Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
The hands and feet of Imperial Consort Hua were slightly edematous, her eyes were red, and her face was pale and haggard. The look in her eyes was filled with strong hatred and sadness when she stared at the room of Concubine Mei. As she had been pregnant for a long time, her stomach was bulging higher. Without letting out the senses, Meng Qi could already notice the fetal movement of a new life.
The emperor was married for more than ten years, and he had succeeded in the throne for quite a while. Thus, he had been anxious about the issue of not having any offspring yet. Unfortunately, when he finally had a long-awaited child in the stomach of Imperial Consort Hua, he did not have a chance to see the child being born… Meng Qi was experiencing all sorts of feelings, which were all turned into a sigh. Then, a new thought emerged.
Once the child of the emperor is born, many things will be totally different. There will be more conflicts of interest. I will need to investigate further into the issue of the sudden death.
Meng Qi did not mean to suspect Zhao Laowu, but he just could not ignore a new direction of thinking in the case of sudden death. Perhaps someone else had spread slander, killed the emperor, and incriminated Zhao Laowu of the crime, so as to get benefit from it. Perhaps some other people who were related in this matter wanted to stir up strife in the Zhao Family from Shen Du.
Apparently, there are all sorts of possibilities. It’s not wise to only think from the perspective of Zhao Laowu. Thinking about that, Meng Qi took a step toward the Imperial Consort Hua.
Hiding in a shadow, the Imperial Consort Hua was frightened by the sudden appearance of Meng Qi, so she almost let out a scream. Fortunately, she covered her mouth in time.
When the Imperial Consort Hua recovered from fright, she looked at Meng Qi excitedly and asked in a reckless way,
“Are you the new chief of detectives?”
She had seen Liu Shengming, the Purple Roc Condor who often went in and out of the Imperial Palace, following behind Meng Qi respectfully. Therefore, she had been speculating about Meng Qi’s identity.
“I’m only a temporary chief of detectives. It’s my pleasure to meet you, Imperial Consort Hua,” Meng Qi gave a bow in a relaxed manner.
The eyes of the Imperial Consort Hua were shining, with a sense of madness hidden in her eyes, “Chief, have you found out the cause of the emperor’s death? It’s Concubine Mei. It must be Concubine Mei! She was jealous that I’m conceiving a prince, whereas she was merely a tool in the Witchcraft of Yin Absorption. Sooner or later, her body will be destroyed and she can never get pregnant!”
“The rank and wealth Concubine Mei depended on the emperor, so I can’t think of a reason for her to kill the emperor,” Meng Qi purposely said it this way to see if he could get some new clues from the Imperial Consort Hua.
The Imperial Consort Hua pursed her lips, and put her hands over her stomach. There was a gentle look on her face. “Because she knew clearly that when the Yin power in her is all being absorbed, she will lose favor with the emperor. By then, she will be nothing different from a concubine in the cold palace, or a normal maid in the imperial palace. The only good thing is that she doesn’t need to work, and she will have enough to eat and wear. Therefore, she must have tried her best to get pregnant without considering the condition of the emperor’s body, which resulted in a rebound in the absorption process.”
“I believe that she didn’t mean to kill the emperor, but she must have accidentally taken his life.”
Her words had indeed pointed out a possibility. The investigation carried out by the Sect of Six-Fans was based on the assumption that the Concubine Mei killed the emperor deliberately. Hence, the investigation had focused on finding out whether she had practiced another secret witchcraft of Yin Absorption, and whether she possessed a Temptation Bone. Therefore, the Yuan Xin Seal could not sense anything wrong in Concubine Mei’s emotions. However, was there a possibility that the emperor was killed by accident? Perhaps even Concubine Mei herself did not know that she was actually the one who killed the emperor.
Meng Qi looked sideways at Liu Shengming and ordered, “Great Detective Liu, go and ask Concubine Mei whether she has used any secret spells that help her in getting pregnant.”
The only questionable point was that the emperor was not a fool. Growing up in the imperial palace that was filled with intrigue, how could he not be wary of a rebound in the absorption process given that he knew all his concubines were desperate in getting pregnant?
“Yes, chief,” Liu Shengming maintained his respectful attitude toward Meng Qi. It seemed that he had completely regarded Meng Qi as the real chief of detectives.
The Imperial Consort Hua’s face flushed pathologically while she said earnestly, “You’re such a judicious detective, chief!”
“Imperial Consort Hua, why are you so sure that Concubine Mei is not favored by the emperor? Maybe the emperor just wants to absorb her Yin power temporarily, and after he breaks through the barrier, he will compensate her for the unfair treatment.” The reason of Meng Qi staying here without going to the Concubine Mei’s place was that he still had some doubts to be answered.
The Imperial Consort Hua snorted with contempt, but at the same time she was blushing shyly. After a long while, she looked at the side with the corner of her eyes, and said with a sneer, “The emperor often told me that Concubine Mei was like a piece of wood on the bed. She wasn’t playing up to him. She didn’t even know how to moan. Even though Concubine Mei herself was enjoying it, the emperor found her extremely boring. She’s nothing compared to me.”
In front of Meng Qi, the Imperial Consort Hua did not behave in a lofty manner because she knew that the chief of detectives was often a powerful person who had control over the Sect of Six-Fans. The chief played an important role in the imperial court and the imperial family. An imperial concubine or a prince were nothing compared to the chief of detectives.
The words said by a man in bed – especially a man with an imperial harem – can’t be trusted. Is it true that he really doesn’t favor Concubine Mei? This thought came to Meng Qi at first, but immediately he was startled.
Concubine Mei was like a piece of wood on the bed. She wasn’t playing up to him. She didn’t even know how to moan. Even though Concubine Mei herself was enjoying it, the emperor found her extremely boring.
