It was a palace maid who died. The body of the palace maid was found in the lotus pond of the Imperial Garden.

This is one of the most remote lotus ponds in the Imperial Garden, and it is rarely passed by. Due to the lack of care, the water in the pond is muddy all year round, and if it weren't for last night's heavy rain, I believe the body would not have been found so quickly.

For the palace, the death of one or two palace maids is not a matter at all, but the death of this palace maid caused an uproar, making the women in the palace panic, and also making Emperor Mingde, who had just recovered some of his spirit, so shocked that he almost fainted again.

Because the death of this palace maid is too cruel and terrifying.

She was dressed in rags, her entire head had been cut off to the neck, and her head was missing, and four crooked blood-red characters were engraved on her chest: Give me my life.

This clearly shows that someone is maliciously killing in a vain attempt to create chaos and make the people in the palace uneasy.

Emperor Mingde was furious and ordered the case to be handed over to the Criminal Department for thorough investigation.

Dong Runnian, the secretary of the Criminal Department, is already a veteran of the Three Dynasties, and just a few days ago he submitted a request to the imperial court to return to his hometown, and the popular candidate for the next secretary of the Criminal Department is undoubtedly Lu Ziqing, the current servant of the Criminal Department. Because during this period of time, Dong Runnian has gradually taken a back seat, not too involved in the affairs of the Criminal Department, and Lu Ziqing is solely responsible for everything.

When Lu Ziqing received this case, his handsome face, which had always been dark, was even more ugly.

Not long after I rushed back from Wuji Island day and night, the backlog of documents in the Criminal Department was like a hill, and I couldn't breathe. Dong Runnian, the old fox, is now a hands-off shopkeeper and doesn't care about these things at all, so he has been working overtime every day these days, and he is in a bad mood.

It's good now, he even has to take care of such a thing as the death of a palace maid in the palace, is he not busy enough? Are the old immortals in Dali Temple all doing things for nothing?

Moreover, the murder occurred in the inner garden of the palace where the female dependents lived, and the officials of the criminal department were all big men, so it must have been inconvenient and troublesome when investigating the case.

And he is really afraid of trouble.

Inside the Imperial Palace.

Since Emperor Mingde's health had not yet recovered, he issued an edict and handed over the matter to the eldest prince Meng Tianluo.

Lu Ziqing stood in the center of the hall with his head down, and raised his concerns to the eldest prince Meng Tianluo on the grounds that the officials of the Criminal Department were all men and it was inconvenient to enter the harem to investigate the case.

In fact, he originally wanted to say that it was best not to hand over this matter to the Criminal Department, isn't there still Dali Temple, Dali Temple Qing is in a panic, he has to find something to do, otherwise I'm sorry for the white silver he takes every month.

Meng Tianluo thought for a moment after hearing this, his eyes flashed, and he said unhurriedly: "Lord Lu's concerns are not unreasonable. It is indeed inconvenient for this criminal department to go in and out of the harem. In this way, this king heard that Princess Xuan in the future is knowledgeable and intelligent, and the people of the capital are rumored to be omnipotent, and she happens to be in the palace at this time, so why don't you let her help Lord Lu, how about it? ”

How could Shen Qianmo be in the palace? Lu Ziqing was stunned for a moment. To have her help, of course, I can't ask for it. It's just King Xuan's side......

Thinking of King Xuan's almost perverted desire for protection and exclusivity towards Shen Qianmo, he wasn't sure if Meng Yuanheng would agree to let his future princess meddle in the messy things of the palace's inner garden.

"What, is Lord Lu worried that King Xuan will disagree?" Meng Tianluo seemed to see Lu Ziqing's concerns, smiled gloomily, and said, "Lord Lu, don't worry, this king will go to the emperor to ask for an order, and King Xuan will not disobey the order." ”

However, who is Meng Yuanheng, of course he will do it if he does not obey the order. After learning of Meng Tianluo's intentions, he didn't say a word, and immediately sent someone to send Shen Qianmo, who was still waiting for Emperor Mingde to be summoned in the side hall of Funing Palace, out of the palace.

What are you kidding, his Mo'er is not used to serve as a servant for your criminal department.

However, the people sent by Meng Tianluo to announce the decree ran all the way, stopped Shen Qianmo in the middle of the road, and read out the holy decree of Emperor Mingde on the spot.

The eunuch who announced the decree held the bright yellow decree in his hand, read the content of the decree in his characteristic sharp voice, and then said condescendingly to Shen Qianmo, who was kneeling on the ground: "Miss Shen, take the decree." ”

After listening to a large number of obscure ancient texts, Shen Qianmo finally figured out what Emperor Mingde meant, and it turned out that she was asking her to assist the Criminal Department in investigating the murder of the palace maid that happened in the palace today.

She couldn't help but sigh. It's a good human saying, you have to make it so complicated, old emperor, you are really enough! also said that she was knowledgeable and intelligent, and there was no need to say such a high-sounding scene.

She also knew why Meng Yuanheng was suddenly in a hurry to send her out of the palace, he definitely didn't want her to get involved in the messy things in the harem.

But looking at the holy decree handed to her, she felt as if she no longer had the right to choose.

So he had to turn back to the palace again and was taken to the Qinzheng Palace to see Meng Tianluo.

Meng Tianluo saw Shen Qianmo go and return, and a little smile rarely appeared on his gloomy face. It was a smug smile.

