Chapter 1405: Thirty-Eighth Year of Yuanfeng Narration

Jiang Wang remained silent for a while, recalling the Marquis who was stripped naked and whipped until he could barely stand at the grand ceremony. Only then did he fully absorb this news, and then asked, "Does Lord Wu mean... it was Tian Xili who acted back then? How dare he?"

Lin Youxie did not answer directly, but instead explained, "Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow is not a naturally occurring poison; it doesn't even count as one. It was first refined because of a Daoist technique called Three-Nine Winter Cicada. This technique is powerful and strange, and the cultivation process is extremely difficult, with only one in ten thousand cultivators being able to master it. But with Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow as an aid, it can be achieved quickly."

Jiang Wang thought to himself, this is similar to how Secret Arts relate to Immortal Arts.

Lin Youxie continued, "The process of making Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow requires the tip blood of nine infants with vastly different Fates, the brow blood of nine young girls with widely varying temperaments, the heart blood of nine adults from different professions, and the soul essence of nine types of living beings, all melted together using the secret method of Three-Nine Winter Cicada... In the end, it will form a single snowflake. Because the possible combinations of its ingredients exceed ten thousand and cannot be calculated, it is named Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow."

"Later, it was discovered that even without being used for cultivating Three-Nine Winter Cicada, Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow itself, once it comes into contact with human blood, immediately injects a cold poison into the life force, leaving no chance for rescue. Only then was it regarded as a poison, and it ranks among the most potent poisons in the world. Each person's refined product is different."

"After Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow contacts human blood, one can only be saved if the antidote specifically formulated for that particular Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow is consumed within three breaths. But even if one recognizes Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow, who can concoct the appropriate antidote within three breaths? If one doesn't know which nine Fates, which nine temperaments, which nine professions, which nine living beings were used, it's impossible to resolve this cold poison... Besides the refiner of the Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow, who else could know?"

"Therefore, Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow is almost impossible to cure, and at the same time, each dose in the world is unique."

"At the precipice of life and death, the things that can be left behind are very limited. I believe the clue left by Old Master Wu indicates that he found Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow in Tian Xili's possession that perfectly matched the Empress Lei case. Or perhaps, he finally found evidence confirming that Tian Xili was the one who made that specific Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow." Lin Youxie said, "And this is probably the reason he died."

Hearing this, Jiang Wang couldn't help but think of the painting of sentient beings in the Palace of Longevity again.

Was the observation of the myriad states of sentient beings in the mural also Jiang Wuqi's analysis of the cold poison on his own body?

Had that Eleventh Prince also been observing which people's fingertip blood, brow blood, heart blood... had been refined into the cold poison he was born with?

Perhaps the cold poison in his life force was truly incurable, but even if it could be slightly alleviated, giving him a little more time before breaking through to the Cave Realm, perhaps there could have been a different outcome...

Jiang Wang sighed, "Presumably, even if there was any evidence of Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow, it has been destroyed by now, right?"

"Naturally." Lin Youxie said.

Originally, if that evidence had been in hand, they could have used the unique characteristic of Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow to definitively implicate Tian Xili. But now the evidence is completely gone, and Wu Lie is dead...

In cases like this, the hardest part is not investigating. In terms of investigation ability alone, there are only a handful of people in the world who can compare to Wu Lie. But the difficulty in this case lies in the people they must face, in that shadow that swallows everything.

Even knowing that it should be a bright and sunny day outside at this moment, he still felt a long and endless night, with no end in sight.

"Things are as they are." Jiang Wang roused his spirits and said, "We already know that the assassin back then was related to the Tian Clan of Daze. In any case, we have a clear direction and a locked target. We will investigate slowly, and they will eventually reveal their flaws."

"Not quite." Lin Youxie shook her head, however. "The person who entered the palace to assassinate Empress Lei back then was not from the Tian Clan of Daze."

"Not from the Tian Clan of Daze?" Jiang Wang felt a bit confused.

Lin Youxie said seriously, "The Tian Clan of Daze should have provided the Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow, but the person who actually carried out the act was unrelated to them."

"Wait, you mean that the assassination of Empress Lei back then was the result of collaboration between several parties?" Jiang Wang said sharply, "How could they divide such a major matter, one that could lead to the ruin of their families if they were not careful, into several groups? This is illogical and certainly not a smart choice."

From the perspective of the perpetrator, for a major event like assassinating Empress Lei, the fewer people involved, the better, and the simpler the process, the better. One more person means one more risk of information leakage. One more step means one more possibility of exposure.

