Chapter 379: 390

Hearing Shen Ninghua’s words, Baili Qingcang furrowed his eyebrows even more. She was right. The niece of the dignified Noble Consort had been found dead in the palace. Not only had the case implicated one princess and two princes, but there were also many witnesses. This would tarnish the reputation of the royal family if he didn’t handle the case properly.

Noble Consort Li slowly walked to Noble Consort Qi and comforted her, “Please accept my condolence. His Majesty will definitely handle the matter well. Princess Zhaohua, since you said that we should close the case now, do you admit that Lv Ruo was telling the truth?”

Shen Ninghua looked at Noble Consort Li coldly. “I beg your pardon, Noble Consort Li. When did I admit that Lv Rou was telling the truth? Do you want her words to be true?”

The Third Prince immediately stepped forward. “Fifth Sister-in-law, the palace maid has evidence to prove her statement, and there are so many witnesses here. I don’t think you can talk your way out of this. Also, Fifth Brother, it seems that you don’t respect Father Emperor at all. How dare you physically assault the palace maid in front of Father Emperor? It’s so disgraceful.”

Shen Ninghua sneered, “Third Brother, I don’t agree with your argument. You claimed that the maid has evidence to prove her statement, but why do I see that she was just making up her own stories from beginning to end? Also, you claimed that there are many witnesses. May I know where the witnesses are? Did they see me push Qi Ying, or did they see me having an affair with Second Royal Brother? As for Junyi, yes, he kicked the maid twice, so what? That very palace maid accused a Master without any solid evidence! She should count her blessings that I didn’t order her to be flogged fifty times. It’s just two kicks. We didn’t kill her. You don’t have to be so nervous, Third Brother.”

“You tried too hard to prove your innocence with irrational points. The maid is the direct witness, but you claimed that she was making up stories. How do you explain the blood on your body and the note in Qi Ying’s hand?”

“Third Brother, do you have some memory problem? I said that I accidentally stained myself with Qi Ying’s blood when the maid pushed me, remember? Also, no name was mentioned in the note in Qi Ying’s hand. What does it have to do with me?”

The Third Prince snorted coldly, “Oh? Do you expect me to believe you just like that? How do I know if your gibberish is credible?”

Shen Ninghua laughed. “Hah! Lv Rou talked gibberish too, didn’t she? Why are her words credible but mine is not? Where do you come up with this logic? Third Brother, why would you rather believe the palace maid than me?” The Third Prince and Noble Consort Li had long regarded her and Baili Junyi as their eyesore. Their last scheme failed, so this time, they launched another attack. It seemed that they had not given up yet. They wanted to prove that she and Baili Jinchuan were having an affair!

The Third Prince was at a loss for words. “You… D-Don’t try to talk your way out of this!”

Seeing that she had set the atmosphere perfectly, Shen Ninghua ignored him and turned to look at Baili Qingcang. “Father Emperor, someone set me up. Please investigate the truth and prove my innocence.”

Baili Qingcang swept his gaze over Noble Consort Li and the Third Prince. Finally, his gaze fell on Qi Ying, who was on the ground. “Don’t worry. I will prove your innocence if you have nothing to do with this matter.”

“Father Emperor, it’s actually very simple to prove my innocence. I only need to ask a few questions, and you will understand.”

“Hmm? A few questions?”

“Yes.”

“Go ahead.”

Shen Ninghua turned around. “Princess Anyue and Princess Yonghan, you said that you followed me here. From the moment you saw me following the maid and left the banquet until we walked to the rockery, may I know how long the gap was?”

Lin Feiran’s heart skipped a beat. The plan was supposed to work flawlessly, but now, she felt a little uncertain. “About fifteen minutes.”

“Alright, fifteen minutes then. Next, Side Concubine Yang, you said before that the banquet was about to start, and Qi Ying did not want to be late, so she left Chunlan Palace and headed in the imperial garden’s direction, right?”

“Yes.” Yang Yingxue nodded.

“Since she didn’t want to be late, it meant that she should have arranged her time. From Chunlan Palace to the imperial garden on foot, it would take about an hour even if she took the shortest route, which means that Miss Qi would have to depart at least an hour before the banquet began. The banquet had already been going on for about half an hour when Lv Rou came to me. Plus the time we took to walk to the rockery, it was about an hour. So, taking into account the time Miss Qi was walking, there is one hour gap, but where was she at that time?”

The scene became eerily quiet. Everyone began to contemplate the incident according to Shen Ninghua’s deduction.

Shen Ninghua continued, “Imperial doctor, with your medical skills, you should be able to tell how long Miss Qi has been dead, right?”

The imperial doctor, who had been called out, froze and immediately replied, “Yes. Judging from the blood and wounds, Miss Qi should have been dead for two hours.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. “It seems that the imperial doctor’s medical skills are indeed very professional. Father Emperor, you came over with Noble Consort Qi in a man-lifted carriage from Chunlan Palace. It took you almost an hour to arrive because it was faster than walking. Qi Ying had been dead for about two hours. When we added the time into our equation, it meant that Qi Ying was already dead when I came here.”

Everyone was shocked and stunned. They didn’t expect that she could infer the case in this way.

The Third Prince couldn’t help but retort, “This is just your baseless conjecture and deduction!”

