MCSCPM -Chapter 331 The Murderer

The only chance to enter Prince Yi’s residence—Yin Qingyue would naturally not let it slip by.

Before the carriage entered the guards’ line of sight from Prince Jing’s residence, she swiftly stepped out and stopped it.

The driver pulled the carriage to a halt and asked, “Miss, what are you doing?”

Yin Qingyue stepped forward and said, “Uncle, is the firewood in your carriage being delivered to Prince Yi’s residence?”

“Who are you? Are you a maid from Prince Yi’s residence?”

“Yes. The steward just gave instructions—have you leave the carriage here and come back for it tomorrow.”

“That’s not how it’s usually done.”

Yin Qingyue immediately waved her hand. “There’s something going on at Prince Yi’s residence today, so you’re not allowed in. This is the steward’s order. Don’t delay—hurry along.”

No matter what she said, the driver refused to believe her. After thinking it over, he found Yin Qingyue suspicious instead. He got down from the carriage, walked up to her, and said, “Miss, why do you look so unfamiliar? Are you really from Prince Yi’s residence?”

Yin Qingyue knew the driver was meticulous, and she didn’t have time to waste. Seeing no suspicious people around, she smiled and said, “Uncle, look behind you.”

“What?” The driver actually fell for it. The moment he turned his head, Yin Qingyue raised her hand and struck hard at his neck. He collapsed unconscious.

“Uncle, have a good rest. I’ll deliver the firewood for you.” She had no choice but to do this. The man looked kind enough, but she had to proceed.

She dragged him aside, stripped off his clothes, and quickly changed into them. To avoid being discovered, she hurried onto the carriage, pretending to be the firewood delivery person, and headed into Prince Yi’s residence.

Perhaps because she was dressed tightly and delivering firewood was a routine matter, the guards of Prince Yi’s residence didn’t pay attention—neither did the hidden guards from Prince Jing’s residence.

Thus, Yin Qingyue entered Prince Yi’s residence smoothly.

At the back gate, the servant who usually received the firewood was already waiting. He led her inside, eyeing her strangely, and asked, “Isn’t it Uncle Li who delivers the firewood? Why is it someone else today? Who are you?”

“My uncle usually delivers the firewood,” Yin Qingyue explained. “He fell ill today, so he asked me to come.”

The servant sized her up. Since it was just firewood, it didn’t matter who delivered it. He said, “Alright then. Come in first—I’ll settle the payment.”

“Okay.”

Yin Qingyue followed him to the woodshed, and the other servants carried in the firewood.

The servant took out the ledger, counting as he said, “Thirteen loads delivered today.”

Yin Qingyue said nothing.

The servant handed her the silver and led her out, saying, “Alright, hurry along now.”

There was no way Yin Qingyue would leave—she had gone through great trouble to avoid both Prince Jing’s and Prince Yi’s guards to get in.

When the servant walked ahead and there was no one around, she raised her hand and knocked him unconscious, then dragged him aside.

It was getting late; she needed to return to the inn quickly to avoid being discovered.

Having been there once before, Yin Qingyue quickly found Chu Yifeng’s room.

At this moment, Chu Yifeng’s itching illness had flared up again. He avoided all the guards and stayed alone in his room—he didn’t want anyone to see him in such a miserable state. Who could have known that the imperial physician’s medicine was completely useless? After using it for so long, it still couldn’t truly stop the itching.

He rolled off the bed onto the floor, gripping the bedsheets tightly. Because he had fallen, he pulled the entire sheet down with him, leaving him in a pitiful state.

A dignified Prince Yi reduced to this—brought down by a woman no less—was truly unspeakable. If he knew that the divine female physician he had been desperately searching for was the very person who caused his condition, he would want nothing more than to kill Yin Qingyue.

His whole body was unbearable. Gritting his teeth, he rolled on the floor, drenched in sweat, banging his head against the ground, trying to knock himself unconscious.

If he passed out, at least the itching would stop—but even as his forehead was about to bleed, he still didn’t faint.

At this moment, Yin Qingyue found a piece of cloth from somewhere, covered her face, and quietly entered Chu Yifeng’s room.

With the itching attack in full force, Chu Yifeng was rolling on the floor and had no idea she had come in.

Yin Qingyue didn’t want to alert him. Spotting a pair of silver chopsticks on the table, she swiftly grabbed them and stabbed toward Chu Yifeng, piercing right into his philtrum. He froze instantly, unable to move.

In that instant, Chu Yifeng was utterly shocked. His eyes shifted toward Yin Qingyue. Her face was covered—only her eyes were visible, and even then he couldn’t tell who she was.

“Who are you? How dare you assassinate me?” Chu Yifeng’s mind was clearly on the verge of collapse; his body was still in agony.

Yin Qingyue stepped forward a few paces, deliberately lowering her voice. “Prince Yi, I just want to ask you—have you done anything you feel guilty about?”

