The cruel little princess

There was no movement in the next room yet, so An Shijiu slipped out of the room and shared his conclusions with An Yi outside: first, the master was unknown; second, the master wanted to frame the fifth prince, and the drug was actually the Seven Deadly Powder, so even if he was rescued, he would be ruined; third, Shaoyao and this Xiaohong had the same master; fourth, killing Mudan was not part of their master's plan, so someone else killed Mudan.

An Yi wanted to continue questioning her on these four points. An Yi said, "I understand," and covered her face with the scarf before entering the room.

The maid Xiaohong in the room was placed on a chair, leaning against the back of the chair with her whole body limp and weak, staring timidly at An Yi who came in.

"Xiaohong, the master is grateful for your unyielding attitude and your refusal to surrender. Therefore, he ordered us to rescue you two! When rescuing you, we used the house arrest powder because time was urgent. Now I will give you the antidote. Let's hurry up and change the carriage to move, so as not to be caught up!" The man in black, An Yi, spoke a little faster, creating a sense of urgency.

In front of Xiaohong, he mixed the so-called "antidote"—which was actually a mixture of hallucinogenic powder and house arrest powder—into water and fed it to her. Xiaohong drank it all in one gulp without spilling a drop.

"How do you feel now? Can you move?" An Yi had no experience, so he asked tentatively.

"I can move." Xiaohong's eyes gradually lost their luster and became dull.

"Do you know who the master is?" An Yi asked.

"I don't know. I only know that I listen to Sister Shaoyao." Xiaohong replied calmly.

"When you follow Mudan, have you noticed anything different?" An Yi continued to ask.

"No, at first Mudan was very reluctant when she was sold to Chunmanlou, but within a month, she gradually accepted the fact of becoming a flower girl." Xiaohong seemed to be lost in memories.

"Does the murder of Peony and Peony have anything to do with you?" An Yi asked.

"No, I was only responsible for putting drugs in her food and wine to make her unconscious, and then Sister Shaoyao and I helped the Fifth Prince into Mudan's room. I then stood guard outside the door the entire time. When the time was almost up and Aunt Mei wanted to invite Mudan out, I pushed the door open and invited her in, so that everyone could see Mudan sleeping with the Fifth Prince." Xiaohong looked a little terrified. "I didn't expect Mudan to have been murdered! And her death was so tragic!"

"Have you noticed anything different about Mudan? Or does she show different emotions when she sees someone or mentions something? Has this ever happened? Think about it carefully." An Yi gave her a hint.

"Once, Mudan got drunk on her own. When I helped her to bed, she seemed to call out "Dong Lang!" a few times. Later, when I asked her who she was calling out, she probably realized that she had said something wrong, so she didn't mention it again. She never got drunk again." Xiaohong recalled.

"Do you know who the 'Dong Lang' that Mudan is talking about? Have you seen him? Is the fetus in Mudan's belly the Dong Lang's?" An Yi continued to interrogate.

"I don't know Dong Lang, and I've never met him. Mudan has been a prostitute since she came to Hua Man Lou. I don't know when she became pregnant, nor do I know who the father of her baby is." Xiao Hong's face turned pale, and she began to cover her head with her hands and shook it. "I have a headache, it hurts so much!"

An Yi knew that the time was almost up and the effect of the medicine was about to wear off, so he quickly asked, "Do you know where the hidden panel under Mudan's bed leads to?"

"I don't know! I don't know!" Xiaohong's voice was a little sharp, "My head hurts! It hurts so much! Save me, save me!..." Then she slowly calmed down.

An Yi also slipped out to join An Shijiu in reviewing the interrogation data. Wu Siqi, observing from outside, was also rapidly analyzing the situation: Shaoyao and Xiaohong's master wasn't sure if it was the Third Prince, but they had poisoned the Fifth Prince and orchestrated the auction of Mudan's virginity to reveal that the Fifth Prince had raped her. Many dignitaries, many of whom knew the Fifth Prince, were present. If someone could discover the poisoning and offer him a cure, he would be widely criticized for his daytime debauchery. If no one rescued him, he would die in his sleep within seven days. However, someone unexpectedly found Mudan through a secret passage and discovered her and the Fifth Prince lying in bed, disheveled. In a rage, they murdered her, disemboweling her and then raped her! In this scenario, there could only be one possibility: the murderer was the father of the fetus! Unable to tolerate Mudan's "betrayal," he committed the murder!

