PFC Chapter 411 The Dragon Robe in the Dark Room
Chapter 411 The Dragon Robe in the Dark Room
Lu Shiya recalled the scene at that time. They had already determined from the scene where the body was found that the person who disposed of the body was a person with a walking disorder. If they had discovered it earlier, they could have apprehended the person in one fell swoop and would not have given him the opportunity to assassinate Qin Miaoxi.
"temperature."
Qin Miaoxi said softly, "His body is filled with maggots. During the day, the sunlight is warm and the maggots' activity allows him to walk normally, but at night the temperature drops sharply, and he loses his flexibility and walks with a limp."
Lu Shiya: "...Alright, that's enough."
Just hearing about it made her feel physically uncomfortable; her throat tightened, and she almost vomited.
She wasn't afraid to see corpses, but seeing such a disgusting scene was something she really couldn't handle. She sincerely admired Qin Miaoxi for witnessing the scene, but now she admitted: not everyone can be a coroner.
"Cough cough!" Lu Qingchen coughed a few times, his face full of fatigue.
Qin Miaoxi said to the group, "The young marquis is unwell, so we'll head back first. Wenzhu and Ziyan, keep a close eye on this place and make sure to find all the evidence."
Seeing this, Lu Shiya followed them and left.
The carriage swayed and wobbled towards the Marquis's residence. Inside, the two sat facing each other. Lu Qingchen secretly glanced at him again and again, her lips tightly pursed, looking as aggrieved as a little wife.
"Go ahead and ask! What do you want to ask?"
Qin Miaoxi sighed inwardly. She had long seen through his many questions and had been giving her meaningful glances to leave the princess's residence.
Lu Qingchen wiped the fatigue off his face and said, "Wife, why didn't you question the Third Princess about her relationship with the Mad Demon on the spot? She might be the mastermind behind the Mad Demon."
"The tragedies that have occurred over the years, involving more than a dozen court officials and a madman in the palace's secret chamber—do you think the Third Princess was responsible?"
"This……"
"First, we'll take people under control. When the time comes, everything will be settled naturally."
"But……"
Qin Miaoxi took his hand and gently placed her fingertips on his pulse.
The next second, the noise in the carriage seemed to vanish instantly, becoming so quiet that you could hear each other's breathing and Lu Qingchen's wildly pounding heart.
"His pulse is strong and powerful. Just to be safe, I should go find Xiao Yan."
Lu Qingchen's expression instantly hardened with resistance: "Do I really have to go?"
Qin Miaoxi raised an eyebrow and teased, "Is the young marquis afraid?"
"Afraid? Do you think I'm the kind of person who's afraid?"
"That's good. I'll have Xiao Yan increase the poison level for you and get rid of the Gu poison in your body as soon as possible."
Lu Qingchen: "..."
Is it too late to take back what I just said?
Back at the Marquis's residence, the two woke up the fast-sleeping Xiao Yan in the alchemy room.
"Senior, where is the antidote?"
"The antidote can't be made in a day or two, girl, don't be impatient." Xiao Yan yawned and looked up to see Lu Qingchen's disdainful gaze.
"What treasure has the young marquis acquired? He seems quite interested!"
"Of course, we've already caught the real culprit."
Xiao Yan casually replied with an "Oh," raising an eyebrow slightly, his eyes revealing undisguised disdain, as if to say: Is this even worth mentioning?
"What do you mean? The murderer is still Madman. Do you know Madman? He's number one on the wanted list."
Xiao Yan gave them a deep look. "Oh, you guys really have guts."
Lu Qingchen smugly hummed, "We even captured the leader of the Mad Demons! What's so scary about a princess?"
Xiao Yan paused slightly, "Who did you capture?"
"The Third Princess!"
Lu Qingchen sighed, "I never expected that the real culprit would be her. It's like finding a needle in a haystack, only to have it come to me without any effort."
Qin Miaoxi kept her eyes fixed on Xiao Yan. "What are your thoughts, Senior?"
Xiao Yan lowered his head and calmly put the Gu Insect Manual into his pocket, then placed a porcelain bottle in front of them.
