Yuan Qiu was transferred to the handyman's room, and the inside story is worth pondering.
The front yard of the handyman's room is very large, and all the palace people work in the front yard.
Yuan Qiu has been working in the handyman's room for many days, sleeping in the bunk room with other court ladies.
According to the testimonies of Li Tianxiang, the servant in charge of the handyman's room, and the maid of the Tongpu room, they have not seen Yuanqiu for two days.
Shen Zhiyan asked with a cold face: "I haven't seen her for two days, don't you find it strange that you are in charge?"
Murong Ci stared at these people, and several court ladies knelt respectfully, bowed their heads deeply, trembling tremblingly.
They didn't dare to move, they held their breath, and their postures and appearances were all panic and awe, fearing that His Highness the Crown Prince would see something and be punished.
Li Tianxiang was calmer. After all, he had lived a few years longer than them and had seen many big scenes, but he still held a respectful attitude and did not dare to offend.
When did the handyman see such a big man as the prince
Therefore, all the palace people in the front yard fell into deep panic and fear, and did not dare to overstep.
"Responding to my lord, I thought she was sick and let her rest for a day or two." Li Tianxiang stammered, "She fell ill a few days after she came to the handyman's room, and she fainted once. They all saw it with their own eyes. of"
"Yes, Yuanqiu is ill." The ladies of the court agreed with each other, as if they would be convicted if they didn't agree.
"I haven't seen anyone for two days, haven't you looked for and asked?" Murong Ci asked in a deep voice, exerting authority.
"Without His Royal Highness, Yuan Qiu is like this. Either he is sick or he doesn't see anyone all day long, so I don't care." He was so frightened, "I never thought that she died Your Highness, my lord, I am wronged if I didn't kill someone."
Yuan Qiu was just an inconspicuous court lady, she never thought that her death would attract inquiries from the Crown Prince and Dali Temple, this was absolutely unexpected to him. He regretted dying, he should have looked for Yuan Qiu before.
Shen Zhiyan threatened: "You'd better answer honestly, or your life will be at stake."
Li Tianxiang was so frightened that he trembled all over, "This slave must know everything and dare not hide anything."
Murong Ci asked again: "Who found Yuan Qiu's body?"
A court lady raised her head slightly, and said in a voice like a mosquito: "It's a slave. There is a water tank in the backyard that has been abandoned for a few years. The mother said that the water tank should be moved to the front yard to clean it and fill it with water. The servant will go to the backyard to have a look first. Know"
Her face was pale, her limbs trembled violently, and the fear that penetrated into her bones made her unable to restrain herself. "The servant saw that Yuan Qiu was curled up inside, and he had lost his breath."
"Yuan Qiu hasn't seen him for two days, so it can be seen that he has been dead for two days. Didn't anyone notice the water tank in the backyard?" Murong Ci frowned and thought.
"Your Highness, no one goes to the backyard, because the palace people have to work from morning to night, so there is no time to go. Moreover, the water tank was abandoned in the weeds under the tree, covered by weeds, so no one found it for two days." Li Tianxiang answer.
"Where is Yuan Qiu's body?"
Shen Zhiyan's handsome appearance and elegant demeanor attracted the attention of the maids all over the courtyard. Some shy, coquettish, or obsessive eyes stuck to him, telling the secret thoughts of his daughter's family. However, they also deeply knew that there was a world of difference between them and Mr. Shen, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, that they were not from the same world, and it was impossible.
However, this does not prevent them from admiring the beauties of the world and gazing obsessively.
Seeing that the crown prince didn't doubt himself, Li Tianxiang returned with frightened three souls and seven souls, and replied: "The servant put Yuan Qiu's body in an unoccupied room."
Murong Ci and Shen Zhiyan looked at each other, and called the maid who found the body to go to the backyard together.
Li Tianxiang led the way. The backyard was quite large. The place near the house was flat and spacious. There were several big trees near the courtyard wall with luxuriant branches and leafy shades. There is a huge water tank under the wall in the wild grass. The dining room will be used to store water, and it is abandoned here for some reason.
The court lady was still terrified, and tremblingly stated what she found at that time, "There is water in the water tank, and Yuanqiu is soaked in the water."
Murong Ci stood in the grass, his cold gaze swept over inch by inch.
Mosquitoes and flies are flying all over the sky, buzzing. A lot of weeds have been broken, and there are all around the water tank, which shows that the murderer killed people here. However, it may also be the result of the palace people carrying Yuan Qiu's body away.
Shen Zhiyan approached the water tank immediately, and she also walked over, Li Tianxiang reminded: "Your Highness, be careful, this is the place where the crime happened, be careful that bad luck hits your body."
She ignored him and still walked forward.
The water tank was indeed large enough to accommodate a woman. The water in the tank was 80% full and extremely turbid. It must be rainwater, because there were corpses soaking in it that made it so turbid.
Shen Zhiyan looked around and said in a low voice, "There is no blood on the ground or around the tank."
Murong Ci nodded, looked at it for a while and then left.
They went to see Yuan Qiu's corpse, and she asked Li Tianxiang to order the palace servants to work as usual, and if necessary, send them for questioning.
In the house, Li Tianxiang stood aside and did not dare to get close to the corpse, because he smelled the smell of dead corpses, he covered his mouth and nose and frowned, not daring to look at the corpse.
