Chapter 315 – Who Did It
“I-I went to look for Eldest Sister earlier!” Wei Qiufu had been listening from the side. She was not Wei Fengyao and there were some things she was not clear about. However, she felt that Qi Yunhao, who had never taken the initiative to talk to them, had ulterior motives.
When Qi Yunhao turned his focus to her, she quickly affirmed.
“Eldest Sister, am I right?” After saying that, Wei Qiufu turned to look at Wei Fengyao as if she was trying hard to verify her statement.
Wei Fengyao was afraid that others would find out that she had schemed against Wei Yuewu with that matter. Hearing Wei Qiufu’s question, she hurriedly nodded, “Yes, Fourth Younger Sister came to look for me. Actually, I was on my way here at that time, so I didn’t see her.”
Therefore, neither Wei Qiufu nor Wei Fengyao could prove their absence, but judging from the current situation and the discovery of evidence at that time, the Heiress-apparent of Prince Nan’an was most likely the suspect.
She dropped her younger sisters’ handkerchiefs on purpose to set up a trap and put herself away.
Suddenly, the result of the deduction dawned upon Qi Yunhao. No wonder there were two handkerchiefs at the scene. It was clearly the Heiress-apparent of Prince Nan’an who had deliberately put them there. Thinking about it again, Qi Yunhao realized that she often entered and exited the Palace. Perhaps she had found something.
As for Sixth Miss Wei, he had heard that she had come to the capital much later than he had, and she had just recently entered the Palace. So it was unlikely that she had discovered something.
Although Fourth Miss Wei had come to the Palace many times, with her identity, it was not as convenient as the Heiress-apparent of Prince Nan’an.
With this comparison, Qi Yunhao squinted, and his cold gaze fell on Wei Fengyao.
This gaze made Wei Fengyao, who was already uneasy, feel even more jittery, and her gaze could not help but drift away sheepishly.
“I didn’t know that the Heir-apparent of Duke of Qi knows the Heiress-apparent of Prince Nan’an.” A soft sigh that was as gentle as a breeze sounded beside them. Wei Yuewu’s eyes darted, and she raised her eyes to look at Yan Huaijing, who seemed to have walked out of a painting. He had somehow walked over.
“I’ve met her a few times before,” Qi Yunhao replied with a smile after looking at the ladies’ expressions.
“You came earlier than me. Did you see the assassin?” Yan Huaijing asked lazily while raising his eyebrows with a rare hint of enchantment.
“No. The palace guards were already investigating the scene when Heir-apparent of Chu and I came over.” Qi Yunhao shook his head and said with a smile, “I’ve set up the pitch-pot for the arrow-throwing game. Do you want to join us?”
This was the game they had thought of before.
“I’ve heard that pitch-pot is a popular game in the capital, and it’s true. Do the people in Qi State also like such a gentle game?” Yan Huaijing looked at Qi Yunhao with a smile, and his words became more and more ambiguous. “Our Yan people prefer a game of shooting! It’s more adventurous and challenging.”
These words made Qi Yunhao’s expression change. Even though the Yan State was indeed powerful, no one would like to feel inferior, so Qi Yunhao immediately sneered.
“Of course, our Qi people like to talk directly with our arrows too, but this is the Palace. Do you think it’s appropriate to play with your arrows and swords as you please here?”
“Of course not!” A hint of ridicule flashed in Yan Huaijing’s deep eyes. “I know that you can’t do this, so I just asked casually!”
The sarcasm in Yan Huaijing’s words was enough to irritate Qi Yunhao, who was also conceited. His fists, which he hid in his sleeves, clenched tightly. One day, the Qi State would step on the Yan State, and it would be his!
“However, if you want to, I can do it!” Although Yan Huaijing spoke in a soft tone, even Wei Fengyao and the ladies could sense the provocation in his words.
“I can do it without having you think of a way. Do you see the venue over there? We can test our archery skills over there!” Enraged, Qi Yunhao forcefully put on a stiff smile on his face and pointed to an empty field on the side.
There was indeed an empty field over there, which was located in front of the palace. This place was already very remote and desolate, so there were not many buildings, and there was a vast land in front of it. Previously, Wei Yuewu came to this exact spot when she fled. The field was so vacant and wide that she had no place to hide, which was why she chose to hide behind the rockery on the side.
“Archery?” At this time, Lu Yeli came over and happened to hear Qi Yunhao’s words. He raised his eyebrows and asked coldly.
“Yes, archery. Do the people in the Lu State like this kind of game?” In order to show his bravery, Qi Yunhao especially smiled smugly at Lu Yeli.
“Of course. It’s a great game!” Lu Yeli looked at Yan Huaijing and immediately agreed. As for Chu Fangnan, everyone selectively thought that he would agree to join them.
Seeing that it was none of her business now, Wei Fengyao intended to leave, but just as she was about to move, Qi Yunhao stopped her.
“Heiress-apparent of Prince Nan’an, don’t go yet. We want to compete in archery. Can you be our referee, please?”
“Me?” Wei Fengyao pointed at herself in bewilderment, not knowing why he would invite her since she did not have much interaction with these heirs-apparent.
“Yes! Look at us. We can’t be our own judge, right? I’ll have to trouble you then!” Qi Yunhao smiled.
