With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

Pei Jinxuan, like a naive young man whose secrets have been exposed, panicked. He turned his head and pushed Princess Yongle's face away.

"I'm laughing at you for not eating today." He cleared his throat, then adopted a composed demeanor. "I have official business to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Princess Yongle watched his retreating figure and deliberately teased him loudly, "Brother, if you like someone, just say so."

Pei Jinxuan suddenly stumbled and almost fell into the flower bushes.

Princess Yongle laughed so hard she could barely stand up straight.

Lin Ci blushed and bit her lip slightly. When she saw Princess Yongle looking at her, she scolded, "Stop fooling around."

"Sister Aci is my savior, how could I dare to mess around with my savior? I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart." As she spoke, Princess Yongle raised her eyebrows twice.

"You..." Lin Ci made a move to hit her. Princess Yongle twisted her waist and ran away laughing.

To help Lin Ci recover, Pei Jinxuan specially ordered the chef to prepare a feast of delicacies and also prepared a century-old vintage wine.

When it was time to eat, Lin Ci changed into a simple dress, and she looked like a lotus emerging from the water, with a graceful and charming figure.

Pei Jinxuan was secretly pleased, but deliberately suppressed her smile. Just as she raised her hand to invite Lin Ci to sit down, she noticed that there was another person behind Lin Ci. Princess Yongle peeked out from behind her with a grin.

"I heard that Brother Wang has prepared a delicious meal, so I've come to beg for some." Princess Yongle sat down casually and reached for the jar of century-old wine. "If you won't give me food, Aci will. Hehe, since my sister can't drink, I'll do it for her."

Pei Jinxuan's smile vanished. Just as he was about to reprimand Princess Yongle, he caught sight of someone else out of the corner of his eye. Amo was standing at the door, making an embarrassed gesture.

The princess invited me to dinner.

Pei Jinxuan's lips curled down, indicating his displeasure.

What was meant to be a table for two people turned into a table for four in the blink of an eye.

Princess Yongle drank like a cow, and when she was happy, she would stand on a stool and dance around, revealing one embarrassing thing Pei Jinxuan had done in the past, such as the four-legged duck and the firecrackers she set off during the New Year that blew up the jade tail in Liangwang Pond.

Pei Jinxuan covered his face with one hand, veins throbbing, desperately trying to signal to Amo to take Princess Yongle away. But Amo only had eyes for the lively and adorable Princess Yongle, and couldn't care less about him.

Lin Ci laughed heartily as she watched the princess gesticulate wildly.

This was the first time Pei Jinxuan had seen her laugh so happily, so he laughed along with her.

After several rounds of drinks, Princess Yongle was completely drunk, and Amo had no choice but to send her back.

Finally, only Pei Jinxuan and Lin Ci remained in the room.

Pei Jinxuan ladled a bowl of soup and handed it to Lin Ci, saying, "I didn't see you eat much. Have another bowl of soup, or you'll get hungry later."

Lin Ci smiled gently, "I don't eat much anyway." As she spoke, she took a small bite.

Pei Jinxuan watched her quietly, then looked away the moment she looked up.

He took a sip of his wine and said, "I'm sorry you were frightened this morning. Since you were asleep, I didn't feel comfortable telling you about A-Mo."

"You mean just that coffin?"

Pei Jinxuan nodded. "I sent Amo to investigate Xuanjing's background. He was discovered sneaking into the Liang Prince's mansion last night. The Liang Prince never leaves anyone alive. Amo's ability to get out of the Liang Prince's mansion must be a trap. I suspect he was testing him, and it's probably related to that bald monk."

Lin Ci pondered for a moment, "Now I understand. The day I saw Xuan Jing, there were two snakes at his feet, like bamboo vipers and the same kind of venomous snakes..."

Lin Ci suddenly realized, "He gave me a question."

Pei Jinxuan was surprised by her intelligence and couldn't help but admire her. "You've already answered it, but I can't let them know."

"Did Amo find out anything? Xuanjing keeps saying he knows my master, but I don't remember him at all."

"Xuanjing did indeed come from a temple, but he had no ordination certificate, which means he was a fake monk."

"Fake?!" Lin Ci exclaimed in surprise. "Why would he pretend to be a monk?"

"It is said that the temple where Xuanjing stayed always had dead worshippers. At first, everyone thought it was the will of heaven, but so many people died that no one dared to go there. Later, Xuanjing was kicked out by the abbot, and soon after the abbot also died."

"You mean...the deaths of these people are related to Xuanjing?" Lin Ci pondered for a moment. "Could it be that he used the temple as a cover to commit murders?"

Pei Jinxuan nodded, "A bodhisattva's face but a demon's heart; we must be careful of this person."

As he spoke, he took out a dried flower from his sleeve, which was the poisonous flower that the Empress had mentioned hiding in the embroidered pillow.

"The Empress also gave me a question: Have you ever seen this item before?"

Lin Ci's gaze paused slightly, and she instantly became serious. She held the flower in her hand and examined it repeatedly. The emerald blue sepals and purplish-red petals, although completely dried, still retained their vibrant colors and had a very peculiar fragrance.

"This is the kingfisher," she said. "It's an essential ingredient for the resurrection technique, and it's the tenth ingredient on the prescription I gave you."

"A kingfisher?" Pei Jinxuan was taken aback.

Lin Ci sensed something was off about his tone and couldn't help but glance at him sideways. "You're not really going to bring me a few cages of birds, are you?"

