Grab The Heroine and Run Away Ch. 58.2

Immediately, everyone took action, searching his room while Yue Ji searched through his clothes.

Xu Heran scratched her head and suddenly remembered the steward delivering wine to the prince. “Did you check the wine?”

“We did. It was just regular grape wine,” the knight said.

“I found it!” Yue Ji pulled a bottle of potion from the steward’s sleeve. It was beautifully encased in a glass bottle.

“Fairy Blossom Poison, made from the highly toxic flowers in the forest. Ingesting it leads to instant death, with lips turning purple,” Yue Ji read, “The bottle is still full, and the steward hasn’t used it!”

The steward said, “I intended to poison him tonight, in his wine. But I encountered Mona Lisa Li and couldn’t proceed. I had to leave.”

Everyone nodded.

“The steward’s intent to harm and method have appeared,” Ji Songyu asked Yue Ji, “What else did you find?”

Yue Ji said, “In the princess’s room, I found a letter the prince wrote to the knight. It was the letter where the prince threatened the knight. So, Xin Nuo-ella knew about the prince’s plan to have the knight kill her.”

Everyone turned again to the gentle-smiling Xin Nuo.

“Yes, I know,” Xin Nuo said. “So, I plan to take action tomorrow.”

Everyone, except Xu Heran, stepped back simultaneously.

“How do you plan to take action?”

“Well… it’s quite simple,” Xin Nuo said. “I’m familiar with the palace, and I intend to invite the knight and the prince for a meal in the garden tomorrow. Under the pretext of fetching wine, I’ll go to the wine cellar next to the garden and add the poison to the wine.”

The knight shivered.

“I’ve been using Fairy Blossom Poison all along. Since the prince wants to kill me, and the knight is the one who will do it, why not take care of them both and be done with it?” Xin Nuo chuckled lightly.

The knight angrily retorted, “Do you think you can safely leave the palace after killing both me and the prince?”

“There are still plenty of servants and soldiers in the castle!”

Xin Nuo nodded.

“You’re right.”

The black-haired girl’s smile was beautiful, her eyes clear. “Thank you for reminding me. Fortunately, I obtained various potion-making methods from the Fairy Godmother. I’ll make several bottles of Fairy Blossom Poison, no problem.”

Her gaze moved slowly from left to right, sweeping over everyone.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“………………”

“Vote for her!” Mont Li shouted.

Mona Lisa Li held onto Mont Li’s arm, “We must vote for her! Detective, save us!”

The detective held her head, “I’m scared!”

“Just teasing you,” Xin Nuo suddenly laughed. “Don’t be afraid.”

Gradually, everyone’s courage returned to its place, but they kept glancing at Xin Nuo.

“I have one more question,” Ji Songyu said, “Did you summon a dragon?”

Xin Nuo nodded.

“Hasn’t she told you about the curse?”

Xin Nuo squinted, “I used a magical gem to summon the legendary dragon, but…”

“The dragon didn’t appear.”

Everyone widened their eyes in surprise.

“Legends, they’re just legends after all. I didn’t see a dragon, nor did I obtain any treasure from the dragon,” Xin Nuo-ella touched her hair near her ear and sighed, “What a pity.”

“…Then where did you get so much money?” the knight asked.

Xu Heran sneered, “Do you think the royal family is poor? Back then, when the prince married Xin Nuo-ella, they weren’t so extravagant.”

“Yes, after the divorce, I got a lot of property,” Xin Nuo frowned, “What’s even stranger is, based on normal logic, if I took so much gold, silver, and jewelry, the prince should’ve been displeased. On the contrary, he was thrilled at the time, practically wanting me to take all the money and crazily giving me gifts.”

“I thought he felt guilty and had a hint of conscience. That’s also one of the reasons I didn’t lay a hand on him,” Xin Nuo said.

“It’s really weird… The prince wouldn’t be so generous to this extent, right?” everyone doubted.

Xu Heran stood up and waved her hand, “Let’s go, we have work to do in the prince’s room!”

With Xu Heran in the lead, the group followed. Xin Nuo asked the others.

“Did you find Rannyan’s room?”

“We did, but no new evidence indicating she could have targeted the prince has emerged. The new evidence all supports the previous round,” Ji Songyu said.

Xin Nuo slightly furrowed her brow, “Is Rannyan that simple?”

She exchanged a glance with Ji Songyu.