Shen Zhiyan decided to conduct a preliminary examination here. He put on the thin gloves that he carried with him, and began to examine from the head, "The deceased Yuan Qiu, judging from the spots on the corpse and the degree of decay, he should have been dead for two days. Because he was soaked in water Here, the body of the deceased is swollen." He pressed twice on the abdomen of the corpse, and water gushed out of the deceased's mouth. With a focused look, he continued, "The deceased was drowned."
Murong Ci stood on the other side. Since the body smell was too strong and she was unprepared, she could only cover her mouth and nose to relieve it, "See if there are any bruises on the deceased's body."
He nodded and untied Yuan Qiu's clothes.
Li Tianxiang immediately turned around, rushed out again, and spat out at the door with a wow.
"You wait outside." She shook her head helplessly.
"It's the servant who resigned first." He rushed out as if he had received an amnesty order, and spat again.
"Your Highness, look, there are purple-red bruises on the back of the deceased's neck, which were caused during his lifetime." Shen Zhiyan inspected meticulously, "Does it look like five finger marks?"
"It does look like it." Murong Ci stretched out his hand and put his five fingers on the back of a person's neck and pressed down, "The murderer should have grabbed Yuan Qiu's back and pushed her into the water tank before she drowned."
He continued to examine the corpse, "The deceased's arms had many bruises, which should have been caused during his lifetime."
She nodded, "It's quite normal for palace servants to be scolded and beaten by those in charge."
Shen Zhiyan then looked at the dead man's hands, "Half of the dead man's nails were broken, and a few fingers were torn. It should be the result of the dead man's arms scratching and scratching in the water tank when his head was held down."
Murong Ci said: "Just now I saw one or two broken nails in the water tank."
After a while, he finished the autopsy, took off his gloves, and ordered Li Tianxiang to send someone to send the corpse to the East Palace without any mistakes and without destroying the corpse.
Li Tianxiang was worried that he would be suspected of murder, so he took the job seriously.
She came to the Tongpu room where Yuan Qiu lived, and asked a few court ladies, and they all said that they hadn't seen Yuan Qiu since they got up early two days ago.
Shen Zhiyan asked displeasedly: "Don't you think it's strange that someone is missing?"
The maids lowered their heads in fear, held their breath and dared not speak.
Murong Ci knows very well that in the inner garden of the harem, in the nooks and corners of the palace people, the life of the palace people is like a mustard, and who cares whether they live or die? The disappearance of a person will not cause a ripple at all. No one cares about, mentions, or inquires about a wisp of ghost in the deep palace.
Because this resplendent imperial palace was originally a giant beast that devoured people.
They inspected Yuan Qiu's bunk, but found nothing.
It seems that the murderer acted quite neatly without leaving any clues.
"That night, that is, the midnight two days ago, something unusual happened in the handyman's room"
Murong Ci summoned all the palace people and asked this question.
However, the palace people shook their heads one after another.
That's right, they are busy working during the day, so tired that they are dying, they fall asleep when they lie down, and they have to get up early in the morning, but they don't get enough sleep. How could someone get up in the middle of the night and bump into something unusual
She and Shen Zhiyan left the handyman's room, and just after they came out, they met a court lady, who should be a court lady from the Six Shang Bureau according to the palace uniform.
Seeing the two nobles, the court lady quickly bowed her head in a respectful manner.
Murong Ci glanced at the brocade box in the maid's hand, and asked after a thought, "You come to the servant's room to find someone?"
"Yes." Such a delicate-looking court lady answered softly, obviously not knowing them, "My servant pays homage to the two nobles."
"What palace maid are you from?" Murong Ci asked coldly.
"The servant girl is a maid from the Liushang Bureau, her humble name is Chang Qingqing, and this servant girl came to look for my friend Yuanqiu from the handyman's room." The maid replied, rather courageously.
Murong Ci and Shen Zhiyan looked at each other, it was really easy to find nowhere to find it.
They took her to a nearby gazebo, Chang Qingqing kept bowing her body and dared not raise her eyes.
Murong Ci asked, "What do you want Yuan Qiu to do?"
Chang Qingqing replied respectfully: "Your maidservant and Yuan Qiu are from the same village, and your maidservant came to see Yuan Qiu because I dared to ask the two noblemen what to call them."
She asked boldly, there are many nobles in this palace, one must ask clearly before answering.
"This palace is the crown prince." Murong Ci raised an eyebrow at him to indicate that this maid was quite cautious.
"My servant pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince." Chang Qingqing suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, "This servant deserves to die. I offended His Highness. Your Highness forgives me."
"As long as you answer me honestly, I will spare you the death penalty. What are you holding in your hand?"
"Yes." Chang Qingqing bowed her head and lowered her eyebrows, "The servant girl and Yuan Qiu are from the same village, and they are called sisters. Not long ago, Yuan Qiu was transferred to work in the handy house, but when Yuan Qiu learned that something happened at home in the country, she Her elder brother was beaten to death, her father was so angry that she couldn't get sick, her mother was sick in bed, and the whole family was running out of food, so there was no money to go to the doctor to see a doctor. Three days ago, Yuan Qiu found a slave girl and asked her to help her repair this A golden hairpin in a brocade box."