A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 417 Ending (86)

As Liu Changqing finished speaking, he glanced sideways at the Empress Dowager, whose mind was completely elsewhere. His eyes suddenly reddened. Aside from the word "useless," he had never heard the Empress Dowager ever say anything else about him in his life. She had never shown any emotional fluctuation towards him, not even anger or disappointment. Even now, after he had betrayed her, her heart hadn't stirred a single ripple for him.

He was like a tree in a mountain valley, a rock on a cliff, or a stray cat or dog, unworthy of her attention.

Liu Changqing suddenly thought of his wife Lu Ruyue and his adopted son Liu Pei, whom he had discarded like trash.

He had vowed never to regret it then, but now, regret was creeping over his heart like a spiderweb on the face of the palace maid Tao Gu.

Liu Changqing finally tasted the agony of unbearable pain. His shoulders slumped even lower, and with a low, hoarse sob, he said, "I failed in my duty. The Empress Dowager said she would find another way and told me to wait for news. About a month later, the Empress Dowager suddenly gave me a bottle of poison, saying that Bai Li was ill and that the folk doctors had been treating her for several days without improvement. Mu Yan had begged the Emperor for a favor and asked the imperial physician Liu Yu to treat Bai Li. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as I secretly put the poison into the medicine, Bai Li and Mu Yan would not suspect anything."

"Just as the Empress Dowager said, this trick finally succeeded. The slow-acting poison was colorless and odorless, and the symptoms of poisoning were no different from those of a common cough; even the pulse would not change much. Physician Liu did not notice anything, and Bai Li trusted Physician Liu, so she was not on guard. However, with Bai Li's death, the medical classics disappeared completely. I followed the Empress Dowager's orders and hid in the capital. Until three years ago, the Empress Dowager's spies found a clue that the medical classics had fallen into Yang Caiyu's hands, and the Empress Dowager ordered me to use the same trick again to poison Yang Caiyu to death."

After hearing Liu Changqing's additional account of the crime, Mu Yan and Mu Qingcheng's pain was palpable, but as criminals, they were both calm and strong.

Song Shuyu asked, "But the Empress Dowager doesn't admit that she instigated you. What proof do you have?"

Liu Changqing lowered his head and pondered for a long time before suddenly shouting, "I have evidence! Do you remember what I hid in the secret compartment of the outhouse?"

Mu Qingcheng's expression hardened. "The journal and those few exquisite little items?"

“Yes!” Liu Changqing nodded. “The secret letter that the Empress Dowager sent me back then, I couldn’t bear to burn, so I made a device with a mechanism to hide the letter inside as a keepsake.” Song Shuyu immediately said, “Liu Heng, quickly obtain the evidence!”

"Yes, my lord!"

Liu Heng accepted the order and left.

Mu Qingcheng's throat tightened. "It was my fault. I only focused on the contents of the handwritten note and didn't examine the items carefully enough, which caused me to overlook such an important clue."

Song Shuyu, in his habitual attempt to comfort her, blurted out, "Qingcheng, even gods have their moments of weakness. You're already quite meticulous; there's no need to blame yourself!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt Mu Yan's death stare, and he had no choice but to awkwardly withdraw his gaze from Mu Qingcheng.

"Liu Changqing!"

Song Shuyu redirected her anger, "Do you have any other evidence? For example, where did you get the dagger used to kill Li Mu?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Changqing's eyes lit up. "The dagger belongs to the Empress Dowager. She asked me to destroy it, but I couldn't bear to part with it, so I secretly hid it in the study."

My darlings, starting from Chapter 411, several chapters have undergone minor revisions. Also, the maid's name was the same as a previous servant girl's, so that was changed as well. Those who have already read it can go back and check it out.