What kind of talk is this? As long as the distance between a man and a woman isn’t negative, it’s perfectly innocent… While Xu Qi An inwardly grumbled, his expression darkened slightly.
Whether there are signs of something happening between a man and a woman, both parties usually know in their hearts. Even the most oblivious person would eventually figure it out.
Biao Biao was somewhat slow when it came to matters of the heart. Firstly, she lacked experience, and secondly, she instinctively avoided examining her own feelings.
So perhaps she hadn’t realized that she had developed feelings for this young constable.
But how could Xu Qi An not know?
Impossible!
Whether in his previous life or this one, Xu Qi An was a man with rich emotional experiences. The trust and closeness that Biao Biao, a young lady in her prime, occasionally showed were all conveying a message to him:
This girl has signs of wanting to know me intimately.
The Crown Prince was also a man, so there was no point in Xu Qi An denying it in front of him.
“What does the Crown Prince think?” Xu Qi An asked in return.
“I heard that Father originally intended to enfeoff you as the Viscount of Changle, but after learning of your resurrection, he canceled it?” the Crown Prince said.
“His Majesty promised me that as long as I investigate Lady Fu’s case properly, my ennoblement would be just around the corner,” Xu Qi An replied.
The Crown Prince pondered for a moment before saying, “The rank of viscount is still too low. If you can clear this prince’s name, I can help elevate your position further. You should know that for some matters, being a viscount is not enough.”
Xu Qi An smiled sardonically and said, “Your Highness might as well reward me with a thousand taels of gold directly. That would be more substantial than making empty promises.”
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. “You don’t believe this prince?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but rather that whatever the Crown Prince can give me, Minister Wei can also provide. And what the Crown Prince can’t give me, Minister Wei can still offer.”
“Xu Qi An, Wei Yuan is an isolated minister. Looking through history books, which isolated minister has ever met a good end?” the Crown Prince said in a deep voice.
Xu Qi An bowed and left the room.
…
At the Xu residence.
“Where’s Big Brother? Why is Big Brother gone again?” Xu Ling Yin asked with her mouth full of meat buns, looking around.
“Your big brother isn’t here,” Aunt replied while tying a small cloth around her young daughter’s neck.
“If Big Brother isn’t here, I won’t go. I want Big Brother,” Xu Ling Yin said angrily.
“Don’t try that trick with me. You just want an excuse not to go to school, don’t you?” Aunt poked the little bean’s forehead with her finger.
The little bean was shocked. The plan she had thought about for so long had been seen through by her mother in an instant.
Mother is so clever, why does she often get angry and yell when Big Brother irritates her?
“Mother, can I stay at home and study with Second Brother instead?” Xu Ling Yin asked coyly.
“The ugliest one has the most beautiful dreams,” Aunt scolded. “Your second brother is about to take part in the spring imperial examinations. How could he have time to look after a silly child like you?”
“What are the spring imperial examinations?”
“It’s the civil service examination.”
“What’s the civil service examination?”
“It’s a test.”
“What’s a test?”
“Xu Ling Yin, are you trying to make me angry?” Aunt yelled, exasperated.
At this moment, Xu Er Lang entered the house carrying a bag of green tangerines. Seeing his mother scolding his sister, he paid no attention and casually handed over the tangerines:
“Ling Yin, take these to eat at school.”
Xu Ling Yin happily accepted them, but upon seeing they were green tangerines, her little face scrunched up, and she furrowed her brows. “Second Brother, these tangerines don’t taste good.”
Xu Er Lang was stunned. “You’ve tried them before?”
Aunt explained, “Your father bought these green tangerines last time.”
…Xu Xin Nian looked deeply at Aunt and said, “Mother…”
Aunt looked at him puzzled. “If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you hesitating?”
“It’s nothing important,” Xu Er Lang said casually. “I saw Big Brother give Father fifty taels of silver yesterday. You should collect it soon, to prevent him from spending it on wine and women.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt’s eyebrows shot up. “That Xu Ning Yan, how hateful.”
In truth, Xu Er Lang was deceiving Aunt. He said this to make Mother squeeze out Father’s private savings. To appease Mother, Father would grit his teeth and hand over his private money, leaving him unable to go out and indulge.
Then, the annoying Big Brother would be resented by Mother for a long time.
Killing two birds with one stone. Perfect!
Satisfied, Xu Er Lang returned to his study to read.
…
In the Imperial Palace.
Holding the token, Xu Qi An entered the palace unhindered and arrived at Shaoyin Palace to pick up Biao Biao and go solve the case together.
Today, Princess Lin An wore a fire-red palace dress. The color was the same as yesterday, but the style was different. She happily bounced over, her oval face lifting into a sweet smile, her peach blossom eyes brimming with bright charm.
Only after getting to know Lin An did Xu Qi An realize that seductive women weren’t limited to those with sharp, pointed faces. Some women with oval faces could also be very alluring and captivating.
Unfortunately, the era limited Lin An’s potential. Otherwise, with permed big wavy hair, wearing denim shorts and a tank top, she’d be a proper seductive goddess.
The type that would be popular in nightclubs.
