On the road, Zhong Li watched Nan Man, who was following the carriage on horseback, through the gauze curtain.
She seemed to have never endured such hardship, with heavy iron shackles hanging around her neck, making her look extremely disheveled.
“What is Li’er looking at?” Hua Yao, sitting opposite her, followed her gaze and looked outside.
Zhong Li withdrew her gaze and casually took out an invitation from her怀 and examined it.
“Is this… from Noble Consort Nangong?” Hua Yao leaned over to take a look.
Zhong Li nodded and said, “Three days from now is the birthday banquet for Prince Lu Yuan Chen, and Noble Consort Nangong intends to invite me to celebrate.”
“Is that so? That’s something to be envied,” Hua Yao said.
“How so?”
“Everyone knows that the Emperor now dotes on Noble Consort Nangong, and by extension, he dotes on the youngest Prince Lu Yuan Chen the most among all the princes. I heard that the Emperor intends to change the Crown Prince!” Hua Yao said.
“Change the Crown Prince? You mean, the Emperor intends for the young Prince Lu Yuan Chen to become the Crown Prince?” Zhong Li asked.
“Yes, despite the young prince being so young, he is the most intelligent among the princes. According to common saying, he could recite many poems and songs at the age of three, and now he is proficient in painting, music, and chess,” Hua Yao said.
“That is quite remarkable,” Zhong Li said, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the invitation in her hand. The three golden characters ‘Lu Yuan Chen’ seemed to be glaring at her.
“Hey!” Hua Yao’s eyebrows furrowed upon seeing Zhong Li’s absent-minded reply. She crossed her arms and said, “What’s wrong with you? You haven’t said much since before, and now you’re saying irrelevant things. I solved the case, why don’t you look happy?”
Zhong Li put away the invitation and glanced back at Nan Man, who was still walking beside them. “Do you think this case is closed?”
Hua Yao followed her gaze and said, “Otherwise? Nan Man has confessed, what does Li’er think?”
Zhong Li’s lips parted, and just as she was about to say something, Hua Yao interrupted, “I know Li’er wants to say if this has anything to do with Noble Consort Rong. I still say the same thing, what motive does Noble Consort Rong have? She doesn’t care about being buried alive after death, nor does she care about who the future emperor of Nanyue Kingdom will be. Why did she murder Consort Xian and Noble Consort Shu?”
“Why?” Zhong Li murmured to herself and said, “You go back first. I have something to attend to. I’ll interrogate Nan Man again later. As for Yao’er, help me with something.”
Hearing this, Hua Yao moved closer to Zhong Li, awaiting her instructions.
At this moment, in Chang Ting Palace.
Noble Consort Rong glared with fierce eyes at the expensive vase shattered on the ground, fresh blood dripping from her fingertips onto the floor.
“Your Ladyship, your body is precious. You must not harm yourself,” a nanny wearing a finely embroidered silk jacket walked out of the bedroom. Seeing the scene before her, she quickly took Noble Consort Rong’s hand and began to carefully bandage it.
“Zhong Li!” Noble Consort Rong gritted her teeth and said, “Nan Man followed me for so long, and yet she fell into her hands?”
The nanny sighed and said, “Your Ladyship, this is also unavoidable. If Nan Man hadn’t taken the blame, and if Magistrate Zhong suspected you…”
“Suspicion is suspicion. I, the head of the Four Consorts of Nanyue Kingdom, the most noble princess of Shu Rong, am I afraid of her? Let her dare to speak out, and see if the Emperor deals with her or me!” Noble Consort Rong said sternly.
“Your Ladyship, absolutely not. Your Ladyship is a noble person, and that Zhong Li is merely a countryside coroner. How can she compare to you? Since Nan Man has already sacrificed herself, Your Ladyship should do what you should do,” the old nanny persuaded earnestly.
“Yes… I should do what I should do.”
“Your Ladyship!” As soon as Noble Consort Rong finished speaking, a woman’s soft hum sounded from outside the palace: “Your Ladyship, the items are all ready. We are just waiting for Your Ladyship to come over.”
Noble Consort Rong sneered, tidied her appearance slightly, and walked out of the bedchamber quickly.
-------------------------------------
In the disciplinary room of the Dali Temple, candlelight flickered.
Zhong Li pushed open the door and walked in, looking at the woman sleeping soundly amidst a pile of straw. Although Nan Man was over thirty, judging from her back, with her cinched waist and shapely hips, she had the graceful bearing of a young woman in her teens.
