Chapter 67

As dawn broke, Youyu came to the village with breakfast to pick people up. Xuebao ran wildly through the fields, and by the time she saw Jia Yufang, she was completely covered in black sweat.

It originally wanted to hide and reset its appearance, but Jia Yufang heard that it was Luo Yan's new pet and coaxed it to wash by the well with meat soup.

There was no sound from inside the room. The fish dared not knock on the door and squatted under the eaves, idly staring into space.

Jia Yufang washed Xuebao clean, called him to have breakfast, and asked, "What is your name, young man?"

"Swimming fish".

"He must be a friend of our Yun-ge'er." Jia Yufang was not familiar with the ways of the martial arts world, but seeing that You Yu and Zhu Yun were about the same age and did not seem to have any ulterior motives, she felt very gratified.

As people get older, they inevitably become more talkative. While sorting the medicinal herbs, she chatted with Youyu about the children's funny stories.

Luo Yan blushed and nudged Zhu Yun, saying, "You'd better do something about it, or Grandmother will expose all the embarrassing things I've done."

He smiled as he got up, noticing that the hickeys on his chest had faded. He then pulled the still-lying Luo Yan into his arms and demanded a reward.

Li Chaoen took quick, small steps, barely managing to keep up with his pace.

As he followed, he waved to the eunuchs behind him, ordering them to clear away any palace maids and eunuchs along the way to ensure they wouldn't encounter any servants on the return journey.

Zhu Yun didn't say it explicitly, but he had to be tactful and ensure that no one saw his master's embarrassment.

Upon their return, Li Chaoen not only personally served them but also prevented other palace servants from approaching.

He also ordered the palace servants to close the gates and refuse visitors, saying that Zhu Yun was unwell and resting. With the Emperor's decree in hand, no one dared to disturb him.

But despite all their calculations, they hadn't anticipated the presence of an empress.

At the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM), the summons from Fengzao Palace arrived.

Li Chaoen finally dared to steal a glance at Zhu Yun's face, and almost cried out in surprise.

The fingerprints were not obvious at first, but now, more than an hour later, they have not only not disappeared, but have become even more noticeable.

In an instant, a thousand thoughts flashed through Li Chaoen's mind. But after thinking it over, he couldn't come up with a completely convincing excuse.

They had no choice but to ask Zhu Yun for his opinion: "..."

Li Chaoen looked at Zhu Yun's face. Half of Zhu Yun's face was in shadow, while the other half was bathed in the dim sunlight from the window.

His face was expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Zhu Yun said, "Call someone in."

This means that we are preparing to see the Empress.

After a moment's thought, Li Chaoen specially invited Yao Jinniang inside. Yao Jinniang was also startled when she saw Zhu Yun's appearance. She exchanged a glance with Li Chaoen, and soon concealed her emotions.

Yao Jinniang had served Zhu Yun since childhood and her skills were superb, but this was the first time in her life she had encountered such a situation.

Zhu Yun's hair was slightly disheveled, so she took it apart and started to comb it again. But as she combed, a strand of hair suddenly came out. The break was not neat, and it looked as if it had been forcibly torn off.

Without making a sound, Yao Jinniang hid the severed hair in her sleeve and then wet a cloth.

Zhu Yun had blood on her lips. After wiping the blood away, she realized that the location of the wound was messy and ambiguous.

What's worse is the face; the handprint is very clear, slightly red and swollen. Even after applying the best ointment, it remains clearly visible.

"Step back." Zhu Yun pushed away Yao Jinniang, who was trying to apply powder.

Li Chaoen was extremely capable; he not only cleared out the palace, but even the entire Fengzao Palace. He didn't encounter a single person until he finally met the Empress.

Unfortunately, what's meant to happen will happen.

The Empress, who was about to have dinner with Zhu Yun, noticed the unusual expression on Zhu Yun's face even though she was sitting in a high place.

Hua Rong was serving the Empress soup when she saw her usually calm and composed elder brother in this state, and for a moment she even forgot to greet him.

"absurd!"

The Empress frowned and looked for a moment, then realized what was going on. She immediately threw away the soup she was holding, and the porcelain bowl rolled to Zhu Yun's knees.

Hua Rong was startled and immediately knelt down, followed by all the palace maids.

The Empress is virtuous and kind, and rarely loses her temper like this. If she does, it means she is truly furious.

The Empress scolded, "As the ruler of the country, how can you be so engrossed in matters of love and romance? Where has your usual upbringing gone? I think you've lost your mind!"

Aunt Cui led Hua Rong and a group of palace maids out in time.

Zhu Yun knelt with her eyes lowered; only the mother and son remained in the hall.

