The Crown Prince is Actually a Princess! SEASON 1

Chapter 15 Part 2 - "Footprints"

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Not long after, the Crown Prince hurried over.

In the past few years, the old Emperor was licentious.
The affairs of the court were handed over to the Regent, while the affairs of the Inner Palace were taken care of by Concubine Xiao and the Master Manager, Liu An.

Therefore, Liu An has been in a big power in these five years, and he has formed a group of his own.
He has secretly colluded with Concubine Xiao, and has always shown little respect for the Stupid Crown Prince.

Seeing that the Crown Prince had arrived, he just bowed in a symbolic bow.
Meanwhile the palace people had dispersed, whispering in the way.

Murong Ci stared at the gorgeous pool of blood, and saw that more than 20 blood jade of various shapes lay in the pool of blood, which was shocking.

It was early summer, the sun was blazing, and the weather was getting hotter.
The blood was beginning to solidify and turn black as the sun shined.
She knelt down and stretched out a finger to get some blood.

Qin Ruo quickly stopped:

"His Royal Highness, don't touch it!
Be careful, it might be poisonous..."

Murong Ci ignored it.
She moved her fingers stained with blood, brought them close to her nose and smelled it.

'This is human blood!'

She looked at Qin Ruo, and Qin Ruo said,
"Who was in charge of cleaning Fengtian Temple today?"

Xiao Yin hurriedly came over, bowed and saluted.

"When did you find it?"
Murong Ci asked.

"This servant cleaned the Fengtian Temple this morning from 7:00 to 8:20, and this was found after the cleanings, at around 8:20 a.m."
He replied.

Murong Ci counted the hour, and it was not long after that time, less than half an hour from the time of discovery.

Qin Ruo asked:
"Did you find anything unusual near Fengtian Temple before and after you discovered it?"

Xiao Yin shook his head and replied:
"At that time, the servants and I cleaned the Fengtian Temple and found nothing unusual."

Murong Ci winked at Qin Ruo, and then walked to Fengtian Temple.

Qin Ruo and a few court ladies brought a few silk paws and took two blood jade to take away.
The front of Fengtian Temple is the main hall, and the back is the sleeping hall, which is very magnificent.
Murong Ci looked at it carefully, but found nothing unusual.

When she came out, she saw Murong Yu arrived just in time.
Murong Yu stood in the bright sunlight of early summer, shrouded in a faint golden aura, looking like a god.
He looked at her.
His black eyes narrowed slightly, and his handsome face was as clear as the first clear clouds of the day, dazzling all people around him.
It lasted a moment, but it felt as if it lasted a long year.

He turned his head and told Liu An:
"Send someone to report to ※Dali Temple, and invite Master Gu of Dali Temple to come over."

※※(N.B.) The Dali Temple (大理寺) literally means "The Supreme Court" in English.
However in this translation I'll keep its Chinese name to keep the atmosphere of the story by keeping it as the actual sound is. (That's also why I keep the Chinese order of Last Name and First Name for names since it's how characters call each other!
※※

Murong Ci wanted to go over and take a look, but still held back, turning to the east side.
When Murong Yu saw her heading east, he squatted down, his eyes falling coldly on the pool of blood.

Fengtian Temple Hall had no other halls, so there were only trees and grass on the east and west sides.
Murong Ci walked slowly, not letting go of an inch of corner.
Suddenly, she found a few shallow footprints on the grass of the west side.
Where the footprints are, the green grass is thin, so it clearly shows up.
She gently put her feet up for comparison. The footprints are larger than her feet and should be those of a man.

'Perhaps this set of footprints was left by the culprit?
So, is the culprit a man?'

Besides these, nothing else was discovered...

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END of CHAPTER 15 PART 2
.....................to be continued