The legitimate daughter returns, and the princess goes crazy

The prince's personal maid jumped onto the boat immediately and put her hand under Concubine Shu's nose.

"This, this, this, the concubine is dead!"

what?

The prince's concubine died, and she died on a flower boat?

Concubine Xiao was the eldest daughter of the Minister of Personnel Xiao Yuanhua. When Fang Yuwei was canonized as the Crown Princess, she was also canonized as the Crown Prince's Concubine and entered the Crown Prince's Mansion one day earlier than the Crown Princess.

"Daughter! My daughter! My daughter, what happened? Your mother came to visit you at the Prince's Mansion a few days ago. How come you died today? What happened?"

When Concubine Xiao's mother, Chen, heard the news of her daughter's death, she stumbled to Xiao Yuhuai and hugged her and burst into tears.

How could she bear the fact that her daughter, who was still alive not long ago, had now become a cold corpse?

Mo Yanli put his hand on his forehead, feeling uncomfortable in his chest.

Today was supposed to be a good tea party, but one thing led to another. First, there was a conflict between the Crown Princess and Consort Liang, and now a concubine has died. The most important thing is that her body is still in the flower boat, floating down the river in front of everyone.

"This, what is this?" When Chen held her daughter and shook her, Xiao Yuhuai's collar was pulled down a little, revealing her slender neck.

When everyone looked in the direction of Chen's scream, they discovered a shocking bloodstain on Xiao Yuhuai's snow-white neck.

This bloodstain proves that Xiao Yuhuai did not commit suicide but was murdered.

"Prince, you have to take care of my daughter. How could she be killed?"

Mo Yanli flew into a rage on the spot: "Come here, bring the Dali Temple Minister Zhou Zheng to me. I want to see who is so bold as to lay hands on my concubine."

Afterwards, the imperial guards were dispatched to seal off the Prince's Mansion, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving without orders, and the matter was reported to the court for a thorough investigation.

The officials' and their wives who came to attend the tea banquet also became nervous. They didn't expect that they would come to attend a banquet and end up with something like this.

Mu Yan frowned slightly, guessing that this matter was not that simple. No matter who the murderer was, his purpose was definitely to make a big deal out of it.

"Your humble servant pays his respects to the Crown Prince." Zhou Zheng hurried over, followed by a coroner.

At this time, Xiao Yuhuai's body had been carried ashore and covered with a white cloth for fear of causing panic.

After receiving the order, the coroner hurried forward to check.

He placed his hand on the deceased's forehead and found that the deceased was still warm, indicating that the deceased had died not long ago.

They then checked Xiao Yuhuai's face and neck, which were found to be bluish purple, with dilated pupils, a sticking tongue and obvious bruises on his neck, all consistent with death by suffocation.

Judging from the wound on the neck, the murder weapon was something like a hemp rope, and there were signs of broken cervical vertebrae, which shows that the person was extremely cruel.

"My daughter--my daughter--"

Chen screamed and fainted on the spot. Everyone present was moved. After all, who could bear the pain of seeing a loved one die?

The prince quickly supported Chen and told the palace servants beside him, "Help Madam Chen go down and have a rest."

The coroner's words caused an uproar, and all the officials and their families present became nervous.

The residual warmth of Xiao Yuhuai's body indicated that he had been dead for not long. This meant that not only the people in the Prince's Mansion, but also all the officials and their families who came to the Prince's Mansion today were suspects.

The coroner ignored the noise nearby and continued to examine the deceased's hands, feet and limbs attentively, not missing any details.

When he examined the fingers, his brows slightly frowned. He saw that the nail of Xiao Yuhuai's index finger was broken, with a small bunch of bright yellow silk thread hooked in the middle. The coroner carefully took out the remaining silk thread. This silk thread should be the embroidery thread on the clothes and it looked very valuable.

The people around held their breath for a moment, and no one dared to make a sound.

Although Xiao Yuhuai was a concubine, she also had a noble status. Her nails would not break easily. Even if they broke accidentally, she would trim them immediately and would not let a broken nail affect her appearance. Therefore, the person who broke her nails must be the last person who saw her, and that person was the murderer.

The bright yellow silk thread is an exclusive clothing that can only be used by the royal family, and here only the prince and the princess are wearing bright yellow palace costumes.

The Crown Prince also thought of this, and then he cast a scrutinizing gaze on the Crown Princess. "I have been in the study since the morning court today, and I have not seen Concubine Xiao. I wonder where the Crown Princess went this morning?"

Fang Yuwei was hurt for a moment when she saw Mo Yanli's questioning expression. She quickly calmed down and said, "I did see Concubine Xiao today, but I have never..."

"I remember!" Wang Peiru, who had been silent just now, suddenly shouted, interrupting Fang Yuwei's words.

Mo Yanli asked doubtfully, "What did my beloved concubine remember?"

"Today, I saw the Crown Princess and Concubine Xiao arguing in the back garden, but I was too far away and didn't know what they were arguing about."

"Nonsense, I was not arguing with Concubine Xiao. It was just that she accidentally stepped on a stone in the garden and almost fell. I helped her up. I don't know how it became an argument in my sister's mouth?"

Fang Yuwei had a clear look in her eyes, a straight body, and was very upright.

Mo Yanli obviously didn't believe it: "Were there any witnesses at that time?"

Fang Yuwei bit her thin lips and shook her head: "No, because my two sisters were talking about something, so the maids stayed far away."

At this time, Fang Yuwei's personal maid Chenxiang knelt down and said, "Although I was far away, I also saw the situation at that time. It was indeed as Your Majesty said. Concubine Xiao accidentally fell and Your Majesty supported her. I think the silk thread must have been rubbed at that time. It was not a dispute as Wang Liangdi said. Please investigate it clearly, Your Highness."

At this time, Xiao Concubine's personal maid Bilu disagreed and stood up to refute her words: "You are talking nonsense. I clearly saw the Crown Princess and my concubine pushing and shoving each other."

"You saw it wrong!"

"I read that right!"

The two maids each insisted on their own opinion and neither would give in.

Fang Yuwei looked at Bilu and asked, "You said you saw me pushing your concubine, then why didn't you step forward to protect your master when you saw it?"

The green eyes dodged: "My servant, I dare not."

Fang Yuwei snorted coldly, "As Concubine Xiao's personal maid, you should protect your master at all times, but you are timid and afraid of trouble, and now you are lying here, what crime should you be punished for?"

Chen Xiang also echoed: "And when my Crown Princess and Concubine separated, she was clearly still alive and well, and you were the one who was with her in the end. You must have killed your own master, so you made up a lie and wrongly accused the Crown Princess."

Bilu was so frightened that she trembled all over. She knelt on the ground and cried, "No, I didn't. When the Crown Princess left, Concubine Xiao said she was a little cold and asked me to get her a cloak, so I left too. But when I went to the garden again, I didn't see Concubine Xiao. When I left, the Crown Princess hadn't left completely."