Ch. 555 - Seems Real and Illusory

Liu Yihu and the three of them, although they also felt that the scene just now was eerie and inexplicable, did not know the details behind it, so it was far less shocking than Sun Shaozong's.

In addition, they have been guarding flammable and explosive materials like Prince Yizhong all day, naturally understanding the principle that "the less they know, the safer."

Therefore, the three of them have no intention of delving deeper,

Just thinking about sending Sun Shaozong out of the residence, who would have thought he would rashly break into Prince Yizhong's study?

Although the study had to be searched every day, the three of them were still shocked when they suddenly saw this scene, shouting and chasing after each other.

"Lord Sun!"

"Thousand Household!"

"What are you doing?!"

Just as the three of them were stepping inside and outside the door, Sun Shaozong shouted, "If you want to survive, stand at the door for me. Don't follow in recklessly!"

Liu Yihu immediately stood still. Although he was stationed in Prince Yizhong's Residence, he was actually under the jurisdiction of the Northern Town Governor and had long been familiar with the various deeds of Sun Shaozong.

Therefore, subconsciously, he followed Sun Shaozong's instructions.

As for the eunuch in the imperial robe, he was able to serve as the head of internal affairs here thanks to his cautious nature. Although it was somewhat inexplicable at this moment, he still chose to stop at the door.

Only the Hundred Households of the Southern Town Governor were already resistant to Sun Shaozong and felt that he was on their territory, so there was no need to bow down to him.

Therefore, he confidently entered and sneered at Sun Shaozong, "Inspector Sun, I'm afraid this Prince's Residence is not where you show off your authority, is it?"

"Show off my authority?"

Sun Shaozong pushed open the door of the inner bedroom and scanned it a few times. He saw only a soft and collapsed piece of jade lying empty, so he turned around and sneered, "That jade was discovered by my subordinates during the investigation yesterday, and giving it as a birthday gift to Prince Yizhong was just a decision made by His Majesty more than half an hour ago!"

The three people outside the door who could be sent to monitor Prince Yizhong were naturally not brainless fools. Therefore, with a little thought, they understood the key points and were all scared and sweating profusely.

Liu Yihu trembled outside and said, "This... is not very likely, is it? We are surrounded by three layers outside here. How could anyone possibly be ahead of you and leak information from the palace?"

"It is precisely because it is unbelievable that I need to investigate and understand clearly! If anyone breaks in recklessly and destroys the clues in this room, don’t blame me for truthfully reporting to His Majesty!"

Before he could finish speaking, the Hundred Households of the Southern Town Governor had already fled in a hurry. He wanted to say some good words. However, Sun Shaozong had already begun to patrol the house.

The first thing to check was, naturally, the coffee table with two cups of tea.

He wrapped his sleeve around his palm, flipped back and forth between the two tea cups, frowned, and asked, "Did those secret sentries just now say that the Prince stayed alone in the study for a whole hour and never went outside?"

As he spoke, he leaned down and examined the two chairs next to the coffee table inch by inch.

"Yes... Exactly so."

The Eunuch in the Imperial Robe responded outside the door, but quickly added, "There are always two people responsible for watching outside the window. The house needs to be checked every day, and there can be no hidden ways."

Tch!

This was really…

Sun Shaozong's eyebrows furrowed even tighter. When he entered the door and saw these two teacups, his first thought was that Prince Yizhong was suspicious. However, after careful examination, he found that this speculation seemed to be incorrect.

Because there was a greasy mark on one of the cups, not ordinary greasy sweat, but the greasy feeling of touching meat without washing hands.

Sun Shaozong carefully sniffed, and there was a faint smell of roasted chicken.

Just now, when he saw Prince Yizhong, his hands were clearly clean.

Did he wipe it clean?

Huh?!

Just as he was thinking about flipping through the paper basket next to his desk, Sun Shaozong suddenly made a discovery; a white hair was sandwiched between the outer gap of one of the Grand Tutor's chairs!

This was not the hair of Prince Yizhong, but rather a long hair on a ponytail.

Sun Shaozong wrapped the hair around his fingers and tried to see how soft it was. He felt that it wasn't meant for a brush.

As for musical instruments…

Looking around, there was only one Yao Qin in this study.

However, Sun Shaozong went forward to inspect and found that the strings were all made of top-quality silk.

Wait!

After checking the material of the strings, Sun Shaozong was about to turn his attention back to the long hair on the ponytail when he suddenly noticed that the middle string seemed to have a dark color, and it emitted a faint dark luster.

Upon closer inspection, the dark and bright areas seemed to be slightly thicker than other areas.

And it was not uniformly thick; just the inner and upward sides were slightly bulging, while the outer and lower sides were still fine.

Sun Shaozong quickly turned around and took a piece of white paper from the desk, carefully placed it under the strings, and then carefully scratched the shiny part of the strings with his nails.

Some small things, along with his scratches, seeped into the crevices of his nails and fell onto the paper.

When the crumbs on the paper reached a certain level, Sun Shaozong carefully pulled it out and compared it with the nails in the sunlight. Finally, he determined that it should be some sludge stained with oil.

Judging from the way this sludge adhered to the strings, it was likely that someone with oily hands accidentally played with the strings.

The oil fingerprints on the same tea cup seem similar and different.

This was even more strange!

If there were only oil on the hands and they could be wiped off with paper or a towel, the dirty sludge might have to be cleaned with water.

