There is a god in the sky

Chapter 315 The Brothel Murder Case 3

Although Shen Lan had never met the prince consort, she could tell at a glance which of the two corpses on the bed was the prince consort, given their vastly different ages.

Why did the eldest princess marry this man in the first place?

Shen Lan's impression of the Eldest Princess was that she was a strong woman, the kind who was very competitive in every way.

Moreover, with her power, what kind of man couldn't she have?

This imperial son-in-law, I heard, only holds a nominal position in the court and has accomplished nothing. He is not even ranked among the prominent families in the capital.

"Back then, the eldest princess didn't have many choices, so it was a kind of compromise."

Shen Lan immediately thought of the situation the Eldest Princess was in back then, when she supported her half-brother to the throne and revealed her ambition to him.

At times like these, she really needs to be careful when choosing a husband's family.

Moreover, there is a tradition in this dynasty that the imperial son-in-law does not hold power. If a highly capable man had been chosen, he might have died of depression long ago.

Shen Lan suddenly felt a little sorry for the Eldest Princess.

Fortunately, she quickly realized that her husband was not a good match, so she decisively separated from him and stopped caring about the Lu family's affairs.

Shen Lan first examined the body of the prince consort.

He's not young anymore, and he doesn't maintain his physique well; his skin is loose, but he's quite adept in bed.

There were some auxiliary tools under the bed and on the bed, and the clothes of the two people were scattered on the floor. Judging from the scene, there was no indication that a third person had been there.

"The prince consort's fatal wound was the ligature mark on his neck, which, judging by its shape, was from this leather whip."

The whip that Shen Lan picked up had a very peculiar shape, with a small nail every inch.

These small nails are blunt and won't hurt you if you touch them, but if you tighten them around your neck, the effect is completely different.

"He died lying face down on the bed, strangled from behind, and died instantly."

Furthermore, his hands showed signs of being bound; I suspect it was with his own belt, the one on the ground.

Although Shen Lan had long since become numb to all kinds of corpses, she still felt a little disgusted by this scene.

She never expected that the dignified prince consort would be a zero.

"The fatal wound of the other victim was a bamboo hairpin that pierced his chest, aimed directly at his heart."

The deceased had bloodstains on his hands, and judging from the distribution of the blood, it's highly likely he stabbed himself with the bamboo hairpin.

Shen Lan wiped the blood off the deceased's hands and saw a strangulation mark across his palm, which matched the leather belt.

To strangle someone, you need to use a lot of force, and this kind of uneven belt can easily leave marks on your hands.

If this man killed the prince consort, why did he commit suicide?

Is he afraid that the Lu family and the princess will seek revenge on him?

But since this matter is not honorable, there is a high probability that the Lu family and the princess's residence will not make a scene, so he actually has a chance to escape.

Although one end of the bamboo hairpin is very sharp, it is still made of bamboo. It would take a certain level of skill and a death wish to pierce through the ribs and into the heart.

It would be easier for him to cut open his own carotid artery with a knife than this.

"The deceased had hickeys, bite marks, and whip marks on his skin, all left from last night. It cannot be ruled out that he killed the victim in a fit of rage because he was being abused."

The person who came to report the case earlier said that two spoiled young men had died. Xiao Ji thought that some young masters had fought over someone in a brothel, but he didn't expect it to be like this.

"Officer Xing," Xiao Ji called out.

Constable Xing poked his head in and asked, "What are your orders, sir?"

"Go and investigate the identity of this deceased person."

Officer Xing came in, covering his eyes, quickly glanced at the bed, then rubbed his hands and said, "Sir, I know this person."

"Hmm? Who is he?"

"He is Grandpa Huang's godson."

"Eunuch Huang?" Xiao Ji and Constable Xing exchanged a glance, and the latter nodded firmly.

"My lord, it is the one you know. As far as I know, this person is Eunuch Huang's nephew. He travels around as his godson and lives in a large mansion in the north of the city."

Shen Lan frowned. If this was her identity, then her judgment of suicide might be a hoax.

The adopted son of the Grand Eunuch, who commands respect even from third-rank officials, how could he possibly be involved with the Prince Consort?

Even if he accidentally killed the prince consort, it shouldn't be enough to make him pay with his life, right?

She examined the clues on the deceased's body again carefully, assuming that a murderer was present at the scene.

Unless the murderer held the victim's hand and inserted the bamboo hairpin into his chest, the bloodstains should not be distributed like this.

Xiao Ji led Constable Xing out, called the innkeeper aside, and asked, "Did these two come together?"

"No, this is not the case. This is a room that Master Lu often comes to. I remember he came at the beginning of Hai hour last night. As for when the other one came, I didn't see him."

"Go downstairs and ask if anyone saw this person enter the house at any time."

Officer Xing hurriedly ran downstairs and, after some questioning, finally managed to recall one of the wine deliverymen.

"I was delivering wine to the guests in the next room when I came out and saw a man in white walking towards the innermost private room, but I didn't notice whether he went inside or not."

Huang Jingmin was indeed wearing white.

"Did he come alone?"

"I only saw him alone at the time, so I don't know if he had made an appointment with someone else."

If that room was booked by the prince consort on a long-term basis, Huang Jingmin couldn't have barged in without reason.

Could it be that the two of them really have that kind of relationship?

The eldest princess only then learned the identity of the second victim, and said sarcastically, "They're all birds of a feather, it's better that they're dead."

Officer Xing understood what she meant.

He had also heard that this young master Huang was not very proper when it came to men and women, and that he used his connection with Eunuch Huang to bully men and women in Bianjing City and had committed many crimes.

In the past, someone would always smooth things over for him, but now that he's dead, it's unclear who Eunuch Huang will hold responsible.

Shen Lan took off her gloves and threw them into the trash can, then shook her head at Xiao Ji: "After several examinations, I still stick to my opinion that the second victim strangled the first victim and then committed suicide."

Xiao Ji watched her perform the autopsy and had no doubts about her conclusions.

However, there are many suspicious points in this matter, and it is difficult to explain unless other clues are found.

"Let's go. The princess will definitely take the prince consort's body with her. As for this man, I have already sent someone to inform his residence."

"Eunuch Huang... what kind of person is he?"

Shen Lan had met Eunuch Huang a few times; he was always smiling and very polite to everyone.

But after all, you can know a person's face but not their heart.

History teaches us that almost none of the chief eunuchs around the emperor were good people.

"It's hard to say, but he must have put in a lot of effort and used all sorts of methods to get to this position."

Take, for example, the head steward Li, who serves the Empress. Although he's only sixteen or seventeen, I've heard he's incredibly influential in the palace and highly regarded by the Empress.

Even in the marketplace, Shen Lan could hear some gossip about the imperial harem.

For example, there was a rumor that this man in charge of affairs was androgynous and more beautiful than any of the concubines in the harem. The empress loved beauty, which is why she promoted him to serve her.

Such rumors were baseless, and Shen Lan simply listened and let it go.

She believed Xiao Ji's words more; someone who could climb to such a high position would be someone important anywhere.