1. Tragedy
◎Death by poison◎
Chapter 1
The sun and the moon are in conjunction, and the five planets are in a line. It is said that today is a very auspicious day that only happens once in a hundred years in the Jin Dynasty. It is a good day for getting married and offering sacrifices.
Her newlywed husband died suddenly.
After more than ten years of undefeated missions, the company failed on its first mission.
A gentle rain had just fallen, and as darkness fell, the general's residence was immersed in the joyous atmosphere of welcoming a new bride. But now, from outside, screams could be heard continuously.
The cool autumn air and the blood finally overshadowed the great joy.
The slatted window was propped open a crack, and the cold wind, with a faint sound, sneaked into the bright red bridal chamber. The candles were swaying, and ghostly haunted the girl who was hiding behind the cabinet, wearing a wedding dress and a phoenix crown.
The bridal chamber had just been ransacked, with wine and black blood spilled all over the floor, along with crushed osmanthus cake and torn red gauze.
Jiang Qiuye didn't move, still holding the wedding wine cup that he had just drunk from but hadn't had time to put back.
There was no emotion on his harmless face. He was just feeling the atmosphere outside the house, his fingers gently stroking the rim of the cup, feeling a little irritated.
She stretched her head and looked at the body lying on the ground, already cold and stiff. Her husband's face was filled with shock when he died, and he pointed at her with a trembling hand, unable to speak. Now his eyes were rolled back, black blood still flowed from his mouth, and his limbs were twisted into a strange shape after violent convulsions.
It's so unlucky.
With a "bang", the huge object smashed into the outer wall, followed by a star-shaped streak of blood splattering on the window frame.
After the miserable scream stopped, the footsteps quickly faded away.
Jiang Qiuye narrowed her eyes at the bloodstain and finally took action. She went to her dressing table, removed the heavy phoenix crown, and pulled out a piece of red ribbon to tie her loose hair back casually.
He then rummaged through the small cabinet and found a dagger, the only sharp blade in the room.
Now I have to leave here. Since my old husband is dead, there is no need to stay any longer.
Jiang Qiuye tiptoed to the door and slowly opened it a crack. The irrational man in black was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a maid's body lay at the doorway, her throat slit and eyes wide open.
After confirming again and again, Jiang Qiuye kicked the maid's body away casually and walked out of the bridal chamber.
I don’t know which enemy hated the general’s mansion so much that he even spared the maid and servant.
Jiang Qiuye made many turns and walked quickly towards the main gate of the General's Mansion. The autumn rain was icy cold, and he couldn't help but shiver a few times, but he didn't stop walking.
On the way, several men in black came towards them. Jiang Qiuye didn't want to deal with them too much, so he quickly found a woodshed to hide from the disaster and quietly took out the dagger he had just found.
Two or three people passed by the woodshed and asked in a vague and rough voice, "Where is the person? Didn't a figure just pass by? It looked like a woman."
It was dark in the woodshed. She pursed her lips, took out a dagger, and stared at the man's neck outside the crack in the door.
Before she could move, another man in black said, "You must be mistaken. I don't see anyone. The Zhang family is almost dead. The order has been given to evacuate. Let's go."
"Retreat? Hurry up and leave."
After a while, there was no more movement outside, leaving only the empty darkness.
They are lucky.
Jiang Qiuye smelled the blood in the air, opened the crooked wooden door, and walked out of the woodshed.
When he was walking to the main building, before he could react, there was a chaotic sound of horse hooves, and the door of the general's mansion was suddenly forced open.
Beams of fire poured into the courtyard, and cavalrymen in silver armor surrounded the general's mansion until no one could get in or out.
"Yulin Guards! Don't move!"
The leader rode on a tall black horse and slowly stepped into the porch. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and was wearing a black cloak. His eyebrows were sharp and his jawline was sharp. He silently glanced at the corpses scattered around him.
In the flickering firelight, Jiang Qiuye could glimpse that his body seemed a little different from that of ordinary people, a little sick and thin.
Jiang Qiuye frowned, and without time to dodge or adjust his expression, he directly looked into the man's eyes. It was as if he was in an icy cellar, and the chill climbed up his spine along his heels.
When the two armored guards saw that Jiang Qiuye was the only living person, they quickly stepped forward and pinned Jiang Qiuye down, forcing him to kneel on the ground.
A slight pain came from her knee, and she felt irritated. She sighed secretly and slowly raised her head, a look of grievance on her face. Then her peach blossom eyes reddened and she spoke softly to the man, "Sir, I am innocent. I have been hiding in the room. I just came out when I saw it was safe outside."
