The Scheming of Sui and Tang 027 Cherish Each Other

  After Liao Qingyun finished dealing with the tasks at hand, everyone returned to the front hall and sat down. Liao Qingyun changed into a new set of clothes in the inner chamber before coming out.

  He was about the same age as Gu Ling, wearing a cyan-colored satin robe, his face and figure both looked slightly slender, with refined and delicate features. What's most striking were his eyes, which were long and narrow at the corners, with a cold and piercing gaze that seemed to hold a depth of meaning.

  Gu Qiu looked at Liao Qingyun, and involuntarily shivered with fear. He found it hard to associate the refined and elegant young master in front of him with the terrified boy who had just sewn up a corpse. As someone who was considered worldly-wise, what he saw in the back hall earlier was truly a first for him.

  Liao Da Ren stood up and introduced them: "Mr. Gu, this is Liao Qing Yun, a young man of your age. You two should get along well."

  "Green Cloud, this is Gu Ling, Master Gu's son, we..."

  "I know you're here for the Moon Qing Palace fire case, but Father didn't tell me not to interfere with this case, so why did he bring Lord Guo's son here?"

  Liao's smile faded slightly as he let out a light sigh: "The Emperor originally assigned this case to General Zhao, Father and Lord Yu are just assisting with the investigation."

  "The Emperor has now handed the case over to Lord Gu to lead the investigation, and Father is only assisting with the investigation." Liao Qingyun spoke in a flat tone, his voice as calm and collected as he was, with an inexplicable charm.

  Liao Daren glanced at Gu Ling, and after a moment of silence, he slowly said: "This case is very important, Father hopes you can help Gu Gongzi with one arm." If it weren't for the old Houye's kindness to him back then, how could he have today? This favor must be repaid.

  Liao Qingyun did not make a sound, as if she had acquiesced.

  Gu Ling looked at Liao Qingyun and said, "Last night, Gu Ling has read through all the case files. At present, the case seems to have no leads. I heard that Lord Liao is well-versed in forensic science and has a unique perspective on solving cases. So, without being invited, I came to discuss with Lord Liao and ask for his assistance."

  Liao Qingyun's eyes narrowed slightly: "Young Master Gu said it seems to be unrelated, does that mean Young Master Gu already has a clue in mind? Just say it straight."

  Gu Ling looked at him and said slowly: "Gu Ling thinks that in order to crack this case, as long as the direction is correct, it's actually not difficult."

  Liao Qingyun seemed to have taken an interest and nodded at Gu Ling to continue.

  Gu Ling glanced at the father and son, saying: "The imperial palace is heavily guarded, and outsiders wanting to sneak in and commit a crime would need extraordinary abilities; otherwise, Gu Ling thinks that outsiders committing crimes should be ruled out first."

  Yue Qing Palace was the sleeping quarters of the Grand Princess. The Grand Princess was a reserved person who never drew attention to herself in the palace, let alone cause trouble or make enemies. If someone were seeking revenge, they wouldn't need to go to such great lengths, and it's even more unlikely that they would brutally kill all the palace maids and eunuchs in Yue Qing Palace. Therefore, Gu Ling thought this also ruled out the possibility of someone seeking revenge against the Grand Princess.

  Liao Qingyun listened seriously, his face expressionless, but the seriousness in his eyes showed that he agreed with Gu Ling's inference.

  Liao Daren listened to Gu Ling's calm and orderly analysis of the case, secretly astonished in his heart. He didn't expect that at such a young age, Gu Gongzi would have such a calm and composed mind, no wonder Old Houye could let him go to Beijing alone with peace of mind.

  "Since it's neither an external enemy nor a personal vendetta of the Grand Princess, there are only two possibilities: one is that the Grand Princess discovered some secret and was silenced by the killer, or..."

  Liao Qingyun directly interrupted Gu Ling's words: "I'm more inclined towards the latter."

  Gu Ling was taken aback for a moment, then smiled slowly and stretched out his hand to invite Liao Qingyun.

  Liao Qingyun's gaze was cold and sharp, but his tone remained unchanged: "If it were the eldest princess who discovered some secret, the murderer would have had plenty of ways to silence her without resorting to this method. This case seems to be airtight, yet it is full of doubts. The two points that Lord Gu eliminated earlier only serve to further narrow down the identity of the murderer."