Biao Biao bounced over, twirling lightly, her skirt fluttering. This was a deliberate display of beauty in front of Xu Qi An, though she might not have been aware of it herself.
Xu Qi An asked puzzled, “Why do you always wear red dresses…”
As soon as he spoke, Biao Biao’s face immediately fell.
“Hmph, you dog servant, didn’t you say this princess looks especially beautiful in dresses?”
Xu Qi An suddenly covered his eyes and cried out in agony.
Biao Biao asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
“Your Highness is truly too beautiful, your radiance is dazzling, it’s blinding this humble servant’s eyes,” Xu Qi An said loudly.
Hearing this, Biao Biao’s anger turned to joy. Xu Ning Yan’s words were so pleasant to hear, so interesting.
“Your Highness, I plan to go to Qingfeng Hall to take a look today,” Xu Qi An said.
Lin An nodded and said coquettishly, “This princess is waiting for someone.”
There was a proud look in her eyes as she lifted her chin, revealing her snow-white, slender neck.
Xu Qi An’s heart suddenly sank. He thought to himself, it can’t be, it can’t be the same as what I’m thinking, right?
After about a quarter of an hour, Huai Qing arrived, wearing a white palace dress, cold and beautiful, with an indescribable charm as she walked.
Xu Qi An: “…”
Princess Lin An put her hands on her hips, puffing up like a little hen, and said coquettishly, “Huai Qing insists on following us master and servant to broaden her horizons. This princess has taken the liberty of satisfying her request. Dog… Xu Ning Yan, what do you think?”
She deliberately emphasized the words “master and servant,” as if declaring ownership of someone.
Xu Qi An inwardly roared: I think it’s very frustrating!
When did I become your servant… On the surface, he smiled and said, “This humble servant doesn’t mind.”
Princess Huai Qing’s clear gaze swept over, and she said indifferently, “Then this princess will be indebted to Sir Xu’s kindness.”
Crown Princess, it’s not what you think. Biao Biao and I are purely innocent. I’m still your loyal servant. Xu Qi An’s mouth twitched.
He hadn’t expected Huai Qing to participate in Lady Fu’s case, but upon reflection, he realized it was inevitable.
Firstly, Huai Qing was very interested in investigating and solving cases, but as a princess of noble birth, she previously had no reason or environment to get involved.
During the Sangbo case, Huai Qing often summoned Xu Qi An to the palace to inquire about case details, and even accompanied him in poring over historical books to search for clues.
Now that such a major case had occurred in the palace, it was understandable for Huai Qing to take an interest and become deeply involved.
Previously, when the case was handled by the Three Judicial Offices, Huai Qing couldn’t intervene. But now that the chief investigator had become Xu Qi An, Huai Qing naturally came along. Of course, Xu Qi An suspected that Biao Biao’s mischief played a part in this.
For example, she might have scurried to Huai Qing and boasted: “My dog servant has returned. The dog servant listens to me the most…” and so on, showing off in every way possible.
Xu Qi An, who was nicknamed “servant” by three families, felt very awkward. So on the way to Qingfeng Hall, he silently trailed behind the two princesses, not saying a word, trying to lower his presence.
Damn it, if Biao Biao keeps doing this, one day I’ll end up doing the splits trying to straddle two boats, and it’ll hurt my balls…
Along the way, they had the guards on duty summon the young eunuch from yesterday.
The young eunuch’s attitude had changed greatly. After respectfully bowing to Huai Qing and Lin An, he also bowed to Xu Qi An: “Sir Xu, if this slave offended you yesterday, please don’t take offense. This slave remembers all of Sir Xu’s kindness in his heart.”
Xu Qi An was stunned, thinking to himself, what kindness did I show? What are you talking about?
But he didn’t reveal his emotions, and merely grunted an “Mm” without changing his expression.
The group headed towards Qingfeng Hall, with the two princesses walking at the front. White robe against red robe, they were both exceptionally beautiful women. Their beauty wasn’t just in their looks and temperament; their figures were also an indispensable physical foundation for beautiful women.
Lin An’s bottom wasn’t as big as Huai Qing’s…
Her legs weren’t as long as Huai Qing’s either. Huai Qing was half a head taller than Lin An…
Oh my, Biao Biao, how come you can’t compare to your sister in anything? Useless thing.
Huai Qing truly lived up to being the cold career woman goddess in my heart, really making one want to conquer her, to make her cry…
For the first time, Xu Qi An could quietly appreciate the beauty of the two sisters. As he admired them, he found that in terms of the fullness of their buttocks, Princess Huai Qing seemed to have the upper hand.
But as they walked, the swaying of the waist and the amplitude of the skirt’s movement was more exaggerated for Lin An. This indicated that Biao Biao was better at swaying her hips than Huai Qing.
Huai Qing had cultivation, so under her loose palace dress, she probably had a slender waist, the kind with sexy abs. But Biao Biao’s snake-like waist seemed boneless, swaying this way and that.
She was an inherently seductive woman. She wouldn’t deliberately act coquettish, but sometimes her unintentional actions, the fleeting glimpses of her body’s charms, were infinitely more alluring than those women skilled in the art of seduction.
