Chapter 166: Laying Bare the Heart, Nothing Left to Hide

Inside the hall, Siqi knelt before Princess Yongle with her hands bound behind her back, crying piteously as she loudly protested her innocence.

"Princess, this humble servant is wronged! I have served the Princess and the Prince Consort loyally for many years with unwavering devotion, heaven and earth as my witness. How could I ever commit such a heinous act as poisoning the Prince Consort? I beg the Princess to see the truth and grant me justice!"

Princess Yongle looked at Shen Qianmo with a troubled expression, clearly finding it hard to believe that a young maid like Siqi would poison the Prince Consort to death.

This maid had been by the Prince Consort's side for years and had always enjoyed his deep favor and trust. Although she was a personal maid, the Prince Consort had never treated her poorly, and among all the maids serving him, she was by far the most favored.

Why would she want to poison him? What possible benefit could she gain from his death?

Shen Qianmo watched Siqi's frantic weeping with cold eyes, the corners of her lips curling upward as she calmly said, "Since you claim to be utterly loyal and devoted to the Princess and the Prince Consort with no second thoughts, why did you feel guilty and flustered just now when I asked you those questions?"

Siqi sobbed, "This humble servant does not understand the Princess of Xuan's meaning. My conscience is clear; why would I feel guilty?"

"You don't understand?" Shen Qianmo sneered. "Then I will make you understand. Siqi, how many questions did I just ask you?"

Siqi was startled and instinctively replied, "Three."

"Three." Shen Qianmo repeated, nodding. "See? Your answer is natural when you respond like that."

Siqi clearly failed to understand Shen Qianmo's point, a blank look washing over her face. Everyone else in the hall was equally bewildered.

Shen Qianmo continued her explanation, "You answered 'three' instead of 'three questions.' That is the difference between speaking naturally and speaking stiffly. Think about how you answered those three questions earlier. When I asked how many years you had served the Prince Consort, you answered that you had been by his side for five years. When I asked on which day the Prince Consort went to Fengming Mountain, you answered that he went three days ago. For the last question, I asked whether you had entered the Prince Consort's bedchamber two days ago, and you answered that you had, immediately followed by a string of explanatory excuses. That is the exact manifestation of a guilty conscience."

"..." Siqi remained dazed and speechless.

Shen Qianmo leisurely took a sip of tea and went on, "Those whose hearts are at ease speak naturally with a solid foundation of confidence. Only those with a guilty conscience worry that their words lack sufficient persuasive power and fear being suspected, assuming that saying more will make them believable. Little do they know that talking too much often makes them appear stiff and unnatural, thereby revealing their lack of confidence and internal panic. I deliberately instructed the summoning maid to reveal to you that you were being called to be questioned regarding the Prince Consort's death. Upon hearing that, you inevitably felt nervous and put up your guard. However, when someone exercises excessive caution, they often overdo it and expose their flaws."

"..." Siqi's face turned pale, and she was rendered entirely speechless.

"Then, Miss Siqi, pray tell, why did you lack confidence and feel panicked even when answering three such simple questions?"

"That goes without saying; naturally, it's because she has a guilty conscience!" Baili Xiao was utterly filled with admiration for Shen Qianmo. By merely asking a few simple questions in this manner, she was able to dissect human psychology with such precision, and it sounded so damnably logical that it left no room for escape. What kind of sorcery—no, what kind of profound knowledge was this?

Princess Yongle arched her delicate brows and asked in a cold voice, "Siqi, what explanation do you have?"

***

Siqi's complexion turned ashen, yet she still stubbornly cried out her grievances. "Please discern the truth, Princess! This humble servant is wronged! Master Gongsun also stated that the Prince Consort died from the venom of poisonous insects; it has nothing to do with me!"

"Is that so?" Shen Qianmo slightly raised an eyebrow. "Because the Prince Consort was once bitten by poisonous insects, Master Gongsun concluded that it was the toxicity of the venom. However, I have examined the Prince Consort's corpse: the inside of his lips is blistered, his tongue is ulcerated and swollen, his abdomen is distended, and his entire body is purplish-blue. These are textbook symptoms of ingesting poison."

