Chapter 770: Stay (2)
“Then aren’t you afraid that you’ll let the murderer off and let your brother die with remaining grievances?” Empress Dowager Zhou reprimanded sternly. Xuanyuan Qi clenched his fists. “Mother, I’ll investigate.”
“Alright, investigate now. I want to watch with my own eyes as the thief who harmed my son is punished.”
Xuanyuan Ye was satisfied. She did not notice that Madam Yu, who was silently crying, had stiffened.
Since Empress Dowager Zhou had spoken, Xuanyuan Qi naturally could not refuse. After all, he also wanted to find the culprit as soon as possible.
Not long after, all the servants in Xuanyuan Ce’s courtyard were brought to the empty space outside the Yuqian Palace. Everyone knelt down in fear.
The first person to discover that something had happened to Xuanyuan Ce was the old butler of the courtyard. Xuanyuan Ce returned to the residence when it was dark. After returning to the residence, he sent his servant away and went into the study, and did not come out until midnight.
The old butler was worried and went in to take a look. Xuanyuan Ce was already lying on tne grouna, dead.
This was a huge matter that caused the entire residence to lose their heads. Everyone was in an uproar.
Two of the servants claimed to have seen a woman come out of the study at night. Only then did the butler hurriedly bring them into the palace to report the funeral.
Hearing the question from above, the two servants repeated their previous words in fear.
“I thought that it was a woman favored by His Highness, so I didn’t dare to cause trouble.”
Xuanyuan Ce did not have much time to return to Phoenix City, and returned to the courtyard even less. They did not understand this master, so they naturally blamed Xuanyuan Ce for it.
The other servant did not say anything. It was obvious that this was the reason.
Although the two of them did not see the woman’s face clearly, her figure, clothes, and flower buds matched Shen Yijia’s.
Most importantly, there were no signs of a fight in the study, which meant that the culprit was very likely someone Xuanyuan Ce trusted.
Because he trusted her, he let the other party take advantage of him without any precautions.
It seemed that all the evidence pointed to Shen Yijia.
Not only that, but the guards also pointed out on the spot that Song Jingchen had asked whether His Highness returned to the residence last night.
“What a coincidence. Not long after this Young Master left, His Highness returned.
“I even mentioned it to His Highness. His Highness only nodded and didn’t say anything.”
Xuanyuan Qi looked at Song Jingchen sharply. “I’ll give you a chance to explain.”
The curfew in the Xuanyuan Kingdom wasn’t very early. At midnight, Song Jingchen went out at night to confirm if Lord Jing’an had returned to the residence.
However, why did he have to confirm this? It was inevitable that people would think that he was asking on Shen Yijia’s behalf so that she could make a move.
Song Jingchen pursed his lips and cupped his hands. “His Highness left a token at my house. I was afraid that His Highness would be anxious, so I sent it over overnight. I heard that His Highness didn’t return, so I went to the lord’s residence.”
With that, he took out a token from his pocket. It was the one Xuanyuan Ce had given Shen Yijia.
It was not that he did not want to tell the truth, but this was a crucial moment. Even if he said it, the emperor and Empress Dowager Zhou would not believe him.
They might even think that he was deliberately framing Madam Yu, which would confirm their motive to avenge Ji Luo.
After all, according to them, Xuanyuan Ce was a heartless person, and Madam
Yu was the one who interfered.
Killing Xuanyuan Ce and framing Madam Yu would kill two birds with one stone.
Looking at the token presented, Xuanyuan Qi felt sorrowful again. He waved his hand and gestured for the eunuch to bring people to the lord’s residence.
The prince’s residence was close, and the guards on night duty were quickly brought over, confirming that Song Jingchen’s words were true.
It would take at least an hour to get from Xuanyuan Cel s courtyard to the residence. According to the time when the servants in the residence saw the veiled woman, when Song Jingchen arrived at the residence, Xuanyuan Ce had already returned to the residence and had even been killed.
Although this didn’t rule out Shen Yijia as a suspect, it at least overturned the possibility that Song Jingchen was going to scout the area.
However, to Empress Dowager Zhou, who was anxious to find the murderer and avenge her son, the evidence in front of her was enough.
“Emperor, the culprit who killed your brother is right in front of you. Why aren’t you giving the decree?”
Shen Yijia opened her mouth to say something, but Song Jingchen beat her to it and said, “The Empress Dowager is wise. If my wife and I really came to take revenge for their mother, we could have done it in Phoenix Town. Why would we have gone deep into the capital and waited until he arrived in Phoenix City?”
“I can understand the pain of the Empress Dowager’s son’s death, and I feel deeply regretful. However, it’s precisely because of this that we have to investigate thoroughly. Otherwise, if we let the true murderer escape unpunished, wouldn’t it hurt our relatives and enemies? How can His Highness rest in peace in the netherworld?”
“How dare you!” The nanny beside the empress dowager berated sternly.
“I didn’t mean to offend you. Empress Dowager, please forgive me.” Song Jingchen lowered his body and touched the ground with his forehead. He continued, “Your Majesty, you should know that I came to your country to ask for His Majesty’s help, but if not for His Highness’s help, it might have been difficult for me to even see His Majesty. At this time, how could I and my wife do such a thing to him? How is this any different from digging my own grave?”
Xuanyuan Qi tightened his grip on the armrest and gritted his teeth. “It seems that you know who the real culprit is?”
How could he not understand what Song Jingchen was saying?
Song Jingchen’s words seemed to be absolving himself and Shen Yijia, but he was actually reminding him.
“Don’t treat Ah Ce’s death as a simple personal grudge.” she thought.
Instead, she should think about who Ah Ce was in the way of.
With him gone, the murderer pointed at Shen Yijia, who was inextricably linked to Great Xia. Who would benefit in the end?
However, how could Xuanyuan Qi know that Song Jingchen didn’t deliberately say this to frame the Wu Kingdom’s envoy?
After all, if he really believed Song Jingchen’s words, Song Jingchen would benefit in the end.
He wouldn’t let off the real culprit who killed Ah Ce. The envoys of the Wu Kingdom were suspicious, and so was Song Jingchen.
However, Song Jingchen didn’t point out the murderer as he thought. He only said, “I don’t know, but if Your Majesty gives me some time, I’ll definitely be able to find out.”
Xuanyuan Qi narrowed his eyes. He had already thought about it, but he was worried that Empress Dowager Zhou would not be able to accept it.
“Mother.”
“I just want to know who harmed my son.”
Since Empress Dowager Zhou said that, it could be seen that she still listened to Song Jingchen.
“I understand.” Xuanyuan Qi heaved a sigh of relief and said in a low voice, “I can give you five days, but she has to stay in the palace. If you can’t catch the culprit five days later, I’ll make her pay with her life for Second Brother.”
He was referring to Shen Yijia.
This meant that he wanted to keep Shen Yijia as a hostage.
Song Jingchen’s pupils constricted. “Your Majesty.”
“Sure.” Shen Yijia looked up at Song Jingchen. “Hubby, I believe you.”
Meeting Shen Yijia’s trusting eyes, Song Jingchen clenched his fists and lowered his eyes. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Xuanyuan Ye, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying, wanted to say more, but she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her arm. She turned around.
“Mother?”
Madam Yu came back to her senses and quickly let go. She pressed the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and sobbed. “Ye’er, listen to your uncle. Your father won’t have died in vain..”
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