Chapter 108 Murder Cases At The Birthday Party (Part One)


    "Blood streak?" Wu Qi instantly straightened up and said to Lady Shun Qing, "Your Ladyship, do you


    mind showing me the peach-shaped carving made of jadeite?"


    Lady Shun Qing nodded and passed the peach-shaped carving to Wu Qi. Wu Qi examined it carefully


    for a while before he said hesitantly, "The jadeite is of top quality. Besides, judging from the craft, the


    peach-shaped carving is indeed a top-grade one. But it''s not as good as the carvings made by Master


    Jing''an. I have heard that if a jadeite is stuffed in a dead man''s mouth and buried with the dead body, it


    will bear blood streaks when it is taken out. But the peach-shaped carving is too big to be stuffed into a


    dead man''s mouth. The blood streaks in the carving are an ominous indicator. I know that if a jadeite is


    stuffed in an animal''s mouth before the animal is suffocated, the jadeite will bear blood streaks


    indicating that the animal died with strong resentment."


    Upon hearing this, Lady Shun Qing frowned and said unhappily, "Anyway, the peach-shaped carving is


    an inauspicious object. It brings bad luck on such a happy day."


    Yun Shang said gently, "Your Ladyship, who has touched the peach-shaped carving? When I


    presented the peach-shaped carving to you, there were no blood streaks in it. ording to what Wu Qi


    said, it takes a long time to form blood streaks in a jadeite. Only a little time has passed since I


    presented the gift to you. How can there be blood streaks in the jadeite carving so quickly? I have


    every reason to suspect that the peach-shaped carving presented by me has been changed by


    someone."


    Upon hearing this, Wang Jinhuan frowned and said to Lady Shun Qing, "Your Ladyship, I think


    someone is trying to frame Princess Yun Shang. The jadeite carving was presented by Princess Yun


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    Shang. The schemer knows that If something is wrong with the carving, Princess Yun Shang will take


    the me. Obviously, the schemer is trying to frame the Princess and curse you."


    Yun Shang squinted and then reced her expression with a subtle smile. Wang Jinhuan was quick-


    minded. If he had said that the schemer swapped the birthday gift, then the schemer would be charged


    withrceny and get a rtively lighter punishment. By iming that the schemer was trying to frame


    the Princess and curse the Ladyship, those crimes would warrant a higher punishment. When found,


    the schemer would be put to death.


    Yun Shang certainly knew that it was the Empress who made the plot. She knew it when she epted


    the peach-shaped carving from the Empress. Yun Shang leaned back in her chair. She looked very


    Qing and Your Ladyship will find the truth of the matter and prove me innocent."


    Prince Shun Qing nced at Yun Shang and found her to be calm. He thought highly of Yun Shang for


    being able to handle a challenging situation with ease. He rose to his feet and said, "This is a big


    matter and there are many guests present. We can''t conduct an investigation. I will call all the people


    who have touched the peach-shaped carving to the drawing room and I will keep all the guests here


    with an excuse."


    Prince Jing nodded and said, "Well, that sounds all right." After this, Prince Jing stood and walked


    toward the drawing room.


    Yun Shang smiled and followed Prince Jing.


    "I respect Prince Shun Qing. I trust him, " muttered Prince Jing. Since Yun Shang had learned


    traditional Chinese martial arts, her hearing had improved tremendously. So she heard Prince Jing


    clearly.


    "You mean the schemer made the plot to create disharmony between Prince Shun Qing and his wife


    and me. Then Prince Shun Qing would suggest that you don''t marry me, " said Yun Shang. Then Yun


    Shang thought to herself. ''If this is the schemer''s intention, I will do nothing to hinder his actions. Just


    let Prince Shun Qing and Lady Shun Qing detest me.''


    Judging from Yun Shang''s tone, Prince Jing knew the direction of her thoughts. He smiled and said, "I


    will feel relieved if that''s what the schemer wants. But apparently the schemer wants you to die." He


    then leaned closer and whispered in Yun Shang''s ear, "You must think I didn''t see what you did. When


    all eyes were fixed on the stage, you put antidotes into Prince Shun Qing and his wife''s cups."


    Yun Shang took a step back and said, "That''s right. I did."


    "Help! Help! Wu Qi is dead and all his facial orifices are bleeding." The guests were in an uproar. Yun


    Shang''s ears pricked as she heard the exmations. She looked at Prince Jing and spoke with a slight


    smile, "I''m bad-tempered and I don''t like being forced to do something I loathe. What do you think?"


    Prince Jing reached out and wrapped an arm around Yun Shang''s shoulder. He grinned as he spoke, "I


    will make you love it. You will love it, I promise."


    Yun Shang frowned. Before she could reply, rapid footsteps could be heard behind them. Yun Shang


    turned and saw Qin Yi run toward her. "Your Highness, Wu Qi is dead. Prince Shun Qing asked you


    and Prince Jing to go to the banquet hall."


