Zhen Shicheng followed the eunuch into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, lowering his gaze as he greeted the Emperor and Empress: “This humble official pays respects to Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress.”
Besides the imperial couple, Jiang Si and Prince Qi were also present in the hall. They had all come from the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, where the unconscious Princess Qi remained.
“Minister Zhen, has there been any progress in the investigation?” Emperor Jingming asked eagerly, maintaining a facade of composure.
Zhen Shicheng quickly glanced at Jiang Si from the corner of his eye, feeling a sense of familiarity as if seeing one of his own.
Things had been quiet lately, and his hands had been itching for action for a long time.
It could be said that since returning to the capital and becoming the Prefect of Shuntian, the Jiang girl had been involved in nearly half of the major cases he had handled.
Tsk, tsk, Fourth Miss Jiang was truly a talented individual.
Zhen Shicheng couldn’t help but look at Jiang Si a couple more times.
Emperor Jingming furrowed his brows, thinking irritably: He was asking old Zhen a question, why did old Zhen keep glancing at his daughter-in-law?
Hmph, don’t think he didn’t know this old fox once wanted to betroth Seventh Prince’s wife to his son. Could it be he still hadn’t given up?
Too bad for him, the father-in-law Earl of Dongping didn’t approve!
Thinking this, Emperor Jingming’s fondness for Jiang Ancheng suddenly increased. Then, remembering Jiang Ancheng’s loss of his son, he felt guilty.
No, he must compensate this reasonable, sensible, and discerning in-law.
Emperor Jingming’s mind wandered as he pondered how to compensate Jiang Ancheng.
The man’s son had sacrificed himself for the country, an elder burying the younger. No compensation would be too much.
Emperor Jingming had an idea: He would extend the Earl of Dongping’s title for three more generations. The Earl of Dongping was still young enough to marry and have children to inherit the title.
Zhen Shicheng was unaware that his extra glances at Jiang Si had triggered a sense of crisis in his old rival, the Emperor, resulting in a huge windfall about to fall on the Earl of Dongping’s household.
He cupped his hands and said, “In response to Your Majesty, this official has uncovered some information.”
Prince Qi, standing to the side, felt his heart leap into his throat.
Whether Li’s actions would be exposed now depended on Zhen Shicheng.
Although Prince Qi had entertained the thought of abandoning Princess Qi when he saw her earlier, it would be best if things weren’t exposed at all. After all, no matter how he distanced himself, it would inevitably affect him to some degree.
“Minister Zhen, please elaborate,” Emperor Jingming composed his expression.
He knew Zhen Shicheng was capable; it seemed he hadn’t chosen wrong.
“My subordinates found a scent ball near the cliff edge. Upon questioning, we learned it had been thrown from Princess Qi’s carriage. This official extracted the remaining fragrance from the scent ball for testing and discovered that shortly after inhaling it, one becomes weak and immobile…”
Hearing this, Emperor Jingming immediately glanced at Jiang Si.
Jiang Si spoke up timely, “Father Emperor when I boarded Fourth Sister-in-law’s carriage, I noticed the exquisite scent ball and the pleasant fragrance filling the carriage. I even asked my Fourth Sister-in-law about it out of curiosity.”
“What did she say?” Emperor Jingming promptly asked.
Jiang Si glanced at Prince Qi and said, “She said the fragrance came from overseas and was quite rare. She offered to send me some if I liked it.”
Emperor Jingming’s gaze turned sharp as he looked at Prince Qi, “Fourth Son, did you know about this fragrance?”
Prince Qi’s face paled as he anxiously replied, “Son rarely pays attention to women’s accessories and didn’t know what fragrance Li used…”
“The wreckage of the carriage and horse carcasses that fell off the cliff has also been found,” Zhen Shicheng interjected, immediately drawing everyone’s attention back.
Emperor Jingming was slightly surprised, “So quickly?”
