Gu Moran looked at her, his tone gentle.
" Ling'er, this case is really not safe to touch right now. Be good."
Shen Ling'er handed Huang Jie over, muttering to herself.
"Hmph, they owe me more and more."
(｡•́•̀｡)
Su Yao suddenly spoke.
"Your Highness, Ye Qingyun uttered the name 'Gu Mo' before he died, but didn't explicitly say it was you."
Gu Moran looked at her.
Su Yao put down the teacup, the porcelain bottom tapping against the table with a soft sound.
But Father will think of you first.
Shen Ling'er turned her head.
"Why did I think of him first? The Crown Prince's name is Gu Moyuan, and the Second Prince's name is Gu Mochen; they both contain those two characters."
Su Yao looked at the case file.
" Ye Qingyun had an old agreement with the Su Clan, and his poetry gathering was suppressed by the Prince Yi's Residence. In the end, he died on the South City Martial Workshop."
She paused, the medicinal taste of the throat lozenge dissipating as the hot tea dissolved it.
"When these events are put together, whether others believe it or not, they will all immediately think of the Prince Yi's Residence."
Shen Ling'er curled her lips.
"Dead people are quite selective about who they bite."
Gu Moran a slight, indistinct twitch of his lips.
"No problem, I have my own way."
He touched the words "Crown Prince" on the case file with his fingertip.
"In short, the Crown Prince is in more pain from this bite."
Footsteps sounded outside the door.
Uncle Fu returned, his clothes damp with rain, and he held an unsealed letter in his hand.
"Your Highness, the second secret report."
Gu Moran took it and unfolded it.
There are only two lines of text.
[ Chu Tianxing imprisoned and refuses visits from the Second Prince's Residence.]
[He said: The skill Ye Qingyun practices is not something ordinary people can learn.]
Shen Ling'er frowned slightly after hearing this.
There's a problem with that statement.
Uncle Fu asked, "What did Madam Shen see?"
"When a doctor scolds a patient, he usually says it's because the patient is reckless, courting death, or refusing to listen to advice."
Shen Ling'er placed the letter on the table.
" Chu Tianxing wasn't insulting Ye Qingyun, he was insulting the martial arts technique."
"Just as I said."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Su Yao answered quickly.
Bamboo slips.
Uncle Fu nodded.
" Cao Jin has sealed the bamboo tube that Ye Qingyun always carried. It will be sent to Chang'an County for examination along with the body."
Gu Moran asked, "Who performed the autopsy?"
"The coroner from Chang'an County will take the first step, followed by a second examination by the Jingzhao Prefecture. If the Hall of Supreme Ultimate intervenes, the Ministry of Punishments will also send someone over."
"One wave subsides, another rises."
Gu Moran pinched his brow bone.
"It's so lively."
Shen Ling'er snorted and raised her chin.
"Lively? Ye Qingyun's body isn't even cold yet, Crown Prince's Residence, the Second Prince's Residence, Chu Tianxing, South City Martial Workshop are all crammed into the case files."
She put the medicine box down at her feet.
The box buckles clicked softly.
"Add another unorthodox martial arts manual, and you can get your hands on anything."
Gu Moran turned his gaze to Su Yao.
Su Yao was also looking at him.
Did you know all along that there was something wrong with the bamboo slips?
Gu Moran raised an eyebrow.
The system is right, the Prime Minister's eldest daughter is indeed quick-witted.
He didn't answer, but instead asked Uncle Fu.
"Has the Hall of Supreme Ultimate received the urgent report?"
Su Yao lowered her eyelashes and didn't ask any more questions.
Uncle Fu took the copy from his sleeve.
" Cao Jin's imperial courier should be arriving soon. This is a copy of the confession sent by Yuan Shen."
Gu Moran accepted it.
I scanned it once and read out the key sentences.
" Ye Qingyun stormed into the emergency shelter with a knife and resisted arrest."
He died after practicing unorthodox martial arts and forcibly invigorating his internal energy.
" Chu Tianxing failed; he remains in the shelter awaiting further instructions."
Before his death, he accused the Crown Prince of being the mastermind Chu Tianxing an accomplice, and uttered the name Gu Mo, but did not finish his sentence.
