"Understood that your elder brother, the Crown Prince, is a lecher... Xu Qi'an casually responded, and Biao Biao mistakenly thought that he had solved the case.

"Your Highness, it is too early to make a conclusion." Xu Qi'an shook his head.

The saying goes that when a man drinks too much alcohol, he becomes easily influenced and may do things he wouldn't normally do. If it is really as Lin An described, the Crown Prince has always been cautious and restrained, and his outburst after getting drunk would be even more fierce.

"Why does Your Highness think that the Fourth Prince and the Empress are framing the Crown Prince?" Xu Qi'an asked, both out of curiosity and for the sake of the investigation.

The Fourth Prince is Huai Qing's older brother, both born to the Empress. Although the Fourth Prince is not the eldest son, he is the legitimate son. According to reason, he should be more legitimate than Lin An's own brother.

However, because of the dispute over the country's foundation two hundred years ago, which is still recorded in history, it has become a vivid stroke in the hearts of scholars in The Great Feng, casting a shadow over the dispute of the country's foundation.

Therefore, Emperor Yuan Jing's decision to appoint his eldest son as the Crown Prince is not unreasonable.

"The Empress naturally wants the Fourth Prince to become the Crown Prince. Let me tell you, among all the princes, only the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince are truly concerned about national affairs. If the Fourth Prince didn't want to become the Crown Prince, would he be so enthusiastic?"

"In the presence of a legitimate son, it is indeed not in accordance with the rules for His Majesty to appoint his eldest son from a concubine." Xu Qi'an didn't bother to be discreet in front of Biao Biao.

These words, even with the halo of investigating the case, he couldn't ask them. But in front of Biao Biao, he could speak freely.

They were on the same side.

"Because my mother was the most favored and the most beautiful back then." Biao Biao proudly raised her chin, her face as beautiful as a painting.

Based on what I saw at the ancestral ceremony, it is obvious that the Empress is more outstanding than Chen Gui Fei. That temperament, that appearance, even if she has long passed the most beautiful years of a woman, the charm between her eyebrows is still far superior to ordinary beauties... If the Empress were twenty years younger, her appearance would probably surpass Lin An and Huai Qing...

But being favored is not solely based on looks, there are many other factors, such as personality, ability, and skills like being evasive... In short, there are many complex factors.

Does Emperor Yuan Jing really dislike the Empress? Appointing a legitimate son as the Crown Prince?

Seeing Xu Qi'an pondering in silence, Biao Biao suddenly became wary. "Could it be that Huai Qing is secretly manipulating this matter?"

Xu Qi'an looked at the beautiful face of the Second Princess and asked in return, "What if that's the case?"

Biao Biao first raised her eyebrows, like a proud little hen, but in the next moment, she deflated and shrugged her eyebrows.

"I have to admit, Huai Qing is cunning and despicable..."

She complained, "I can't compete with her."

Hmm, being able to openly admit that she can't compete with her archenemy Huai Qing in front of me shows that the Princess trusts me more and more... Xu Qi'an nodded slightly, feeling somewhat satisfied.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a palpitation, knowing that someone had appeared in the Earth Book Chat Group.

"Your Highness, I need to go to the restroom, please wait." Xu Qi'an stood up, left the hall, and walked straight out.

The little eunuch waiting outside immediately followed him, but when he saw Xu Qi'an heading towards the restroom, he stopped and gave up following.

Inside the restroom, Xu Qi'an took out the jade mirror and checked the content of the message.

[Six: Taoist Master Jin Lian, can you shield others for me? I have something to say to Number Three.]

What does Heng Yuan want with me...

The members of the Heavenly Dao Society had different moods when they saw the message from Number Six. After the previous messages, some people had already guessed that Number Three was the cousin of Xu Qi'an, who had died in Yunzhou.

Perhaps only Number Five remained calm and clear-minded, without so many "extraneous thoughts".

Number Four thought to himself: The copper gong named Xu Qi'an just died, and Heng Yuan is looking for Number Three for a "secret talk". It seems that he has also guessed the true identity of Number Three.

When Number Two, Li Miaozhen, saw this message, she felt a little sad. They all thought that Number Three was Xu Qi'an's cousin, but in fact, Number Three was Xu Qi'an himself.

And he had already died in Yunzhou.

There would never be a Number Three in the Heavenly Dao Society again.

Number One peeked at the screen without commenting. Number Five didn't think too much, glanced at the message, and threw the fragment of the Earth Book aside.

[Nine: Alright.]

Li Miaozhen was taken aback, then suddenly realized that Taoist Master Jin Lian probably wanted to explain this matter privately to Number Six.

Among the Heavenly Dao Society, Taoist Master Jin Lian was the only one who knew the identities of everyone.

After waiting for a few seconds, Xu Qi'an saw Heng Yuan's message on the jade mirror: [Number Three, I want to see Master Xu for the last time.]

