69. Doubt
◎Prince, is this case closed?◎
Chapter 69
Yesterday at the beginning of Mao hour,
The sky was still dark, and Ji Ci woke up as usual. His little wife was still sleeping soundly in his arms, hugging him tightly, drooling on his pajamas.
When they first got married, he wasn't used to having a woman in his bed, especially one who kept rubbing against him. Every time she moved closer, he'd have to move to the side, giving her the entire bed, until he had no room to sleep and had to cuddle her. At first, she slept quite peacefully. Later, she became more aggressive, often even kicking him in the middle of the night.
As usual, he moved her off him and back onto the bed. She hummed a few times, seemingly dissatisfied, and then went back to sleep. He slowly and quietly got up, lit a candle, and quietly changed into the royal robes. Uncle Fu held the lamp and saw him off.
Today, Susu got up extra early and waited directly at the gate of the palace, blocking him with the cold wind.
That bitch would cling to Prince Qi whenever he returned to the palace. She had no chance to see Prince Qi alone, so she only found the only free time in the morning, which was before Ji Ci went to court.
"Your Majesty!"
Ji Ci saw Susu blocking him at the palace gate. He didn't understand why, so he just nodded and said, "Miss Chen, I wonder what's the important matter that got you up so early?"
"Your Highness, could you please ask everyone else to leave?" Susu glanced at Uncle Fu beside her. Seeing that Ji Ci didn't move, she said, "It's about the princess."
Ji Ci frowned and asked Uncle Fu to step back and wait.
"Go ahead."
Susu swallowed her saliva, stepped forward and handed the silver ear ring in her hand to Ji Ci, but he didn't take it, which made her feel a little embarrassed.
"Your Highness, my personal maid Qingling has been missing since the night before yesterday."
He didn't know what the disappearance of this rustling maid had to do with the princess, and he began to feel impatient.
"Miss Chen, your maid is missing. Go find Uncle Fu directly, or..." Ji Ci, who was about to speak to the princess, paused. Thinking that she didn't like to be disturbed, it would be better not to let anyone disturb her.
"Just go find Uncle Fu. If that doesn't work, you can report to Jingzhao Prefecture."
Susu was startled, gritted her teeth, and continued, "Your Highness, I know what you said, but I came to you to tell you this because I suspect Qingling's disappearance is related to the princess. Qingling must have been hidden by her."
Hearing this, Ji Ci's face turned unhappy. His wife said that Susu didn't like her. He initially thought it was an exaggeration, but he didn't expect that she would actually go to such an extent and come to him to slander him.
It was a dark night, and the two large lanterns hanging at the entrance of the palace swayed gently. The weak light from above made it impossible to see Ji Ci's expression.
Seeing that he remained silent, Susu continued, "Your Highness, I have evidence. I found this silver earring in the corner of Guihongyuan's bedroom. Qingling's disappearance must be related to it."
Ji Ci became increasingly impatient, his expression icy as he said, "Miss Chen, first of all, taking a silver earring like this doesn't prove anything. It's possible that you took it from your own room and claimed it was a maid's earring you found in Guihong Courtyard. Furthermore, why would your personal maid go to Guihong Courtyard without permission? Don't waste my time here."
After saying this, Ji Ci turned to leave, but Susuyi grabbed his sleeve anxiously. Ji Ci stopped, unhappy, and pulled his sleeve away directly.
"Ms. Chen, please respect yourself. I know you dislike my wife. Although you are Chen Zheng's daughter and I have promised to take care of you, I will not allow anyone to slander her at will."
Susu took two steps back in fear and mustered her courage. It seemed that if she didn't tell him everything, he would definitely not believe her. "Your Highness, I admit that it was me who allowed Qingling to sneak in through a dog hole in Guihong Courtyard and eavesdrop on the princess's private affairs."
Seeing the anger between his brows grow heavier, she could only speak rapidly, finishing her words in one go: "Your Highness, the Princess and the Prince of Wei must be having an affair! I did this because Qingling witnessed the Princess and the Prince of Wei having an affair at a banquet at the palace. I was worried that she was being unfaithful to Your Highness and deceiving Him, so I sent Qingling to monitor her. Qingling went to Guihong Court that night and never returned."
