Chapter 140: Shock Spreads Through the Capital
Hearing Li Tianyi's words, the Queen Consort was silent for a moment in thought, then furrowed her brow and asked, "You mentioned earlier that Li Zhu's death appears to be connected to the Tianjin Guards. What is that about? Even if you gave Fu Qiwen a thousand times the courage, would he dare kill a prince?"
Hearing this, Li Tianyi gave a gentle shake of his head, saying, "This is also only something this servant heard through reports. Apparently the Third Prince had gone to the Tianjin Guards before the incident to find that Eighth Prince, and not long after he left the Tianjin Guards headquarters he vanished, and then subsequently turned up as a corpse."
"The Eighth Prince again?"
The Queen Consort's eyes narrowed, as though something had come to mind. She suddenly looked at Li Tianyi before her and said, "This Palace had someone look into the Eighth Prince's background and found something rather interesting. The person who went to that remote town and brought him back was a female constable, and that female constable's identity turns out to be none other than the daughter of the Cangyuan Marquis. Quite a coincidence, would you not say?"
Li Tianyi, however, seemed entirely unsurprised by this. He nodded with an unruffled expression, saying, "This servant was also already aware of this, and it is in fact one of the reasons this servant just mentioned wanting to investigate the truth through the Third Prince's killing."
The Queen Consort fixed her gaze on him for quite a while before withdrawing it, then waved a hand and said, "Handle this matter as you see fit. This Palace has only one requirement, which is that before His Majesty emerges from seclusion, you had best bring all of this to some kind of resolution."
"After all, a consort has died within the palace, and now a prince has died in the capital on top of that. You should be well aware of how wrathful His Majesty will be when he learns of all this."
Li Tianyi let out a quiet sigh, and for a moment his own face showed an expression of considerable gravity. He clasped his hands toward the Queen Consort in a bow, saying, "This servant understands. Every effort will be made to find the killer."
"Very well. If there is nothing else, you are dismissed. Come and see this Palace again once the killer is found."