Pausing for a moment, Shen Qianmo lowered her head to take another sip of clear tea, then lifted her gaze to look at Siqi, whose expression grew increasingly bleak, and slowly continued, "Seeing that the Prince Consort had been bitten by poisonous insects and that his injuries were severe, you took advantage of your opportunity as his caretaker to feed him poison, thinking that since he was already suffering from insect venom, you could seamlessly cover up your crime without anyone noticing. It is a pity that while you are clever, you do not understand toxicology. You failed to realize that different poisons produce different symptoms. Insect venom is generally acidic, rarely alkaline. Even if the evil centipede venom differs from ordinary insect venom, corrosive insect venom should only cause damage to the skin and flesh directly in contact with the toxin. Unless it is an inhalation poisoning, it generally would not cause the entire body to turn purplish-blue. This clearly demonstrates that the Prince Consort ingested poison. As for why you administered the poison, what kind of poison it was, and who instigated you to do it, I believe Princess Yongle is far more eager to know the answers than I am."

After finishing these words, Shen Qianmo exhaled softly, feeling that aside from lecturing the interns in her forensic medicine department in her past life, she had never spoken at such great length before.

Now that the murderer had been found, her task was complete. The rest belonged to the internal affairs of the Southern Nanzhan Kingdom, which she neither should nor wanted to get involved in. Therefore, she stood up to take her leave of Princess Yongle.

The business of fighting for the throne has historically been much the same everywhere. Since Princess Yongle was the candidate with the highest hopes of inheriting the throne of the Southern Nanzhan Kingdom, she was undoubtedly the person standing in the most precarious crosshairs of the entire realm. There were surely no small number of people wishing to end her life or sever her limbs to weaken her power. To say nothing of distant threats, the very sons of the King of Nanzhan, watching their throne about to be seized by their elder or younger sister, would naturally feel deeply resentful, regardless of who it was.

When Gongsun Hua escorted her to the entrance, he finally could not resist asking, "May I ask the Princess of Xuan, why did you not include this old man among the suspects earlier? If it is a matter of poisoning the Prince Consort, no one would have had more convenient access than myself."

Shen Qianmo smiled faintly. "Naturally, it is because I trust Master Gongsun's medical skills. If Master Gongsun had administered the poison, you certainly would not have left such obvious flaws behind."

Knowing full well that the two poisons had contradictory toxicities and distinct symptoms, if Gongsun Hua had still chosen to administer such a poison to the Prince Consort, his decades of service as a royal physician would have been entirely in vain.

Hearing this, Gongsun Hua wore an expression of profound respect. The Princess of Xuan before him possessed such a penetrating vision of people and matters; she truly possessed an exquisite and luminous mind.

Accompanied by Ye Qinglan and Baili Xiao, Shen Qianmo bid her farewells and departed. Before reaching the gates of the detached courtyard, she was called back by a young man dressed as a Northern Di guard.

That Northern Di guard bowed with cupped hands and requested respectfully, "Please stay your steps, Princess of Xuan. My Sixth Highness requests an audience."

"The Sixth Highness?" Baili Xiao frowned and said impatiently, "What business does your Sixth Highness have with the Princess now?"

Would these people ever finish? They had helped Southern Nanzhan root out the traitor who poisoned the Prince Consort, and they had cured Murong Jing—who was on the verge of becoming a one-armed heir—for Western Liang. The Princess had already been utterly exhausted by the end of the day. Furthermore, the Princess was not in her usual condition; if she were truly worn out, the Prince of Xuan would undoubtedly fly into a towering rage upon his return, and when his fury erupted, having nine lives wouldn't be enough to keep them alive!

The Northern Di guard respectfully replied, "My Sixth Highness invites the Princess of Xuan to treat the Crown Prince for the insect venom."

Had it finally come to Wanyan Lü? Shen Qianmo twitched the corners of her lips and said to Baili Xiao and Ye Qinglan, "Let's go and see how severe the Crown Prince's injuries really are."

The trio followed the Northern Di guard to Wanyan Lü's room. The moment they stepped inside, Shen Qianmo caught a peculiar scent. The fragrance was not overpowering, smelling somewhat similar to a certain type of sandalwood.

