Gao was actually a man in her backyard!
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