Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Li Chenxuan had not expected Li Mingxiao to appear so suddenly, and he was momentarily stunned, followed by a wave of panic and regret.

The grand plan had failed; he could not allow Li Mingxiao to suspect him!

Ashamed, he lowered his head. “Your Majesty, your humble servant misspoke in a moment of folly. I beg your forgiveness.”

Li Mingxiao brushed past him and entered the room. “If Prince Rui does not understand etiquette, it just so happens there is a vacancy at the Ministry of Rites. Prince Rui shall put aside military affairs for now and spend some time there.”

Since returning to the capital, Li Chenxuan had been assigned to the Ministry of War, primarily responsible for frontier troops. With just one sentence, Li Mingxiao severed his connection to the border forces. Although officially sent to the Ministry of Rites, how long he would remain was entirely at Li Mingxiao’s discretion.

Li Mingxiao was relentless; if he pressed on, Li Chenxuan might be stuck there for life.

Yet these words were from the emperor himself. Forced into this corner, refusal would only confirm his treacherous intentions, and Li Mingxiao would surely move against him immediately.

“Your servant obeys,” Li Chenxuan said, his expression darkening. Concealed beneath his sleeves, his hands clenched the wheelchair’s armrests tightly, veins bulging.

Lin Junrou, standing closest to Li Chenxuan, was terrified by the murderous glare hidden beneath his hair like a beast’s. The large hand gripping her wrist suddenly tightened as if it could crush her bones at any moment.

Painful tears streamed down her cheeks, yet she dared not make a sound, for Li Mingxiao’s reaction was even more frightening.

Li Mingxiao sat solemnly in the main seat. The rarely appearing Princess Fuhui had no choice but to step out from behind the silk curtains, sighing softly before leading the formal bow.

Behind her, a sea of people knelt, voices chanting, “Long live the emperor.”

Li Mingxiao’s gaze first settled on Princess Fuhui. “I thought that with the Princess of Zhuihua Pavilion present, nothing untoward would occur.”

Princess Fuhui’s heart tightened. She held some affection for Li Chenxuan, which was why she had remained silent until now. But when Li Mingxiao’s eyes met his, she knew trouble was imminent.

Few raised within the palace were simple souls—blood could be spilled even between brothers, let alone two with different mothers.

“It is my fault, Your Majesty. Please punish me,” she said humbly.

“Nonsense, Auntie,” Li Mingxiao said to the eunuch beside him. “Bring a chair for the Princess.”

Once Princess Fuhui was seated, Li Mingxiao turned to Liu Ye. “The matter of the Marquis of Yongning’s residence was my oversight. Such a noble house’s bloodline must remain pure. Since Lady Lin is involved, let the Court of Justice investigate. Once the case is clear, present the findings publicly to give both the Marquis’s house and the people an explanation.”

Liu Ye knelt and accepted the decree.

Lin Junrou’s face changed drastically; she collapsed to the ground. The worst had happened.

Though pained for Lin Junrou, Li Chenxuan knew he could not act rashly and forced himself to suppress his emotions.

Finally, Li Mingxiao looked at Lin Qing. “Lin Qing, stand and respond. Captain Meng came to see me, claiming you have uncovered the details of the poisoning at the Marquis’s residence.”

Lin Qing stepped forward. “It is confirmed.”

Li Mingxiao asked, “Who is the culprit?”

Lin Qing pointed at Liu Xiangxue. “Her.”

Liu Xiangxue’s lowly status as a courtesan placed her, along with Chu Zhiyi and Jing Yue, at the back of the room. All eyes followed Lin Qing’s finger, turning to look at Liu Xiangxue’s face.

Shock, doubt, and disbelief filled the air.

Li Chenxuan sneered. “Liu Xiangxue is but a courtesan, incapable of hard labor, let alone murder.”

“The matter began with Ge Yi’s stolen medicine,” Lin Qing ignored Li Chenxuan and continued.

“A year ago, Ge Yi and Liu Xiangxue reunited. Out of childhood friendship, Ge Yi confided everything to Liu Xiangxue. Upon learning of a new poison powder Ge Yi had developed, Liu Xiangxue’s heart turned dark.”

She approached Liu Xiangxue. “That day, Liu Xiangxue deliberately got Ge Yi drunk. Then, through a spy, she learned of a secret compartment where Ge Yi hid the poison. After retrieving it, she concealed the powder inside a hollow hairpin and left the pavilion unnoticed. The amount she took was small, so Ge Yi only discovered it by chance later.”

“But even the most careful can slip up.” Lin Qing looked down at Liu Xiangxue, who knelt with her head bowed low. Lin Qing removed the hairpin from her hair.

Everyone was momentarily stunned.

The hairpin was exquisite: a gemstone carved into a bird ready to take flight, with long tail feathers made from delicate pink pearls. Yet one feather was slightly shorter—a subtle defect unnoticed at a glance.

Lin Qing pulled a small pink pearl from her sleeve and matched it to the shorter feather, completing the strand perfectly.

“That secret compartment is tiny,” she said. “You were in such a hurry you didn’t even notice a pearl had fallen.”

She carefully examined the hairpin, finding a tiny seam. She pried it apart, removing the bird to reveal a hollow shaft. When tipped, white powder spilled out.

The crowd gasped.

“But why...” Jiang Ruonan whispered, her voice breaking the silence awkwardly.

“For the birthday banquet,” Lin Qing replied kindly to Jiang Ruonan, sensing her curiosity. “But the first accident happened unexpectedly.”

