Chapter 383
The starting point of the entire matter was Yu Niaoniao’s assassination in the palace.
Hence, Yu Niaoniao and Xiao Juan entered the palace and returned to the place where she was assassinated that day.
In order to facilitate recalling the details, the two of them decided to reenact the assassination.
Xiao Juan disguised himself as a fake palace maid and stood a step away from Yu Niaoniao. He pulled out the dagger hidden in his sleeve and pounced at her!
Yu Niaoniao dodged sideways. At the same time, she raised her right hand and pressed the extension.
The crossbow hidden in her sleeve shot out.
The distance was too close. Xiao Juan could not dodge in time and was shot in the heart.
He was in pain. He clutched his heart and retreated.
Yu Niaoniao took the opportunity to escape.
When she turned around, Xiao Juan had already fallen into a pool of blood.
The case reenactment ended there.
However, Xiao Juan was still lying on the ground, motionless.
Yu Niaoniao walked over, lifted her skirt, and squatted down. She poked his shoulder with her little finger.
“Why aren’t you up?”
Xiao Juan looked straight ahead and said slowly, “When the fake palace maid fell that day, her face was also facing this direction. Moreover, her eyes were round and she did not close them until she died.”
Yu Niaoniao looked in the direction he was looking and saw a bamboo forest.
She suddenly remembered. “That day, the fake palace maid wanted to bring me through the bamboo forest. I felt that something was wrong and refused to enter the bamboo forest.”
Xiao Juan said, “There must have been someone in the bamboo forest that day. Perhaps he hid in the bamboo forest and watched the fake palace maid get killed by you before watching you escape in a panic.”
Yu Niaoniao broke out in a cold sweat. Why did it seem like a pervert?
She rubbed her arms. “Who the hell is that person?” Xiao Juan stood up. “Let’s go into the bamboo forest and take a look.”
The two of them entered the bamboo forest.
The temperature in the bamboo forest was lower than outside. Occasionally, a wind would blow. The bamboo swayed gently with the wind, making a sound like waves.
There were some Taihu Stones scattered in the bamboo forest. These stones had been transported from the south. Each stone was in a different shape and had many holes ot ditterent sizes distributed on it.
Xiao Juan walked behind a Taihu Stone.
At his height, he could clearly see the scene outside the bamboo forest through the holes in the stone.
“He should have been standing here that day.”
Yu Niaoniao walked around the Taihu Stone and did not find any clues.
But it made sense. That person had only stood here for a while. How could he have accidentally left a clue?
Such a coincidence that could only appear in a story was almost impossible in reality.
Xiao Juan asked, “Where did you go next?”
Yu Niaoniao brought Xiao Juan to the corridor.
“At that time, Princess Tao Ran had been chasing me. I was forced to run here and happened to meet Shen Junzhi. He pulled me into a room.”
She looked around as she spoke and quickly found the familiar door. She was about to push open the door when she was stopped by Xiao Juan.
“Let me in first.”
He pushed open the door and walked in, then closed it.
Yu Niaoniao rushed past the door according to the scene on the day of the crime.
A hand suddenly reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into the room.
The room was dark.
Yu Niaoniao leaned against the door with Xiao Juan in front of her.
He whispered, “And?”
Yu Niaoniao said, “Shen Junzhi covered my mouth and nose to prevent me from making a sound.”
Xiao Juan reached out and covered her mouth and nose.
Her warm breath sprayed into his palm, making it itch indescribably.
Xiao Juan could not help but think what Shen Junzhi was thinking when he covered her mouth and nose that day. Did he enjoy the feeling of being in close contact with Yu Niaoniao? What about her? What was she thinking at that time?
He closed his eyes and suppressed the surging jealousy in his heart.
“And?”
Yu Niaoniao pointed out the door and then at the hand covering her.
Xiao Juan let go of her.
Yu Niaoniao immediately moved to the side to distance herself from him. At the same time, she secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
When the man covered her mouth and nose just now, all she could smell was the man’s scent. That feeling made her heart beat faster for some reason.
She clearly did not feel this way when Shen Junzhi covered her that day.
She tried her best to maintain her composure. “Shen Junzhi asked me to go with him.”
Xiao Juan looked down at her. “You agreed?”
Yu Niaoniao denied it without thinking.
Xiao Juan stared at her quietly.
In the dim room, Yu Niaoniao could not see the man’s eyes clearly, but she could sense that he was not in a good mood.
She spoke quickly.
“I’m serious! I thought the timing of his appearance was too coincidental. And I had never known his true identity. I was very wary of him, so I naturally refused to go with him.”
Xiao Juan said calmly, “But you still left with him in the end.”
Yu Niaoniao defended herself.
“In that situation, I was alone and helpless. If I continued to stay here, I would definitely be captured by Princess Tao Ran and her men. I could only leave this place with Shen Junzhi first before thinking of a way to find you.”
Xiao Juan naturally knew that Niaoniao had done the right thing.
However, as long as he thought of Niaoniao leaving with another man, he could not help but feel jealous.
It took him a while to calm down.
“The next time you encounter something like this, think of a way to make a big deal out of it. The worse the better. That way, you can stall for time until I save you.”
Yu Niaoniao said, “This is the palace. What if we make things difficult?”
Xiao Juan touched her head. “I’m here. I’ll clean up the mess for you.”
Yu Niaoniao’s heart warmed. ‘Yes!”
“Let’s go to the next place.”
The next place was the Glazed Jade Palace.
It was still desolate. The courtyard was overgrown.
Yu Niaoniao said as she walked in.
“Shen Junzhi left me here and left.
He said he would look for you in Zhengde Hall and give you the news that I was in trouble, but he never returned.
“I was alone here and happened to find the bones of a baby buried in the backyard...’
They went to the backyard and stood beside the place where the bones had been excavated.
The bones had been sent to the Justice Department, but the pit was still here.
Xiao Juan looked at the nearby tree that had fallen to the ground and said slowly.
“I’ve already checked. This big tree suddenly fell last month. The reason was that the bottom of the trunk was empty from the aphids. The trunk couldn’t hold on anymore and fell. The roots were brought out of the soil, revealing a little of the baby’s bones buried under the tree.”
Yu Niaoniao lifted her skirt and squatted down. She looked down at the pit and muttered to herself.
“How can there be such a coincidence?”
Xiao Juan said, “What a coincidence.”
Then they left the palace and returned to the Justice Department.
They dug out the confessions of the Imperial Physicians and read them again. They even found Lo Pingsha and asked him carefully about the entire process of examining Imperial Concubine Yue’s skeleton in the concubine’s mausoleum that day..