There are a few things to confirm... Biao Biao asked insistently, "What is it?"

Huai Qing pursed her lips, paying attention to Xu Qi'an while thinking about what he might have discovered. She had also searched the room carefully, but she didn't find any useful clues or significant discoveries.

"Firstly, if the Imperial Concubine was really violated by the Crown Prince, she would definitely have called for help. Why didn't the guards and palace maids in Qingfeng Hall hear anything? Let's go downstairs... You go gather all the palace maids and guards in the courtyard."

The last sentence was directed at the subordinate leader.

Everyone immediately went downstairs and gathered all the guards and palace maids in Qingfeng Hall in the courtyard. There were a total of twelve people, four palace maids and eight guards.

"Listen carefully, this is Master Xu, who has been ordered to investigate the case of the Imperial Concubine's murder. Master Xu has some questions for you. You must answer truthfully and not hide anything." The subordinate leader said in a deep voice.

"Yes!"

Everyone answered with their heads lowered.

The subordinate leader nodded in satisfaction and looked at Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an locked his gaze on a delicate palace maid and beckoned, "Come here."

The young palace maid lowered her head and took small steps forward.

"Come a bit closer."

The young palace maid approached Xu Qi'an and he whispered a few words in her ear, then said, "Go."

The young palace maid hurriedly entered the attic.

What is he going to do?

Biao Biao and the supervising eunuch were puzzled, while Huai Qing seemed to be deep in thought.

Xu Qi'an looked at the other palace maids and guards and said, "I'm asking you, on the day of the incident, why weren't there any palace maids serving by the Imperial Concubine's side in the attic?"

The palace maids and guards looked at each other, hesitant and afraid to speak.

Xu Qi'an's eyes sharpened and he scolded, "Anyone who conceals or withholds information will be considered a suspect in the murder of the Imperial Concubine and will be imprisoned in the Nightwatcher's dungeon."

One of the eunuchs immediately said, "Sir, we dare not go near the attic."

Dare not go near the attic?

Xu Qi'an felt that he had discovered something important. Men had entered the Imperial Concubine's bedroom, but the servants in the courtyard dared not go near. What did this indicate?

It indicates that Emperor Yuan Jing has a secret.

Xu Qi'an's heart was filled with anticipation.

The eunuch explained, "The Imperial Concubine likes to drink and when she gets drunk, she often scolds and beats the servants in Qingfeng Hall. We are afraid of being unjustly accused, so whenever she drinks, we keep our distance."

"Is it like this every time?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"Yes, without exception," the eunuch replied.

"When did it start?"

To this question, the eunuch hesitated for a moment and shook his head, "When this servant entered Qingfeng Hall, the Imperial Concubine was already like this."

Useless... Xu Qi'an glanced at everyone and asked, "Who is the Imperial Concubine's personal palace maid?"

"It's this servant..." a slightly older palace maid stepped forward.

"You answer the question I just asked." Xu Qi'an stared at her.

"Well, um..." the older palace maid hesitated and said, "In the past few years, it was fine, but in recent years, the Imperial Concubine's temperament has become increasingly strange. She often stands alone on the attic, and I don't know what she's looking at."

She spoke in a veiled manner, probably afraid to speak about the Imperial Concubine or the Emperor's private matters. But both Xu Qi'an and Huai Qing were intelligent and understood the implied meaning.

This is the sadness of a lonely woman... sigh, Emperor Yuan Jing is not a good son. With so many beautiful concubines in the harem, and they are all so beautiful, he actually went to cultivate Dao and even practiced abstinence... If it were me, I would never give my little brother a day off. Xu Qi'an sighed and asked again, "Did anyone hear the Imperial Concubine's cry for help on the day of the incident?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Xu Qi'an didn't say anything, he looked towards the direction of the attic and nodded slightly.

Everyone followed his gaze and looked at the young palace maid who had just entered the attic. Following Xu Qi'an's instructions, the young palace maid immediately closed the lattice door of the observatory. After a while, faint cries for help could be heard from inside.

At this point, Biao Biao, who wasn't particularly clever, also understood Xu Qi'an's meaning.

"You bastards, how dare you lie? The cries for help were so clear." Biao Biao angrily exclaimed.

The servants in the courtyard were startled and quickly defended themselves.

Xu Qi'an gestured for them to calm down and then turned to the subordinate leader, "Bring out the broken section of the railing..."

