Chapter 153 Don’t Trust Anyone But Me
Xiao Yu seemed not at all surprised that someone would ask this question, and calmly said, "This is the first time that Xiangshi Xu has entered the palace. I was taking her for a walk around the palace, and I just happened to pass by."
Taking outsiders to visit the palace is not a good thing, but compared with murdering the queen, it is nothing.
"What a coincidence!" The Second Prince couldn't bite the Crown Prince anymore, so he turned around and bit Xiao Yu. "The Imperial Palace is so big, and you just happened to pass by the place where my mother had an accident. Even a dog wouldn't believe it if I told you that!"
Xiao Yu pried his hands apart without hesitation: "Second Prince, instead of dwelling on my appearance, why don't you think about how the Queen walked here from the Imperial Garden alone without anyone noticing? Where is the accompanying maid? Where is the head maid?"
"Young Master Xiao is right," the Crown Prince echoed. "Father, there are many suspicious circumstances surrounding our mother's death. We must thoroughly investigate."
"None of your business!" the Second Prince cursed, kneeling on the ground and hugging his mother's body. He said to the Emperor, "Father, I beg you to thoroughly investigate this case and personally apprehend the real culprit. I will not let my mother die in humiliation!"
Then he glared at the prince: "Don't let someone steal from the government and let muddy water escape!"
The emperor looked very unhappy.
Today is his birthday, which should have been a happy day for everyone to celebrate, but unexpectedly a murder occurred, and what a coincidence it was his first wife, the most noble woman, the queen.
As for sadness, he seemed to be far less sad than the second prince. Instead, he was mostly angry and irritable.
"You have been stimulated, which affects your judgment and makes you unsuitable for investigating the case." He rejected the second prince's request and began to look around at the people around him, selecting someone to investigate the case.
He looked at the Crown Prince and Xiao Yu standing at the front, Chen Zhaozhi who had come out to openly question Xiao Yu, and even the Grand Master who remained silent in the crowd...
"Shao Mingjie!" the emperor suddenly ordered, "You, the Dali Temple, are responsible for this case. You must thoroughly investigate the cause of the Queen's death. No suspicious person should be let off!"
Shao Mingjie thought of himself as just a bystander, and had no idea that he would be singled out by the emperor to take on a mission in a critical moment. He quickly scrambled forward from the back row and said, "Your Majesty, your Majesty obeys!"
The emperor sternly declared, "Anyone who left the banquet today, whether they are officials or servants, regardless of their status, are not allowed to leave the palace. All of them must stay in the temporary palace until the truth is revealed!"
"Your Majesty obeys!"
The ministers were naturally happy and worried when they heard this. Some were glad that they did not leave their seats and did not have to get involved, while others secretly sighed that they were unlucky and became suspects just by going to the toilet.
As the first eyewitnesses, Xu Chuchu and Xiao Yu could not escape responsibility, but thinking that she might have to stay in the palace for several days, she was a little worried about Daju who was sleeping in Xiao Yu's house.
There is a high probability that Big Orange will wake up today. When it wakes up, it will only see the note but not her. I wonder if it will wait at home obediently.
"Let's go, let's talk somewhere else." Xiao Yu whispered, leading her to a place with fewer people.
At this time, the crowd dispersed. Some were investigating the case, some were leaving the palace, and some were returning to the temporary palace.
Shao Mingjie also arranged for the queen's body and her clothes and jewelry to be moved away.
"Does the Emperor suspect you and the Crown Prince?" Xu Chuchu asked softly. "He didn't even want you to investigate the case, and asked Shao Mingjie to do it. But Shao Mingjie isn't the head of the Dali Temple, is he? Why assign him to this position?"
"Of course I doubt it." Xiao Yu said, seeing that no one was around. "The Crown Prince and the Second Prince have been fighting for a long time, involving many factions, including the head of the Dali Temple... The Dali Temple Minister is also a member of the Crown Prince's party. Only the Shao family has always remained neutral in the court, so the emperor directly appointed Shao Mingjie instead of the Dali Temple."
"I think Brother Shao doesn't seem too happy about it either." Xu Chuchu glanced at Shao Mingjie's sad face from a distance. "Such a difficult case, no matter how we investigate, we will offend people."
"Why would the Queen commit suicide?" she murmured to herself.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Yu responded decisively: "The Queen did not commit suicide."
"No?" Xu Chuchu was surprised. "But we saw her jump in with our own eyes. Do you suspect someone was controlling her? A living person can't be controlled, not even by the Grand Master."
"I'm not talking about manipulation, I'm analyzing her motives," Xiao Yu explained. "The Second Prince is incompetent, and his ability to rise to a position of power equal to the Crown Prince was all thanks to the Queen's secret manipulation. A few days ago, she was even trying to win over Minister Xia of War and Minister Bai of the Ministry of Revenue. It doesn't make sense for her to commit suicide so soon. Without her support, the Second Prince would never be a match for the Crown Prince."
Xiao Yu did not participate in the court struggle, but he was very clear about the situation and the actions of all parties.
"If she absolutely must commit suicide, then someone must have threatened her with something, forcing her to die..." He narrowed his eyes. "What could it be? Who is so powerful as to force her to commit suicide on the Emperor's birthday?"
He couldn't come up with an answer yet.
"Is the Crown Prince a suspect?" Xu Chuchu pondered. "According to what you just said, he would benefit the most from the Queen's death."
"We can't rule out his suspicion." Xiao Yu shook his head. "But the Crown Prince is very smart. He knew he was the most suspicious after the incident, so he was the first to stand up and demand a thorough investigation. When the Second Prince framed me, he also spoke up for me and didn't follow the Second Prince in throwing mud at me. This shows that he has nothing to fear."
"Right, right!" Xu Chuchu nodded vigorously. "I thought at the time that if he was the murderer, he would definitely push the blame onto you after hearing that the Second Prince had framed you. But he didn't, so he must be innocent."
These were all the insights she had gained from playing Werewolf online. When she applied them to solving cases, it turned out... they were useless.
"Fool." Xiao Yu stopped and gently scratched Xu Chuchu's nose. "You have to remember that every step these villains take has a purpose. Don't trust anyone except me."
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