Suddenly, Xin Nuo asked Xu Heran, “During the previous round of discussions, you said you didn’t know about the curse, but there’s indeed a curse. You’ve been living in the castle for so long, how could you not know?”

Xu Heran calmly said, “Because for this little cat, it’s not a curse, it’s a punishment.”

Xin Nuo pondered.

“What about the knight?” Ji Songyu asked.

“The knight is also straightforward,” Xin Nuo said.

“I think we can temporarily set aside suspicion of the two of them,” Ji Songyu said, “However, the initial approach might have been wrong. Rannyan and the knight aren’t allies.”

“No, they are,” Xin Nuo said, “Otherwise, it would be one murderer and two accomplices. The knight was the one who took action, and Rannyan was the spellcaster. Unless there’s another spellcaster controlling the knight. Do we have a mage among us?”

Ji Songyu shook her head.

Everyone arrived in the prince’s room and began searching for new evidence. After a few minutes, Xu Heran lifted the carpet and discovered a slightly darker-colored tile. She pulled out the dagger from the prince’s chest and lifted the tile.

A wooden box lay beneath the tile.

“I found it!” Xu Heran exclaimed happily.

“Great job, precious pearl. I believe you’re not the culprit!” Ji Songyu playfully rubbed Xu Heran’s head.

“I never was!” Xu Heran handed her the wooden box.

Xin Nuo walked over, stood behind Xu Heran, and placed her hands on Xu Heran’s shoulders. Xu Heran sat on the ground, her legs crossed, and looked up at Xin Nuo. They locked eyes, both displaying radiant smiles.

Xin Nuo raised her hand and gently touched Xu Heran’s head. Her fair fingers slipped into Xu Heran’s slightly disheveled hair, tidying it up.

The prince’s room lacked a bed, so everyone sat on the carpet, pouring out the contents of the wooden box.

“It’s a diary.”

The butler immediately said to Rannyan, “No wonder the prince liked chatting with you about romantic topics. He’s into writing diaries too, and you love writing diaries. You two are quite a match!”

“Dad, don’t pair your daughter with a scumbag. This only proves that the prince is also an artistic young man,” Rannyan patted the butler’s shoulder.

Once they opened the diary and saw the blood-soaked words on it, everyone’s expressions turned to disgust.

“What artistic young man? He’s just a lunatic!”

Ji Songyu read aloud while lowering her head, “Year 103 of the Dream Kingdom. I discovered the secret my father had been hiding from me. It turns out our throne was seized from… by force. Because of this, our family has suffered from a curse for generations, not living past forty, plagued by frail health. A short life filled with torment from sickness! Oh God, it’s so terrifying. How could this be? I still have plenty of youth and passion left unfulfilled. No, I must find a way to survive!”

 “In the year 103, is that the year when the princess and the prince got married?” Xu Heran said.

Xin Nuo nodded.

“The king lived past forty, right?” the butler said in confusion, “He was just bedridden due to poor health.”

Everyone continued reading.

“My father, the former king, shared with me the secret to prolonging our lifespans. You see, our throne and the treasures of gold and silver in our treasury were acquired through force and, as it turns out, carry a curse of their own. This curse doesn’t just affect individuals; it taints these treasures as well. My father explained that the only way for our bloodline to endure is by continuously bestowing these cursed riches upon others, thereby passing on the curse. It’s no wonder Father was so generous, often gifting jewels to others. I must follow in his footsteps and do the same.”

“Hahaha, I got married today. This woman is very beautiful. I pretended to love her, but I plan to divorce her. After the divorce, I’ll give her a large sum of money and make her bear the curse for me!”

“!”

Everyone stared at Xin Nuo in shock, but they saw the same surprise on her face. The girl exclaimed in astonishment, “I didn’t know about this!”

“Hmph, this man!” Xin Nuo suddenly became angry, a fierce glint in her eyes. “If I had known the truth, I would have ensured he had no resting place on the day of our divorce!”

“Calm down, it’s alright,” Xu Heran hugged Xin Nuo’s waist and patted her back. “Or, you want to go stab him a few times?”

The girl with blue-purple eyes looked around and whispered, “If anyone mentions it, just say I seduced you to do it!”

Everyone: “…”

“Cough.”

Ji Songyu brought everyone’s attention back and continued reading, “So much time has passed, why hasn’t she encountered any trouble? She’s even doing better and better? How infuriating! Could she possess some magical power to resist the curse?”