Inside the room were both Wanyan Ping and Helian Cheng. Seeing Shen Qianmo and the others enter, the two men stood up to greet them. Helian Cheng's handsome face remained rigid and expressionless, while Wanyan Ping assumed a courteous and polite demeanor, cupping his hands toward Shen Qianmo in greeting. "We are troubling the Princess of Xuan."

***

Shen Qianmo smiled lightly. "The Sixth Highness is too polite. I wonder how the Crown Prince's injuries are progressing?"

"The poison of this evil centipede is truly formidable. After these past few days, the Crown Prince's condition shows no signs of improvement whatsoever." A heavy look clouded Wanyan Ping's face, though whether this concern was genuine or feigned remained unclear. "Hearing of the Princess of Xuan's brilliant medical skills and knowing you have just cured the Heir of the Prince of Yanping of the insect venom, I ventured to suggest to the Crown Prince that we invite the Princess to treat him as well."

Shen Qianmo nodded. Without beating around the bush, she stated directly, "Why don't you lead me to examine the Crown Prince's injuries first?"

Wanyan Ping, naturally wishing for nothing more, hurriedly led Shen Qianmo and her party behind the screen inside the room.

Behind the screen stood a wide bed, its bed curtains hanging low and tightly drawn, making it impossible to see the person inside. Only a neatly placed pair of dark brown, hard-soled long boots rested on the edge of the platform, indicating that the owner of the boots was currently lying in bed.

Wanyan Ping said eagerly, "Crown Prince, the Princess of Xuan has arrived."

After a moment of silence, a slightly weak voice drifted out from behind the bed curtains. "This Crown Prince is indisposed, and the Princess of Xuan is in a state of pregnancy. To avoid any untoward clash, it is truly inconvenient for us to meet. I hope you will understand."

Shen Qianmo raised an eyebrow. It seemed that inviting her to treat the injury was entirely Wanyan Ping's idea, and Wanyan Lü had no such intention at all.

Wanyan Ping, however, remained exceptionally persistent, putting on quite the display of deep fraternal affection. "Crown Prince, I hear that this insect venom is extremely ferocious. After contracting this poison, the Heir of the Prince of Yanping fell unconscious, and the Prince Consort of Southern Nanzhan died violently in the early hours of this morning. If Your Highness is not treated in time, I fear your condition will worsen day by day, and when something goes wrong, it will be difficult to give our Royal Father an account. The Princess of Xuan possesses miraculous medical skills and has just treated the Heir of the Prince of Yanping with excellent results. It would be best for the Crown Prince to allow the Princess to administer treatment."

Wanyan Lü remained silent for a long while.

To drag even the King of Northern Di into this—just how badly did Wanyan Ping want her to treat Wanyan Lü? Shen Qianmo found it secretly amusing and remarked, "For the Crown Prince to consider my condition so thoughtfully is truly touching. However, it is rather unfortunate that the normal saline and distilled water used to flush the wounds were entirely used up when treating the Heir of the Prince of Yanping earlier today. I'm afraid I cannot treat the Crown Prince today. However, the Sixth Highness's concerns are not without merit; the poison of the evil centipede is indeed fierce and should not be taken lightly. How about this: since the Crown Prince is considerate of the difficulty of my traveling back and forth while pregnant, why doesn't the Crown Prince personally make a trip to the Estate of Xuan tomorrow? I guarantee that I will have the Crown Prince cured with a single dose of medicine. Sixth Highness, what do you think?"

A faint smile lingered on Shen Qianmo's lips as she looked at Wanyan Ping with a calm, natural gaze, utterly serene and unbothered.

"That would be wonderful." Wanyan Ping's face lit up with joy. "Many thanks, Princess of Xuan. Tomorrow, this humble prince will personally escort the Crown Prince to the Estate of Xuan."

"There is no need to trouble the Sixth Brother." Wanyan Lü's hurried voice came from inside the bed, carrying a faint trace of underlying annoyance. "Tomorrow, this Crown Prince will naturally go and trouble the Princess of Xuan myself. The Sixth Brother should focus on doing whatever it is you are supposed to be doing."