"This is also something that puzzles me." Lin Youxie said, "But the evidence we have is precisely this, and evidence does not lie."

Jiang Wang pressed his forehead. "No... If the person who entered the palace to assassinate Empress Lei back then was unrelated to the Tian Clan of Daze, then why did Senior Wu Lie investigate the Tian family for so many years?"

"Because of my father." Lin Youxie said, "When my father was investigating the assassination of Empress Lei back then, he personally arrested a person. It was later proven that he had arrested the wrong person, but that person had already died in prison. The Northern Garrison therefore suffered immense pressure, and then... came the news of my father's 'suicide out of fear of responsibility'."

"The person my father arrested was named Tian Fen, a member of the Tian Clan of Daze. At that time, he was the deputy commander of the Northern Gate of the Imperial City Guard, responsible for the security of the nine city gates north of Linzi. When the Empress Lei assassination case occurred, he was drinking in a brothel. After subsequent investigation, it was proven that he was completely not present, completely unrelated to the Empress Lei case, and completely innocent..."

How could such an innocent person die in prison?

Jiang Wang said, "Everyone else said your father arrested the wrong person and thus committed suicide out of fear of responsibility. But Senior Wu Lie did not believe he would commit suicide out of fear of responsibility, nor did he believe he had arrested the wrong person... So for so many years, he has not given up on the investigation of the Tian family?"

"Now the clue of Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow explains everything." Lin Youxie said seriously, "My father definitely did not arrest the wrong person back then, it's just that the evidence at the time was suppressed."

Looking at Lin Youxie's determined expression, Jiang Wang suddenly remembered that back overseas, there was a time when Lin Youxie lost control of her emotions, precisely because he had questioned whether she never made mistakes in arrests...

So there was such a story behind it.

For so many years that Lin Kuang had been discredited, she had worked tirelessly to investigate and solve cases, never caring about danger, and it was all just to rebuild the reputation of the Azure Badge family... She did not want to "arrest the wrong person" again.

"I still haven't figured it out." Jiang Wang said slowly, "Since you are certain that the Tian family has issues, why do you insist that the assassin is unrelated to the Tian Clan of Daze?"

"After my father's death, the case was shelved. Old Master Wu tried to reopen the investigation several times but was refused and could only resign from his official position. During that time, he went into hiding and visited many places..."

Lin Youxie said, "Old Master Wu discovered that the assassin who killed Empress Lei had appeared in the same tavern as He Fu before the incident. Of course, no one saw them interact. But this itself already constitutes a clue."

"Uncle He, the State Tutor?" Jiang Wang said, "So you were certain then that the current Empress was the real culprit?"

"No." Lin Youxie shook her head. "You don't understand He Fu. This person's abilities are mediocre, and he is completely incapable of orchestrating such a major event. The only time that assassin appeared in public was when he was in the same tavern as He Fu... it was clearly a frame-up. So it was precisely at that time that Old Master Wu eliminated the current Empress from the list of suspects."

"Who would have thought?" Her expression was somewhat bitter. "The target Old Master Wu initially suspected was the current Empress, because there are not many people who can destroy all clues in the Imperial Palace. Later, after analysis and investigation, he believed it was not her and eliminated her. Until this time when Feng Gu used suicide to emphasize to us again... that the mastermind is the Empress."

Jiang Wang pondered, "The assassin appearing in the same tavern as He Fu might have been precisely a diversionary tactic by the current Empress. It was to use He Fu's foolishness to make people think it was a frame-up, thus clearing the Empress of her own suspicion."

"Looking back now, of course, that possibility exists..." Lin Youxie said, "But Old Master Wu could only investigate alone at the time..."

"The assassin who killed Empress Lei was a person without a name or origin, and no background could be found. Moreover, he died on the spot, making it even more impossible to trace.

But this itself is also a clue.

Before taking action, other than that one time in the tavern, the assassin had no contact with anyone and left no trace in the world.

This is not something that ordinary forces can cultivate.

They must be hidden agents raised by powerful aristocratic families or strong sect forces.

Of course, there are many forces in the world that can meet this requirement, but narrowing it down to the Eastern Region, or even Qi, there are not many left."

Jiang Wang interjected, "The Tian family is certainly one of them."

"The Lei family is too." Lin Youxie said.

Jiang Wang frowned deeply.

"The assassin infiltrated through the Wuning Gate. The palace guards on duty were all executed afterwards. Even if there were any clues, they should have been extinguished. But we investigated and found that the leader of the palace guards at that time was named Zhang. He had a two-year-old son who went missing before the incident."