If you want to see him, just go see him. Why send me a message... Hmm, Heng Yuan still doesn't know that I've been resurrected... Xu Qi'an pondered and replied:

[He has already been resurrected. If you want to see him, you can go to the Nightwatcher's yamen to find him.]

There was silence on the other side for a long time, and finally, three words came: [Is it true.]

With just three words, Xu Qi'an could feel Heng Yuan's excitement, joy, and disbelief. After holding it in for so long, he finally managed to say three words.

[Yes.]

Xu Qi'an's reply was equally simple and powerful.

[No wonder you didn't want to see me. I even harbored resentment and anger just now. I'm sorry, I was wrong. Master Xu is a good person, and good people will be rewarded. Amitabha, I am extremely happy, extremely happy.]

Immediately, Xu Qi'an briefly informed Heng Yuan about the resurrection of his "cousin".【Master, I don't want my identity to be exposed. I hope that if we meet in the future, we can meet with a smile.】

【I understand.】

Well, you can go and smile at Erlang. I'm sorry, Master. I didn't have a choice before, but now I don't want to experience social death again.

After collecting the fragments of the book, Xu Qi'an returned to the hall and complained, "It took so long."

"I was just thinking about the case and got lost in thought," Xu Qi'an explained casually, "Your Highness, I'm going to see the body of the Empress next. Would you like to come?"

Biaobiao immediately stood up and said, "Yes, yes."

........

The body of the Empress was stored in the palace's ice cellar. Judging from Emperor Yuan Jing's attitude, if the case is not solved, the Empress will not rest in peace.

Xu Qi'an held a golden plaque and, led by Biaobiao and a young eunuch, arrived at the ice cellar. The eunuch on duty led them inside.

In the cold ice cellar, the Empress was covered with a white cloth, lying quietly on a wooden board.

Biaobiao shivered slightly and tightened her fox fur cloak.

"Princess, why don't you wait outside?" Xu Qi'an suggested, fearing that she might catch a cold and considering that Biaobiao might not have seen a dead body before.

Biaobiao stubbornly shook her head, "I also want to be involved and do something for the Crown Prince."

Xu Qi'an instructed the young eunuch to uncover the white cloth, and then, taking advantage of everyone's attention, he held the princess's delicate hand and infused her with a gentle and continuous flow of energy.

Biaobiao's body stiffened, and she instinctively made a gesture as if she had been stung by a scorpion. But that rough and warm hand, like an iron hoop, held on tightly. A mix of shyness, anger, and grievance surged in her heart. When had she, the dignified Second Princess, the pure and noble daughter of a noble family, been defiled by a man like this?

Why is he like this... Biaobiao felt both embarrassed and angry.

In the next moment, a warm stream of energy surged from the palm of his hand, flowing through her slender arms, warming her entire body and dispelling the coldness of the ice cellar.

She no longer felt cold, and even wanted to lazily stretch her waist.

A low voice came from the eunuch, "Your Highness, the ice cellar is too cold. If you don't leave, I can only use this method."

"Although investigating the case is a top priority, compared to Your Highness's precious body, it is not worth mentioning."

He held my hand to keep me warm... Compared to my body, the case is not worth mentioning... Biaobiao liked to hear sweet words, and she was no longer angry in her heart, but still felt shy.

She glanced at the two eunuchs in front of her, who were guarding the ice cellar, and discreetly spat out, then calmly approached Xu Qi'an, using his spacious cloak to block the view and hide her hand being held.

Wow, the princess's hand is so soft, so smooth, so tender... Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

When teasing a girl, one must take the initiative and be bold, occasionally teasing her. Over time, it will leave a deep impression on her.

Of course, this only works for innocent girls. If the other party is a high-mileage car with spare tires hanging all over the body, then this move is not suitable.

The method is simple, just use the front of a luxury car to hit the rear taillights of her car.

"Xu Daren, take a look."

The young eunuch lifted the white cloth, not daring to look at the Empress's body for too long, and stepped aside.

Xu Qi'an let go of Biaobiao's delicate hand and walked to the side of the body, examining the unfortunate concubine.

She was a beautiful woman, although her pale face had marred her appearance, her features were still quite stunning. She was wearing a white dress, emphasizing her curvaceous figure.

Xu Qi'an reached out to undress the Empress, but was stopped by the young eunuch, who looked terrified and shook his head, "Xu Daren, you can't..."

It seems it's not possible... I wanted to dissect her... Xu Qi'an understood in his heart and looked at the eunuch guarding the ice cellar, saying:

"Bring me the autopsy report and case files."

The eunuch immediately left and returned shortly with the documents, handing them to Xu Qi'an.

No signs of violation... Bruises on the wrists and arms... Clothes in disarray, signs of violence... Disheveled hair, signs of resistance...

