She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

Shen Man frowned and leaned closer to examine Cao Yong carefully. She first lifted his eyelids to observe his pupils, and then reached out to touch his neck, trying to find more clues.

"Man'er, there isn't a single wound on his body. Could he have died from poisoning?"

Chu Zhiyi followed behind Shen Man and, after carefully examining Cao Yong's body, asked a question.

“If it were poisoning, there would be some physical reaction, but his complexion doesn’t look like he’s been poisoned.”

"Why would a perfectly healthy person suddenly die? Could it be that he had a fatal illness?"

"It shouldn't be either..."

Shen Man was also very puzzled, and even had someone take off his socks, but still found nothing.

"This person is rather strange; he sleeps with his hair still in a bun..."

Chu Zhiyi's unintentional remark struck Shen Man like a thunderbolt.

"Quickly untie the topknot on his head and take a look; the fatal wound that could kill him might be on his head."

Upon hearing this, the guards immediately stepped forward and carefully untied Cao Yong's hair.

His long hair was cascading down. Shen Man brushed aside the strands of hair and saw a needle gleaming with purple light stuck in the top of his head.

If you didn't open your hair to check, you wouldn't be able to notice it at all.

"Just as I thought!" A glint of light flashed in Shen Man's eyes. "This is an extremely covert method of murder. The killer used an extremely fine needle to pierce the Baihui acupoint on the top of the head, instantly destroying the central nervous system and causing the victim to die on the spot."

In this way, no obvious scars will be left, and it will be difficult for anyone to notice.

Chu Zhiyi's face darkened. "A person who can use such insidious methods must have a thorough understanding of acupoints and be highly skilled. They are no ordinary person. It seems that the murderer behind this is not simple."

Shen Man nodded in agreement, "Moreover, the fact that the murderer chose this time to kill and silence us shows that what Cao Yong knew was extremely important to them, and it also shows that our whereabouts are under their control."

As the two were talking, Shen Man took the needle out of Cao Yong's head, examined it carefully, and said, "This needle is actually purple. I wonder what kind of material it is made of. It's quite rare!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Zhiyi's expression changed drastically, and he quickly took the needle from Shen Man's hand. "This is an item exclusively for palace guards, made of copper."

Upon hearing this, the guards present immediately changed their expressions and knelt down, saying, "Your Highness, these copper needles were indeed our hidden weapons, but we did not kill anyone. Please investigate thoroughly, Your Highness!"

Chu Zhiyi squinted at the kneeling guards, "I know you are all loyal and would never do such a thing. But do you have any clue as to why this copper needle is here?"

The head of the guards hesitated for a moment, then said with a forced smile, "Your Highness, although we are in charge of keeping these copper needles, the storeroom was mysteriously robbed a few days ago. At the time, we thought it was just some ordinary weapons that were lost, so we didn't pay much attention. Now that I think about it, the copper needles were probably stolen back then."

Chu Zhiyi stared intently at the captain of the guards and asked, "The treasury was robbed. Why didn't you report such a serious matter?"

The captain of the guards looked terrified. "Your Highness, we have failed in our duty. We intended to find the stolen items ourselves to atone for our sins, so we did not dare to make a fuss."

Chu Zhiyi snorted coldly, "Foolish! Now that someone has died, do you think you can bear the consequences?"

After saying that, he turned to Shen Man and said, "Man'er, let's report this matter to Father Emperor first and see what he decides."

As they talked, the two quickly returned to the Qianqing Palace.

The Emperor was discussing Taoist practices with Master Wuyang in the palace when he saw them return. He immediately asked, "Yi'er, have you found out the cause of death of that fake Taoist priest?"

Chu Zhiyi stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Father, I have investigated and found that the fake Taoist priest was killed by someone piercing his Baihui acupoint with a copper needle. The copper needle belonged to the palace guards, but the guards said that the storeroom was robbed a few days ago, and the copper needle should have been stolen at that time."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor's face darkened. "How dare someone be so audacious as to attempt an assassination in the palace! Yi'er, do you have any suspects?"

Chu Zhiyi shook his head. "Your subject has no clue at the moment, but this person is familiar with acupoints and his methods are ruthless. He must have planned this carefully."

"Bring me the guards of the armory immediately! I want to interrogate them myself!"

Before long, the guard who was watching over the storeroom was brought before the palace. He knelt down trembling, repeatedly pleading, "Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life!"

The Emperor spoke authoritatively: "What exactly happened when the treasury was robbed that day? If you dare to utter a single lie, I will immediately chop off your head."

The guard hurriedly kowtowed, "Your Majesty, on the night I was on duty, I vaguely smelled a strange fragrance, and then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I found the storeroom ransacked. I know I have made a grave mistake, but I was afraid of being punished, so I concealed it. Your Majesty, I know I was wrong."

The Emperor slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne in a rage, “Useless fool! Did you see anyone suspicious that night?”

The guard said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, I was unconscious for two whole hours. When I woke up, I didn't see anything."

The Emperor was furious and shouted to the guards outside the palace, "Drag him out and give him fifty lashes as punishment!"

At this moment, the Taoist priest Wuyang slowly spoke up: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, this murderer not only knows the layout of the palace and the weapons used by the guards like the back of his hand, but is also proficient in pharmacology and acupoints. He probably had this planned in advance and has considerable power behind him."

Upon hearing this, the emperor remained silent.

There is such a skilled assassin hiding in the palace. If we cannot find him soon, my life will be in grave danger.

Thinking of this, he looked at Chu Zhiyi and said to him, "Yi'er, I entrust this matter to you to continue the thorough investigation. You must find the murderer."

Chu Zhiyi accepted the decree, saying, "Your subject obeys."

After Chu Zhiyi left Qianqing Palace, he said to Shen Man, "Man'er, I want to go and take a look at the armory."

"Okay, I'll go with you."

After they finished speaking, the two immediately went to the palace armory to look for clues.

However, several days had passed since the copper needle was stolen, and even if the thief had left any traces, they had all been destroyed by other people who had come and gone in the past few days.

Therefore, the two found nothing in the armory.

Meanwhile, in the Phoenix Palace, Empress Cui Jintang was speaking quietly with her personal maid, Zilu.

"Zi Luo, do you think they can find out the cause of Cao Yong's death?"

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. Cao Yong's wound is extremely well hidden, and they will certainly have difficulty finding it."

Even if they suspected something, the murder weapon was a copper needle, and only palace guards were allowed to possess copper needles. There was absolutely no way they could trace it back to us.

Zilu's beautiful eyes sparkled, radiating confidence.

"In that case, I am relieved. Zilu, when I have accomplished my goal, I will certainly appoint you as prime minister!"