The disgust on her face grew stronger. "The next day, I was panicked and went to Guihong Court to look for Qingling. The princess denied having seen her, but I found this earring in the corner of the bedroom, which proves that Qingling had been to Guihong Court. She must have accidentally revealed her whereabouts and was discovered by the princess. She was afraid that her secret with the King of Wei would be exposed, so she hid her in some way. As long as we find Qingling, we will know the truth!"
"I can't believe this woman actually had a secret meeting with someone in the mansion. If Qingling hadn't seen it with her own eyes, the prince and we would have been kept in the dark. Does she still have any regard for the prince?
Ji Ci felt that this woman was becoming increasingly unreasonable. She wanted to spy on his wife and even slandered her openly. No wonder she begged him to drive Susu away.
"Ms. Chen, since your relationship with the princess is so incompatible, I will send you out of the palace in two days. It might be better for you to live outside. Taifu Tang and I will also find a husband for you as soon as possible."
After saying this, he ignored Susu's shocked expression and left.
She was horrified, but she refused to give up and said, "Your Highness, I am doing this for your own good! Your Highness, please don't be deceived by such a fickle woman. Your Highness, if Susu tells you even a single lie, you will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death!"
"Shut up!" Ji Ci's voice was not loud, but extremely cold.
Susu was startled and didn't dare to say anything more. She could only watch Ji Ci get on the carriage and leave, stamping her feet in resentment.
…
He didn't believe what Susu said, nor did he take it to heart until she unexpectedly died in Wenlan Courtyard. She had committed suicide by hanging, leaving behind a suicide note saying that Qingling had stolen her money and belongings and fled.
But judging from the way Susu looked in the morning, was she really someone who would commit suicide?
In addition, the Qingling she described was completely different from what was said in the suicide note.
However, he was unwilling to doubt his princess from the bottom of his heart. He knew all her schemes and had always considered them insignificant. Whether it was the rumors she had spread, the drugging she had given him, or the instigation of his rebellion, he had never considered her a vicious woman who treated human life as worthless.
But there were many doubts in this case, which forced him to think deeply.
His princess was so weak and unable to take care of herself, a clingy and spoiled girl. He could see that every time she saw him, the excitement in her eyes was real, and her dependence on him was real.
He had never seen such a lovely woman, who made him constantly lower his bottom line for her.
Perhaps, an outsider invaded the palace without anyone noticing and killed Susu?
But Sisi lives in seclusion and rarely goes out. Who would hate Sisi so much for such an obviously purposeful vendetta, and at the same time have such great martial arts skills that he could evade the palace's secret guards?
Ji Ci was restless the whole day and didn't even hear the emperor calling him. He was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses.
He even thought about Chen Zheng's enemies, but in the end all possibilities were denied, and he felt more and more uneasy.
After noon, the Jingzhao Yin came to report to him on the progress of the case. This investigation, coupled with the final autopsy by the coroner and the suicide note as physical evidence, showed that it was undoubtedly suicide.
"My Lord, is the case closed?"
Jingzhao Yin looked at Ji Ci, who seemed to be in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking about. He spoke more cautiously, and seeing that he didn't say anything, he didn't dare to urge him.
After a long silence, Ji Ci replied, "Let's close the case."
He did not tell the Jingzhao Yin what he had said yesterday morning when Sisi came to look for him.
"Yes, Your Highness." Jingzhao Yin breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, Prince Qi gave people an extremely cold feeling today.
After Jingzhao Yin left, Ji Ci privately called Tian Qu and instructed him, "Although the case in Jingzhao Prefecture has been closed, I need you to continue investigating Susu's death privately."
Tian Qu was stunned and asked, "Hasn't the case been closed and confirmed to be suicide?"
"I simply feel that Sisu isn't someone who would commit suicide. Go investigate Sisu's connections, as well as Chen Zheng's connections, to see if they have any enemies. Then, check the palace for any loopholes that could allow an outside intruder to enter."
"Yes! Your Majesty."
Ji Ci nodded and allowed him to leave, but when he reached the door, he was stopped again, "Wait."
He walked up to Tian Qu, hesitated for a long time, his eyes darkening, and finally said, "Go to Pu'en Temple and bring me the monk who gave the lecture yesterday and the young novice monk who is in charge of receiving guests."
