Chapter 165: Autopsy, Unveiling the True Culprit

Back in the Prince Consort of Nanzhan's bedchamber, Shen Qianmo had been too concerned about her own pregnancy and too rushed to treat Murong Jing's injuries to thoroughly examine the Prince Consort's corpse. Now, comparing the symptoms of the Prince Consort's poisoning with Murong Jing's wounds, she noticed several anomalies.

Therefore, she needed to conduct another examination to verify the suspicions in her mind.

As a forensic pathologist, examining corpses and wounds was her duty. Conducting a comprehensive examination and letting the dead speak was her professional code of ethics. Post-mortems were not to be treated as child's play, nor could they be taken lightly. Although she was now a revered Princess Consort, her original intentions remained unchanged when facing the deceased.

Princess Yongle was hesitant, but seeing that even the normally arrogant and self-concealed Gongsun Hua raised no objections, the Prince Consort's death must have hidden circumstances. She was not a dithering woman; her nature was quite straightforward, and after a moment of contemplation, she gave her consent.

"It's just that, Princess Xuan, your condition..." Although she also wished to uncover the true cause of the Prince Consort's death, the Princess Xuan before her was pregnant after all. Despite her loose clothing hiding any prominent belly and keeping her figure elegant and slender, the fact remained that she was an expectant mother. Was it truly wise for her to handle corpses for an extended period?

Shen Qianmo smiled faintly, clearly unconcerned. "It is quite all right. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

In her past life, quite a few of her colleagues in the forensic department had worked while heavily pregnant. The mentor who had guided her when she first entered the department was even more extreme, guiding students in autopsies in the morgue right up until the day she went into labor. Therefore, to Shen Qianmo, pregnancy posed no conflict with performing an autopsy.

An autopsy did not lend itself to a crowd, so Shen Qianmo kept only Gongsun Hua and Baili Xiao in the room. With Gongsun Hua watching, she believed Princess Yongle would place greater trust in the autopsy results, and as for Baili Xiao, she needed him to take notes.

The Prince Consort of Nanzhan had died of poisoning; of that there was no doubt, so Shen Qianmo felt an internal dissection was unnecessary, requiring only an external examination. Consequently, she did not send anyone back to the manor for her full set of forensic tools. Instead, she simply tied a silk handkerchief over her lower face to block some of the corpse's putrid odor.

"I speak, you write," Shen Qianmo said, turning to Baili Xiao after securing her mask. Above the silk, her gaze was calm, sharp, and resolute.

Baili Xiao stood dumbfounded, staring blankly at Shen Qianmo in this state, suddenly finding her somewhat unfamiliar. Only after Shen Qianmo frowned and repeated herself did he snap back to reality, nodding repeatedly in agreement.

Gongsun Hua was also drawn in by the confident poise radiating from Shen Qianmo, his dust-laden beard parting to reveal a measure of surprise and admiration.

Shen Qianmo had already begun examining the Prince Consort's corpse. "Deceased, male, aged twenty-five to twenty-eight, height... five feet and eight inches, time of death approximately two hours ago."

She glanced at Baili Xiao, who was furiously scribbling, and paused to accommodate his note-taking.

Baili Xiao had practiced medicine for a long time and was naturally accustomed to corpses, so his composure now was far superior to that of Qin Nansheng in the past.

Nodding inwardly, she continued her inspection. "The deceased's entire body is cyanotic, abdomen distended, blisters inside the lips, tongue ulcerated and swollen, extensive ulceration on the chest wound, with congestion, edema, and erosion on the skin near the wound, forming ulcers. These are symptoms of ingestion, and the poison consumed should be a certain strongly alkaline toxic substance."

"Ingestion!" Gongsun Hua exclaimed in astonishment. "You mean the Prince Consort was not killed by venomous insects, but was deliberately poisoned by someone?"

"Indeed." Shen Qianmo nodded at Gongsun Hua, then lowered her head to continue. "There is a hemorrhagic injury subcutaneously at the bend of the deceased's left leg, with localized swelling and elevation, crescent-shaped, firm to the touch. This was caused by external force, but is not fatal. There are multiple bruises on both palms, forearms, and elbows. No abnormalities found in other areas."

After a meticulous examination, Shen Qianmo finally raised her head from the corpse and said to Gongsun Hua, "The deceased died from ingesting poison. Judging by the degree of cyanosis on the body, the time of poisoning should have been two days ago. Might I ask on which day the Prince Consort went to Fengming Mountain?"

Hearing this, Gongsun Hua's expression changed, and he said in a deep voice, "Three days ago. Does Princess Xuan mean that the poison was administered after the Prince Consort returned from Fengming Mountain? Yet since returning, the Prince Consort has remained in his rooms recovering, never stepping outside nor coming into contact with outsiders. Could the poisoner... be one of our own people?"

Shen Qianmo raised an eyebrow slightly, untied the silk mask from her face, walked over to wash her hands, and met Gongsun Hua's skeptical gaze, dropping a few flat words: "That possibility cannot be ruled out."

Although only a single day had separated the events, a margin of error was understandable. However, investigating a case was precisely this way—no suspicious detail could be overlooked.

Meanwhile, Princess Yongle had also sent people to inspect the wounds of the guards who had accompanied the Prince Consort to Fengming Mountain and had been bitten by venomous insects. Outwardly, their wounds were similarly ulcerated, swollen, and festering with blurred flesh, but the skin on their bodies showed no cyanosis, clearly differing from the Prince Consort's symptoms.

Logically, with Gongsun Hua's medical expertise, he should have detected the distinction. However, because the area of the Prince Consort's venomous insect bites was far larger than those of the guards, coupled with Gongsun Hua's long residency in the south and his shallow understanding of demonic worm toxins, it was somewhat excusable that he failed to notice it immediately.

