Chapter 78: "Does Your Majesty Believe Me?
After Xiao Yang spoke, everyone followed her gaze to the young man standing on the periphery of the crowd.
The Empress Dowager frowned. "Xiao Jin, don’t try to change the subject. You owe everyone an explanation, and you will give it now."
"An explanation will be given," Xiao Yang said, "but we must first uncover the truth. If we frame an innocent person and let the real murderer escape, then we’ll have no way to answer to the dead."
The Empress Dowager glanced at Xu Xingchen. She now recalled who he was—Grand Tutor Xu’s grandson.
"Appointing a wet-behind-the-ears boy as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice was absurd enough. To drag him out now... surely you don’t expect *him* to uncover the truth?"
Xiao Yang gave Xu Xingchen a small smile. "Aren’t you going to come over?"
Xu Xingchen walked over and stood before Xiao Yang, his young face grave. "Does Your Majesty trust me?"
Xiao Yang answered without hesitation. "I do."
’A prodigy like him, a freak of nature... In his field of expertise, he is unbeatable.’
A faint, composed smile played on Xiao Yang’s lips, but her gaze was firm, without a trace of doubt.
Xu Xingchen paused for a moment, then slowly turned. "The murderer is him."
All eyes followed the direction he pointed.
"Who is that?"
Someone in the crowd recognized him and immediately identified him. "That’s Mr. Zhao. He entered the Imperial Palace with Young Master Jiang."
Zhao Qiuchi shouted his denial. "What nonsense are you spouting? How could I possibly be the murderer?"
"Your Majesty, you can’t let him make such baseless accusations and slander an innocent man!"
The Empress Dowager snapped, "Xiao Jin, what is this farce?"
Xiao Yang stood on a step higher than Xu Xingchen, allowing her to rest a hand on his shoulder. Her lips curled into a cold smile. "Xingchen, tell them why."
Xu Xingchen began, his tone serious. "There were indeed footprints leading toward the inner palace, which led us to subconsciously assume the murderer was highly skilled in martial arts and left after the killing. However, there is an easily overlooked detail. The window in the victim’s room was shut tight. Only the door was open."
"After Jiang Shuhuai retired for the night, no Palace Attendants remained in his room. This means he was alone. The murderer entered by opening the door to kill him. However, I examined the door carefully. The latch shows no signs of being forced from the outside. Therefore, the door was either left unlocked, or Jiang Shuhuai opened it himself."
"Excluding the possibility that Jiang Shuhuai simply forgot to lock his door before sleeping, what would have made him open it willingly? It would have to be someone he knew and was familiar with calling for him."
"I previously questioned all the Palace Attendants. Most of them could clearly describe their process of knocking, finding the door unlocked, seeing Jiang Shuhuai ’sound asleep’ on the bed, and then leaving. There was more than one of them, so they can all corroborate each other’s stories. But one person had the perfect window of opportunity. Him. Zhao Qiuchi, who was staying in this very palace, right next to Jiang Shuhuai."
"If he had knocked, Jiang Shuhuai would have let his guard down and opened the door for him. Since he was already inside the building, the Palace Attendants outside wouldn’t have noticed his movements, giving him the perfect opportunity. Moreover, after my suspicions were raised, I carefully re-examined the footprints. They show a round trip."
Zhao Qiuchi was furious. "This is slander! Slander! Why would I kill him? I entered the Imperial Palace with him. We haven’t quarreled at all these past few days, and we have a good relationship. Why would I possibly want to kill him?"
The Empress Dowager sneered. "Emperor, if you want to make excuses for the Regent King, at least find a decent reason. Do you think finding a random scapegoat can wash away his guilt?"
Rong Yin’s dark gaze fell upon the Empress Dowager. "You arrived so promptly, Empress Dowager, with such a grand entourage, so eager to convict me. Might I also suspect that you were the one who had him killed, precisely to frame me for the crime?"
"Silence!" Xiao Yang barked.
She gestured to Xu Xingchen. "Continue."
Xu Xingchen spoke again. "You have a slender build, but your muscles are well-defined. You have a habit of landing on the balls of your feet when you walk, moving soundlessly. I presume you know martial arts, and your Qinggong is quite impressive."
Xu Xingchen glanced at Lin Yi, who immediately came forward with an armful of clothes—all of Zhao Qiuchi’s garments.
"Last night, before you went to sleep, you were wearing a green sleeping robe. But it is now missing from your collection of robes."
"I don’t own a green sleeping robe," Zhao Qiuchi said. "The Palace Attendant must have been mistaken. And I don’t know any Qinggong."
The next instant, without any warning, Qing Yu threw a dart.
No one had time to react, Zhao Qiuchi included.
No one thought anyone would dare to make a move in front of the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and so many witnesses.
Yet Qing Yu did. Zhao Qiuchi’s body reacted faster than his brain, and he dodged the dart with ease.
That single movement was enough to prove he knew martial arts.
Xu Xingchen continued, "Ever since we arrived, you have stood off to the side, looking frightened. You haven’t said a word, your gaze fixed only on Jiang Shuhuai’s body. It seemed as if you were grieving for him, a sorrow for one of your own kind. But when you saw everyone running around in circles, unable to find evidence, and even going so far as to name the Regent King as the murderer, you smiled. Your eyes were filled with the smug satisfaction of a victor, standing outside the crowd, watching this drama unfold just as you had planned."
"Do you hate Jiang Shuhuai?"
Xu Xingchen stared at him, advancing step by step, his sharp gaze looking as if it could pierce right through Zhao Qiuchi. "You and Jiang Shuhuai had no direct conflicts. He hadn’t received anything more than you, so there was nothing for you to hate. And yet, you still made a move against him. His death must be advantageous to you—enormously so."
"The Regent King wanted to kill you. Now that Jiang Shuhuai is dead, as long as there is no conclusive evidence, the blame will inevitably fall on the Regent King. He would be unable to defend himself. This is the outcome you wanted."
Zhao Qiuchi was forced to back away until he bumped into a pillar, his eyes frantic. "No, you’re lying! I didn’t..."
Zhao Qiuchi was still denying it, but the guilt on his face was obvious to anyone with eyes.
What Xu Xingchen said was not backed by evidence; it was based entirely on his own intuition and observations. This was essentially criminal profiling.
Without direct evidence to support his claims, he was relying on intuition.
People like him were often the quickest to find the truth, but due to a lack of evidence, they struggled to convince others.
Xu Xingchen looked at Xiao Yang. At this moment, everything depended on whether the Emperor believed him.
If the Emperor didn’t, everything he had said would be useless.
After hearing him out, Xiao Yang gave her order. "Then turn the Imperial Palace upside down and find this Mr. Zhao’s missing sleeping robe."
According to Xu Xingchen’s theory, the footprints on the wall were left by Zhao Qiuchi. He used his Qinggong to leap out, dispose of the blood-stained sleeping robe, and then return, pretending he had never left.
By following that route, they should be able to find the incriminating evidence.
Xiao Lv spoke up. "Then isn’t there still one more problem? What about the murder weapon?"
The belongings of both Zhao Qiuchi and Jiang Shuhuai were inspected when they entered the Imperial Palace. They absolutely were not carrying any sharp weapons. Where would he have gotten a sword to commit murder?
"Therefore, he had an accomplice," Xu Xingchen said. "This person is from within the palace and holds a position that allows them to carry a sword. But most of the palace guards carry sabers; very few carry swords. We just need to investigate who has been in possession of a sword within the palace these past few days."