Outside Kunning Palace, an old eunuch helped the retired emperor slowly walk towards Yangxin Hall.

"His Highness the Ninth Prince is still suffering. Aren't you going to send someone to bring him out?"

The retired emperor took a deep breath.

Looking at the sunset and the leisurely white clouds on the horizon.

"It's just some external injury, there's no need to be so delicate."

The old eunuch chuckled awkwardly and continued to persuade him.

"Thirty strokes of the cane, even the strongest body can't withstand it. If it really damages the internal organs, wouldn't you be the one to feel sorry for them?"

The retired emperor glanced at him.

"Didn't Xiao Jiu choose this woman himself? Doesn't she have extraordinary abilities? Can't she even heal a minor injury?"

The old eunuch choked for a moment and dared not say another word.

...

In the backyard of the Prince's Mansion

Lian'er cried so much that she could barely open her eyes.

Li Dou was so anxious that he had blisters on his lips. Like a headless fly, he kept circling around Lian'er, sometimes standing and sometimes pausing, sighing and complaining until he was almost bald.

At this moment, the small gate connecting the front and back yards opened.

Yun Xiaoran entered with several maids and servants.

The two immediately felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Li Dou casually picked up an iron shovel and held it in front of Lian'er, asking, "What are you trying to do now?"

Yun Xiaoran leisurely looked at the lush flowers around her, smiling with immense pride.

"Why are you so hostile towards me? I, the county princess, only came here out of kindness to tell you news from the palace. If you don't want to hear it, then forget it."

Lian'er hurriedly pulled Li Dou away and knelt on the ground without hesitation.

"This servant greets Princess Su."

Yun Xiaoran gave a soft snort.

"You're quite sensible."

After saying that, he fell silent.

Lian'er quickly tugged at Li Dou, signaling him to kneel down as well.

Although unwilling, Li Dou obediently knelt down.

Yun Xiaoran was finally satisfied and deliberately sighed.

"His Majesty has found out that Jiang used Taoist magic to suck the lives of living people, which is a heinous crime. She also implicated the Prince and caused him to be punished. All the officials in the court are indignant and are requesting that the evil woman be executed. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's pity for me, this huge Prince's mansion would have been confiscated long ago because of her."

Lian'er collapsed to the ground.

Even the prince was punished, so wouldn't the young lady be in grave danger?

Li Dou explained, his neck stiff.

"My young lady would never harm anyone."

Yun Xiaoran gave him a disdainful look.

"Are you saying the Emperor wronged her?"

Lian'er's mind worked faster than Li Dou's, and she quickly kowtowed to Yun Xiaoran.

"Please, Princess Yun, save my young lady! I am willing to serve you like a slave."

She knew that the person in front of her was not a kind person.

They see her daughter as a thorn in their side.

But given her lowly status, who could she turn to for help?

Ever since those people found the mummified corpse in the young lady's room, Qing Sui left, Su left, and even Doctor Zhong took advantage of the gap between the withdrawal of troops and the sealing of the mansion to leave with Xiao Wu, who was still unconscious.

She originally intended to go to the front yard with Li Dou to ask.

But the guards in the front yard stopped them from going; everyone seemed very busy.

No one cared whether the young lady lived or died.

Even the slightest possibility is better than her anxiously waiting in vain.

Li Dou tried to stop her but couldn't, and could only kowtow along with her.

His forehead was bleeding from the impact.

Yun Xiaoran then spoke leisurely.

“I am not a murderer. After this incident, I can no longer keep my title as Princess Jiang. She is a divorced woman and poses no threat to me. Sparing her life is a way to accumulate good fortune for myself.”

"If someone can provide concrete evidence that someone else is using drugs on living people, for the sake of the Prince's reputation and to prevent the Prince from being implicated, I, the County Princess, can once again plead with the Empress Dowager for leniency."

Lian'er grasped the key point and immediately patted her chest, saying, "It was this servant who sucked the blood of living people. I killed that dried corpse. It has nothing to do with my young lady."

Yun Xiaoran shook her head.

“You must have evidence to back up your words. The Emperor is personally investigating this matter, so there is no room for perfunctory responses.”

After her stern questioning, she slowly leaned down and deliberately guided the conversation, "You are Jiang's personal maid. If you really want to pay for her life, you need to find something convincing. Then you can make it so that there are no witnesses, and this matter will naturally be over."

Lian'er's face turned deathly pale.

A resolute will to die flashed in her red and swollen eyes.

She slowly raised her head and stared straight at Yun Xiaoran.

“This servant is of lowly status and deserves to die, but if Your Highness cannot keep your promise and deceives me, I will become a vengeful ghost and haunt you for all eternity.”

The terrifying aura startled Yun Xiaoran, who abruptly sat up and instinctively gripped the purse hanging at her waist. Her heart pounded wildly, and a murderous intent surged within her.

Lian'er had already gotten up and quickly went to Jiang Qingwan's bedroom, taking down the cauldron that she had placed on top of the wardrobe.

One night, she had an upset stomach and got up to use the toilet when she accidentally saw Jiang Qingwan using this thing.

An eerie aura swirled in the dimly lit room, yet a strange light emanated from the cauldron.

She didn't understand the purpose of this thing, but it must be related to Taoist magic.

After hesitating for a long time, she took a deep breath, picked up the furnace, and prepared to go out.

But Qinghui's voice rang out from the courtyard.

“Aunt Su, what kind of skill is it to act so arrogantly towards the servants while the Princess is away?”

This was followed by Yun Xiaoran's angry shout.

"Insolence! Granny Li, slap her!"

Lian'er's heart stirred, and she immediately put down the furnace and ran out quickly.

"Young lady Qing Sui."

In the courtyard, Qing Sui slapped away Li Mama, who was trying to slap her, and pulled up Li Dou, who was still kneeling on the ground with a large bump on his head.

Granny Li already had a broken arm, and now she screamed in pain as she was thrown to the ground.

Yun Xiaoran's face turned ashen with anger.

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