Chapter 214 Zhennan Prince’s Mansion

Using the pretext of imperial orders to inspect the southern frontier defenses, they naturally made an official visit to the Zhen’nan Prince’s Mansion.

Su Hewan and Yu Qing, meanwhile, had changed into the attire of a female court official and a court physician, keeping their heads lowered and following obediently behind the two big shots.

When the carriage came to a steady halt before the tall vermilion gates of the Zhen’nan Prince’s Mansion, an oppressive aura immediately washed over them.

It was nothing like the golden splendor and extravagance one might have imagined a prince’s mansion to possess.

What met their eyes was a glaring expanse of white mourning silk.

Huge white paper lanterns hung under the eaves, emitting a desolate “rustle-rustle” sound as the cold morning wind of the southern frontier swept through.

The red silk that once adorned the gates had long since been removed, replaced by white mourning banners fluttering in the wind.

Servants in the courtyard were all clad in coarse mourning attire, moving about hurriedly.

Each face bore the deep mark of grief.

The Zhen’nan Prince, Xiao Zhengnan, personally led his family members to wait in the main hall.

This prince, who had long been stationed on the border, had temples streaked with white, and his brows carried an unmistakable weariness.

“Lord Shen, Commander Lu, I hope you are well!”

They had been fortunate enough to meet once in the capital!

Now, many years had passed since that encounter.

“Greetings, Your Highness!”

Shen Jue and Lu Yan spoke in unison.

Xiao Zhengnan lowered his posture extremely, even with a hint of tearful gratitude.

Yet inwardly, he murmured to himself: these two were supposed to be like fire and water… so why have they come to the southern frontier together?

At this moment, he had no time to dwell on such thoughts, and merely spoke the formalities.

“The Emperor’s benevolence is vast, to personally dispatch Your Excellencies to inspect the southern frontier—this humble subject is truly humbled.”

Having navigated officialdom for most of his life, every word he spoke was flawlessly measured.

“I am also well aware that Your Excellencies’ visit is, in part, for the sake of my ill-fated Crown Princess…”

With that, Xiao Zhengnan let out a long, heavy sigh.

“To have the court take an interest in the affairs of my household at this time, I am truly filled with gratitude.”

Lu Yan’s gaze remained cold as he watched the Zhen’nan Prince’s performance, a faint trace of ridicule curling at the corner of his mouth.

Behind Xiao Zhengnan stood a young man, gaunt and emaciated.

This was the Crown Prince of Zhen’nan, Xiao Yunzheng.

At this moment, Xiao Yunzheng looked like a soulless corpse.

His eyes stared blankly at the ground, showing no reaction to the conversations around him.

After a round of hollow pleasantries, everyone took their seats.

Lu Yan picked up the blue-and-white porcelain teacup in front of him but did not drink; instead, he slammed it heavily onto the small rosewood table.

“Since Your Highness mentioned the Crown Princess, I shall speak plainly.”

Lu Yan’s voice was as cold and hard as iron, leaving no room for evasion.

“May I ask, Your Highness, how has the investigation into the Crown Princess’s death progressed?”

The muscles on Xiao Zhengnan’s face tensed slightly, then he quickly replaced it with an expression of deep sorrow and grief.

He pounded his thigh heavily, sighing repeatedly.

“Lord Lu, you are unaware… this matter… is truly a tragic accident!”

“The coroner has examined her inside and out three times; there are no external injuries, nor any signs of poisoning.”

Xiao Zhengnan lowered his head slightly, his voice heavy with helplessness.

“It seems she was ill-fated… some sudden ailment overtook her, causing her to die abruptly on her wedding night…”

Shen Jue leaned back in the Grand Tutor’s chair, smiling faintly as he looked at the Crown Prince, Xiao Yunzheng, who sat like a block of wood.

“Oh? Died abruptly?”

“Is there really such a mysterious ailment in the world that causes sudden death?”

He leaned forward slightly.

“I’m rather curious—who exactly is this Crown Prince’s consort, that she could die in the rear courtyard of this heavily guarded mansion so… silently?”

Every word from Shen Jue carried countless hidden edges, like blades carefully probing.

He seemed to be asking about the consort’s identity, but in truth, each sentence was a sharp probe, frantically testing Xiao Yunzheng’s mental defenses.

He refused to believe that the Crown Prince could be unaware of how his wife had died!

“Your Highness, on your wedding night, you lost your beloved wife… did you not notice even the slightest abnormality?”

Xiao Yunzheng’s body shuddered violently.

He was like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on—the dazed expression in his eyes instantly flickered with sheer panic.

He opened his mouth, but not a single complete word came out.

Seated behind Shen Jue, Su Hewan lowered her eyes, but in truth, she took in every detail of the hall.

From Xiao Zhengnan’s deliberately slowed speech, to Xiao Yunzheng’s fingers twitching unnaturally.

Even the subtle movements of the guards at the door, unconsciously gripping their sword hilts, did not escape her notice.

She quickly ran a mental deduction, combining historical context with logic, to analyze all these anomalies.

Meanwhile, behind Lu Yan, Yu Qing kept her face serious, but her inner thoughts were completely in chaos.

【Oh my, I thought this Zhen’nan Prince was some Oscar-winning actor!】

【This acting is so clumsy! Even a freshman in our performing arts program would do better!】

【And there’s that awkward guilty vibe all over it.】

Yu Qing mentally tore into them while sneaking a glance at Xiao Yunzheng.

【And the Crown Prince… my god, those dark circles under his eyes are almost dragging down to his chin!】

【This exhausted, haunted look clearly means there’s a huge worry in his heart!】

【Look at him—just a couple of words from our Shen Fox, and his legs are shaking like a sieve! I bet he’s about to pee himself on the spot!】

Hearing the lively and sharp commentary in her mind, Lu Yan’s hand on his sword hilt paused slightly.

Shen Jue folded his fan, tapped the table, and spoke with absolute authority.

“Since the coroner cannot determine the cause of death, Lu Yan and I shall go ourselves to the scene of the incident.”

Xiao Zhengnan’s face showed difficulty as he tried to object.

“Thi… Master Shen, the Crown Princess’s chamber has already been sealed. It is a place of extreme misfortune—entering it may offend Your Excellencies…”

“Offend?” Lu Yan snorted coldly and rose to his full height.

His towering presence immediately radiated immense pressure.

“Even fierce spirits would avoid the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s blades. Are you joking, Your Grace?”

Shen Jue also stood slowly, adjusting his sleeves.

“If the Prince keeps refusing, I can only suspect that there may be some unsavory secrets hidden in this mansion.”

Under the combined pressure of these two killing gods’ “friendly” negotiation, Xiao Zhengnan finally could not withstand it and gritted his teeth in agreement.

“…This humble servant shall take Your Excellencies there.”

The mansion’s steward hunched his back and led the way.

The group passed through the corridors and arrived at a secluded courtyard deep within the mansion.

Here lay the heavily sealed bridal chamber of the Crown Prince’s consort.

Two glaringly conspicuous seals were affixed to the door, and a rusty iron lock, about the size of a fist, hung from it.

The steward retrieved a set of keys from his waist and tried several times before finally inserting one into the lock.

He took a deep breath and pushed open the tightly closed carved wooden doors with force.

As the doors slowly opened, an extremely strange smell immediately hit them.

It was not the stench of a rotting corpse.

Rather, it was an overwhelming, almost pungent cheap perfume.

Mixed with this sickly sweet scent was a deep, nauseating mustiness, as if the room had never seen sunlight for years.

The two completely different odors fused together, stabbing straight into everyone’s nostrils.

Instantly, it churned their stomachs.