Even ordinary people would not want the remains of their loved ones to be treated in this way unless absolutely necessary.

The prince-in-law waved his sleeves and refused without a doubt: "No! Huaixi is the emperor's bloodline. It is a grave sin for me to display the remains like this. What's more, I am worried about doing an autopsy, which is an act that is insulting to the deceased?"

Cheng Shilang reluctantly waved his sleeves and said, "Let's assume that the princess died in the early hours of the morning. Then Miss Song, where were you doing last night? Is there any witness?"

"Of course I fell asleep in my bedroom at that time! My maids can all testify for me!" Miss Song said loudly.

"What evidence can your maids provide? Not to mention that they are all yours, but they are not yours. What's the problem if you wait until they are all asleep before you come out and take action?" Cheng Shilang still believed that the murderer was Miss Song.

"Since the princess died in the early morning, let's think back." Xuan Wei spoke again, calmly and cautiously, "Why did the murderer make it look like the princess died at noon? Why was Miss Song called by the princess's maid at noon?"

Finally got a chance to defend myself,

Miss Song explained in a hoarse voice:

"I finished lunch at four quarters in the afternoon, and the princess's maid came to tell me that the princess invited me to come to the bedroom to talk. I thought that the princess wanted to reconcile with me about the dispute yesterday, so I followed without hesitation... .. Entering her main bedroom, the maid closed the door outside. I saw the princess sitting on an armchair, her head lowered and eyes closed, motionless, so I shook her twice... Unexpectedly, she fell directly to the ground! I immediately wanted to open the door and call someone, but the door was locked! No one came after I yelled for a long time... I don’t know how long it had passed but there was a sudden movement outside the door. I tried to push the door and it opened, so I rushed Go out and call everyone over."

Then she was detained as a murderer.

So, if the princess really did not die at noon, why did her maid pretend to be the princess to let Miss Song come at noon, lock her in the palace for a period of time, and then let her out to call someone?

Qing Huasi asked: "Prince-in-law, where is the princess's personal maid at this time?"

The prince-in-law sighed heavily: "She committed suicide in the wing of the Huaixi dormitory."

"She died because she was stabbed into the heart with scissors. At about noon, all the guests came to find out that the princess was dead." Cheng Shilang reported the situation of the other corpse in a stiff tone.

With such a simple cause of death and no need to fake the time of death, let’s see what kind of bugs that little girl can catch!

Huasi Qing and Xuan Wei looked at each other and said, "Consort, can you go to the ear room and examine the body of the maid?"

The maid had no taboos, so the consort agreed, "Please, sir of Huasi."

Cheng Shilang narrowed his eyes and watched Xuan Wei leave, "How could she still be alive? Shouldn't she have followed those chaste women from the Zhou family and committed suicide by taking poison and dying in a mass grave?"

The prince-in-law said worriedly: "Didn't you just suspect that... Qing Hua Si was harboring the remnants of the Zhou family?" Was it the person Hua Si Qing rescued privately?

"The children of the Hua family don't have the guts." Cheng Shilang is a sensible person. "Even if he really dares to hide it secretly, he can't bring him out to handle the case openly. Since he dares to bring him out, there must be a reason for him to be emboldened."

The consort suddenly thought of something, and his expression suddenly changed: "It is rumored that before the late emperor executed the Zhou family, the then Crown Prince wanted to marry the eldest daughter of the Zhou family as his step-concubine... It seems that the rumors are true."

When the Holy Emperor was the crown prince, he once wanted to take Zhou's daughter as his stepwife, but the late emperor refused.

Not long after, the Zhou family collapsed overnight. All the men over the age of ten were sentenced to beheading, and the female family members were demoted to low status and sent to the monastery. The eldest lady took the lead and led the Zhou women to commit suicide by poisoning to maintain their chastity.

Although the prince was unable to prevent the fall of the Zhou family at that time, it was not difficult to secretly save a daughter of the Zhou family.

Even now, the daughter of the Zhou family is still alive in the world, and the news of becoming a concubine of Dali Temple has been made public. The prince has already become a saint, so he does not accept the loss - because the concubine is also a low-ranking official, and it is more important than being a low-ranking official and being assigned to a teaching workshop.

It is taboo and disgraceful. Even if the imperial censor wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, there would be no reason for it.

From this point of view, the daughter of the Zhou family can still safely serve as a widow in Dali Temple. It is true that the Qing of Hua Temple is acting under orders.

"That's it! These have nothing to do with this case." Cheng Shilang clapped his sleeves and followed to the penthouse, "Let's see how capable Zhou's widow is!"

When Minister Cheng and the Prince Consort arrived, Xuanwei was leaning over the bed to check on the maid's body.

The maid was lying on the bed, and a pair of scissors was stabbed right into her heart. The piercing was deep enough to kill her.

It's exactly what Mr. Cheng said. But...

"This maid did not commit suicide, she committed suicide."