In fact, Wei Fengyao wanted to leave now. However, since Qi Yunhao had spoken, she could not refuse him. Everyone in the capital knew that these heirs-apparent were not ordinary. In their respective places, their statuses were equivalent to that of the Crown Prince.
Even though the Qi State was not the strongest among the four of them, he was much more powerful than the other aristocratic families in the capital. Although Prince Nan’an was a descendant of the royal family, he could not afford to offend the heirs-apparent of these four dukedoms.
“In that case… Fourth Younger Sister and Sixth Younger Sister, let’s go and help the heirs-apparent as their referees.” Wei Fengyao could only urge Wei Qiufu and Wei Yuewu to go with her.
“Eldest Sister, you go with Fourth Elder Sister. I’ll stay right here. Father still has something to talk to me about just now. From where I stand, I can see you, so you can just shout for me if you need anything.” Wei Yuewu’s long eyelashes flickered as she softly refused.
No matter how she looked at it, Qi Yunhao seemed to have the intention to approach them and inquire about the case. In addition, he had a somewhat malicious gaze, so she definitely would not go over.
Wei Yuewu dropped the handkerchiefs herself, so it was better to stay away from them as far as possible. Moreover, It did not seem like there was anything good for Qi Yunhao to ask Wei Fengyao to be the referee.
In addition, the cunning Yan Huaijing was clearly adding fuel to the fire.
“A-Alright then!” Since Wei Luowen had asked Wei Yuewu to wait here, Wei Fengyao could not take her away. Thinking that Wei Luowen was not far away from them, Wei Fengyao became a bit more courageous.
Hence, she reached out and pulled Wei Qiufu. “Fourth Younger Sister, let’s go take a look together!”
“I…” Wei Qiufu had a bad feeling about this and wanted to refuse, but Wei Fengyao would not allow her to escape at this moment.
“Fourth Younger Sister, let’s go. Can’t you do the four heirs-apparent a favor?”
“S-Sure. Let’s go, Eldest Sister.” Wei Qiufu did not dare to say anything inappropriate, so she had no choice but to follow Wei Fengyao over.
Wei Yuewu was left alone. Standing on the spot, she looked at Wei Fengyao and Wei Qiufu as they walked away with her sparkly eyes, something flashing in her mind, and she curled her lips into a cold sneer.
Qi Yunhao would not ask those questions out of the blue…
“Yuewu, why don’t you come with us?” Yan Huaijing spotted the frigidness in the young Wei Yuewu’s eyes as she looked at Wei Fengyao, and he smirked.
“Many thanks for your invitation, but I need to wait for my father here,” Wei Yuewu withdrew her gaze and replied politely as the cunning Yan Huaijing was talking to her.
However, she looked in a certain direction and rolled her bright eyes.
Yan Huaijing was too wicked and evil. He knew that Qi Yunhao was up to no good, yet he added fuel to the fire and even asked if she wanted to join them. It was a dangerous circumstance, and Wei Yuewu naturally would not put herself in that position.
Qi Yunhao was a big gift she had prepared for Wei Fengyao.
Yan Huaijing looked amused as he spotted her rolling her eyes despite being polite and respectful to him. The childishness of a young girl on her was obvious. This time, he did not pressure her. He turned and left.
On the field, the people quickly set up the archery venue. Some people were preparing targets, some were hanging on the treetops, and some people were drawing lines in a suitable place…
Standing at the crime scene, Wei Luowen frowned in dismay as he watched his two nieces going over the field. The four heirs-apparent were always up to no good, and it was best not to get involved. However, Wei Fengyao and Wei Qiufu unexpectedly mingled with them.
However, Wei Fengyao was not only his niece but also the Heiress-apparent of Prince Nan’an. Technically speaking, her status was much nobler than him, so he was not in a position to reprimand her as he pleased.
Therefore, Wei Luowen could only watch silently.
Nevertheless, he was very pleased to see Wei Yuewu stand on the same spot sensibly. At least, she was sensible enough to stay away from this matter.
“Lord Marquis, there is a dead palace maid inside!” A palace guard suddenly barged out and reported anxiously. They had previously split up to investigate, and he found a dead palace maid in the palace in front of them.
“How did she die?” Wei Luowen withdrew his attention and asked in a low voice.
“She was strangled and was killed in one blow. It seemed that she had witnessed something and was killed!” The palace guard answered truthfully as he was familiar with this kind of thing in the Palace.
“Lord Marquis, there is a dead eunuch in the lake over there!” Another palace guard ran over and pointed to the lake on one side.
This palace guard had previously inspected the perimeter around the lake and found a trace of someone sliding toward the lake. As he probed the water surface, he found a eunuch who drowned in the lake. The place was only a few meters away from the place where the two eunuchs died.
“Let’s go and take a look!” With a deeper frown, Wei Luowen turned around and rushed to the scene. The assassin could have killed the eunuch with one blow just like how he killed the two eunuchs. Why did he drown him in the lake?
At the end of another path, another eunuch was also killed with one stab, and his fatal blow was similar to the other two eunuchs’. What was going on with the palace maid who was strangled and the drowned eunuch? Could it be that these were not the doings of the four heirs-apparent, but someone in the Palace?
With faint speculation flashing in his mind, Wei Luowen decided to go and see what happened in the lake first.
But before he took a few steps, he suddenly heard the shrill scream of a woman, and he turned around in shock to look at Wei Yuewu…
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