Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Ye Churan wanted to go to the Prime Minister's residence to find Zheng Luoqi early in the morning, but found that she was not there. She asked the guards at the gate, but they did not know where Zheng Luoqi had gone.

No matter how Ye Churan asked, the answer she received was always "I don't know".

Ye Churan didn't linger any longer and turned to leave. She was even more annoyed after being turned away at the Prime Minister's residence. Was even the guard at the gate of the Prime Minister's residence so tight-lipped?

After finishing his business at Yuexin Pavilion, Zheng Luoqi returned to the Prime Minister's residence, just in time to miss Ye Churan, who had come to find him.

Prime Minister's Mansion

Zheng Luoqi returned to the Prime Minister's residence and sorted out her thoughts on the recent events.

First, there were rumors that a "theatre-related death" incident had occurred at Yuexin Pavilion, so the initial target was the Prime Minister's residence.

First, rumors were spread, then three more people died, and the rumors spread even more widely. The Prime Minister's Office stepped in to suppress them, and then the imperial court sent people to investigate the case.

On the surface, the emperor sent people to investigate the case, but in reality, he was using the Prime Minister's residence as a stepping stone. If the case was solved, Ye Churan would be credited and promoted. If the case was not solved, the Prime Minister's residence would suffer damage to its reputation and lose a large sum of income from Yuexin Pavilion.

Therefore, no matter what, the emperor is never at a disadvantage.

Moreover, even before the case is closed, some people are already eager to get a share of Yuexinge's profits.

It's estimated that the emperor was also involved, so he used rumors to put pressure on the Prime Minister's residence on one hand, and on the other hand, he started a new Yueyin Pavilion to take away Yuexin Pavilion's share.

As for Xiao Jie and Xiao Hua, Zheng Luoqi suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of a way to break the deadlock.

Inside the palace

Upon hearing that the prime minister had important matters to report, the emperor summoned several ministers to the council hall.

"Prime Minister, two days have passed since this case began. Have you made any progress, my dear minister?" Xue Huaiyu asked the Prime Minister with a slight smile.

Zheng Luoqi thought to herself: Laugh now, laugh now, but you won't be able to laugh in a moment.

“Your Majesty, the case has been solved. Please take a look,” Zheng Luoqi stepped forward and handed over the prepared memorial.

After reading it, the emperor's face instantly turned gloomy. Zheng Luoqi saw this but pretended not to.

"Bring up the murderer in this case." Zheng Luoqi waved her hand, and Xiao Jie was carried up.

He was in a terrible state; he couldn't speak clearly and was completely out of it.

"This, this is the murderer, how did it become like this?" Chen Tongyu asked.

Zheng Luoqi smiled slightly and replied, "After confessing, he was locked up for a few days and then went crazy."

It was just put in a coffin and locked up for a few days.

“But it’s alright, luckily I have his confession here,” Zheng Luoqi said, showing the confession to each official before handing it over.

"Lord Zheng says he is the murderer. Although there is a written confession, how can we be sure that Lord Zheng did not coerce him into confessing?" Grand Commandant Wen said from the side.

"Grand Commandant, be careful with your words. Slandering an official of the court is a serious crime," Zheng Luoqi said disdainfully, glancing sideways at Grand Commandant Wen.

“Who knows if it’s a forced confession? Whether it’s true or false, how can we let it go with just a complaint? There must be witnesses and physical evidence!” Fan Huai’an chimed in from the side.

Zheng Luoqi knew they wouldn't believe her, so she didn't waste any words with them and went straight to the witness—Xiao Hua.

When Xiaohua came up, she was a little scared when she first saw the emperor.

“Xiaohua, tell me everything you know,” Zheng Luoqi said.

“Yes, sir, my name is Xiaohua. I am the personal maid of Young Master Hu, who was 'taken by opera' a few days ago. This Young Master Xiao Jie is him. He ordered me to drug the young master and then strangle him. If I didn’t do it, my life would be in danger. It was him. He threatened me to do it,” Xiaohua said, pointing to Xiao Jie with certainty.

