PFC Chapter 73 Who is the murderer?
Chapter 73 Who is the murderer?
Wang Ziteng, Feng Tang, and the others were unaware that a huge black pot had been placed on their heads. At that moment, they were squatting on the ground, groping around inch by inch, holding lanterns and torches.
Liu Feng also arrived, holding a torch, his eyes scanning the grass beside the official road, carefully searching for any possible murder weapon.
Emperor Yankang was right; there were indeed other hidden reasons behind the Prince of Jin's death.
The emperor's son died, supposedly from a fall from his horse during his escape. But no one dared to gamble, fearing that the emperor's anger would cloud his judgment and implicate them.
Prince Teng not only had the army doctor carefully examine the body of the Prince of Jin, but also the warhorse that had been killed in the collision. After working for a long time, they found nothing unusual.
Wang Ziteng refused to believe in superstition and decided to have his stomach cut open!
Of course, the prince's body was not to be touched under any circumstances. Prince Teng ordered his men to dismember the horse, just like a criminal being subjected to slow slicing, cutting off pieces of flesh one by one. He actually found something suspicious, discovering needle marks on the horse's neck, which had been smashed to pieces.
Once the needle-shaped hidden weapon is found, it will be confirmed that someone ambushed the Prince of Jin's horse, causing it to go berserk and resulting in the Prince of Jin falling from his horse and dying tragically.
Therefore, all officials of the fifth rank and above were mobilized, each responsible for a specific area, to search for the hidden weapon.
Prince Teng interrogated the imperial guards around the Prince of Jin, and they all said they hadn't heard the sound of the crossbows being pulled. From this, he concluded that the weapon used in the attack must have been a hidden arrow.
This type of concealed weapon, strapped to the wrist, is extremely well-hidden and makes almost no noise when fired. At close range, it could easily pierce a horse's neck. Furthermore, the arrow struck the weakest point of the horse's neck muscles, indicating that the assassin was not only near the Prince of Jin but also extremely familiar with his warhorse.
If it were an ordinary person, they could simply be interrogated with severe torture.
At that time, those around the Prince of Jin were either the emperor's uncle or his son, along with their trusted followers. Without concrete evidence, relying solely on speculation, no one dared to arbitrarily torture anyone.
Even in his anger, Wang Ziteng only dared to imprison his disciples.
"Found it!"
Liu Feng suddenly stood up. He was Xie Jing, a guerrilla general of the Beijing garrison, from the prestigious Dingcheng Marquis family, and currently held the title of Second-Class Baron.
Wang Ziteng rushed forward, snatched the weapon, and shouted excitedly, "It's a hidden dart! It's a hidden dart!"
Liu Feng followed the others forward, staring at the blood-stained short arrow for a while before frowning. The arrow's design was exactly the same as the bolts used by the Imperial Guards' folding crossbows. Was it a coincidence?
At this moment, Li Mu suddenly let out a soft exclamation and said, "Strange, why do these hidden darts look exactly like the bolts from the iron-backed crossbows used by the border scouts?"
Wang Ziteng, Feng Tang, and the others were all taken aback upon hearing this.
Liu Feng understood that this was not a coincidence and told them about the folding crossbow.
Everyone's faces turned grim. Both types of military crossbows had a range of over ten paces, making it entirely possible for them to launch a sneak attack on the Prince of Jin from either side of the official road.
The murderer had clearly planned this all along, deliberately stirring up trouble and dragging both the Imperial Guards and the border troops into the mess!
"Could they be Tartars?" a general from the Fifth Army Battalion suddenly asked.
Everyone looked at him, understanding his thoughts, but would the emperor believe him?
The officer added, "It's better than purging our own people and becoming suspicious of each other."
Another officer from the Fifth Army Battalion chimed in, "While the probability of this happening is low, it's not entirely impossible."
Feng Tang: "Why don't we submit this proposal first and see how it goes?"
Wang Ziteng pondered for a moment, then finally nodded: "Alright. However, this matter is of great importance, and everyone present must sign and affix their fingerprints to share the responsibility."
The generals of the Beijing garrison readily agreed.
