Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 37 The first clues

As the night deepened, the bustling Prince's Mansion gradually became deserted.

From the street came the sound of the night watchman's golden gong, and faintly the sound of drums could be heard from the East Market.

The hour of Hai is approaching and the curfew is about to begin.

The guests who came to pay their respects had all left, and the only ones left in the huge Prince Hejian's Mansion were the sorrow-faced family members and the servants who were busy finishing up the ceremonies.

There were perpetual lamps lit in the mourning hall, and Li Xiaogong's three sons and seven concubines sat beside the coffin to keep vigil.

"At this time yesterday, the master was still drinking and having fun all night long..."

The lady muttered with empty eyes, and suddenly she remembered something, and her eyes immediately brightened:

"He also left behind more than a hundred singing girls and dancing girls! Send them all away!"

She stood up angrily and walked out.

The fifth aunt was a Uighur. She muttered, "We still have to let the mourning go for three more days in this hot weather. Everyone is stinking. You Han people are so troublesome," and then left the mourning hall.

The second son, Li Hui, followed him out quietly.

Just like that, the whole family found excuses to leave.

Li Xiaogong's body was covered with a white cloth, lying alone in the mourning hall, with a perpetual lamp flickering at his feet.

From the darkness of the hall door, two sneaky little heads popped out.

"Brother Ming, I've changed my mind. How about I come for you tomorrow..." Di Renjie's voice was trembling.

"Go to hell! You'll never get this chance again!"

Li Ming forced himself to stay calm and kicked Di Renjie into the mourning hall.

Unlike on TV, real candlelight is very dim.

The flames flickered and the white flags fluttered.

The dim light shining on the pale shroud creates an atmosphere of Chinese horror.

Gulp~ Di Renjie's ears were buzzing, and he felt like his feet were stepping on cotton. His mind was blank, and he could clearly hear his own heartbeat.

Not to mention the Tang people who respected ghosts and gods and kept their distance from them, even Li Ming, a staunch materialist fighter, couldn't help feeling nervous.

But on second thought, if this matter is not handled well, he might end up like Li Xiaogong, with the whole village, young and old, waiting for the food to be served after he kicked his legs and covered his head with cloth.

His courage returned and he gave his younger brother a shot of encouragement:

"You can't investigate people, and I can't investigate things. The grievances of the Prince of Hejian and the hopes of the people of Bashu all depend on you, my dear brother!"

"Uh-huh!"

Xiao Di plucked up his courage, tiptoed to the body, and took out the autopsy instruments from his cloth bag.

In the candlelight, the utensil glowed palely.

It is a long and thin silver needle.

"Ah?!" Li Ming's jaw almost dropped.

What am I expecting?
That's it?

Isn't an autopsy supposed to open one's heart, let one's imagination run wild, search one's intestines and stomach, and squeeze the marrow out of one's bones?

Use silver needles?
This isn't a TV series, is this thing really useful...

Under Li Ming's suspicious gaze, Di Renjie took a deep breath, not daring to look at the face covered with white cloth, and directly stabbed the silver needle into the throat of the corpse, muttering to relieve the pressure:
"If the prince was really poisoned, there would be some residual liquid in his throat, and the silver needle should be able to detect it...right."

"What if it can't be detected? Does it mean it's not poisonous?"

"It means it cannot be measured."

"..."

It's still a sufficient but not necessary condition, right?

Li Ming increasingly felt that this folk scientist's method was unreliable.

But even though he complained, Li Ming couldn't help but hold his breath when the folk scientist Di Renjie was performing the operation.

After all, Di Renjie is not Song Ci, and it is impossible for the two children to really dissect the prince's body in his mansion.

Silver needle poison testing is the only feasible solution.

The thin silver needle slowly sank into Li Xiaogong's thick throat and then slowly pulled out.

Li Ming watched intently, without blinking.

This unreliable thing holds his destiny together.

The silver needle was pulled out of the esophagus inch by inch, leaving the thick skin of the jaw, reflecting a seductive luster under the flickering firelight.

The two children held their breath involuntarily.

Near the end of the needle, the reflected luster became fainter and fainter, as if covered by a veil of something.

"Sure enough!" Di Renjie blurted out excitedly.

Alas, why did you suddenly become stupid... Li Ming had no time to stop him, and a warning shout came from outside the door:

"who!"

There was a sound of chaotic footsteps, and the eldest son Li Chongyi, holding a torch and leading several servants, rushed towards the mourning hall in a hurry.

"Run, Brother Ming!" Di Renjie was scared.

"No!" Li Ming suddenly had an idea, grabbed Di Renjie's clothes, and shouted in a childish voice:

"There's a thief! There's a thief!"

Di Renjie: ???

"child?"

Li Chongyi was surprised and recognized the two thieves.

"Your Highness? Why are you here in the middle of the night?"

Protect the evidence... Li Ming mouthed this instruction to the dumbfounded Di Renjie, then he lay down on the ground, rolling around and throwing a tantrum:

"You bunch of thieves! I came to pay my respects to your grandfather, but you kidnapped me! Are you planning to rebel? I'm going to report you to the authorities! Report you to the authorities!"

You made a scene at my father's funeral hall and you're still blaming me... Li Chongyi was so angry that his teeth itched. He tried his best to resist the urge to punch the prince and squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: "Okay, okay! I'll report to the police right away! Also, I'll call your henchman over too. We can confront each other face to face. You're welcome!"

