In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

The two knelt down with devout expressions and shook the divination sticks. The divination stick container was gently shaken in their hands, making a crisp sound, and soon, each of them had a divination stick jump out.

Xie Yige picked up her fortune slip, glanced at it, but couldn't understand it either, so she went with Xie Wanrou to the fortune-telling area.

Today, being the first day of the lunar month, the fortune teller was none other than a renowned high monk—Master Xuanling. He was dressed in a gray monk's robe, with a lean face and a detached and indifferent demeanor, yet his eyes seemed to see right through people's hearts.

He first took Xie Wanrou's fortune slip, glanced at it, and nodded slightly: "Auspicious fortune."

He then turned to the corresponding fortune slip and read: "Good news from Kinmen; you will return in fine clothes after your humble journey."

Xie Wanrou and Xie Yige were overjoyed upon hearing this. Wasn't this a perfect omen that Zhou Xuan'an would surely pass the imperial examination with flying colors?

Xie Yige quickly handed over her own fortune slip as well.

The monk Xuanling took the fortune slip, glanced at the text, then opened the interpretation. His gaze lingered on the line of text for a moment before he looked up at Xie Yige with a meaningful expression.

"Riding a swift horse in the spring breeze, I turn back to pluck the flowers of Chang'an."

Xie Yige was taken aback: "What...what does this mean?"

The monk Xuanling chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."

"Master," Xie Yige bit her lip, then pleaded, "could you bestow a talisman upon the person we seek?"

The monk Xuanling glanced at her with a hint of helplessness, as if he wanted to say that he wasn't a Taoist. But when he met her clear and earnest eyes, and thought of that person, he couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Can."

He picked up his vermilion brush and drew runes on two yellow talismans. In the center of each talisman was a prayer. The one for Xie Wanrou read: "Return in brocade robes." The one for Xie Yige read: "May your wish be fulfilled."

Xie Wanrou and Xie Yige accepted the talisman with gratitude, bowed to thank the monk Xuanling together, and then bid farewell and left.

As Xie Yige walked out of the divination hall, her little head drooped noticeably.

"The first part is good, you don't need to worry too much," Xie Wanrou couldn't help but comfort her.

"Mm." Xie Yige nodded, trying her best not to overthink it.

"Sister-in-law, it's already noon. Let's go to the meditation room to rest for a while and wait for Zhiwei, shall we?"

"Let's go."

The meditation room was in a slightly secluded backyard, sparsely populated, and its tranquility was enhanced by the sparse shadows of a few old locust trees in front of the courtyard. Xie Yige, still harboring doubts, unconsciously strolled a little further away.

As she passed a small courtyard, she saw a natural, unpolished stone tablet standing in front of her, with four characters engraved on it: "A Place to Find Solace".

Curious, she paused to look, then, feeling it inappropriate to disturb her, was about to leave—

A suppressed "ah" suddenly came from the room in the courtyard, sounding like pain, or something else entirely.

Xie Yige paused in her steps.

A woman has been arrested? This is a sacred Buddhist site, how could this happen?

Her heart tightened, a sense of panic washing over her. Should she save him? But she was also afraid of recklessly risking her life. She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to quietly observe the situation before making a decision.

She tiptoed closer to the window and peered through the crack—

A monk and a woman with elaborate and colorful headdresses were seen, their clothes off and their bodies intertwined, engaging in a vigorous and obscene act!

Xie Yige gasped, freezing in place.

Was this voluntary or forced? The woman's moans rang out again, seemingly more pleasurable than painful.

Her cheeks burned, and her mind went blank. What kind of fate had she had! How did she end up stumbling upon such a glamorous and alluring crime scene again!

She instinctively wanted to sneak away, but she only took one step back—

Suddenly, I felt a chill on my neck as a sword was pressed against me.

Xie Yige froze, slowly raising her head to see a man in a guard uniform staring at her expressionlessly. Her legs went weak.

It’s over.

But the guard did nothing more; he simply moved her aside, and another guard came forward, and the two of them watched over her together.

They seemed to be waiting for something.

Xie Yige quickly understood—they were waiting for the people in the meditation room to finish.

This wait lasted for more than half an hour.

From initially blushing and feeling uncomfortable all over, she eventually almost started yawning. A ridiculous thought even crossed her mind: Wow, it's been so long! Compared to this couple, the last one was nothing.

After a while, it finally quieted down inside.

The door was pushed open, and a woman dressed in exceptionally gorgeous attire slowly stepped out. Her steps seemed a little unsteady, but her face was flushed, and she had a satisfied expression.

When she saw Xie Yige standing to the side, her expression suddenly darkened.

"Your Highness," the guard who had just held the sword to Xie Yige's neck bowed and reported, "this woman was peeking through the window just now."

Princess? !

Xie Yige's mind went blank. She was doomed! Looking at the woman's grim face, a wave of immense fear washed over her. She hurriedly knelt on the ground, pleading, "I was just passing by, I didn't mean to..."

"Drag her to a deserted place and kill her." A sinister glint flashed in the woman's eyes, and she looked at Xie Yige as if she were looking at a dead man.

Two guards stepped forward and took Xie Yige away. Xie Yige struggled desperately, and something suddenly slipped from her sleeve and fell to the ground.

A piece of mutton fat jade pendant.

A guard picked up the jade pendant and handed it to the woman called the princess. The woman took the pendant, looked down at it, and her face darkened even more.

Xie Yige only heard a female voice in her mind: Isn't this Cui Yutang's personal jade pendant? What is the relationship between this woman and him?

"Transfer the custody back to the residence."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Dudu, is that you?"

"Yes, Master, my ability to hear thoughts is rather useless; there's really no way to find out anything more."

Bichun waited outside the meditation room for a long time, but Xie Yige did not return. She gradually became uneasy. She went out to look for him, but still did not see him. Suddenly, she panicked and quickly knocked on Xie Wanrou's door.

"Young Madam, something terrible has happened!" she exclaimed in a panic. "Miss is missing! We've been looking for her for ages!"

Xie Wanrou's expression changed abruptly, and she stood up abruptly: "Call all the guards and maids up here, let's search together! Tell them to keep quiet!"

Bichun and Tingyu quickly ran out to gather people.

At this moment, Li Zhiwei also ran over, panting, and asked, "What happened?"

"Yi Ge is missing!" Xie Wanrou exclaimed in panic. "We need to go look for her right away!"

Without saying a word, Li Zhiwei took out a special bamboo tube from his bosom and pulled it hard—a sharp whistling sound soared into the sky and exploded above the temple.

The first person to arrive was Li Zhige.

Li Zhiwei had no time to ask her brother why he was there; she quickly told him about Xie Yige's disappearance.