AUBTN -Chapter 334 The Suspect

At this moment, the lotus pond in the rear courtyard of the prince’s estate was lit as bright as day by dozens of blazing torches.

The surrounding area had been sealed off so tightly by the Imperial Guards and Eastern Depot agents that not even water could trickle through.

“Move aside!”

Lu Yan strode through the crowd, his brows tightly furrowed as he headed straight for the edge of the pond.

There, lying on the ground, was a corpse swollen pale from soaking in water.

It was A’Wu, a personal guard of the Prince of Zhennan Estate.

Chang Lin was holding up a torch to illuminate the elderly coroner brought over from the Court of Judicial Review. The moment he saw Lu Yan and Shen Jue arrive, he hurriedly saluted.

“Your Highnesses!”

“Enough nonsense.” Lu Yan lowered his gaze and stared coldly at the corpse on the ground.

“Did you find anything? Speak.”

The coroner cleansed his hands with strong liquor before replying, “Reporting to Your Highnesses… this… this manner of death is exactly the same as the prince’s.”

He pointed toward the corpse’s swollen neck.

The flesh there was split open, revealing a deep slash so severe that bone could be seen beneath it!

“The deceased was killed by someone cutting his throat from behind with a single strike. The wound is extremely deep and exceptionally clean, without the slightest hesitation. The angle of the cut, its depth, even the killer’s knife habits—I would stake my head on it. The one who killed the Prince of Zhennan is absolutely the same person who killed this man!”

“The same person?” Chang Lin scratched his head, confusion written all over his face. His booming voice sounded especially abrupt in the night.

“No, wait. The killer went through all that effort to murder the all-powerful Prince of Zhennan inside a secret chamber… but why the hell would that same assassin bother killing some insignificant guard?”

Su Hewan spoke gently with her deduction.

“The reason is simple. Obviously because he saw something he shouldn’t have seen.”

“Exactly!”

Yu Qing immediately raised her voice and picked up the conversation.

“Isn’t it obvious? He must have witnessed the killer murdering the prince! The murderer discovered him and had no choice but to silence him to keep the truth from coming out! 【Good heavens, this poor NPC was basically erased by the main plotline like disposable cannon fodder!】”

Just as Lu Yan was about to crouch down and examine the corpse, his movement abruptly stiffened. The veins at his temples throbbed twice as he forcefully resisted the urge to turn around and tell Yu Qing to shut up.

Putting on a pair of sheepskin gloves, Lu Yan began carefully inspecting A’Wu’s body.

From the skull, to the torso, to the limbs.

Suddenly, Lu Yan’s gaze fixed on A’Wu’s swollen right hand.

The corpse’s right hand was tightly curled into itself, twisted into a painfully cramped position, as though he had desperately clawed at something before his death.

“Bring the torch closer,” Lu Yan ordered in a low voice.

Chang Lin immediately moved the torch nearer.

Using the tip of the dagger he carried with him, Lu Yan carefully pried open A’Wu’s clenched fist and swept his eyes over the slightly exposed dirt beneath the fingernails.

The next second, Lu Yan’s pupils suddenly contracted.

“What is it?” Shen Jue sensed the change in Lu Yan’s demeanor, folded up his fan, and stepped forward.

Using the tip of the dagger, Lu Yan slowly picked something extremely fine out from beneath A’Wu’s middle fingernail.

Under the firelight, the object glimmered with a faint yet piercing sheen.

It was a silk thread interwoven with gold foil.

Exactly the same as the golden silk thread found beneath the Prince of Zhennan’s fingernails when he was murdered.

Everyone around them instantly sucked in a cold breath.

“Th-this… this is fabric from a woman’s clothing!” Chang Lin’s eyes widened.

“The killer really is a woman?”

At this point, even Su Hewan’s brows furrowed tightly.

“This doesn’t make sense.” Su Hewan stared at the strand of golden thread, her gaze sweeping across the calm lotus pond.

“If the killer was a woman, how did she manage to slit the throat of a strong, well-built guard from behind without causing any struggle at all?”

“And more importantly, after killing him, where would a woman get the strength to secretly dump the body of a man weighing over a hundred and fifty jin into this pond without anyone noticing?”

“Who said she needed to dump the body?”

Shen Jue leisurely walked to the edge of the lotus pond. His foot nudged the moss-covered stone by the shore before he turned to look at everyone.

“My lady, you’re overcomplicating things. If this Governor wanted to kill someone, why would I waste effort moving the corpse?” Shen Jue tapped the spot where A’wu’s body had been found with his folding fan, then pointed toward the water.

“The killer only needed some excuse to lure A’wu to the pond late at night. Under the cover of darkness, the two would stand by the water talking. Then the killer circles behind him, suddenly draws a blade, and kills him with a single strike.”

Shen Jue made a light pushing gesture forward.

“Once the man is dead, gravity does the rest. The killer only needs a gentle shove, and the body naturally falls into the pond. Why would there be any need to throw the corpse?”

The explanation instantly cleared away the confusion.

“So that’s how it was…” Yu Qing swallowed nervously and muttered under her breath.

“But how do you explain why A’wu didn’t resist?” Lu Yan slowly stood up and removed his sheepskin gloves, tossing them to a subordinate.

He glanced at the wound on A’wu’s back and said gravely, “As a personal guard, A’wu was highly vigilant. Even if it were a fellow guard approaching from behind, he would still remain cautious. But look around—there are no signs of struggle at all. He was killed in one blow.”

Shen Jue’s gaze swept across the surroundings, his tone certain.

“For a martial artist to completely expose his back to someone late at night by the pond without the slightest guard… there is only one possibility.”

“This person must have been someone he was extremely familiar with, deeply respected, and perhaps… someone of such high status that he would never dare show even the slightest suspicion or wariness toward them.”

Someone he respected?

A superior he would never guard against?

A woman?

Su Hewan frowned in thought.

“Wearing luxurious clothing embroidered with gold thread. Able to summon Guard A’wu to a secret late-night meeting without arousing his suspicion. In the entire Zhennan Prince’s Manor, there are only a handful of women who fit those conditions!”

Su Hewan suddenly lifted her head, only to meet Shen Jue’s deep gaze.

In each other’s eyes, they saw the exact same shock.

“In a manor with such strict hierarchy, the only women capable of making A’wu show such respect and drop all defenses…”

“Apart from Princess Consort Liu Chaoru, there is only one other person left!”

Shen Jue abruptly snapped his folding fan shut, the fan ribs striking crisply against his palm.

He and Su Hewan spoke in unison.

“Xiao Yuyao!”

Yu Qing’s eyes widened so much they nearly popped out. Her voice cracked in disbelief.

“Xiao Yuyao? How is that possible? That sickly young miss who gets winded after taking two steps? She killed someone?”

“When all impossibilities are eliminated, whatever remains, no matter how unbelievable, must be the truth!” Su Hewan said calmly.

Yu Qing was completely dumbfounded.

Lu Yan’s expression turned cold as he said in a deep voice, “Hearing is false; seeing is believing. Whether it’s really her or not, we’ll know once we go take a look.”

“Your Highness!”

At that moment, a Jinyiwei officer hurried through the night and dropped to one knee.

“Reporting to both Princes! Deputy General Lin Wei is causing trouble in the mourning hall at the front courtyard right now! The brothers can barely hold him back!”

Lu Yan and Shen Jue exchanged a glance, their expressions instantly turning sharp and icy.

“Let’s go.”