Hmph, Meng Yuanheng wanted to fight with him, but he was a little tender!

It turned out to be the ghost of this King Luo. Seeing his sinister appearance when he smiled, Shen Qianmo secretly scolded shamelessly.

This Meng Tianluo wants to embarrass himself from time to time, and he should be here to target Meng Yuanheng. Could it be that he has any grievances with Meng Yuanheng?

"This king is here to introduce Princess Xuan in the future, this is Lord Lu, the squire of the Criminal Department." Meng Tianluo's gloomy and hoarse voice sounded in the hall.

Shen Qianmo glanced at Lu Ziqing and saw that he was also looking at himself, so he saluted him and said, "I've seen Lord Lu." ”

In front of Meng Tianluo, she thought it was better to pretend not to know Lu Ziqing.

Lu Ziqing is not stupid, so he naturally knows how to answer, so he bowed to her and said, "In Xia Lu Ziqing, I have long admired the name of Princess Xuan." ”

Now the streets of Shengjing City are full of rumors about how Princess Xuan is omnipotent, isn't it a long-standing admiration. The corners of Shen Qianmo's mouth twitched, feeling very helpless.

Meng Tianluo didn't know the interaction between the two, he stood up and said to the two: "Presumably Princess Xuan in the future also knows the reason why this king invited you here, without further ado, let's go to the scene of the crime to have a look." ”

The crime scene was a remote lotus pond north of the Imperial Garden. Shen Qianmo followed Lu Ziqing to the scene.

The Imperial Forest Army has surrounded the scene for several miles, and unrelated personnel are not allowed to enter and exit at will.

Shen Qianmo followed Meng Tianluo and Lu Ziqing into the encirclement of the Imperial Forest Army, and the soldiers of the Royal Forest Army were all dumbfounded.

How could this flower-like beauty enter such a filthy and filthy place? It is said that the body of the palace maid is extremely terrifying, and even they dare not look closely, this big beauty should not faint in fright.

Of course, Shen Qianmo didn't notice the surprised expressions of these sergeants, as soon as she walked into the scene of the crime, she turned on the work mode, and her whole person exuded a strange look.

How long has it been since an autopsy? She felt like her scalpel was rusting.

The body of the maid was placed on the bank of the lotus pond and covered with a white cloth.

Shen Qianmo approached the corpse and squatted down to lift the white cloth covering it. A strong smell of blood came to her face, Shen Qianmo couldn't help frowning, and scolded Meng Tianluo secretly in her heart.

It's not too early to ask her to help investigate the case, at least she can prepare, and bring a pair of masks and gloves.

Just as he was thinking about it, he handed over a pair of white cotton masks next to him. When she looked up, it was Lu Ziqing's unnatural expression.

She raised an eyebrow, not politely, and bowed to his only jaw, which she put in her face.

This Lu Ziqing seems to be a bit of a good way? Even such small things are taken into account. Yes, the children can be taught.

Wearing her mask, she continued to examine the body.

Because of the soaking in the lotus pond, the corpse was slightly swollen, and the death was indeed terrifying. The entire head was cut off along the neck, and on the unclothed chest, four bloody characters were engraved: Give me my life. Under the imprint of fair skin, it looks particularly shocking.

Lu Ziqing has always thought that he is brave, but when he saw the corpse in front of him, he still felt a chill in his heart. He couldn't help but look at Shen Qianmo, whose eyebrows were slightly closed, and looked at the corpse without turning his eyes.

Is this Shen Qianmo a woman or not, no, is she a person!

And Meng Tianluo, since he smelled the smell of blood, retreated far away from the encirclement of the Imperial Forest Army. Seeing Shen Qianmo squatting next to the corpse with a concentrated expression, her whole body exuded a striking light for no reason. His heart suddenly chuckled, and his heartbeat skipped a beat for no reason.

Because she didn't wear gloves, Shen Qianmo didn't rummage around the corpse at will.

"Preliminary inspection, the time of death should be around today's ugly hour, the deceased's head was cut with a sharp object, and the words on her chest should be pierced with an embroidery needle or a silver needle or other tools. But the cause of the deceased's death, as well as whether her head was cut before or after death, and whether these words were stabbed before or after death, will not be known until further autopsy. ”

Shen Qianmo stood up, took off her mask, and told Lu Ziqing what she had discovered.

Lu Ziqing nodded, and ordered the people of the Criminal Department to transport the body to the morgue of the Criminal Department and wait for Shen Qianmo to perform further autopsy.

turned around and found that Shen Qianmo had already started a careful search along the lotus pond, so he also followed.

"Lord Lu, has you found out the identity of this palace maid?" Shen Qianmo asked Lu Ziqing while carefully inspecting the footprints by the pool and the surrounding grass and trees.

Lu Ziqing shook his head, "Since the head has not been found yet, and there are too many palace maids in the palace, it has not been found for the time being." ”

The footprints by the pool were a little messy, probably because the Imperial Forest Army salvaged the corpse just now, the two slowly turned around along the poolside, and on a branch with lush flowers and trees, Shen Qianmo found a small piece of black cloth.

After Lu Ziqing looked at it carefully, he said, "It should be a night clothes." ”

"Hmm." Shen Qianmo nodded in agreement.

However, at that moment, Shen Qianmo seemed to smell a vague aroma.