Tie Shou shook his head. “This bowl of soup was brought by His Majesty to his mother. Could it be poisoned?”

Xiao Zhou sneered. “That’s right, the soup was brought by His Majesty to his mother, but unfortunately, it wasn’t cooked by him personally. Something given by others – can you guarantee it definitely wasn’t poisoned? Through the Imperial Kitchen staff, the food-serving palace servants, the gift-giving people, layer by layer – where there are people, how can there not be conspiracies?”

“Tie Shou, I also agree with what you and Zhui Ming said, but I think this bowl of soup also has unclear origins. In the entire palace, knowing that Consort Ai was displeased with Consort Yu and her son, who would still give soup to the young emperor at that time? Isn’t this strange?”

“You’re implying that the person who gave His Majesty the soup is the murderer? Who is this person, and what’s the motive?” Wu Qing asked calmly.

Xiao Zhou smiled slightly, but her tone held no amusement. “I don’t necessarily think this person is definitely the murderer – I just find it suspicious. Of course, this person could also be the murderer.”

Though the two were merely expressing their opinions, the room seemed to have a subtle tension, like drawn swords.

“Let me interrupt – does anyone know who sent this soup?” Suzhen, who had been silent, finally spoke, her gaze sweeping over the two.

Xiao Zhou spread her hands. “We’ve all seen these records. There’s no notation of who it was. Perhaps the old magistrate couldn’t find out either back then. With so many people in the palace, and His Majesty being young at the time, he couldn’t remember faces or names clearly. Who knows? I’m just raising my own questions, like Zhui Ming and Tie Shou, presenting evidence from multiple angles.”

“What do you think?” she suddenly asked Wu Qing.

“I think what you said is correct.” Wu Qing said this, even reaching out to stroke her hair, with a soothing gesture.

Xiao Zhou was stunned and quickly turned away uncomfortably.

Zhui Ming and Tie Shou exchanged glances. Zhui Ming called out first, “Boss, can’t you stick to your own opinion? You can’t do this to us.”

Wu Qing said, “I haven’t stopped holding my opinion. I think Tie Shou’s ideas have merit, but Xiao Zhou’s doubts are also appropriate. My asking more questions doesn’t mean I oppose her – similarly, I’m also raising questions.”

“So boss, you think the murderer is most likely the Empress Dowager and that soup-sending person?” Zhui Ming asked again, looking very curious.

Tie Shou and Xiao Zhou also looked over.

“Like Xiao Zhou, I think what you’ve said makes sense, but I also have some other thoughts. These past few days, I’ve investigated some circumstances from back then. For instance, the Grand Councilor at that time.”

Everyone immediately showed puzzled expressions. Wasn’t this getting a bit far-fetched?

What did this have to do with the position of Grand Councilor?

Suzhen’s frown deepened, but she didn’t question it. Instead, she urged, “Go on.”

“Back then, Great Zhou’s Left Councilor was still Yan Da. Quan Feitong hadn’t yet entered court as an official, so the Right Councilor position belonged to Consort Ai’s brother, Qiu Jing.”

“Qiu Jing?” Everyone was even more astonished. This was really getting more far-fetched – they had never even heard of this person!

Xiao Zhou’s expression became somewhat complex. “I have heard of this person, but he left the court long ago. Back then, the two sides competed fiercely – harem struggles for favor, court battles for power. For a period, this Councilor Qiu wielded enormous influence, while the Empress Dowager’s side remained hands-off. Who knew that later, General Murong, Councilor Yan, and others would uncover evidence of his corruption, embezzlement of large sums from the national treasury, and abuse of power for personal gain. The Late Emperor could tolerate other things, but undermining the national treasury truly enraged him, so he dismissed and investigated Qiu. But considering Consort Ai’s position, he ultimately spared his life, only demoting him to commoner status without execution.”

“I heard this was also the first beautiful victory won by His Majesty when he was still Crown Prince. Qiu Jing was arrogant, and the Crown Prince allowed him to grow powerful. The more crimes he committed, the more evidence there was.”

Suzhen didn’t want to hear about Lian Yu’s affairs, especially his so-called accomplishments. She stopped Xiao Zhou and turned to Wu Qing. “But what does this have to do with Qiu Jing?”

“As Xiao Zhou said, this Qiu Jing wielded enormous power at the time, and he had deep feelings for Consort Ai, handling everything for her.”

Xiao Zhou, usually sharp, now showed a trace of confusion in her eyes. “Wu Qing, you think this matter was done by Consort Ai’s brother?”

“As I said, like you, I won’t definitively identify who the murderer is. When Huaisu asked us to discuss this, my understanding of her intention is to lay out all suspicious people one by one, whether to eliminate them individually or find clues among them. The evidence for this case has almost completely disappeared – we can only dig bit by bit.”

“Wu Qing, you really are the worm in my belly,” Suzhen praised, then smiled with distress. “But I really didn’t expect this to involve such a person.”

“Investigating further, we might uncover even more suspects,” Wu Qing said softly.

“If it’s this person, that would be manageable, but if it’s…” She paused here, and everyone immediately understood she meant… Xiao’an!

“We’ve all spoken. What about you? Who do you, the chief investigator, think the murderer is?” Xiao Zhou suddenly asked.

Everyone’s gaze almost simultaneously fell back on her.

