Chapter 95: Way Out
Qian Deng said this and looked at Cui Fufeng: "Shaoqing Cui, have the evidence fished out of Qujiang Pond been delivered?"
Cui Fufeng nodded and signaled the Dali Temple servants who had been waiting nearby to bring up the green feather cloak that had been fished out of the Qujiang Pond.
The cloak had been fished out for many days and had already dried out. The feathers had faded and wilted, but the signs of wear and tear on it could still be clearly seen.
Qiandeng's fingertips stroked it, and she said, "This cloak is a emerald feather fur coat. It's made by dyeing various bird feathers and woven into wool. Although it fades in contact with water, it's a brilliant blue-gold cloak for everyday wear. I and many other noble ladies in Chang'an own one. Princess Gao's rare duck cheek fur coat is made from tufts of whole mallard duck down, and it's soft and velvety. The emerald feather fur coat, on the other hand, is made from short, cut bird feathers. It feels a bit rougher and prickly, and you can tell the difference right away. But since they're both emerald feather fabrics, once the feathers are brushed and smoothed, they don't look much different."
All the gentlemen knew this very well. On the night of New Year's Day, they had waited together outside the Daming Palace and had seen her and Xiao Fuyu's idle chatter about the cloak.
"After Princess Gao drowned, we re-explored Qujiang Pond and found this cloak of unknown origin tucked among the water plants in the bend near the waterside pavilion."
"Impossible..." Jin Tang frowned and said with certainty, "We were going to set off fireworks to celebrate a birthday that day. I led the workers to carefully clean the river, but I was busy by the river for most of the day, and there was definitely no such cloak in it!"
"If that's the case, then it must have been left behind after the cleanup that day. But at the time, the only people in the pavilion besides me were men, so it's impossible for someone to come here wearing a green feather fur coat. And there's no such cloak in the princess's mansion. So, where did it come from? Of all the people who were by that river bend during the time Princess Gao was in trouble, who could have brought it here, and who could have discarded it in the bay?"
Qiandeng asked, his eyes sweeping over the young men as he rubbed the futon in his hands. "Actually, the answer lies in the birthday gifts everyone gave me that day—Young Master Ling brought a box into the garden with only enough space for a pair of armlets; Shangluo pulled the bird pendant straight from his bosom; Young Master Meng's orchid, difficult to store, naturally came with it in his arms; Young Master Xue held a scroll, and Lieutenant Ji carried the rolled-up royal flag, neither of which was wrapped; Shaoqing Cui held a scroll in his sleeve; Prince Mingjiu carried a sheep—it seems only Young Master Yan brought a package, containing the futon for me."
Yan Penglai looked at her silently and said reluctantly, "I think it would be awkward for a grown man like me to carry a futon with me. It would be better if I wrapped myself up."
"Yes, and because the futon is soft, if you tie the package tightly, the silk floss inside can be compressed very small, and the extra cloak will not be noticed. And after taking out the cloak, your package will loosen, and the stretched futon will appear larger. No one will notice that the size of your package has changed."
Jin Tang was puzzled and hesitant: "But why did he go there with a woman's cloak? And what does it have to do with Princess Gao's death?"
"Because Princess Gao didn't want to die. She prepared a chance for herself to escape—the duck-cheek feather cloak."
While the others were still confused and stunned, Ling Tianshui and Cui Fufeng, who were familiar with the inside story, had already connected the whole story thanks to her few words and quickly knew everything.
Everyone's eyes fell on Yan Penglai.
His face, which usually looked vague and trance-like, was now covered with a layer of icy texture, and the plum blossoms from three thousand realms beyond were frozen in the glazed ice and snow.
"The court is in turmoil, beset by internal and external difficulties. The Princess Gao's mansion has reached its end. Historically, when a princess loses power, her fate is worse than death. She wants to save the mansion and protect her daughter, so she left a suicide note, hoping to end the Queen's hatred and the hostility in the court with her own death."
All of you gentlemen are more or less aware of the horror of political turmoil, and you also know that Princess Gao was purged after her death, so you can somewhat understand why Princess Gao chose this path.
"But even ants try to survive, let alone the eldest princess, who had lived a life of wealth and extravagance. So, although she wrote a suicide note, she kept it under her pillow and never delivered it. This allowed Prince Mingjiu, who had come to cause trouble, to discover it. However, after being frightened by the horse head and nightmares, she found a way to survive."
At this point, Qian Deng turned to Cui Fufeng and asked, "Master Cui, do you still remember what Su Wan, the lady-in-waiting of the Princess's residence, once said to us?"
Cui Fufeng naturally knew what she was referring to. "I remember. Princess Gao woke up from a nightmare that day and, in a rage, wanted to fill up the pond in the Princess Mansion. Su Wan, the court lady, tried to dissuade her, but she kicked her into the pond instead. Fortunately, she was wearing waterproof silk cotton and floated on the surface, escaping with her life."
After hearing this, everyone's faces finally showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.
"Obviously, Princess Gao, like everyone else, has discovered that even those who can't swim don't necessarily die if they fall into the water. Soft, thick cotton can temporarily prevent a person from sinking, so a light, oily, and waterproof duck-cheek feather cloak should be able to easily lift someone in the water." Qian Deng said slowly, "Of course, if you want to avoid disaster by escaping death, you have to take all necessary measures. The first thing you have to plan is how to create a believable death. It just so happens that she had that nightmare of drowning, so she can use it as a premonition to add a footnote to her own 'death'. With a layer of mystery, people will naturally believe it more.
"Secondly, it's about her future after 'death'. This was naturally not difficult for the Grand Princess. When Mingjiu broke into the Princess's mansion at night, she was just faking the illusion of a thief stealing. The jewelry and valuables were enough to ensure her luxurious lifestyle. She mentioned in her suicide note that when Princess Changyi became the Crown Princess, the Queen went insane, and the Crown Prince ascended the throne, she would eventually be honored and favored again. Before, I and everyone else thought that this return of favor meant honor after death. But in fact, it refers to the day when she returns to the court! When she reappears, she only needs to say that she fell into the water before, but was lucky enough to be rescued downstream. She was just frightened by the fall and forgot what happened before. Now she remembers her identity and returns to the capital. Wouldn't everything be natural then?
"Third, to conceal her actions from everyone, she needed a helper. Her daughter should have been her best support, but Princess Changyi had been pampered from childhood, so how could she endure humiliation? If they knew she was faking suicide, they would quickly expose her true colors to the Emperor and Empress. And the people in the palace would surely be rigorously interrogated after something happened to her. So, she had to choose someone who wasn't physically by her side, but who could actually be under her control..."
At this point, Qian Deng turned to look at the silent Yan Penglai: "And Yan Langjun, who had received her favor in the past, and with whom she had broken up on the surface but secretly had an affair, is obviously her best choice."
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