Chapter 220 As Expected

The heavy golden nanmu coffin lid was slowly pushed open with a grating scrape.

A strong scent of embalming spices, mingled with a faint, almost imperceptible corpse odor, immediately filled the funeral hall.

Xiao Yunzheng tried desperately to rush forward, but two brocade-clad guards held him back.

Zhen’nan Prince Xiao Zhengnan stood aside, hands clasped behind his back, his face so dark it seemed water could drip from it.

Seeing the coroner drenched in sweat and the Crown Prince visibly agitated, Su Wanwan sighed and quickly stepped in front of the coroner.

“I’ll do it.”

The coroner gratefully handed over the tools to Su Hewan.

“Thank you, Your Grace! Thank you, Your Grace!”

Su Hewan approached the coffin, donned her protective gloves, and carefully examined the remains of the Crown Princess, Lin Wan’er.

The funeral hall was deathly silent; only the uneven, heavy breathing of those present could be heard.

After a brief moment, Su Hewan straightened up, her face full of certainty.

She looked at Shen Jue, and her gaze instinctively swept over the prince and the crown prince standing behind him.

“As I expected, a tiny but deep spot of blood has been found at the concealed Fengchi acupoint behind the Crown Princess’s ear!”

At her words, Xiao Yunzheng’s struggling abruptly froze. It was as if all his strength had been drained; he slumped weakly to the ground.

Xiao Zhengnan’s eye twitched violently again.

But he forced himself to stay upright, gritting his teeth without uttering a word.

Su Hewan continued to stare expressionlessly at the coffin.

“Since we’ve found the entry wound, the murder weapon must still be lodged within the Crown Princess’s skull.”

She turned her head and looked directly into Xiao Zhengnan’s eyes without backing down.

“Your Grace, if you wish to obtain irrefutable evidence, the coroner must break open the skull and extract the deadly needle!”

“You dare!”

Xiao Zhengnan, like an old tiger whose tail had been stepped on, let out an earth-shaking roar.

“Opening the coffin is already the limit of my tolerance! If you dare damage Wan’er’s body and leave her mutilated, even if I must risk my life to the last breath, I will never allow you pack of imperial hounds from the capital to leave Southern Frontier alive!”

With his roar, hundreds of armored guards surged to the perimeter of the mansion, encircling the entire funeral hall.

The screeching of swords and blades sliding from their sheaths filled the air, a cold murderous aura shooting straight into the sky.

Lu Yan’s hand, gripping his embroidered spring knife, veins bulging, eyes flashing with danger, immediately shielded Yu Qing behind him.

Shen Jue also blocked Su Hewan without hesitation.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold, bloodthirsty yet calculating smile curling at the corner of his lips.

“Since Your Grace loves your daughter-in-law so dearly and cannot bear to see her body harmed, naturally, neither Lu Da-ren nor I are the kind to act without compassion.”

Shen Jue’s concession left everyone stunned, even Xiao Zhengnan’s face showing a hint of doubt.

But Shen Jue then shifted his tone.

“If we cannot get evidence from the corpse, surely the murder weapon and the poison used to harm her must remain somewhere within this mansion?”

“Lu Da-ren, since the funeral hall yielded nothing, why don’t we go back to that bridal chamber and take another look?”

Lu Yan cast a cold glance at Shen Jue. In that moment, the two reached a tacit understanding without speaking.

Forcibly opening the corpse would inevitably trigger a mutiny. In this remote and hostile territory of the Southern Frontier, that would be far from wise.

As long as they could find the source of the needle, or evidence corresponding to this highly secretive murder method, they could still uncover the truth.

“Let’s go.”

Lu Yan coldly spat out a single word and turned to leave.

The four of them returned once again to the newly sealed bedroom.

Lu Yan drew his embroidered spring knife and tapped the walls and floor tiles inch by inch with the sheath, leaving no potential hidden compartment unchecked.

Shen Jue moved among the rows of redwood wardrobes and dressing tables, his long fingers brushing over every piece of porcelain and every jewelry box.

They even emptied the ashes from the incense burner and meticulously crushed and examined them, and every carved pillar on the canopy bed was felt over multiple times.

Su Hewan stood in the center of the room, frantically reconstructing the scene from the night of the incident.

【The killer’s technique is extremely professional—this is undoubtedly a meticulously planned locked-room murder.】

【Since the needle has already reached the brain, the murder weapon has become irreplaceable evidence.】

【But there is no perfect crime in the world; any contact will leave traces.】

【Even the powdered poison, even the sedative incense used to assist the crime, must still be somewhere in this room!】

Yet, half an hour passed.

The entire bedroom had been turned upside down, but they still found nothing.

The killer’s movements had been so clean it was infuriating, as if that wedding night had truly been nothing more than a bride struck by a sudden illness.

The atmosphere gradually grew tense and oppressive.

Yu Qing sat idly on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs in the air.

She watched the two peerless beauties working in the room, then glanced at the furrowed-browed Su Hewan, and her inner monologue began a running commentary.

【Ugh, even immortals fighting can’t figure this out.】

【This ancient crime scene is way too clean. There’s not even fingerprint technology—they’re relying on the naked eye. When on earth will they find anything?】

As she muttered in her mind, she lazily grabbed the bright red Mandarin duck pillow on the head of the bed and hugged it, poking and pressing it out of boredom.

【Tsk tsk tsk, this Zhen’nan Prince Mansion looks rich, but how could the embroiderer’s skills be this bad?】

【The Mandarin ducks on this pillow are so ugly, crooked and lopsided. Someone might think they’re just two fat-headed ducks.】

【And why are the ducks’ eyes at different heights? They look cross-eyed.】

Yu Qing puckered her lips in disdain and pounded the pillow twice.

【Huh?】

【Why is this pillow all lumpy inside? It’s so uncomfortable.】

【The texture is off. What junk did they stuff inside?】

【Were ancient pillows all this unergonomic?】

【This hard lump in the middle—there’s no way your neck wouldn’t hurt sleeping on this!】

Just as this rapid-fire inner commentary was flooding her mind, Lu Yan, who had been tapping a suspicious floor tile, suddenly froze.

His ears twitched ever so slightly, and he captured every word of Yu Qing’s playful and sharp thoughts without missing a single one.

Without any hesitation, Lu Yan abruptly rose and strode directly toward Yu Qing by the bed.

His tall figure carried an irresistible sense of pressure, instantly enveloping Yu Qing, who was wrestling with the pillow.

“Lu… Lu Yan? What’s wrong?”

Startled by his sudden aura, Yu Qing stammered, clutching the mangled Mandarin duck pillow tightly in her arms.

Lu Yan said nothing. Expressionless, he reached out and snatched the pillow from her grasp.

He held the pillow in his palm, lightly weighing it, and a trace of cold understanding flashed through his narrow eyes.

Indeed, right at the center of the pillow was a highly concealed hard object that would have gone unnoticed without careful palpation.

The next moment, a silver-white flash of knife light, like lightning, suddenly illuminated the dim bedroom!