Chapter 96: Dead End
Yan Penglai looked at her deeply. When so much evidence surfaced, he did not deny it. His pale face showed a calm sadness. "But, no matter what, I didn't betray the county lady, and I didn't do anything to let you down."
"Is that so? But when you chose to help Princess Gao, you were already stabbing my Changhua Palace in the back." Qian Deng's voice remained steady, but her words were icy. "I think Princess Gao chose Qujiang Pond for this scene because she knew my potential husbands would be celebrating my birthday there. Given her hatred for me, making me a suspect would be ideal. Even if the final conclusion is that she fell into the water accidentally, my reputation will already be damaged, and I will naturally be even more unbearable in the eyes of the people."
Speaking of this, she naturally remembered that Yan Penglai had predicted her fortune and determined that she would have no relatives and would have bad luck with her husband.
Four years ago, he read her fortune, which helped him achieve his career and changed her life.
But now that things have come to this, what's the point of saying this?
Yan Penglai looked at her and uttered two words slowly and coldly, "But I think that the death of Princess Gao is not a bad thing for the county lady."
"Yes, this is the result many people are looking forward to seeing." She let out a sigh and continued, "And you are one of them. So when Princess Gao came to discuss the matter with you, you agreed on a plan to smuggle the duck-cheek feather cloak to Qujiang Pond to help her escape the impasse she was facing. But you replaced her duck-cheek fur coat with a cloak with gold-painted emerald feathers, the same one you smuggled in with your parcel and that we fished out of the pond."
"Are you kidding us, Princess? Princess Gao publicly disparaged the emerald feather fur coat. Could it be that she couldn't tell whether the fur coat I brought her was a duck-cheek fur coat or an emerald feather fur coat?"
Yan Penglai's questioning words made everyone present feel the same, and they looked at Qiandeng with some doubts.
"Yes, I shouldn't have been confused, but it's Mr. Yan who's so smart. Judging from this cushion he sewed for me, his needlework is quite good." Qian Deng chuckled faintly and patted the cushion in his hand. "Why did the duck-cheek fur coat from Princess Gao's mansion burn in the Zheng residence, while a green feather fur coat suddenly appeared in the river bend? In fact, it was Mr. Yan who used a deceptive strategy to make Princess Gao wear the green feather fur coat before she died.
"The emerald feather fur collar we found in the water, a cloak despised by the princess's mansion, was embroidered with the words 'Gao State' in gold thread. The duck-cheek fur coat that was burned in the ashes of the Zheng residence had no gold markings. Thinking of the similarities between the duck-cheek fur coat and the emerald feather fur coat, an idea came to my mind.
"The maid Nian Tao of the princess's mansion once testified that when the princess was meeting you, she said, 'Come, put on this dress for me. It's a rare and precious thing. That little bitch will never be able to wear it in her lifetime...' It seems that the dress the princess wants to wear is naturally something I don't have. It definitely can't be a green feather fur coat.
Besides, the princess also said, "Is this your birthday present for that little bitch?" So, this thing was included with my birthday present—the futon. I thought, instead of folding it up and stuffing it in, I'd sew it directly onto the furoshiki. After all, whether it's the duck-cheek fur or the emerald feather fur, it's all made of cyan wool satin underneath. She wouldn't even notice it when you put it on her.
"The duck-cheeked feather cape is a 'bell' style, covering the entire body from head to toe, with no sleeves or slits, so it completely hugs the body and prevents the wearer from sinking. However, this also makes it impossible for the wearer to button the outer buttons, so they have to have you help them put it on.
And you also deliberately helped her button up the cloak completely before picking out the stitching and removing the outer wrapping, revealing the bright lapis lazuli color. At this time, she was already wrapped in the cloak, and even if you stretched your hand through the seam, you could only touch a limited place -"
Qian Deng said, picking up the green feather fur coat and pointing to the worn part of it: "If you reach your hand out from the collar, you will only be able to touch the small area between the chest and the abdomen along the collar."
Yan Penglai stared at the place where the feathers on the green feather fur coat disappeared. The sadness on his face gradually faded away, and he only let out a sigh of relief.
"What you draped on the princess wasn't the duck-cheek fur coat she gave you, but an identical cloak you made using the same material as the emerald feather fur coat. While you could have tampered with the duck-cheek fur coat, if it were found later, they'd quickly guess the cause of Princess Gao's death and your handiwork. So, you simply removed the gold thread from the collar of the duck-cheek fur coat and sewed it onto the emerald feather coat. You then brushed away the feathers from the areas she might touch, removed the down from the duck-cheek fur coat, and glued it back together neatly with fish glue, making it look like new.
While the repaired emerald feather fur coat undoubtedly had some irregularities, you deliberately secured the princess's cloak before removing the outer covering. The only part the princess could clearly see and touch was the duck-cheek feathers on her chest. Furthermore, during this tense moment of catastrophic change, Princess Gao couldn't possibly have removed it to examine every detail. I suspect you were also gambling on her negligence in the rush, and clearly, you were right.
Princess Gao, who was completely unaware of the situation, thought she could float on the water with her duck-cheek fur coat. With just a brief moment of buoyancy, she could grab the dredging rope in the bay of Qujiang Lake and pull the rope to float to a secluded place on the other side.
She had already arranged for a carriage from the mansion to pick her up, and in the secret compartment of the carriage were hidden her most cherished jewelry and treasures. Once she got ashore, she would immediately change her appearance and leave, thus escaping the disaster and paving the way for her daughter.
Following her plan, she pretended to slip and fall down the steps into the water, leaving a trail of mud.
But what she didn't expect was that Yan Penglai specifically reminded Jin Tang that the ropes in the water were full of dirt, so when the Jin family workers were arranging things on the water surface, they had already taken away the ropes in the river bend.
The cloak he had put on her with his own hands did not have the strength to support her when she slipped down the river bank. Instead, it quickly absorbed water, wrapped heavily around her body, and dragged her down into the water.
She struggled desperately, and the fish glue on her cloak melted in the water, and the bright down feathers quickly fell into the water. The knots that had been tampered with also fell off, and the emerald feather fur was quickly swept away by the water.
Princess Gao sank into the water. No matter how hard she struggled, she soon lost her voice and turned into a corpse with disheveled hair and a pale face that Shangluo saw under the fireworks.
The spring sunshine was still warm and gentle, but there was silence around the reflection pool. Everyone was silent for a long time because of the truth that was revealed.
For a long time, Shangluo stared at Yan Penglai in disbelief, muttering, "Then, where is the amulet that harmed me?"
Qian Deng stared at Yan Penglai and said slowly, "I think that should be the one that Princess Changyi knelt and begged for at Da Ci'en Temple, praying with her own fingertip blood mixed with cinnabar."
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