“How did I find out?” Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin, with a somewhat surprised expression on her face. “I thought everyone knew about this.”
“…”
What does this mean? Is she secretly insulting her?
Although Xiao Jin was not a native, she knew that large-scale activities with high confidentiality like the assassination of the Yan King were impossible for everyone to know.
After thinking for a moment and to avoid saying anything wrong, she decided to remain silent and wait for Chu Shao to continue.
Fortunately, Chu Shao gave her face this time. Seeing Xiao Jin’s silence, she continued with a smile, “A few days ago, when I accompanied the prince to the palace, I met the emperor in the study. But at that time, I just stood there and listened to them talk. It was quite boring, so I found myself some amusement by observing the attire and behavior of those around me.”
“Attire and behavior?”
Xiao Jin frowned. At that time, she was busy competing with the male lead and second male lead, and she didn’t pay much attention to their attire and behavior.
Moreover, even if she had noticed, as a modern person, she wouldn’t understand the attire of a fictional world.
“Yes, and then I found out that the Fourth Prince seems to be extremely fond of the Purple Wei flower. He not only embroidered Purple Wei with dark silk threads on his shoes but also engraved it on his jade pendant around his waist.”
Through Chu Shao’s words, Xiao Jin remembered this small detail.
The Fourth Prince was wearing a deep red robe that day, and he was indeed quite handsome. As long as he didn’t speak, he looked dignified and elegant, which matched the standard image of a noble prince in online novels. He was commonly known as the second male lead.
With the Purple Wei flower as his embellishment, he looked even more regal. If Xiao Jin didn’t know this significant characteristic, it would have been suspicious.
However, this couldn’t be entirely her fault. After all, she usually reads online novels quickly, and the original author never mentioned that the second male lead’s decoration was often Purple Wei.
Of course, even if the author had written about it, Xiao Jin would not have paid attention to the details of the second male lead. After all, everyone knew he was just an insignificant character.
Chu Shao’s eyes were still gentle and clear, but Xiao Jin noticed that she reached out and gently brushed her hair behind her ear.
Just as Chu Shao raised her hand, in a fleeting moment, her fingers seemed to tremble slightly.
…It was a strange moment of excitement.
However, Chu Shao’s excitement was destined to be in vain because Xiao Jin had already thought of a watertight response.
Xiao Jin slightly frowned and calmly said, “Because the Fourth Prince’s jade pendant is engraved with Purple Wei, the assassin cannot be sent by him. After all, everyone knows he likes Purple Wei. It’s too coincidental for the assassin to carry a Purple Wei token.”
“Of course, there is a small chance,” she added.
In novels, such a dramatic and coincidental plot is not impossible.
“The prince is right. But what if the person who left the token also thought of this, deliberately diverting the blame to someone else?” asked Chu Shao, smiling and gently rubbing the bamboo wheelchair with her fingers, as if searching for something.
After the assassination, Xiao Jin had replaced her wooden wheelchair with a bamboo one. She was curious about what this person wanted to do.
After listening to Chu Shao’s words, Xiao Jin couldn’t help but pause.
If she followed her own thoughts just now, someone had engraved the Purple Wei on the token to frame the fourth prince.
In her conflict with the fourth prince, the biggest beneficiary was the crown prince. So she had initially thought that the mastermind was the male lead, as this kind of selfish thing was something he could do.
Moreover, the assassins were highly skilled, but they had shown mercy to her every time. Apart from the male lead, Xiao Jin could hardly think of any other reason.
After all, this was just an outdated dog-blooded novel, and the power struggles were very weak. She believed that except for the male and female leads, the other characters’ intelligence should not be too high.
After considering all this, Xiao Jin couldn’t help but rub her forehead and say, “If someone else framed the crown prince, it’s also possible. But I have always been on good terms with the crown prince, and using such a plan would be too clumsy.”
“Moreover, this token was actually counterfeited by someone else, and the skill is extremely exquisite. Unless someone is steeped in antique jade, it is impossible to see through this layer. If I had not noticed this layer, wouldn’t the mastermind be ruined?”
Chu Shao didn’t say anything, just looked at the Purple Wei flower token in Xiao Jin’s hand.
It must be said that she had little interest in these power struggles. Compared to the schemer hiding under the Purple Wei flower, she was more concerned about the body hidden under Xiao Jin’s clothes.