  Liao Daren also came to his senses at this time, looking at Gu Ling and then at Liao Qingyun, his expression becoming serious, but he didn't stop Liao Qingyun from continuing to speak.

  Gu Ling nodded and said, "The person who can set fire to the Moon Clear Palace without being detected is likely someone with power within the palace. There aren't many people in the harem who have gained power, so it may not be easy to catch the culprit, but it's also not impossible."

  Liao Qingyun sank into thought for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly as she hooked the corner of her mouth: "I've seen the autopsy report on the victims. All fifteen bodies were burned to charcoal, and apart from being able to tell male from female, their facial features were completely unrecognizable. This was also the main reason why the killer went to great lengths to set fire to the Moonlight Palace. So, I dare to conclude that the killer was actually trying to conceal a shocking secret within the Moonlight Palace."

  Liao Da Ren took a deep breath: "Qing Yun, your meaning is that the root of the problem lies in the Moon Palace, which means it lies with the Eldest Princess?"

  "I completely agree with Liao Gongzi's argument," said Gu Ling with a smile.

  Liao Qingyun's approval of Gu Ling was just a faint glance at him, with no obvious change on his face: "Master Gu must have already had a direction for investigation and evidence collection in mind?"

  "After a conversation with Liao Gongzi, Gu Ling suddenly felt enlightened and his mind was cleared up."

  Two people of similar age chatted together, and both sides had some affection for each other, exchanging a smile.

  "If Master Gu needs something in Qingyun, just come find me."

  "Of course."

  ……

  The imperial palace was quiet and silent at midnight, the eunuchs on duty blew cold wind, shrunk their necks, forced themselves to be energetic, and rubbed their drooping eyelids.

  The palace lanterns swayed, and from time to time, the howling of cold wind could be heard. Except for the occasional passing of patrolling imperial guards, the entire imperial palace was shrouded in an eerie silence.

  Suddenly a black shadow like a nimble little cat quickly hid in the flower cluster, dodging a team of forbidden soldiers who were patrolling forward.

  After the forbidden army passed by on patrol, the dark shadow adjusted his breathing and quickly moved towards his target.

  Through the intricate palace paths, soon the black shadow arrived at a desolate and abandoned palace. In the darkness, the towering steps of the palace seemed to swallow everything.

  The palace had no lanterns hanging from it, but the faint glow of the lanterns coming from the long corridor in front was still enough to make out the name of the palace: Worry-Free Palace.

  He didn't climb the stairs, but instead ran along the palace wall with his body close to it until he reached a secluded corner. He looked up at the towering high wall in front of him and pulled out a rope, starting to climb...

  Inside the room without lighting, in the pitch-black night, listening to Yu Zhu and Yu Cui's even breathing sounds, Yuan Wuyou didn't disturb them, and once again reviewed his own thought process.

  Chen Meiren is Liu Yinghua's mole by Yu Fei's side, so the rest of them must have also planted their own people. These are the people she needs to get right now.

  The Moon Palace fire case was just a fuse in her eyes.

  Behind this case is a hidden dark struggle, the Grand Princess is just a sacrificed pawn. The one who sacrificed the Grand Princess is either Crown Prince Yuanshuo or Second Prince Yuanxiasheng, both of whom have a 50% chance of being suspected. She needs to find evidence to prove that Yuanshuo is innocent or Yuanxiasheng is guilty.

  To do this, she first needs to use the people for her, so she must find out the hidden stakes that Liu Yinghua had buried before, perhaps these hidden stakes have changed their minds and are no longer loyal after Liu Yinghua's death.

  However, she still couldn't easily give up any possibility. As long as she knew who these people were, she would have a way to make them useful for her again. With twelve days left until New Year's Eve, if this move failed, she would have to proceed with the second plan.

  If it were before yesterday, the remaining twelve days would be neither long nor short.

  It seems like she has another competitor now.

  Gu Ling, the new generation representative of Gu's family, became famous in Beijing overnight. At a young age, he was trusted by his family to go to Beijing alone, and just for this reason, she would not underestimate him as a competitor.

  She seems to be racing against time to get ahead of herself!