Seeing that Liu Feng and Li Mu had not expressed their opinions, Wang Ziteng looked over.
Li Mu then looked at Liu Feng, waiting for him to make a statement.
Liu Feng was silent for a moment, then said, "I am a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and I must avoid suspicion."
Li Mu immediately replied, "I am a border soldier, and I should also avoid suspicion."
Knowing that the two were indeed in trouble, Wang Ziteng didn't insist: "Let's go back to the camp!"
......................
Wang Ziteng's large tent was transformed into a mourning hall for the body, complete with all kinds of funeral supplies.
The King of Wu squatted beside the brazier, constantly adding paper money to the fire, the firelight making his face appear flushed. His eyes were glazed over as he stared blankly at the flames, lost in thought.
The King of Lu and the King of Yong sat with their backs to the coffin, both with their eyes closed. One seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep, while the other murmured incantations, reciting scriptures in a low voice.
"Is there really such a thing as karmic retribution in this world?" King Lu suddenly asked.
The chanting stopped, and King Yong slowly opened his eyes. He didn't look at King Lu, but instead looked at King Wu, who was burning paper money.
King Lu added, "I've heard that although this person is gone, his soul hasn't left; it wanders in the place where he was before he died..."
As luck would have it, just then a cold wind swept in from outside the tent, and the paper money in the brazier suddenly burst into flames of a few eerie green.
Prince Yong trembled with fear.
The King of Wu seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, and without turning his head, he said, "If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear from ghosts knocking at your door at night."
Prince Yong's face flushed instantly, and he stubbornly retorted, "Who, who's scared! My second brother and I have always been close. Even if he really comes back, he won't frighten me..."
"That's good. I'll leave the night watch to you." King Wu said.
"Me? No, no..." Prince Yong hurriedly waved his hand.
The Prince of Lu finally opened his eyes and said, "Why make things difficult for my fourth brother, elder brother? He has been timid since he was a child, and he usually eats vegetarian food and chants Buddhist scriptures to bolster his courage."
At this moment, the King of Wu stood up and slowly turned around: "Was the death of my second son truly an accident?"
Neither the King of Lu nor the King of Yong spoke.
Before the King of Wu could say anything more, a royal guard officer rushed in, shouting, "Found it! The murder weapon has been found!"
King Lu and King Yong stood up together and asked urgently, "What do you mean?"
The officer said, "After examining and deducing the facts together, the generals concluded that this was the work of the Tartars."
"How could they be Tartars?" Prince Lu asked, his voice filled with resentment.
The King of Wu and the King of Yong remained silent, staring at the general.
The general replied, "Well, I don't know..."
The King of Wu waved his hand: "Go down."
"Yes." The officer bowed and withdrew.
Silence fell inside the tent.
After a long silence, King Wu broke the silence: "You two should burn some paper money for the second son. I'll go back to my tent to change my clothes." With that, he walked straight out.
Watching the King of Wu's figure disappear, the King of Yong blinked, then turned somewhat embarrassed to the King of Lu: "Third Brother, I drank too much water..."
The King of Lu waved his hand: "Go quickly and come back quickly."
"Thank you, Third Brother, I'll be right back." Prince Yong tucked his legs together and scurried out of the tent.
Prince Lu turned and squatted down in front of the brazier. He picked up a piece of paper money, lit it, and threw it into the fire. He sighed softly, "They say the imperial family is the most ruthless, but in the end, even family members can't escape killing each other. Second brother, please don't be born into an imperial family in your next life, it's exhausting!"
Outside the main tent, Liu Feng stood in the shadows, watching the fourth brother's figure disappear into the night. Who was the murderer? The King of Wu, or the King of Yong?
......................
Two days have passed in the blink of an eye.
For the past few days, everyone has done nothing but wait for the emperor's decree. They watched helplessly as the Tartars, carrying with them looted money, goods, and generations of Shanxi merchants' businesses, calmly headed north and crossed the border.
Finally, King Chungshun, the Kipchak minister, arrived at the camp under the protection of the Imperial Guard cavalry.
Prince Chungshun, holding the imperial edict, walked to the front of the crowd and slowly unfurled it: "Imperial Edict..."