Chu Yifeng’s heart jolted. He gathered his thoughts and asked in surprise, “Who exactly are you? Could it be that you’re the one who attacked me back then?”

“Whether it’s me or not is none of your concern. I only want you to answer—have you done anything you feel guilty about?”

“Whether I have or not, what business is it of yours? Do you know the consequences of assassinating me?”

“And do you know that before you kill me, I can kill you right now?” Yin Qingyue’s eyes suddenly turned fierce.

Chu Yifeng knew he couldn’t move. If this continued, he would definitely suffer. Ever the opportunist, he said, “Fine. I can let you go, but you must also release me. Since you know I’m Prince Yi, you should know the consequences of offending me.”

Yin Qingyue gave a cold laugh. “Since I came today, I’m naturally not afraid of you.”

“What exactly do you want?”

“What do I want?” Yin Qingyue smiled darkly, lowered her voice, and said, “Answer me honestly, or I’ll kill you right now. Tell me—who have you killed?”

Chu Yifeng’s itching flared up again. He was drenched in sweat, yet his eyes were stubborn. “I kill people—since when is it your place to question me?”

“I wouldn’t care. But if you don’t speak, then wait to die from unbearable itching,” Yin Qingyue threatened.

“If you dare kill me, you’ll die too.”

Chu Yifeng remained defiant, refusing to speak.

Yin Qingyue curled her lips into a smile. “If you won’t say it, that’s fine. I’ll know anyway.”

Chu Yifeng didn’t understand what she meant and stared at her eyes in confusion—exactly what Yin Qingyue wanted.

At that moment, she locked eyes with him and slowly read his thoughts. What she learned made everything clear.

This Prince Yi was indeed a beast. Over the years, he had killed countless people. In Tuoshui County, he had nearly killed Chu Jingcheng; in the prefecture, he had even murdered guards from Prince Jing’s residence.

But what Yin Qingyue wanted to learn was the truth behind Mei’er’s death. As expected, the one who killed Mei’er was indeed Prince Yi. She had only come to confirm it. He had framed Shangguan Jiaoran, and after Shangguan Jiaoran left the suburban residence, he poisoned Mei’er’s medicine—Mei’er died because of that.

Beast. Yin Qingyue cursed him fiercely in her heart, wishing she could kill him on the spot.

At the same time, she learned another critical piece of information—Prince Yi’s next targets were Leng Feng and Leng Yi.

Her expression turned vicious. “You’re so cruel and vicious—killing you a thousand or ten thousand times wouldn’t atone for your crimes.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Chu Yifeng panicked. He hadn’t said anything—how could she know?

“Nonsense?” Yin Qingyue said coldly. “I’ll show you what consequences really are.” She struck his neck, and Chu Yifeng immediately fell unconscious.

“Prince Yi, you killed Mei’er. Only giving you itching powder is far too lenient.”

She wanted to kill him. Her raised hand was already poised to strike—but then she remembered something. Prince Yi was a member of the imperial family. Even if he were to die, it couldn’t be by her hand. Otherwise, she might die herself—and even implicate Prince Jing. It wasn’t worth it.

If Prince Yi was to be killed, it would have to be by someone else.

“I’ll spare you for now—let you live a few more days,” Yin Qingyue said, furious and filled with hatred.

After calming herself and pulling away from the truth of Mei’er’s death, she knew the priority was to leave Prince Yi’s residence.

She tidied up, picked up the silver chopsticks from the floor, and to avoid anyone discovering an intruder, made it all seem like nothing more than one of Prince Yi’s dreams.

After leaving Chu Yifeng’s room, Yin Qingyue headed for the back gate of Prince Yi’s residence—it was crucial to get out as quickly as possible.

But just as she was retreating, she discovered that Prince Yi’s guards had already been waiting. The servant she had knocked out stood beside them—clearly, he had woken up, noticed something was wrong, and alerted the guards. They had searched the entire residence, except for Prince Yi’s room, because Chu Yifeng had previously ordered that no one approach him. And yet, Yin Qingyue had been inside all along.

“You dare break into Prince Yi’s residence—seize her!” the lead guard ordered. Several armed guards rushed forward to capture her.

Yin Qingyue thought that if she relied on wit, she might escape—but now, it seemed very difficult.

Just then, a carriage suddenly arrived and stopped at the back gate. Everyone’s attention was drawn to it. Taking advantage of the moment, Yin Qingyue rushed toward the gate—she recognized it as a carriage from the Ding family.

A voice came from inside the carriage: “Get in, quickly.”

Without hesitation, Yin Qingyue jumped in. The Ding family’s driver whipped the horses into a gallop. The guards gave chase, but after a long pursuit, the carriage disappeared. With no choice, they stopped.

Inside the carriage, Yin Qingyue lifted the curtain and looked back. Seeing that the guards had stopped chasing, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

This time, although her infiltration of Prince Yi’s residence came with a few unexpected turns, at least she had identified Mei’er’s killer. Now, she no longer needed to investigate the cause of Mei’er’s death.