Chapter 24: I Believe You ā Little Xie’s Self-Conquest Begins Again…
In an instant, this rumor pushed Xie Qianli to the peak of public opinion.
It fit too well, so well that no one could question the rumor.
Xie Qianli was famous for his deep understanding of military weapon performance since childhood.
His uncle was the Late Emperor.
He had once disassembled a new type of armor-piercing crossbow presented by the Ministry of War to the Late Emperor while playing in the palace, greatly surprising the Late Emperor.
The Late Emperor was absurd, but he respected the sister who raised him. Which uncle didn’t like his nephew?
Thus, instead of taking offense, the Late Emperor granted Xie Qianli, who was less than ten years old, special permission to enter and exit the Directorate for Armaments.
Treating him like a son, raising him as a “Thousand Li Colt” (a young talent)ādoting on him to this extent allowed him to figure out the details of various mechanisms long ago.
Back then, Xie Qianli’s parents were alive, and he had the Late Emperor uncle backing him; he was the top noble young master in Chang’an City.
Now, with a new Emperor and new officials, his parents dead, and a rumored suspicion of “killing his father” preceding it all…
Even though the current Emperor allowed him to inherit the title and approved the new establishment of his Longwu Army, whether this was grace, paralysis, or compensation, no one knew.
Xie Qianli had a motive for regicide.
Instantly, all blades pointed at him. The cold glint on the tips was as bright as specks of snow.
But Xie Qianli neither resisted nor dodged.
His composure was more powerful than any defense. Because of the Duke of Ying’s calmness, the guards pointing their blades at him seemed to lose their courage.
The hand of the captain of the guard trembled slightly holding the blade.
Then, the position of the blade tip didn’t change, but his gaze shifted to the Emperor, hoping for a clear indication: kill or not?
Ying Xi paused, actually thinking Xie Qianli was the least likely to assassinate him.
Leaving aside that their conflicts in the past life accumulated until the very end before exploding, and in this life he had been intentionally controlling the deterioration of their relationship.
Just based on Ying Xi’s understanding of Xie Qianliā
Armed assassination seemed like it could avenge his father.
But if he had died hastily just now…
The sacrifice of the former Duke of Ying, Xie Ji, would truly become a cold case with no trace left to investigate!
Xie Qianli should want his father’s death to be exonerated.
Leaving the world in chaos like this, he couldn’t guarantee he could control the situation in Shanglin Park to become the new ruler.
Counting carefully, he only brought two lieutenant generals today.
What was he plotting?
Ying Xi put himself in Xie Qianli’s shoes and ordered the guards to sheath their swords.
The guards were incredulous again, sheathing their swords. The bright cold glints converged.
Inside the wall of people, through the gaps between bodies, the young Emperor revealed half his face. His countenance was noble, casting a gaze outside the circle. That gaze appeared firm, making a full gesture of trust.
“Xie Qianli, I believe you.” But Ying Xi silently added a suffix in his mind: Before I get the evidence.
Outside the wall of people, Xie Qianliās bland expression, after hearing the Imperial Order for the guards to lower their weapons again, chewed on that “believe.” His face unknowingly radiated a bit of spirit.
Xie Qianli: “This subject will spare no effort to cooperate with the investigation, to be worthy of Your Majesty’s trust and to clear my own name.”
Since the Emperor gave a clear attitude, only then did officials on the island speak up one after another: “Reporting to Your Majesty, we saw the Duke of Ying at the start of the flower viewing event.”
“The Duke of Ying was strolling alone in the garden, hands behind his back, holding a tree branch with tender leaves.”
“We approached the Duke of Ying to greet him, and a snow-white fawn bumped into his knee.”
“Perhaps the fawn saw food in the Duke of Ying’s hand and was attracted. The Duke of Ying is majestic as a mountain; even we felt oppressed when talking, yet the fawn circled him repeatedly.”
“Even after parting with the Duke of Ying, we felt the scene was quaintly interesting and wanted to paint it.”
These officials corroborated each other.
These were Xu Wenze, Fenghua, and others who had planned to go to the Imperial Music Bureau to trace the origin of Unforgettable Tonight after the banquet.
