The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 1423

Chapter 1423: 692 second watch

Li Sande went to look at the man under the tree again, and compared to the three eunuchs, this man’s death was much more tragic. He was killed by a sharpened tree branch thrust through his chest, and the murderer didn’t even bother to take the weapon, leaving it arrogantly at the scene.

Li Sande sensed the gravity of the situation. As the chief eunuch of the Central Harmony Hall, a murder had occurred right under his watch. No matter how you looked at it, it was his negligence.

He couldn’t understand— with the palace’s strict guard, who had the audacity, eating the heart of a bear and the courage of a leopard, to cause trouble in the Imperial Palace?

"Didn’t you notice any suspicious people?" he asked the guards accompanying him.

The guards shook their heads.

Gu Jiao wasn’t surprised either. While it’s true that the Imperial Palace’s defenses were formidable, to someone like Nangong Li, a master martial artist, evading detection wasn’t too difficult.

Plus, Nangong Li might have been thoroughly familiar with the palace guards’ shift changes and patrol routines, allowing him to exploit gaps in the defenses.

The location of the killing must also have been carefully chosen by Nangong Li. It was completely in the blind spot of the Central Harmony Hall.

It wasn’t until the end that Li Sande came before Nangong Li. This time he scrutinized Nangong Li’s face very carefully. The more he looked, the more he felt that something was off.

He pulled out a handkerchief, wiped off the blood on Nangong Li’s face, and then he heard himself shout in alarm, standing up all at once!

"Eunuch Li!"

The guards thought the man had come back to life and rushed over to protect Li Sande.

But when they saw the face that had been cleaned of blood, they too wore the same astonished expression as Li Sande.

Given the seriousness of the matter, Li Sande immediately inquired about the specifics from Gu Jiao.

Who was the murderer?

What had happened?

And what was the deal with the bloody handprint on her clothes?

"I don’t know."

"I didn’t see anything."

"When I arrived, those three were already breathing their last. He was still hanging on, and, knowing a bit of the art of Qihuang, I thought to try and save him. He grabbed my garment as if he wanted to tell me who the murderer was, but unfortunately, he died before he could finish,"

Gu Jiao said calmly, looking as open and honest as could be, without a trace of guilt. _{freēwēbnovel.com}

Mu Chuan hurriedly said, "I can vouch for that! Xiao Liulang truly knows medical skills!"

Zhao Wei chimed in, "That’s right! We all can vouch for it! On the day we had a showdown with Pingyang Academy, students from Zizhu Academy and Songshan Academy got into a big fight, and the wall in the attic collapsed. Xiao Liulang was there providing medical assistance! Several deans were present too! If you don’t believe us, you can send someone to ask!"

Yuan Xiao added, "And there’s Duke of An Country! Xiao Liulang has treated the Duke before!"

In truth, there was no necessary causal link between Gu Jiao’s knowledge of medicine and her attempt to rescue Nangong Li, but as long as her medical expertise was proven to be genuine, her decision to stay and try to save the victims was justified.

To refute this fact, compelling evidence would be needed.

Given the bloody handprint on her, there were only two possibilities for her presence at the scene: either she was there to save someone, or she was the killer.

The motive for saving someone was clear. She was a physician, compassionate and benevolent; she wouldn’t stand by and watch someone die.

The motive for killing, however, was much harder to establish.