Chapter 139 Let's use this ancient prescription.

"Mianmian searched everywhere but couldn't find the mechanism."

Ever since Lin Ruoxue locked her in the secret room and she couldn't find the mechanism no matter what she did, Xie Mianmian decided to learn from her mistake and secretly searched through the entire study of her family members when she returned to the mansion.

Sure enough, she discovered many inconspicuous mechanisms. Together with the giant python, she thoroughly studied those mechanisms and set them all up.

The opened box, like a freshly baked, fragrant walnut shortbread, is so tempting that you want to devour it in one bite.

"Isn't an open box meant to be seen?" Xie Mianmian thought to herself, and then she looked at everything.

Her brother had hidden a painting scroll. When she unfolded it, she exclaimed, "Hey, the person in the painting is my sister-in-law! Don't we see each other every day? Why would we need a portrait?"

The second sister's box contained some seals carved by master craftsmen. In addition, Xie Mianmian pulled out a bamboo slip that spun around.

She scratched her head in confusion. Brother He had given her a whole bunch of these things, so why did her second sister need to hide one?

As for her father, the thing he hid was quite strange; it was a magical object that Xie Mianmian had never seen before…

As she was thinking, her gaze suddenly focused on a spot on the bookshelf, which interrupted her reminiscence.

Xie Mianmian became more and more puzzled as she looked around. There were just books there, nothing strange about them, so why had she noticed them?

"That's it!" Finally realizing the problem, she jumped up, ran to the bookshelf, stood on tiptoe, and pointed to one of the books.

"Seventh Prince, look, this book is so tattered, the cover on the spine is almost completely peeling off."

The seventh prince followed her finger and looked at the book. Among the books of various styles and colors, the one that was the most worn and the least conspicuous was the one that was the most worn.

That's precisely why it looked so strange on the prince's bookshelf.

"Could it be some ancient book?" the Seventh Prince asked.

An ancient book? Xie Mianmian remembered the prescription Lin Ruoxue used to treat her, which came from an ancient book.

She jumped a few times, but her outstretched fingers couldn't even touch the spine of the book. She turned to look at the Seventh Prince, "Mianmian wants to take it."

The seventh prince braced himself with one hand, stood up nimbly, stood in front of the bookshelf, stretched out his arm, and took out the book.

The two heads huddled together as they began to peruse the ancient books. The pages were yellowed, thin, and as fragile as glass.

The seventh prince gently opened the book. The words on the title page were different from those of today. The characters were strange and complicated, but he could read them carefully and barely understand them.

"I am the physician of the Azure Nether King, and all my knowledge is recorded here."

"King Qingyou? That name sounds familiar. Mianmian feels like she's heard of him somewhere before."

There was a passage in the book written in particularly illegible handwriting, which the seventh prince struggled to decipher: “I fear I will perish at the bottom of the river, and I hope that what I have learned will be passed on to future generations.”

"Do you remember the ancient ship that was excavated on Qinglong Mountain? It was a merchant ship from the time of King Qingyou. I'm afraid the owner of this biography was on that shipwreck back then..."

At this point, the Seventh Prince suddenly paused, as if remembering something. He recalled that the guards had searched carefully and found only a few crew members' journals, which were tightly wrapped in sheepskin and well preserved.

He stared intently at the ancient book in his hands, wondering where it came from.

Could it be that before they even reached the ancient ship, someone had already looted it and taken all the valuable books?

And that person—was none other than the Crown Prince.

The seventh prince felt a chill run down his spine. His respect and trust for his brother collapsed. He had been somewhat skeptical before, but now the ancient book in his hand was strong evidence.

The Crown Prince is not as simple as he appears on the surface; he is hiding many things that are unknown to others.

The Seventh Prince was in a daze, wondering what was real and what was fake, and how much he had done behind the scenes.

Was he really the one who used white phosphorus to burn the emperor's portrait?

Xie Mianmian took the ancient book and carefully flipped through it. She didn't know many characters to begin with, and these ancient characters really gave her a headache.

But she showed no impatience, diligently flipping through the pages, trying to find some clues, but even as she neared the end of the ancient book, she found nothing unusual.

Is this the end of the story?

Xie Mianmian bit her lower lip helplessly.

Until she turned to the last page, she understood the name of the prescription—True Word Powder.

After taking it, one can speak from the bottom of one's heart.

Isn't this just like the truth serum that Lin Ruoxue bought from the mysterious woman on the Flower Pavilion Boat?

Xie Mianmian excitedly nudged the Seventh Prince, who was deep in thought, and said, "Seventh Prince, Mianmian has come up with a solution, look."

The Seventh Prince suppressed his myriad thoughts and looked down. "Truth Powder? How do I use it?"

"Oh dear, we can give the recipe to Grandpa Academy Master and have him make it. Then we can put it in His Highness the Crown Prince's tea. That way, we can get the truth out of him in front of everyone!"

Xie Mianmian thought happily, her face beaming with joy.

"That's not appropriate."

Do you really want to embarrass your elder brother, the Crown Prince, in public? What will happen after you find out the truth? How will he face the Empress? She has treated him very well, so is this how he should repay her biological son?

Xie Mianmian put her hands on her hips and said, "So, is it really okay for him to frame my family and try to drive us to ruin?"

She stepped forward and confronted the Seventh Prince, saying, "Mianmian did this for the truth and for justice. Mianmian had to do this. Besides, he's such a bad person, harming so many innocent lives. He deserves to be taught a lesson!"

At the very least, they should get a good spanking.

Xie Mianmian mimicked the adults' words, saying, "He who steals a needle when young will steal gold when old. If we don't teach him a lesson now, what will happen if he causes a disaster in the future! You are his younger brother, you have to keep an eye on him!"

The Seventh Prince looked into Xie Mianmian's righteous and awe-inspiring eyes and said solemnly, "Alright."

"Seventh Prince, don't be afraid. It's just the four of us: you, me, him, and Uncle Huang. We'll make him tell the truth, and then Uncle Huang will teach him a lesson. He won't dare to do it again next time."

The Seventh Prince gave her a deep look, picked up the ancient book, walked to the desk, and used a brush to copy the prescription for the True Word Powder onto the paper.

He then put the ancient book back in its place, turned around and saw Xie Mianmian hiding the paper in her bosom like a precious treasure, and said helplessly, "Then let's go and find the academy director."

If we simply ask our elder brother, the Crown Prince, in front of our father, and he says he didn't do anything to frame the Xie family, then everyone will be happy.

If he did indeed do it, then he deserves to be punished.

The Seventh Prince sighed inwardly, feeling quite uneasy. It was like a perfectly red apple that he had treasured for a long time, only to discover a wormhole on the back when he was about to take a bite, and the apple was already riddled with holes inside.

The Seventh Prince, accompanied by Xie Mianmian, swaggered out of the East Palace and headed towards the Imperial Hospital.