Chapter 64: My Suspicion Is Indeed Great
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**Chapter 64: My Suspicion Is Indeed Great**
Xiang Nu knelt down in a panic, his words stumbling: “It was my oversight... I didn’t realize the divine elephant was injured!”
Cui Jing reported, “The divine elephant has an injury in a concealed area on its neck, and it was pierced by a steel needle. Therefore, there are no noticeable bloodstains on the surface.”
At that moment, a medical officer stepped forward, holding a cotton cloth that clearly displayed the steel needle extracted from the divine elephant’s body.
The needle was about five inches long, sharp and hard, stained with dark blood.
“Your Majesty, this needle is coated with poison. Given the divine elephant’s massive size, this amount of poison wouldn’t be lethal but is certainly the root cause of its rampage,” the medical officer said.
A strange silence enveloped the surroundings.
In this silence, the eyes of the crowd were filled with astonishment.
Ming Luo’s expression changed: “Your Majesty, if this is the case, then someone must have secretly poisoned the divine elephant, deliberately trying to sabotage the blessing ceremony.”
Looking at the needle, the holy Emperor’s gaze turned icy.
Deliberately sabotaging the blessing ceremony meant targeting her as the Holy Emperor.
“Your Majesty, the person behind this has ulterior motives. We must investigate this as soon as possible!” Yao Yi sternly suggested.
Pei Shi couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
Her eagerness to investigate this matter—was it for the public good or for personal reasons? She knew better than anyone!
She could see that her husband was just eager to defend that little wretch after nearly getting into trouble...
Her husband truly was overly concerned for his daughter!
“Is there really a need to investigate?” Pei Shi stepped forward, her demeanor exuding the noble pride typical of aristocratic women. She raised her hand and bowed to the holy Emperor, saying, “Your Majesty, my family has also kept elephants, so I am somewhat familiar with their nature. I dare to share my humble opinion—”
The holy Emperor looked at her: “Madam, please speak freely.”
Pei Shi lowered her eyes, calmly stating, “Since the divine elephant previously showed no signs of agitation, it is likely that it recognized the person who harmed it during the ceremony, leading to this retaliatory action.”
Yao Yi watched her, subtly frowning.
The surrounding chatter grew noisy again, and everyone, including the holy Emperor, turned their attention back to the young girl.
“Are you implying that I am the one who harmed the divine elephant?” Chang Suining asked calmly.
Having just escaped the ominous implications, she was now facing the accusation of “being retaliated against by the divine elephant”—it must be said, the opponent’s tactic of using the elephant to harm her was indeed well-prepared, ensuring she wouldn’t easily escape.
Hearing the girl’s direct question, Pei Shi kept her gaze steady: “I did not say that. I merely stated my knowledge and assumptions, as a reminder for our family’s lord in handling this case.”
This statement was clearly meant for outsiders, and Yao Yi wouldn’t believe a single word of it—Pei Shi evidently didn’t care whether he believed it or not.
Or rather, she had come forward at this moment to torment him.
“Of course, investigations cannot rely solely on assumptions; we must gather evidence,” Pei Shi said, raising her chin slightly, then turning to Yao Yi: “But the task of finding evidence should be left to Grand General Cui and our family’s lord.”
Meeting her gaze, Yao Yi inevitably felt a strange suspicion in his heart.
But as Pei Shi said, all assumptions must rely on evidence—
He fixedly looked at Pei Shi: “Rest assured, Madam. I will not fail the trust placed in me by Your Majesty and will uncover the truth behind this matter.”
To investigate the person who secretly harmed the divine elephant, it was inevitable to first question who had come into contact with the elephant since yesterday—according to the medical officer, the needle had been inside the divine elephant for at least a night.
Xiang Nu inevitably mentioned the previous day’s events at the temple: “...At that time, many young gentlemen and ladies were present…”
Seeing him glance at her but hesitate, wanting to avoid causing trouble, Chang Suining took the initiative to say, “I was also there yesterday.”
Xiang Nu finally nodded: “Yes... I remember.”
After all, this lady was exceptionally beautiful, making her hard to overlook after just one glance.
“And I approached the male elephant,” Chang Suining continued. “It made a noise at that time, and looking back, it indeed seemed like it had suffered some sudden attack. The divine elephant must have been injured at that moment—my suspicion is indeed great.”
Xiang Nu trembled and nodded again, even looking at the frank girl in disbelief—her words sounded almost like a confession!
Chang Suining didn’t take it to heart—when investigating, one must prioritize expediting the process.
Facing her honest eyes, Yao Yi and Cui Jing fell into silence.
