“What do you mean? Fake?” Emperor Zhaoxuan’s brows knitted. A trace of gloom flashed through his eyes.
“That’s right,” on the contrary, Leng Changxi’s knitted brows became smooth again. He looked coldly at Qin Zhi, who had a strange expression but then turned to Qin Yunuan with tender filled up in his eyes. “In other words, the dead man was not the Grand Young Master of the Qin family.”
“How could that be? The deceased was dressed in his clothes, and the figure was also very similar. Even the knife wound on his back was exactly the same as the wound of Grand Young Master Qin, who had encountered accidental injuries during his study tour. The coroner did not believe. He had never made any mistakes in the autopsy for so many years, and it was impossible to fail miserably in a very easy task.”
Qin Yunuan believed in Leng Changxi’s conjecture. After all, she saw it at the time that Sima Ray asked people to tie stones to Qin Linfeng’s feet and sink him into the lake. Even if Qin Linfeng had excellent swimming skills, he could not have enough time to untie the stones on his feet. As for the dead who pretended to be Qin Linfeng, who came up with it, and what was the purpose?
“As you have said, the rocks underneath the lake badly mutilated his face.” Leng Changxi held his head high, looking very confident, “Even if it was a man with the same look, I could doubt whether he used a human skin mask like in the last hunting on the Royal paddock, let alone a man with a bloody face.”
“In General Leng’s words, my son is still alive?” Qin Zhi asked tentatively.
“I’m not sure.” Leng Changxi didn’t give Qin Zhi a positive answer or a direct look in his eyes, “After all, there are too many people who want your son dead.”
There was a sudden silence in the palace. Only Empress Chen opened her mouth slowly, “But the problem is, General Leng, you have only proposed that the dead person may not be the Grand Young Master of the Qin family. But you failed to have enough evidence to prove it. If you insist that he was someone else, I wonder who the real dead person could be?”
Empress Chen raised a very important question, but Leng Changxi was not in a panic. He looked at Qin Yunuan and suddenly lifted the corner of his mouth. Just then, the eunuch waiting outside the door suddenly reported that Minister Liu was on his knees outside. He said that the little son who came to the wedding banquet with him suddenly disappeared. He heard about the floating corpse in the lotus pond and worried about his little son.
Emperor Zhaoxuan frowned. He simply waved and let people bring Minister Liu up.
In a short time, an old man in his sixties came, standing with a bow. His face was haggard and bleak. His son was gifted to him late in life, but now…
“Your Majesty.”
“Don’t be so polite. You came in a hurry to see me. What were you eager for?” Emperor Zhaoxuan bent his eyebrows. Such a complicated murder happened in the imperial palace. How could it not upset people?
“I came for my son,” said Liu, tears streaming down his cheeks. He knelt to Emperor Zhaoxuan suddenly, “Your Highness, my eldest and second son devoted themselves to the country and died on the battlefield. My youngest son came to me when I was forty-three, but now he had disappeared in the palace without any reason. When I heard about the murder of lotus pond, it cut through my heart like a knife. Your Majesty, let me have a look at the body and stop my conjectures for the sake that I have been loyal to Qi in the past 40 years.”
The floating corpse was dressed in Qin Linfeng’s banquet outfit. That was why everyone took it for granted that the dead was Qin Linfeng. But after the talk, his identity became blurry again.
“Letting the corpse into the palace might affect the emperor’s health.” Empress Chen tried to stop him. Qin Yunuan discovered carefully that Empress Chen’s complexion turned pale.
Emperor Zhaoxuan glanced at Empress Chen and hesitated for a while. Then of a sudden, he ordered decisively, “Bring the body up.”
Nobody dared to be disobedient to the emperor. Four eunuchs appeared in front of the palace, two in the front, and two at the back. Their mouths and noses were covered with white cloths. On their shoulders, there was a stretcher, on which a seven-foot-tall man laid straight. White cloths covered his whole body. But the tip of garment underneath it revealed that he dressed like Qin Linfeng.
As the body was carried in, Qin Zhi and Minister Liu both had a sad look on their faces.
“Linfeng,” Qin Zhi stretched out his hands and tried to take off the cloth covering the body. He was then stopped by the coroner.
“Mr. Qin, the dead had a ruined face. It was hideous. I don’t suggest you see it.”
“This was my son.” Qin Zhi appeared to be agitated.
“Father, you are standing on a royal court.” Qin Yunuan said coldly, “Even if you are not afraid, you have to worry about whether such behavior will offend the emperor and empress.”