Attempted rape, death from falling... Xu Qi'an made a preliminary judgment.

Continuing to read, a inconspicuous record caught his attention:

Face up when dead!

Huh? Face up when dead?

Usually, when a person jumps off a building to commit suicide, they face the ground and leap. It's not common to see those flashy and exaggerated backflips in TV dramas.

Therefore, when someone falls from a building, they usually land with their back facing the sky and their face facing the ground.

Of course, if it's a tall building, the body will be affected by air resistance and wind force during the fall, causing it to flip.

To read the uncut version, go to [p𝘢wread.com].

But according to the records in the case files, the attic from which the Empress fell was only two and a half stories high. So, the position she jumped from would most likely be the same position she landed in.

Was she pushed by the Crown Prince?

This contradicts the judgment that the Empress chose to jump off the building to avoid humiliation... If the Crown Prince wanted to taste his father's exclusive delicacy, it wouldn't make sense for him to push her down. Well, it's not impossible if he got angry and violent after being humiliated while drunk.

Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an once again reached out towards the Empress's body.

"Xu Daren!" The young eunuch stopped him, warning, "You must not disturb the Empress's body. She was the Emperor's woman, and even in death, her body cannot be defiled by a courtier.""Get lost." Xu Qi'an kicked him away, "I'm on a royal mission to investigate this case. You're telling me I can't touch this or that, what the hell?"

Speaking his mind was a basic trait of Xu Qi'an.

The eunuch, having been kicked, dared not make a sound.

Xu Qi'an lifted the neck of the Empress, felt the back of her head, and his hands moved down from her shoulders to her spine, and then to her buttocks. Because her buttocks were plump, he had to knead a few times to feel the bones.

According to the structure of the human body, when falling face-up, the first parts to hit the ground are the head and shoulder blades, followed by the most protruding part, the buttocks.

After all, she was the Emperor's woman, and he couldn't undress her. Xu Qi'an could only confirm whether the flesh of her buttocks was damaged by touch.

"She indeed fell face-up..." He confirmed.

This ruled out the possibility that someone had tampered with the Empress's body and staged the scene after her death.

"What did you find?" Bi Bi immediately asked.

Xu Qi'an shared his findings and thoughts with Bi Bi, which was also meant for the eunuch who was supervising him.

"So, the Empress didn't jump off the building herself?" Bi Bi immediately extracted the core content.

Not too stupid... Xu Qi'an admired, "The princess is extremely intelligent, beyond ordinary people."

Hearing this, Bi Bi was very pleased.

Leaving the ice cellar, Xu Qi'an cleaned his hands with the help of the eunuch and left with Lin'an.

"Your Highness, it's getting late. Let's stop the investigation here for today, and I'll come back tomorrow." Xu Qi'an glanced at the sundial.

It was a quarter past Shen hour (3:15 pm).

According to the system of the Great Feng, after the spring equinox, the end of the workday is at the beginning of Shen hour. After the autumn equinox, the end of the workday is at the beginning of Shen hour.

Although the Spring Festival had passed, the spring equinox had not yet arrived, so the end of the workday was still at the beginning of Shen hour. And now, a quarter of an hour had passed since the end of the workday.

Emperor Yuan Jing didn't pay me overtime, so it's time to clock out... He waved his hand and bid farewell to Lin'an.

..........

At this moment, Emperor Yuan Jing was sitting in his bedroom, engrossed in studying the Taoist scriptures.

Compared to the dull memorandums and endless government affairs, this book containing the principles of longevity was more fascinating and addictive to Emperor Yuan Jing.

What is the most fascinating thing in the world?

It's power!

But human life is limited, just a few decades. Even if one holds power and overlooks the world, what can they do?

In the end, one still has to lose to time and turn into a handful of yellow soil.

Only eternal life is the most desirable because it means one can hold power forever.

Emperor Yuan Jing put down the book, closed his eyes to chew over and ponder the mysteries in the book. Then he picked up the ginseng tea and took a sip, exhaling deeply.

Taking advantage of this gap, the chief eunuch reported, "Your Majesty, Xu Qi'an has left the palace."

Emperor Yuan Jing thought for a moment and asked, "What did he do in the palace today? Is there any progress in the case?"

After all, he had just appointed Xu Qi'an as the chief investigator, and Emperor Yuan Jing was very concerned about how this little copper gong would investigate the case.

The chief eunuch immediately went to summon the young eunuch and brought him into the bedroom.

The young eunuch bowed his head and body.

Emperor Yuan Jing sat lazily, glanced at the young eunuch, and asked, "What has Xu Qi'an done? Is there any progress in the case?"

The chief eunuch immediately said, "Tell His Majesty everything."

.......

PS: This chapter is 4,000 words, 1,000 words short. I'll make up for it with 6,000 words tomorrow morning.