“The curse is getting stronger and stronger. I feel a mysterious force manipulating me, pushing me to the brink of collapse. I feel as if I’m hearing the call of death. My father’s life is coming to an end. What should I do?”

“Oh God, today my father told me that among all the treasures, there’s a ruby cursed the most intensely. My father has never given it away. He’s truly a kind-hearted person. No, I must give away this ruby! If he dies, it will be my turn next!”

“Today I met the Duchess of Duke Li. She’s truly an elegant and noble woman, and also a kind mother. She’s so good, surely the gods will bless her. I will give her the ruby. It’s the royal gift to her…” Ji Songyu’s voice gradually faded.

Beside her, Mont Li and Mona Li’s expressions turned extremely dark, anger brewing on their faces. Suddenly, Mont Li raised his leg and kicked Prince’s body hard.

“Oh God, no wonder my mother and brother fell seriously ill last year. It was the curse of that ruby that affected them!” Mona Li shouted loudly, her eyes turning red. “My mother sent my brother away and bore the curse alone, so she died from it!”

“What about that ruby?” Xu Heran asked.

Mona Li shook her head, “I don’t know.”

The butler suddenly looked at Yue Ji and exclaimed loudly, “Did the prince give you a ruby?”

Yue Ji covered her face, “What?”

“That’s right!”

“This is too wicked!”

Ji Songyu looked at the subsequent diary entry, “We’ve found the reason behind the prince’s extravagant spending. He gave away all the treasures. The curse on the royal family diminished but didn’t disappear. The curse seemed to fixate on the prince, driving him to madness, causing him to accidentally kill the old king. Moreover, the prince discovered that the way to resist the curse was that magical gem!”

“No wonder you didn’t encounter any trouble. You’ve been carrying the magical gem all along!”

Xin Nuo immediately raised her hand, “Where’s my gem? Give it to me.”

Xu Heran quickly went to retrieve the gem for her.

“Do you two siblings know about this curse?” Ji Songyu asked Mont Li and Mona Li.

Mona Li shook her head hurriedly, “I didn’t know anything at all!”

Mont Li remained silent, not saying a word.

“Search him!”

Everyone relocated again, ransacking Mont Li’s room.

“I found it!” Yue Ji pulled a small box out of the closet.

“Well done, sweetheart. Truly worthy of being the cleaning maid every day,” the butler praised his daughter.

“No using kitten language!” Xu Heran shouted.

Yue Ji opened the box, and the moment she did, she was so startled that she threw the box away. A fiery red gem rolled out from the box.

“Ah!!!”

Everyone screamed, leaping around on the ground, keeping a distance from the gem.

“How can there be two of them!”

“Quick, open that piece of paper!” Ji Songyu said.

“Ji ji , you go do it, you’re crushing me!” Mona Li was pinned down by Ji Songyu on the bed. Everyone else stayed far away, avoiding getting close, as if this ordinary plastic gem could really kill someone.

Mont Li stepped forward, cautiously picked up the box, and put the gem back inside. “This is a box the Fairy Godmother from the Fairy Sect gave me. It can block curses. The gem is inside here. We are safe.”

“Phew…”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did Ji Songyu open the piece of paper that had fallen out.

“I found a note that my mother left for me in my childhood diary. Oh God, it turns out all of this was done by the prince! My mother was killed by the curse! I will never forgive you! I’m going to kill you!”

“Did you now know that your mother was killed by the prince? So, tonight, do you want to attack the prince?” everyone asked.

Mont Li nodded.

“How were you going to attack the prince?”

Mont Li sighed, and Mona Li stepped forward to search him. She found a half-empty vial of used fairy flower poison in his pocket.

“Used?” Xin Nuo was surprised. “That shouldn’t be the case. Fairy flower poison kills immediately and causes the lips to turn purple after death.”

“Then the murder weapon we haven’t found yet,” Ji Songyu sighed. “Keep looking, friends…”

“I found it!”

A cheerful voice shouted, “I found the poison!”

Inside the room, everyone exchanged glances.

Little Kitty had done a great job.

They came out and stood on the second-floor corridor, looking at Xu Heran in the hall, holding a bottle. “I found it in the flower bushes below!”

Everyone descended, and it was just the right time for a focused discussion.

“Black Rose Elixir, when used, causes the poisoned person to die in their dreams. After death, black rose patterns appear on the back of the hand. A slow-acting poison with a latency period of thirty minutes.”