"After all this fuss, it turns out the culprit was one of our own!" Leaving the room, Baili Xiao whispered quietly into Ye Qinglan's ear while handing her the notes he had just taken.

"Just who is so audacious as to dare poison and murder the Prince Consort?" Hearing Gongsun Hua's report, Princess Yongle turned pale with fury, while an icy chill welled up in her heart.

On this journey as an envoy to the northwest, everyone accompanying her was naturally a trusted confidant. Now, even trusted confidants could no longer be relied upon?

If they could quietly murder the Prince Consort this time, there was no guarantee they wouldn't use the exact same methods to kill her next!

"Someone come! Summon everyone to the hall. I want to see for myself who is biting the hand that feeds them and murdered the Prince Consort. I will ensure they suffer a wretched death!"

"Hold on!" Shen Qianmo spoke up, halting Princess Yongle's impulsive urge, which was clearly fueled by anger. She said calmly, "To find the culprit, there is actually no need to make such a fuss. If Your Highness trusts me, simply summon the servants who have closely attended the Prince Consort over the past few days, give me a room, and let me question them individually."

"The servants who closely attended the Prince Consort?" Princess Yongle slightly furrowed her willow-leaf brows. "Does Princess Xuan mean the culprit is among them?"

Shen Qianmo nodded. "Two days ago, the Prince Consort should still have been conscious. Had it not been someone he trusted implicitly, they would never have had the opportunity to feed him the poison."

"Princess Xuan makes sense." Looking at the consistently calm and poised Princess Xuan before her, Princess Yongle also regained her composure and instructed a nearby maid, "Go quickly and summon Siqi and Zhihua to the east courtyard parlor to be questioned by Princess Xuan."

On this trip to the northwest, it had always been the two maids Siqi and Zhihua who tended to the Prince Consort's daily life and diet. If the two of them harbored malicious intent, it would indeed be impossible to guard against.

"Yes, Your Highness." The maid bowed in acknowledgment and turned to leave to fetch them, only to be called back by Shen Qianmo.

"Remember, summon them one by one. If the two of them ask what this is about, tell them it concerns the Prince Consort's death."

The maid paused and looked stunned, prompting Princess Yongle to scold, "Do as Princess Xuan says! Why aren't you going?"

Since Princess Xuan gave such specific instructions, she must have her reasons. For some reason, Princess Yongle instinctively trusted this gentle, serene, and elegant woman before her.

In the east parlor of the courtyard, deserted and serenely quiet, the door was open only by half a tile. As noon approached and the sun shone brightly, the warm winter sunlight streamed through the lattice window and the half-closed door crack into the room, casting its glow upon a woman in light green robes seated in the hall. It lent her an air of unhurried poise and tranquil charm.

The maid Siqi was led into the room, the door creaking shut behind her. With a sudden tremor in her heart, she curtsied apprehensively and said, "Siqi greets... greets Princess Xuan."

Shen Qianmo raised her eyes to scan her. She was a charming and slender young maiden, which explained how she had become the Prince Consort's chief personal maid.

"Sit," she uttered a single flat word, then lowered her head to drink her tea.

"This slave wouldn't dare." Siqi hurriedly lowered her head, feigning terror.

"Sit!" Shen Qianmo placed her teacup onto the table with a sharp *clack*, startling Siqi so thoroughly that her heart leaped. She hurriedly perched the edge of her buttocks on half a chair, keeping her head down with wandering eyes, entirely too afraid to meet Shen Qianmo's gaze.

"Look up." A chilling voice came from ahead. Siqi timidly raised her head, but the moment she made contact with Shen Qianmo's gaze, she instinctively wanted to lower it again, only to hear the woman before her say in a deep voice, "The Prince Consort has passed away, and Girl Siqi must be very busy. Let's do this: I ask, you answer. Cooperate, and we will all save ourselves some trouble."

Siqi paused slightly, nodding mutely. "Please go ahead, Princess Xuan..."

"How many years have you been by the Prince Consort's side?" Before Siqi's voice had even faded, Shen Qianmo began questioning her directly.

Siqi thought for a moment and replied, "This slave has been by the Prince Consort's side for five years."

"On which day did the Prince Consort go to Fengming Mountain?"

Siqi answered, "My Lord went to Fengming Mountain three days ago."

"Two days ago, did you enter the Prince Consort's bedchamber?"

"I did." Siqi nodded, then added, "As this slave closely attended My Lord, naturally I entered and left My Lord's chambers every day."

"Understood. You may leave." Shen Qianmo lowered her head to take a sip of tea, speaking with indifference.

The door behind her opened, and the same maid led Siqi away, shortly bringing a second maid, Zhihua, into the room.

As fellow personal maids to the Prince Consort of Nanzhan, Zhihua's appearance was naturally no less striking, though her expression was similarly jittery.

Shen Qianmo repeated her routine, having Zhihua sit first, look up to meet her gaze, and asking, "How many years have you been by the Prince Consort's side?"

"Ah?" Zhihua blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting Shen Qianmo to ask such a question. Hesitating for a moment, she replied softly, "Three... three years."

"On which day did the Prince Consort go to Fengming Mountain?"

"Three days ago."

"Two days ago, did you enter the Prince Consort's bedchamber?"

"Naturally I did."

"Very well, you may leave." Shen Qianmo nodded, watching as Zhihua turned and departed.

Ye Qinglan, who had been waiting outside, pushed open the door and entered. Shen Qianmo raised her head and said to her calmly, "Qinglan, tie up Siqi and bring her to Princess Yongle. She is the poisoner who murdered the Prince Consort."