“The Wang family was investigated. Madame Wang revealed Lin Junrou’s identity. The greatest assassin of the martial world, Qiu Mengchuan, enamored with Lin Junrou, sought revenge by infiltrating the imperial prison and killing Madame Wang.” Lin Qing’s voice faltered.

No one expected Madame Wang to be the first victim.

The Wang couple might not have died otherwise.

Li Chenxuan snorted. “Lady Lin, do not speak nonsense! Lin Junrou was born a noble lady of the Marquis’s house. How could she be entangled with martial world figures?”

Lin Qing ignored him, suddenly drawing her sword and lunging toward Lin Junrou’s delicate neck.

Her sword was one that tasted blood with every draw—lethal intent clear. Without intervention, Lin Junrou would die.

Li Chenxuan’s eyes widened in fury, but having just been treated for poison, he lacked the strength to intervene, forced to watch helplessly as the sword neared Lin Junrou.

Lin Junrou had never expected Lin Qing to attack so openly before the emperor. Unskilled in combat, she went limp, despair overwhelming her. She cried out, “Save me!”

At that moment, a swift gust swept by. Qing’er, who had knelt beside Liu Xiangxue all along, sprang into action. In her hand appeared a short sword slightly longer than a dagger, blocking Lin Qing’s blade mere inches from Lin Junrou.

Lin Qing immediately withdrew and retreated two steps, returning the sword to its sheath. “Look, Qiu Mengchuan has appeared.”

Qiu Mengchuan was Qing’er.

Though still in female attire, Qing’er’s voice carried a magnetic male timbre. “How did you find out?”

Lin Qing pointed to the hand gripping the sword. “We are both lifelong sword practitioners. The location of calluses on the palm differs from those who do hard labor. It’s obvious at a glance.”

Of course, coupled with the words of Agent Thirty-Nine, who had said there was a faction within the Wang estate she could neither confirm nor deny. Qiu Mengchuan’s formidable skills made him a hidden force—a fifth faction only detectable by subtle clues.

Lin Qing couldn’t help but tease him. “I know you can shrink your bones, but try harder at disguising yourself as a woman. Look at Liu Xiangxue—curvy and alluring. You’re so flat-chested; if you turned around, I might mistake the back of your head for a face. If you don’t slip up, who else will?”

Qiu Mengchuan: “...” Suddenly murderous thoughts.

“Pfft!” Jiang Ruonan burst out laughing. Seeing everyone’s expressionless stares, she pressed her lips to hide her embarrassment, then deliberately pushed her chest forward. Though small, it was undeniably there.

Li Mingxiao cleared his throat softly, signaling Lin Qing to continue.

Lin Qing resumed. “After Madame Wang’s death, anyone could guess Lin Junrou was involved. Liu Xiangxue, to protect them, sent a spy into the prison to poison Wang Duan. To frame Ge Yi, she used a fragrant bone powder. But that day was too rushed. Liu Xiangxue forgot to change her lipstick, which allowed me to discover the smudge on the cup’s rim.”

Lin Qing stared at Liu Xiangxue, who still dared not raise her head. Since Liu Xiangxue had sat and conversed with Wang Duan and led him to drink the poisoned tea, they must have been acquaintances.

“There are only three boxes of that lipstick, held by Lin Junrou, Ge Yi, and Liu Xiangxue. Liu Xiangxue later sold hers deliberately, shifting blame onto Ge Yi even further, dragging in Prince Rui as well.”

At that time, even Lin Qing believed Ge Yi was the culprit and sought entry into Prince Rui’s mansion to investigate, leading to this banquet resembling a treacherous trap.

“This involves another figure,” Lin Qing said, pointing to Li Chenxuan. “Prince Rui’s personal maid, Yinyue.”

Li Chenxuan flatly denied it. “Yinyue was a gift from the Empress, serving me since childhood. Surely you don’t mean to accuse her?”

“She is not a spy, merely greedy.” Lin Qing clapped her hands, and the Heavenly Deer Guards promptly brought a large bundle of silver coins. “Yinyue was sold into the palace by her family. Later, she followed Prince Rui to the mansion and reunited with her parents. Her father was a gambling addict, drowning in debt. Liu Xiangxue paid off his debts and entrusted Yinyue to handle her affairs. For example, it was Yinyue who informed Liu Xiangxue about Ge Yi’s secret compartment.”

Lin Qing tossed the silver before Liu Xiangxue. “The Heavenly Deer Guards found this money in Yinyue’s home.”

For the battle-hardened guards, this was child’s play. Within an hour, everything was uncovered. A little intimidation of Yinyue’s father made him confess all.

“Although greedy, Yinyue lacked the courage to poison anyone. I suspect Liu Xiangxue told her about her feud with Ge Yi, planning only to cause a scene at the birthday banquet to disgrace Prince Rui’s household and gain some advantage, never intending murder.”

Lin Qing watched Liu Xiangxue carefully. Then she continued, “Yinyue, frightened by your words, went to Zhuihua Pavilion to confront you. But you tricked her to the pond and pushed her in to silence her.”

Liu Xiangxue, who had remained motionless, finally lifted her head. Her stunning face was streaked with tears, as if bearing a grave injustice.

“Lady Lin, I have been playing the zither at Zhuihua Pavilion all along, never leaving. How could I have had time to kill Yinyue?”

Lin Qing interrupted coldly, “No, you have left.”