Chapter Five: The Killer's Color

  She knew that with Da Fei's rise to power, storms would never cease!

  Just as the grand feast was about to come to a close, a murder case suddenly emerged, and this wonderful banquet was like a midnight bloom of the Queen of the Night flower - it should have been the most resplendent moment, but instead it withered!

  After listening to the eunuch's report, she learned that the deceased was murdered, and it was precisely Qi Shi Bo Hua. Geshu Wu Luan was suddenly stunned. Before the banquet, she had gone to find him and reminded him not to let his beautiful dreams turn into nightmares. Unexpectedly, she had hit the nail on the head! A sense of foreboding instantly rose in her heart!

  At the moment, the night banquet was hastily concluded, and all officials took their families and left the palace in a hurry. Only the foreign minister Tie Li and Yan Qi were left to stay behind and investigate the scene.

  The eunuch in charge of the imperial guards dispatched a team to escort the emperor back to his palace, but unexpectedly, he was angrily dismissed by the crown prince. "I'd like to see who has the audacity to commit murder in front of the emperor and lead the way!"

  Daijun, Taifei, Gongzi Shu, Tie Li, Yan Qi Sha, Ge Shu Wu Luan, and the palace guards arrived at the scene of the crime with a group of people from the inner palace.

  As soon as I entered the Bao Yi Temple, a strong smell of blood rushed towards me. Looking inside, the dark red color covered the entire floor, and under the light of the palace lanterns, it was extremely eye-catching.

  The chess master Bai Hua lay quietly in the pool of blood, with a deep sword wound visible on his chest. His white shirt was stained with crimson, and his stiff arms hung at his sides, palms open. His handsome face had turned pale with a hint of gray, clearly having been dead for some time. His eyes were open, with dried blood stuck to the corner of his slightly parted lips, and the curve of his mouth seemed to be holding a faint, elusive smile.

  A blood-stained sharp blade lay quietly on the ground not far from his side.

  At this sight, Gongzi Xiu let out a loud cry and rushed into Geshu Wurou's arms. His head just reached her chest, and the force of his rush caused her to feel a sharp pain in her chest, and she couldn't help but hum a sound.

  Ge Shu's face stiffened for a moment, and then a faint blush rose to her cheeks. She gently pushed away the distance between them, slightly furrowed her brow, and endured the suffocating pain in her chest. As she glanced around, everyone's attention was focused on the corpse on the ground, except for Yan Qi's gaze, which swept towards her with a hint of a smile on his handsome face.

  With just one glance, her beautiful face suddenly turned cold and stern, her eyes gradually becoming sharp, she withdrew her gaze, stroked Su'er's shoulder, and said in a soft voice: "If Your Highness is afraid, I'll have someone escort you back to the palace, alright?"

  Before coming, the Grand Master had someone send him back to the palace. After all, he was just a child and shouldn't have seen this bloody scene. However, he refused to leave and insisted on following, saying that he could come too. It's understandable, after all, Bai Hua was his chess master, although he had only been teaching him for three months, but the child was extremely respectful of his teacher.

  The young master was trembling with fear, his handsome face deathly pale, clearly having been frightened out of his wits. Yet, he bit his lip and shook his head stubbornly.

  At this time, Taikun suddenly spoke up and said: "Have you found any suspicious points?"

  His iron-green complexion showed that he was extremely furious at this moment, and the queen lightly patted his hand, with amber-like eyes casting a soothing gaze.

  Only to see the iron rake surrounding the hall, stepped in front of the body and whispered a few words with the coroner, then bowed down to examine the body, and after that, he stood up straight and said loudly: "Report to the king, after the coroner's examination, it is known that the fatal wound of the chess master was caused by this long sword on the ground. From the time of the murder to now, it has been about two hours! I have just scanned the hall for a week, and found that several palace windows are closed, inserted from the inside, and there is no side door in this hall, only one exit, so the murderer can only escape from the front door of the hall. As long as we investigate who has entered this palace, it will not be difficult to find out the murderer! Moreover, there was no sign of struggle at the scene, and from his open palms and facial expression, it is clear that he was unguarded, and even had no time to struggle before being killed by a sword. This shows that the chess master and the murderer knew each other, and can even be said to be familiar!"

  Tie Duozuo reported the results of the investigation one by one, and carefully explained his own views. As he spoke, his eyes seemed to be hinting at something as they swept towards Gesu Wujuan.

  Ge Shu Wu Luan's anger surged up at this moment, his whole body emitting a cold and stern aura, his eyes like a sharp knife scraping against bone.

  His words had a hidden meaning, and the spearhead was clearly pointing at her. What an iron plow he was! He was always against her in every way, and wouldn't let go until he had bitten her to death!

  Although angry in his heart, his face remained calm as usual.

  Intelligent as the Grand Empress Dowager was, how could she not understand the meaning of Tie Li? She only saw her casting a trusting glance at Gesu Wuji, which undoubtedly gave her great comfort.

  The Grand Duke seemed to ignore Tie Li's words and coldly called out: "Summon the officer in charge of guarding the palace."

  The attendant received the order and left, and a moment later, the patrol officer walked in with big strides. Just as he was about to salute, he saw Da Jun raise his hand to interrupt, "Who came to Bao Yan Hall before Mr. Bo's death?"

  Because Bai Hua is an outer minister, he cannot stay in the inner palace. In the past, when it was not his turn, he would leave as soon as he arrived. The lessons with Gongzi were always on single days, but today is a double day, and he wouldn't normally enter the palace. However, coincidentally, today happens to be the day of the imperial banquet, where the emperor has ordered all officials to gather at the royal palace. Bai Hua was naturally among those invited, but he didn't expect that he would meet his demise!

  "Returning to the palace, everyone is busy preparing for the grand ceremony of Empress Dowager's enthronement. Most of the palace guards and female attendants have been dispatched to the Imperial Garden, so it's a bit more deserted than usual here, which is why no one noticed anyone else coming by... except..." The eunuch trailed off abruptly, casting a hesitant glance at Ge Shu Wu Luan, who narrowed her eyes coldly. He quickly lowered his eyelids.

  The grand lord's face turned stern and he shouted: "Continue!"

  "About two hours ago, I inspected the female palace attendants and the imperial guards when they were changing shifts. I found that Geshu Dahan hastily walked out of the palace."

  As soon as this remark came out, it undoubtedly poured the dirty water in the basin towards Geshu Wuluan, making her suspicion infinitely magnified. In an instant, the whole scene was quiet enough to hear a needle drop, and everyone's eyes slowly floated towards Geshu Wuluan.

  That's right, the patrol officer saw her leave at the same time as when she came to find Bo Hua, and she chose to come to him before the banquet because she was afraid that he would mention the marriage again during the banquet. At that time, even if the empress dowager refused again, the emperor might not have gone against his face, so she wanted to intimidate him and make him give up the idea!

  However, unexpectedly, he was killed by someone as soon as she left. Is there such a coincidence in the world? Why did the murderer not kill him earlier or later, but chose to do so after she had been to see him? The timing is so tight, what hidden story is behind this?

  Digression

  Note: Female palace attendant = female guard!