Chang Suining continued, “Perhaps because of this, the divine elephant remembered me, mistakenly thinking I harmed it, leading to its act of revenge today.”
Elephants are intelligent, but one cannot expect them to be overly clever.
Cui Jing looked at her: “Are you suggesting that someone harmed the divine elephant while you were near, intentionally misleading it?”
“Exactly. Animals don’t lie in their reactions, but people can create false appearances to deceive them,” Chang Suining said. “I think, if the person is skilled enough, they wouldn’t need to get too close to stab the needle into the divine elephant, correct, Grand General Cui?”
Meeting her gaze, which showed no real intent to question, Cui Jing still nodded in agreement: “Yes.”
As a military general, he needed to step in at such critical moments to convince the crowd.
The young man’s cooperation at this moment appeared particularly glaring in Ming Luo’s eyes, and her unshakable unease began to swell.
“Though it sounds reasonable, ultimately, these are merely Miss Chang’s speculations. As the saying goes, words alone carry no weight; how can we fully trust them?” Pei Shi asked in a somber tone.
“I can testify for Sister Chang!”
Yao Xia's voice suddenly rang out.
The girl seemed to muster all her courage, driven by the belief that "but Sister Chang really needs me," as she stepped forward to stand beside Chang Suining, facing the holy Emperor: "Your Majesty, during the observation yesterday, I remained at the side of Miss Chang the entire time. Even when Miss Chang went to observe, it was at my invitation. I can prove that Miss Chang is definitely not the one who harmed the elephant!"
She finished in one breath, her trembling hands betraying her anxiety.
But for Sister Chang, she had to stand up, no matter how scared she was!
Her feelings for Sister Chang were sincere!
Yao Xia gazed fervently at Chang Suining, trying to offer her encouragement and confidence.
Chang Suining nodded slightly at her.
Although it wasn't necessary at all... she still appreciated it.
Yao Yi looked at his niece and said objectively, "Ah Xia's words can indeed serve as corroboration, but they cannot be decisive evidence."
And since there was a lack of conclusive evidence, they needed to look for it.
At this moment, Cui Jing said, "Perhaps we can first check the area where the elephant was kept in the temple."
Yao Yi nodded, just about to volunteer to accompany Cui Jing when a voice beat him to it: "Your Majesty, this monk has found a suspicious person!"
It was an extremely loud voice.
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the sound.
It was none other than Master Wu Jue, who had been presiding over the rituals at the Heavenly Maiden Tower, now draped in his monk's robe.
Chang Suining also turned to look.
Coming with him was Chang Sui'an.
The young man was tall, dressed in a neat indigo narrow-sleeved round-neck robe, but his rugged face bore several scratches and bruises, clearly the result of a recent close encounter.
Two warrior monks accompanied him, escorting a robust man dressed as an ordinary servant.
Master Wu Jue's gaze first caught sight of Chang Suining. He must have heard the gist of the matter on his way here and quickly walked over, his expression filled with sympathy: "Oh dear, this poor child... truly, Amitabha, may the Buddha bless you! Are you scared? You must have been frightened! When we return, I’ll recite a calming mantra for you to listen to!"
In a different scenario, it could have been a matter of reciting prayers for the dead!
Chang Suining: "..."
As a high monk, he shouldn't appear so approachable.
Wu Jue sighed heavily, turning to the holy Emperor: "Your Majesty, you must stand up for this poor child!"
As he spoke, he pointed at the robust man being held by the warrior monks: "Look, the evidence is right here!"
The holy Emperor was already used to Wu Jue's antics and simply said, "First, let us hear the details of what happened."
Wu Jue immediately replied, "Your Majesty, this man was acting suspiciously, intending to sneak into the meditation hall where miss Chang resides. Fortunately, he was discovered by a passing Chang family young lord, who intended to drive him away but unexpectedly found that this man had some skills. It took several of us working together to capture him!"
The robust man turned his head away with a sullen expression—how absurd, this "passing by" and "unexpectedly discovering"!
That place was anything but an ordinary meditation hall; it was a well-laid trap!
Not only was the Chang family young lord watching from the shadows, but even the seemingly ordinary cleaning monks were all skilled fighters who dropped their brooms and began to punch him!
He had been beaten to a pulp!
"This man is indeed acting strangely, and we found this on him, which is highly suspicious!" Chang Sui'an presented a porcelain vial.
The holy Emperor furrowed her brows slightly, signaling the medical officer to come forward and inspect it.
After examining it, the medical officer's expression changed slightly: "Your Majesty, the poison in this vial is the same as that which harmed the divine elephant!"
