Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 121 Mission Accomplished (Third Update)
"Escort!!"

Lu Bing was the first to let out a piercing scream.

Even though he recognized who this "Empress Dowager Jiang" was early on, he remained extremely cautious throughout the journey, especially after entering the princess's palace, where he stood quite far forward, having already lost the manners of a guard.

Even so, the sudden cloud of dust slowed him down by half a beat. As the murderer suddenly attacked, Lu Bing's hair stood on end. He shouted a warning and slashed with his sword.

Fortunately, it happened at that moment.

First of all, the "Empress Dowager" who was over fifty years old and already quite old suddenly exhibited a reaction that was not expected of someone her age, and without hesitation, she leaned back and fell backward.

At the same time, a figure who had been waiting in ambush beside him attacked even faster than Lu Bing.

Having temporarily borrowed a set of guard's clothes, Haiyue followed Hong Qi into the mansion. With a swift and powerful strike, she slashed through the air, striking the cold light first.

Snapped!
A three-inch-thin bladed concealed weapon was flung out and embedded itself in the roof beam.

"laugh--"

As the blades clashed, sparks flew, and the woman's body emerged from the smoke like a ghost. Her thin clothes billowed, and with her fingers spread wide, seven or eight more cold stars shot out, half towards the Empress Dowager Jiang who was falling backward, and the other half towards Hai Yue who was coming to her rescue.

"The Empress Dowager saw through your scheme long ago. The one standing before you is Princess Li. You're wasting your time!"

Haiyue let out a thunderous shout that could be heard both inside and outside. Her blade danced into a wheel of light, clanging and deflecting all four hidden weapons aimed at her. She also managed to block two more weapons that were aimed at her side.

The last two were finally stopped by Lu Bing, who arrived in time. The "Empress Dowager Jiang" who was leaning back looked quite disheveled, and her veil fell down, revealing Li Yuying's pretty face.

Still shaken, yet feeling a sense of relief.

It worked!
However, the others inside the palace were in a state of extreme shock.

I couldn't even believe my eyes.

"Ah! Ahh!!"

Empress Dowager Zhang seemed to wake from a dream, letting out a hysterical scream and scrambling away from the bed.

"Protect the Empress! Protect her!!"

Granny Rong immediately rushed over and shielded her with her body as they retreated.

"Your Majesty...where is Your Majesty?"

While people at Cishou Palace were crying and wailing, the people at Ciren Palace were also in an uproar.

Did the princess assassinate the Empress Dowager?

What's going on.
And why has the Empress Dowager changed?

Apart from the personal eunuchs and nannies who knew that the person descending from the imperial carriage was not Empress Dowager Jiang, the others were momentarily flustered when they saw the veil fall and it was actually Li Yuying.

"no no!!"

The most vehement reaction came from the Chief Justice Cai Yong, who trembled and cried out, "His Highness's soul has left his body... His soul-separation disorder has flared up again..."

"Bullshit! The murderer is just using dissociative identity disorder to fool you; she's not a princess at all!"

Haiyue shouted again, silencing all the noise in the palace, while keeping the blade in her hand close to her opponent's vitals.

The female assassin's two volleys of hidden weapons were both blocked, and she had already lost the initiative. Upon hearing these words, her disheveled face twisted in pain, and she shouted, "I have failed in my duty today and cannot repay your great kindness. I am leaving!"

Before she could finish speaking, she had already used an incredible lightness technique to instantly break free from the blade's cover and rush out of the palace.

"Stop her!!"

"drink!"

As Lu Bing roared hoarsely, Hai Yue pinched the base of her ring finger with her thumb and suddenly exhaled, her voice booming like a spring thunderclap.

He wasn't good with swords, and spears and clubs weren't suitable for him either. Fortunately, Anchan Zhilong had some internal energy breathing techniques, similar to the Buddhist Lion's Roar Kung Fu, which he could give a try.

Upon hearing this shout, the female assassin froze, feeling as if the roar was both the wrath of a venomous dragon and the morning bell of an ancient temple, a perfect blend of strength and gentleness. In an instant, she felt as if she were bound by invisible ropes.

In that split second, Haiyue threw out the long knife in her hand, which pierced the woman's calf with a soft thud. Then, her five fingers flew, coiling around the female assassin's wrist like a nimble snake, preparing to capture her alive using grappling techniques.

But at that critical moment, the female assassin suddenly made a swallowing motion, and a wax pellet was bitten open between her teeth.

"not good!"

Haiyue immediately changed position and tried to pinch his chin, but it was too late.

A trickle of black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

As the woman collapsed back onto the bed, Lu Bing and the other Imperial Guards rushed over, but sighed, "Such a potent poison, it kills instantly upon contact with blood, there's no saving her!" "Your Highness! Your Highness!!"

It's a long story. After the group confirmed the female assassin's fate, Haiyue helped up Li Yuying, who had fallen to the ground. Si Zheng Cai Yong rushed over, looking at the woman coughing up black blood with despair: "Your Highness... Your Highness is suffering from a soul-separation disorder... That's why you did this... Huh? Who is this person?"

In fact, even if it was dissociative identity disorder, assassinating the Empress Dowager was a capital offense. Cai Yong felt dizzy for a moment, but when he rushed to the bedside and saw the true face of the dead woman, he was suddenly stunned.