Pei Jinxuan coughed lightly, pretending to be calm and composed as he adjusted his cuffs, and said, "Although my medical skills are not as good as yours, I do know about medicinal herbs."

"Release the bird quickly, it's not what I want."

Lin Ci didn't care about his feelings at all and exposed him with a single needle.

Pei Jinxuan's face flushed slightly, but she quickly calmed down and asked, "Is there any particular significance to this flower?"

"This flower comes from the Western Regions, growing in the crevices of cliffs, and is extremely rare. It cannot survive without soil and can only be made into dried flowers. But dried flowers are not as good as fresh flowers. For the same medicinal effect, more than a hundred dried flowers are needed, while only half a petal of fresh flowers is needed. This golden kingfisher is a good medicine for calming the nerves when used properly, but it is poison when used improperly."

Pei Jinxuan suddenly felt that this question was extremely difficult to answer. The Empress was suspicious by nature. Perhaps the flower was just used to calm her nerves. Was she just being paranoid?

"Let's put it aside for now." Pei Jinxuan put away the golden kingfisher and sipped the wine in his cup.

"We can't let it go any longer," Lin Ci said sternly. "You must give me the medicine I need as soon as possible, otherwise the 'resurrection' technique will be useless. Since there are golden kingfishers here, we should find the source quickly and collect as many as possible."

**

Inside the Liang Prince's mansion, the candlelight cast long and short shadows on the two figures in the hall.

A guard bowed and entered, whispering a few words in the ear of the King of Liang.

King Liang slowly turned his head, his dark blue eyes narrowing slightly, like a black panther that had caught the scent of its prey.

"What was the cause of death?"

"Poisoning."

King Liang waved his hand, and the guards bowed their heads and withdrew. Then he gave a signal, and the musicians and singers in the hall stopped playing and singing one by one, holding their instruments and bowing to take their leave.

They filed out, their skirts barely brushing the threshold when a cold glint of light flashed down from the shadows.

After a few muffled thuds, only the heavy stench of blood remained in the corridor, permeating the snowy night.

The mouths of the dead are the most tightly sealed.

King Liang calmly brewed a cup of tea. He was already used to the stench of blood, while Xuan Jing raised his sleeve to gently cover his nose, his brows furrowing.

"She couldn't answer the question you asked her." King Liang pushed the teacup in front of Xuanjing. "But I feel like something's not quite right."

Xuanjing accepted the teacup with both hands, nodded in thanks, and then asked, "How many of the spies Your Highness previously planted in the Jing'an Prince's residence are still remaining?"

"Not many. A few have been quiet for quite some time."

"Could this news of his death be a false report deliberately spread by Prince Jing'an?"

King Liang was silent for a moment, his fingertips slowly circling the rim of the teacup again and again. "The news of his death should be true, but that boy has been cunning since childhood. When he was young, in order to avenge a personal grudge, he deliberately blew up my pet Jin Yuwei on New Year's Eve, and then went to the late emperor and put on an innocent act."

As he spoke, King Liang snorted and crushed the teacup in his hand, splashing tea all over himself.

Xuan Jing lowered her eyes and smiled faintly, but her empty eyes remained completely unmoved.

"This humble monk recalls that when I first met Prince Jing'an, he mentioned inviting Your Highness to his residence for a chat. Your Highness, shouldn't you remind him that he still owes you a drink?"

The deep blue in King Liang's eyes suddenly brightened.

"How could I forget? I will draft an invitation and send it to the Jing'an Prince's residence in a moment, and I will also prepare a backup gift."

As he spoke, King Liang shook the bronze bell beside him three times.

Before long, the manager arrived, followed by a man in his thirties. He was thin, hunched over, and had a large, gruesome burn scar covering half of his face. He walked with his neck hunched and shoulders shrugged, but his eyes were wandering around restlessly.

The man saw King Liang as if he had seen a Bodhisattva, and prostrated himself in worship.

"Greetings to Your Highness Prince Liang! May Your Highness live a long and prosperous life, with blessings as vast as the Eastern Sea and longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountain!" He prostrated himself on the ground, his forehead pressed tightly against the cold brick surface, trembling like a leaf, even his voice shaking.

Xuan Jing turned his head slightly, his empty eyes turning towards the direction of the person who had come.

"And who is this benefactor...?"

The man took a deep breath and suddenly burst into tears.

He wiped his tears haphazardly with his tattered sleeve, choking back sobs as he said, "My name is Zhao Fugui, from Shengzhou. I have an elderly father and two older brothers. A few years ago, my father encountered a quack doctor on the street and was killed by him! My two brothers and I went to confront him, but he set fire to our ancestral home that very night, burning it to the ground! My two unfortunate brothers and several sisters-in-law were burned alive inside. I barely escaped with my life, but I was burned like this..."

As he spoke, he deliberately revealed half of his disfigured face, swallowed hard, and angrily cursed, "That quack doctor got into a murder case and ran away overnight! The government doesn't care, saying it's an unsolved case, and nobody is willing to stand up for a commoner like me! I've been searching everywhere for so many years, but to no avail. Fortunately, Heaven has eyes, and I've met a benefactor!"

Zhao Fugui kowtowed three times, making the floor tiles clatter. When he looked up again, his forehead was red.

"Your Highness, my father and brothers died unjustly! You must seek justice for me! The arsonist was a young woman surnamed Lin. I saw her on the street this morning..."