Forced Into the Palace: Becoming the Emperor's Favorite-Chapter 383 Inquiry into the Cause of Death

As a result, no one responded after knocking on the door for a long time.

When the little eunuch anxiously pushed the door open, he found that the master and servant had already been dead for quite some time.

Their faces were somewhat livid.

Judging by their appearance, it seemed... it seemed they died of poisoning.

Such a bizarre way of dying naturally made Qin An feel very uneasy.

All this time, the traveling palace had been peaceful and untroubled; how could it be that people died shortly after the Emperor and others arrived?

The Emperor likely thought of this too, so his expression wasn’t very good.

After a moment of silence, he looked seriously at Lin Xingzhi standing beside him and said sternly.

"Go, find out the truth, I want to know why she died."

"Yes, I will obey the order."

Lin Xingzhi strode out of Ruiyang Pavilion, with Qin An following closely behind.

The two of them discussed the matter along the way.

"Has there been anything unusual with Ming Pin lately?"

Qin An also frowned; he had been managing the affairs of the traveling palace recently without any errors.

Ming Pin had caused a disturbance because of her burns, but it had calmed down long ago.

She wouldn’t need to look for death at this time, right?

So he shook his head, his expression even darker than Lin Xingzhi’s.

"General, you might not know, but I was worried that Lady Ming might be troubled by her burns, so I’ve been paying extra attention to her courtyard. Everything was fine yesterday, but this morning, when I went over, two of them were gone. Truly, I racked my brains but couldn’t understand why."

Lin Xingzhi heard this and immediately thought the matter was not simple.

Fearing there was something to investigate, everyone soon arrived at Ming Pin’s courtyard.

The environment was serene, spacious both front and back.

This was the courtyard she had deliberately changed to after her burns.

Originally, her rank didn’t qualify her for it, but now she lived as a concubine, which was more fitting.

Who knew she hadn’t enjoyed these justifiable days for long before she was gone?

It’s truly regrettable.

All around, Qin An ordered people to guard strictly.

Including the little eunuch who first discovered Ming Pin and Pei’er’s bodies, Qin An had him watched as well.

To prevent anything suspicious inside.

Meanwhile, the forensic doctor and imperial physicians hurried over, none of them looking good.

After all, a death in the traveling palace is not a good thing.

Thus, taking a deep breath, everyone went inside and began to carefully check.

The forensic doctor first checked the breathless Ming Pin and maid Pei’er.

It was evident their faces looked somewhat livid.

Appearing indeed as though they had died from poisoning.

The imperial physician wasn’t idle either, immediately examining the wine cups, bottles, and other items nearby.

To see if someone had poisoned them.

Lin Xingzhi may not be skilled in solving cases, but he is very meticulous.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have discovered the irregularities at Prince Zhan Mansion.

So he carefully checked every corner inside and outside the house.

Soon, he found traces of white powder in the grass at the wall corner.

Not much, but it looked whitish.

Perhaps the wind hadn’t blown it away much yet.

Lin Xingzhi immediately called the imperial physician to take a look.

After diagnosis, the imperial physician said.

"General, this is a kind of mind-games powder."

"Mind-games powder?"

"Yes, these are shady things not allowed in the palace. I don’t know why it appeared outside Lady Ming’s chamber."

"Does this stuff cause death by poisoning?"

"This humble servant hasn’t heard of such a thing. After all, mind-games powder, as the name suggests, mainly muddles the mind, but it also contains some calming elements. Likely someone intended to use this to stupefy Lady Ming, but to what purpose, I do not know."

The physician’s words plunged Lin Xingzhi into another dilemma.

Who would use mind-games powder on a disgraced concubine?

For what purpose?

The appearance of this powder made Ming Pin’s death all the more mysterious.

After the forensic doctor and physicians examined together, they all affirmed that Ming Pin indeed died of poisoning.

But it wasn’t due to the wine; the wine hadn’t been tampered with.

So what was the cause?

Just as things were getting heated here, Lin Xingzhi furrowing his brow, He Changzai next door was in a panic.

"It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, I only wanted her to shut up, I didn’t want to kill her! How could this happen, how could it!"

She was clearly frightened by the news of Ming Pin’s death.

Waking early, she thought she had slept well.

Who knew that after breakfast, she heard a commotion next door.

After sending Qiao Xin to inquire, she found out that it was Ming Pin who had an incident.

Though she hadn’t laid a hand on Ming Pin, if the matter of the mind-games powder was discovered, they’d be in too much trouble!

Then she pulled Qiao Xin over, lowered her voice, and asked.

"Did we bring that mind-games powder from home? Mother said it would only cause temporary stupefaction, not death. How could Ming Pin die after smelling it? Tell me, what’s going on!"

Her malicious words were clearly intended to put all blame on Qiao Xin.

Qiao Xin also shook her head desperately, crying more pitiably than He Changzai.

"Miss, I swear I only took mind-games powder! I don’t know why Ming Pin died? Even if I had a hundred guts, I wouldn’t do such a wicked thing! I am innocent!"

"Innocent? I’m the one who is innocent! I’ve struggled to rise, but will this drag me down again?"

As she thought more about it, she became more anxious, speaking further to Qiao Xin.

"Go, and burn the remaining mind-games powder. Don’t let anyone find it; otherwise, no excuse will clear us!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I’ll go at once."

But before Qiao Xin could leave, Lin Xingzhi from next door came in.

Seeing someone "breaking into" the room frightened He Changzai into trembling.

"You you you... What are you doing?"

Her incoherent demeanor puzzled Lin Xingzhi tremendously.

Could it be the guilty are fearful?

So he coldly said.

"Please forgive me, Miss. Lady Ming next door has passed. Could you hear any noise last night?"

"I slept so well last night; how could I hear anything?"

Though speaking so, her attitude seemed evasive.

Lin Xingzhi was not clueless, nor could he overlook this.

Clearly, there must be something amiss, so he glanced at Qiao Xin beside He Changzai.

Her face was even more terrified, beet red.

Seeing this, Lin Xingzhi decisively said.

"This is a grave matter. Please pardon me, Miss, but I need to search this room. Please restrain the servants properly."

"What, search the room? Why? I didn’t kill anyone, why search my room?"

Her vehement protest seemed increasingly suspicious to Lin Xingzhi.

"Miss, aren’t you a bit too agitated? I’m merely carrying out orders."