HomeThe Brocaded Tale of the Girl SiChapter 410: The Real Target

Chapter 410: The Real Target

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Jiang Si calmly extended her hand, revealing a white jade wine cup in her palm.

The white jade cup had a chip and several cracks.

“This is the cup the Fifteenth Princess was using. It fell to the ground when she collapsed, and I picked it up,” Jiang Si explained.

Emperor Jingming immediately ordered the imperial physicians, “Examine the remaining liquid in the cup!”

Hearing that the wine might be poisoned, everyone was shocked, their faces turning pale.

They had all been drinking and exchanging toast earlier.

Someone murmured, “It can’t be that the wine was poisoned, right? So many people drank it, why was only the Fifteenth Princess affected?”

Emperor Jingming heard these whispers and waited with a grim face for the physicians’ conclusion.

After examining the Fifteenth Princess’s cup for a while, in the tense atmosphere, one physician spoke, “Your Majesty, poison was indeed detected in the remaining liquid. The specific type of poison requires further investigation…”

Emperor Jingming closed his eyes briefly.

The exact type of poison wasn’t important. What mattered was that someone had managed to poison a princess at a palace banquet without anyone noticing!

If they could poison a princess today, couldn’t they poison the Empress, him, or the Empress Dowager tomorrow?

This thought sent a chill down Emperor Jingming’s spine.

Emperor Jingming had many daughters. Although he usually couldn’t match their names to their faces, seeing a lively daughter turn into a cold corpse in an instant left him feeling extremely heavy-hearted and gloomy. He suddenly opened his eyes and slammed his hand on the pillar, “Investigate this thoroughly for me!”

The Empress was equally distressed.

She had organized this palace banquet to celebrate Fuqing’s recovered eyesight, but such a terrible incident had occurred. This was no longer just a matter of losing face.

“Your Majesty, if this matter becomes too public, it might damage the royal family’s reputation,” the Empress reminded softly.

Emperor Jingming calmed down.

The Fifteenth Princess had died of poisoning, so there must be a poisoner.

That poisoner might be in this very hall, among the consorts, princesses, and royal relatives…

Emperor Jingming grew increasingly angry, his imposing gaze sweeping over Jiang Si.

It could be said that the Princess Consort of Yan was the last person the Fifteenth Princess had contact with.

At this moment, a clear voice rang out: “Father Emperor, I have trained in the Ministry of Justice for several months and followed Master Zhen in investigating cases for a while. I’ve learned some basics from him. Why don’t you let me try to find the culprit who killed the Fifteenth Princess today?”

All eyes immediately turned to the speaker, their expressions peculiar.

Most people would avoid such a situation at all costs. Was the Prince of Yan foolish to voluntarily take on this task?

But some quick-witted individuals instantly understood the situation: the Princess Consort of Yan was the last person to have contact with the Fifteenth Princess. If they were to investigate who poisoned the Fifteenth Princess, the Princess Consort of Yan would be the prime suspect. The Prince of Yan’s action was to protect his wife…

Those who understood couldn’t help but admire Jiang Si’s good fortune.

The Prince of Yan truly held his wife close to his heart.

Although love may fade with time, and current affection doesn’t guarantee future devotion, it is still better than never being cherished at all.

The Crown Princess was one of those who had this realization.

She glanced lightly at the Crown Prince, only to see undisguised excitement in his eyes.

It was the look of someone enjoying the spectacle.

The Crown Princess’s heart grew cold, and she gave a self-mocking smile.

Even if the Crown Prince’s sibling affection for the Fifteenth Princess was weak, he shouldn’t be so cold-hearted about her tragic death.

If such a person inherited the throne, would he treat the ministers and people of Da Zhou well? Would he treat her, his wife, kindly?

The Crown Princess lowered her gaze, hiding the desolation in her eyes.

Emperor Jingming stared at Yu Jin for a moment and asked, “Seventh Son, do you want to try?”

“Although this is my first time meeting the Fifteenth Princess, we are siblings after all. I want to do what little I can for my Fifteenth Sister. Of course, my abilities are limited. If I can’t find any clues, I hope Father Emperor will forgive me.”

The Crown Prince, who had been secretly hoping for Yu Jin’s misfortune when he volunteered, curled his lip upon hearing these words.

Seventh Brother was so glib, saying all the right things and playing the good guy while avoiding any real responsibility. Did he think Father Emperor was a fool?

Hearing these words, Emperor Jingming’s impression of Yu Jin immediately improved.

Among the royal family, many sought to protect themselves in times of trouble, and few dared to take responsibility. For the Seventh Son, raised outside the palace, to show such fraternal affection was truly rare.

“Very well, you may try. If you can’t succeed, don’t force yourself.”

Yu Jin bowed to Emperor Jingming, “Thank you, Father Emperor.”

Crown Prince: ??

“This was the Fifteenth Princess’s seat, right?” Yu Jin pointed to a spot.

Everyone then realized that the Prince of Yan wasn’t at his table, but standing by the princesses’ table.

Due to the earlier chaos, many imperial princesses had rushed over to look, but some who didn’t want to get involved remained in their original positions.

Following Yu Jin’s question, all eyes fell on that spot.

A princess who had remained in place nervously said in a low voice, “The seat Seventh Brother is pointing to isn’t Fifteenth Sister’s, but Thirteenth Sister’s.”

Yu Jin was slightly stunned and looked towards Princess Fuqing, who was being tightly held by the Empress.

Princess Fuqing broke free from the Empress’s grasp, walked forward a few steps, and nodded, suppressing her grief, “That’s correct, that’s my seat.”

Yu Jin’s expression became somewhat strange as he lightly tapped the table with his index finger, “I just looked, and this table has twelve seats. Only this seat doesn’t have a wine cup in front of it, so I thought it was the Fifteenth Princess’s position.”

As soon as he said this, Princess Fuqing’s face changed dramatically, and she exclaimed, “That’s not right!”

Everyone immediately looked at Princess Fuqing.

Princess Fuqing’s face turned as white as paper, and she murmured, “When I went to toast Seventh Sister-in-law, I took a cup of Baihua Yang directly from the palace maid. I didn’t take the cup placed in front of me, so there should still be a wine cup in my seat…”

At this point, Princess Fuqing seemed to remember something. She rushed over, leaned on the table, and stared at that spot, her face pale.

There was an empty wine cup on the table, with traces of red liquid remaining inside and lipstick marks on the rim.

Yu Jin had a sudden realization and asked, “Is this the Fifteenth Princess’s seat?”

Princess Fuqing nodded.

Yu Jin gently stroked his chin. In the silence where one could hear a pin drop, he suddenly said, “I understand now!”

“Seventh Son, what do you understand?” Emperor Jingming asked urgently.

Yu Jin picked up the empty wine cup, looking at the faint red mark left on the rim, and asked Princess Fuqing, “When you went to toast my wife, did the Fifteenth Princess immediately go with you?”

“Yes, Fifteenth Sister was happy for me, so she insisted on going together to toast Seventh Sister-in-law.”

Yu Jin sighed and said, “Then the situation is clear. The Fifteenth Princess wanted to go with Princess Fuqing to offer a toast. She had just finished the wine in her cup, and Princess Fuqing had taken Baihua Yang from the palace maid without touching the cup in front of her. So, the Fifteenth Princess casually took the untouched cup in front of Princess Fuqing…”

“What does that mean?” the Empress asked sharply.

Yu Jin looked at the Empress: “It means that the poisoned cup was originally intended for Princess Fuqing.”

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