Chapter 15 — Little Demon King Khang Vuong Phu

On the paper clearly recorded the story of my father colluding with the remnants of Liangzhou, storing weapons, and plotting to execute His Majesty. The ink is not yet completely dry. I laughed angrily.

"So thoughtful, even the evidence of guilt was already written for us."

Suddenly Co Sung An's voice was heard outside.

“Have you found anything yet?”

Someone reported: "The fire in the West courtyard is so big, I still can't get in." Co Sung An ordered: "Wait until the fire is over and dig up that thing for me." I hugged the wooden box tightly and walked out. As soon as Co Sung An saw me, his face immediately changed.

“What did you get out of there?”

I held up the box.

“This is what you've been looking for.”

His eyes suddenly flashed a bright light.

"Where are you, bring the evidence up here."

I strode in front of him and suddenly turned the box upside down onto the stone steps. The pile of brand new criminal papers flew away and scattered all over the ground. As soon as the ink on the paper touched the ash of the fire, it immediately smudged black into puddles. I stepped on one of them.

“The late commander, the plotting document was written in brand new premium Tung Yen tribute ink.”

"Kang Vuong's palace was so poor that even my father's pair of crowns had to be mended three times. Where did he get the money to use such expensive ink?"

Co Sung An's face was as pale as a banana leaf. The Crown Prince bent down to pick up a piece of paper, glanced at it, then gave it to the guard next to him.

“Seal it.”

Co Sung An shouted impatiently: "Your Highness, she is destroying evidence!" I pointed straight at a soldier standing behind him.

"The soles of that guy's shoes were stained with ash and mud from the West Courtyard."

“He just got in there.”

The soldier instinctively backed away. The Crown Prince coldly ordered: "Capture." The soldier tried to run away, but I kicked him down with a kick. He fell to the ground, and from his chest rolled out a bronze token. On the face of the card, there is a clear word "Salary". The whole yard was dead silent. Co Sung An's face finally changed. And that military man suddenly bit the poison pill hidden in his mouth, and dark blood oozed out from the corner of his lips. When I squatted down to look, he had already stopped breathing. The Crown Prince stared at the body, his tone dark.

“Another broken link.”

But I happened to see some red powder in his palm. That red powder was as smooth as chalk powder. I suddenly remembered the Crown Prince's cracked agarwood necklace. Also remember Old Luong's last words before his death. The word "Luong" is actually located on the Crown Prince's body. I swirled up some red powder and carefully wrapped it in a handkerchief. The prince turned his eyes to look at me.

“Do you doubt the princess?”

I replied: "I doubt all those who are still living in this world." He was silent for a moment.

“Including Uncle Khang?”

I raised my head to meet his eyes.

“Including myself.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the old butler suddenly knelt down and dragged himself out of the West courtyard gate. With both hands he held up a floor tile that had been burned black.

“My lord, underneath the brick in the lady's room is a hidden compartment dark."

I quickly took the brick. At the bottom of the tile is a tiny, faint inscription engraved.

“If sixteen year old A Man is still alive, open the third compartment under the bed.”

My fingers unconsciously clenched. That is the autograph my mother left for me.

17

The bed in my mother's old room was half destroyed by fire. I covered myself with a wet blanket and rushed inside, but the Crown Prince also risked his life to rush in as well. I glanced at him sideways.

“Isn't Your Highness afraid of being labeled a co-conspirator?”

The Crown Prince covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve.

“There are too many hats on your head today.”

I did not answer. The third compartment under the bed is hidden extremely delicately. The wooden planks on the outside were blackened by smoke, but the inside was covered with a thin layer of iron. I used a knife to pry off the iron layer. Inside was a tiny white porcelain vase, a medical book, and a letter carefully wrapped in three layers of oiled paper. There was no mention of my name on the envelope. Briefly write only two words.

“A Man.”

I stared at those two words, suddenly not daring to open the letter to see. When my mother passed away, I was still so small. So small that our memories of her are completely just patchwork stories told by others. Her father said she smiled often. The Queen Mother said she was very brave. Old Luong said not to believe in jade. But this letter truly feels like she has passed sixteen long years, personally caressing my head. The Crown Prince stood next to me, not urging me at all. A beam caught fire and clattered as it fell. He raised his hand to brush away the embers of the fire that were flying towards me. I opened the envelope. The page is thin, but the handwriting is extremely steady and steadfast.

“If A Man can read this letter, mother would thank heaven and earth.”

"In my mother's life, the person who is most at fault is my father and son."

"You could have been a leisurely prince, but because of me, you got caught up in the old case in Liangzhou."

“If in the future someone uses Thanh Ngoc Khau to lure you into investigation, you absolutely must not trust it completely.”

“That pearl can prove that mother once investigated the origin of the cup of poisoned wine, but it can also lead you down the path that others want you to take.”

“True evidence does not lie in pearls, but in poison.”

Reading this line, I immediately opened the lid of the white porcelain vase. The jar contains only a pinch of dark red fine powder. The Crown Prince's face suddenly changed dramatically.

“O Cot Huong.”

I raised my head.

“Your Highness recognizes it?”

He stared at the porcelain vase.

“When I was young, whenever the pain from cold broke out, the royal doctor used to use a similar flavoring medicine for the princess.”

I continue reading the next lines in the letter.

"O Cot Huong is a specialty of Luong Chau, the scent is similar to agarwood, long-term sniffing will make the bones cold, blood stagnate. If used with Kim Tran Dang, it can make people live for many years without dying, but every day must be under the control of the poisoner."

“If there is someone in the palace who regularly wears agarwood beads, check to see if there is an O Cot Huong hidden in the beads.”

I slowly turned my head to look at the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince's face was now pale as a corpse. He reached out and touched his wrist. The agarwood chain from earlier was broken thrown in front of the palace gate. The necklace he is wearing in his hand right now is another necklace recently brought by the Dong Cung inner circle. I spread my hands out.

“Give it to me.”

The Crown Prince did not move. I frowned.

“Are you scared, Your Highness?”