"You say he threatened you, but what evidence do you have to prove it? And what was Xiao Jie's purpose in asking you to do this? Does he have some grudge against Young Master Hu?" Lin Changsheng asked at this moment.

“This servant has been forced to take the Five Poisons Powder and doesn’t have much time left. The antidote is in Young Master Xiao’s hands. This servant also knows that the last person Young Master Hu met was Young Master Xiao. They arranged to meet at Yuexin Pavilion.”

"It was Young Master Xiao who first had me tell Young Master Hu about the 'theatre-related death-seeking' incident outside. Young Master Hu has always been very interested in these strange things, so Young Master Xiao used this to his advantage to invite Young Master Hu out."

"After that, Young Master Xiao gave me the sleeping potion he had prepared beforehand, and told me to first drug Young Master Hu so that I could strangle him. Then he dressed Young Master Hu in a theatrical costume to make it look like he was being 'killed by the opera.' All of this was done at Young Master Xiao's instruction."

"As for what grudge they have, this servant does not know," Xiaohua said timidly.

"Then why didn't you say so when we were at the Hu residence?" Ye Churan stepped forward and asked.

"Because I was threatened by Young Master Xiao at that time, and I was afraid that things would be exposed, so I didn't say anything," Xiao Hua said timidly.

“Then why would Young Master Xiao harm Young Master Hu when he has no grudge against him? That’s utter nonsense!” Fan Huai’an said at this moment.

"Whether there's a grudge or not, you'll have to ask Lord Fan." Zheng Luoqi raised an eyebrow and looked at Fan Huai'an.

He then produced another indictment, this one from Xiao Jie, who had previously attempted to assassinate him at Yuexin Pavilion.

"This Xiao Jie and this Xiao Jie are known in the martial arts world as the 'Sword and Poison Masters.' Xiao Jie is skilled in using poison, while Xiao Jie is skilled in using a sword. Xiao Jie previously attempted to assassinate an official of the imperial court at Yuexin Pavilion and has been captured by Commander Zhang of the Imperial Guard. He clearly confessed that he was instructed by Lord Fan."

"Not only that, Xiao Jie is also one of Lord Fan's men. As for why Xiao Jie killed Young Master Hu, Master Hu is a fairly well-known merchant in the capital. His family's cloth shops are all over the Great Xia Kingdom. As far as I know, Young Master Hu had a conflict with Lord Fan's son, Young Master Fan."

"As for how it all ended, it seems that Master Hu paid a considerable sum of money to settle the matter!" Zheng Luoqi continued.

"This is clearly Lord Fan coveting the property of several merchants. He sent people to stage the 'theater murder' incident and then framed the Prime Minister's Mansion. Lord Fan, what a clever scheme you have!" Zheng Luoqi said provocatively to Fan Huai'an.

As Zheng Luoqi spoke, he took out another token with the character "Fan" engraved on it: "This token was found on Xiao Jie, which is enough to prove that Xiao Jie had dealings with Lord Fan."

"You...you..." Fan Huai'an was so angry he couldn't speak. That token was given to Xiao Jie when he asked Xiao Jie to assassinate Zheng Luoqi. How could it be in Xiao Jie's hands? He didn't do this, so where did all this evidence come from pointing to him?

Fan Huai'an immediately knelt down and kowtowed, crying out that he was wronged: "Your Majesty, this old minister is wronged!"

“Lord Fan, you have plotted to frame a high-ranking official, embezzled public funds, and perverted justice. Your crimes are unforgivable.” Zheng Luoqi said, and then had someone bring over an account book.

"This ledger belongs to 'Peach Blossom Manor' under Lord Fan's name. Every expenditure in it is outrageously unreasonable. Let me read it to you." Zheng Luoqi took the ledger and began to read.