Chapter 43
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Chapter 43:
The Second Prince raised his head and finished the wine in his cup, suddenly feeling someone tugging at his clothes.
He looked down and saw the four-year-old young prince holding a small sword made for him by the palace, saying, "Uncle! Look at this!"
The Second Prince raised an eyebrow, took the sword from his young nephew, stroked the gemstones embedded in it, and lazily said, "Hmm, this sword seems pretty good… Who are you planning to fight with it?"
The child in front of him was the eldest son of the Crown Prince and very favored by him. Even though he was still young, he was already in line to become the Crown Prince.
Bloodlines are strange, the young Crown Prince actually looks more like his second uncle than the Crown Prince.
The young Crown Prince looked up and stared at Liang Changfeng with a serious expression, saying, "Uncle, I don’t want to fight anyone, I want to protect my mother."
Hearing his nephew’s reply, Liang Changfeng’s face briefly showed a genuine surprise before he slowly dropped his fake smile, and after a moment of silence, he squatted down and pinched the young Crown Prince’s cheek.
Looking at the innocent face in front of him, Liang Changfeng chuckled to himself sarcastically and spoke to him in a soothing voice, "We are such good children for tomorrow…"
After receiving a compliment, the young Crown Prince smiled. Unlike others, he did not fear Liang Changfeng’s unpredictable moods and actually enjoyed being around his second uncle.
The Second Prince waved his hand and ordered a servant to bring a chair for the young Crown Prince.
The young Crown Prince quickly stopped the servant carrying the chair and said, "Wait, also bring my Amber over!"
Amber was a calico cat with a bell tied around its neck with silk. It made a jingling sound as it walked. It was raised in the palace, well-groomed and in good shape.
The young prince loved amber very much, he wanted to hold it wherever he went to play.
"Why do you like cats so much?" Liang Changfeng, bored, rested his face on one hand and raised an eyebrow as he asked his young nephew.
"Because they are cute!" the young prince innocently said, tilting his head back, "And it’s okay to like them!"
People born in the royal family find it hard to trust and love others.
But cats are not people, so to the four-year-old young prince, it was perfectly fine to show favoritism towards it.
Liang Changfeng stared at the calico cat, with its tail raised, playing around his young nephew. He was suddenly reminded of Li Chunzhou from six or seven years ago— a age where she was disliked by both cats and dogs, not as quiet and timid as other girls her age, rather like a little wildcat following him around, ready to hiss if touched a bit too much.
Liang Changfeng closed his eyes, letting Li Chunzhou’s figure appear in his mind, slowly reminiscing.
When facing him, she showed compliance, ignorance, innocence, and a hidden dislike, just like a flower bud waiting to bloom.
In Li Chunzhou, there was a kind of innocence not fully shed, sometimes pretending to be mature, but the young pride and childishness couldn’t be concealed, her expressions revealing a growing and vibrant demeanor.
Liang Changfeng stared at her for too long, almost as if Li Chunzhou had become a rib taken out of his body, and the subtle changes that he used to ignore were like a drop of blood falling into warm water.
Blood quickly disperses and disappears in water, so he thought he didn’t need to worry about it.
But when he raised his cup again, he found the smell of blood had become too strong to ignore.
Asking Liang Changfeng to completely remove her from his life was almost like asking for his life.
Though it had only been a few short months since they last met, the Second Prince keenly noticed that Li Chunzhou had changed a lot after returning to the capital.
While the innocence remained, there was a deep and broad charm in her eyes and eyebrows. The Second Prince extended his fair and slender hand, lightly caressing his knuckles, remembering the touch of his hand on Li Chunzhou’s soft abdomen.
He opened his eyes and looked at his silly little nephew playing with the cat, suddenly feeling that having a child wouldn’t be so bad.
His first child… He hoped this child would be born from Lady Chun’s belly, without any other reason except this thought that popped up in his mind. But then he thought, Lady Chun is still too young, and when the time comes for her to have a child, she might cry and fuss a lot.
From a mere plaything to now, Liang Changfeng couldn’t be bothered to figure out what Li Chunzhou really meant to him, anyway she belonged to him, and he would never send her away.
Even if someone who looks very similar or even better than Li Chunzhou appears, they will never replace Li Chunzhou in Liang Changfeng’s heart.
Because Liang Changfeng has spent a lot of time with Li Chunzhou, raising her with his own hands, giving her everything good and expensive. The time he spent with Li Chunzhou made her so special in his eyes, shining brightly.
Li Chunzhou’s wild temperament and bad temper are not problems for the Second Prince. After all, she’s almost an adult now, so it’s okay for her to be a bit wild. When she has children in the future, she will calm down.
Thinking about this, Liang Changfeng felt a sudden joy in his heart. He looked around at the banquet, where everything was shining with gold and emerald. The palace band played melodious music, filling every corner of the palace. The palace maids in exquisite dresses with elaborate hairstyles danced gracefully, creating a lively and festive atmosphere. However, Liang Changfeng felt completely uninterested, and he thought about Li Chunzhou again – wondering what Lady Chun was doing now.
The Second Prince set down his wine cup and asked the palace attendant by his side, "Who is in charge of taking care of the foxes in the palace? Take me to see them."
