"Say!" Shen Zhan said in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Wen Lingyi bypassed the dead Ah Ran, walked not far from Shen Zhan, arched his hand, his righteous shape was colorful, and his voice was flat: "Your Majesty, this little palace maid has been dead for at least an hour, less than two hours, there are strangulation marks on her neck, moss and mud in her fingernails, the hair on the back of her head is messy, mixed with mud, and her tongue is slightly stretched out, it seems that she should have been strangled to death." Wen Lingyi said as he glanced sideways at the dead Ah Ran.

"Go on, tell any details." Shen Zhan's face was unwavering, as if he had long been accustomed to hearing the analysis of the murder case.

Wen Lingyi arched his hand again without pause, "The strangulation marks on the neck of this palace maid are about the length between the index finger and the thumb of an adult man after opening the tiger's mouth, and there are no traces of fingerprints in the middle, so it should be controlled by someone with one hand and suffocated to death." In addition, "Wen Lingyi stretched out his palm and stroked a few times on his neck, "The strangulation marks on the neck of this palace maid are from bottom to top, it should be caused by someone taller than this palace maid leaning on the rockery with one hand, but it is not excluded that someone strangled the palace maid on the ground to deliberately create the illusion of height, and the minister also has a guess that the strangulation marks on the neck of this palace maid have few and heavy marks on the left side, and there are many traces on the right, so the minister thinks that the murderer may be a left-hander." ”

"Concubine, do you hear? This Ah Ran died an hour ago, at that time the queen mother was with me, it is impossible to kill, and the murderer is a man and a left-hander, Lord Meng, dare to ask if there is a problem with the strip of cloth? Yuan Wanyou listened to Wen Lingyi's words, thought about it carefully, and was the first to speak.

Without waiting for Meng Xun to speak, Liu Shuxing sneered again, "I can't say that the queen mother found a cronie to kill this palace maid, and deliberately asked you to prove that she didn't do anything and didn't arrange it, I advise you, don't be taken advantage of, you don't know......"

"Shuxing, I believe that I am not the queen. The top priority is to find out the real culprit, so don't make a fuss! Before Liu Shuxing's words were finished, Shen Zhan opened his mouth with an impatient expression and restrained Liu Shuxing.

"The concubine knows her mistakes, and Her Majesty forgives her sins." Liu Shuxing's expression changed, and he immediately silenced his posture and whispered to Shen Zhan.

Seeing this, Shen Zhan's expression eased, and he didn't say anything anymore, and quietly looked at Meng Xun.

Yuan Wanyou lowered his head slightly, hooked the corners of his mouth, and rolled his eyes at Liu Shuxing at an angle that no one noticed.

Song Mier was originally engrossed in Meng Xun and Wen Lingyi, but when he heard Shen Zhan suddenly say a word of believing in himself, he couldn't help but tremble slightly, and involuntarily looked at Shen Zhan in front of him, Shen Zhan didn't avoid her, and shook her hand, "I believe in you", Shen Zhan whispered again. Song Mi'er threw a grateful look at Shen Zhan, as if Shen Zhan's three short words gave her strength, and as if she had been waiting for Shen Zhan's words since she knew about Ah Ran's death until now, which made Song Mier feel that this palace was not full of traps and harmful words.

Liu Shuxing on the side stared at the hands of Shen Zhan and Song Mier for a moment with empty eyes, and there seemed to be a trace of complexity in his eyes, and then he turned his head to the side, as if he didn't want to see what was happening in front of him.

Facing these three people's concubines Yuan Wanyou, Xianfei Lou Hengbo, Concubine Zhuang Wei Chi Yanran and Xue Concubine Xue Zhiyi.

Yuan Wanyou finally had a smile in her eyes, and even the people next to her had the illusion of seeing some relief in her eyes.

Lou Hengbo's face was pale, he didn't even look at Shen Zhan's side, all his energy was focused on Na Ran, and his expression was full of compassion and sympathy.

Xue Zhiyi still maintained the posture of burying her head since she stepped into this Biwu Palace, if she wasn't wearing the dress and jewelry made by Concubine Erpin, I'm afraid no one would notice her.

Only the concubine Chi Yanran, who was holding a handkerchief just now, had red eyes, and she couldn't bear to be sympathetic, but she was the most eye-catching one among these concubines except for Liu Shuxing. When Liu Shuxing turned his head not to look at Shen Zhan and the others, Liu Shuxing thought that no one was aware, but he didn't want his expression and movements to be clearly absorbed into the eyes of Yu Chi Yanran, who had been paying attention to the dynamics of the audience. But this Wei Chi Yanran didn't seem to have the slightest reaction, the traces of the last slap had disappeared, and I felt pity for her smooth face, she turned her face sideways to Shen Zhan and the others, and looked at Meng Xun curiously.

