AUBTN -Chapter 329 An Old Flame

Early the next morning, before the thin mist had fully dispersed, Su Hewan and Yu Qing changed into plain, elegant clothes and headed once more to the Zhennan Prince’s Manor.

“We’ve got a mission today,” Yu Qing whispered as she linked arms with Su Hewan after stepping down from the carriage. “Officially, we’re here on behalf of the royal family to comfort the women of the household. Unofficially, we’re going to screen every female mosquito in this manor!”

The two entered the women’s quarters behind the mourning hall.

Princess Consort Liu Chaoru of Zhennan Manor was kneeling on a prayer mat in coarse mourning robes, weeping so pitifully that she looked as though she might collapse at any moment.

Her daughter, Xiao Yuyao, stood beside her with reddened eyes, supported by her maid Puyu, her face pale as paper.

Su Hewan stepped forward and softly offered a few words of comfort to Liu Chaoru, but her gaze quietly swept over the woman’s hands.

Her nails were neatly trimmed and well cared for, without any breaks or bruises that might come from excessive force.

Using the excuse of handing over a handkerchief, Su Hewan carefully observed Xiao Yuyao and her personal maid as well.

Xiao Yuyao’s fingers were slender and delicate, seemingly boneless.

The maid had calluses on her hands, but they were clearly from years of rough work. More importantly, neither of them wore even the slightest trace of Shu brocade embroidered with gold thread.

For the entire morning, Su Hewan and Yu Qing investigated both openly and in secret throughout the manor. They even questioned the old women tending the kitchen fires, yet found absolutely nothing.

None of the women in the manor matched the profile—whether in motive, physical strength, or the crucial gold thread clue.

On the carriage ride back, Yu Qing frustratedly ruffled her hair like a deflated balloon.

“We’re done for. Every lead’s gone cold. Liu Chaoru cried like she wanted to die alongside him, so it definitely wasn’t her. None of the other women fit either. This locked-room murder case feels more and more like a dead end!”

Even Su Hewan couldn’t think of any new leads for the moment.

“Hey! Wanwan!” Yu Qing suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

“What if… this woman wasn’t someone from the manor at all?”

Su Hewan opened her eyes. “You mean…”

“A wife at home can never compare to a wildflower outside!” Yu Qing declared confidently.

“A man like Xiao Zhengnan finally returns to the capital after so long—would he really spend every day staring at the wife at home? What if it was some woman from outside? Maybe a mistress he kept in the capital? Or perhaps some romantic debt from years ago—an old flame who came seeking revenge after love turned to hate?”

Su Hewan smiled and gave her an approving thumbs-up.

“Not bad. Your brain’s finally online.”

“But seriously, that’s actually possible.”

Yu Qing grinned smugly. “Then what are we waiting for? We need to tell Lu Yan and the others immediately!”

By the time the two women returned to the residence, Lu Yan and Shen Jue were still out investigating the Xiao Family Army.

It was only after the moon had risen high into the night sky that the two men finally returned and heard Su Hewan and Yu Qing’s theory.

Shen Jue and Lu Yan exchanged glances.

“…That is actually a reasonable deduction,” Lu Yan admitted after a moment of thought, giving rare approval to Yu Qing’s wild imagination.

Shen Jue immediately turned toward Zhao Zhou behind him.

“Zhao Zhou. Mobilize every hidden agent and informant the Eastern Depot has in the capital at once. I want Xiao Zhengnan’s entire social network in the capital thoroughly investigated.”

He paused, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“Especially look into whether the Prince of Zhennan had any secret old flames hidden here in the capital.”

Although the assassination of the Prince of Zhennan remained shrouded in mystery, the young emperor had clearly lost patience.

Two days later, an imperial decree came crashing down:

Zhou Wenhai was guilty of corruption, abuse of power, and forming political factions. His crimes were unforgivable. He was to be immediately escorted to the Meridian Gate and executed without delay.

Under the bleak autumn wind, the executioner’s blade rose and fell at the execution grounds. The once-arrogant head of the Zhou family was separated from his head in a single stroke.

