I Have A Qi Fortune Altar-Chapter 697 - 447: Noble Consort, You Wouldn’t Want This Matter…_3

Chapter 697: Chapter 447: Noble Consort, You Wouldn’t Want This Matter..._3

"Please trouble Eunuch Zhao to bring all types of ink from within the palace for me to examine."

Eunuch Zhao’s eyes flickered as he nodded and commanded, and several young eunuchs by his side immediately turned and left, while Chen Yuan slowly squatted down and continued to ask:

"In these past few days... is the Consort certain she hasn’t written anything?"

"No... no."

"Then, have you noticed any scent of ink on the Consort’s body?"

"No... no, we only noticed the scent of sandalwood on the Consort’s body."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly.

Soon, the young eunuchs who had left returned with nine types of ink and placed them in front of Chen Yuan. He sniffed them one by one, finally recognizing that familiar scent with the seventh ink.

"What ink is this?"

"Dragon Fragrance Ink," Eunuch Zhao replied.

"In the palace, who likes to use this kind of ink?"

Eunuch Zhao furrowed his brows in thought:

"Several Princes and His Majesty are quite fond of it."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan was startled. Could it be that the one involved with the Consort wasn’t some Imperial Guard within the palace?

Was it his mother’s Prince?

"Apart from the several Princes and His Majesty, does anyone else use this Dragon Fragrance Ink?"

"Master Chen, this is a special ink provided exclusively to the Imperial Family; it would be overstepping for others to use it."

Chen Yuan understood; that meant the scope was now narrowed down to the Princes in the palace.

Of course, this did not rule out whether someone was framing others.

It’s possible that they were deliberately creating confusion.

As Chen Yuan walked through the Consort’s hall, his mind racing with the clues he had unearthed, he casually asked:

"Have the Princes been to the palace recently?"

"It’s been the same as usual. They come every few days, except for the Fourth Prince."

"The Fourth Prince."

Chen Yuan’s steps suddenly faltered. He had been pondering which Prince might be the most likely suspect, but Eunuch Zhao’s comment sparked a revelation.

He had heard about Sima Ke being reprimanded by Emperor Jingtai for colluding with the Japan Martial Artist, as told by Guo Peng, and subsequently being imprisoned in the palace to reflect on his actions.

He had not paid it much heed up to this point.

Now, thinking it all over again... the possibility seemed rather high.

Setting aside the other Princes for a moment, just considering the Fourth Prince as the murderer seemed plausible. It was normal for him to have the scent of Dragon Fragrance Ink on him as he had been punished by Jingtai to copy Taoist and Buddhist scriptures.

He was in the prime of life, at the peak of his vigor and vitality.

And... he remembered, the attic was very close to Chunhua Palace...

Putting all of this together, the doubts surrounding Sima Ke grew more substantial.

Although this was Chen Yuan’s speculation and conjecture, finding more evidence wouldn’t be difficult. By corroborating the testimony of the maidservant, one could confirm that viewing the moon was not a one or two-day affair for the Consort.

Linking the visits of Sima Ke to the palace with the Consort’s schedule could lead to further associations.

Moreover, if the autopsy of the Consort reveals the fetus in her womb and the results are compared with Sima Ke, that would be incontrovertible evidence!

Sima Ke, oh Sima Ke.

This isn’t me trying to harm you; you’re courting death all on your own.

A gleam flashed in Chen Yuan’s eyes.

With irrefutable evidence, Chen Yuan could completely seal Sima Ke’s fate!

From then on, he could be cast down from his lofty position. One could imagine how serious it would be for Jingtai to learn that a Prince had cuckolded the Emperor.

Capital punishment was a very real possibility!

And the enmity between him and Sima Ke could finally be settled.

Chen Yuan had long wanted to kill this man but had been impeded by his status, after all, he was a contemporary Prince, and the blood flowing in his veins was that of Emperor Jingtai.

But now, that very status was what might condemn him.

"Has Commander Chen already found the murderer?" Eunuch Zhao suddenly stepped forward and asked softly.

A light emanated from Chen Yuan’s eyes. He was just about to have Eunuch Zhao check the times of Sima Ke’s visits to the palace but closed his mouth just as he was about to speak.

He suddenly remembered Emperor Jingtai’s instructions to keep quiet and to prevent outsiders from knowing.

If he were to reveal Sima Ke’s name, wouldn’t he be clearly attributing the Consort’s death to Sima Ke? Continued investigation would lead to a scandal sweeping through the Capital.

Gossips are unstoppable.

But if he remains silent, wouldn’t it appear as if he was not diligent in his work?

As Chen Yuan pondered whether to continue investigating Sima Ke, he delved deeper into thought: the reason for the Consort’s death was probably obvious to anyone with a normal IQ—it was murder, not an accidental drowning.

So....

Why aren’t these people conducting a thorough investigation?

These clues, while seemingly meticulous, could certainly reveal the connections with enough scrutiny, and hence point towards Sima Ke.

Furthermore, was the Consort’s pregnancy really undetected by anyone?

Anyone with a modicum of Cultivation could easily perceive this.

Yet, they pretended not to know, severely torturing two maidservants instead. It just didn’t seem like the action of level-headed individuals—clearly... someone within the palace had already considered this, but they didn’t wish to get involved.

Even further, the old eunuch by Chen Yuan’s side probably knew Sima Ke was involved but was deliberately playing dumb, leading him to speculate about Sima Ke.

Moreover,

Could this have been orchestrated by someone?

Being framed towards Sima Ke?

Chen Yuan cursed internally; how could further speculation lead to so much complexity?

And what was Emperor Jingtai’s true intention?

Was it really just to find out the cause of Consort’s death?

Did he have Chen Yuan investigate simply to avoid alarming too many people?

"Perhaps... it’s not so simple; could everyone be using him as a pawn in their game?"

These were deeper thoughts.

"I haven’t found the culprit yet. What does Eunuch Zhao think? It seems like you might already have some idea," Chen Yuan asked with a sharp gaze, speaking indifferently.

Eunuch Zhao chuckled:

"This old servant is dull-witted, how could I think of such things?"

"This case isn’t that complicated, but it still requires careful investigation. Hmm... take me to Chunhua Palace first to meet with Noble Consort."

Without addressing anything else, surely the Noble Consort herself wouldn’t want the Emperor to learn of this affair, would she?

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