"No, congratulations on solving the case. This is the antidote I made based on the Gu Insect Manual."
"Please wait, senior."
Qin Miaoxi blocked his way and said with great certainty, "If you didn't give your beast-attracting powder to the Third Princess, who did you give it to?"
His reaction and expression said it all.
Xiao Yan's old face held a half-smile. "Who it is doesn't matter. The most important thing is that the Third Princess is the murderer, isn't it?"
His question gave Qin Miaoxi a disorienting feeling that the real culprit he knew was not the same person as the one she had caught.
The atmosphere was tense for a moment, but it was eventually broken by the yamen runners from the Ministry of Justice.
The man, pale-faced, reported, "My lord, we have found something."
"What did you find?"
"My lord, it would be best if you went to see for yourself."
The group hurried to the Third Princess's residence, where yamen runners were guarding one of the rooms. "Sir, the secret room is inside."
Shao Kun frowned and strode inside.
The supposedly dark room was resplendent with gold and jade. Fist-sized pearls were inlaid on the walls to provide illumination. A large chest made of Phoebe zhennan wood was wide open, filled with ancient books by famous authors and rare treasures. Gold and silver jewelry were casually piled in the corner, the most inconspicuous items in the room.
As they passed through layers of wooden crates and wondrous treasures, everyone's pupils contracted, and they stared in horror ahead.
It was a dragon robe, the length and waist of which were in the style of a woman's robe, with a five-clawed golden dragon soaring into the sky, displaying its majesty.
"The Third Princess is planning a rebellion!"
Shao Kun was shocked. This matter was of great importance. He immediately ordered his men to guard the area and prevent anyone from entering. He then went to the palace to report the incident himself.
Qin Miaoxi was drawn to the curtain behind the dragon robe, where a figure could be vaguely seen in the dim light.
"Who's there?"
Lu Qingchen, who was beside her, immediately stepped in front of her defensively, saying, "Don't move, I'll go check."
"Do not……"
Before Qin Miaoxi could finish speaking, he stepped forward and pulled back the curtain, revealing five little girls hidden behind it.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
They stood leaning against the wall, as if asleep, their messy black hair obscuring their eyes, giving them a somewhat eerie appearance.
They remained unmoved by Lu Qingchen's questioning.
"say!"
Silence met him again. A sense of doubt arose in his heart. He used his knife to push aside the messy hair and gasped. He quickly pushed aside the hair of the other four girls, revealing their empty eye sockets.
"It's a mannequin."
His dark, piercing eyes stared straight at the direction of the dragon robe, and his whole body exuded an eerie chill that sent shivers down one's spine if one got even slightly closer.
"These five mannequins represent the five murdered girls, right?"
"Judging from their height, that is indeed the case."
Qin Miaoxi remained noncommittal, then stepped forward and gently touched the girl's skin. Instantly, her hair stood on end, and her fingertips turned icy cold.
She said in a deep voice, "The surface of my family members' bodies is real human skin, but inside they are human figures made of clay."
Lu Qingchen felt a chill run down her spine. "Is the Third Princess a pervert? How could she do something so cruel?"
"To become more beautiful."
Qin Miaoxi pondered and said, "I once read in a book that there is a kind of evil magic in the outer regions. By consuming the blood of young girls, making a hole in their heads and pouring mercury in, you can remove their complete skin. Then, you can make them into clay dolls and keep them for a hundred days to keep them young forever."
No wonder only the girl's skeleton remained in the end; everything makes sense now.
"How did she find these girls?"
"The Third Princess only began to pursue beauty after being rejected by the young masters. The reason she was rejected was Princess Xinglan. Judging from the fact that she sent her steward to investigate the Princess's mansion, everything was premeditated, with the aim of framing the Princess and achieving her own needs."
Lu Qingchen sneered, "Heh, the Third Princess is obsessed with beauty. She even keeps lip rouge in her secret room. She's truly bewitched."
Qin Miaoxi glanced at it out of the corner of her eye and said solemnly, "I advise you not to touch it. It's made from corpse oil."
Lu Qingchen shuddered and threw the porcelain jar away, "Corpse...corpse oil?"