Then, he looked at the older palace maid and said, "You stay, everyone else can leave."

The older palace maid was a little flustered, her hands stirring anxiously.

"You, little eunuch, go to the outer courtyard first. I'll call for you later and you can come back." Xu Qi'an thought this impudent little eunuch would argue back, and he was even prepared to use Huai Qing and Lin An to suppress him.

But unexpectedly, the little eunuch didn't say anything and willingly turned and left.

"What did you discover?"

After the person left, Huai Qing was the first to speak.

The cold and proud princess had her own reasoning. The palace maid cried for help in the attic, and it could be heard outside, although very faintly.

So there are two possibilities: one, the Imperial Concubine didn't cry for help at all. Two, the Imperial Concubine was being controlled by someone.

"How is the Crown Prince's cultivation?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"He has practiced martial arts for a few years and is skilled in archery and horse riding," Huai Qing replied.

Oh, he's just a weakling... Xu Qi'an nodded.

The Crown Prince's cultivation is in the Refining Essence Realm, or even lower. This can be understood. For a prince, continuing the royal lineage and having many descendants is the most important thing. What does personal martial arts matter? The Emperor doesn't need to charge into battle.

Secondly, whether he can resist the temptation of beauty is also a major test.

Especially for the Crown Prince, surrounded by beautiful maids, it's probably difficult for him to remain chaste during his impulsive youth.

Xu Qi'an felt that only someone with great willpower like himself could remain single for nineteen years.

"Although the Crown Prince's cultivation is shallow, it would be easy for him to use force against a weak woman. So perhaps the Imperial Concubine didn't have a chance to cry for help," Xu Qi'an said."I'm sure my elder brother would never do such a thing," Biao Biao immediately retorted, showing her stubbornness as the youngest sister.

Xu Qi'an didn't respond to Biao Biao's puffed-up face, but looked coldly at the older palace maid and said, "You weren't telling the whole truth just now, were you?"

A hint of panic flashed in the palace maid's eyes as she waved her hand and said, "Every word I said was true, I absolutely did not lie. Please judge, sir."

"You didn't lie, but you didn't tell everything, did you?" Xu Qi'an tapped her thigh with the scabbard of his knife.

"I don't have much patience. If you don't speak, you can go to the prison in the Nightwatcher's yamen and explain yourself. I can't guarantee how the jailer there will treat you."

These palace maids and eunuchs were cunning but timid, and intimidation was the best method.

The palace maid bit her lip, made up her mind, and said, "Your Highnesses, Mr. Xu, please follow me."

She turned and entered the attic, with Xu Qi'an, Huai Qing, and Lin An following behind.

Returning to the attic, the palace maid went straight to the bed and struggled to open a large wooden box. From under the old clothes, she took out a small wooden box.

The palace maid lowered her head and timidly presented the wooden box.

Xu Qi'an took it, opened the wooden box, and after seeing what was inside, two words came to his mind: "What the hell!"

If he didn't have Lin An and Huai Qing by his side, he would have whistled in amazement.

Inside the wooden box lay an object carved from jade, 15 centimeters long and four centimeters in diameter. It had a mischievous head and a slender body.

Xu Qi'an immediately understood why the palace maid was hesitant and afraid to speak.

This thing was a forbidden item in the palace, even worse than the small statue of Liu Bei that circulated in women's chambers. It was a matter of morality, but more importantly, this was the palace.

Didn't the emperor care about his face?

Once it was discovered, the punishment could range from being sent to the cold palace to being demoted.

So, when the Empress drank and threw a tantrum, besides having an unbalanced mentality of a resentful woman, she also wanted to have an intimate moment with her fake husband... Of course, such things couldn't be seen by the servants. Except for the personal palace maids, everyone else would be driven away... Fortunately, I kicked out the little eunuch, otherwise Emperor Yuan Jing would have killed me to keep it a secret... Haha, he was actually fooled by a fake item, hahaha.

Xu Qi'an almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What is this?" Princess Lin An frowned.

Xu Qi'an glanced at her, then at Huai Qing. The cold and aloof princess had no expression on her face as she focused on examining the "jade ruyi," her eyes filled with confusion.

Unbelievable, Princess Lin An can't recognize it even though she's well-read? Don't you even look at the palace?

Xu Qi'an coughed and explained, "It's a man's... you know."