In his view, it was already quite impressive that Zhen Shicheng had discovered in such a short time that the fragrance in the scent ball was the “culprit” that had immobilized Princess Qi and Princess Yan. How could the carriage and horses that had plunged off the cliff be found so easily?
Zhen Shicheng explained, “The cliff isn’t very deep, and there’s a small path leading directly to the bottom. Coincidentally, one of the yamen runners is from nearby and is very familiar with the terrain. He quickly led a group down to the cliff bottom and found the carriage and horses.”
At this point, Zhen Shicheng paused slightly before continuing, “Not only did they find the carriage and horses, but my subordinates also performed an autopsy on the horse carcasses and discovered the reason for the horses’ frenzy—”
Emperor Jingming’s eyes narrowed as he asked urgently, “What was the reason?”
“My subordinates found remnants of an herb in the horses’ stomachs that can cause hallucinations and frenzy in horses.”
The Empress, who had been quiet until now, raised her eyebrows slightly.
Emperor Jingming’s expression darkened, “So you’re saying the horses were startled because they had ingested poisonous herbs?”
“Exactly.”
Emperor Jingming was silent for a moment before asking gravely, “What conclusion has Minister Zhen drawn?”
Zhen Shicheng replied without hesitation, “When the two princesses stopped at White Cloud Temple, it appears that the carriage driver from Prince Qi’s household took the opportunity to feed the horses fodder mixed with the poisonous herb, causing them to panic. At that time, the scent ball hanging in the carriage took effect, rendering the occupants weak and unable to escape… Based on logical deduction, this official believes Princess Qi intended to harm Princess Yan—”
“Impossible!” Prince Qi suddenly interrupted Zhen Shicheng.
Zhen Shicheng looked at Prince Qi and asked calmly, “Does Your Highness have any objections?”
Prince Qi’s face was tense as he said displeased, “Doesn’t Minister Zhen find this deduction utterly absurd?”
Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard and asked unhurriedly, “In what way does Your Highness find it absurd?”
Prince Qi let out a cold laugh, “If my wife truly intended to harm Princess Yan, why would she put herself in danger? Does she not value her own life, wanting to perish along with Princess Yan?”
Prince Qi’s two consecutive questions made Emperor Jingming nod inwardly.
This was also his point of confusion.
He hadn’t paid much attention to the relationship between Fourth Son’s wife and Seventh Son’s wife, but surely it wasn’t to the point of mutual destruction.
“Why isn’t Minister Zhen saying anything?” Prince Qi raised an eyebrow, his gaze cold.
Zhen Shicheng bowed slightly and replied very calmly, “I also can’t understand why Princess Qi would want to perish along with Princess Yan. To know the reason, we’d have to ask Princess Qi herself.”
Prince Qi laughed mockingly, “Is this Minister Zhen’s keen insight? Based on some superficial evidence, you ignore all the illogical aspects and insist it was my wife’s doing, even saying such a ridiculous thing as needing to ask my wife for the reason!”
Zhen Shicheng looked at Prince Qi and sighed softly, “I understand Your Highness’s confusion. However, my assertion that the two princesses’ horse accident was planned by Princess Qi is not based solely on the poisonous herb in the horses’ stomachs and the toxic fragrance in the scent ball. There is more crucial evidence.”
“What evidence?” This time, Emperor Jingming and Prince Qi asked in unison.
Jiang Si lowered her gaze, her expression calm.
The Empress stared intently at Zhen Shicheng, curious about what evidence he could produce.
Zhen Shicheng didn’t keep them in suspense. He coughed lightly and said, “The carriage driver from Prince Qi’s household confessed.”
Everyone was stunned for a moment as if they hadn’t understood Zhen Shicheng’s meaning.
Zhen Shicheng looked at Prince Qi and explained, “Your household’s carriage driver confessed under interrogation that Princess Qi had instructed him to mix the poisonous herb into the horse feed—”
So, when had he relied solely on deduction? He had a witness.