Chapter 217 Opening the Coffin to Examine the Body

Shen Jue’s breath, warm and steady, sprayed directly against the delicate, sensitive side of Su Hewan’s neck, completely unguarded.

It was an extremely dangerous, aggressively intimate distance.

The perennial chill of plum blossom that clung to his body instantly invaded Su Hewan’s nostrils with undeniable force.

Her mind, which had been fully focused on the case, blanked for a split second.

Her body stiffened uncontrollably, and a fine ripple ran across her neck.

【What is this man up to now? Why is he so close!?】

【At a time like this! And he still won’t stop teasing me!】

Su Hewan raged inwardly, wishing she could slap that disastrous face away in one strike.

Yet her strong professional discipline and mental resilience forced her to suppress the impulse.

She took a deep breath, forcing down the drumming of her heart, keeping her expression icy and composed.

Shen Jue, listening to the silent screams of her mind, couldn’t help the smile threatening to spill from his eyes.

This woman—on the surface, she appeared as detached and serene as an old nun, but inside, she was as lively as a cat with its fur on end.

Shen Jue wickedly lifted the corner of his lips, and instead of creating distance, deliberately pressed his head down a little closer.

“Lord Su, what would you have me look at?”

His low, hoarse voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible hint of intimacy and teasing.

Su Hewan gritted her teeth, desperately trying to ignore the tingling sensation at her ear.

She extended her index finger, steadily pointing at the deep red embroidery on the pillowcase.

“Look here.”

Following her finger, Shen Jue suppressed his playful thoughts and focused.

Under the reflection from the bronze mirror held by Yu Qing, the red thread’s texture was magnified many times over.

At the intersection of two threads, a tiny, tiny dark brown spot was revealed—so small that it could not have been noticed without strong light.

It was a bloodstain.

A dried, oxidized bloodstain, almost merging seamlessly with the dark red thread.

Shen Jue’s eyes instantly hardened into a cold, sharp glare.

“This is—”

Su Hewan straightened, finally shaking off the suffocating pressure Shen Jue exerted.

She turned, eyes blazing as she scanned everyone present, her voice clear and commanding.

“This is absolutely not a natural death!”

“If I’m correct, the deceased was lying on their side when attacked, their head pressed heavily against this pillow.”

As she spoke, she gestured to the area behind her ear.

“Judging from the indentation on the pillow and the position of this bloodstain, the killer struck precisely at the back of the victim’s ear.”

Her words were orderly and logical.

“The murderer used an extremely slender, extremely sharp weapon—most likely a steel needle or a poison-tipped acupuncture needle.”

“With the victim completely unprepared, a single stab penetrated deep into the brain!”

Su Hewan clenched her fingers tightly.

“This method of killing is cruel and highly professional.”

“Because the puncture is so tiny, and protected by the scalp and hair, removing the weapon afterward would leave only this minuscule drop of blood.”

“Without an extremely experienced coroner conducting a detailed scalp and hair examination, no external injuries would be detectable!”

“Couple that with the so-called ‘wedding night’ or ‘emotional excitement’ as the perfect alibi, and the cause of death could easily be disguised as a sudden acute illness!”

Su Hewan took a deep breath and came to her final conclusion.

“So, this was never a natural death.”

“This was a meticulously planned murder, carried out with extreme secrecy inside a locked room!”

The moment she spoke, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.

The steward, whose face had already looked wan, now turned as pale as a corpse. He collapsed to the floor like a heap of decayed mud.

Yu Qing sucked in a sharp breath in shock, nearly dropping the bronze mirror she held.

“Oh my god! A needle to the brain! This is brutal!”

“What kind of demons and monsters are hiding in this mansion? They make Rong Ma-ma look tame by a factor of ten thousand!”

Hearing Su Hewan’s earth-shattering deduction, Lu Yan’s eyes flared with cold resolve.

If the Crown Princess’s death was indeed a deliberate murder, then the so-called flawless “locked-room” scenario, and the Zhen’nan Prince Mansion’s claim that it was a sudden, natural death, would all collapse into a joke.

Without hesitation, Lu Yan fixed his gaze on the slumped steward. His voice was cold and hard.

“Someone, summon the coroner. Lead this commander to the site!”

“Immediately proceed to the cemetery—open the coffin and examine the body!”

The steward, already collapsing to the ground, went weak in the knees at those words.

“Absolutely not!”

Before Lu Yan could even respond, a sudden clamor erupted outside—chaotic, rapid footsteps and near-piercing shouts.

“I’ll see who dares touch my Wan’er!”

Before the words even finished, a stumbling white figure barreled into the room.

It was none other than the Zhen’nan Prince’s heir, Xiao Yun-zheng.

Today he wore an extremely plain white silk mourning robe, his waist tied with a coarse hemp rope. His once neatly arranged hair and crown were now askew, with a few strands of hair hanging wildly across his forehead.

His eyes were bloodshot, dark rings underneath, his whole appearance exhausted and haggard—as if he had just survived a heart-wrenching, life-shattering loss.

Rushing into the room, Xiao Yun-zheng, like a protective beast, flung his arms wide and planted himself firmly in front of the wedding bed.

He panted heavily, chest heaving violently, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Lu Yan.

“Master Lu! Supervisor Shen!”

Through gritted teeth, Xiao Yun-zheng forced the words out, his voice thick with unrestrained grief and anger.

“You come under the Empress Dowager’s orders to inspect the southern frontier’s defenses. My Zhen’nan Prince Mansion has treated you as honored guests without a hint of negligence!”

“Then what are you doing now?!”

He abruptly pointed to the disheveled wedding bed, his fingers trembling violently.

“Wan’er has only just passed—her body is not yet cold!”

“She was a dignified and virtuous woman in life, and now she has died suddenly. And yet, you still intend to dig up her grave, open her coffin?!”

Xiao Yun-zheng’s eyes reddened, and tears streamed down his pale cheeks. His grief-stricken appearance pierced the heart of anyone who saw it.

“This is a tremendous humiliation for my Zhen’nan Prince Mansion and the ultimate desecration of my late wife’s spirit!”

“Today, as long as I Xiao Yun-zheng still draw breath, do not even think of stepping foot in this mansion to disturb her peace!”

His words rang with unwavering authority, embodying the image of a devoted prince mourning his lost wife and vowing to defend her dignity to the death.

The guards of the mansion, who had rushed in with him, drew their swords from their waists.

In an instant, the room was filled with the glint of steel, tension at its peak, and the atmosphere plummeted to an icy chill.