But who is this murderer? The secret passage leads to an abandoned house, long deserted, with no trace of anyone entering or leaving recently. The clues are cut off here again, and who is the "Dong Lang" Mudan mentioned earlier? Is this murderer related to the "Dong Lang" Mudan mentioned earlier? The case becomes increasingly confusing.

Wu Siqi waved his hand, telling them to take Shaoyao and Xiaohong back to the Ministry of Justice first, to avoid attracting attention if they were out for too long. He returned to the Ministry of Justice, picked up a pen and paper, and began to write and sketch. He wrote down everything he knew, drew a diagram to sort out the relationships between the characters, and then pondered it bit by bit.

He had originally wanted to ask Shen Youyou if there was a better way to verify this situation, to determine the relationship between Dong Lang and the fetus. But then he remembered his cousin's advice to him about being more cautious with Shen Youyou, so he suppressed his thoughts and slowly sorted out his thoughts on paper. It would be a good idea to ask his cousin out tomorrow after the morning court session to ask her out for advice.

At the morning court, the Emperor inquired about the progress of the matter. Wu Siqi could only conceal the possibility that the Third Prince was behind the incident. After all, no one could speak without evidence. He simply said that Shaoyao and Xiaohong were instructed by a villain to frame His Royal Highness Prince Rui! As for Mudan's murderer, it was someone else. These were two separate cases that simply happened to occur together, and the investigation was still ongoing.

The emperor felt relieved, at least his son was wronged. It was good to have an explanation to all the nobles! Then he said that although the fifth son was wronged, he still had to reflect on his mistakes in seclusion in the mansion, and would be released when the murderer was caught! The fifth prince, Prince Rui, said with fear and trepidation that he would reflect on his mistakes in the mansion. Although Wu Siqi helped him clear his grievances, he did not find out the person behind the scenes. He was also a useless waste! The fifth prince felt that there were always villains who wanted to frame him!

The Emperor ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court to expedite the investigation. After all, such a vicious murder case involving a dissecting woman had occurred right under the Emperor's feet, leaving the entire capital in a state of panic. The Minister of Justice repeatedly assured them that the case would be solved as quickly as possible and that the details would be posted publicly to reassure the public.

After the morning court session, His Royal Highness Prince Rui waited for Wu Siqi on the side. "Mr. Wu, hasn't that bitch revealed the mastermind behind her? Has she revealed anything else?" His Royal Highness Prince Rui asked anxiously.

Hearing this, Wu Siqi suddenly remembered what Shaoyao had said about His Royal Highness Prince Rui. He had a secret that he couldn't tell her about, and he had so many tricks up his sleeve that he tortured Shaoyao so much that she didn't want to serve him anymore. The kind that he wouldn't want to serve her no matter how much money he was offered! He suddenly wanted to laugh, but he couldn't, he had to hold it in. "I wonder what else His Royal Highness Prince Rui was talking about?" He asked calmly, suppressing his inner smile. But he couldn't help but glance between His Royal Highness Prince Rui's legs. He didn't expect that His Royal Highness Prince Rui was so good-looking but useless! How did he look like this? I don't know if he resembled his father... Ugh! My sin! Please forgive me, Your Majesty! I didn't mean to speculate about the emperor's penis! He must have liked it that way! As for Huai Jin... he looked quite big when he was a child, and he shouldn't be small when he grows up. Well, I'll find out what Huai Jin has to say someday. If he is really like His Royal Highness Prince Rui, he needs treatment immediately! I can’t let my future brothers and sisters-in-law have thoughts like Peony… When Wu Siqi’s thoughts became more and more deviant, he suddenly heard the voice of His Royal Highness Prince Rui.

"How did that bitch Shaoyao confess? It's a shame that I was so good to her!" His Royal Highness Prince Rui said angrily.

"Shaoyao said that she was instructed to frame His Royal Highness Prince Rui, but she didn't say who was the mastermind behind the scenes. The mastermind was too cunning and never showed up in front of Shaoyao. She only contacted him through the masked man in black and Shaoyao." Wu Siqi said truthfully.

"I want to see Shaoyao's confession!" Prince Rui's words reminded Wu Siqi. If Prince Rui saw Shaoyao's confession, he would surely direct his anger at the Third Prince. After a moment's thought, he bowed and said, "To be honest, Your Highness, I have already sent the confession to His Majesty for review. If Your Highness wishes to see it, you can go to His Majesty." Although he hadn't sent it yet, he had it on him, and he would return to deliver it directly to the Emperor later.

"There must be more than one confession. Let me see the duplicate one!" His Royal Highness Prince Rui continued to insist.