"Foreign monks... those foreign monks! This servant has seen them. His Majesty summoned them once, and the Empress summoned them once. The Third Prince... the Third Prince also 'happened' to run into them once! It was behind the rockery in the Imperial Garden! This servant was only passing by... I didn't see anything! I didn't hear anything!"
By the end, Little Fuzi's voice had turned tearful again. As if he had completely broken down, he began muttering curses at himself for his carelessness and stupidity.
But Gu Shen understood him.
Hidden in his seemingly jumbled words were three unmistakable clues.
First, the Empress had brought in the poison three months ago, under the pretext of frugality and praying for blessings. The motive sounded perfectly respectable, but it didn't hold up to scrutiny. For the mistress of the inner palace to cut expenses that way seemed more like a show.
Second, the Third Prince had provided the "murder weapon"—the incense burner. The timing was just right, and the motive was "filial piety." A perfect accomplice.
Third, and most crucially, the Western Regions' foreign monks—the source of the poison—had contact with both the Empress and the Third Prince. The Third Prince's "chance encounter" had taken place behind a rockery in the Imperial Garden. It was almost too conspicuous in its attempt to cover something up.
The Empress and the Third Prince.
One was mistress of the inner palace, backed by the formidable Imperial Relatives Group. The other was a prince riding high, ambitious and hungry for power. Had they really joined forces?
No, that wasn't right.
Gu Shen's thoughts raced. If they had joined forces, they would never have been so clumsy as to leave so many obvious clues. This looked more like someone had laid a trap, deliberately dragging the other