Ying Xi wasn’t interested in hindsight.
However, the scene of Xie Qianli interacting with the fawn still flashed through his mind.
Ying Xi gathered his thoughts, chasing away that person and that deer.
Suddenly he heard Xie Qianli say, “This subject has a clue to report.”
Ying Xi was startled. “Speak.”
Having spoken, Xie Qianli approached the body and squatted, lifting the white cloth covering Cheng Shun’s body further.
Previously, the white cloth only went to the neck, revealing the fatal wound.
Now Xie Qianli pulled the white cloth down, revealing the deceased’s hand. When Cheng Shun blocked, his finger was sliced straight off.
In life, though Cheng Shun struggled to survive, he could not escape death.
Ying Xi lowered his eyes slightly.
Sweet Tub whimpered.
Xie Qianli said, “He has two wounds on his body. One defensive wound, one fatal wound. Both are knife wounds.”
“This subject has been in the army for many years and has seen countless knife wounds. Although my injury appraisal isn’t as good as the coroners of the Ministry of Justice, I have some insight.”
Xie Qianli was very close to the body.
He used his finger to guide, showing the monarch and colleagues on Yingzhou Island Cheng Shun’s wounds.
He had fought in mountains of corpses and seas of blood for years. Unlike Su Xueyi’s barely concealed disgust earlier, Xie Qianli was calm, as if facing the most ordinary thing.
“This knife is about seven or eight inches long, able to fill a sleeve.”
“Why a knife and not something else?”
“Because a knife has a single edge; the customary usage is chopping.”
“Both of Eunuch Cheng’s wounds are chop wounds.”
As Xie Qianli asked and answered himself, Yingzhou Island fell into silence. He had a strange influence; his words were few but precise, devoid of emotion, making people listen more carefully.
Ying Xi: “You mean we need to find a knife wielder?”
“More than that. Gentlemen, please look.”
He further presented Cheng Shun’s fatal wound, the blade mark on the neck that almost decapitated him.
Even though Ying Xi was prepared, it was still hard to look directly at the deep wound exposing the bone.
Ying Xi narrowed his eyes slightly.
Sweet Tub was already frightened into a tremolo: “Y-Your Majesty… please stop looking, I-I’m scared.”
“At ease,” Ying Xi comforted. “I’ll do more missions in the future.”
Sweet Tub replied tremblingly, “Oh.”
Xie Qianli said, “The blade traveled from top left to bottom right. This is very special, contrary to the way ordinary people hold a knife.”
He picked up a tree branch from the ground, holding the end in his right palm, and gestured slowly.
The crowd watched his movements. Although he didn’t use force, just that hand and the veins bulging on the back of it instantly reminded people of the power with which he wielded the 108-catty Roaming Dragon Blade.
Xie Qianli: “If I kill with my right hand, the wound should go from top right to bottom left. Now the wound is opposite. A person wouldn’t deliberately use a reverse grip when nervous.”
“If they were calm enough to disguise their knife habit, they wouldn’t have hurriedly thrown the body and crossbow into the water, abandoning the assassination, and leaving a finger outside. Clearly, he panicked.”
Xie Qianli: “He is a left-hander.”
On Yingzhou Island, Lian Qing’s brow jumped fiercely!
Then Lian Qing looked around, his face turning from flushed to pale, his gaze searching incessantly.
“How… could it be…”
“Why would he… dare…”
At this point in the analysis, Xie Qianli’s expression also solidified. He seemed unwilling to believe it, thinking there was still room for misunderstanding and turnaround.
Just then, Ying Dang leaned over, lowering his head to look closely at the corpse, appearing to be watching for fun. Ying Dang held a rebellious attitude of indifference toward everything.
But just as he tucked his hands in his sleeves and leaned forward, something in his sleeve seemed to flip a switch in Xie Qianli.
Xie Qianli’s back muscles tightened. Suddenly, he raised the branch and stabbed!
Prince Yong couldn’t react in time.
Prince Yong neither wanted to be injured by Xie Qianli nor lose face in front of so many court officials. A stream of light flashed from his sleeve, suddenly gripped in his palmāit was a short knife seven inches long!
