HLnovel Chapter 217 Who is that man?
Chapter 217 Who is that man?
The assassins who tried to kill Lu Yangyang last year, no matter how hard they investigated, the clues they found were basically irrelevant. Apart from the confessions of the dead and the survivors, they could not find the real mastermind behind it all.
In this situation, killing those assassins wouldn't have made a difference.
So the crown prince simply locked the person up and kept a close watch on him to prevent him from committing suicide. Unexpectedly, a few months later, the person who was locked up began to show strange behavior.
At first, I thought it was just that he had been locked up for too long and had developed mental problems. I saw a doctor, but they couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Until a few days ago, his men found the body of the assassin who had taken Li Duan out of the city to silence him. He had several people examine the body, and finally had Wen Yu examine it again, only then did they discover that something was wrong.
Surprisingly, they discovered the same ingredient used in the Qinglian Temple's Nourishing Heart Pills last year: Datura stramonium.
He then sent Wen Yu to see the assassin he had imprisoned and who was already on the verge of death from torture. Sure enough, the same drug had been used.
The only difference was the degree of medication used, so the doctors who came before didn't notice anything amiss.
But one thing is certain: both groups were acting under the orders of the same person.
Lu Yangyang was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly asked, "Has Your Highness found out where this medicine came from?"
“It comes from the southwest region, where the dense forests are rife with miasma and there are many ancient tribes, such as the Miao people who are skilled in using Gu poison, and others who are skilled in poisons. Many forbidden medicines come from the dense forests of the southwest, making it difficult to trace their true origin. However, there is one person who is connected to the southwest.”
"Who?"
The Crown Prince pondered for a moment before replying, "My eldest brother, Zongke."
"Your Highness?" Lu Yangyang gasped, covering her mouth in surprise. Recalling what Li Duan had told her about what she had overheard in the garden that day, she asked in confusion,
"Could the person who was talking to Xue Wanning in the garden that day be His Highness the Crown Prince? Xiao Li said that she rarely sees His Highness the Crown Prince, so she is not very familiar with him. It is understandable if she does not recognize him. But... isn't His Highness disabled? He just got engaged to Xue Wanning that day. How could he turn around and plot to kill my brother?"
Although Lu Yangyang did not do it intentionally, she had indeed observed that the Crown Prince's leg problems were not feigned, but genuine. It would be very obvious if he walked even a few steps faster. Such a person, being a prince, would never easily walk around in the garden of the Princess's residence in order to cover up his shortcomings.
Moreover, based on the circumstances that day, Xue Wanning should not have met the Crown Prince before, so why would she question him about her elder brother? This doesn't make sense.
"We only found out that someone close to the eldest prince had been to the southwest." The Crown Prince explained to Lu Yangyang, "The eldest prince's birth mother died early, and he is in poor health. A young palace maid who knew some medicine was assigned to take care of him. Later, when the eldest prince reached the age to leave the palace and establish his own residence, that palace maid also received the favor of leaving the palace with him. I had someone check the palace maid's hometown, and it happened to be in the southwest area. Moreover, she had returned to her hometown a few years ago. That palace maid has been living in seclusion in her residence and rarely appears. We cannot find any more information about her at the moment."
"My eldest brother has difficulty walking and has been very sensitive about it since childhood. He rarely moves around in public. The person who conspired with Miss Xue may not be him. It's just that some things just happened to coincide."
Lu Yangyang nodded, agreeing that it was indeed true.
Regardless of whether that person was the Crown Prince or not, other things, more or less, had a bit of the Crown Prince's shadow, or were related to that medicine. It was indeed quite a coincidence.
"Don't worry, I'm already trying to plant people in my eldest brother's residence to investigate that palace maid. I've also sent people to the southwest to look for clues about that medicine. As long as we find clues related to that medicine, we can follow the trail and find the person hiding behind it all," the Crown Prince said to Lu Yangyang in a low voice.
"Without finding that person, there's no way to convict Xue Wanning. Is Xiao Li in danger in the capital?" Lu Yangyang wasn't too worried about other things, but she was worried about Li Duan's safety. The person behind her was afraid of being exposed and would definitely try to harm Li Duan in secret.
“My aunt will arrange for people to protect her. As for Miss Xue, some things don’t necessarily require evidence.” The Crown Prince paused and said, “The most important thing now is to gather evidence of the epidemic in Yangguan City. This matter must not be let off lightly.”
"Your Highness, is there anything I can do?" Lu Yangyang asked hurriedly.
"You have saved the people and soldiers of Yangguan City. You have done the most important thing. I will take care of the rest," the Crown Prince said gently.
Lu Yangyang was relieved, but then remembered something important: "Your Highness, please wait for me a moment. I will go back and get the needles to give you acupuncture."
The crown prince paused slightly, then nodded gently, "Alright."
……
The next day, Lu Yangyang understood what the Crown Prince meant when he said that some things didn't necessarily require evidence.
The eldest princess took Li Duan directly to the yamen of the Jingzhao Prefecture to beat the drum and appeal for justice, accusing Xue Wanning, the daughter of the Marquis of Guangping, of murdering her daughter, Princess Li Duan, who was poisoned and had to recuperate in the villa for two months before recovering.
Once the matter became public, the Prefect of the Capital was so frightened that his legs went weak and he knelt down, hurriedly ordering someone to summon Xue Wanning.
The eldest princess directly ordered the imperial guards to accompany the yamen runners of the Prefect of Jingzhao to the residence of the Marquis of Guangping, and invited Xue Wanning and the Marquis of Guangping to the Jingzhao Prefecture yamen without giving them any buffer time.
Upon hearing the news, Lu Yangyang immediately grabbed Sheng Yunjiao, who insisted on joining in the fun, and rushed to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office.
By this time, the area outside the Jingzhao Prefecture government office was already crowded with curious onlookers, as well as the imperial guards brought by the princess. The two of them squeezed for a long time before finally managing to get outside the door.
Inside the hall, the Prefect of the Capital sat at the head of the table, with the Eldest Princess sitting on a chair beside him. Below him stood the Marquis of Guangping, and in the middle stood the Princess of Liduan County, while Xue Wanning knelt to the side.
"Miss Xue, Princess Liduan has accused you of plotting against the Princess on her birthday banquet. Do you admit to this?" the Prefect of the Capital asked sternly.
Xue Wanning knelt upright, her fists clenched, and looked up as she replied, "Your Excellency, I do not believe this. I have never harmed the County Princess. That day, I went to the Princess's residence to attend a banquet and did not show any disrespect to the County Princess. I do not know why the County Princess would slander me?"
The Prefect of Jingzhao then asked Princess Liduan, "Princess, is what Miss Xue said true? You said Miss Xue intended to harm you, do you have any evidence?"
"I saw it with my own eyes, isn't that evidence? That noon, she was having a tryst with a man in the garden when I caught her. She then had me tied up and sent out of the city to kill me to silence me. I'm not blind, I saw it all clearly. Before I could even say a word, I was knocked unconscious. Who else could it be but her? She and that scoundrel must have conspired to harm me!" Princess Li Duan pointed at Xue Wanning and shouted, "Just moments before, at my mother's birthday banquet, His Highness and Consort Shu asked my mother if she would marry her. The next moment, I caught her having a tryst with someone. If she hadn't had me tied up, would I have gotten lost in my own backyard? The last person I saw that day was her. If it wasn't her, would she dare to reveal who that man was in front of everyone?"