Meng Xun saw that Shen Zhan and the others were waiting for him, so he didn't take Qiao, but held the cloth and said: "Your Majesty, the handwriting on this cloth is indeed very different from what Miss Yulan said, and even if there is no difference in this handwriting, this cloth alone cannot determine who did it." Although this Ah Ran's body was found in the palace of the queen mother, it does not mean that she died in this palace, and from these few unrelated clues, it cannot be deduced who the murderer is. Presumably, Lord Wen also needs to come down again to check carefully to find out who the murderer is. ”

"Yes." Wen Lingyi heard Meng Xun's words, and also raised his head, "The minister still needs to send Ah Ran's body to the Criminal Department, as for the rest, this one still needs the cooperation of His Majesty Xià and all the maidens to send someone to the palace for questioning." ”

Wen Lingyi means, Ah Ran died in the palace, then the people in the palace may be suspected, the people in the criminal department are all men, and they must not be active in the harem, and the identity of the murderer is unclear, if the arrest goes to the criminal department for questioning, the movement is too big, and the originally innocent people go in and come out, they may also be considered guilty, if the palace people of the high-ranking concubines or even the high-ranking concubines themselves need to be questioned, how can they all go to the criminal department.

Shen Zhan nodded, looked at Meng Xun again, and saw Meng Xun's eyes turn to the right, Shen Zhan frowned, stroked the wrench on his hand quietly, and said as if he didn't care: "Wen Qing's words are very reasonable, and this matter needs to be investigated carefully." ”

"Your Majesty," Yu Chi Yanran suddenly spoke, Shen Zhan looked at her, only to see her holding a silk handkerchief and nodding the corners of her eyes, quite embarrassed, "Concubine is stupid, according to the meaning of Lord Wen and Lord Meng, the murderer of this little palace maid Ah Ran still needs to be investigated, so what is the matter with the strip of cloth on her hand?" The concubine also felt that the queen mother must be innocent, but why was there a strip of cloth related to Rou Guiji mentioning the queen mother, but this strip of cloth was in Ah Ran's hands, this ......" Saying that, Yu Chi Yanran smiled shyly and shyly again, "The concubine will be slow to react to a small one, and I hope that Your Majesty and the sisters will forgive me." ”

Shen Zhan hooked the corners of his mouth, and a smile flashed that was not obvious, "Where is Concubine Ai stupid, Concubine Ai has asked about ideas everywhere, I think Concubine Ai is very smart." Wen Lingyi, did you hear what Concubine Zhuang said? These are the problems in today's case, and you have to think carefully about the case. As for the ...... in this palace," Shen Zhan turned the jade wrench in his hand, "let the emperor go." Shen Zhan was about to habitually let Song Mier be responsible, but suddenly remembered what Yu Chi Yanran had just said, paused and said, "Let the queen mother rest for the time being, and the concubine and concubine Shu are responsible for asking these palace people for questioning." Zitong," Shen Zhan lowered his voice again and said to Song Mier in front of him, "You don't have to worry, I said that if I believe you, I must believe you." This case involves a wide range of people, and it is the palace people in your palace, this. ”

"I understand," Song Mi'er intercepted Shen Zhan's words, "Ah Ran is a person in my palace, and there is a strip of cloth in my hand that is inexplicably pointed at me, so I should avoid suspicion." But this matter must have nothing to do with the palace, and I hope that Sister Shufei will investigate it carefully, and don't let the mastermind behind the scenes go freely. ”

Song Mier skimmed Liu Shuxing in his words, obviously wanting to hand over the power of this main investigation to Yuan Wanyou.

"I know, don't worry." Yuan Wanyou nodded, and turned to look at the concubine, "I won't let someone wronged you." ”

"Shhhh If you haven't done it, you won't be fine, and if you don't check what you've done, it will come to light sooner or later," Liu Shuxing twisted Rouman's waist and smiled unexpectedly, "Queen Mother, Your Majesty believes in you, you don't have to worry too much." ”

The implication is that Song Mier is innocent, but there is only a reason why Shen Zhan believes it.

"Okay, Wen Lingyi, immediately start to investigate, Meng Xun, follow me to the Ren'an Palace," Shen Zhan finally spoke, "Zitong, I'll come to see you later, you have a good rest first, it's windy at night, just wait for me in the room, good." ”

After that, no matter what kind of affection the last word brought to the concubines, he left and left Xuande Palace.

Seeing that the matter had reached a conclusion for the time being, everyone also thought that Song Mier saluted and left. At the time of parting, Liu Shuxing and Concubine Xian looked at Ah Ran's corpse again with Concubine Xian, Lou Hengbo looked compassionate, Liu Shuxing looked around, but he didn't know what he was looking at.

It's almost dinner time. Shen Zhan and Meng Xun remained in the Ren'an Palace.

"You mean, the palace maid was moved after her death, and it was originally in the Imperial Garden?" Shen Zhan's voice sounded faintly in the empty Ren'an Palace, with some doubts, and it seemed to suppress something.

