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

The number of stitches the two had done was almost the same.

Xuanjing has five places left, and Linci has six places left.

Xuanjing's hand suddenly paused slightly on the puppet's leg. His fingers touched a small character in cinnabar, but he didn't immediately put the needle down, as if he was trying to decipher something.

That was a "sea of ​​blood." He paused for a moment.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Ci had finished inserting the second-to-last needle and reached for the last spot, Baihui on the top of the head.

At that moment, Xuanjing also dropped the needle into the sea of ​​blood, while simultaneously probing his last remaining spot: Yongquan (a point on the sole of the foot).

Insert both needles into the acupoint simultaneously. Stop simultaneously.

The needle tip trembled slightly before returning to stillness.

The servant carried the incense burner between the two of them. There was only a stub of ash left, almost extinguished, hanging there like a thin thread.

draw.

The hall remained silent for a long time before Sun Huaiyi finally let out a long breath, as if he had been holding his breath and hadn't dared to breathe.

King Liang put down his teacup and clapped his hands lightly twice. "What a fine contest. Master Xuanjing's needlework with his blindness is a talent; Lady Lin's self-imposed restraint with her sight is a display of magnanimity. I have truly seen something new today."

Xuan Jing slowly put the golden needles back into his cloth bag, one by one, as if the competition had taken a lot of his strength.

He tied the cloth bag, raised his head, and his empty eyes were directed in Lin Ci's direction.

"Lady Lin, this humble monk has finally met his match today."

Lin Ci removed her white handkerchief, looked at Xuan Jing, and then glanced at the two wooden puppets covered in gold needles. She smiled faintly and said, "You flatter me, Master."

Xuan Jing nodded and smiled slightly, saying, "As expected of Ghost Hand's disciple, your needlework is superb. It seems Ghost Hand has passed on all his hidden skills to Madam Lin."

His tone was calm, with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, always carrying a mysterious, faint smile.

Pei Jinxuan sensed something amiss; this wasn't some needle-measuring game at all, but clearly an attempt to probe Lin Ci's true intentions.

Lin Ci remained calm and said, "The purpose of acupuncture is to save lives. If Master Xuanjing is interested in my master's continuous acupuncture technique, I will tell you later. With your intelligence, you will be able to master it in less than half an incense stick's time."

Upon hearing this, the smile in Xuanjing's eyes vanished. He leaned on his monk's staff and silently sat back down beside King Liang.

Sun Huaiyi of the Dali Temple laughed and said, "Madam Lin has a skillful hand and a kind heart. Unlike other professions, she doesn't hide her unique skills for fear that others will steal them."

Censor Zhao Duan stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly, then brought the conversation back to the present, "Since it's a draw, what should we do with this pot of golden kingfishers?"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone's gaze fell upon the strange flower. A golden kingfisher stood on the table, its petals a deep purple, almost black, with a dazzlingly beautiful turquoise calyx.

"With such a kind heart, Madam Lin, this pot of golden kingfisher flowers is a gift from this humble monk."

Xuanjing clasped his hands together in prayer.

Lin Ci smiled and went to Xuan Jing, bowing deeply with great respect. She said, "Thank you for your kind offer, Master. I will certainly live up to your trust and take good care of you."

"Good, good!" King Liang clapped his hands and cheered after watching the show to his heart's content.

The three court officials echoed their sentiments and joined in the applause.

"What a wonderful story this is!"

"That's right, that's right."

……

Pei Jinxuan smiled without saying a word, then turned to give a wink to the steward standing beside him.

The steward understood immediately and stepped forward to put the golden kingfisher away. Just as he reached out his hand, King Liang suddenly sneezed, his elbow hitting the edge of the table. The rare golden kingfisher swayed a few times and crashed to the ground with a bang, the flowerpot shattering instantly.

Everyone was shocked.

King Liang jumped up, exclaiming, "Oh dear, oh dear, how foolish of me! I've caused such a disaster!"

As he spoke, he bent down to look at the flowers on the ground.

The flower branch leans against the soil, the flower head droops slightly, and a few grains of mud are stuck to the deep purple petals.

King Liang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank goodness, thank goodness. Only the flowerpot is broken, the flowers are fine. Quickly, quickly bring another pot. Nephew, please don't be offended, Madam Lin, please don't be offended either."

