The Aloof Lord's Mysterious Wife
Chapter 652: "How is This Possible? You’re Framing Me!"

Chapter 652: "How is This Possible? You’re Framing Me!"

As the words left his mouth, Cao Qing immediately felt something was off. He had nearly wiped out all of his disciples. Some officials in the court were trembling, afraid to make any moves at this critical juncture, fearing the risk of being killed.

Sure enough, Qing Feng said, "It wasn’t the officials, it was the Prince of Changchun from Wuying Palace."

Prince of Changchun?

Nanli thought for a moment before recalling the child’s name—Ye Yanli. Previously, Emperor Muwu had wanted to adopt him, but Nanli saw that if Ye Yanli were adopted, he would surely meet a tragic end, so the matter was postponed.

Later, when Ye Chengyan died, Emperor Muwu did not send these royal relatives back to their fiefs. Instead, he arranged for the Grand Tutor to teach them the six rites of a gentleman and the way of governance, clearly wanting to select from among them.

Seeing Nanli lost in thought, Qing Feng continued, "It’s no wonder, the emperor values him the most, even personally inspecting his studies. He must have felt that his position was being threatened, so he did something like this."

Nanli said, "But he is only a little over ten years old."

Qing Feng said, "Yes, both the emperor and the prince were shocked when they heard the investigation results. But the eunuch who took the money was tortured and still insisted that it was the Prince of Changchun. Also, despite the many royal children in Wuying Palace being poisoned with slow-acting toxins, Prince of Changchun was unaffected."

A child of just over ten years old being so malicious was truly rare.

Nanli felt confused.

It was undeniable that some children, as young as seven or eight, understood how to poison and harm others.

But she had met Ye Yanli before. His eyes were clear and innocent, and even if he were jealous, he couldn’t possibly resort to poisoning someone, right?

"I’ll go take a look," Nanli said, concerned that Ye Yanli might be wrongfully accused, and immediately used a Teleportation Talisman.

Qing Feng, left behind, couldn’t help but twitch his mouth.

He had come to deliver the message, but now he wasn’t sure if he could keep up with her!

As soon as Nanli arrived in the side hall, she immediately spoke, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, we must get to the bottom of this case. We can’t wrongfully accuse a child of just ten years old!"

There were many people in the hall.

All of them turned to look at Nanli.

Ye Siheng stood up and said, "A’Li, don’t worry. Just now, Third Prince also noticed something suspicious and has come up with a plan to uncover the truth."

"Is that so?" Nanli breathed a sigh of relief.

She turned to look at Ye Yanli.

The boy didn’t kneel, but it was clear that he was frightened. His eyes were red and swollen from crying, and tears continued to flow.

Emperor Muwu chuckled and said, "Sixth Princess, you care about this child so much that you came here with a talisman."

Nanli replied, "Earlier, when I observed his appearance, I felt this child isn’t a malicious person. I just fear he might be wrongfully accused."

Ye Yanli, deeply moved, bowed to Nanli, "Thank you, the Ninth Princess."

He had lost both his parents at a young age. Although he had inherited the throne, he had few true friends by his side. Therefore, anyone who spoke up for him, like Chu Yan earlier or Nanli now, he would remember them.

Nanli asked, "Third Prince, are you planning to use a True Word Talisman?"

Chu Yan shook his head gently. "While the True Word Talisman is quick and convenient, it can cause people to become lazy and overly reliant. If the Dalisi Procuratorate uses it to investigate, Xuanzheng Temple could take over, and we wouldn’t need to keep it."

Nanli nodded. "That’s true. After all, not everyone can draw a True Word Talisman, and if the person uses another talisman, it would either be ineffective or counterproductive."

Elder Xu, however, spoke up, "But Lord Qin has already captured the eunuchs and palace maids who pointed to Prince of Changchun, saying he bribed them, tampered with the incense, and poisoned the sweet soup."

They had even figured out how the poison was obtained and had captured the perpetrators. The old eunuch had also accused Prince of Changchun.

However, the poison was a slow-acting toxin that didn’t pose an immediate threat to life but would cause confusion and, if consumed long-term, could lead to madness. This aligned with the child’s competitive nature.

The doubts raised by Chu Yan were based on the fact that Prince of Changchun was only just over ten years old—how could he be so cruel?

However, when the witnesses were questioned separately, they all pointed to Prince of Changchun. Could this still be false?

Chu Yan remained calm and called for the Imperial Doctor.

"Imperial Doctor, you examined the children earlier. With your medical expertise, you should be able to diagnose how deeply each person was poisoned, right?"

"Yes," the Imperial Doctor replied, "Four individuals are deeply poisoned, and it has affected their meridians. But one person has only been lightly poisoned. With two doses of antidote soup, they will be fine."

Chu Yan’s face remained impassive, as though he had already anticipated this. "Then bring the one with the lightest poisoning over."

The Imperial Guard obeyed the order.

It was Teng State’s Prince of Changshan, who, like Ye Yanli, had lost both parents at a young age and was relatively intelligent, which was why he had been selected.

He quickly glanced at the crowd, showing no signs of fear, and performed a formal bow.

Nanli studied his face.

This child was similar in build to Ye Yanli, but his eyes were smaller, with more whites showing, and his gaze was ferocious. People with this type of face tended to be domineering, with no compassion for others, and could even turn against their own kin.

At this point, Nanli was almost certain that he was the one who had poisoned the others.

However, deciding guilt based on appearance alone would be too frivolous.

"Prince of Changshan, do you confess?" Chu Yan suddenly asked.

Nanli’s mouth twitched. Fifth Brother, you’re being so direct. How could he admit it so easily?

Prince of Changshan remained calm and even put on a look of fear and injustice. "Third Prince, what crime have I committed? I... I am the victim, poisoned myself!"

"But you were only lightly poisoned, and it has no effect on your body," Chu Yan said coldly, his gaze sharp and aggressive. "Clearly, you knew the sweet soup was tainted, so you only took a few bites each time!"

Nanli had never seen Chu Yan interrogating someone like this, and it was very different from his usual demeanor, which made her stare in awe.

Ye Siheng tilted his head, and his brows furrowed slightly.

However, there were many people in the hall, so he didn’t dare speak at this moment.

"No! I just don’t like the sweet soup!" Prince of Changshan refuted. "Third Prince, is this how you accuse me? You’re being too childish!"

But Chu Yan had already noticed that his heart was racing.

At this point, Elder Xu couldn’t watch any longer and said, "Third Prince, you’ve been at Dalisi Procuratorate. You should know everything must be proven with evidence."

"Yes, why not..." Prime Minister Lu stopped himself mid-sentence.

He had just suggested not using the True Word Talisman, but now he was questioning Chu Yan’s ability. With so many officials watching, he couldn’t be as direct as Elder Xu and let Chu Yan lose face.

"Third Prince, should we interrogate those eunuchs and palace maids again?"

Chu Yan raised an eyebrow but took out several talismans, saying, "No need. I’ve already instructed the Imperial Guard to search his room. Sure enough, we found several Face-Changing Talismans!"

Everyone was puzzled as to when Chu Yan had issued this order.

But Prince of Changshan’s eyes widened in shock, and before he could clearly see the talismans in Chu Yan’s hand, he blurted out, "How is this possible! You’re framing me!"