The short knife sliced the branch.
The blade was extremely sharp; the edge cut a neat cross-section on the branch, and half of it fell.
Xie Qianli stared intensely:
“Your Highness is also left-handed and carries a concealed knife?”
For a flower viewing banquet like this, there were strict body searches before entering.
Except for guards, swords and sharp weapons were prohibited.
But there were existences like Prince Yong, rascals whom the Emperor indulged; no one dared to provoke them.
It was entirely possible for Prince Yong to bring in a knife!
As for Prince Yong committing regicide… what wouldn’t he do?
Just concealing a knife before the Emperor could be judged as a capital crime of treason.
Instantly, the guards drew their blades again!
The guards surrounded Prince Yong. The killing intent that had just subsided surged wildly again.
Prince Yong was not one to be provoked. Now that his stubbornness flared up, he didn’t care who was opposite him. Even against the Emperor’s guards, he spoke rudely:
ā”Royal Brother has long found this subject-brother an eyesore, setting dogs to bite me.”
“If Royal Brother wants to kill this subject-brother, there’s no need for so many twists and turns. Setting a trap for me is boring.”
“I am a left-hander; Royal Brother knew that long ago.”
“For whom I learned martial arts, and for whom I carried a knife, Royal Brother knows best in his heart.”
“Anyway, Royal Brother’s word is law now. The True Dragon Son of Heaven wants to kill me; if you want to kill, just kill.”
Prince Yong hadn’t even been interrogated, yet he started throwing a tantrum first.
Ying Dang’s knife was a sharp weapon overflowing with light. The blade was slightly curved and snow-bright, the spine embedded with silver throughout, the handle slightly arched, topped with a red pearl.
Prince Yong threw the short knife. A blur of silver and red flashed.
The short knife pierced obliquely into the loose soil of the floating island.
Ying Dang held out both sleeves flat: “Come on. Let the Ministry of Justice or the Court of the Imperial Clan take this subject-brother away.”
Ying Dang’s appearance was rascally.
But it made him look like he had nothing to hide. If Prince Yong were really determined to be the suspect, it clearly wouldn’t convince the public.
The event reached a deadlock.
Ying Xi hadn’t expected that a mere severed finger would drag out a suspected case of attempted regicide.
Although Ying Xi had a thousand thoughts in his mind, in reality, he had only sorted out the thin clue that “the suspect is a left-hander who uses a knife.”
During the flower viewing, anyone could have come to Yingzhou Island.
The guards dared not check Prince Yong. Just because Prince Yong hid a knife didn’t mean they dared to fully check others. Perhaps someone else could bring a knife into the banquet, then use that knife to sharpen arrows, cut ropes… assemble a crossbow, and murder the Emperor!
Thinking this, Ying Xi felt surrounded by villains, all potentially smiling to his face while secretly extending a knife toward him.
Ying Xi looked around defensively.
Noticing the Emperor’s gaze, the court officials lowered their heads, whether guilty or not.
Ying Xi’s lofty status destined him to rarely touch the truth, rarely trust others, and rarely be trusted.
Ying Xi could feel some officials watching, and others laughing at him.
If he didn’t find the real culprit, that mysterious person who wanted to harm him but was accidentally discovered by Cheng Shun might plan the next action, the next assassination…
Who could guarantee such luck next time?
What about the time after that?
Ying Xi felt a chill.
When no one could be relied upon, Ying Xi always thought of relying on himself first.
He didn’t believe the killer was full of flaws yet would leave no trace in the end.
There must be details he hadn’t noticed.
Ying Xi held his breath.
Then, he thought of the Dating System.
Ying Xi had calculated many times that he should utilize the Dating System’s functions flexibly.
Summoning Sweet Tub, he ordered, “Use your ability to zoom in close-up. Magnify the ground of this scene before My eyes.”
Sweet Tub: “Magnify the ground of the scene?”
“Can’t you do it?”
“I… I can,” Sweet Tub reminded in a small voice, “It’s just that, Your Majesty, we usually only zoom in to emphasize NPC body details, micro-expressions, handsome faces… I am a Dating System.”
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