“The prince was poisoned with the Black Rose poison!” Xu Heran stated firmly.

Everyone nodded.

“Summing up, those who have discovered the fairy flower poison are the princess, the butler, and Mont Li. However, the poison on Mont Li has been used.”

Mont Li explained, “The butler brought wine. After the butler left, I pretended to pour wine for the prince, and I managed to slip the poison into his drink. However, the prince sent me away, and when I left, he hadn’t consumed that glass of wine.”

Ji Songyu said, “For now, I’m ruling out Rannyan and the knight. Suspicion against the princess has also decreased, because she left at 10:10 and returned at 20:00.”

“But it’s still possible that this potion was given to someone by the princess to poison the prince. Don’t forget, she took the Fairy Godmother’s complete potion collection after her death.”

Xin Nuo nodded, “I have indeed made this type of potion.”

Xu Heran’s pupils contracted.

“But I made it to sell,” Xin Nuo said. “Even as a princess, one needs their own business. Not just Black Rose Elixir. Tonight, all the fairy flower poisons you have are made by me.”

“You’ve all spent money on me.”

Everyone: “…”

Xu Heran whispered, “I haven’t.”

The knight added, “I haven’t either.”

Xu Heran immediately glared at the knight, “You still spent the princess’s money!”

The knight blushed and lowered his head.

“They bought from you. Do you have a ledger?” Ji Songyu asked.

Xin Nuo shook her head, “It’s not possible to openly sell poison. Everything was well disguised and sold on the black market. The rats in the city’s underground channels helped me sell the elixirs.”

“…”

“Makes sense,” Xu Heran said.

“So, in reality, everyone who bought fairy flower poison could have bought Black Rose poison, right?” Ji Songyu asked.

Everyone nodded.

“That narrows it down to the princess, the butler, and Mont Li, who purchased the magical elixir!” Ji Songyu tapped her notebook. “Could it have been a solo act?”

Everyone fell into silence, pondering. Many frowned.

“Don’t forget, the poison takes effect after thirty minutes. The prince was stabbed after fifty-five minutes. Yue Ji arrived at the prince’s room around thirty and left around forty. Yue Ji couldn’t have come into contact with the elixir, and there’s no evidence she bought it. If it was her doing, the prince should have died exactly at twelve o’clock.”

“If she did it, she would be the murderer, and she could lie about it,” Mona Li said. “I left at fifteen, and she could have arrived at twenty, poisoned the prince, he died at fifty, then was stabbed by the knight!”

Yue Ji immediately retorted, “You’re pinning this on me because you’re ahead of me, and you can lie too. You came to drink with the prince. You said you arrived at ten and left at fifteen. You could have left at twenty or twenty-five, during either of which you could have poisoned the prince. He died at fifty or fifty-five, then was stabbed by the knight.”

Their suspicions immediately escalated.

“So, are we all excluding the possibility that the prince was stabbed by the knight?” Xin Nuo chuckled.

Xu Heran raised her hand as if pretending to pinch Xin Nuo’s cheek. “Don’t think about dragging me into this, potion seller.”

“The ones after eleven seem highly suspicious. The butler says he didn’t poison the prince, but he could have easily bought two bottles of the potion, pouring one into the other, leaving the wine there. If the prince wanted to drink, he could.” Mont Li said, “And the wine in the prince’s room was in a used state.”

“That could potentially harm someone else,” Yue Ji said.

“It wouldn’t. You don’t drink anyway. Dying is dying—” Mont Li suddenly glanced at Mona Li and was tapped on the shoulder by her.

Ji Songyu said, “Do you all think it’s a solo act?”

Xin Nuo pondered, “I don’t think it’s necessarily so.”

“Why?” the knight said. “I think it’s either Yue Ji, Mona Li, or me.”

“No, I don’t think so!” Xu Heran’s eyes suddenly lit up. She snapped her fingers, her blue-purple eyes gleaming. She looked at Xin Nuo. “I’ve got it!”

“I know what you mean!”

Xin Nuo’s eyes curved.

“It must be a joint effort!” Xu Heran exclaimed loudly. “The accomplice this time is the person who provided the potion!”

“Mont Li is the one who bought the potion. If Mona Li was the one who acted, the potion must have been provided by Mont Li. Following the same logic, if it was Yue Ji who acted, then the butler must have provided the potion!”