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Princess Lin An exclaimed in shock and took a few steps back, her round face turning red, her neck and ears flushed.

Xu Qi'an thought to himself, is she scared by just this? I have something even bigger.

Princess Huai Qing's gaze recoiled as if she had been electrocuted, and she turned her head, her fair face showing a faint blush.

"The Empress... she actually kept such a thing, how shameless. Quick, quick, put it away..." Princess Lin An stammered in anger.

Don't get so worked up, maybe your mother also has one under her bed... Xu Qi'an closed the box and handed it back to the palace maid, saying, "Take it back, don't dirty the eyes of the two princesses."

The palace maid obediently did as she was told.

Xu Qi'an asked, "On the day the Empress fell from the building, was this thing on the bed or in the box?"

"It should have been in the box," the palace maid said.

If it was on the bed, it wouldn't be missing from the case file... Xu Qi'an nodded and asked again, "The missing palace maid, like you, served the Empress personally?"

The palace maid nodded.

"Alright, you may leave."

After she left, Xu Qi'an sat at the table, regretting that he couldn't use the "jade ruyi" for analysis, and analyzed the situation for the two clueless princesses.

"On the day the Empress fell from the building, the servants in the courtyard didn't hear any cries for help, which means there are two possibilities: either the Crown Prince controlled her, or the Empress willingly had an affair with the Crown Prince."

Huai Qing shook her head. "If it was a willing affair, why would there be signs of resistance and struggle in the room?"

You clearly have no experience... Xu Qi'an smiled and said, "There are still two possibilities: first, the Empress initially resisted, so there was resistance, but the Crown Prince used some method to coerce her. Second, sometimes, pleasure between a man and a woman doesn't have to happen on the bed."

Both princesses blushed at the same time and spat.

"Then why did the Empress fall from the building? You said she was pushed by someone," Huai Qing questioned.

"I can't answer that question for now," Xu Qi'an analyzed. "On the day of the incident, the Empress drank alcohol, so the next thing she would do is take out the 'jade ruyi' to chat... If I were the Crown Prince, I could use this to blackmail her and establish a long-term illicit relationship. The Empress, who had been lonely for a long time, might have reluctantly agreed, so there was no need to push her off the building. Even if the Crown Prince sobered up and wanted to kill her to keep it a secret, it shouldn't have been after the act, because during the wise man's time, men are the most calm and would never act impulsively."

"There's another point. If the Empress wanted to do that, why would she drive away the palace maids and guards in the attic? There would be no reason to send another palace maid to invite the Crown Prince unless they already had a secret relationship."

"But according to the investigation by the Three Law Departments, as well as the testimonies of the guards and palace maids in the courtyard, there was no connection between the Empress and the Crown Prince."

"Which means, my elder brother, the Crown Prince, is really being framed," Biao Biao's eyes sparkled.

"That possibility is not small, but it's not time to make a final conclusion yet," Xu Qi'an nodded.

Huai Qing asked, "How did you know the palace maid was hiding something?"

She stared at Xu Qi'an with her clear and transparent beautiful eyes, seemingly seeking advice but unable to hide her pride.

Let's learn about microexpressions... Xu Qi'an said, "A person's facial expressions and body movements can reveal their inner thoughts to some extent. They are more honest than words."

Huai Qing furrowed her eyebrows. "I have never seen a book that records this kind of knowledge."

"I researched it myself."Huai Qing nodded slowly, somewhat admiringly, "You really are a genius at solving cases."

...In fact, the most important thing in solving cases is not talent, but experience and knowledge. Without these things, even if you are a genius at deduction, you won't be able to make any progress. Xu Qi'an smiled and said, "Your Highness, you overpraise me."

At this moment, the leader of the guards shouted from downstairs, "Mr. Xu, the things have arrived."

Xu Qi'an immediately stood up and said, "We are going to verify a hypothesis of mine downstairs. We might find out how the Imperial Concubine died soon."

The three of them went downstairs, and Xu Qi'an took the broken railing from the guard's hand and carefully examined the break, repeatedly inspecting it.

He fell into deep thought.

The two princesses in red and white dresses remained silent, even though the pair of small feet under the skirt kept tapping anxiously, showing their anxiousness.

Because Xu Qi'an had just said that the truth about the Imperial Concubine's death would soon be revealed. It was related to the innocence of the Crown Prince, and they were very anxious.

