Chapter 27 Setting the Game

A few red plum blossoms slanted out from the moon-shaped gate, and the flower buds trembled under the weight of the accumulated snow.

Chao Yinzhen struggled to get free but failed, and stamped his feet anxiously: "The women from various mansions live in the east wing, do you want to appear in public like this?"

Luo Zhaohan left five watermarks on his cloak when he let go. His embroidered shoes sank into the snow, stirring up ice with every step.

Walking around the nine-curve corridor, the charcoal smell from the warm room hits you in the face.

Luo Zhaohan suppressed the surging heat in his body, and pinched his fingertips into his palm to steady his voice: "Excuse me, Princess, where is the female doctor in the mansion?"

Chao Yinzhen crossed his arms and said, "There are three female doctors living in the southeast corner, specializing in treating the imperial concubines." His almond-shaped eyes swept over the other woman's flushed face, "Why, Miss Luo, is the fever still not gone?"

The copper bells on the eaves suddenly jingled, and Luo Zhaohan clenched the silver needle in his sleeve.

Going to the pavilion was indeed a spur-of-the-moment decision, but that plate of imperial rose cakes...

"Did the princess really not tamper with the tea?" She suddenly took two steps closer.

"How dare you!" Chao Yinzhen swept the teacup off the table with his wide sleeves. "If this princess wanted to punish you, there would be no need for such vile means!"

Broken porcelain splattered and ripped through her silk skirt, but Luo Zhaohan remained oblivious. Memories flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern—the little prince's chubby hands holding the cakes, the Prince of Jin's smiling eyes, the Crown Princess's pale face...

"Oh no!" She suddenly grabbed Chao Yinzhen's wrist, "The Crown Princess is in trouble!"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Chao Yinzhen stopped talking.

The west wind brought ambiguous moans into my ears, which were clearly coming from the direction of the forbidden garden.

Luo Zhaohan had already rushed towards the Moon Cave Gate, but was stopped by a guard holding a halberd. "Get out of the way!" Chao Yinzhen threw out the princess's token. "Didn't you hear any movement inside?"

Walking through the winding corridor, the aroma of medicine mixed with sweet and fishy smell hits you in the face.

Chao Yinzhen was about to push the door open when Luo Zhaohan suddenly grabbed her and said, "Wait!"

The candlelight flickered through the carved window lattice, and two overlapping figures were reflected on the red gauze window.

The woman's hair was disheveled, and a gold-threaded peony bellyband hung on the man's black waist belt, which was the Crown Princess's favorite Suzhou embroidery pattern.

"It's really the Crown Princess..." Chao Yinzhen covered his mouth and took a half step back.

"Hurry up!" Luo Zhaohan dragged the stunned princess back quickly. Suddenly, footsteps were heard from behind the rockery, and a dozen noble ladies came towards them, chatting and laughing.

"What should we do now?" Chao Yinzhen's fingertips trembled. If anyone saw this scene, the Censorate's memorials would flood the Prince Duan's mansion tomorrow.

Luo Zhaohan glanced at the lotus pond: "There's a fire! Put it out!"

"You..." Chao Yinzhen hadn't finished his words when thick smoke rose from the southeast corner. Luo Zhaohan had thrown the candlestick into the withered lotus bushes, and the autumn wind fanned the flames, which soon engulfed half the corridor.

"The fire is burning!" The ladies screamed and scattered.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Luo Zhaohan pulled Chao Yinzhen into the bamboo forest.

After the crowd dispersed, Chao Yinzhen shook off her hand and asked, "How did you know the Crown Princess was in danger?"

"My Lady, why don't you check if there's any foul drugs in today's cakes?" Luo Zhaohan leaned against the bamboo and panted, the heat in his body no longer suppressed. "If my guess is correct, that plate of rose cakes should have been given to the Crown Princess."

Memories of past lives flooded back. Three months after the Crown Prince's sudden death, the Crown Princess "overwhelmed with grief" and committed suicide by swallowing gold. Now thinking about it, I'm afraid she was murdered!

"What!" Chao Yinzhen was shocked.

Luo Zhaohan grabbed Chao Yinzhen's wrist and dragged her behind the corridor pillar, his nails almost digging into her flesh: "Shut up!" The smell of blood mixed with the fragrance of powder rushed into her forehead. She bit her tongue hard and swallowed the dizziness, staring at the empty moon-shaped door - there was no sign of even the maid sweeping the floor.

Chao Yinzhen was pushed and staggered, and saw Luo Zhaohan kick open the carved wooden door.

The sound of the door bolt breaking startled the copper bell under the eaves and flew away. The man on the couch's half-open clothes revealed a red and golden dragon pattern, and there was a hint of pride in his panic.

