Chi Yan had the list of those on night duty. Without anyone else needing to say anything, he had already picked out a few names from the list and asked them to come before the Emperor.
One of the Imperial Guards stepped forward, looking somewhat flustered: "Your Majesty, we are conducting our routine inspections. It's not just Consort Rou's camp; we need to check every place."
Emperor Chongde remained silent, but Chi Yan spoke up to explain: "That's right, it's for everyone's safety. Something happened during the day, so I dare not be careless and can only ask the patrolmen to be more vigilant."
Someone couldn't help but say sarcastically, "Even if Commander Chi is cautious, things still went wrong, didn't they?"
Chi Yan slightly turned his head, his tone calm: "As the saying goes, it's easy to block a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. Hasn't Lord Li heard this principle?"
Before the other party could respond, he continued, his words laced with sarcasm, "The other party intended to harm people, and I do not possess the ability to foresee the future. It is indeed my dereliction of duty that I failed to detect the danger in time, and I will certainly apologize to His Majesty. However, Lord Li places all the blame on me, while remaining completely silent about the sinister intentions of the person behind it all. Are you perhaps trying to cover for the other party?"
Lord Li was so angered by his retort that his face turned red. He glared at him and said, "Nonsense! When did I ever mean that?"
Realizing that he was eloquent and not someone to be trifled with, the others who were itching to make a move immediately shut their mouths.
Emperor Chongde's expression shifted between light and dark: "Alright, stop arguing! You're all so capable, why don't you help me solve this problem and tell me who the real murderer is?"
Lord Li looked embarrassed and dared not utter a word.
How could he know who the murderer was?
Everyone has their own version of events, and while no one seems to be a suspect, it's also as if everyone is a suspect.
Shen Tangning was lost in thought with her eyes down when her gaze suddenly caught something. An idea struck her, and she suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, I have an idea, but I don't know if it's feasible."
In the silence, her sudden voice drew everyone's attention, their eyes filled with surprise:
Has she gone mad? Most people would rather stay away from something like this, so why is she taking it upon herself?
If we fail to find the murderer and incur His Majesty's wrath, we will become a laughingstock!
Chi Yan also frowned and looked over, but when he saw her calm and composed expression, he felt a sense of relief.
She must have made some discovery.
Emperor Chongde's gaze fell on Shen Tangning, and he raised an eyebrow: "Oh? What brilliant idea does Young Madam Chi have?"
Shen Tangning stepped forward respectfully, her eyes shining brightly in the firelight, her words clear and fluent, drawing everyone's attention: "In full view of everyone, if that person wanted to wipe away the insect repellent powder outside the Empress's tent and then put the poisonous snake inside, he certainly wouldn't dare to be too blatant, nor should he linger too long. So how did he manage to do it?"
Consort Rou gazed at her intently. The dim firelight cast a soft glow on her face, and she stood there calmly and composedly, even the strands of her hair seemed to glow.
"And what is your opinion, Madam Chi?"
With a slight twitch of his lips, Shen Tangning calmly met her gaze and slowly spoke: "This humble woman speculates that in his haste, fearing discovery, he could only crush the powder with his feet, which would have meant that some of it would have gotten on the soles of his shoes."
"So as long as we gather those suspicious people together and order them to take off their boots in public to check if the soles of their shoes are stained with medicine powder, we can deduce the real culprit."
She finished speaking calmly and slowly, and the room fell silent.
Some people have raised the question: "But what if the powder on the soles of your shoes runs out after walking for a long time?"
Shen Tangning curved her lips into a smile: "That's alright. The powder has a pungent smell, and it will leave a scent if you get it on you. Animals have an exceptionally keen sense of smell. I heard that Yi Luan Si keeps a big wolfhound..."
The man's eyes widened in realization, and he fell silent.
Emperor Chongde gave Shen Tangning a deep look, then turned and ordered, "Do it this way."
Chi Yan had Huang San bring the dog over, and then had the suspected individuals line up, his gaze sweeping over their faces one by one:
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