Zhong Li, hearing Xu Qing’s words, snapped back to attention and asked with a frown, "Lord Xu, without proof or evidence, on what basis do you make such claims?"
Xu Qing let out a cold snort. "Just now, when I carried Shen Hong's body back, I discovered that Shen Hong's fatal wound was a stab wound to the chest. After I returned, I thoroughly searched the entire private room and found no corresponding weapon. Now, I see the Crown Prince carrying a knife. Coupled with what Miss Zhong just asked Miss Tian, the Crown Prince has both the opportunity and the motive.
Now that there is physical evidence, if the murderer isn't the Crown Prince, who else could it be?"
"Motive? What motive?" Zhong Li's brow furrowed even tighter.
Hearing this question, Xu Qing let out a scornful laugh as if he had heard the greatest joke. "Miss Zhong has been with the Crown Prince for so long, surely you aren't unaware of the Crown Prince's affairs."
Zhong Li pursed her lips.
"The Crown Prince has always been a favored guest of Miss Tian. You can't claim ignorance of the rumors outside," Xu Qing stated.
"What rumors?"
"They say Miss Tian is soon to enter the Prince of Xian's manor as the Crown Prince's concubine!" Xu Qing's voice boomed, echoing in the small private room.
Tian Lianxue, standing at the doorway, also heard this, and her cheeks actually flushed at this moment.
Zhong Li glanced at her, her gaze returning to Xu Qing. "And so what?"
"So what? Miss Zhong is clearly shielding the Crown Prince. Didn't you hear what others said earlier? Shen Hong was also exceptionally attentive to Miss Tian. These two men fighting over one woman, and the Crown Prince losing his temper and killing someone, what's so strange about that? There's no need to investigate the case further." As Xu Qing said this, he puffed out his chest with confidence.
Zhong Li looked at him, her expression slightly darkening. "Very well. If that is what Lord Xu says, Zhong Li has a few questions to ask."
Xu Qing glanced at her and snorted dismissively.
Zhong Li was too lazy to engage with his schadenfreude and said, "Firstly, you say Shen Hong died from a stab wound. Did Lord Xu perform the autopsy? Are Shen Hong's wounds truly consistent with a stab wound, and was it caused by the knife in the Crown Prince's hand?"
"This..." Xu Qing was rendered speechless by this question.
Zhong Li continued, "The Crown Prince's knife appears to be new. Lord Xu also knows that if a weapon has been used for killing, even after being thoroughly cleaned, the smell of blood cannot escape the keen sense of smell of flies. Yet, at this moment, flies would rather bask in the sun on the windowsill than approach the Crown Prince. Is this reasonable?"
As she spoke, her gaze fell upon a fly on the windowsill, diligently 'washing its feet'.
Xu Qing's eyes darted about, but he remained silent.
Zhong Li pressed on, "Secondly, if it were indeed the Crown Prince and Shen Hong who had a confrontation, what were all the hidden guards of Prince Xian's manor doing? Even if the Crown Prince had whimsically dismissed others yesterday, after Shen Hong was killed, wouldn't the Crown Prince have informed his subordinates to dispose of the body, rather than waiting for Lord Xu to catch him red-handed?"
"You!" Xu Qing was so sharply questioned that he was too infuriated to articulate a coherent response.
Zhong Li seized the opportunity and attacked further. "Finally, the bolt on the door of this private room was not locked when we entered, meaning anyone could have come in. After a whole night, how can Lord Xu be so sure that no one entered this private room to commit murder?"
"I!" Xu Qing was left speechless by these questions.
Lan Heng, standing by, witnessed this scene and pulled Xu Qing aside. "Lord Xu, I told you that every action must be based on evidence. There can be no flaws when establishing a case, and the reputation of the Dali Temple must not be tarnished."
Scolded by Lan Heng, Xu Qing's earlier arrogance vanished, replaced by a profound embarrassment on his face.
"Lord Lan is correct. This subordinate misspoke."
Lan Heng patted Xu Qing's shoulder, then turned to Lu Wuxie and cupped his hands. "Crown Prince!"
Lu Wuxie raised his eyes to meet his.