But they still didn't dare to disturb him in his thoughts.

"Let's go to the ice cellar. Princess Chang, please summon a nanny." Xu Qi'an led the group out of the Qingfeng Hall, and Huai Qing ordered the guards outside the hall to summon an old nanny.

They arrived at the ice cellar and left the guards behind. Xu Qi'an, Huai Qing, Lin An, the supervising eunuch, and the old nanny, the five of them entered the ice cellar and saw the body of the Imperial Concubine once again.

"Nanny, please remove the clothes from the Imperial Concubine's body and turn her over," Xu Qi'an said.

The old nanny hesitated for a moment, but seeing Xu Qi'an turning his back instinctively, she looked at Princess Huai Qing with questioning eyes, not at Lin An.

Huai Qing nodded and said, "Do as Mr. Xu said."

A few minutes later, the nanny said, "I'm done, sir."

Xu Qi'an turned around. The Imperial Concubine was lying naked on the wooden board, her pale back covered in livor mortis, but there was nothing that Xu Qi'an wanted to see.

"That's enough," he nodded.

Leaving the ice cellar and arriving at a side hall, Lin An couldn't wait to ask, "How is it? How did the Imperial Concubine die? Is my Crown Prince innocent?"

Xu Qi'an glanced at the supervising eunuch and then at the two princesses before saying in a deep voice, "The Imperial Concubine should have fallen off the attic by herself."

"How do you know?" Huai Qing raised an eyebrow.

This result surprised everyone.

"The railing on the attic of the Qingfeng Hall is not rotten, it is very sturdy. If the Imperial Concubine was pushed down, her body would have broken the railing and left bruises on her back."

"But I just checked, there were no long bruises on the Imperial Concubine's back. There were only livor mortis and bruises caused by the fall," Xu Qi'an said.

Huai Qing pondered for a moment and said, "But she did fall and break the railing... Are you saying someone tampered with the railing?"

Xu Qi'an nodded, "In addition, after falling off the attic, the Imperial Concubine drank alcohol. The palace maids in the Qingfeng Hall said that she often watched the scenery from the lookout tower... I guess she was watching to see if the Emperor would come. Of course, these are not important."

"What's important is that when a person drinks alcohol, they instinctively lean or rest against the railing. The Imperial Concubine fell on her back, so she should have been leaning against the railing at that time. But someone tampered with the railing, causing her to fall to her death."

"I asked earlier, and the jade ruyi was not taken out at the time of the incident, which means the Imperial Concubine did not use it immediately... Well, you understand. Therefore, the possibility of her standing on the lookout tower is very high."

"The fact that there was no sign of violation during the autopsy can also serve as evidence. The palace maids in the Qingfeng Hall did not hear any cries for help because the Imperial Concubine did not encounter any assault and did not need to call for help."

Huai Qing and Lin An suddenly realized, and the latter was sincerely delighted because the suspicion on the Crown Prince was greatly reduced.

The former fell into deep thought, digesting and savoring Xu Qi'an's analysis, like a top student digesting the content of a teacher's lecture.

The supervising eunuch responsible for monitoring lowered his head and made every effort to silently remember every word Xu Qi'an said, to report to his godfather later.

Upon hearing this, the old nanny interjected, "This sir, it was me who examined the Imperial Concubine's body, not an autopsy expert."

"Oh, so it was you, nanny. That's good, I still have some details to ask you about," Xu Qi'an said, pulling the old nanny aside and whispering, "Nanny, when you determine whether or not there was violation, is it based on the man's output or..."

He quietly asked his doubts.

The old nanny whispered, "It's seamless."

"Oh, I see now," Xu Qi'an thought to himself, "This nanny is even more skilled than me."

With this, it became even more certain that the Imperial Concubine was not violated, but died from an accident that someone carefully arranged.

Since it wasn't a crime of passion, the suspicion on the Crown Prince became very light.

After getting the confirmation, Xu Qi'an said, "The only person who could have done all this is the personal maid."

Of course, the maid would not kill the Imperial Concubine and frame the Crown Prince. This was something even a child could understand.

"Then who could have ordered the maid?" Bai Bai looked at Huai Qing with a look of distrust.

Huai Qing sneered, and Bai Bai immediately shrank behind Xu Qi'an.

She didn't want to argue with Lin An, furrowing her brows and saying, "Then how do you explain the mess in the room?"