For instance, those peach blossom eyes filled with spring emotions, always looking at people with a dreamy gaze. Or like now, her boneless snake-like waist and her swaying, charming buttocks.
When Xu Qi An first saw her, he thought she perfectly fit the image of a nightclub queen. This wasn’t a hasty judgment, but rather the result of rich experience accumulated from many encounters.
Soon, the group arrived at Qingfeng Hall.
Qingfeng Hall had already been sealed off by the palace guards, with palace maids and eunuchs confined within the compound.
The influence of the two princesses, Lin An and Huai Qing, wasn’t enough. It was only when Xu Qi An showed his golden token and reported his identity that the guards allowed them to pass, respectfully leading them in.
The so-called Qingfeng Hall was actually a two-courtyard palace complex. The front courtyard housed the lower-ranking palace maids and eunuchs, while the back courtyard housed Lady Fu’s confidants.
The main hall was a two-story pavilion, with flying eaves and interlocking roof ridges, grand and majestic.
On the second floor, a section of the railing on the viewing platform was broken. Lady Fu must have fallen to her death from here.
Xu Qi An estimated the height to be about six or seven meters. Falling from this height, it was basically up to the King of Hell whether he would take you or not.
For someone like Lady Fu who landed on the back of her head, it could be explained as the King of Hell coveting her beauty and summoning her to keep him company. No one could have saved her.
The main hall was also sealed off, with four guards stationed at the door to protect the scene.
“Where exactly did Lady Fu die?” Xu Qi An asked the guard captain.
The captain pointed to where Lin An was standing and said, “Lady Fu fell right there.”
Biao Biao, like an agile, startled rabbit, jumped away with a “whoosh.”
Xu Qi An stood at the spot where Lady Fu’s body had fallen, looked up at the pavilion, then lowered his gaze and asked, “Has anyone ever entered the pavilion?”
“People from the Three Judicial Offices have been in.”
“Did they take anything away or destroy anything?”
“No, this lowly one was watching them the whole time. The broken railing has also been preserved in the storehouse and wasn’t taken away by the people from the Three Judicial Offices.”
Someone was supervising… The scene evidence wasn’t allowed to be taken away… Emperor Yuan Jing was indeed a master of political maneuvering, directly eliminating the possibility of the Crown Prince’s faction helping the Crown Prince “clean up.”
Xu Qi An said, “Open the door. This official wants to go up.”
They entered the pavilion, climbed the stairs, and arrived on the second floor.
Xu Qi An and Princess Huai Qing’s gazes were sharp as they carefully scanned every corner of the scene. Biao Biao glanced at the two of them and also put on a pretense of “serious searching.”
The first things that caught their attention were the overturned round stool by the table; a cup of long-cold tea on the table; the messy bed; a corner of the bed curtain that had been torn off; a fallen painting on the east wall…
Xu Qi An sniffed, smelling around everywhere.
“What are you smelling?” Biao Biao couldn’t keep up the act anymore.
“Be quiet, I’m smelling for traces of deoxyribonucleic acid.”
“Deoxy-what acid?” Biao Biao was confused.
Xu Qi An didn’t respond. In fact, he was just trying to detect if there were any lingering scents in the air, not necessarily deoxyribonucleic acid. After all, so many days had passed, it was unlikely for any scent to remain.
But the necessary checks still had to be done.
“What is deoxyribonucleic acid?” Huai Qing asked proactively.
It was the instinctive desire for knowledge from a female academic.
It’s our descendants… Xu Qi An joked internally, then pointed at the bed in the bedroom and asked the guard captain, “Was the bed this messy?”
“It was searched by people from the Three Judicial Offices, but when they first came, it was already messy,” the captain replied.
Unfortunately, DNA testing isn’t possible; otherwise, the case could be solved directly… The technology from my past life was much better… Xu Qi An grumbled to himself as he made his way to the observation hall.
After inspecting the broken railing, Xu Qi An settled down cross-legged in the observation hall. Closing his eyes, he activated his powerful mental energy, significantly enhancing his profiling abilities.
Based on the details gathered from the scene, he began to sketch a dynamic image in his mind:
The Crown Prince, inebriated, staggered up the stairs, while Concubine Fu poured him hot tea at the table to help him sober up. However, the Crown Prince didn’t reach for the teacup; instead, he touched Concubine Fu’s small hand—or perhaps somewhere else—which caused her to gasp in shock, knocking over a stool in the process.
Then, the Crown Prince, taking advantage of the situation, forcibly pulled Concubine Fu toward the bed. Amidst fierce tremors, the bed was thrown into disarray, with one corner of the bed curtains torn down. Somehow, Concubine Fu broke free from the Crown Prince’s grasp and dashed toward the observation hall, crying for help as she knocked over hanging paintings along the way…
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the Crown Prince, filled with malicious intent, pushed Concubine Fu off the observation hall. Afterward, he returned to the outer chamber, feigning sleep as if he had done nothing wrong.
Xu Qi An opened his eyes and let out a deep breath.
Hua Qing and Lin An, who had been paying close attention to him, immediately asked, “What did you discover?”
“The case isn’t too difficult, but there are a few points I need to confirm first,” Xu Qi An replied.