“How long has she been asleep?” she asked the young constable beside her.
The young constable quickly whispered, “Lord Zhong brought her back, and she’s been sleeping ever since. Everyone finished dinner and then worked on their tasks for a while. It should be over an hour.”
“Is that so?” Zhong Li narrowed her eyes and said, “Get some cold water and wake her up!”
“Yes!” The young constable received the order and ran outside.
When a basin of cold water was poured all over Nan Man, her body shivered. Instinctively, she sat up and stared with terrified eyes.
“Awake?”
Nan Man heard someone speaking and followed the sound to see Zhong Li sitting opposite her.
“Magistrate Zhong, what is the meaning of this?” Nan Man narrowed her eyes and glared at Zhong Li.
Zhong Li remained silent, watching the icy water drip from the other person’s hair onto the ground.
“I have already confessed, what more do you want? No matter what, I am still a palace servant of Noble Consort Rong. Are you planning to use torture like this? Aren’t you afraid the Emperor will find out and punish you?” Nan Man shouted.
Zhong Li did not answer her, but raised her hand and clapped three times.
At the same time, the door of the disciplinary room opened, and two constables dragged something in and threw it in front of Nan Man.
Nan Man frowned and moved closer to the object in the candlelight. When she clearly saw that it was a corpse, her face turned pale, and she was so frightened that she retreated several steps.
“Nan Man, you’ve already killed three people, and you’re still afraid of this?” Zhong Li said.
Nan Man closed her eyes, her body trembling. “Magistrate Zhong, what is the meaning of this? Bringing the corpse of the mute boy here, are you trying to scare me?”
Zhong Li smiled and said, “I’m not trying to scare you. I just heard rumors from the palace that the mute boy had some connection with you, and besides, he had your ear stud in his mouth. Since you are so devoted to each other, how about burying you together after you die?”
“Zhong Li, you…” Nan Man was so angry that she gritted her teeth and glared at Zhong Li fiercely.
Zhong Li didn’t intend to play coy anymore. She said, “Tell me, why did you kill people, what was your motive?”
“Why should I tell you?” Nan Man rolled her eyes and sneered.
Zhong Li said, “If you don’t tell me, that’s even better. If there is no motive, I have reason to suspect that you are covering for the real killer…”
“I am thirty-one years old this year, considered past my prime. Noble Consort Rong promised me last year that I could leave the palace after another year. However, after following Your Ladyship for so many years, I haven’t gained any benefits. Moreover, the mute boy from the latrine was fond of me, and I promised him that we could live together after leaving the palace.
To ensure that I could live a life of ease and comfort next year, I resorted to crooked ways. I had previously heard that Consort Xian and Noble Consort Shu had been trying to have a child. I remembered the evil gods I worshiped in Shu Rong Kingdom, and thus I used this method to deceive them and extort money from them.
It was just that I didn’t expect them to discover that I was deceiving them for money. That’s why I killed them all.
As for the mute boy, he saw that I had obtained a lot of money and wanted some from me. Naturally, I was unwilling, and in the ensuing scuffle, I accidentally killed him.” Nan Man interrupted Zhong Li and poured out all her motives in one go.
“That’s it?” Zhong Li asked.
“That’s it!” Nan Man replied.
Zhong Li sneered, grabbed Nan Man’s collar, and said, “Don’t think I don’t know, you are taking the blame for someone.”
“Taking the blame, Magistrate Zhong, what are you saying? I don’t understand anything,” Nan Man said.
Zhong Li took something out of her怀 and threw it at Nan Man. “You people haven’t finished killing, have you? The next target is Noble Consort Nangong’s young prince?”
Nan Man lowered her eyes and looked at the invitation that had slipped from her body. “As expected, Magistrate Zhong is a bit smarter than I imagined. However… the evidence you currently hold is not enough to convince the Emperor, is it? Don’t forget that my Lady has always been favored by the Emperor.”
Zhong Li narrowed her eyes and stared intently at Nan Man.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just as the two were at a standoff, a crisp knock sounded from outside the disciplinary room.
“What is it?” Zhong Li asked.
“Guard Lin is here, saying there’s a situation over there,” the constable outside replied.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li’s lips slowly curved. She leaned down and whispered a few words into Nan Man’s ear. As the expression on Nan Man’s face suddenly turned to panic, Zhong Li said, “Finally, I’ve caught you.”