"Have the dogs in Prince Duan's Mansion been brave enough to feed the jackals?" Luo Zhaohan slammed the door bolt and caught a glimpse of the ambiguous red mark on the Crown Princess's neck.

Acacia incense was burning next to the soft golden pillow, and the green smoke curled up like a poisonous snake's tongue.

The man turned over and was about to shout, but Luo Zhaohan pulled off his cloak and covered his head with it.

The gold satin reflected his distorted face, which looked very much like the grinning jailers in the imperial prison in his previous life.

"Take the Crown Princess away!" She shouted, waking up Chao Yinzhen who was standing there in a daze.

Before he could finish his words, the man suddenly jumped up.

Luo Zhaohan raised his arm to block, and the jade bracelet on his wrist hit his Adam's apple, and the broken jade splattered like the ancestral tablets that were broken when the house was raided in the previous life.

…

At the same time, the pavilion by the lake was empty.

The remaining lotus leaves on the lake swayed in the autumn wind, and Sun Honglei crushed a dead leaf with the sole of his shoe.

He stared at the celadon tea set on the stone table, then suddenly kicked the pavilion pillar: "Check carefully!"

The court doctor wiped his sweat and inserted the silver needle into the spout of the teapot: "The tea soup is clear and crisp, and the spout of the teapot is spotless..." Before he could finish his words, Sun Honglei grabbed him by the collar: "Is there really no such dirty medicine?"

"Young Master Sun, you are wise!" The court physician swore to himself, his beard shaking, pointing to the heavens: "Aphrodisiac poison is the easiest to identify. I have been practicing medicine for thirty years and I will never be wrong!"

Sun Honglei staggered back two steps.

Luo Zhaohan had only touched tea and cakes in the pavilion. If the tea was clean... he suddenly remembered the little emperor holding the food box like a treasure: "This is the rose cake given by father!"

"Quick!" He grabbed the attendant's wrist, veins popping out. "Is His Royal Highness Prince Rui really not coming today?"

The attendant was pinched so hard that it hurt: "The prince is in the palace tending to the sick, what happened to Brother Hong Lei?"

Sun Honglei dragged the people to the back of the rockery and said in a low voice, "Hurry and report to the prince! Someone wants to use the cakes of the East Palace to set up a trap!"

Seeing the servant still in a daze, he raised his leg and kicked him: "Hurry! Someone's going to die!"

The dry branches crackled under the running footsteps, and Sun Honglei stared at his reflection in the lake and clenched his fists.

Just one hundred days after the Crown Prince's death, undercurrents surge within the court. Prince Rui holds the title of eldest son, the Crown Prince retains his legitimate grandson, and the Third Prince's maternal family is powerful... If this lotus pastry were to escape from the imperial kitchen...

"Young Master Sun!" The court physician who had previously examined the poison suddenly exclaimed, "I've remembered something!"

Sun Honglei turned around suddenly and almost knocked over the medicine box.

The old medical officer trembled as he lifted a piece of broken teacup. "The edge of this teacup is stained with locust flower powder. Although it's not poisonous, it clashes with the honey in the hibiscus pastry. It can cause dryness and heat at best, and even estrus at worst!"

"Asshole!" Sun Honglei slammed his fist on the stone table. No wonder Luo Zhaohan's face flushed, no wonder Prince Jin left early! It turned out the poison wasn't in the tea, but in the incompatibility between the cakes and the tea set!

The autumn wind swept fallen leaves across the bluestone path. Sun Honglei was staring at the lake in a trance when Luo Jince suddenly grabbed his clothes and asked, "Have you seen my sister?"

"What's going on?" Sun Honglei caught a glimpse of a cold light flashing under the corridor. The guards of Prince Duan's Mansion stood with swords, and the scabbards shone coldly in the sun.

Luo Jince followed his gaze, his Adam's apple rolling: "It is said that there is a thief, and Lord Pei is leading the troops to search!" Before he finished speaking, the sound of a gong came from the east, and two teams of guards ran past.

Sun Honglei's knuckles were white from pinching, but he smiled calmly, "Your sister was invited by the princess to enjoy the flowers."

"really?"

Seeing Sun Honglei nodding his head vigorously, Luo Jince finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If my sister really traveled with Princess Yinzhen, she must be safe and sound.

Who could have predicted that His Royal Highness the Grandson would suddenly develop a high fever, and then His Royal Highness the Third Prince also felt unwell. Lord Pei immediately cast a suspicious look at the pastries.

However, when they investigated, they found that not only was there no trace of the food box, but even the eunuch who had been holding the food box had disappeared without a trace.