Proud Feather

Chapter 103 Overthrow
Lü Chan slowly walked inside, bowed, and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

"Rise," the emperor said amiably.

Lü Chan bowed to the gentlemen again, but Zhang Dingyuan and the others avoided her, not daring to accept the bow.

Chu Ling stood up, bowed, and asked while still standing, "Sister-in-law, I have something to ask you."

Lü Chan nodded: "Please ask away."

Chu Ling gave a wink, and Qing Cha took several booklets from the clerk and presented them to the Crown Princess.

"This is a memorial written by Minister Gao, which details my elder brother's whereabouts in the three months before his death. Minister Lin personally examined it and used it as evidence."

She glanced over, and Gao Mian cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, leaving Lin Wenyu with no room for rebuttal.

Chu Ling continued, "Sister-in-law, come and take a look. Is there any mistake written on it?"

Without even glancing at it, Lü Chan replied directly, "Minister Gao asked about this when he wrote this booklet, and I have also checked it myself, so it should be correct."

"Alright." Chu Ling nodded gently. "Please take a look at the situation on June 11th. My elder brother left the Water Conservancy Bureau at the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM), went to the street to buy velvet flowers, and watched a variety show. Why didn't he return to the East Palace until the end of You Shi (5-7 PM)? These two things shouldn't have taken an hour, right?"

Qingcha turned to that page, and Lü Chan looked at it carefully. She said, "I remember about buying the velvet flowers. The day before, I saw that the velvet flowers on the head of the maid of the Eastern Palace were pretty, and I casually mentioned it. His Highness brought back the velvet flowers the next day. As for why it took so long, His Highness said that a carriage overturned on the way back, which blocked the road, and it took two quarters of an hour to pass."

After she finished speaking, Lin Wenyu's expression changed slightly, and her husbands all looked over.

Lin Wenyu brought this up specifically this morning, pointing out that there was a half-hour gap in between, and deducing that the Crown Prince used this time to go to Xianle Tower.

He opened his mouth, about to argue, but Chu Ling had already turned to ask, "Lord Gao, if a car overturns on the road, can we check that?"

“Your Highness, it is possible,” Gao Mian replied. “There will usually be a record in the Imperial Guard’s patrol log.”

"Then go to the Jinwu Guard and get the patrol log."

The eunuch went to deliver the message, and soon the Imperial Guards brought the patrol log. Gao Mian found one of the logs and pointed it out to everyone: "It is indeed recorded that a carriage overturned on Jinpan Street at the hour of You (5-7 PM), and it was allowed to pass again in about 15 minutes."

Alright, the half-hour gap that Lin Wenyu mentioned this morning is now more than half gone. Even after cutting back, it's still not enough for the Crown Prince to make a trip to Xianle Tower.

Lin Wenyu hesitated, but after receiving the gazes of the gentlemen, he finally shut his mouth.

Chu Ling continued with the second story: "Two days later, my elder brother accepted the invitation to a banquet, left early, but returned to the East Palace half an hour late..."

Lü Chan replied, "It was indeed late that day. I asked His Highness about it, and he said he was going to see someone, but he couldn't tell me the reason yet, so I didn't tell Minister Gao the reason."

Chu Ling nodded: "With my sister-in-law as corroborating evidence, Minister Lin's deduction is reasonable."

The person she met that day must have been Zhu Fan. She continued asking questions one by one until she had recounted all the suspicious points about Lin Wenyu's whereabouts, then turned and asked, "Is the painting finished?"

The Hanlin scholar, who had been specially summoned to record the drawing, stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, the drawing is finished."

So, a map showing Lin Wenyu's movements that was exactly the same as the one he had shown before was presented to the emperor, except that there were far fewer lines drawn on it.