"The Crown Prince holds a special status, but it is a fact that you are a suspect in this case. I trouble the Crown Prince to accompany me back to the Dali Temple." Lan Heng said.
Lu Wuxie took a deep breath, cast a faint glance at Zhong Li, then lifted the hem of his robe and walked out of the private room.
Seeing this, Lan Heng waved to his subordinates, and they all followed.
Although Lu Wuxie was known for his dissolute lifestyle, he could discern right from wrong. He took his own carriage to the Dali Temple. Lan Heng found him a clean cell, and once Lin Jin had tidied it up, he moved in.
With Shen Hong's body sent to the morgue, Zhong Li busied herself packing her things, preparing to conduct the autopsy.
The night was long.
The candlelight in the morgue was changed, then changed again.
The next day, as Zhong Li emerged from the morgue.
Lan Heng, who had kept vigil by the pavilion outside the morgue all night, saw her appear and quickly went to greet her.
"How was it?" he asked.
Zhong Li handed him the autopsy report she held.
Lan Heng took it and studied the autopsy report on Shen Hong: Shen Hong, male, five feet nine inches tall, mouth and teeth neat, features unremarkable. Cause of death was a stab wound to the left chest by a sharp instrument approximately one inch wide, inserted from bottom to top into the heart. The body, apart from the fatal wound, had minor abrasions with bleeding on the elbow joint and left shoulder, from bottom to top. Time of death was approximately the Yi hour of yesterday, or the Hai hour.
"What do you think the murder weapon was, Li'er?" Lan Heng asked Zhong Li after reading.
Zhong Li removed the mask from her face as she spoke, "The wound edges are rhombic. Judging by the size of the wound, it is estimated to be some kind of weapon."
Lan Heng nodded. He recalled the scalpel found on Lu Wuxie. The blade was barely half an inch wide, suggesting the possibility of Lu Wuxie being the killer was reduced.
"These bloody abrasions, what are your thoughts on them, Li'er?" Lan Heng focused his attention on the latter part of the report.
Zhong Li glanced at the autopsy report in his hand, thought about the wounds presented on Shen Hong's body, and asked, "Lord Lan, do you remember that screen?"
Lan Heng raised an eyebrow. What was the connection between these abrasions and the screen?
Zhong Li replied, "The screen in the Huanxi Building should be of the old-fashioned solid wood type. Furthermore, the screen frame is carved with many floral edges and totems. I suspect that someone struggled with Shen Hong, causing Shen Hong to accidentally brush his left arm against the screen, resulting in these abrasions on the body."
Hearing this, Lan Heng seemed to agree wholeheartedly, nodding vigorously.
Afterward, he seemed to have spotted the key point on Zhong Li's autopsy report and said, "Wounds from bottom to top? Li'er, can I interpret this to mean that the person who killed Shen Hong was not tall, or in other words, at least shorter than Shen Hong."
"Yes," Zhong Li nodded, agreeing with Lan Heng's statement. She then added, "Perhaps not just shorter than Shen Hong, but the height of the killer reached only Shen Hong's earlobe. Considering Shen Hong was already shorter when he hit the screen, this killer was able to draw a dagger and kill him from bottom to top, meaning they must have been much shorter than him."
Lan Heng listened, pursed his lips, and pondered. Lu Wuxie was six feet two inches tall, while Shen Hong was five feet nine inches. There was no way he could have inflicted such wounds.
It seemed Lu Wuxie was truly wronged. Yet, Lan Heng could not quite believe it. Even if Lu Wuxie were drunk and asleep in his room, could he not have heard the sounds of a struggle? Or perhaps he knew something and simply refused to say it.
Just as Lan Heng was racking his brain for an answer, Xu Qing rushed in breathlessly. "Lord Lan, something has happened. The Princess of Xian has arrived, and it seems she is here for the Crown Prince."
"Oh? What does the Princess of Xian come for?" Lan Heng asked with a tone of puzzlement.
"She's probably here to claim the Crown Prince. After all, no matter what, the Crown Prince is the legitimate heir. With the Prince of Xian's manor now sparsely populated, it's only natural for her to help the Prince protect the bloodline," Xu Qing replied after a moment's thought.