"Before the Imperial Concubine fell, the maid definitely couldn't intentionally mess up the room in front of her. And after the Imperial Concubine fell, it immediately attracted the attention of the people in the Qingfeng Hall."

"Maybe the Imperial Concubine had a very bad temper, so she messed up the room. Or maybe there was something wrong with the alcohol, like hallucinogens," Xu Qi'an explained.

Unfortunately, they couldn't dissect the Imperial Concubine, so this speculation couldn't be confirmed.

"Let's stop here for today. I want to go back and think it over, organize the case," Xu Qi'an said.

He couldn't say that he was being lazy.

After sending Princess Lin An back to the Shao Yin Garden, Xu Qi'an saw Princess Huai Qing waiting outside and walked over without saying a word.

The two of them walked forward in silence, with the guards falling behind.

"I didn't expect that as soon as you took action, there would be a breakthrough in the Imperial Concubine's case," Princess Huai Qing praised.

"This case is actually not difficult, at least it proves the Crown Prince's innocence, which is not difficult," Xu Qi'an said, and after a few seconds, he continued, "But...""The Three Law Offices seem to be in no hurry to prove the Crown Prince's innocence."

Xu Qi'an had always felt that the detective knowledge and investigative methods of this era were primitive, but he couldn't deny that there were many talents in the Three Law Offices.

The case of the Consort Fu was not as detailed as the tax silver case, nor as tricky as the Sangpo case, and certainly not as mind-boggling as the Yunzhou case. It didn't involve too many cultivation methods.

Proving the Crown Prince's innocence was a bit difficult, but not impossible.

Princess Huai Qing stared ahead, silent for a dozen seconds, then said indifferently, "There are only two possibilities: one, the real culprit is the Crown Prince. Two, the Crown Prince is being framed."

Xu Qi'an responded with a "hmm".

"If the Crown Prince is the real culprit, then he will be deposed. The imperial examination has just ended, and the struggle for the foundation of the country is about to begin. Neither the Emperor nor the court officials want such a thing to happen. Moreover, it would also incur the hatred of the Crown Prince's party, making enemies for no reason.

"If the Crown Prince is being framed, then who in the harem has the ability to frame even the Crown Prince? The Three Law Offices are even less willing to offend. In the end, this is still a family matter of the Emperor."

Xu Qi'an answered straightforwardly, "Any prince who can inherit the Eastern Palace could be a suspect."

Huai Qing said, "But the most suspicious ones are my biological brother and my mother."

Because the Fourth Prince was the legitimate eldest son, the first in line to inherit.

"Suspicion is just suspicion. Without evidence, even the Emperor can't do anything." Xu Qi'an said.

Suspicion was inevitable. If a prince died young in the palace, all the favored consorts were suspects. But as long as the evidence was destroyed, no matter how great the suspicion, what could be done?

Palace intrigue was actually very simple and brutal. It was impossible for every consort in the harem to be a master strategist like Zhuge Liang.

Huai Qing slowly nodded.

"I don't understand one thing. The Fourth Prince is the legitimate eldest son, so why did the Emperor make your brother from Lin'an the Crown Prince?"

When Xu Qi'an asked this question, he stared intently at Huai Qing. If she showed signs of annoyance or resistance, it would mean that his two-timing had made her wary and she no longer considered him a confidant.

Huai Qing pondered for a moment, then shook her head, "No one can guess the Emperor's thoughts. But once, I had a chance to hear some rumors..."

Xu Qi'an quickly interrupted, "Your Highness, I want to live to see my grandchildren and die a natural death."

Rarely, Huai Qing smiled, "It's not a secret, it won't hurt to hear it."

After a pause, she continued, "It's said in the palace that the reason why the Crown Prince is the Crown Prince is because Consort Chen was favored when she was young, and the Emperor broke the rules to make the eldest son of a concubine the Crown Prince.

"But my royal brother once complained to me in private that when he was young, the Emperor treated him very well and often instilled in him the principles of being a ruler... If the Emperor had no intention of making my royal brother the Crown Prince, why would he say such things?"

Xu Qi'an turned around, waved at the distant guards, then walked a distance with Huai Qing before he couldn't suppress his curiosity and rubbed his hands together, asking:

"So why did he end up making the eldest son of a concubine the Crown Prince?"

......

PS: I'll try to update the next chapter before 12 o'clock.

I'll edit after updating.