Chapter 1622: Mending the Fence After the Sheep Have Been Stolen! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
In the end, after seeing the determined expression on the Asura-masked man's face, the First Prince managed to calm his anger.
Hiss!
Taking in a deep breath, he began to develop another idea.
The First Prince turned to the guard who had reported on the matter.
”Let me ask you… is that Jade Consort Xiao the real one?”
Buzz!
Everyone in the Eastern Palace was startled, and the air suddenly turned strange.
Yes! The assassin leader, Asura, was a vicious man with profound martial arts. This was true even though the First Prince had ordered him to not leave behind any clues and ensure that Jade Consort Xiao's death looked like suicide, restricting many of his abilities.
But he still had all his strength. It wasn't possible that he was unable to kill an ordinary consort.
Everyone instantly focused on the guard.
”Your Highness, Jade Consort Xiao had a harrowing experience and is resting in the palace. However, all the other consorts have seen her, and from their reactions, this should be Jade Consort Xiao. In addition, the imperial physician also went to see her, and there are many other factors, like the reactions from the maids and eunuchs of Shuhua Palace, that all indicate that this really is Jade Consort Xiao!”
The guard's answer was unexpected, and it made all their hearts sink.
The consorts and the maids and eunuchs of Shuhua Palace had undoubtedly interacted with Jade Consort Xiao before, and were the people most familiar with her. If even they didn't notice anything strange, it meant that this truly might be the real person!
The mood instantly turned oppressive.
”I don't believe it! This prince doesn't believe it!” the First Prince suddenly roared, his face ashen. He was apparently completely incapable of accepting this fact.
A cooked duck had flown away. After all his painstaking effort, how could he accept such a result?
”Such a coincidence cannot exist in this world. Eunuch Yin, this prince asks you, just what transpired at that time? How could it be that a person who had been dead for more than half a day would suddenly come to life not long after Wang Chong had left Shuhua Palace? There is no way that this was a coincidence. This prince doesn't believe that the matter is that simple!” the First Prince resentfully spat.
All of this was too suspicious. Jade Consort Xiao had chosen the moment of her revival to be right after Wang Chong had left Shuhua Palace. This was simply too coincidental.
”This old slave also had the idea, but this old slave questioned a maid of Shuhua Palace. The King of Foreign Lands was in Shuhua Palace for less than ten minutes, and there were ten-some maids and eunuchs inside at the time, with at least nine of them around Jade Consort Xiao's coffin. Although this matter is suspicious, there was no opportunity for him to try anything,” Eunuch Yin said, his expression grave.
The First Prince was struck dumb. Eunuch Yin's loyalty was unquestionable, and the First Prince treated him in some ways like an extension of his body. If he said that Wang Chong didn't have the opportunity, then it had to be true.
But now that Wang Chong had been cleared of suspicion, the First Prince didn't know who to suspect. If it wasn't Wang Chong, then there was only one possibility.
But… how was that possible?!
Moreover, the First Prince simply couldn't accept this.
In the end, a meticulously crafted plan had not been defeated by Wang Chong or anyone else. It had been defeated by the neglect of his own men.
”In addition…”
The kneeling guard hesitantly spoke up.
The First Prince took in a deep breath and ordered, ”Talk!”
”From what we've just learned, when the imperial physician arrived at Shuhua Palace, Jade Consort Xiao was constantly shouting that her chest hurt. In the end, after looking in the area indicated by Jade Consort Xiao, the imperial physician found a hair-thin needle, four-some inches long. The physician said that this needle should have been stabbed into Jade Consort Xiao's heart, but the assassin apparently didn't know that Jade Consort Xiao's heart was one inch to the right compared to the heart of an average person, allowing her to avoid a fatal blow. The assassin was apparently careless because Jade Consort Xiao was an ordinary person and didn't carefully check, causing this mistake,” the kneeling guard reported.
Everyone's minds buzzed in understanding, and all of them looked in one direction. First Prince Li Ying's face twisted into a nasty scowl.
”Bastard thing! Look at the fine work you've done!”
The First Prince fiercely turned to the kneeling Asura, wanting nothing more than to eat the man alive. And the man himself had turned ghastly pale, his face drained of blood.