“Because there’s no evidence indicating that Yue Ji knew about the potion purchase, and the same goes for Mona Li. Their situations are identical. Only Mont Li and the butler know the method of purchasing the potion and were ahead of the person who committed the murder!”

“I and the knight are the ones who stabbed with the knife. I and the princess—I’m the one who witnessed the knight stabbing. I am the link, and if the princess and I are involved, then there are two accomplices, which violates the rules. Moreover, I’m the person with a definite time point. If I lie about the fifty-five-minute mark, then all our previous deductions are wrong!”

“The murderer must be among the siblings and the father-daughter pair!”

Xu Heran’s eyes seemed to be radiating light. She raised her hand. “Is it?”

“Fantastic,” Xin Nuo’s smile was gentle as she patted her palm.

“Snap.”

Everyone sighed in relief. Mona Li and Yue Ji exchanged a glance.

“I really didn’t have any intention to kill the prince. I just wanted to become the queen. And I’m not as desperate as you are.” Mona Li said, “You’re afraid the prince will kill you, and you want to help my brother ascend to the title.”

Yue Ji immediately chimed in, “But if I killed the prince, he’d have an even harder time ascending the title! And you should know, I’m just a sixteen-year-old girl this year. I don’t even dare to kill a chicken!”

“I don’t dare to kill chickens either!” Mona Li shouted.

Everyone chuckled lightly.

Ji Songyu let out a breath, feeling a hint of exhaustion. “Let’s vote.”

Everyone nodded, showing expressions of relief as if saying, “Finally, it’s coming to an end.”

People began to stand up one after another, while Xu Heran was still leaning down to talk to Xin Nuo, the two of them slowly rising.

“Don’t move, I found something fun in your room earlier,” Xin Nuo whispered softly, the sound of something tinkling in her hand.

“What is it?” Xu Heran obediently stood there, listening to Xin Nuo, and lowered her head.

The adults in front stopped their steps, smiling at them.

Xin Nuo tied something that had been in her skirt’s hem around Xu Heran’s neck. It was a black collar with a golden bell hanging from it.

“Are you two adopting on the spot?” Ji Songyu smiled and asked.

Xin Nuo touched the collar around her neck and said with a smile, “From now on, she’s a domesticated pet.”

Xin Nuo tiptoed, touched Xu Heran’s head. They held hands, planning to go vote together. At this moment, a girl with cat ears ran up suddenly.

“Is this the Dream Kingdom Castle? There’s a letter for you!” the girl said.

The knight said, “Delivering letters at night?”

“Our little cats work at night,” the girl dropped the letter on the ground and turned to run.

“You little cats don’t have manners,” the knight scolded, speaking to Xu Heran.

Xu Heran released her hold on Xin Nuo’s hand, hugged her waist, and rested her chin on Xin Nuo’s shoulder, lazily saying, “Don’t worry about little cat matters!”

“What kind of letter is it?” Ji Songyu picked it up. “A letter from the Cat Forest.”

“Foolish humans, I’ve successfully returned to the forest. After so many years, I’ve finally escaped punishment and become happy, free, and precious… pearl, meow.” Ji Songyu’s voice interrupted, and there were five people gathered around her, frozen in unison.

“Thanks to the prince who died, I’ve regained my freedom. I won’t trust humans anymore! Goodbye! Your esteemed…”

“Pearl Meow…”

“Yours sincerely.”

gulp.

Six people swallowed hard, turned their heads with difficulty. They even heard the sound of their own necks creaking. Six people, six pairs of eyes, looked at the Princess… Xu Heran, who held the slender figure and stood rigidly.

The girl who had been with them overnight had a smiling expression. Her blue-purple eyes were comfortably squinted, and within her black hair were white pointed ears with soft fur pressed against the adjacent girl’s face.

Xin Nuo’s eyelashes trembled lightly and she slowly opened her mouth.

“Who are you?”

“Heh.”

A deep laughter emerged from her shoulder, and she heard the gentle, languid, and tender voice of the girl.

“Yeah, who am I?”

“Guess.”

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The author has something to say:

Sorry for being late! I want to try updating at 9 p.m. in the future, so I can pay more attention to my darlings (dog’s head) seriously, play games for a while, and then sleep, hehehe… Oh, and I forgot to mention, this is Part 1, there’s also Part 2, I’m really addicted to writing, hahaha! Script killings are so much fun~

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Sinensis

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