After the gentlemen had all seen it, Chu Ling said, "As you all have seen, Minister Lin said that my elder brother went to Xianle Tower more than ten or twenty times in just three months. In fact, half of that can be ruled out. That is to say, my elder brother went to Xianle Tower about eight times in total. Three of those times were before July, when Zhu Fan was seeking justice for her father. My elder brother learned about the past of the Water Conservancy Bureau from her. Three times is not an exaggeration, is it?"

Of course, it's not an exaggeration. The situation at the Water Conservancy Bureau is complex, and given that the prince wouldn't trust Zhu Fan too much the first time, it's perfectly normal for him to see Zhu Fan twice.

"Then there was a gap of more than half a month. I went to Xianle Tower five more times. During this period, the cleanup of the Water Conservancy Bureau was still in progress. I asked Zhu Shan for a document from my elder brother, who was in charge of the council. That day, my elder brother was unsure how to deal with this batch of river works. The next day, he dealt with one batch and left the other batch. This was probably the reason why I went to see Zhu Fan in the middle."

"Of course, elder brother can simply go to listen to the music. After all, official duties are tedious, and it's not a bad thing to relax for a while. However, to conclude that they have a private affair after only four or five meetings is a bit too far-fetched!"

The gentlemen nodded in agreement. While it was considered lowly for scholars to spend the night in brothels, exchanging poems and lyrics was quite common. In their youth, they also had close female friends, but it was far from the point of emotional entanglement. The Crown Prince had already been very self-disciplined.

At this point, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became somber.

Those who can rise to high positions are not fools, and everyone realized that there was a major problem with the interrogation that morning.

It would be one thing if Lin Wenyu's deduction based solely on his whereabouts was wrong, but he also found witnesses...

“Fang Wu,” Zhang Ji said coldly, “his testimony is unreliable.”

The number of times Chu Ling and Lin Wenyu went out differed greatly, and with the Crown Princess as witness, this side was clearly more credible. What about Fang Wu? He was the Crown Prince's close attendant; didn't he know the difference? Yet he acquiesced!

Gao Mian stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, although the Crown Prince's trip to Xianle Tower was secretive, there were people driving the carriage and guards accompanying him. By comparing these details, we can determine which one is closer to the truth."

The main problem was that investigating this matter would be tedious. The Crown Prince deliberately concealed his whereabouts, so few people knew about it. In addition, the coachman and guards on duty were not always the same person, requiring extensive verification. However, Gao Mian was not one to shy away from trouble, and since it concerned the Crown Prince, it was worth his effort.

Therefore, proving Fang Wu's untrustworthiness is only a matter of time. This is why Chu Ling is determined to win him over tonight. She fears that if it's any later, the hand behind Lin Wenyu will eliminate all the minor witnesses!
Faced with the crowd's questions, Minister Lin's expression changed slightly, but he still maintained his composure: "This Fang Wu actually misled me, how hateful! Crown Princess, do you know where Fang Wu is now? He was taken away by the Eastern Palace at noon, and I haven't seen him since."

Before Lü Chan could answer, Chu Ling interjected, "Minister Lin, don't rush. Fang Wu will speak later. Let's talk about the next part first."

What's next? It seems to be the testimony of the manager and maid of Xianle Tower, but they only provided circumstantial evidence, proving that the Crown Prince frequently visited Xianle Tower, along with some easily misunderstood statements made by Zhu Fan. Since the princess has already testified that the Crown Prince didn't go that often, their testimonies are largely meaningless.

Chu Ling said, "Minister Lin said earlier that there are two directions to investigate this case. One is to start with my elder brother's whereabouts, and the other is to start with the source of the poison. We were just talking about my elder brother's whereabouts, so now let's talk about the source of the poison. I remember that Minister Lin interrogated the maid and said that Zhu Fan's poison came from a shop run by people from the southern border, is that right?"

Lin Wenyu couldn't deny it, so he could only admit, "Yes..."

“That’s strange.” Chu Ling stared at him. “Minister Lin should remember the monk from Dahuai Temple, right? He said the poison came from his hands.”