She had a feeling that Xiao Jin was hiding a secret.
Xiao Jin was different from many people she had met. Perhaps the secret was those crippled legs or the bloodstains on the brocade handkerchief.
Such a broken person, even if barely put together, was still a half-dead sickly person.
In theory, Xiao Jin shouldn’t have survived until now.
But she had, and she had even started to investigate who had sent her assassins.
Just this alone was interesting enough.
Thinking of this, Chu Shao couldn’t help but smile and respond, “The prince is right. The mastermind is probably among those few people. If you want to explore, you will know who it is.”
“…”
This statement, “no one but those few people,” is quite arrogant. It doesn’t sound like something that would come out of the mouth of a princess from a fallen kingdom.
However, Xiao Jin wasn’t surprised that Chu Shao spoke in such a casual tone.
After all, with Chu Shao’s personality, even if the sky were to fall, it wouldn’t surprise her.
But Chu Shao is also right. If one wants to obtain something from the original owner, it can only be from those few most esteemed people in the world.
Xiao Jin looked at the purple wei flower pattern on the token, then put it away and nodded. “The princess’s words are also very reasonable. It’s just those few people. Since someone tried to put me to death last time, there will inevitably be a next time.”
“However, he left a flaw this time, which may be explored from this flaw.”
“What flaw?” Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin tenderly.
Xiao Jin glanced at Chu Shao and replied concisely, “Thanks to the princess, this flaw can be attributed to her. Because the princess’s swordsmanship is too superb, she didn’t leave a live mouth when dealing with the assassin, so now I can only pry information from a dead man’s mouth.”
Chu Shao’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and she was somewhat surprised because she didn’t know that she had accidentally accomplished such a “great achievement.”
“But I don’t have the ability to make the dead speak. Perhaps I can only extract something from that person through this flaw.”
…
The rain in the capital stopped.
After two months of continuous rain and snow in Cangjin Lane, it finally stopped for a day.
The storefront at the end of the alley opened early. Su Tan, dressed in light blue clothes, picked up a broom and swept away the last pile of snow in front of the door.
She only had one broom and only swept the snow in front of her own door.
Not because of indifference, but because the surrounding shopkeepers had gone south for the New Year and would not return until next year.
The south is a good place, with wild geese and a pond of lotus.
If it weren’t for the old debts owed many years ago that hadn’t been paid off, perhaps Su Tan would have returned to the south by now, planting medicinal herbs and taking good care of the flowers of the four seasons.
She leaned against the door, squinted at the sky as clear as glass, and the lingering mist. Suddenly, she missed the winter days in Da Yao, where winter honeysuckles grew everywhere.
The time left for Su Tan’s nostalgia was very short. Because not long ago, she had found her creditor, and perhaps she could find a way to repay her debts.
However, it would take time. She needed a lot of time, but time was running out.
Su Tan sighed. She thought she might need to think carefully before figuring out how to infiltrate the heavily guarded Yan Mansion.
This thought lasted only for a moment.
Because the next moment, a carriage broke through the frost on the ground and rushed towards her.
The sound of the galloping horses grew louder. Just like the night a few days ago when the rude and unreasonable intruders barged into the Hidden Brocade Lane.
Su Tan watched as dozens of silver-armored guards jumped off the carriage. They were likely brave and skilled soldiers.
However, all these soldiers were holding a pot of green mint at the same time. Some pots had a few white flowers, and some were drenched in rain and unwilling to bloom.
It seemed that these owners of the mint didn’t know how to take care of plants.
Thinking of this, Su Tan already guessed who these people were.
She held a broom and looked at the soldiers, asking calmly, “May I ask where you are from, sirs?”
“Miss Su, we are from the Yan Mansion,” the soldiers replied with hearty laughter. They didn’t seem to think it was offensive for a seven-foot-tall man to appear at her store holding a pot of plants.
After all, they had done more offensive things- kidnapping someone on the street and kidnapping a prince’s bride, which was really exciting.
After listening to the soldiers, Su Tan remained silent for a long time.
Because it had been many years since anyone had called her “Miss Su.”
She looked at those overly energetic guards and thought of the paralyzed prince in the Yan Mansion.
After thinking for a long time, she found it hard to imagine that a ruthless killer would lead a group of energetic soldiers who were not lacking in humanity.
