"Butler Lin is your man."
In the stillness of the night, Xiao Fengque uttered those words with unwavering conviction.
"The Prince of Nanxiang does not trust you, his first wife, but he trusts this steward who has been with him for many years. All matters related to banquets and entertainment are handled by Steward Lin."
"Butler Lin had a smooth crack carved into the table that Prince Nanxiang was going to use, and then covered it with a fruit plate."
"Your martial arts skills are high, but you are far from being able to drive a dagger into the air."
"When the incident occurred, you fired several hidden weapons from a distance, causing chaos. Taking advantage of the confusion, Butler Lin moved the fruit plate aside and inserted a dagger he had prepared beforehand."
Xiao Fengque drew his dagger, a smug look on his face: "Just like that, a peerless assassin has been created."
Madam Du's face was solemn, and she remained silent.
"Let me think, who else can cooperate with you?"
Xiao Fengque leisurely circled around Madam Du, pondering, "That concubine who was held in the arms of the Prince of Nanxiang back then?"
Madam Du's face was like a sculpture.
“I heard from the guards of the Prince of Nanxiang that when the incident happened, you arrived at the scene immediately and cleaved the table in two with a single sword.”
Xiao Fengque spoke in a light tone, his eyes gleaming with the pride of a young swordsman: "You acted so quickly simply because you were afraid that someone else would pull out the dagger before you and discover the trick. After all, if someone had made a move then, they would have found that the dagger was as easy to remove as if it were stuck in tofu."
The more Xiao Fengque spoke, the more excited he became: "Of course, although that old bastard Prince Nanxiang was so scared he wet his pants, we can't rule out the possibility that he might suddenly rush over and pull out a dagger. The concubine he was holding in his arms at the time might have pretended to unintentionally press down on him to buy time?"
“But,” Fifth Sword, who was in charge of guarding the private prison, looked reluctant, “if you want to kill the Prince of Nanxiang, with Madam Du’s abilities, you can do it. Why make such a big fuss and pin it on Tian Juan?”
Madam Du is a generous and magnanimous woman with a chivalrous spirit, and the Thirteen Eccentrics have a great fondness for her.
"This problem..." Xiao Fengque snapped his fingers, a hint of disdain in his eyes. "Fifth brother, not everyone is like you, a naked 200-pounder who only cares about himself. Madam Du comes from a military family, with thousands of members—the Prince of Nanxiang was personally appointed by the late emperor as a prince of a different surname. Do you think human life is like lunch, with the next meal after this one?"
Fifth Sword's face flushed red: "My surname is Fifth! Fifth! It's Fifth Sword, not Fifth Sword!"
“That’s right,” Yan Sandao agreed. “Furthermore, Madam Du and Prince Nanxiang have not shared a bed for ten years and are very wary of each other. When I came, I explored the entire mansion. Prince Nanxiang has raised many highly skilled guards and assassins in the shadows. Although their martial arts skills are not as good as ours, they have the advantage of numbers.”
In other words, Lady Du, the first wife, could hardly get close to the Prince of Nanxiang most of the time.
"Clap clap clap".
Xiao Fengque clapped his hands and said, "Now, let's review the whole incident."
"Lady Du had had enough of her husband, Prince Nanxiang, and wanted to kill him."
"But this old man cherishes his life, and his guards are always around him, making it difficult to get close to him. Besides, Madam Du's family can't afford such a burden."
"Having reached her breaking point, Madam Du finally came up with a plan—she joined forces with Steward Lin and bribed the favored concubine to devise the scheme I just mentioned."
"Ordinary assassins from the martial world are no match for Prince Nanxiang; he'll simply strengthen his defenses to make it harder for Madam Du to strike. But if it's a master assassin like Tian Juan, who is elusive and renowned throughout the land, then it's a different story. He'll be thrown into disarray and make a series of blunders—"
"Therefore, Mr. Du went to great lengths to devise this series of interconnected schemes..."
As Xiao Fengque delivered his lines, a scene of Madam Du and Steward Lin plotting appeared on the screen.
"As expected, the Prince of Nanxiang, who cherished his life, was immediately terrified by the dagger that flew from afar and penetrated deep into the wood. He saw everyone as Tian Juan and could not even trust his own private army, which was surrounded by layers of soldiers.
"Steward Lin seized the opportunity and offered the Prince of Nanxiang a plan to substitute one thing for another. He suggested that the Prince of Nanxiang use a bodyguard to fake his death, while he himself would hide and reappear after three days."
"The King of Nanxiang adopted this plan, and the poor scapegoat died—while the King of Nanxiang himself went into hiding. Of course, the old man also put a second layer of protection on himself by creating that bounty. But this only muddied the waters further, meaning it made his death even faster."
"Butler Lin immediately told Madam Du where the Prince of Nanxiang was hiding. The Prince of Nanxiang was like a dazed mouse, who happened to run right into the clutches of Madam Du, the cat."
"Madam Du originally planned to torture the Prince of Nanxiang and then let him die quietly as an unknown soldier. Unexpectedly, halfway through the torture, Madam Du suddenly learned that we had gone to examine the body. She had no choice but to immediately send her guards to stop us. She herself took advantage of the chaos and sneaked in, intending to steal the body of the scapegoat."
"At the same time, taking advantage of this opportunity, the Prince of Nanxiang ran away."
Xiao Fengque shrugged: "Everyone knows what happened next. I chased after Madam Du out the door, but she knew the layout of the Prince's Mansion well and made me completely disoriented."
The crowd burst into laughter.
"If things had continued like this, I might never have caught Madam Du. But then that old bastard, Prince Nanxiang, showed up and ran right into Madam Du. Madam Du killed him with a single blow."
"To prevent me from discovering the body and Madam Du, Butler Lin changed into night clothes and came out to take the blame for Madam Du. I caught him."
At this point, Xiao Fengque paused slightly, revealing a hint of regret: "It was my carelessness. If I had been more careful at the time, I would have discovered that the person's core had been replaced."
“You have done very well,” Madam Du suddenly said. “If you weren’t unfamiliar with the layout of the Prince’s mansion, I would have been caught by you eight hundred times over.”
Xiao Fengque waved his hand and joked, "I am naturally pleased to receive your praise, Madam. However, the case still needs to be concluded."
"While we were fighting the guards, Madam Du took advantage of the chaos to throw the body of the Prince of Nanxiang into the crowd, and then put out the counterfeit Tianjuan sachet—this fine chamber pot was firmly placed on Tianjuan's head."
"Smack."
Xiao Fengque clapped his hands: "I'm done speaking, Madam Du. Do you have anything to correct?"
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