Was there still a group of people unaccounted for?
When the crowd heard Yujin say this, they were startled and began scanning those around them.
There were eight tables of women in total. Even the table with Imperial Consort Xian and Princess Rongyang hadn’t been overlooked. Everyone had been questioned one by one, so how could anyone have escaped detection?
Wait a moment… The Prince of Yan said a group of people hadn’t been checked…
Someone couldn’t help but exclaim, “That’s impossible! Missing one or two people might be plausible, but we were all watching closely. How could an entire group have gone unnoticed? Are we all blind?”
Emperor Jingming was good-natured, and this was a family banquet where all present were royal relatives, so the conversation naturally flowed more freely.
Hearing these words, Emperor Jingming looked deeply at Yujin, waiting for his explanation.
Yujin’s eyes narrowed slightly as if he were pondering.
The crowd in the hall gradually grew impatient.
Just then, Yujin extended his hand and pointed, saying coldly, “This group of people hasn’t been checked!”
Everyone had been paying close attention to his every move. Following the direction of his finger, they were stunned: the Prince of Yan was pointing at a woman with slightly bare shoulders and a flowing colorful dress – one of the dancing girls who had been providing entertainment since the banquet began!
The dancing girl, singled out by Yujin, suddenly found countless eyes upon her. She immediately fell to her knees, trembling so much she couldn’t utter a word.
Emperor Jingming was somewhat surprised. “Seventh Son, are you suggesting that the poisoner is among these dancing girls?”
These dancing girls weren’t recruited from among the common people but had been chosen and trained in the palace from a young age. They regularly performed at various palace banquets, both large and small.
The idea that one of the dancing girls could be the poisoner seemed preposterous.
Most people’s first reaction was disbelief.
Someone questioned, “These dancing girls are as lowly as dirt. What reason would they have to harm the Imperial Princess?”
Yujin looked at the speaker and said calmly, “The motive for harming the Princess is something to consider later. Right now, we need to find the culprit. As you all said, the eight tables of women were questioned one by one, and there couldn’t have been a mistake. But if the culprit is indeed a woman in this hall, then even the impossible becomes possible.”
As he spoke, his gaze slowly swept across the faces of those present, meeting various expressions.
“These dancing girls twirled gracefully through the hall. Who could be less suspicious than they when passing by a certain spot?”
As Yujin posed this question, everyone was taken aback, a chill running down their spine.
Without needing to deliberately recall, they knew that at every banquet, the dancing girls didn’t just dance in the center of the great hall, but moved gracefully to the music, weaving through the crowd to add color and entertainment.
Thinking about it this way, what the Prince of Yan said made perfect sense.
Anyone leaving their seat during the banquet might have drawn attention, but these dancing girls were expected to move about. Their presence anywhere in the hall wouldn’t have raised suspicion.
What’s most easily overlooked is often what’s most commonplace.
The dancing girls quickly knelt in a row, and Yujin slowly walked past them.
These dancing girls not only had similar hairstyles and attire, but even their figures were nearly identical. Trying to distinguish between them as they knelt on the ground was a formidable task.
Even if the poisoner was among these dancing girls, how could the Prince of Yan possibly identify her?
The crowd’s curiosity was intensely piqued.
Royal family affection was typically tepid; how many would truly grieve the death of an obscure princess? Once they had been cleared of suspicion and removed from the matter, the vast majority of those present felt more excitement and tension, even a hidden thrill.
Yujin continued to circle the dancing girls.
This time, no one interrupted.
After an indeterminate period, he halted his steps and spoke, “I’ve been observing, and these dancing girls all wear high buns, colorful clothes, and bells on their ankles. Except for the lead dancer, their attire is identical. So I wondered, how did one of them manage to secretly administer poison?”
This question stumped many, while others had a flash of insight but couldn’t quite articulate their thoughts.
Indeed, how could a dancing girl poison someone without being noticed?
Yujin smiled slightly, his gaze as cold as ice. “The action must have been quick, without any obvious abnormality that could be spotted at a glance. So—”
He took a step forward, his gold-embroidered light boots stopping in front of one of the dancing girls.
“So what? Seventh Brother, stop keeping us in suspense!” Prince Lu couldn’t help but shout.
A stern gaze swept over to him, and Prince Lu immediately fell silent.
He couldn’t even ask out of curiosity without his father looking at him with displeasure.
“So I surmise that regardless of where the poisoner initially hid the poison, at the moment of poisoning, it was most likely concealed under their fingernails. This way, with just a light flick, they could administer the poison undetected and escape unscathed,” Yujin said, then turned to ask the imperial physicians, “If traces of the deadly poison remain under the fingernails of one of these dancing girls, would you be able to detect it?”
The physicians immediately affirmed they could.
Yujin turned his gaze back to the group of dancing girls, his tone impassive. “Then extend your hands now, so the physicians can examine them. This will also clear the innocent of any wrongdoing.”
At his words, the dancing girls hesitated briefly before several of them extended their delicate hands. Seeing this, the others followed suit.
Yujin’s sharp eyes immediately noticed the dancing girl kneeling sixth from the left.
This dancing girl was slightly more slender than her companions. At this moment, whether from fear or guilt, her extended hand trembled incessantly.
Her fingertips quivered, but not making a great effort to suppress any signs of abnormality.
Yujin strode over and stood before this dancing girl.
The dancing girl glanced up at him and suddenly leaped to her feet, dashing towards a pillar.
This turn of events was so abrupt that by the time everyone reacted, they saw the dancing girl firmly restrained by the Prince of Yan, unable to move despite her struggles.
Yujin remained utterly unaffected by this development, calmly saying, “The physicians may now come and examine.”
Several imperial physicians immediately came forward to inspect the dancing girl’s fingernails.
Before long, one physician exclaimed, “The fourth finger of the left hand!”
The fourth finger—the ring finger.
“Indeed, there are traces of broken-heart grass powder in the nail bed of this dancing girl’s left ring finger…”
“Bring her here!” Emperor Jingming commanded sternly.
Two eunuchs immediately dragged the dancing girl before Emperor Jingming.
Emperor Jingming examined the slender dancing girl, unable to fathom why such a delicate woman would poison the princess.
“I ask you, why did you poison the princess?” he demanded.
The dancing girl’s small face, no larger than a palm, was drained of all color. She trembled, unable to speak.
Yujin, who had approached unnoticed, coldly asked, “Who instructed you to do this?”
The target was Princess Fuqing, and the timing—just after the princess had regained her sight—was particularly intriguing. It seemed almost impossible that the dancing girl wasn’t acting on someone else’s orders.
“No one! No one instructed me!” the dancing girl cried out frantically.
Her outburst only confirmed Yujin’s suspicions. He immediately looked towards Emperor Jingming.
Emperor Jingming understood and angrily called out for Pan Hai.
Pan Hai waved his hand, and two eunuchs immediately dragged the dancing girl away.