Li Ming sat cross-legged in the mourning hall, which was extremely disrespectful.

Di Renjie knelt awkwardly beside him, holding the silver needle tightly in his arms.

Li Chongyi calmed down a bit and tried to persuade him kindly:

"Your Highness, it's not good for you to sit in the mourning hall. Why don't you get up and have some tea first..."

Li Ming threw a tantrum and rolled around, it didn't look like he was acting at all:
"You want to take me to the Turks and kidnap me, right? I've seen through your tricks. You are not allowed to get within two meters of me, otherwise you will be rebelling!"

The veins on Li Chongyi's forehead were throbbing.

Li Ming continued to make unreasonable demands:

"I want my trusted general Wei Daijia, the left and right Wuhou guards who maintain order in the capital, and the Wannian County lieutenant who is in charge of East City's security, to protect me together!"

His goal is to stir up trouble, and naturally the bigger the better, with the more diverse forces involved, the better.

This can effectively prevent the mastermind behind the scenes from suppressing the matter.

Di Renjie's shout had an unexpected effect.

"well!"

Li Chongyi also took a gamble.

"As your highness wishes, I will call them all here!"

Wannian County, like Chang'an County, was a county attached to Jingzhao Chang'an. Wannian County governed the eastern part of Chang'an City, including Longqingfang where the Prince's Palace was located.

Soon, Wei Daijia personally led the servants of the Wei mansion, the left and right generals of the Wuhou Guard personally led the capital's troops, the Wannian County Lieutenant led the police officers and constables, and a large group of people from different systems and belonging to different groups, rushed into the Hejian County Prince's Mansion.

The mansion was in chaos. The eldest aunt sat on the ground, beating her chest and stamping her feet, crying so hard that she almost fainted:
"The master just passed away at noon, and you came to confiscate the house at midnight. You really don't want to leave us any chance to survive!"

The other aunts cried and comforted the eldest sister.

I don't want to listen, you bastard... Wei Daijia was dragged out of bed by his father Wei Ting. He was so angry that he had no place to vent, so he forced himself to turn into a ruthless walking machine and headed straight for the main hall of the Prince's Mansion.

In front of the mourning hall, Li Xiaogong's second son Li Hui and third son Li Chongzhen knelt there in tears, shouting in grief and anger:
"My father has just passed away and hasn't even been buried yet, are you guys so impatient to wipe out the entire family?!"

Wei Daijia didn't dare to look at them directly, and muttered softly:
"Misunderstanding, it's all misunderstanding. I just heard that the prince is in trouble..."

He stopped the soldiers and walked into the mourning hall with a grim face.

That kid better be in trouble.

Li Xiaogong's eldest son, Li Chongyi, also had a livid face and explained the incident expressionlessly:

"His Highness Li Ming caused a scene in the mourning hall, saying that we kidnapped him and wanted to sue us for treason."

Wei Daijia forced himself to look into the other person's eyes:
"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding. You know, children of this age are more sensitive..."

"Gatekeeper, you're finally here." Li Ming sat on the ground and shouted without regard for age.

As a dismissed General of the Right Guard, this nickname was a double blow to Wei Daijia, and he was able to resist the urge to strike back thanks to his extremely high professional ethics.

"Your Highness..." He was so angry that his voice was shaking:

"Can you explain what's going on?"

Li Ming's mouth curled up, with an evil smirk on his face:

"It is only natural to have a feast when someone dies. If they don't invite me to the feast, I will just make a scene."

The blood and energy surged up instantly and Wei Daijia felt dizzy.

This bear child is still outputting:

"Why, you don't accept it? To tell you the truth, no one in the world can control me except my grandfather!
"But do you dare tell him?

"Li Xiaogong died, and my grandfather is very sad. He must be still awake at this time.

"Aren't you the best at telling tales? How dare you, a coward who can't even guard the door and a dismissed prison guard, disturb my grandfather in the middle of the night?"

Wei Daijia was extremely angry.

"You think I don't dare?!"

…………

Lizheng Hall.

This sleeping hall is located in the inner court outside Ganlu Gate, south of Yongxiang, and not in the harem, to facilitate audiences with trusted ministers.

After Empress Changsun died in this hall, Li Shimin slept here at night and personally raised the young Li Zhi and Li Mingda.

study.

Li Shimin was wearing a plain robe and his eyes were swollen, obviously he had just cried.

But at this moment, his eyes were bloodshot and his anger overwhelmed his sadness.

Like a vicious tiger choosing its prey.

Li Ming was "invited" into the study by the guards and knelt in front of him.

"Didn't you say you were afraid of death?"

Li Shimin's voice was calm, like the ocean before a tsunami.

"But from what I can see, you are not afraid at all."

Li Ming had lost all of his previous mischievousness. His face became solemn and he slapped the ground with his right hand.

A silver needle was left behind.

Then, he knelt down, took a step back, looked down at the floor, and said loudly:

"The example of the Prince of Hejian is the first one I have ever seen. I have no choice but to be afraid."

Otomo immediately took out the silver needle and presented it to Li Shimin.

The end of the needle is black.

Li Shimin's eyelids twitched.

(End of this chapter)