The man just glanced at the beauty with tears in her eyes, turned his head away indifferently, and said nothing.
Could this person be mute?
Wouldn't it be normal for ordinary people to be filled with lust when seeing a beautiful woman crying...
No, was it pity? But he wouldn't let these two clueless soldiers let her go.
Difficult...
The man didn't say anything, but finally gave Jiawei a look, and Jiang Qiuye was pulled up and stood waiting.
Yu Lin Lang searched everywhere in the mansion.
After a while, someone stepped forward and bowed to the leading man, reporting, "Your Highness, everyone in this mansion—servants, maids, guards, and even the women—was killed by a single slash to the throat. The killer seemed to have noticed something and retreated early."
Prince?
Now, those who have been crowned as kings and are still allowed to stay in the capital include the second prince of the Jin Dynasty, Prince Liang, the fourth prince, Prince Wei, and the emperor's younger brother, Prince Qi.
This person may be one of these people.
Suddenly, another person rushed forward and shouted in a stern voice: "Report, Your Majesty, a body was found in the bridal chamber. It is different from the other bodies. It seems to have died of poisoning."
The man she was talking about must be her old husband.
Jiang Qiuye's body swayed, her face showing no guilt. She continued to cry, "That's... my husband..."
Every word and sentence makes me feel pity. The beauty is as graceful as a startled swan and as graceful as a swimming dragon.
The two soldiers who were holding her looked at each other for a moment. It turned out that this was the new bride of the general's mansion. The two of them seemed to secretly reduce the strength of their hands.
"lead the way."
It turns out that this person is not mute.
The sound is... quite nice...
Jiang Qiuye glanced up quietly and saw the man dismount from his horse. Several armored guards led the way and followed him all the way to the bridal chamber.
Seeing this, Jiang Qiuye was also pushed forward by the two people who were holding her. She felt helpless, but could only pretend to be extremely frightened, trembling so much that she could not walk.
Her husband was a prominent figure, personally appointed by the emperor as a Second Rank General of the Great Jin Dynasty after the Battle of Pinghui. With her entire family tragically killed, she missed the best opportunity to leave, and now she feared she couldn't leave Shengjing.
Jiang Qiuye watched the tall man walking steadily ahead, and as time passed, she couldn't help but feel a little flustered. The first time she saw his expression, she knew he was not someone to be trifled with.
After passing the last class, she finally returned to where Jiang Qiuye was originally, the bridal chamber where her old husband died tragically.
The man didn't check the body immediately after entering. He just glanced at the people around him. Several coroners came forward to turn the body over. He just walked around the room and casually opened Jiang Qiuye's dressing box.
While waiting for the coroner to perform a simple autopsy, he finally turned back and stared at Jiang Qiuye, narrowing his eyes slightly and said, "Mrs. Zhang, please explain what you saw happen."
Jiang Qiuye felt a little unhappy when she heard the name, but she suppressed it. Her face was still covered with tears. She glanced at her old husband lying on the ground and seemed to burst into tears again. She burped and said, "Sir, please forgive me. I really don't know who was so cruel tonight. When we reached the auspicious time in the bridal chamber, my husband and I had just finished drinking the wedding wine. But just a moment later, he suddenly had a stomachache and vomited black blood all over the floor. Then he lost consciousness."
As she spoke, Jiang Qiuye quietly raised her eyes to glance at the man, and continued, "Later, I wanted to go out of the room to look for the maid, but I heard the sound of swords and a group of people walking around outside. I was scared for a moment, so I hid in the room. The group of men in black entered the room and searched it casually. When they didn't find me, they left."
The man nodded, walked closer to the bed, and checked the spot where the deceased had fallen. With a cold gleam in his face, he looked again at Jiang Qiuye, who was not far away, and said, "According to what you said, you were poisoned and vomited blood after drinking the wedding wine. You were so close to each other, and the deceased was facing the bed before his death, and he was ready for sex. Why is your body clean, without a trace of blood?"
Jiang Qiuye's heart skipped a beat. She lowered her eyes and frowned. When she raised her eyes, she looked innocent again. Her golden beans kept falling to the ground. She said tremblingly, "Sir, my husband had a stomachache after drinking. I immediately stood up and wanted to call for help, but before I could get far, he vomited blood and died. Sir, you won't suspect me, will you? I am weak and unarmed..."