Suzhen smiled and shook her head. “Everyone looks composed and unlikely to be a murderer, yet everyone seems like they could be the murderer. Look, I think everything you’ve said makes sense. Actually, I have no clue at all.”

Though she smiled, everyone could see the slight droop at the corners of her eyes. This case was enormous pressure! Whether for her or the Criminal Investigation Bureau, this was a matter of reputation. Everyone felt the weight in their hearts, each with different thoughts.

“It’s late, and we have to see His Majesty tomorrow. Let’s end the discussion here tonight. Since we’ve all shared our thoughts, let’s rest early.” Suzhen dismissed everyone to go rest.

Everyone didn’t leave immediately. Tie Shou said, “After all this speculation, I’m really curious who the murderer actually is.”

Zhui Ming sat firmly on his stool, refusing to leave.

“Even if we continue discussing tonight, we won’t reach a conclusion. Let Huaisu think and see how we should proceed next.” Finally, Wu Qing said to everyone, “Let’s go. Huaisu was just pulled up from underground not long ago – she’s still half a patient.”

Tie Shou and the others usually listened to him, so they didn’t insist on staying. Wu Qing naturally went to take Xiao Zhou’s hand, but she pushed him away. “I’m staying here tonight to keep Huaisu company. Though there are guards, we should still be cautious.”

“Prince Consort, Li Huaisu!” Wu Qing said “Hmm,” and everyone was about to leave when they were blocked by someone at the door.

This call of “Prince Consort” – needless to say, everyone knew who had arrived.

Xiao Zhou poked Wu Qing from behind. “Looking for you.”

Wu Qing raised an eyebrow slightly. “Oh, when did I change my name to Horse?”

Xiao Zhou didn’t respond. Lian Xin stuck her face in front of Wu Qing, blushing. “Wu Qing, you’re here too.”

Wu Qing responded flatly without elaborating. Lian Xin looked at him deeply, said nothing more, and just grabbed Suzhen’s hand. “Come, I’ll show you something good.”

Suzhen was exasperated. “Little ancestor, why did you run to my place again? Aren’t you afraid the Empress Dowager will confine you again?”

“Who cares about her? You all come look too.” Lian Xin spoke as she pulled out a neatly folded large sheet of paper from her bosom, opened it and spread it on the table, beckoning the Criminal Investigation Bureau people with her hand.

Several people were also curious and came back to look. They saw a long list of names written on the paper.

Though not as spectacular as the previous rain-listening list, it was still an impressive hundred-plus names, with numbers as well.

“Little Lizi, Little Xingzi, Little Meizi, Little Guozi… Imperial Supply Bureau, Imperial Wardrobe Bureau, Imperial Treasure Bureau, Imperial Equipment Bureau… Eunuch Ming, Eunuch Sai, Eunuch De… five, ten, thirty, fifty…” Zhui Ming read and called out, “What is this?”

Lian Xin grinned. “Don’t understand, do you? Today a supervising eunuch came to my palace on business and dropped this when leaving. I picked it up. I didn’t know what it was at first, but after asking around, I learned they’re gambling. The front part is names, and naturally the numbers after the names are the stakes.”

“From hundreds of copper coins to dozens of taels of silver. Guess what they’re betting on? My sixth brother’s mother’s case! Betting on whether Huaisu can find the real murderer.”

“What?” Everyone was greatly shocked.

“Wait, these names look so familiar… Minister Gao, Minister Si, Minister Cai, Minister Liang, Minister Xiao, Lord Huang, Grand Tutor Wei, Councilor Yan, General Murong… Seventh Prince, Ninth Prince, Consort Cui, Consort Gu, Dowager Consort Ai, Princess Imperial, Empress Dowager?”

Tie Shou, sharp-eyed, noticed ink marks on the back of the paper. He flipped it over and almost exclaimed as he read.

“This is a palace-wide mobilization! The bets here are all hundreds or thousands of taels.”

Xiao Zhou spoke, and everyone was stunned. Suzhen suddenly remembered that when she first arrived in the capital, the letter Wu Yan gave her mentioned gambling in the imperial city. At that time, when she had offended Lian Xin, people inside and outside the palace bet on whether she could successfully take the examination.

Though these important figures were almost all participating, it wasn’t particularly surprising – it was like a game where she was a chess piece… Suzhen couldn’t find words. Wu Qing calmly asked, “This doesn’t say whether more people are betting on Li Huaisu winning or losing?”

“No one’s betting on winning, so,” Lian Xin no longer had her earlier excitement in showing off her treasure, saying quietly, “there’s no need to specify – everyone on the back is betting on losing. The front has some minor eunuchs betting on winning because the odds are… high.”

Tie Shou shook his head. “But even if the winning odds are high and losing odds are low, those betting on losing are the big players, placing thousands of taels like this. If Huaisu actually loses, won’t the house lose everything?”

“Oh, because there are also two people who are exceptions,” Lian Xin said, flipping the paper to the front. “Look at this.”

Zhui Ming was first to cry out, “Good heavens, ‘Gambling Specialist Vest’ ten thousand taels on winning, ‘Always Win at Gambling’ ten thousand taels on a draw?”

How many readers hope the case details can be summarized? Actually, I also really want to write romance scenes… holding it in is uncomfortable.