The concubine, a former cannon fodder, becomes pregnant, and the childless prince spoils her rotten.

"This servant...this servant heard that there's a shop in the alley that sells very effective medicine for bruises and sprains, and since I don't have to work during the day, I went to buy some. This servant...this servant noticed that Your Highness has some hidden injuries, this servant shouldn't have acted on my own..."

Expressing one's feelings for the prince in public, and revealing their ambiguous relationship, is an extremely shameful thing to do here.

She was already quite young, and becoming a concubine was not something to be proud of. At this moment, she was even more ashamed and indignant, and two lines of tears streamed down her face.

Liu Gulan never expected her to pull this stunt, and instead became the villain who forced Lin Zhizhi to reveal her innermost thoughts.

He was so angry that his brows furrowed, and he almost cursed out on the spot.

Even the prefect had a strange expression. It was common for powerful families to have maids serve as concubines to ensure the continuation of their lineage, but a concubine was not even considered a real concubine.

Not many people would openly reveal these things. However, seeing how deeply Lin Zhizhi was in love with the prince, and recalling her previous protective words, it seemed reasonable for her to risk her life in that no-man's-land for Cen Jingyi.

Fang Bin said at the right moment, "There is indeed a family that produces very effective medicine, but the annual output is very small. If you go there now, I'm afraid you won't be able to buy much. I have some stored here. You can come and get some when you have time, so that I can repay your kindness today."

"It's strange, isn't it? I wonder if this young master is referring to me as a favor? I'm just an ordinary person, why would I go to such lengths to gain my favor?"

Lin Zhizhi nodded slightly, knowing that Fang Bin was giving her a chance to go find him.

These words also confirm that what she said was true, and at the same time point out the loopholes in Liu Gulan's previous statements.

The prefect cleared his throat. "Silence in the courtroom!"

Her gaze unconsciously drifted to Cen Jingyi, unsure of his attitude.

These villains are trying to damage the prince's reputation. This is no small matter. Twenty strokes of the cane are just a punishment. We need to get the real information out of them.

When the thugs were carried up after being flogged, they were all grimacing and unable to move.

They looked at Liu Gulan with resentment and venom. "He hired us, saying he'd give us a hundred taels of silver if we brought this little girl over. Now we haven't received the silver, and we've even been beaten."

"I didn't," Liu Gulan said firmly.

Lin Zhizhi's eyes flickered, sensing that Liu Gulan must have a backup plan.

The prefect asked, "Where did you conduct your transaction?"

After a series of questions, he finally allowed the constables to search for the person.

In less than fifteen minutes, a person who looked seven or eight parts similar to Liu Gulan was brought in.

This person was a real man, even more handsome, but his eyes were dark and his face was unhealthy and ashen.

The thugs looked at each other, confused for a moment, wondering who had ordered them to do the work.

When the young master came looking for them, it was late at night, and they met outside, but the moonlight made it difficult to see them clearly.

Before the man appeared, they thought Liu Gulan resembled that person; once he appeared, they felt he resembled him even more.

"He seems a bit taller, but he does look like..." Ge Zhengjia was woken up by the cold water and was still a little confused.

However, it didn't matter to her who gave her the money, as long as she was punished leniently.

He immediately cried out, "Your Honor, I truly know I was wrong! I shouldn't have been greedy for that silver. I have elderly parents and young children to support. If I'm really arrested, what will become of my family? There will be no one to do their laundry and cook for them. My youngest child is still breastfeeding; without me, they will starve to death."

"If only I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."

The thugs dared not say anything more, feeling that they had no intention of framing the prince's son and that the prince might hold a grudge against them.

Lin Zhizhi asked softly, "Why did you tell them to say that the prince adopted a daughter?"

Clearly, someone had told the man beforehand what to say. He said, "Only the Prince's mansion in the capital has never had an heir. They'll be more likely to believe me if I say that. I want to sell the child for some money."

Cen Jingyi pursed his lips and said coldly, "Using silver to hire people in exchange for silver, you're actually doing this losing business? You're full of lies."

The man was so frightened that he curled up into a ball and dared not utter another word.

This move was clearly aimed at the Prince's Mansion in everyone's eyes, and this man was someone that powerful figure was using as a scapegoat.

If we investigate further, even if we find the person behind it, it will likely make things very ugly.

Those who dare to touch the prince are few and far between in the capital; the prefect can't afford to offend them.

He looked at Cen Jingyi with a troubled expression, hesitant to speak.

He waved his hand and said, "Investigate the source of the money."

"Yes."

The silver in the hands of these people was confiscated, and the prefect glanced at it before presenting it to Cen Jingyi.

He turned to Liu Gulan behind him and said, "Go and see."

Liu Gulan thought she had already escaped, but she never expected that she would still be involved, and she was quite frightened.

However, he quickly calmed down and went forward to check.

Those small pieces of silver had passed through countless hands, making it impossible to discern their origins. She naturally knew that no one would be able to tell anything from them.

After all, all that loose silver came from her hands.

He glanced at it briefly, a slight smile playing on his lips, thinking to himself that the person in charge was quite reliable.

Just as she was about to reply, she met Cen Jingyi's gaze, and a chill rose from the bottom of her heart, freezing her smile on her face.

After a long pause, he said, "These are just loose change; I can't tell where they came from."

She felt her heart tighten. Besides the unease of being seen through, she also felt that the man in front of her was not as useless as described in the book.

Perhaps it's an attempt to conceal its shortcomings, or perhaps the book contains errors.

Her face flushed involuntarily, and she lowered her head, not daring to look any further, unwilling to reveal any more flaws.

"Is that so?" Cen Jingyi's voice was deep, and everyone present was waiting for his decision.

Should we continue the investigation, or let it go?

"I have some important matters to attend to. Since this matter is none of my concern, Lin Zhizhi, return to your residence."

He got up and left immediately, and Lin Zhizhi quickly followed. Seeing that Liu Gulan actually dared to follow, she thought to herself that she was indeed a transmigrated heroine, and her shamelessness was beyond that of ordinary people.

Seeing that he did not investigate further, the prefect secretly breathed a sigh of relief, arrested these people and threw them into jail, and then adjourned the court.

The two were taken to Cen Jingyi's study.

Liu Gulan was lost in thought, and Lin Zhizhi poured tea and then stepped aside.

Seeing that it was extremely quiet around her, Liu Gulan said, "Your Highness, the shop is almost ready. We can choose an auspicious day to open for business."

She had already found an embroiderer before Lin Zhizhi, and had produced many new designs, just waiting to show her skills.

The prince did not reply, clearly indicating that he had not summoned her for this matter.

He immediately said solemnly, "I remember Your Highness's promotion and would never do anything to harm the Prince's Mansion."

Seeing that Cen Jingyi's expression was still not right, she said, "There have indeed been rumors circulating recently, all of which are unfavorable to Your Highness. If they reach the Emperor's ears, he will surely blame Your Highness. I urge Your Highness to deal with them as soon as possible."

"Oh?" The prince set down his teacup with a crisp sound. "How did you find out? Or are you the one who colluded with outsiders to spread these unfavorable rumors?"

Liu Gulan was unaware that the Fifth Prince's spies had been discovered last night; she had learned this from books and, of course, could not say it directly.

She had originally planned to wait until the prince was down and helpless because of this incident before taking action, but now, in order to regain the prince's trust, she had no choice but to speak up first.

Pointing at Lin Zhizhi, he said, "She is acquainted with the Fifth Prince's concubine. This was done by the Fifth Prince. Your Highness can find out by investigating her."

It was clear that they were certain that Lin Zhizhi was the one who delivered the message.