Chapter 169

Chapter 169

Like oil boiling over a raging fire, there was no stopping things now.

Even if the Queen did not know the whole story, she could tell that what had happened tonight was far from simple.

“But now… Eddie has already fled,” the Queen said after a moment’s consideration. “In my view, we should send people to look for him. Once we find him, every question will have its answer.”

“And if we can’t find him?” Tu Nan blinked and said timidly, “After tonight’s downpour, I’m afraid all traces may have been washed away. Eddie must have already escaped the city by now. If we send people after him now, can we really still catch him?”

The Queen’s expression darkened. “Then what do you suggest?”

Her voice was low. She had meant to make Tu Nan retreat in the face of difficulty, but she had not expected Tu Nan to play by no one’s rules at all.

After hearing her question, Tu Nan actually dared to answer.

“In my opinion, why not send people to search Eddie’s quarters? Perhaps something can still be found there.”

As if struck by some thought, Eugene’s expression changed. He snapped, “You are merely an ordinary noble. What right do you have to tell the Queen what to do?”

Tu Nan did not get angry at the rebuke. She only lowered her head and replied, “The Eldest Prince is right. I was indeed overstepping. Please let the Queen make the decision.”

“I think Judy’s suggestion is quite sound,” Maria said unhurriedly. “No one knows where Eddie has run off to now. He fled in such haste that he may not have had time to pack. If we search now, perhaps we really can find something.”

Since Maria had said so, Tracy naturally echoed her.

The Queen’s face was grim, and she did not speak.

Charles had been watching the show all night and was in excellent spirits. He had also vaguely discerned something by now.

He smiled and said, “It seems the Queen has some concerns. But surely the Royal Palace is not short of people? If it is, I can lend you some of mine.”

The Queen’s hands clenched tight. Her long nails dug into her palms, and the faint sting reminded her that she had to make a decision at once.

After a moment, she forced out a smile. “Duke, you are too kind. There is no need to trouble your people.”

She raised a hand to summon the Soldier and ordered them to search Eddie’s room.

Without making a sound, Tu Nan exchanged a glance with Maria. The corner of her mouth lifted in an almost imperceptible smile.

Maria raised her chin slightly, her expression calm and certain.

As for Eugene…

Tu Nan looked toward Eugene not far away. Although he was doing his utmost to restrain himself, the tiny movements of his body still betrayed his true feelings in that moment.

He must be very nervous, right?

Afraid there might be something in Eddie’s room that would be disadvantageous to him.

Tu Nan lowered her eyes and waited quietly.
—
Before anyone realized it, the night had deepened. The heavy rain that had poured all day finally showed signs of stopping, thinning into a fine, lingering drizzle.

This time, the Soldier were gone for much longer.

Everyone present waited in anxious suspense.

This farce had dragged on for far too long. From the initial panic and fear to curiosity, and now to exhaustion, everyone only wanted to find the true culprit as soon as possible so they could leave.

A jumble of footsteps sounded outside the hall. The nobles, who had nearly begun to doze off, instantly perked up.

They were here!

A Soldier entered with a glass bottle and a letter in hand. Kneeling in the middle of the hall, he said in a deep voice, “A letter and this bottle of suspicious powder were found in Eddie’s room.”

The instant Eugene’s gaze touched that bottle of powder, all color drained from his face. If not for the chair supporting him, he might have collapsed to the floor.

The Queen had clearly recognized the object as well, but she was still composed enough not to reveal anything unusual.
“Eddie wrote in his letter that he had been threatened by Eldest Prince Eugene for a long time and forced to poison the King’s food.” The Soldier held up the letter, his voice ringing out so clearly that everyone present could hear. “He was powerless to resist and could only endure it. Now that he has finally found a chance to escape, before fleeing, he wants to expose Eldest Prince’s true face.”

The entire hall erupted in uproar.

Eugene’s face turned ashen. Gritting his teeth, he roared, “Lies! All of this is lies! Mother, you must not believe it. This is a complete and utter lie!”

But the Soldier took a glass vial from his breast pocket. Inside was the same white powder.

“We found this in Eldest Prince’s room.”

“You actually dared to search my room without my permission?” Eugene flew into a rage, his eyes nearly splitting. “Do you have any respect for me at all?!”

“We are loyal only to the King.” The Soldier’s expression did not change, and there was not the slightest fluctuation in his voice.

Just then, another Soldier entered the hall, holding a dress covered in mud and water, its original color almost impossible to make out.

Muddy water kept dripping from the dress, staining the once mirror-bright floor into a mess.

“This dress was found in the bushes outside the corridor. We don’t know who threw it there,” the Soldier reported.

Tu Nan frowned. She stared at the dress for a long while, then suddenly covered her mouth and cried out in shock, “That dress… why does it look so much like the one I was wearing before?”

Everyone looked at her in confusion.

“Could it be…” she said in disbelief. “Could it be that Eldest Prince wanted to cover up his crime, so he deliberately found someone to put on this dress and impersonate me? Then after it was over, that person casually threw the dress away…”

“That is vile slander!” Eugene’s eyes went wide. “I have never even seen that dress!”

“Then that is strange.” Tu Nan looked puzzled. “Who exactly did this chef see tonight?”

She looked at Ronnie on the floor, her voice carrying an almost bewitching power.

“Think carefully again. Was the person you saw in the Kitchen really me? Or… was it only someone who looked somewhat like me?”

Ronnie lifted his head and looked at her in terror.

Of course he was certain whom he had seen tonight.

But did the truth really matter?

Eugene could no longer defend himself. Regardless of whether he had truly ordered Eddie to do it tonight, with the evidence found in his room and Eddie’s letter, the culprit could only be him.

He swallowed and instinctively glanced at Eugene.

The high-and-mighty Eldest Prince was now like a trapped beast, his eyes bloodred, his expression terrifyingly ferocious.

Eugene had always been cruel and tyrannical, never seeing people like them as worth anything. Ronnie had spent every moment in fear and had long since had enough.

At that instant, he finally made his decision.

“No…” Danny’s head knocked heavily against the floor with a dull thud. “I… I must have seen wrong. Now that I think about it, that person’s figure was a little heavier than Miss Judy’s…”

Maria let out a soft laugh.

“You dare betray me!” Eugene’s voice nearly pierced the roof.

He rose to his feet and charged toward Danny, reaching him in the blink of an eye. Then he seized Danny by the throat and pinned him beneath his entire body.

“You dare betray me?!” he repeated madly, his entire being seemingly on the verge of exploding.

The thick flesh of Danny’s neck bulged out from between Eugene’s thumb and forefinger. His eyes were wide open, and his face had turned crimson.