But the only pot of water in the room was clear and bottomless, with no trace of being used.

There were no signs of dampness in this room either, probably to prevent Prince Yizhong from playing any tricks. There were only a few decorations in the room, and the edges and corners were visible.

Moreover, if he were to change the water midway, or pour it out for cleaning, it would either leave a mark or would not hide from external monitors

"Ask someone if the Prince has ever invited sewage from outside."

Sun Shaozong gave a casual command, regardless of the three people at the door, who took the command and then shifted his gaze to the desk.

The first thing to pay attention to was, naturally, the inkstone on the table.

Seeing that there was some ink inside, Sun Shaozong took a brush and stirred it up. He made a few random strokes on the paper but did not notice anything wrong.

This was the highest quality ink. If it was mixed with sludge and oil, it would definitely affect the effectiveness of use and could be felt in an instant.

So it seemed that there shouldn't be any tricks in the ink.

"Your Excellency."

At this moment, Liu Yihu reported from outside, "The on-duty secret sentry said that after the Prince entered, he never came out again, let alone poured any sewage."

Tch!

This was strange!

Seeing that no trace could be found everywhere, Sun Shaozong temporarily took the issue of hand sanitizer to heart and focused his attention on the pile of paper, the only one with written words on it.

When have spring flowers and autumn moon arrived?

How much do we know about the past?

Last night, there was another east wind in the restaurant,

My homeland is unbearable to look back on…

The poem by Li Houzhu of the Southern Tang Dynasty was a timeless masterpiece that expresses the pain of national downfall. With the life experience of Prince Yizhong and considering his identity as a traveler, it was also quite fitting.

Looking at the frantic and ink-stained writing, it was obvious that Prince Yizhong had also brought in his own emotions.

However…

This emotion was vastly different from his slightly complacent and carefree demeanor just now.

Furthermore, this poem was not completed and came to a sudden halt halfway through, and based on the exaggerated length of the last stroke, it seemed to have been interrupted by something unusual.

"Your Excellency."

At this moment, Liu Yihu cautiously reminded, "No matter what the Prince wrote, there will always be illiterate, deaf, and mute children who are specifically responsible for burning it, so the things on the paper must have been written by the Prince just now."

What he just wrote…

Since Sun Shaozong entered the door, his eyebrows had not been loosened, and now they were tightly twisted together.

Just as the Eunuch in the Imperial Robe was about to knock on the door, Prince Yizhong voluntarily opened the door.

In theory, even if everyone had already alarmed him when they were inquiring about the dark post outside, it would not have caused too much fright because it was a bit far apart; at least it wouldn't have reached the point where the last stroke was drawn half a foot long.

Combining this with some previous traces, it seemed inferred that a visitor with oily hands suddenly appeared in the room, causing a disturbance to Prince Yizhong.

Then the person revealed to Prince Yizhong the news that someone was about to deliver the Supernatural Jade, and in some way, quickly calmed the resentment and despair in Prince Yizhong's heart.

There must be a secret passage in this room!

Otherwise, all of this wouldn't make sense!

Sun Shaozong almost searched the walls, floors, and even the roof with a three-foot digging attitude, carefully searching twice.

However…

He got nothing!

How could this be possible?!

Was it possible that this secret passage was meticulously crafted by some skilled craftsman, and cannot be triggered by ordinary techniques?

"Your Highness!"

At this moment, the sound of Liu Yihu and his companions brushing together suddenly came from outside the door.

Sun Shaozong stood up and looked out, only to see Prince Yizhong return at an unknown time. He stood at the door, observing the chaotic scene inside, and suddenly burst into laughter.

He laughed so hard that he could hardly catch his breath. He pounded his chest a few times before hoarsely saying, "Don't look for it. Even if you push down the entire study and empty it out, you won't be able to find any hidden ways."

As he spoke, he shook his head again and said, "But it's not your fault. I have read Dream of the Red Chamber, and when I saw that trace just now, I also suspected that they came in from a secret passage."

As he spoke, he suddenly showed a hopeful expression on his face and murmured, "I wonder what the Immortal looks like."

What did the Immortal look like?

What was that?

Wasn’t this guy talking nonsense?

At a moment when Sun Shaozong was puzzled, he suddenly thought of something and blurted out, "Did that Immortal hold a white brush in his hand?"

But now it was Prince Yizhong's turn to be surprised, and he said strangely, "How would you know? Have you also seen those two people..."

Sun Shaozong naturally inferred it from that long ponytail hair.

Seeing that he had hit the nail on the head, Sun Shaozong was waiting to take advantage of his victory to pursue and then interrogate him to gather some information.

Unexpectedly, when the words reached his lips, Prince Yizhong shook his head and said, "No, if you knew their origins, you wouldn't have been searching for them all over here. Anyway, you can do whatever you want, just don't forget to pass on the message to my Brother."

As he spoke, he shook his robe sleeves again and went away on his own.

Sun Shaozong instinctively took a few steps to chase after him, but he heard him muttering about things like the "Dream of the Red Chamber is indeed the Dream of the Red Chamber," "Fantasy Realm," "Fairy Girl," "Sixty Years of Emperor Dream," and "Unexpectedly, what he hoped for was a fairyland."

The voice gradually became inaudible, but those words lingered in Sun Shaozong's heart, vague and confused, making him feel like he was falling into a mist.

Damn it~

What exactly was written in this Dream of the Red Chamber?

Wasn’t it a story of a love triangle and sadistic love?

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