Shen Ling'er's face darkened upon hearing this.
" Yuan Shen really dares to write that."
Su Yao nodded.
" Yuan Shen is intelligent."
Shen Ling'er turned her head.
" Sister Su, you're still praising him? There aren't many words, but every single one is deadly."
Su Yao's gaze fell on those few lines of text, and she spoke slowly.
"The case involves a prince, so he can only write the truth."
"If he doesn't write about the Crown Prince, he'll be accused of concealing information."
"If I only write about the Crown Prince, people will say I'm targeting him."
"If he doesn't write the name Gu Mo, Father will suspect he's covering for the prince."
She looked at Gu Moran.
" Yuan Shen isn't solving a case; he's saving his own life."
Gu Moran put the copy back on the desktop.
He simply brought the mud up and let his father see for himself whose shoes had the most mud on them.
Uncle Fu said in a low voice, " Cao Jin is also in a difficult position. Ye Qingyun died in the Chang'an County detention center, and Chu Tianxing is the doctor he left behind."
Shen Ling'er bit her lip.
"But Chu Tianxing saved someone and became a suspect; that's such a cruel twist of fate."
Gu Moran pushed the copy towards her.
"The government doesn't care whether he's innocent or not; they only care whether he's useful."
Shen Ling'er looked up.
"You have a really harsh way of speaking."
"The truth is hard to hear."
Gu Moran looked at her.
"If he's just a doctor who failed to save someone, he's bound to take the blame."
"If he can truly prove that Ye Qingyun's martial arts are flawed, then he's not a suspect, but a witness."
Su Yao continued, "And it can also become someone Father wants to protect."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Ling'er gently pulled her fingers away from the handle of the medicine box.
She remained silent for a while, then suddenly spoke.
"Is he really that skilled? I'm even more eager to see his acupuncture techniques."
Gu Moran glanced at her.
Chu Tianxing possesses an aura of destiny.
Shen Ling'er has a strong curiosity about medical skills.
Letting her get closer is like putting fire next to a bomb.
"No, you have to stay with me."
Gu Moran refused quickly.
Shen Ling'er remained silent for a moment, somewhat unhappy, but still pouted, squatted down, opened the medicine box, and took out a roll of thin paper from a hidden compartment.
"It's fine if I don't have to go myself."
"I wrote a medical record. Thirty questions, Cao Jin's people read aloud, Chu Tianxing answered accordingly."
Ask about the illness, not the case; ask about the acupuncture, not the person.
Gu Moran looked at Uncle Fu.
This method will work.
But traces of the Shen Family cannot be left behind.
Uncle Fu had been with him for many years, and without needing to say more, he already understood this concern.
"The case in Chang'an County requires a medical examination form, but we were short of it. Borrowing one from an ordinary clinic in the south of the city was perfectly reasonable."
Shen Ling'er immediately said, "Don't worry, I'll ask questions that any ordinary doctor would ask, without using Shen Family jargon."
Gu Moran gave up the corner of the table.
"Write."
Shen Ling'er sat down, laid out paper, and picked up a brush.
When the pen tip fell, only the soft scratching sound remained in the room.
Su Yao sat beside her and moved the lamp closer for her.
He had only written half of the character when he heard footsteps outside the door.
This time it's even more urgent.
The servant reported through the door, "Your Highness, urgent news!"
Uncle Fu opened the door, received the message, and then returned.
"Lord Yuan and Lord Cao have been summoned to the palace at night from the Hall of Supreme Ultimate."
" The Crown Prince's Residence is also lit up. Cui Yan, the Chief Secretary of the Eastern Palace, went into the inner courtyard and hasn't come out yet."
Gu Moran's fingertip paused beside the file.
The crown prince made the first move.
He needed to protect himself, so his actions were naturally swift.
But if the Crown Prince makes a move, will the Second Prince follow suit?
No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than someone outside came to report.
"Your Highness, the Second Prince's Residence has sent two groups of people. One group went to the Chang'an County prison, and the other went to the alchemy workshop in the east of the city."
Shen Ling'er looked up.
"Pills?"