Xuanwei opened the closet and several drawers. Judging from the traces, there were some valuable things inside, but at this moment, they were all taken away in a panic.

Why would a person who wants to commit suicide take away his valuable things?

"Your Excellency, please send someone to search around here. You should be able to find this girl's baggage."

Little Mao Yatou really caught him again?! Mr. Cheng glared and said, "How can we conclude that it was him who killed him based on this alone? What if other servants who are greedy for money took advantage of the chaos and stole it?"

"If necessary, let the Lord of the Temple search the residences of other servants to see if any suspicious property is hidden. This is the main reason why he is determined to be a murder due to his humble position." Xuanwei pointed at the corpse unhurriedly:

"If the maid really lay on the bed and committed suicide with scissors in her hand, then why did the overflowing blood not flow to the side, but instead flowed so long along the direction of her navel?"

Shilang Cheng's eyes widened even more as he stared at him. Yes, the flow of blood was unnatural. No wonder he just realized something was wrong but didn't think deeply about it... So that's it!

Hua Siqing glanced at him in a funny way and said sternly: "You mean, this maid was stabbed while standing, then lay down on the bed and pretended to commit suicide?"

"Of course. It's impossible for the maid to commit suicide standing up and lie down on the bed so neatly?" Xuan Wei carefully pulled out the scissors, checked the shape of the wound, and said softly:

"Besides, this maid's arms are slender and she should not be very strong; but the wound was made in a single time, and the stabbing was very clean and concise. Very few people who commit suicide can do this; if they are not skilled and strong, they may not be able to prick the scissors like this."

Simply and neatly.”

Cheng Shilang quickly said something to redeem himself: "So this maid was silenced? Then the one who silenced the maid is the murderer?"

Huasi Qing nodded: "The maid falsely conveyed the princess's message at noon to trick Miss Song into coming here, and then locked her into the main bedroom and delayed the door opening. This should be the result of the murderer's coercion and inducement."

The adults were left to speak other than the corpse, while Xuanwei retreated behind Huasi Qing, thinking with low eyebrows.

"Xuanwei, what else do you need to check?" Hua Siqing looked at her and asked.

The dignified and dignified minister of the third-rank temple was so polite to a humble widow, which made Shilang Cheng even more certain that Xuanwei was ordered to serve as a widow in Dali Temple.

His tone couldn't help but be more polite: "So, girl, you think Miss Song is not the real murderer? Then how can we presume the real murderer?"

Xuan Wei's attitude was respectful and appropriate, "Sir, I can't say for sure the real culprit yet. We need to examine the princess's body again - no autopsy is necessary, just take off her clothes."

Seeing that Minister Cheng had become polite, the prince-in-law did not want to embarrass Xuanwei's identity anymore, so he only led a few people back to the side hall and invited the Song family inside.

Huasi Qing and Cheng Shilang each stood facing the wall. The prince-in-law watched Xuanwei's movements from three steps away. Xuanwei carefully untied Princess Huaixi's obscene clothes.

The middle collar was removed, revealing heavy red choke marks and nail pinch marks; there was no bleeding in the membranes of the mouth and nose, but the roots of the teeth were pink in color. There is no doubt that he died from strangulation.

Turning the body over, you can see that more corpse spots are deposited on the lower body under the tail vertebra, and the lower body...

Xuanwei slightly spread the princess's legs, stretched out his hand to explore a few times, and a hint of unbearability suddenly appeared in his eyebrows.

Once upon a time, she and Huaixi were also close friends.

Three years ago, Huaixi watched helplessly as her family collapsed with the Zhou family, and her life plummeted and disappeared.

Three years later, she looked at Huaixi's cold body, and all she could do was to avenge her injustice.

"Zhou...you are a girl, but what conclusion did you get from the test?" The prince-in-law asked looking at Xuan Wei's expression.

Xuan Wei did not answer but asked instead: "Prince-in-law, may I ask if among the distinguished guests who have come to the hot spring resort for banquets in the past two days, except for the family of the imperial doctor of Song Dynasty, are the other guests still there?"

"They are still there, but they are all resting behind closed doors in their dormitories, with guards guarding them."

It is said to be protection, but it is actually imprisonment. Even if Shilang Cheng had initially determined that the culprit was Miss Song, if the case was concluded so hastily without asking anyone else, I am afraid that the Holy Emperor would not let the case be closed after he learned about it.

Xuanwei nodded, put Princess Huaixi's clothes back on, lowered her head and reported:

"Two gentlemen, Prince Consort, the murderer should be a masculine man. Please ask the Master of the Temple to ask all the male guests what they were doing in the early hours of the morning. Is there any evidence?"

"Okay!" Hua Siqing raised his foot and was about to leave, but his foot suddenly hung and could not fall down.

"Wait a minute, the murderer is a man... masculine?" He wrinkled his nose and picked his ears.

Isn't he the masculine person he thought he was??
Chapter completed!