The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 251 The Bat-Patterned Box

"The hidden compartments here have all been pried open and searched thoroughly, Your Highness. I'm afraid we won't find what we're looking for."

The person attending to Li Sheng couldn't help but advise him that Zhao Wanfu had already taken care of everything and would not leave any loopholes.

Li Sheng rummaged through the study and found several pieces of Zhao Wanfu's practice writings on the desk, covered in dust.

"His handwriting has always been good."

Li Sheng looked around for a while, then went to look elsewhere, but still found nothing.

Back at the Dali Temple, Li Sheng turned around and said, "Bring Madam Zhao out. I have some questions for her."

Despite sharing a bed for so many years, Madam Zhao was unaware of Zhao Wanfu's true nature. This was because Madam Zhao was not particularly intelligent, which is why Zhao Wanfu kept it a secret.

Madam Zhao was brought out with a trembling heart and looked at Li Sheng.

"Your Highness."

Her lips moved, but she didn't know what to say. Zhao Wanfu was trying to drag the Zhao family down with him, and she knew nothing about it. She couldn't even utter a word of defense.

"Hasn't Madam Zhao noticed anything amiss before?"

Mrs. Zhao gave an awkward smile.

Honestly, she didn't even notice.

Zhao Wanfu never allowed her into his study, and despite his busy schedule, his attitude towards her remained unchanged for ten years, so Madam Zhao never suspected anything.

Moreover, since Zhao Wanfu had found such a good marriage for their daughter, Madam Zhao trusted him even more.

She never imagined that Zhao Wanfu would do such a thing.

"Madam Zhao, please think about it again carefully."

Li Sheng wasn't in a hurry. Now, he could only ask these people and piece together the truth bit by bit.

Madam Zhao racked her brains and vaguely remembered something.

"It seems like it was the year before last or sometime when the Crown Prince sent him something. I saw that the box was beautifully decorated, and I went to take a look out of curiosity. Before I could even look at it, he found out and scolded me. I was furious."

Madam Zhao remembered it because Zhao Wanfu's face was really ugly at that time, as if she had done something heinous.

For a moment, Madam Zhao even felt that Zhao Wanfu wanted to kill her.

She still feels lingering fear when she thinks about it now, and glances at Li Sheng across from her.

Li Sheng frowned. "Where is the box?"

He remembered that among the things he brought back from the Prime Minister's residence, there were no exquisitely carved boxes.

Madam Zhao thought for a moment, "I can't remember. He kept it like a treasure, and I've never seen anyone take it out."

What kind of carvings are on the box?

"It looks like bat patterns."

Li Sheng closed his eyes. The bat-patterned box—back in Lizhou, that transfer order was taken out of the bat-patterned box.

"Go tell the people searching the East Palace to see if they can find a bat-patterned box there. Also, ask the people who served Zhao Jiahe before to see if anything disappeared with her when she went missing."

The attendant hurriedly went to do it.

Li Sheng got up and ordered someone to take Madam Zhao back.

If it weren't for that order from his father, how could he have sent his soldiers there? And afterwards, he couldn't find that order anymore.

Li Sheng took a quick breath; something seemed to be surfacing.

Yu Qi walked in and noticed that Li Sheng looked strange, so he asked her a few questions with concern.

"I've discovered something's not right."

Yu Qi became serious and then learned about the bat-patterned box.

“Aside from His Highness’s previous testimony, no one has mentioned this box again.”

The person who delivered the transfer order back then also disappeared without a trace. Li Jiangui explicitly stated that he did not issue that transfer order.

By then, Li Jiangui had already sensed that something was wrong, but the facts were right in front of him, and anger filled his mind, so he couldn't think about anything else.

"Yes, that transfer order that disappeared out of thin air became evidence to convict me, since I was the one who ultimately issued the order."

Li Sheng smiled bitterly. Fortunately, he had asked Madam Zhao today. He just didn't know why the box had ended up in Zhao Wanfu's hands again, where it would be sent next, or whether the contents of the box had been switched.

Everything is still unknown.

"Your Highness, is the handwriting on it truly His Majesty's?"

"It's exactly the same handwriting I'm familiar with; at least I couldn't tell anything was wrong with it."

There are many people in the public who can imitate handwriting perfectly, but searching for them in this way is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“Even if it’s like finding a needle in a haystack, we have to examine it carefully. If the box is still there, what’s inside must be very important. I’m just afraid that Zhao Jiahe, who disappeared, took it with him to do something else.”

Yu Qi's heart skipped a beat as he recalled Li Jing's arrogant and fearless demeanor these past few days.

Li Jing wasn't acting with complete confidence; he seemed to be resigned to his fate.

He must have understood that even if he cleared his name, there would still be a rift between him and the emperor in the future.

Li Jing has always been ruthless; he is definitely plotting something else.

"I have a feeling something bad is going to happen." Yu Qi was uneasy, but he didn't know where the trouble would come from.

At the Third Prince's residence, Li Jun feigned illness and hid inside, turning a deaf ear to what was happening outside.

Zhao Jing'er brought in lotus seed soup, her eyes flickering as she recalled what she had just seen.

Those people acted so madly that they actually made her kill Li Jun.

They also threatened Zhao Jing'er that if she didn't take action, they would find another way to frame her.

Whether Zhao Jing'er did it or not, the ending would be pretty much the same. Zhao Jing'er was just a concubine in the Third Prince's mansion who unintentionally gained Li Jun's favor, but she never expected the accident to happen so quickly.

"Your Highness," Zhao Jing'er said, setting down the lotus seed soup. "I made lotus seed soup; please try it."

Li Jun put down her book; the Third Prince's residence was becoming increasingly quiet.

"Isn't it the anniversary of the Third Prince's wife's death in a few days?"

Zhao Jing'er was taken aback, realizing that Li Jun was referring not to Liang Ruoxue, but to the one from before.

"Yes, three days from now is the anniversary of the Crown Princess's death."

"It's already so fast," Li Jun's eyes flickered slightly, but she still sighed.

It's too chaotic right now; it's not advisable to go out.

"Alright, let's offer some prayers at the ancestral tablet in the mansion, and I'll have someone perform a ritual for her after this is over."

Zhao Jing'er bit her lip: "Your Highness, the soup is getting cold."

Li Jun looked at the lotus seed soup but had little appetite.

"You can go down now, I'll rest for a while."

Zhao Jing'er was terrified and immediately knelt down with a thud.

"Your Highness, is there something I haven't done well in serving you?"

Li Jun did not understand what she meant.

"There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that missing old friends makes me lose my appetite."

Zhao Jing'er thought for a moment, but decided not to reveal what had happened. She then took the lotus seed soup and left.

Those people are pressuring her, and she doesn't know what to do right now.

After Zhao Jing'er left, Li Jun's expression tightened.

He wasn't stupid; Zhao Jing'er's expression just now did indeed seem strange, and she kept making him drink that lotus seed soup.

It seems there isn't much peace in his residence either.

Li Jun hadn't offended anyone, and she really couldn't figure out why anyone would want to harm her, so she could only let Zhao Jing'er investigate along this line.