The soldiers were not content with just being full of energy. They also piled dozens of pots of mint in front of her medicine shop and shouted, “Miss Su, these flowers and plants were specially sent to you by the prince. We’ll leave them here for you.”
Su Tan couldn’t say anything because she had no intention of accepting the mint sent by Xiao Jin. However, since she still wanted to blend into the Yan Mansion, she had no reason to refuse. But whether she accepted or refused, it seemed suspicious.
After all, it was very suspicious that Xiao Jin would inexplicably send her dozens of pots of mint.
Just when Su Tan had nothing to say, the most suspicious thing happened.
In the snowy landscape, a middle-aged man in a black robe got off a carriage.
He had a very ordinary appearance, but when he smiled, many wrinkles would appear on his face.
There was a small dark bruise on the middle-aged man’s forehead, which seemed to have been accidentally caused by tripping.
But he didn’t seem to care and walked up to her, bowing humbly and saying, “Dr. Su, I am in charge of the Yan Mansion. Her Royal Highness Yan asked me to pass on a message to you, and I hope you can listen.”
Su Tan politely said, “Please speak.”
The middle-aged man approached and looked mysterious. He whispered to Su Tan, “Well, Her Royal Highness actually doesn’t have anything important to ask of you, he just wants you to…”
“To ask me what?”
“To ask you to help examine a corpse.”
“But I’m a doctor, not a coroner.”
The middle-aged man smiled, “Her Royal Highness knows, but she still wants to ask you because the Imperial Court cannot find anything. “
“Since the Imperial Court cannot find anything, what can a commoner like me do?”
“But her Royal Highness believes that you can definitely find something.”
Su Tan said expressionlessly, “Her Royal Highness believes that a commoner like me can examine a corpse? So, is this why she would rather find a pharmacy owner to examine the corpse than ask a coroner?”
The middle-aged man thought for a moment and then smiled awkwardly, “Dr. Su, in fact, Her Royal Highness may not believe in you, but in herself.”
Su Tan looked at the middle-aged man with a bruised on her forehead and found that everyone in the Yan Mansion was quite sick.
…
It was a sunny day, but the main courtyard of the Yan Mansion was empty because the prince was in a good mood today and had brought a woman back from outside.
It was said that the woman was also a physician, and she was very beautiful and ethereal-looking.
The maidservants saw Su Tan in a green robe and thought that the prince’s taste was becoming more and more unfathomable.
It was only after Su Tan entered the main courtyard that they dared to whisper, “The princess is already the most beautiful woman in the world. Why did the prince bring that girl back to the mansion?”
“Oh, you know nothing. Even the brightest gem in the house will eventually lose its value. As long as it’s a man, he will always take concubines.”
The concubine they were discussing at the moment was sitting in a wheelchair, sipping a cup of honeysuckle tea.
The fragrance of the tea filled the air, and Xiao Jin watched Su Tan dissecting a corpse while handing the other cup of tea on the table to Chu Shao.
Chu Shao smiled and took it, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
“No need,” Xiao Jin said as she picked up her cup and took a sip.
Watching Su Tan work hard, she suddenly remembered the days when she was a corporate slave and felt a sense of pity in her heart.
Although there was only one pot and two cups on the table, she pretended to be friendly and said to Su Tan, “Doctor Su, if you’re tired, take a break and have a cup of tea.”
Su Tan held a silver knife in her hand, and the blood on her hand hadn’t been wiped clean yet. She turned her head and asked coldly, “Your Highness, I really want to know why you insist on using honeysuckle to brew tea?”
For Su Tan, honeysuckle was not only the flower of her motherland, but also a secret scar in her heart. She narrowed her eyes and even began to suspect that Xiao Jin knew something.
Little did she know that Xiao Jin was already feeling weird in her heart. Was there any reason not to use honeysuckle to brew tea? Did honeysuckle offend the second wife in her previous life?
Xiao Jin had already begun to act weirdly in her mind, but she still kept smiling on her face.
She didn’t care about the stench of the corpses in the room, nor Su Tan’s resentment. Instead, she stared at the other person and asked leisurely, “What else could it be for? This tea clears heat and detoxifies. When else would be a better time to drink it?”
~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: I’m tired. Good Night, Everygays.
TO BE CONTINUE…
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