Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

The night was as dark as ink, the sky hung low, and there were neither stars nor moon.

In the inner garden of the Eastern Palace, in the Thousand Autumns Garden, a palace maid was carrying a lantern and walking ahead, while two eunuchs followed behind, working together to carry a rolled-up felt mat.

Something was rolled up inside the mat, and it looked rather heavy.

The two eunuchs carried it, one in front and one behind, and they were still struggling a bit.

Suddenly, the person in front of them tripped over something and nearly fell to the ground.

The person behind was caught off guard and bumped into him again, causing the felt mat to slip from his grasp and fall to the ground.

Then, the disheveled and gruesome corpse of a woman was exposed to the night.

The eunuch glanced at it and was immediately terrified, his face turning deathly pale. He stood frozen in place for a moment.

Hearing the commotion, the palace maid walking ahead stopped and turned around, hurriedly saying, "Hurry up and pick it up!"

Upon hearing the sound, the two shuddered and quickly rolled up the body again, but they did not notice the hairpin that had fallen to the ground.

The three continued to transport the body deeper into the garden, their figures quickly blending into the night.

-

The next morning, Ren Fengjue sent a visiting card to the Crown Prince's Palace under the pretext of the "Fu Lou Case".

However, it wasn't until after noon that the Crown Prince had time to see him.

Just like the previous trip to the palace, Xia Ximo disguised himself as Lord Ren's servant and went along.

On the way, Ren Fengjue analyzed and recalled in his mind the matter of going to the Imperial Medical Bureau this morning to investigate the Crown Prince's serious illness a year ago.

According to Jiang Yiling, the Crown Prince's condition was indeed serious at the time, and it was only when the physicians of the Eastern Palace were helpless that the matter was referred to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

After learning of this, the Emperor and Empress personally visited the Eastern Palace.

Despite facing immense pressure, Dr. Jiang had no choice but to personally see patients.

He said that the prince was in a coma at the time, but his body was losing weight very quickly.

However, his pulse was perfectly steady, and there was not a single abnormality to be found in his body.

This left Physician Jiang in a dilemma: he couldn't prescribe medicine indiscriminately, nor could he administer acupuncture without proper guidance.

For three whole days, the entire Imperial Medical Bureau was racking its brains over this matter, scouring through medical classics and ancient texts.

As the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau, he diligently guarded the Weiyang Palace, keeping a close eye on the Crown Prince's condition at all times, and dared not relax for a moment.

During the journey, apart from using acupoint therapy to unblock the prince's meridians and administering some nourishing tonics, he only tried two medicinal baths.

The crown prince showed no signs of waking up.

Not only that, his once young and strong body has become emaciated, almost to the point of being unrecognizable.

It's as if something has sucked away my life force.

Upon hearing this, Ren Fengjue couldn't help but ask, "So what method was used to cure it later?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yiling felt somewhat embarrassed.

He didn't want to admit that his medical skills were lacking, but the matter was indeed that bizarre.

"Without any method, the Crown Prince... suddenly woke up."

Ren Fengjue frowned: "When did you wake up?"

"The morning of the fourth day."

To be honest, after guarding the hospital for three whole nights, Jiang Yiling was prepared to have his head moved.

He thought that Empress Zhang only had one son, the Crown Prince, and the Emperor valued him highly.

If the crown prince of this country is gone, I will definitely be in deep trouble.

But who would have thought?

On the morning of the fourth day, he opened his sore eyes and went into the inner palace to examine the prince, only to find him safe and sound, completely unharmed.

The crown prince woke up.

In just one night, he recovered completely, without a trace of illness.

Having worked at the Imperial Medical Bureau for over twenty years, Physician Jiang began to wonder if he had seen a ghost.

Fearing it might be a "last gasp before death," he stayed at the Eastern Palace for two more nights to confirm the Crown Prince was fully recovered before the Imperial Medical Bureau dared to leave.

However, this matter could not be made public, as it would be bad for both the Imperial Medical Bureau and the Crown Prince's Palace.

