Something Is Off
Back then, Bai Susu was still young, and at that time, the Prince hadn’t met me yet, nor was he married, and certainly had no other sweetheart. Bai Susu admired the Prince—if you said she was foolish enough to try drugging him so she could force a relationship, I’d believe it. But if you said she tried to poison him, she really had no reason or need. Besides, the Prince is her savior, and Bai Susu was counting on him to clear her family’s name. If she poisoned the Prince, who would help the Bai family? So, Bai Susu had neither motive nor reason to kill the Prince. Her story about being tricked into buying the wrong medicine is likely the truth.
After Su Li finished speaking, she looked at Xiao Zetian, who nodded in agreement. "That's right. Back then, Bai Susu truly had no reason to poison me."
"Exactly. Bai Susu said she was tricked, which means someone else wanted to target the Prince but failed. The mastermind back then hid so well, it’s terrifying to think about. I have a feeling today’s incident is connected to the Prince’s poisoning years ago—maybe the same person is behind both!" Su Li speculated boldly, but before she could finish, someone walked in and interrupted her.
At that moment, Xiao Yun entered, cupped his fists, and said, "Your Highness, Your Ladyship, I was ordered to arrest those students, and the interrogation is complete."
Su Li and Xiao Zetian exchanged glances. Xiao Zetian asked Xiao Yun, "Any leads?"
Xiao Yun replied, "That group said Old Hu hired them to pose as students and wait in the courtyard. Most of them are loafers from around the capital, paid to do the job, and nothing else could be learned. I investigated their backgrounds—they’re indeed unemployed drifters from the capital area. There’s nothing more to dig up."
Su Li pondered for a moment and said, "Looks like Old Hu was very thorough—he found a bunch of unemployed drifters, only told them to take the money and do the job, and kept everything else from them. Seems like interrogation won’t get us anywhere."
Xiao Yun nodded. "Exactly. We can’t get anything out of those drifters, and Old Hu is dead. I’m digging for other clues. We’ve already sent people to secretly hunt down Liu Yi, who caused trouble at the teacher’s banquet. Liu Yi seems to have gotten wind of it and fled, but our men are searching everywhere. I’m confident we’ll catch him soon and get answers."
Su Li nodded. "Liu Yi is definitely suspicious. Once we catch him, we should be able to get something out of him."
Su Li paused, suddenly remembering something, and asked Xiao Yun, "Since those fake students are all loafers from around the capital, they must be pretty scattered. Gathering so many unemployed drifters would take time—so when did Old Hu first approach them?"
Xiao Yun answered, "You’re absolutely right, Your Ladyship. During my interrogation, I discovered that Old Hu did recruit them in batches over time. The first group was contacted four days ago."
"Four days ago?! Are you sure it was four days ago?" Su Li felt a chill run down her spine—a terrifying possibility flashed in her mind, making her shiver all over.
"Yes, Your Ladyship, it was four days ago. I made sure to get the details right during the interrogation," Xiao Yun replied. "Is there something odd about that?"
"It’s nothing. You may go and continue the search for Liu Yi," Su Li waved him off, her face pale as she gripped the edge of the table and sat down.