The manager dared not delay and hurriedly took a new pot, carefully moving the flower and soil into it.

The kingfisher stood up again, still graceful and elegant.

Lin Ci once said that the kingfisher is extremely delicate and cannot survive once it leaves the soil. The flowers look fine now, but they will wither by nightfall.

"Uncle, there's no need to blame yourself. The flowers are perfectly fine." Pei Jinxuan said gently, his peach blossom eyes curving into a smile that was more radiant than the flowers themselves.

Lin Ci's face remained calm, but her heart sank. Seeing the steward carrying the flowers leave the hall, she wanted to follow. Pei Jinxuan grabbed her hand, then turned to her and whispered in her ear, "Don't rush. I have plans."

Lin Ci was slightly taken aback and turned to look at him. Seeing his resolute expression, she felt relieved and subtly withdrew her hand from his grasp.

At this point, King Liang said again, "There's nothing much to talk about in terms of romance and nature. Since we've gathered here today, what difficulties have you all encountered? Why not discuss them on the table and share His Majesty's burdens? What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Huaiyi of the Dali Temple immediately got up and went into the hall.

He straightened his robes and bowed, saying, "I am currently troubled by a cold case. Several years ago, a thatched house in Shengzhou caught fire, killing two men, two women, and an old man. The person who reported the fire was named Zhao Fugui, who survived the fire, but his face was mostly disfigured. This case caused quite a stir, but Zhao Fugui appealed for many years, and the murderer was never caught. Not long ago, Zhao Fugui came to the capital, stopped the emperor's horse and cried out for justice, so I took on this case."

"Now that you mention it, I remember seeing those files a few days ago." Pei Jinxuan looked at Sun Huaiyi, "Lord Sun, what difficulties have you encountered?"

Sun Huaiyi frowned, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

King Liang said, "Lord Sun, please speak freely."

Sun Huaiyi bowed again and said, "Zhao Fugui, who reported the case, is nowhere to be found."

"Disappeared?" King Liang glanced at Pei Jinxuan, then his gaze swept over the other two officials. He chuckled, "He traveled all the way to the capital to file a complaint, but before the case was resolved, he's vanished. What a strange thing."

"I think so too," Sun Huaiyi said. "I have already sent people to Shengzhou to retrieve the case files from that year. With both witnesses and physical evidence, there is no reason for Zhao Fugui not to show up."

Lin Ci's eyes widened when she heard the words "all the evidence is there." She quickly lowered her eyes, pretending to be calm, but her hands, hidden in her sleeves, clenched into fists.

Xuan Jing seemed to sense something, and turned to face her. His empty eyes were like an abyss, staring at her with a chilling intensity.

After taking a sip of tea, King Liang nodded solemnly and turned to ask the other three, "What do you all think?"

Pei Jinxuan said, "Human life is of paramount importance and cannot be taken lightly."

Zhao Duan of the Censorate and Zhou Jin of the Ministry of Revenue exchanged a glance.

Zhou Jin frowned and said, "In my opinion, this person's sudden disappearance without a trace suggests that something unfortunate may have happened to him."

Zhao Duan shook his head: "Zhao Fugui is from Shengzhou and has no enemies in the capital. Unless..." He paused, "he ran into a thug."

This sounds like something said offhand.

Suddenly, the hall fell silent.

Sun Huaiyi raised his head, his gaze falling on Zhao Duan, and suddenly realized, "Lord Zhao's words have enlightened me!"

"Huh? This..." Zhao Duan spread his hands, both amused and exasperated. "I was just mentioning it casually, how did it suddenly become reasonable?"

Sun Huaiyi, however, seemed to have found the thread. He suddenly paced back and forth in the hall, stroking his beard with one hand, and began to deduce things to himself.

"Zhao Fugui has been in the capital for over a month, and he usually chooses busy markets to plead his case. That day, he blocked the road in front of Cheng'an Hall to submit his petition, making the entire road impassable. What if the culprit was among them and recognized him?"

Lin Ci's heartstrings trembled, and her hands clenched even tighter.

King Liang nodded repeatedly, "Lord Sun is right. In this peaceful and prosperous land, how dare someone commit such a heinous act! To disregard the law, this man deserves to die!"

"No, I remember the report said that the person who set fire to the house was a woman," Sun Huaiyi said.