Chapter 218 Investigation

There was an atmosphere of depression and murderous atmosphere in Prince Xuan's palace.

Axiang, who committed suicide by throwing herself into a well, has been fished out. She is lying on the bluestone next to the well in the backyard. Apart from her complexion being pale and swollen, there is no other abnormality. Her clothes are clean and tidy, and her neck is not strangled. After preliminary inspection, no obvious scars were found on the skin under the clothes.

"My lord, she probably drowned by herself, or was accidentally pushed from behind." After an examination, he concluded, "There are no scars of abuse on her body, and there are no signs of poisoning."

Master Pan of Dali Temple nodded slowly, stared at Axiang's body for a long time, then turned to look at Chu Xuanyi, "What do you think, Commander?"

Chu Xuanyi's eyebrows were deep and he stared at Axiang's swollen face: "How is Axiang's relationship with others on weekdays?"

"Sir, Axiang has a good appearance and a good personality. She gets along well with the other maids." There were several maids from the palace standing on both sides of the well. They were all called for questioning. The one who spoke was Zhilan, the eldest maid of the palace. "I've never heard of her having a grudge against anyone before."

"She has never had any grudges with anyone and has a good personality. Then why did she poison the eldest princess?"

Zhilan shook her head uneasily: "My servant really can't figure it out."

"Does she still have family?"

"No." Zhilan said, "Axiang is an orphan. She has been sold into the palace for thirteen years. She entered the palace at the age of seven and has been there until now."

Chu Xuanyi pondered.

A maid who was sold into the palace at the age of seven openly poisoned the eldest princess?

Even if she has no family to involve herself with, she doesn't want to live anymore? Even if you don't want to live, you can still use other methods. The act of poisoning the eldest princess feels unreasonable no matter how you think about it.

"Has she ever met the eldest princess before?"

Zhilan thought for a while and shook her head: "I probably haven't seen it before. Axiang is relatively introverted. She only serves in the inner courtyard and rarely goes out. Her Royal Highness the Princess rarely comes to Prince Xuan's Mansion in the past, so it won't be..."

Not to what?

Although she didn't finish speaking, the meaning behind her words was obvious.

Her Royal Highness the Princess has a bad temper, and she may have inadvertently punished these servants, which made them resentful. It is treason for a servant to hold grudges against his master, so Zhilan did not dare to finish her sentence.

But obviously, this possibility does not exist in Prince Xuan's Mansion.

Not to mention whether Chu Qinghuang would embarrass a slave in the past, with her temper, there were very few opportunities to set foot in Prince Xuan's palace. If a servant really did not hesitate to offend her, would he still be alive to this day?

I'm afraid that if a whip is struck, he will die on the spot.

Therefore, the possibility of poisoning due to a grudge can be ruled out.

So Axiang was being taken advantage of? Exploited by whom?

She has no family, and threats and inducements should not work on her. Why would she take risks for this?

"Miss Zhilan just said that she has a beautiful appearance." Mr. Pan said thoughtfully, "According to her age, she is twenty this year?"

Zhilan nodded.

"Is there any promise of marriage?"

The status of a maid is low, and her marriage is in the hands of her master, especially one who has been sold for life. She will be a member of the palace for the rest of her life, and only the master of the palace can control her fate.

Zhilan shook her head: "I have never been betrothed."

"She is already twenty, why didn't she tell her about the marriage?" Mr. Pan was puzzled. "Is it because the princess didn't tell her, or because she didn't want to tell her?"

Zhilan's face changed slightly: "Yes...it's because she doesn't want to."

"Why don't you want to?"

Zhilan shook her head: "I don't know."

Master Pan turned to look at Chu Xuanyi, and the two exchanged a tacit look.

Zhilan is lying.

This courtyard is where the palace maids and cooks live. It is much simpler than the inner courtyard where the master lives. In order to investigate the case, he ordered people to guard the outside, leaving only a few maids.

Generally, if there is a secret in a noble family, not only the master himself knows it, but also the personal maids who are closest to the master will also know some hidden secrets. The master will definitely not be able to tell the truth from his mouth, so he can only tell it from the mouths of these first-class maids. Speak up.

In order to avoid being disturbed along the way, he asked Chu Xuanyi to help and not allow any irrelevant people to come near, not even Prince Xuan and his wife.

Only by completely isolating those possible noisy sounds, intimidating eyes, and verbal threats can the case be investigated more smoothly.

"Please help each of you choose a room and stay there." Mr. Pan looked at the first-class maids in front of him and pointed to the side room opposite, "You are not allowed to talk. After entering the room, close the door. I will go in one by one to question you. , no one is allowed to open that door except myself."

Several maids looked at each other in confusion after hearing this, and seemed a little uneasy.

"I am carrying out the emperor's edict. Anyone who disobeys the order is disobedient." Mr. Pan said coldly, "Besides, I am only asking you some questions and will not torture you or do any other harm." your actions.”

As he said that, he added another assurance, "As long as you have nothing to do with this case, I will ensure that you are safe."