Lin Youxie said, "We found this boy... He grew up in the Lei family and is now the deputy commander of the Lei family guards."

It must be said that Wu Lie and Lin Youxie's diligent pursuit over the years was not without results.

Especially Wu Lie, who, without the support of the Azure Badge, single-handedly investigated so many things, definitely deserves the title of "A Generation's Famous Constable."

But Jiang Wang felt he was once again falling into confusion. "The Lei family wanted to kill Empress Lei? For what?"

Lin Youxie looked at him and only asked, "What if she didn't die?"

Like a clap of thunder splitting the night sky!

What if... Empress Lei didn't die?

No one would believe that a pregnant woman would herself orchestrate a dangerous assassination play.

So, what if she didn't die?

Then the matter of the assassin appearing in the same tavern as He Fu would be enough to implicate the current Empress.

That year was the thirty-eighth year of Yuan Feng.

Three years prior, the incident of the deposed Crown Prince being confined to the Green Stone Palace had just occurred, and Jiang Wuliang completely said goodbye to the throne, with no possibility of turning things around.

The current Crown Prince was also established as Crown Prince in the second year after the deposed Crown Prince was confined to the Green Stone Palace, which was the thirty-sixth year of Yuan Feng.

By the time the Empress Lei assassination case occurred in the thirty-eighth year of Yuan Feng, Jiang Wuhua had only been Crown Prince for two years, and his position as Crown Prince was not stable... Let alone at that time, even today, Jiang Wuhua's position as Crown Prince cannot be considered rock solid.

Otherwise, how did the Hua Ying Palace, Yang Xin Palace, and Longevity Palace later come into being?

So, if at this time, Empress Lei was assassinated and did not die, narrowly preserving her child?

How enraged would the Emperor be?

Deposing the Empress, deposing the Crown Prince... seemed to be a matter of course.

Then did Empress Lei have a chance to become Empress?

Did Empress Lei's child have a chance to become Crown Prince?

Of course!

If the assassination was designed by Empress Lei herself, then of course she could erase all traces, and of course she could give the assassin the appropriate opportunity in the heavily guarded Imperial Palace.

Think about what a bold plan this was!

The Emperor was personally leading a campaign outside, and Empress Lei was pregnant and awaiting childbirth. At such a crucial moment, the assassination case that shook the Eastern Region occurred, and the current Empress was involved in it...

If it failed, it would mean the death of two lives. If it was discovered, a burialless death would be a light punishment.

This was gambling with her life for the position of Empress!

"But Empress Lei died in the end..." Jiang Wang said with a strange emotion.

"So why did Feng Gu insist that the current Empress was the real culprit?" Lin Youxie said, "Because the Empress whom Empress Lei wanted to frame was by no means a person who could be manipulated at will, much less someone Empress Lei could scheme against. With just a slight maneuver, she turned Empress Lei's feigned death into a real death!"

Jiang Wang murmured, "For example, quietly applying Myriad Spirit Frozen Snow to the assassin's blade..."

"And the ones who specifically carried out this matter were the Tian family." Lin Youxie said mournfully, "It was only last night that I finally understood everything."

Yes... yes!

A large part of Lin Youxie's reconstruction of the case is based on speculation. There are actually very few places that can be called evidence. Because the evidence was basically all destroyed.

But Jiang Wang had already believed it.

Because he also had information that Lin Youxie did not know - that Jiang Wuqi had also investigated that old case from seventeen years ago, and with his identity and resources far superior to Wu Lie's, he quickly got results, but in the end chose to remain silent.

Why the silence?

Only Lin Youxie's reconstruction of the case today can explain it!

Because the entire assassination was designed by Empress Lei herself.

Empress Lei was audacious enough to design the assassination, but her abilities were limited, and she went up against an opponent far beyond her reach, who turned her scheme against her. This ultimately led to her own death and the birth of her child with cold poison in his life force!

At the last moment of her life, Empress Lei struggled desperately in that winter night, using all her efforts to preserve the child in her womb...

What was her mood at that time... despair, or guilt?

But regardless, her love for the child in her womb was not false.

Jiang Wuqi found out the truth, but he was unwilling to criticize his foolish mother again after seventeen years! Even if uncovering this case could potentially bring down the Empress and create opportunities for him to compete for the position of Crown Prince.

When the Emperor later mentioned Empress Lei, it was always with nostalgia.

If the case were truly uncovered, what would the Emperor think? What would the Emperor say? And how would he treat the Lei family?

So on the tombstone in that painting of sentient beings, there was only "The deceased is gone."

The person is already dead, what more could Jiang Wuqi say?