**
"Noon. Minister Kun was found dead in his room, with blood dripping down his neck. The male servant was in the same room at the same time," General Li says aloud.
Sir Xu adds, "We arrived just in time to see the male servant admit to his murderous intentions, moments before he committed suicide. There is no doubt that he had slit the throat of Minister Kun. What I suspect is that Minister Kun had already died before the male servant took action."
I tap my fingers on the table next to me, "What you are saying is that the male servant is acting as a scapegoat for someone else?"
Nodding, Sir Xu proceeds, "We suspect it. One, the male servant seems to have no sort of background. All his family members seem to have passed away; he is a perfect candidate."
"Two, upon further inspection of Minister Kun's corpse, Scholar Li has discovered that near his waist, there is a small puncture. That may be the cause of death."
Rong Yi squints his eyes, "Did you guy find another clue as to what the actual cause of death may be?"
Sir Xu nods, "Fortunately, General Li sent men to hide and await for any suspicious activities around the city."
"We were in luck." General Li smiles with pride, "The night before Minister Kun was murdered, we caught a masked invader who was attempting to escape out of our territory. Unfortunately, he killed himself before we can interrogate him."
She digs within the sleeves of her pocket, taking out a black wool cloth. Upon unraveling it, there is a collection of needles, from two to seven centimeters. "But what's interesting is what we found in his clothings: silver needles. We didn't know these would be the death of the Minister."
General Li then carefully hands the collection to Li Shi Zhen, who responds by saying, "When I first observed these needles, there is no doubt these are poisonous needles. This poison seems to be a rare type of poison, deriving from fungi."
Fungi?
I've never done in depth research about Fungi before. This is a learning moment for me.
I gasp upon a sudden realization, "The assassin must have secretly inserted one of those in the Minister's belt. When the Minister dressed up, the poisonous silver needle would pierce through his skin. That is why there was a puncture around his waist!"
Scholar Li nods and frowns, "I cannot, however, confirm that because I have not retrieved and analyzed that specific mushroom before. I have only read about the identification of the fungi through books. That is why one of our next steps is to send two persons to the Mountains in search for the Mushroom."
Sir Xu exhales a heavy breathe, "That's our first mission. The other mission is regarding the rise in opium deaths around the city. We suspect there has been a dealer who is profiting from selling illegal opium with inflated prices. From our documents, we made a conjecture that the business practice is taking place in the Hua Hin Place Inn. We need to go undercover and confirm our inference."
"I have already come up with the identities for the undercover mission."
General Li lifts up two pieces of paper, "Two people will blend in: one as a wealthy merchant and another as his wife. They both have sparked an interest in Opium after hearing about the rumors. I have also provided the secret code necessary to conduct business with the owner."
Scholar Li shakes his head apologetically, "I won't be able to take part into these two missions as I have to conduct an autopsy as soon as possible."
Rong Yi raises his hand, "If that's so, then Zi Yan and I will be the married couple!"
"Oh, okay." My eyes pop out, "Wait, what?!"
Sir Xu expresses an aggravated frown, "Not possible." Co-Commander shifts his focus at me, then to Rong Yi, "Didn't the Emperor say he will hold a ceremony for all the Princes to attend tomorrow evening? You cannot possibly miss that out, can you Tenth Prince?"
Rong Yi groans, "What a way to ruin my plan, Co-Commander Xu."
Li Shi Zhen indulges in a long thought, "I suggest we split up evenly. Sir Xu and Miss Yuan go undercover whereas General Li and..." It seems he has run out of candidates to pick on.
Sir Xu and I.. act as a married couple? The thought of it is...
Sir Xu responds to his silence, "..My underling. The Imperial Military Guard, Wu Lan Jun. He is capable enough to work aside General Li. Besides, the two people who will retrieve the mushroom will definitely encounter grave danger so we need them to know martial arts. The person behind the scene won't just let this be."
General Li agrees, "Wu Lan Jun, is it? I got it. He and I will depart early tomorrow. Scholar Li, you can write me a map and a description of the mushroom."
For the next half an hour, we converse about the procedures and back up plans. In the middle of the conversation, Rong Yi received an urgent and sudden request from the Emperor. He had no choice but to depart. ""He whose surname is Xu— If you dare to do anything to Zi Yan again, I won't forgive you!"
Like always, Sir Xu ignores him and continues to speak. This man.. truly nothing can interrupt his train of thought.
When we wrap things up, everyone gets up and stretches their body to relieve their muscle strains.
"Ah, what a long day." Scholar Li adds, "Hey, who will take Miss Yuan back to the Manor?"
General Li opens her mouth to reply, but Sir Xu immediately interrupts her speech: "I will." Everyone eyes Sir Xu with a strange stare.
He will?
He raises his arm up to his mouth and coughs, "I have a mission near the Yuan Manor."
"Hmm.." General Li smiles mischievously, "Mission, huh, Sir Xu?"