The female assassin had previously had her hair down and moved with extreme speed, making her face unclear. But now, upon closer inspection, it became clear that her appearance was completely different from Princess Yongchun's.

But she clearly jumped off the bed, so how could she suddenly become a different person?

Haiyue said in a deep voice, "Sleepwalking is when a person wanders in their dream without their mind knowing. When the soul leaves the body, it is even more serious, and the person appears as two people, walking side by side and lying down, making it impossible to distinguish between the real and the fake... You firmly believe in this, so last night when the princess suddenly rushed out of the palace with her hair disheveled, you couldn't tell the real from the fake at all. You just thought that the princess's soul leaving the body was acting up. Especially after you found out that the imperial physician Li Shaoting had been killed, you became even more afraid and dared not make a sound, right?"

Cai Yong stammered, speechless: "Your Highness...Your Highness did not kill anyone!"

"Don't you understand?"

Haiyue was speechless. These servants might be loyal, but that was all they were. If they had used their brains a little more, they wouldn't have been manipulated by the murderer: "The disheveled woman you saw who went out to kill the imperial physician Li Shaoting is not the princess at all. She is the real culprit in this incident, the traitor who tried to assassinate the Empress Dowager!"

Cai Yong was completely dumbfounded.

Ignoring the indifferent Si Zheng, Hai Yue said to Lu Bing, "Wen Fu, hurry to the backyard, the assassin's accomplice is still there!"

"it is good!"

Lu Bing had already made arrangements, but the sudden arrival of the two empress dowagers disrupted his plans. He was momentarily at a loss, but after being reminded, he suddenly realized what was happening and turned to leave.

Although the process was thrilling but ultimately safe—it was Li Yuying who disguised herself as Empress Dowager Jiang to enter, and it was Empress Dowager Zhang who was terrified—the fact that both empress dowagers were nearly assassinated right in front of him made his role as a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) a complete failure. Thinking of his accomplices in the inner palace, he was filled with hatred.

Not to mention that this person hurriedly led his men to the backyard, Haiyue helped Li Yuying stand still, but instead of supporting her, she whispered, "Get out!"

Li Yuying composed herself and slowly walked out of the palace, where she was greeted by the real Empress Dowager Jiang arriving in haste.

Upon hearing that there had indeed been an assassination attempt within the princess's residence, even though the assassin had already been beheaded, the eunuchs and maids on either side remained on high alert, and the palace guards tightly protected the princess in the middle.

The First Lady maintained her composure. Upon seeing Li Yuying appear, she immediately came over and took her hand, asking, "Child, are you alright?"

Li Yuying felt a warmth and joy in her heart, knowing that she had truly succeeded this time: "Your Majesty, I'm alright!"

"It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have lost my life here!"

Empress Dowager Jiang gently stroked her hand, her expression full of kindness, yet her brows also betrayed an unavoidable shock and anger. She then hurriedly asked, "My poor child, what has happened to her? Why is everyone saying she's become an assassin?"

"Her Highness is certainly not the assassin; rather, she was cleverly switched at birth by the assassin. This is the real crux of the case..."

Li Yuying composed herself and said, "These are not things that I alone could have discerned. Your Majesty, may I summon the person who truly solved this case?"

"Oh? Who is it?"

Haiyue then stepped forward. He had actually intended to give credit for the case to Li Yuying, since she was the one who risked her life to face the assassins. Moreover, female relatives would be more effective with each other. However, since Li Yuying had said so, it was not the time to deliberately be modest: "Haiyue, a student of the Imperial Academy, pays respects to Lady Jiang."

Empress Dowager Jiang glanced at him, then looked at Li Yuying, who hadn't forgotten to bring Hai Yue along when accepting credit, and smiled slightly: "Hai Shisanlang, what a fine young man! I've heard of him in the palace!"

Clearly, Guo Xun's scandal was not something that could be discussed in public. The Empress Dowager glossed over it and went straight to asking, "What exactly happened in the Princess's residence? Is my child safe?"

Haiyue said, "The reason we were hesitant to act this time was because we were worried that the assassins would take the princess hostage. Fortunately, the thief has been beheaded. Please come with me, Your Highness."

Upon returning to the palace, they were met with a chorus of weeping.

The female assassin's body was covered with a cloth and placed to one side. A detailed autopsy was to be performed to examine any clues.

The servants, completely disoriented, surrounded the empty bed, wailing and lamenting.

Upon seeing the real Empress Dowager Jiang enter, Cai Yong crawled on the ground, kowtowing desperately and crying out in a pitiful voice, "Your Majesty! This old servant is incompetent! This old servant is incompetent! His Highness is gone! Gone!"

Startled by his weeping, Empress Dowager Jiang, seeing the bloodstains on the bed, panicked: "Where is my poor child?"

Haiyue said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Although the murderer's plan was ingenious, his actions were severely restricted. If the real princess were hidden elsewhere, there would be a risk of exposure. Therefore, the most dangerous place is precisely the safest place..."

As he spoke, he gave Li Yuying a look, and Li Yuying understood immediately and began to stroke the sandalwood couch.

While everyone else's attention was focused on the princess, she was the only one paying attention to the bed. When the smoke rose, she also heard the sound of something being turned over, which confirmed her previous guess.

After fiddling around for a while, I finally found something suspicious and tried pressing it gently.

Click!

The previously empty bed spun around, and the sleeping Princess Yongchun reappeared in everyone's sight.

(End of this chapter)