The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

15 minutes later, the iron gate rumbled again.

“Bad luck, it's really bad luck.”

Still the familiar line.

The sour and decaying atmosphere emanating from the secret room also became strong again.

The expression on Liu Luanwei's face suddenly became slightly subtle. He hesitated and looked inside a few times before tentatively asking, "Your Excellency, is it possible that Li-Shi... vomited again?”

Sun Shaozong covered his nose and didn’t respond to Liu Luanwei's question. Instead, he turned his gaze to several young eunuchs and questioned suspiciously, "Is it because there was something wrong with the food you gave her? Otherwise, how could she vomit one after another?”

“How could this be possible?”

He suddenly made several eunuchs cry out, saying, “Before we feed that lowly maidservant the food, we must all taste it one by one! If something happens, it should be us who suffer with her!”

“Besides, when we were just guarding her, we didn't see anything wrong with her. It was you who came twice, and she happened to…”

Sun Shaozong raised his eyebrows and stared at the eunuch, questioning, "Do you still want to blame me for this?”

Under his fierce gaze, the young eunuch, although somewhat dissatisfied, didn’t dare to express his doubts in the end.

Sun Shaozong sneered a few more times and shook his black python-like sleeve without distinguishing between east, west, north, south, or even Liu Luanwei on the side. He chose a small path and left on his own.

Liu Luanwei quickly followed behind.

A few eunuchs watched as the two of them drifted away. Just now, the ”straightforward” one couldn't help but take the first few steps and spat viciously, “Spit! What's so proud of being such a bully?!”

Looking back, he saw several companions still standing outside the door. Liu Luanwei immediately gathered his chest and screamed softly, "Why are you all fooling around? Don't you hurry in and clean up the filth that Li-Shi vomited. I'll go to the kitchen to see if there's anything light and delicious so that she won't cause us any more trouble.”

As he spoke, he also swaggered away.

“Spit! What a bully.”

Little did he know that as soon as he left, the remaining three eunuchs all cursed. The four were all temporarily transferred from the Palace, not affiliated with each other, and of similar rank. Naturally, they could only distinguish between high and low based on their background.

And this Cheng Jin stood out among several people precisely because of his good godfather.

The three eunuchs who stayed behind cursed and cleaned up the filth, then lit sandalwood to cover the sour smell. It was easy to tidy everything up, and only then did Cheng Jin and the two kitchen maids folded back.

After the two cooks put four dishes, two soups, and a dozen or so buns on the table and respectfully left the room, Cheng Jin hugged his shoulders again and lifted his chin, and said, "Try the dishes."

The three eunuchs cursed inwardly, but after all, they didn’t dare to turn their backs on him. They each chose two dishes, tried a few bites with silver chopsticks, and waited for about a quarter of an hour. After seeing no abnormalities, they mixed the two vegetarian dishes with clear soup and placed them in a shallow wine bottle.

Immediately, two eunuchs, one on the left and the other on the right, pinched Li's nose, and the other held Li's chin. Cheng Jin picked up a wine bottle and was about to pour it into the gap in her mouth. Unexpectedly, Li's throat stirred and she sprayed Cheng Jin all over his face with a sound!

“What a goddamn maid.”

Although there was not much food residue in her stomach because she had already vomited twice, the sticky and greasy liquid still angered Cheng Jin uncontrollably, and he raised his hand to greet Li-Shi's face.

His palm was raised for a long time, but it didn't fall, and the angry expression on his face was replaced by a strange expression.

“Eunuch Cheng?”

Seeing him as if he were possessed, the only idle eunuch quickly handed over a handkerchief and pretended to be concerned, asking, "Are you all right?’

Cheng Jin took advantage of the situation and stuffed the wine bottle into him. He grabbed a towel and casually wiped a few on his face. He then led the three of them to the door with a low voice, saying, "The food we fed her at noon must be fine. This lowly maid has vomited multiple times; should it be that she’s...”

Although he didn't mention the word ”pregnant,” the three eunuchs looked at his strange expression and guessed…”

At that moment, their faces became different, some suddenly realized, some were skeptical, and naturally, some didn't take it seriously.

The first person who didn't agree shook his head and said, "Eunuch Cheng may have thought too much. This lowly maid bit off the Crown Prince's dragon root, and she’s now pregnant... How could such a coincidence happen in this world?”

Suddenly realizing it, he immediately began to sing the opposite tone. "It's not impossible. I heard that the Crown Prince often patronizes this lowly maid, and he visits her every three to five days. He may have planted it a few times before.”

As for the skeptical one, he directly aimed his spear at Sun Shaozong and said suspiciously, "Eunuch Cheng, do you think it could be that Lord Sun caused this? Before he came, this lowly maid was well-behaved, and it was only after he came that these many things happened.”

“It is possible too." The eunuch, who suddenly realized, frowned and said, "But why did he do it?”

“Could it be…”

The disapproving eunuch swallowed his saliva and pointed his finger toward the sky, trembling, saying, "Is this what the above means?”

The three of them stood silent at the same time. If there were more ”dragon bloodlines” at present, it would undoubtedly be most advantageous for Emperor Guangde, so this speculation might be true.

“But that doesn't make sense.”

However, after a while, the skeptical one couldn't help but question, "If that's what the above means, why would he choose this lowly maid? You know His Majesty and the Crown Prince both want to cut her into countless pieces. I’m afraid she is also unwilling to give birth for the Crown Prince…”

“Yes, leaving the Crown Princess and all those Royal Concubines, he chose this lowly maid.”

“Is it true that she has…”

“Isn't it that coincidental?”

“How do you know?”

They spoke with each other but didn’t dare to utter the word ”pregnant” or completely deny the possibility.

In the end, Cheng Jin hammered his voice firmly and said, "Alright! This matter is not something we can get involved in. We'll just pass this matter to Cabinet Xu and let him decide.”

Upon hearing this, the three of them all agreed, so they drew lots and selected an unlucky person, hurriedly heading towards the front hall where Cabinet Xu was located.

After Sun Shaozong left the secret room, headless flies wandered around in the back garden, and only then did he stop his steps when he saw an open area with no one in the four fields.

Looking back at Liu Luanwei, who looked like a pug, with a faint sigh, he said, "As a close courtier of the Crown Prince, Magistrate Liu was originally considered promising, but unexpectedly, you encountered such unexpected disasters for no reason. Ah, it was fate's will.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Luanwei's heart was filled with anxiety. He didn't believe that Sun Shaozong had chosen such a remote place just to say a few useless nonsense.

Therefore, he quickly increased his vigilance and said with a cautious and bitter smile, "Perhaps I should have had this disaster in my life.”

Sun Shaozong shook his head and chuckled. "Even if it's a fate destined by heaven, if you spare no effort to fight for it, how do you know that there is no life in this destiny to survive and turn danger into safety?”

This seemed to be urging oneself to make a desperate effort.

Liu Luanwei speculated in his heart, but how would he dare to listen to the instigation of strangers?

He was hesitating about how to politely excuse himself so that Sun Shaozong wouldn't make any difficult demands, but when he saw Sun Shaozong taking another big step, he didn't look back and greeted him. He said, "Let's go; accompany me to Cabinet Xu's place for a casual meal first, and then continue to investigate this case!"