"That's right." Meng Xun sat on the chair and picked and chose the plate of exquisite cakes, and the corners of Bo Yin's lips in the dark were slightly touched, he really couldn't get used to Meng Xun's style, "I think, to be precise, the palace maid named Ah Ran did not die in the Imperial Garden, but died in the place where we were in front of the Dynasty and the Imperial Garden, eh, that is, if you want to hold a banquet in the Imperial Garden, those officials and ministers can go to the Imperial Garden directly from the Qianyuan Palace, isn't there two roads, one is to take the Eight Eyes Bridge, One is to take the path next to the bridge, and the palace maid is likely to have died near the path, at least where the murderer found her on the path. ”

"Why?" Shen Zhan frowned and squinted slightly.

"Didn't Lord Wen say just now, Ah Ran's fingernails have moss and mud, but I also found some other plant stumps on Ah Ran's soles and skirts, those plants are only found on the path under the Eight Eyes Bridge, and Ah Ran's clothes are also stained with the juice of the plant, a faint fishy smell, this smell produced by this plant is very unique, it is a milky white viscous secretion that will be produced when the plant feels external harm, containing trace amounts of toxicity, harmless to people, It is used to paralyze or smell away some large insects and birds that eat the stalks of this plant, and this kind of fishy mucus is not found in ordinary plants. As for the moss between Ah Ran's fingernails, it's even better to say, I've been to the rockery behind the Biwu Palace......"

"Huh?" Meng Xunzheng was speaking energetically, and Shen Zhan's voice floated from his head.

"Ahem, I mean, before the queen mother entered the palace, I used to go to the rockery cave of the Biwu Palace, Your Majesty, you also know how much I love to explore those undiscovered wild herbs, do you have any plants in your harem that can be used for medicine, I have to take advantage of the queen mother and the ladies to go and pick them before entering the palace."

Meng Xun smiled flatteringly.

"And then."

"Oh, and then, ah, I once looked at the rockery of the Biwu Palace, the back courtyard of the Biwu Hall imitates the basin shape of Shudong, the plain landform, and the hills are very few, not to mention the mountains. The back courtyard is a scene in Shudong, the rockeries are all shrunken hills, just three of them, all connected, extremely short, just enough for an adult woman of ordinary height to stand in, so she will ask the undersized Ah Ran to clean the rockery, because she can enter and exit flexibly inside. Therefore! Meng Xun snapped his fingers with his right hand, "That statement that Ah Ran died in the rockery is not valid at all, no matter whether the murderer is a man or a woman, if it is a woman of ordinary height, it is impossible for her to pinch Ah Ran above her shoulder and then strangle Ah Ran, because there is not much space, let alone a man." Moreover, the fragments of the plants on the soles of Ah Ran's shoes were clearly left by the constant kicking, and the fishy smell on the skirt also proved that Ah Ran had struggled or escaped on the path with the plants, so he would carry the mucus of those plants. ”

"Therefore, the minister suspects," Meng Xun's expression suddenly became stern, "that Ah Ran died near that path, and then he was taken to the palace of the queen mother, and he deliberately grabbed Ah Ran's hand and grabbed some moss to falsify evidence." If the queen really wants this palace maid to die, she can find a fair and honest reason, what is not good at serving, I don't understand the rules, I will be directly punished, and the little palace maid will be killed if she hits it a few more times, otherwise, this little palace maid is not a notable character, find a pool and tie a stone and throw it, it will be over, there is no need to spend so much effort, let alone kill people near the way your majesty must pass. ”

"So," Shen Zhan nodded, and continued, "This little palace maid must not have been killed by the queen, the queen has no motive, and the strip of cloth must have been deliberately framed by someone." The person who framed the queen may also be the murderer. ”

"Maybe, or maybe not, the minister boldly assumed, maybe it was the one who killed the palace maid and framed the queen, not the same person?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, the mark on the neck of the palace maid is very deep, which proves that the murderer is very strong, and the traces are strong and not chaotic, which proves that the murderer is not only powerful, but also unfazed and ruthless, and the imprint is the length of the tiger's mouth opened by an adult man, then the murderer is not a palace maid with great strength and big hands, or a man. Second, there is blood oozing from the back of the palace maid's head, but the blood is knocked out when moving within no more than an hour after the person's death, if the murderer moved, he will definitely not knock the back of the palace maid's head several times in a row, and move the corpse to the queen's palace, or, if the body is found in the queen's palace, and move it to the rockery, it must be a woman with little strength or a young waiter. The minister thinks that Xu is the little palace maid ran away to the vicinity of the Eight Eyes Bridge for fun, and inadvertently bumped into something that should not be seen, and was killed by someone, and the murderer almost bumped into someone when he destroyed the corpse and destroyed the traces, and ran away without dealing with it. ”