Wei Enxian shouted, "No, you dare not! Even if the emperor agrees, I won't!"
After saying that, she rushed headlong towards the coffin. Du Gu Luanyue, who was closest to her, grabbed her in time, fortunately preventing any serious accident.
"Concubine Xian, calm down!" Du Gu Luanyue stepped forward and shouted.
Then she looked at Huo Wei and said, "I know you're deeply grieved and guilty, but please understand the feelings of a mother who has just lost her son. Give her some time."
Huo Wei walked out with his long - sword slung across his back. A loud bang came from behind, the sound of Huo Wei slamming his palm against the door panel.
He felt extremely guilty. If he hadn't been so bent on revenge and trying to undermine the imperial power, pushing Murong Jue to the throne, Murong Jue wouldn't have been killed.
In order to avenge the Xie family, he had once destroyed the Western Liao, shattering a once - intact country. Now, still for revenge, Murong Jue was gone. He hated himself deeply.
In the name of avenging a so - called blood case, he had been creating more bloodshed. For the first time, he loathed everything he had done.
Du Gu Luanyue stood in the mourning hall, looking into the coffin where the bright yellow silk covered Murong Jue's face.
She was looking at a boy who was only eighteen years old, a fresh - faced and lively youth just a few days ago, now reduced to a corpse.
She felt deeply sad herself. She also bore some responsibility for this, as the plan had been proposed by her.
"Concubine Xian, I will surely investigate the prince's death thoroughly and give you an explanation."
Du Gu Luanyue's outstretched hand paused in mid - air. She pursed her lips, her throat aching.
She turned and walked out of the Eastern Palace. In a dark corner, she found Huo Wei crouching against the wall with his head in his hands. Her jade - like eyes trembled slightly. At this moment, any words of comfort would be superfluous. She walked over and crouched down to hug him.
After a sleepless night, Huo Wei's eyes were bloodshot. "I hate myself so much," he said.
Du Gu Luanyue took out a piece of candy from her sleeve, unwrapped it, and said, "So do I.
The third prince was young and innocent. He adored you and regarded you as his elder brother.
To protect you from Murong Min's schemes, although he didn't care about power, he bravely stepped forward and became a victim in this struggle."
After saying that, the rose - flavored candy landed in Huo Wei's palm.
Huo Wei's fierce eyes were filled with deep hatred. He crushed the rose candy in his palm:
"The murderer can't be the second prince, Murong Hua. I will surely find the real murderer and avenge A Jue!"
Du Gu Luanyue nodded. "I'll help you find the murderer."
Huo Wei squeezed her cold and delicate hand. "I haven't had the time to deal with that old lecher for what happened in the side - room of the Zichen Hall last night. Are you feeling better?"
She smiled faintly. "It's a trivial matter. He didn't succeed. But I have other uses for Prime Minister Ning. Don't make things difficult for him for now. This is an opportunity."
Huo Wei nodded in agreement, and at the same time, he looked at Du Gu Luanyue with a complicated expression.
How could she call such a big thing a trivial matter? What was her heart made of?
Du Gu Luanyue suddenly asked, "There's a female corpse buried behind Fuyue Temple. It's said to be an out - of - palace lover of Murong Min named Lu Wanyin.
I've probed Murong Min many times. I found that no woman in the harem can arouse great emotional fluctuations in Murong Min, except Lu Wanyin.
Huo Wei, you're from Northern Yan. Do you know anything else about Lu Wanyin?"
Huo Wei turned his head, his eyes looking deep. "Why are you asking about her? What are you up to?"
Du Gu Luanyue whispered, "There are hallucinogenic substances added to Murong Min's golden pills by the Taoist priest. And Lu Wanyin has always been a knot in Murong Min's heart. I'm thinking if we can use this as an opportunity to control Murong Min."
Huo Wei lowered his eyes and said calmly,
"Lu Wanyin is from Jinyang City. She comes from a noble family and is a well - educated young lady. She loved painting since childhood and was extremely talented. Her paintings at the age of seven could fetch high prices in Jinyang City.
Later, due to the inconvenience of being a woman, she took a false name, Liu Yin. She was a famous and mysterious painter in Northern Yan, and her paintings were worth a fortune.
She loved to paint two things most: wild geese and her husband, Xie Jinyang."
Du Gu Luanyue asked curiously, "How do you know so much about her?"
Huo Wei was silent for a while before saying, "I heard from others. Many of the deputy generals in the army are from Jinyang City."
He didn't dare to tell Du Gu Luanyue everything about himself. He didn't want to drag another person into this mess.
Murong Jue had already died because of him. He didn't want to see Du Gu Luanyue get into danger because of him.
While Du Gu Luanyue was deep in thought, Huo Wei said coldly, "You'd better stay away from the matter of Lu Wanyin. Do you hear me?"
Du Gu Luanyue heard him but didn't respond.
Seven days passed. Huo Wei joined forces with the Ministry of Justice to investigate all the clues, but there was no new progress.
Just as Du Gu Luanyue had predicted, without direct evidence, Murong Hua had been released under the protection of Empress Dowager Hua.
Wei Enxian knelt outside the Zichen Hall every day, begging the emperor to execute the second prince. The emperor got annoyed and confined her to her own palace, ignoring her.
Du Gu Luanyue visited Wei Enxian's palace.
"Concubine Xian, the coffin will be closed today. The second prince has been acquitted. The autopsy is the last chance. Are you really going to give up?"
Wei Enxian sat on the floor with her hair in disarray. The floor was littered with wine bottles. "Empress, you're young. Have you noticed the emperor's cold - heartedness?"
Du Gu Luanyue knew exactly what had happened in the past few days. Murong Min had been sad and angry only in the first few days.
From yesterday on, he was no longer sad about losing a son. Instead, he had conferred low - rank concubines on the women that Sheng Yunqi had found for him.
Wei Enxian knelt outside the Zichen Hall every day not only to seek justice for her son but also to get some comfort from her husband. But none of that happened.
"I've noticed the emperor's cold - heartedness for a long time," she said with a cold smile.
Wei Enxian's face was covered with tears. "He only loves Lu Wanyin. All other women are just playthings and tools to him. But he deserves it. Lu Wanyin is already dead. Murong Min will never win her heart in this lifetime."
Du Gu Luanyue said, "Concubine Xian, most men are cold - hearted by nature. As a woman, you should put yourself first.
In the future, you should live for yourself, not just for your husband.
If you don't pull yourself together and avenge your son, the Wei family will be in danger.
You know, A Jue was the crown prince. Without him, the hope of the Wei family is gone.
The coffin lid will be closed today. Whether you want an autopsy or seek justice for your son is up to you."
Wei Enxian let out a few screams on the floor. "Autopsy. Fine. Go ahead. I must know the truth!"
Du Gu Luanyue quickly sent someone to stop the coffin - sealing in the Eastern Palace and asked Huo Wei to lead people to conduct the autopsy immediately.
Shen Guilan and three coroners carried out the body. Two hours later, Shen Guilan walked out, his face as pale as paper.
Huo Wei rushed up and asked, "Senior Brother, do you have any results? What kind of poison was it?"
Shen Guilan looked a bit dazed. After a pause, he said, "It's not certain yet."
He ran to a tree and retched. Big tears rolled down his face, and his whole back was shaking.