As Jiang Qiuye was crying, she staggered as if she was angry, and a dagger fell from her body with a bang.
She looked down, cursed inwardly, and then looked back up at the person who was raising an eyebrow.
Unarmed, Jiang Qiuye awkwardly picked up the dagger from the ground, handed it forward, and explained, "This... something so terrible happened outside, so I found a dagger to defend myself... But I'm powerless, that's the truth..."
She lowered her eyes and suddenly recalled her burly old husband, the General of Cavalry. Before he vomited blood, she quickly realized that she really disliked this man and felt extremely disgusted. The moment he touched her shoulder, she was pushed off the bed by a palm and fell several feet to the ground.
I don't know if it was because of that fall that the poison took effect faster.
Of course, these people must not know this.
The man leaned forward slightly and saw that the dagger was spotless, with no trace of blood on the handle or blade. It seemed he hadn't had the opportunity to clean a bloody dagger during this trip.
He raised his eyes again and looked at Jiang Qiuye. She had a soft and tender oval face, very pure facial features, but a pair of affectionate and lustful eyes.
In short, it seems that she is weak and unable to take care of herself, harmless to humans and animals, and unable to even tie a chicken.
He looked away, not lingering on her face for long.
The coroner quickly finished the examination and came forward with the wedding wine cup on the table, saying respectfully, "Your Highness, I have discovered that all the food in the room is not poisonous, and the wedding wine is also not poisonous. Only the rim of the male cup used by the general is stained with poison, while Madam Zhang's female cup is not poisonous."
After observing the wine glass, the man waved his hand to let him leave.
Later, when he turned around, he found that the cabinets piled up in the corner of the room were too hidden and no one had checked them, so he walked straight away.
Jiang Qiuye watched the man's movements quietly, his fists clenched under his bright red sleeves, his heart beating faster and faster.
The man opened the small cabinets layer by layer, paused, took out a few herbs and sniffed them, then looked at Jiang Qiuye who was a little panicked not far away.
He sneered, "You have collected quite a lot of poisonous weeds in this room."
Jiang Qiuye lowered her eyes, a hint of impatience flashed in them, she bit her lip, raised her eyes with fear and trepidation, and pretended to rush towards him, crying softly, "Sir, my husband's death has nothing to do with this herb. Let me explain..."
She gently touched the man's brocade sleeve, and a light fragrance filled his nose. His arm felt a little itchy, causing him to frown uncomfortably and take a step back.
Jiang Qiuye was suddenly forced to his knees by a personal guard beside him, who sternly shouted, "How dare you! This is His Royal Highness Prince Qi."
King Qi?
This person turned out to be the famous Prince Qi Jici.
It would be fine if it was the emperor's other two useless sons, but I heard that this man is not only not interested in women, but also very shrewd, so the beauty trap is definitely useless.
If we end up falling into the hands of Prince Qi, even if we lose a layer of skin, it will not be enough.
Ji Ci withdrew his gaze and did not react to Jiang Qiuye's behavior just now. Although the possibility of her killing everyone in the mansion was low, she was still a major suspicion in the death of the general.
"Take all suspects and evidence to the Criminal Department for examination."
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Reading Guide/Spoiler Warning:
1. The heroine is not a perfectly moral person. She is cold-blooded, a bit of a green tea drama queen, and even a bit psychotic. However, the heroine is not born bad. Her past experiences and encounters have shaped her character. The heroine is not gorgeous, but very beautiful, very sweet and cute, and a spoiled child.
2. The heroine is a bit silly by nature. She is very strong in martial arts, but slightly inferior in political strategy. Especially after she falls in love with the hero, her emotions and rationality are often affected by him.
3. As for the male protagonist, he also had a very miserable experience in the past. He can be said to be a fool in love, stubborn and stubborn. As he slowly gets along with the female protagonist, he finds that, oh, this is what it feels like to love someone.
Our male protagonist is essentially a love-brained person.
This is a story of two-way redemption. The heroine has committed many immoral acts, but due to their different upbringings, she has a completely different personality from the hero, and lacks a deep understanding of kindness and love. However, as they interact, she is gradually influenced by his inner kindness, discovering the goodness deep within her. This is the heroine's character development throughout the story, her transformation from a cold-blooded person to a kindhearted one.
5. The main focus is on the emotional line, and some intrigues and detective stories are to assist the emotional line.
6. The characters' personalities are all related to their past experiences. The characters' values do not represent the author's values.
7. This is a fictional history, and many of the settings are based on the Tang Dynasty, so please do not verify them.
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