With the Zhou family’s complete downfall, the entire court fell silent in fear.

Zhou Wenhai was dead. The Empress Dowager had suffered a stroke and could no longer speak, while the Zhou family and the entire faction aligned with her were being purged.

Everything seemed to be slowly improving, yet the tiger tally was still nowhere to be found.

It hung over everyone’s heads like a sword.

The seven-day deadline to solve the case was like an hourglass counting down to death, leaving them no time to breathe.

“Your Highness! We found something!”

At dusk, Zhao Zhou strode quickly into the study at Yu Garden, presenting a secret report with both hands.

The four people who had been waiting there immediately perked up.

“Speak,” Shen Jue said coldly, his eyes turning sharp.

“Reporting to both Princes, this subordinate mobilized every hidden informant in the southern part of the city and thoroughly investigated all of Prince Zhennan’s private properties in the capital. Sure enough, at a hidden estate in the western district, we discovered a woman named Yun Niang!”

Zhao Zhou swallowed nervously and spoke rapidly.

“This Yun Niang was originally a Yangzhou courtesan. Eight years ago, Prince Zhennan secretly redeemed her and settled her in the capital. And… and she even bore him an illegitimate son. The boy is already seven years old this year!”

“HOLY SHIT! There’s even an illegitimate child?!”

Yu Qing’s face lit up with the excitement of someone who had just been served the juiciest gossip imaginable.

“As expected, men go bad once they get rich. Even the mighty Prince Zhennan wasn’t an exception! Hiding a beauty away in a golden house, and he even had a son with her! If Liu Chaoru finds out, the green hat on her head is practically glowing!”

“Since we’ve found them, bring them in for questioning immediately,” Lu Yan ordered gravely.

“There’s… no need for us to bring them anymore…” Zhao Zhou’s expression turned incredibly awkward.

“This Yun Niang somehow heard about Prince Zhennan’s sudden death. Half an hour ago, she dragged that seven-year-old illegitimate son with her, dressed in mourning clothes, and rushed straight to Prince Zhennan’s Manor!”

The study instantly fell into dead silence.

“Move!” Su Hewan decisively stood up first.

“To the manor!”

Half an hour later, at the front courtyard of Prince Zhennan’s Manor.

The moment the four of them stepped through the gates, they were stunned by the utterly explosive scene before them.

The white mourning lanterns throughout the courtyard swayed in the wind. What should have been a solemn funeral had descended into complete chaos.

“My Lord! How could you be so heartless and abandon us, this lonely widow and child—!”

A beautifully dressed woman in fine silk sat collapsed in the middle of the mourning hall, weeping pitifully.

Clutching a terrified little boy around seven or eight years old, she cried as though the heavens themselves were falling.

“Yun Niang asks for no status, only that Your Highness the Princess Consort show mercy and allow Xiao Bao to acknowledge his ancestors and kowtow to his biological father! He is the Prince’s flesh and blood too!”

That performance utterly destroyed Princess Consort Liu Chaoru’s dignity.

At that moment, she was trembling with rage.

“You… you shameless slut!”

Liu Chaoru shakily pointed at Yun Niang on the ground, her voice quivering with fury.

“The Prince’s body isn’t even cold yet, and you dare bring some random bastard child here to spread lies at the gates of the manor and tarnish the Prince’s reputation! Men! Throw this madwoman out!”

“I am not spreading lies!” Yun Niang retorted loudly without the slightest fear, even straightening her back.

“If Your Highness refuses to believe me, we can do a blood test for kinship! Which part of Xiao Bao’s features doesn’t resemble the Prince?”

“Before his death, the Prince promised he would bring our mother and son into the manor one day. Now that the Prince has died tragically, are you really refusing to acknowledge even his bloodline?”

PS: I was wondering why nobody interacted with my author’s notes anymore. Turns out after the site update, the author’s notes aren’t in the same place as before. Darlings, did you see what I said about writing extra chapters where the group returns to the modern world? Would you read them?