Yao Xia gasped in surprise: "I understand now, I completely understand! This man brought poison intending to sneak into Sister Chang's meditation hall when no one was around, clearly with the intention to frame her! The one who harmed the divine elephant must be him!"
Having said that, she shocked herself—she didn’t even know where that sudden insight came from!
She glanced at her uncle and the others, who looked at her in disbelief, surely awakened by her sudden epiphany!
Yao Yi: "..."
If it weren't for his niece speaking up, he might have been left in the dark for a lifetime.
Yet, Yao Xia felt unexpectedly encouraged by her own outburst and turned to the robust man, questioning, "First, you misled the divine elephant to take revenge on Sister Chang, and now you're attempting to frame her. Tell me, who exactly instructed you?"
Yao Yi did not stop his niece from speaking for a reason.
Such firm suspicions expressed by him, as the Minister of Justice, would seem premature, but coming from a child, it was just right and highly effective in building the atmosphere.
As expected, as the situation developed in unexpected directions, the surrounding discussions grew increasingly loud.
Pei Shi silently clenched her fingers within her sleeves, staring intently at the robust man.
"I did injure the divine elephant," the robust man finally spoke, tightening his lips momentarily before looking at Chang Kuo and his daughter: "The one who instructed me was General Chang. He just wanted to push me out to take all the blame once things went awry."
"A joke!" Chang Kuo laughed coldly instead of getting angry: "Why would I instruct you to harm the divine elephant? What could I possibly gain by using my own daughter's life as bait? Do you really think such absurd accusations can confuse the issue and let you off the hook?"
"I am merely following orders," the robust man said, his expression strangely calm. "I’m only stating what I know; as for why General Chang would go to such lengths to ruin this blessing ceremony, I do not know."
"Claiming ignorance while already framing my father with the intention to ruin the blessing ceremony. This involves party disputes, and being involved could lead to utter ruin—" Chang Suining looked at him with some appreciation: "You’re not an ordinary lackey, but too bad you’ve chosen the wrong master."
"Why must you father and daughter play at accusing me here?" the robust man sneered, insisting: "What I said is the truth!"
As soon as he finished speaking, having just straightened his lips, his jaw twitched, and a sudden sword strike knocked his face sideways.
"Poof—"
The sword had not been drawn, yet its force was great enough to cause the robust man to turn away, spitting out a knocked-out tooth and the poison he had been ready to bite.
Cui Jing sheathed his sword: "Before you admit the truth, you won't die."
The robust man clenched his teeth and spat out a mouthful of blood: "Everything I said was true; I just didn't want to suffer any more torment before I die!"
"Take him away and interrogate him strictly," Cui Jing instructed Cui Yuanxiang: "Also, pull up the roster of servants from each household involved and verify this man's identity thoroughly."
"Yes!"
At the holy Emperor's signal, Yu Zeng also instructed a subordinate from the palace to accompany Cui Yuanxiang in this investigation.
"Wait, I remember... I have seen this man before!" Suddenly, a youthful voice spoke up.
Yao Yi looked over and saw his nephew, Yao Gui, stepping forward.
Why are all the ones stepping up today from the Yao family?
Cui Jing turned to the young man: "Do you recognize this person?"
"Not quite recognizing, but I have seen him!" Yao Gui replied: "During the observation yesterday, he was indeed present!"
He had vaguely seen someone at the time, but it had been a fleeting glance, and he hadn’t clearly seen it—only now, after looking at the man closely for a while, did he remember!
He also recalled, "Previously, I saw Aunt by the back door of our home talking with this man!"
The young man glanced over at Pei Shi and the servant women beside her.
Yao Yi frowned abruptly.
Pei Shi's expression changed, and she coldly said, "Do you know what nonsense you are talking about?"
How could these fools keep bringing her trouble! Was she fated to clash with the Yao family?
"Neph... nephew indeed saw him," Yao Gui mustered his courage, looking into those always intimidating eyes: "I just wanted to ask Aunt if she knew this person's background..."
But why did Aunt's reaction have to be so extreme?
"This servant does not recognize or know this person," the servant beside Pei Shi stated firmly: "My lord must be mistaken."
"That shouldn’t be..." Yao Gui's voice dropped, filled with strange uncertainty.
He wasn’t uncertain about what he had said but about... whether he had touched something he shouldn’t have?
In the next moment, his seemingly outrageous guess was confirmed.
"General Cui doesn’t need to bother investigating, I recognize this person—"
This time, it was a slightly trembling voice from a girl that spoke up.
(End of this chapter)
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