Green Mountain
Chapter 376 - 307. Pipa Hall 3

Chapter 376: 307. Pipa Hall 3

Jiao Tu’s eyes lit up: "You’ve asked the right person! This is something that Bai Long, Heavenly Horse, Treasure Monkey, and Mountain Bull can’t do; only a woman like me can! They can only roam in Jiefan Building, but cannot take even one step further into the deep palace!"

Chen Ji asked in confusion: "Can Xuan Snake do it?"

Jiao Tu smiled: "He is a eunuch, so of course he can. But isn’t it exhausting to cooperate with such monstrous people? It’s much safer to work with innocent spies like Yun Yang and me, right? Mr. Chen, please tell me, what do you need me to do?"

Chen Ji stood in the long, dark corridor, staring at Jiao Tu and said: "I need you to go to Jingyang Palace and ensure Princess Bai Li does not die."

Jiao Tu was taken aback: "An old sentiment or simply can’t bear it? When you betrayed Prince Jing back then, I thought you were a good-looking but ruthless character. How come you’re regretting it now?"

Chen Ji replied calmly: "She has her uses."

Jiao Tu questioned: "What uses?"

Chen Ji declared: "Han Tong. The Cao Guild once assisted Your Majesty and brought great power to Jianghu, even in the Imperial Capital their connections are deeply intertwined. Now their tail is too big to ignore, and the Prime Minister desires the removal of the Cao Guild for a long time. As long as we catch Han Tong and dismantle the Cao Guild, it’s not just one person elevating in rank, even the three of us might ascend together."

Jiao Tu covered her mouth and laughed: "That’s more like it, that’s the way of the Spy Department; kind-hearted people don’t last long here. However, we previously used the Commandery Princess to bait Han Tong and it didn’t work; Han Tong ran off all by himself. Poor Commandery Princess, on her way to the Imperial Capital, she cried every day until she almost went blind at Fengtai, and now she doesn’t shed even a single tear."

While speaking, she observed Chen Ji’s expression, yet found no clues.

Chen Ji said offhandedly: "Let her cry all she wants, crying doesn’t kill."

Jiao Tu doubted: "Can using her really catch Han Tong?"

Chen Ji said lightly: "I have my ways."

Seeing his confidence, Jiao Tu relaxed: "Once I’m done with the matter concerning the Korea Envoy, I’ll make my palace visit. Mr. Chen really found the right person; indeed, only I can accomplish this... See, I told you, you would need me eventually."

She extended her hand, her finger sliding down Chen Ji’s collar: "So, Mr. Chen, is it time to tell me who the murderer is?"

Chen Ji replied: "There is no murderer; he committed suicide."

Jiao Tu raised an eyebrow: "Mr. Chen is not deceiving me, is he? How could it be suicide?"

Chen Ji explained: "That Korean Crown Prince claimed that Jing Dynasty thieves tried to assassinate him three times... Jiao Tu, you and I have both dealt with the Jing Dynasty thieves; that Korean Crown Prince is surrounded by translators, secretaries, medical officers, merchants, with the methods of the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department, if they were determined to kill him, how could he still be alive?"

"Oh," Jiao Tu exclaimed in surprise: "Are you saying those assassination attempts were staged?"

Chen Ji asked in return: "Were there any survivors among the Jing Dynasty thieves who attempted to assassinate him?"

Jiao Tu shook her head: "None."

Chen Ji nodded: "That’s right, they dare not leave any survivors."

Jiao Tu crossed her arms, bowed her head in thought: "But what are they aiming for?"

Chen Ji pondered: "They likely want to create the illusion that the Jing Dynasty holds deep-seated hatred, inciting unanimous enemy opposition in our Celestial Dynasty. Moreover, using the death of the envoy on our lands as an excuse to pressure our dynasty to send troops for reinforcement or even to agree to their marriage proposal. If I’ve guessed correctly, there should already be someone spreading the news of the Korea Envoy’s assassination attempt by the Jing Dynasty among the populace, stirring anti-Jing sentiment."

Jiao Tu leaned against the iron bars of an empty cell: "You guessed it right, Xuan Snake is currently tracking the source of the rumor... But how can I prove that he committed suicide?"

Chen Ji changed the topic and asked: "What has the Korean Crown Prince been doing every day in the Huitong Hall since his arrival?"

Jiao Tu thought for a moment: "According to Huitong Hall’s records, he transcribed the Taoist Scripture every day, saying he intended to present it as a gift to Your Majesty and he didn’t do anything else particularly special."

Chen Ji turned and proceeded deeper into the Imperial Prison, then from his pocket took out a blue ledger: "When the Korea Envoy enters the Huitong Hall, they must be searched, and personal items must be individually registered. When entering, the number of items is recorded, and upon exit, they must match. Therefore, the object used to conceal poison must be a consumable, such as the medicine they brought."

Jiao Tu frowned: "They wouldn’t be that foolish; reviewing the ledger now won’t show a single pill missing."

Chen Ji said calmly: "Besides the medicine, there’s another consumable."

Jiao Tu asked curiously: "What could it be?"

Chen Ji stopped in front of a solitary cell, looking at the person within without turning his head: "Ink stick. Just have Ma Qianzi mixed with gelatin to make it look like an ink stick, chew it to mush and swallow it, and death is instant. Ma Qianzi dissolves in the stomach and within thirty minutes turns into a mush; once the drug breaks down, its color shifts from black to dark green. Who can determine how many ink sticks the Crown Prince used while transcribing Taoist Scriptures daily?"

Jiao Tu gleamed with interest: "Makes sense, their thinking is quite ingenious."

Chen Ji shook his head: "It’s nothing more than petty tricks, betting that our Ning Dynasty can’t prove it."

Jiao Tu was still puzzled: "Indeed, the medicine dissolves in the stomach pouch, creating a mess that’s impossible to distinguish anything. To investigate the ink stick claim, he would just say he used them while transcribing the Taoist Scriptures, how can I prove this to the Prime Minister?"

At that moment, a person within the cell, who was reading, put down their book and approached the iron bars, smiling as they asked Chen Ji: "Yeah, how will you prove it to the Prime Minister?"

Chen Ji answered: "Jiao Tu, you’ll cut open the stomach pouch, mix the stomach content with strong tea; if white specks float then it’s gelatin, which wasn’t part of today’s designated meal prepared by the Huitong Hall. Furthermore, if that Korean Crown Prince had intended to poison someone, it’s likely more ink sticks made from Ma Qianzi remain around him."

The scholar within the cell was taken aback: "Strong tea has such a function?"

Jiao Tu looked at Mr. Feng in the cell then turned to Chen Ji: "Did you deliberately get caught to find him? What are you here to do?"

Mr. Feng stood inside the cell with his hands behind his back, smiling asking Chen Ji: "Indeed, what are you here for?"

Chen Ji didn’t answer but turned to Jiao Tu: "Please lock me in the adjacent cell, I have some questions for Mr. Binghu."