"What do you mean?" Xin Zizhao glanced at Wei Shuxuan.
"The evidence I found could have multiple explanations. It may not be what I initially thought. That would be too subjective. We must base our investigation on objective facts."
Xin Zizhao understood her point, but there was something about her that made it hard for him to look away.
"So what did you find?" Xin Zizhao asked straightforwardly. "When I said the coroner would take the body back to clean the wounds before making a judgment, your expression changed. You seemed to disagree with this approach. That's why you insisted on examining the fatal wound yourself."
"I was worried that the evidence might disappear after the wounds were cleaned, so I wanted to check them myself. As a result, I found a small piece of gravel on her hair. It looked like a fragment. Since we haven't found the real weapon yet, this is just a speculation."
Seeing Wei Shuxuan looking troubled, Xin Zizhao instinctively comforted her. "I've sent other imperial guards to search other parts of the palace. They'll inform us immediately if they find anything."
"I trust your work, haha." Wei Shuxuan patted Xin Zizhao on the shoulder. "Let's go to the morgue now. I wanted to go this morning, but then another case came up, and I've been delayed until now. I really didn't want to go at night..."
Xin Zizhao raised an eyebrow. "Are you scared?"
"Scared my ass! It's just that such a place is so gloomy and makes people feel uncomfortable."
Wei Shuxuan thought that she had seen many such places before. She was scared at first, but she got used to it after seeing so many.
The morgue they were talking about was a place that specifically received the bodies of maids, eunuchs who died in the palace, or concubines who were sent to the cold palace. It was located on the outskirts of the palace, near the long road they passed on their way back. They had to take a sedan chair to get there.
Sitting in the sedan chair reserved for the prince, Wei Shuxuan deeply felt the difference in treatment. The sedan chair was padded with soft cushions, and there was a brazier inside. It was really comfortable and warm.
"This is so comfortable! It's so warm."
Wei Shuxuan lay on the cushion, enjoying herself, and sipping the tea Xin Zizhao handed her. Xin Zizhao looked at Wei Shuxuan, and a hint of affection slowly appeared in his eyes.
"If you like it, you can use it from now on."
"Really? That's great!" Wei Shuxuan was extremely excited when she heard Xin Zizhao's words.
Finally, they arrived at the morgue on the outskirts of the palace. Wei Shuxuan got out of the sedan chair. Before she even entered the morgue, just standing outside, she could feel the cold wind blowing from inside.
"Scared?" Xin Zizhao's calm voice came from behind.
"Not at all. I thought you were scared, so I was waiting for you."
Wei Shuxuan could be as sarcastic as Xin Zizhao when she wanted to.
After entering the morgue, Wei Shuxuan had already learned from the imperial guards before coming. The bodies marked with numbers in the morgue were all the victims of the recent murders in the palace. The imperial guards had placed them together.
There were a total of seven numbered bodies. With today's victim, there were already eight.
Wei Shuxuan walked over and started to examine the bodies. She lifted the white cloth covering them. Because of the cold weather, the bodies decomposed slowly. However, the first five bodies that had died earlier had already started to show different degrees of decay.
The first body was a maid. Her fatal wound was in the abdomen. It was probably due to excessive internal bleeding. The second body was a eunuch. He was stabbed in the heart from behind. The third body was a concubine. She was stabbed in the heart from the front. The fourth body was also a concubine. She was pushed into the water and drowned. The fifth body was a maid. She died of poisoning. The sixth body was a eunuch. He died of excessive blood loss after being stabbed in the femoral artery.
They had already examined the last two bodies, so there was no need to study their causes of death and wounds again. The causes of death and wounds of these eight bodies were all different. It seemed that they were not the work of the same person.
"Xiao Zhang," Wei Shuxuan called out to the imperial guard following her. Xiao Zhang was the chief of the imperial guards. "Do you know the identities of these people?"
"Yes. The dead maids and eunuchs were all servants of the emperor. The dead concubines were all those who had been sent to the cold palace."
"I'd like to know their personal information. Can you get it for me?" Wei Shuxuan asked Xiao Zhang.
"Of course. I'll immediately have someone retrieve their personal information from the archives and send it to Fenghe Hall."
"Great. Thanks, Xiao Zhang."
When they came out of the morgue, it was almost evening. The orange-red sunset was gently spreading across the sky, making the slightly purple-blue sky extremely gorgeous.
"Shall we go straight back to Fenghe Hall?" Xin Zizhao asked Wei Shuxuan.
"Otherwise?" Wei Shuxuan saw through Xin Zizhao's thoughts. She looked at him with a mischievous smile. "Do you want to go out and have some fun before going back?"
Xin Zizhao didn't answer. He just pulled Wei Shuxuan into the sedan chair and said to the sedan chair bearers, "Go outside."
The night market in the capital was much more bustling and prosperous than that in Baiyang Town. The streets were filled with people coming and going. The hawking sounds of the peddlers rose and fell one after another. The warm firelight made the whole capital look warm and lively.
Xin Zizhao bought a windmill for Wei Shuxuan. Wei Shuxuan was extremely excited holding the windmill. She pulled Xin Zizhao through the streets and alleys, buying all kinds of small trinkets and tasting different kinds of street snacks.
"Are you happy?" Even though they could only play for a short while, Wei Shuxuan was already very happy.
"Of course I'm happy. I didn't expect the night market here to be so interesting."
As soon as they returned to Fenghe Hall, Chief Li trotted over. His face was full of uneasiness. "Prince Wu, Young Master Wei, the Crown Prince is here! He said he came to pay a visit and has been waiting in the hall for a while! Please go there quickly!"
"The Crown Prince?" Xin Zizhao said that he didn't know this person. "Got it. You can leave first. I'll go there later."
"Yes!"
When they entered the hall, they saw a handsome man who looked a bit like Xin Zizhao sitting upright on the main seat. There were also many guards and serving maids beside him.
Wow, this is not a visit at all! It's clearly a show of force.