Tianqu didn't quite understand, but he just agreed.
"Bring it privately and don't let anyone know." Ji Ci added with a serious look.
"Yes! Your Majesty."
…
Jiang Qiuye acted out a night of fear and went to bed late. The next day, she slept until noon and went straight to lunch. Although she was panicking, judging by Ji Ci's reaction last night, there should be no problem.
After lunch, she strolled around the garden she had taken care of. The rockery, flowing water, subtle fragrance and sparse shadows, everything was simple yet luxurious, making her very satisfied with this home.
Suddenly, she noticed that the palace guards seemed to be circling the wall, finally converging at a waterway, discussing something. Jiang Qiuye naturally knew that waterway; she had used it before to rescue Queen Zhuo Jun.
Seeing Tianqu coming out of the Guihongyuan study and preparing to leave, Jiang Qiuye quickly called him and asked in confusion, "Tianqu, what are you doing?"
Tian Qu immediately bowed to the princess and said, "It's the prince's order. We have to search all the loopholes in the palace to prevent thieves from finding them and breaking in."
"I see." Although Jiang Qiuye was puzzled as to why he suddenly found a loophole, he did not think too much about it.
"Princess, I have something important to do at Pu'en Temple. I will take my leave now."
Porn Temple?
Jiang Qiuye's eyebrows jumped. Why did they suddenly want to go to Pu'en Temple?
"Go wait a minute."
"Yes, I wonder if the princess has any other instructions?" Tian Qu turned around again, very respectful.
Jiang Qiuye smiled sweetly and asked, "I wonder what you are doing at Pu'en Temple today?"
"This..." Tianqu remembered that the prince had instructed that this matter should be done in private and not let anyone know.
"Ah, that's right. I've always heard that wishes at Pu'en Temple are very effective. I went to the temple a while ago, but my wish didn't come true. I wondered if my heart wasn't sincere enough, and I'm thinking of going back later. But as you know, the palace has been so uneasy lately, and I'm afraid. Hearing that you were going to Pu'en Temple made me even more worried. I don't know if I should go again."
Jiang Qiuye's voice was like a gentle breeze, making it hard to refuse his request. Tian Qu scratched his head, thinking that since the prince and princess were so close now, the princess must not be an outsider, but also his master. If he talked to the princess about this matter, everything would be fine.
"Oh, Princess, don't worry. The prince ordered me to go to Pu'en Temple and bring back the monk who preaches the scriptures and the young monk who receives guests. I don't know the specific reason. But Pu'en Temple is very safe, so you can still go."
"Thank you for clearing up my confusion. Now go and do your work without delay."
Jiang Qiuye smiled as she sent Tian off, and then returned to the dormitory seemingly at ease. Only after she closed the door did she collapse and sit down on the floor.
It was obvious that Ji Ci suspected her. She had gone to Pu'en Temple on the day Susu died. If she didn't suspect him, why would she have brought the monk and the young novice back?
She did go to Pu'en Temple that day, but she did not listen to the sutras at all. She asked Mingyue to wait outside, and she went into the room and then slipped back directly.
Jiang Qiuye bit her lips tightly, her hands trembled, her heart beat wildly, as if she had fallen into a pool of water and couldn't breathe.
Well, she wasn't actually afraid of having her identity and vicious side discovered, of being imprisoned or tortured, but she was terrified of facing Ji Ci. If he knew everything, all her lies, he would surely withdraw his love and protection. After all, besides a psychopath like Ji Kang, who in this world would love a vicious, murderous woman with a heart of a snake and scorpion?
He lowered so many bottom lines for himself and revealed the secrets buried deep in his heart in front of her. He trusted herself so much, but he didn't expect that she was a liar who deceived his feelings and his information.
What should she do now?
Jiang Qiuye leaned on the table beside her to stand, but her legs were so weak that they trembled. She finally stood up with great difficulty. She didn't know where she had gone wrong to make him suspect her. But based on her experience, she knew that sitting still and waiting for death was not an option.
Suddenly, she felt the hibiscus jade pendant at her waist, and a wave of sadness and fear filled her heart. He would definitely discover the truth behind Susu's death; it was only a matter of time.
Perhaps, she wanted to place another big bet, this time not only on his kindness, but also on his feelings for her.
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