Ren Fengjue pondered for a moment, then asked, "Was anything unusual that happened in Weiyang Palace the night before the Crown Prince recovered?"

After thinking for a moment, Physician Jiang replied, "At that time, the Crown Princess was always by His Highness's side in the inner palace, never leaving his side, and we didn't hear of anything unusual..."

Crown Princess Tang Yuelang?

Ren Fengjue couldn't help but recall what had happened in the Dongsheng Palace on the princess's birthday.

Although he didn't take the matter to heart, he still had doubts about the relationship between Tang Yuelang and the Crown Prince.

Long ago, he had heard Du Yueming say that his spoiled cousin had secretly fallen for Zhao Lifang, who was then Prince Duan.

Ren Fengjue was not surprised by this.

Because he knew during his time at the palace school that Zhao Li had been secretly corresponding with Tang Yuelang, the two must have already fallen in love.

Therefore, a year ago, Zhao Li was made crown prince, and the emperor and empress immediately bestowed a marriage upon him, which can be considered two good things.

During the Crown Prince's illness, the Crown Princess stayed by his side day and night, taking care of him closely, which shows that their relationship at that time must have been very good.

But when did rumors begin to circulate that the two had developed a rift?

The crown prince seems like a completely different person.

The Crown Princess's personality also changed drastically.

Ren Fengjue was at a loss for a moment, but he had a vague feeling that Tang Yuelang would not have become like this for no reason, and that everything must be related.

The carriage stopped at this point.

As soon as A-Xia stopped the car, the chief steward of the Eastern Palace came forward to greet him, saying that the Crown Prince was waiting for him in the study.

The steward's surname was Wang, and he was a former employee of Prince Duan's residence.

During his time at the palace school, he always served Zhao Li and gained the Crown Prince's deep trust.

At this moment, he personally led the way, but Ren Fengjue deliberately walked slowly and deliberately, his eyes darting around, carefully observing everything.

The last time I visited the Eastern Palace was on the day of the Crown Prince's wedding.

He remembered that day, the place was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, red ribbons were hung everywhere, and the place was bustling with noise and excitement.

Now, however, the walk through the corridors and courtyards is unusually quiet and desolate.

The contrast between the before and after makes sense of the predestined relationship between Zhao Li and Tang Yuelang…

Thinking of this, Ren Fengjue suddenly asked, "How has Her Highness the Crown Princess been lately?"

The head steward, Wang, who was walking in front, stiffened slightly, and a somewhat stiff smile appeared on his face as he replied, "To be honest, a few days ago, the Crown Princess entered the palace and angered the Empress. She has been punished and confined to her palace ever since..."

Upon hearing this, Ren Fengjue realized that he had indeed heard about it with his own ears that day.

He then probed further, "During your confinement, did His Highness the Crown Prince plead for your life?"

Steward Wang sighed, and seeing that he had put some distance between himself and the "servant" behind him, he lowered his voice and said, "Young Marquis, this old servant is also extremely puzzled about this matter."

Ren Fengjue seized the opportunity: "Could it be that the rumors about a rift between the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess are true?"

Before Steward Wang could reply, he shook his head again and deliberately said, "No, although the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were betrothed by the Emperor and Empress, as far as I know, the two have long been in love, and the betrothal was to fulfill their wish."

Chief Steward Wang immediately chimed in, "Who says otherwise? But everything changed after the Crown Prince recovered from his illness..."

"It's changed?"

Ren Fengjue grasped the key point and paused for a moment.

Manager Wang realized he had misspoke and awkwardly shut his mouth.

But this matter had been weighing on his mind for a long time, and he finally managed to get it out. So he pulled Ren Fengjue aside and said directly, "Young Marquis should have heard about His Highness's illness a year ago."

Ren Fengjue nodded.

Chief Steward Wang then said, "Ever since His Highness recovered from his illness, his attitude towards the Crown Princess has changed."

"He used to be devoted and single-minded, but in the past year, he has become dissolute, not only taking in many concubines, but even... the Crown Princess's personal maid..."

"In short, it has already...broken the Crown Princess's heart."