“Shut up! You unfilial daughter!” Qin Zhi cursed angrily.
Minister Liu silently lifted the white cloth on the corpse’s arm. The aged hand trembled as he lifted the garment on the body’s right arm. He was surprised when he took a close look.
“How could that be?” Minister Liu was unconvinced, “My little son had a maple leaf birthmark on his right arm, but why….”
Qin Yunuan walked forward subconsciously, but Leng Changxi stopped her. His warm words lingered around her ears, “The body was dirty, don’t get too close.”
“That couldn’t be.” Minister Liu made up his mind and went to take off the shoes of the corpse. The corpse had been soaked in the lotus pond for a while and was slightly swollen, making the shoes very difficult to take off. But somehow, Minister Liu had the strength that came from nowhere. He pulled down the shoes of the corpse forcefully. Looking at the soles of the corpse’s feet, he suddenly collapsed and only murmured in his mouth, “Impossible, how could that be?”
“Did you see it carefully, Minister Liu?” Leng Changxi glanced coldly at Liu, who sat on the ground. He had already checked the place Liu had seen. “Was that strange? The birthmark on his arm and the black mole on the sole disappeared. Instead, there were many scars. Looking at them, people would take it for scratches of the rocks under the pond. Although the wounds had been blistered by the pool water, if you look carefully, you can still recognize that the cut was neat. It was clear that someone killed young master Liu cruelly to deceive the public. They peeled off the skin with the birthmark and black mole. Everything was in the disguise of an accidental injury.”
“So… so…” Minister Liu stuttered. It’s very inappropriate to be embarrassed in front of the emperor, but he had no extra strength to stand up from the ground.
“That’s right, Minister Liu. I’m sorry to tell you that the dead man lying in front of you was young master Liu, not Grand Young Master Qin. Or I could say that Mr. Liu is just a substitute for Qin.” Leng Changxi bowed as he finished speaking. Although he didn’t like to deal with the old ministers, Liu was an elder with an excellent reputation in the court. Leng Changxi also respected him, but his character made him speechless in comforting people. What he could only do was to keep investigating.
The old man, who is over sixty years old, suddenly covered his face and sobbed on the ground. He kept murmuring his little son’s name in his mouth.
Qin Zhi sighed. His heart was suddenly lifted, but he felt it heavier inside. He walked forward, patted Liu’s shoulder, and said, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“So, my father, do you still think of me as a killer?” Qin Yunuan’s sudden words stunned Qin Zhi. “I’m not in good relationship with my brother, and I have nothing to say about that if you tried to slander me with this fact. But now we have determined that the dead man is master Liu, with whom I had no grievance or hatred. How can I kill him in the lotus pond? Even if I lost my mind, I couldn’t have killed this man, who was a head taller than me in such a short time, and I had to strip off his feet and birthmark on his arm. I’m just a weak woman. Don’t look up to me too much.”
“Of course, you can’t. But wasn’t that a piece of cake for your servant girl Leng Shuang?” Qin Zhi mocked.
“Right. You stated categorically that I’m a sinner. Then I don’t have to be wary of paternal love anymore.”
“Huh. I would only believe you if you could find a witness proving that you had never been to the lotus pond.” Qin Zhi looked coldly at Qin Yunuan. It was like she was not his daughter but his mightiest enemy. “As for the paternal relationship, I have said that I would drive you out of the family the day you returned.”
Just as Qin Zhi finished his words, an aged but powerful voice sounded outside the court.
“I could prove it. Third Young Madam of Prince Ning’s Mansion had never been to the lotus pond.”
The voice shocked Qin Yunuan slightly. Shangguan Yi’s figure on the royal court gave Qin Yunuan a feeling that she had found someone to depend on.
“Master Shangguan Yi.” Seeing the sudden appearance of him, Emperor Zhaoxuan couldn’t help but leaned forward a little. His eyes were filled up with respect and politeness of a student. But the majesty of an emperor had kept him on the seat, looking dignified and generous.
Like a banished immortal, Shangguan Yi walked pass the ornate palace in pure white clothes. It was as if he walked with a refreshing breeze until he reached the bottom of the steps and made a salute to Emperor Zhaoxuan, “Greetings, your Majesties.”
Hardly had Emperor Zhaoxuan opened his mouth, did Shangguan Yi said straightforward, “I could prove for Third Young Madam of Prince Ning’s Mansion. She had been with me since she left the banquet. We, together with Third Young Madam’s brother, had been together until the homicide happened.”
