After a Contractual Marriage, Little Taotie Went Viral!-Chapter 279 - 273: I Told Her to Break It Open!

The group arrived at the Old Prince’s room, which was in disarray, as if someone had intentionally disrupted it.

The Old Prince lay on the ground, a knife stabbed in his chest, clearly having been struck directly in the heart, killing him instantly.

"Was the killer looking for something? It’s such a mess." The director playing the third son looked at the room’s arrangement and asked.

Pei Yan glanced around and finally focused on the knife in the chest, "Or maybe it was done deliberately like this to cover up the truth?"

Pei Yan: "Aside from the Old Prince, I’m the one with the most authority in the Prince Mansion. It’s currently the hour of the dragon, and we discovered the body in the Old Prince’s room. Cause of death: stabbed in the heart with a knife. Time of death: between the hours of the rabbit and the dragon. Let’s all go outside and talk about what we were doing at that time."

The group moved to the front hall and each found a place to sit.

They started in order, beginning with Chen Yao.

"I slept in my room all night last night. I got up at the hour of the rabbit to wash up and went to check the pastries the second son ordered from the kitchen for his friends visiting today. The Old Prince saved me years ago and brought me back, making me the steward, a confidant. I couldn’t possibly be ungrateful and murder him," Chen Yao said.

"I was in my room sleeping and only got up at the hour of the dragon. I was picking out clothes to wear for my friends visiting today until I was told my father was dead, and then I hurried over after getting dressed. My father has always been fond of me; I have no reason to assassinate him," Wang Sirui said.

"I was resting in my room as well, just got up to wash and have breakfast. Although my father wasn’t as close to me as he was to my older and second brothers, I have no reason to kill him. I’ve always just wanted to be a carefree young man. Even if I killed him, I wouldn’t get the throne over my older brothers," the director followed up.

"I’ve been with the Prince all along, except when the Prince was resting. I was at his door, sharing the same schedule as him," Qin Hao said.

"I had an upset stomach at the hour of the rabbit, so I got up to use the latrine. At the hour of the dragon, I just got up and heard my uncle was assassinated, so I hurried over. I’m just a guest here; I have no motive for assassinating my uncle," Yang Leqi said.

"I’ve been in my own courtyard the whole time, and no one can verify that. Everyone knows I didn’t get along with the Old Prince; if I were the murderer, I would be the first suspect," Qin Yun said calmly.

"I got up at the hour of the rabbit for boxing and had breakfast at the hour of the dragon. Then I heard my father was assassinated," Pei Yan said last.

After speaking, Pei Yan continued, "There aren’t many clues right now, let’s start gathering evidence."

"Then the director, Qin Hao, and I will search these rooms here. You can search the rooms across the hall," Chen Yao glanced at the names on the doors, which just happened to be the rooms of Pei Yan, Qin Yun, and the others, and said immediately.

"Okay," Qin Yun nodded.

The three first went to the room of the second son, Wang Sirui, and began turning everything upside down in their search.

"Mr. Pei, Sister Yun, there’s a locked wooden box here. Have you found the key? We can’t see what’s inside without it," Yang Leqi shouted after finding a small locked wooden box in the wardrobe.

"No," Qin Yun walked over directly, glanced at the small box and its tiny lock, raised an eyebrow in confusion, "It’s so small. Isn’t it easy to open? Why do we need a key?"

She grabbed the lock and pulled it downward forcefully.

Click—

The lock opened instantly. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Yang Leqi was stunned, "..."

She then looked at Qin Yun with even more admiration, "Sister Yun, you’re amazing!!"

The executive director: "..."

Why doesn’t Qin Yun follow the usual protocol?! Aren’t normal people supposed to find the key as the first reaction to a lock?

How come Qin Yun just pulled the lock open with her hand?!

Yang Leqi removed the lock, opened the small wooden box, and took out a piece of paper and a hairpin. It turned out to be a portrait of a woman, the character played by Yang Leqi, with the second son’s name signed on it.

"Did the second son draw this of you?" Qin Yun also looked over, "So the second son likes you?"

"No wonder I thought this hairpin looked familiar; it seems to be mine," Yang Leqi realized.

"So, the second son is a suspect. You’re the Prince’s fiancée, but the second son likes you. Maybe he mentioned it to the Old Prince, but the Old Prince, proud as he was, refused to agree. Did he kill his father for love?" Qin Yun speculated.

Pei Yan had finished searching other locations and walked over with another box and a pouch, "That’s possible. This pouch clearly belongs to a girl, and this key should be for that small wooden box just now."

Yang Leqi looked at the pouch in Pei Yan’s hand and said in surprise, "I lost this pouch a while ago; I’ve been searching for it."

Qin Yun took the box from Pei Yan, used force, and unlocked it.

She casually took everything out from inside.

The executive director witnessing this: "..."

He immediately turned to the staff and angrily said, "Break the locks! I’ll make her open them!! Go replace all the locks on the wooden boxes!"

After saying that, he still felt it wasn’t enough and added, "Change all boxes to chests!! Add more locks until they can’t be locked! Secure them with chains! I don’t believe she can break them! So she must look for keys to complete the mission!!"

"Uh, understood..." the staff replied, holding back laughter.

Qin Yun flipped through the notebook and exclaimed, "This looks like a diary, doesn’t it? The second son really had a crush on you, documenting all your preferences and everything you did each time you visited the Prince Mansion. Ugh... The second son indeed told the Old Prince, but he got scolded and even whipped. So love turned to hate, becoming enemies due to that whip? And you rejected the second son."

"The second son did tell me he liked me, but as the Prince’s fiancée, how could I accept? After that, he never mentioned it again, so I thought he had moved on," Yang Leqi nodded.

"So, it’s quite possible the second son assassinated the Old Prince," Qin Yun mused, rubbing her chin.

"Wang Sirui is indeed the killer!" The two exchanged a glance and said together.

The three carried the evidence to the third son’s room.

Before they started searching, they saw a large box tightly tied and secured with five or six locks in the corner and were a bit surprised.

"What’s in here that’s so important to be secured like this?" Yang Leqi asked, puzzled, as she looked at the box.