***
Li Chunzhou was feeling unhappy due to the argument between Mi Hongbao and Xu Yanqu in the morning. Seeing her sitting silently on the bed, Qi Leyuan walked back and forth underneath, trying to comfort her by speaking first, "Lady Chun, it seems like there’s progress in the headless body case. Would you like to take a look?"
Li Chunzhou became interested after hearing his words. She held Li Li in her arms and looked up at the floating screen in front of her.
[You Rurong](Coroner), "I have arrived in Shunqing province. I didn’t expect it to be so far from the capital city. The scenery and NPCs here are quite exquisite, you can’t tell at all that it’s just a program."
Liang Jiayou, the Fourth Prince, said, "Yes, the environment I saw on the way to the capital was very real."
Cheng Yingchu, the prostitute, asked, "Is there anything strange about the case?"
You Rurong, the investigator, said, "I have asked the nearby villagers. It is said that an important reason Liu Yuming was acquitted by the authorities twenty years ago was because he had sufficient alibis. The room where the victim died was a sealed room, with only their family having the key. I have inspected the room and found no underground passages or windows, eliminating the possibility of entry through other means."
Shi Gu, the beggar, explained, "There are basically a few common methods for murder in a sealed room. The victim either locks themselves in, a mechanism locks them in after the murder, different keys are swapped to create the illusion of a sealed room, or the door is locked from outside and the key is later placed inside while breaking in."
You Rurong, the investigator, added, "The first two methods are unlikely, as the victim cannot cut off their own head after death, and the lock is on the outside with no locking mechanism inside. As for the third and fourth methods, we currently have no way to verify."
Bi Yuansi, Young Master Bi, asked, "Wait, was the victim alone in the room? Who had the key to unlock it?"
Hongwu, the Hanlin Academy Compiler, replied, "According to the case file, when the body was found, only the victim was in the room. As for the key, it was usually kept by his wife, but according to the victim’s wife, the key had always been in her possession and had not left her side."
Bi Yuansi, Young Master Bi, pondered, "Is it possible… that the headless corpse case was carried out by the victim’s wife?"
You Rurong, the investigator, reasoned, "It doesn’t make sense. She still has two young children. Why would she want to kill her husband? There is no motive for murder."
Young Master Bi, "No, what I mean is: After Liu Yuming killed the victim, his wife used a key to unlock the door, went back inside, and chopped off her husband’s head. The times of death and decapitation don’t match up. She even claims to have seen the victim at the time when he should have been dead already. Only she had the key, and most people wouldn’t suspect the victim’s wife…"
Cheng Yingchu (prostitute), "But why did she help Liu Yuming create an alibi? Could they have had a secret relationship?"
Wang Ruyu (Miss Wang from the Wang family), "If they really had a secret relationship, then why did the victim’s wife die mysteriously a year later, and her daughter also drowned inexplicably… Not to mention the ongoing case of headless bodies for over twenty years. If these eighteen cases were really done by Liu Yuming, then the first time he must have been the one to decapitate the victim."
Young Master Bi, "This can also be explained. Liu Yuming’s first murder may have been to secure a place in a list, and by chance, this case brought Liu Yuming great fame. Later, he continued committing crimes because he accidentally discovered the benefits of having a reputation in official circles, so he targeted many famous people like actors and prostitutes."
Fourth Prince Liang Jiayou, "Wow, I actually find that quite reasonable!"
Hongwu (Hanlin Academy Compiler), "Could the victim’s wife have been forced to decapitate him? Based on the autopsy report at that time, the person who did it didn’t seem to have much strength or had significant emotional swings. It took many blows before cutting off the victim’s head, which does seem like the work of a woman."
Young Master Bi, "Maybe she saw her husband was already dead, and the killer threatened her two children. That’s why the victim’s wife agreed to help Liu Yuming create an alibi. The drowning of her daughter afterwards was probably Liu Yuming starting to silence people."
Cheng Yingchu (prostitute), "But these are just our guesses, without evidence. And there’s the clue we found before, about the rhyme regarding twins and favoring sons over daughters, it seems like we haven’t used it yet."
Shi Gu (beggar), "I think the drowning of the victim’s daughter is a bit suspicious. You should go and investigate more."
Gu Cai (merchant), "Why do you always order people around instead of asking nicely?"
You Rurong (detective), "I’ll go investigate the drowning incident from back then."
"This S-level Dungeon is truly impressive," Li Chunzhou smiled, lightly touching Qi Leyuan’s feathers, and half-jokingly exclaimed, "You guys are so amazing, Li Li."
Qi Leyuan puffed out his chest, showing a proud expression.
As Dungeon World upgraded from B-level to S-level, it was clear that the players entering this world, aside from the newcomers who stumbled upon it accidentally, had visibly improved in levels and abilities.
Suddenly, Qi Leyuan thought, "Hey, Lady Chun, do you know who the culprit behind the headless corpse case is?"
"I have no idea," Li Chunzhou shook her head, her dimples showing faintly, "The players in previous cycles lacked the ability to push the storyline forward like you guys, so I also don’t know where the evil in this Sub-dungeon truly lies."