    When Yun Shang and Prince Jing reached the banquet hall, a physician was kneeling on the ground


    and checking the body. Beside the dead body knelt a woman who was Wu Qi''s wife. She was crying


    loudly.


    A whileter, the physician rose to his feet and curtsied to Prince Shun Qing before he said, "Your


    Lordship, Wu Qi was poisoned."


    "Poisoned?" Prince Shun Qing frowned and thought for a while. Then he ordered the servants to


    present all the things that Wu Qi had touched to the physician, and asked the physician to check those


    items carefully. A whileter, the physician shook his head and said, "Those things are not poisoned."


    Upon hearing this, Wu Qi''s wife stopped crying and stood. She said, "Prince Shun Qing, there was


    nothing wrong with my husband before he came to meet you. When he returned, he had been


    poisoned. Do you know what my husband touched when he was standing by your side?"


    Prince Shun Qing frowned and said, "Only the peach-shaped carving made of jadeite."


    Prince Shun Qing promptly asked a servant to bring the box and the peach-shaped carving. The


    physician inspected the box and said, "Your Lordship, the poison is on the carving."


    Just before Prince Shun Qing could say something, Wu Qi''s wife started to wail and eximed,


    "Princess Hui Guo, my husband has never offended you. Why did you murder my husband?"


    All eyes were fixed upon Yun Shang. The Princess shivered slightly and spoke gently, "It was the


    Empress who asked me to present the peach-shaped carving to Lady Shun Qing. Moreover, just now


    many people touched the jadeite carving. Why was Wu Qi the only one who was poisoned? As Wu Qi


    asked to see the peach-shaped carving, Lady Shun Qing took the carving from the box and passed it to


    Wu Qi. Lady Shun Qing is very well now. Do you mean Lady Shun Qing poisoned your husband?"


    Prince Jing frowned and stood in front of Yun Shang as if to protect her. Then he said to Wu Qi''s wife,


    "Mrs. Wu, you shouldn''t talk nonsense."


    Mrs. Wu looked at Prince Jing''s cold eyes and shuddered with fear. A momentter, Mrs. Wu wailed


    again. "My husband is dead for no reason."


    "Your Lordship, a housemaid''s body has been found in the backyard. Her facial orifices are bleeding, "


    said a middle-aged man who seemed to be the butler. He ran hurriedly toward Prince Shun Qing as he


    spoke.


    Upon hearing this, Prince Shun Qing frowned and said to the butler, "Lead the physician to the


    backyard and let him check the body."


    The butler immediately led the physician to the backyard.


    All the guests present started to whisper to one another. Prince Shun Qing said with a deep and


    solemn tone, "Today, there have been two murders in my mansion. We haven''t found the killer yet. So I


    ask all of you to stay in my mansion until we find the killer."


    Wu Qi''s body was ced in the backyard. A whileter, a servant reported the result. He imed that


    the physician found that the housemaid and Wu Qi had the same symptoms. They were all victims of


    the same poison. The housemaid had been in the backyard during the party and had not been seen


    anywhere else. It was impossible for her to have touched the peach-shaped carving.


    Two people had died during the party. The joyous atmosphere had vanished in an instant. All the


    guests felt frightened.


    The guests had been divided into two groups ording to their gender and were brought to two


    different rooms in the mansion. Yun Shang, Prince Jing, Wang Jinhuan and Mrs. Wu were brought to


    Lady Shun Qing''s house.


    Except for Mrs. Wu who sobbed asionally, all the other guests present, sipping their tea in silence.


    "Your Lordship, I found this both on Mr. Wu and the housemaid." The butler walked hurriedly to Prince


    Shun Qing and reported. The butler held a tray on whichy two sachets. The sachets were


    embroidered with the same picture. The picture depicted two mandarin ducks ying in water. One


    was blue, the other was pink.


    As Prince Shun Qing was about to reach for the sachets, the butler stopped him immediately and said,


    "Your Lordship, be careful. There is a certain poison in the sachets."


    On hearing this, Prince Shun Qing withdrew his hand. An inquiring look appeared on his face. The


    butler said, "I have already asked the physician to check the sachets. The poison on the sachets were


    the cause of the housemaid and Mr. Wu''s death."


    "Really?" inquired Prince Jing. Prince Jing rose to his feet and stepped forward to reach for the two


    sachets. Prince Shun Qing instantly eximed, "Qingyan!"


    Prince Jing smiled and said, "Uncle, it''s all right. I have brought the poison-proof bead with me. I won''t


    get poisoned even if I touch the poison." Prince Jing opened the two sachets and found a lock of hair


    and a parchment in both the sachets.


    All the guests stepped forward to see these two items. Neat handwriting was disyed on the


    parchment. It said, "When those red beans*e in springtime, flushing on your soutnd branches,


    take home an armful for my sake, as a symbol of our love. From Ru Mo*. On the other parchment were


    bold and forceful words. It said, "If love between both sides canst for aye, why need they stay


    together night and day? From Qian An."


    (TN: Red bean, called a love pea or a love token, is a symbol of romance; Ru Mo is a female


    name.)