Chapter 430 - 428: Five Suspects (Second Update)

Chapter 430: Chapter 428: Five Suspects (Second Update)

Xu Jing immediately said, "Please, Governor Zhang, explain in detail."

Governor Zhang nodded and said, "The first person to enter was the inn attendant responsible for bringing hot water to Princess Ling for her wash. He made three trips in and out, delivering three barrels of hot water. When we questioned him, he said that Princess Ling was in the inner room when he entered, and although he did not see her, he saw her two maids, who were perfectly fine at the time and directed him to pour the water into the bathtub."

Xu Jing thought for a moment and asked, "After Princess Ling finished washing, didn’t her two maids have anyone come in to tidy up?"

Governor Zhang shook his head and said, "Miss Xu, what you might not know is that the guest rooms in the Full Moon Building are relatively large, with an outer and an inner room, and the bathtub is usually placed in the outer room. So even if it wasn’t tidied up, it wouldn’t affect Princess Ling’s rest.

The room also has a chamber pot, so there was no need for them to leave. That night, after Princess Ling and her two maids visited Princess Consort Ling, they indeed did not leave the room again.

The second person to enter was a young servant named Shuangrui, sent by Prince Ling to check on the masters before bedtime. It’s said that since the incident with his two maids, Prince Ling ordered someone to check on them every night. He said that when he went in, Princess Ling and her two maids were fine, and Princess Ling even entrusted Shuangrui to take good care of Prince Ling."

Because Prince Ling’s health has been poor since childhood, he often falls ill. Xu Jing learned from the Imperial Guard that during this period, he had caught a cold due to traveling, but fortunately, it wasn’t too severe.

This was also one of the reasons why Prince Xing believed the Jiang Family would abandon Prince Ling to support him.

Because of Prince Ling’s poor health, his household was not very full. Besides the princess, there was only one concubine, and now that he had come to the Capital City, Princess Ling and that concubine accompanied him. It’s said that the concubine was already eight months pregnant.

Governor Zhang continued, "Shortly after Shuangrui left, a maid named Dongyang from Princess Consort Ling’s side came. She said that when Princess Ling visited Princess Consort Ling, she left a handkerchief behind, and she was ordered by Princess Consort Ling to return it to Princess Ling.

She also said that when she went in, Princess Ling and the two maids were fine. She specifically came to return the handkerchief, and Princess Ling had her stay for a cup of tea and chatted with her for a bit before she left.

This matched the statement of the guard at Princess Ling’s door, who said Dongyang was inside for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The next person to arrive was Concubine Fang, who came to greet Princess Ling and Princess Consort Ling every night before bed. According to her, she first went to greet Princess Consort Ling before going to Princess Ling’s room. She stated that when she arrived, Princess Ling and her maids were all fine, and Princess Ling seemed to be in a good mood that day. She didn’t ask her to leave immediately after the greeting but chatted with her, inquiring about her health."

Xu Jing looked slightly puzzled and turned to Governor Zhang.

Governor Zhang immediately lowered his voice and said, "Although it’s not really my place to say, for the sake of the investigation, some disrespect to Princess Ling is unavoidable. Princess Ling is a daughter of the Zhou Family and has been strong-willed since she was young. She has been married to Prince Ling for three years but hasn’t borne him any children.

About a year ago, Prince Ling took Mrs. Fang as a concubine, to which Princess Ling seemed... very dissatisfied. But since Mrs. Fang is from a noble family local to Prince Ling’s fiefdom in Qi State, even if Princess Ling was displeased, she couldn’t prevent Consort Fang from marrying in.

After Consort Fang married in, Princess Ling didn’t show her much kindness, especially since Consort Fang quickly became pregnant, which made Princess Ling even more unhappy.

It’s said that this time on their journey to the Capital City, General Han instructed them to travel lightly without many servants. However, even under such instructions, as a pregnant woman, Consort Fang was expected to bring more servants, but Princess Ling only allowed her one maid and one midwife, claiming that because Prince Ling’s health was weak, any extra slots should be for him.

As a result, Prince Ling brought two maids and two young servants, Princess Ling brought two maids, Princess Consort Ling brought two maids and one nanny, but the pregnant Consort Fang had only one maid and one midwife found in a hurry as a precaution.

Throughout the journey, Consort Fang would visit Princess Ling to pay her respects almost every night, but often she was quickly dismissed. Occasionally, Princess Ling’s tone was quite harsh, and this was something even the guards outside Princess Ling’s door could testify to."

Xu Jing furrowed her brows slightly and said, "Why was Princess Ling suddenly in a good mood that day?"

Governor Zhang shook his head, sighed, and said, "About that, I asked everyone around Princess Ling, and no one knew why. However, Princess Consort Ling and those around her said that when Princess Ling paid her respects, she did seem more spirited than in the previous days.

They speculated that Princess Ling’s family is in the Capital City, and even though the reason for them coming to the Capital City is... somewhat sensitive, it was a rare chance for Princess Ling to see her family. With the Capital City being so close, perhaps that lifted her spirits."

Xu Jing nodded and said, "And who was the last person to visit Princess Ling?"

"The last person to visit Princess Ling was Nanny Lu from Princess Consort Ling’s side. Nanny Lu has been with Princess Consort Ling for over twenty years and has never married, claiming she will always serve Princess Consort Ling.

That day, Princess Consort Ling had bought some soothing and calming tea leaves in Xinzhou and instructed Nanny Lu to take some brewed tea to Prince Ling and Princess Ling. She said that because Princess Consort Ling hadn’t been sleeping well due to pressing travel and the incidents along the way, she bought the tea leaves to improve her sleep, and Nanny Lu also delivered some to the others.

They didn’t send any to Consort Fang because she was pregnant, and they didn’t want her to consume anything risky."

Xu Jing pursed her lips slightly and said seriously, "It wasn’t until morning that anyone realized Princess Ling and her maids had been killed, so this Nanny Lu also claimed that when she went in, they were still fine."

Governor Zhang unexpectedly shook his head and said, "Nanny Lu said she did not see Princess Ling when she went there, as Princess Ling seemed to have already retired for the night. It was a maid named Qiuwen who attended to her.

Qiuwen had her place the tea on the table in the outer room and then dismissed her.

The next day, when we entered Princess Ling’s room, we did find a cold cup of tea on the table in the outer room."

Xu Jing listened and then frowned deeply.

Five people had entered, but all five said that when they went in, Princess Ling and her maids were fine. At least one of the three was still alive.

After that, no one else went in, yet all three were found dead.

Unless the murderer had the means to enter Princess Ling’s room from beneath the tight security, kill them, and leave undetected, someone among those five people must be lying!