In contrast, according to the dossiers, at that night, Concubine Mei’s moaning was soft, charming and passionate. The maids all blushed on hearing this!
There was an obvious contradiction between the two statements. Who was the one lying?
Since the maids and eunuchs were interrogated separately, they would not have told the same story unless they had colluded with each other in advance. However, with their powers and realms, they would have exposed themselves to the Sect of Six-Fans long ago if they attempted to collude with each other. In addition, it was impossible for them to tell lies in front of all kinds of secret spells, and the detectives who were skillful in interrogating people by torture. Therefore, it must be true that they had heard Concubine Mei’s tempting moans at the time.
On the other hand, since the Imperial Consort Hua did not know the contents of the dossiers, it was impossible for her to lie on this matter. Her emotions sensed through the Yuan Xin Seal had also proved this.
Could both of the statements be true? Meng Qi squinted his eyes. If that’s so, does it mean that there was someone else who moaned?
In fact, the emperor had an obsession in making love with the beauties. Therefore, he might have got aroused in bed easily, which in turn put himself in a dangerous state during the absorption process. At the very moment, if a woman of the Exterior Realm moaned suddenly using the techniques in the Spell of Temptation, it would definitely arouse the emperor and cause him to have an unstable state of mind. As a result, the ejaculation would have caused a rebound in the absorption process which led to his death!
In this way, no trace could be seen from the emperor’s corpse, nor could the Concubine Mei notice anything strange. Moreover, the maids and eunuchs outside the room would have thought it was the Concubine Mei’s voice.
Actually, a lot of female martial artists had attained the Exterior Realm – every Bodhisattva from the Plain Girl Sect was in this realm. The problem was, how could the murderer sneak into the emperor’s dormitory without anyone knowing? The Zhao Family from Shen Du had far more powerful people than other families!
Apart from that, Feng Zheng, the general director in charge of palace affairs who was responsible for the defense of the emperor’s dormitory, should have also noticed the traces of the murderer.
As Meng Qi was absorbed in thought, Liu Shengming came out of Concubine Mei’s room and reported respectfully, “Chief, Concubine Mei said that she didn’t seek for any secret spells that help her in getting pregnant. The emperor had promised her that after breaking through, he would use medicines to enhance her health condition and cultivate the Primitive Force in her body. Furthermore, he would use a secret method in the imperial family to guarantee her pregnancy.”
“It’s… it’s impossible…” the Imperial Consort Hua was stunned. She muttered to herself incredulously, “He told me that he only loved me, and he would only make me pregnant…”
Meng Qi ignored her and looked at Liu Shengming. He said in an indifferent tone, “Where is Feng Zheng imprisoned? I want to ask him something.”
When the emperor died, all the eunuchs and maids near his dormitory were detained separately. They would not be released until the truth came to light.
“Chief, I’ll lead you there,” Liu Shengming turned and led Meng Qi to another room.
“The chief of detectives wants to talk to Feng Zheng,” said Liu Shengming to the Silver-Stamped Detectives who were guarding at the door.
The two Silver-Stamped Detectives showed reverence to the chief of detectives, Su Meng. Then one of them said, “Half an hour ago, the Golden-Stamped Detective, Zhang Yu has released Feng Zheng temporarily and brought him back home. A senior in Zhang Yu’s family, who is quite close to Feng Zheng, wants to see if he could persuade Feng Zeng sentimentally to tell some useful information about the case.”
Zhang Yu, a Golden-Stamped Detective, was a member of the Zhang Family in Long Nan.
“The Zhang Family in Long Nan? Releasing Feng Zheng temporarily?” Meng Qi’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately turned around, and rushed to the mansion of Zhang with Liu Shengming.
Initially, Meng Qi planned to talk to the King of Qin, Zhao Jingshi, but he had no time at the moment!
The mansion of the Zhang Family in Long Nan was located at a quiet and serene place. Although there were shady trees all around, it still felt like hot summer day.
The conveyance light of Meng Qi landed in front of the door. He said straightforwardly, “I’m the new chief of detectives of the Sect of Six-Fans. I wish to see Mister Zhang.”
As Meng Qi was a person of high status and good reputation, how dare the janitor make things difficult for him? He immediately reported to the assistant administrator of the government affairs department of the mansion of Zhang.
After just a short while, the assistant administrator, Zhang Baili had came to the door.
Zhang Baili had a ruddy face that was full of vitality. Having a tall and strong body, he looked like an old bear, “What brings you here, the chief of detectives?”
While looking around, Meng Qi said with a smile, “I’ve discovered a new clue to the case and wanted to interrogate Feng Zheng, but only to find out that he is taken to your house. To avoid wasting time, I’ve came straight here.”
“You don’t have to pay a visit here for such a small matter, chief,” Zhang Baili laughed and said. Then, he ordered a servant, “Call the Seventeenth Eldest here, and bring Feng Zheng with you.”
Meng Qi frowned silently when he saw Zhang Baili behaving so normally.
After five minutes, Zhang Yu, who was still wearing the uniform of a Golden-Stamped Detective, came panicking, “Uncle and the chief of detectives, Feng Zheng… Feng Zheng has just killed himself!”
“What?” Zhang Baili was in shock, as if he could not believe it.
Meng Qi had already foreseen such a situation. He looked at their facial expressions back and forth, and said to Liu Shengming, “Gather all the secret agents near the mansion of Zhang, and ask them to report everything they saw in the last fifteen minutes.”
Zhang Baili was startled, and he stared at Meng Qi angrily.
“Chief, are you suspecting that we were the ones who killed Feng Zheng to stop him from leaking important information?”
As Zhang Baili let out his aura, the nearby pond was making a bubbling sound and filled with water vapor. Along with a subtle smell of something being roasted, many carp were floating on the surface of the water with their bellies facing up.