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Baili Junyi stepped forward and stood side by side with Shen Ninghua. He stared at the Third Prince with cold eyes. “Third Brother, even if you don’t consider the time, we can prove Ninghua’s innocence based on other evidence. Qi Ying was about the same height as Ninghua and had the same body size. If Ninghua wanted to push her, it was not easy even if she did so while Qi Ying was off guard, let alone pushed her toward the rockery and killed her directly. Only a person who is very strong can do something like this.”

“Well, things don’t always go according to plan. Maybe Qi Ying happened to bump her head into a sharp stone when she fell. It is possible.”

Baili Junyi looked at him mockingly. “Why don’t you go and take a look at the wound on Qi Ying’s head yourself? In order to bleed so much, the wound must be at least an inch deep. Do you really think an accident can inflict such a deep wound?”

“Who can say for sure? Maybe it is so coincidental?” The Third Prince was stubborn. Although it was Lin Feiran who came up with this plan, he and Noble Consort Li were clear about the consequences and added fuel to the fire to perfect the plan. They knew that all their efforts would be in vain if Shen Ninghua got away with it. “Then, how do you explain the note in Qi Ying’s hand?”

Shen Ninghua turned her gaze to Yang Yingxue. “Speaking of the note, you have to ask Side Concubine Yang.”

Yang Yingxue trembled and quickly shook her head. “Me? How would I know? I don’t know anything.”

Shen Ninghua’s cold eyes fell straight on Yang Yingxue, and her glare sent a chill down her spine. “Side Concubine Yang, the dress you are wearing today is really special.”

Everyone quickly looked over. The attention that gathered together was particularly stressful, so much so that Yang Yingxue staggered two steps back and clutched her skirt tightly. Today, she was wearing a blue dress with peonies and butterfly patterns on it. The embroidery was very exquisite, and the petals of the peonies and the wings of the butterflies were constantly shining and flashing under the sun. When she moved, it seemed as if the embroidered peonies and butterflies came alive.

Shen Ninghua took the note from Noble Consort Qi. “I felt that something was wrong when Noble Consort Qi took the note, and I realized what was off when I saw Side Concubine Yang’s dress. Why is the note stained with the crystal powder that is similar to that of Side Concubine Yang’s dress?”

Shen Ninghua raised the note toward the sun, and someone saw the shiny powder flash by. “Oh, look! There is indeed crystal powder.”

Noble Consort Qi grabbed Yang Yingxue’s arm. “What is going on?”

Yang Yingxue’s face turned pale. “Your Grace, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Shen Ninghua closed her eyes, and the coldness inside her kept rolling. “Side Concubine Yang, Lv Rou, who was your personal maid, claimed that Miss Qi fell head over heels in love with Second Prince, but why do I feel that this is not the case?”

“W-What?” Yang Yingxue’s pupils suddenly shrank. Did Shen Ninghua discover the truth? Impossible, impossible!

Shen Ninghua walked to Qi Ying’s corpse and squatted down by her side, her eyes filled with pity. “She had been holding her belly all along. Do you know why? Because she is pregnant.”

“What?! Impossible! Qi Ying is still single! How can she be pregnant?”

“Yes! How can you tell now that she is dead, and you can’t feel her pulse? This is absurd.”

Shen Ninghua looked up at Yang Yingxue. “Others might not know, but you should know, right? Qi Ying has a medicinal smell on her body, and you have it on your body too. It is exactly the same smell. It is the abortion prevention medicine, which is good for the wellness of the fetus. The scent is very faint, but don’t forget that my senses are much sharper than others, and I’ve been in contact with medicinal herbs all year round, so my judgment will definitely not be wrong. But you are not pregnant, so she’s the one who was pregnant.”

Noble Consort Qi trembled all over. When she recalled Qi Ying’s abnormal reaction and absent-mindedness after she told the latter that she wanted to marry her to Baili Jinchuan, her heart skipped a beat. “Side Concubine Yang, is what Princess Zhaohua said true?”

Yang Yingxue knelt down with a thump. “No, no! Your Grace, I don’t know anything! Fetus? Pregnant? Medication? What do you mean?!”

Shen Ninghua glanced at Qi Ying. “Lv Rou, come over and open the purse on Miss Qi’s waist.”

Lv Rou trembled violently. When she heard Shen Ninghua’s order, she stammered while looking ahead blankly, “Y-Y-Yes…” Despite her words, she didn’t move.

“What’s wrong? Come over at once!” Shen Ninghua shouted coldly.

Lv Rou hurriedly took two steps forward. The closer she got to Qi Ying, the more her body trembled. Just as she was about to touch Qi Ying, her eyes became dazed. It was as if she saw Qi Ying staring at her with her eyes wide open. She immediately cried out in alarm, “No! I’m sorry! Miss Qi, I’m so sorry. Please don’t look for me. Please, I beg you. Please let me go… Please let me go…”

“Shut up!” Noble Consort Li shouted sternly. The phoenix hairpin on her head shook slightly, and it produced a crisp sound. “You’re so rude to shout like that in front of His Majesty!”

As if she had been scared out of her wits, Lv Rou disregarded Noble Consort Li and kept on muttering, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t mean it. Side Concubine Yang told me to do it. She was the one who threatened you. Don’t come to me. Please stay away from me! I was just following orders. I was forced to do this.”

Baili Qingcang frowned. “What do you mean?”

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