The Empress gripped the armrests of her golden chair tightly, closed her eyes to calm herself for a moment, and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on with Qingyun Temple? Have you found a solution?"

Zhu Yun shook his head: "Wang Lang searched Qingyun Temple thoroughly but found no suspicious people."

"I heard that a suspect has been caught?"

"Those were just panicked civilians outside the temple."

"So, Buddha is displeased with you. Should Mother petition your father to depose Zhu Yun and appoint a new heir?"

Zhu Yun said, "Your subject is just thinking of a way to deal with this."

Before the Empress could say anything more, the sound of porcelain being smashed came from inside.

"Aunt Cui!"

The Empress called out for someone, and Aunt Cui pushed open the door and entered. Standing by the tent flap, she scolded, "So clumsy! You startled the Empress! Be careful, or you'll be punished with hard labor! Your monthly allowance..."

Zhu Yun looked up and saw that the person being scolded was probably a palace maid, whose figure was hidden behind the curtain and could not be seen clearly.

Suddenly interrupted, the Empress lost her temper: "You shall reflect on your mistakes in seclusion for the next few days. Go and think about it carefully."

Zhu Yun stood up, preparing to leave.

Before leaving, the Empress stopped him and instructed him: "I have discussed it with your father, the Emperor. Your marriage will be prepared by the Ministry of Rites and will be held next year. In September of this year, an envoy will be sent to the Liu family to deliver the imperial decree."

Zhu Yun remained silent for a long time, then replied, "Yes."

The Empress's gaze swept over Zhu Yun's face before she calmly withdrew it: "Fengzao Palace has prepared female officials to teach you personnel matters, but you refused last time. Take them back this time."

Zhu Yun remained kneeling without responding. Inside the prison cell, the candlelight flickered dimly.

There were no windows, and apart from the dim candlelight on the walls, the rest of the place was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

The sky was obscured, and I had no idea how much time had passed.

It might be five hours, or it might be six hours. The Fifth Prince went out; it seems he went to eat.

As a suspect, Luo Yan naturally didn't get any food, which she felt was somewhat inhumane.

If there were a suggestion box, she would definitely write a complaint letter after she gets out, exposing their abuse of prisoners!

Just as I was hugging my knees and thinking about this in a chaotic way, something suddenly darted past my feet.

Luo Yan was startled, but before she could scream, she heard a pitiful "squeak".

The rat that scurried to the door happened to run into the person who opened it. The person stomped on it, crushed it to death, and kicked it away.

Luo Yan looked up and saw that the person was not wearing the clothes of a jailer, but the clothes of a guard.

After opening the door, he stepped back to make way for the owner behind him.

The Fifth Prince is back.

Luo Yan's entire body tensed up immediately.

A servant brought over a chair, and the Fifth Prince sat down, his demeanor resembling that of a lazy fox: "It's still the same question as before, who instructed you to approach Qingyun Temple?"

Luo Yan's answer remained unchanged: "No one instructed me; I came of my own accord. I accompanied my aunt to request holy water, and when we encountered the surging crowd, I..."

"How dare you!"

The guards behind the Fifth Prince drew their swords, the snow-white blade flashing past Luo Yan's eyes, pointing straight at her heart.

The guard rebuked, "You dare to lie in front of the Fifth Prince? You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!"

Luo Yan's heart pounded, her gaze fixed on the sharp blade in front of her, then slowly moving to the Fifth Prince's face.

"I am not lying."

Luo Yan's voice trembled. She knew it was pathetic of her to be so easily frightened. But it was a physiological reaction, and she couldn't control it.

Luo Yan could only try her best to remain calm: "If the Fifth Prince doesn't believe me, he can send someone to investigate. On the day I went to the Buddhist temple, I met many novices along the way, and they all saw me. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, I had no chance to get close to the Buddha statue."

After so many attempts to probe, she had a general idea of ​​what they were investigating.

On Buddha's Birthday, Zhu Yun led his officials in offering incense, but the Buddha statue wept. In the eyes of the superstitious ancient people, this was certainly not a coincidence. They might even have interpreted it as a warning from Buddha, a sign of dissatisfaction with Zhu Yun, and so on.

At this point, having climbed onto the outer wall of the Buddhist temple, she naturally became a suspect who could have tampered with the Buddha statues.

But this is just too outrageous.

She had neither a motive nor a tool for the crime. Did she really make a prince stay here for hours, like a hawk being tortured, just based on Zhu Yun's guess?

But these are things that cannot be said.

Luo Yan could only explain again and again: "I really didn't do it. There were no soldiers guarding the outside when I climbed up the outer wall. I didn't know it was not allowed."

The Fifth Prince suddenly smiled: "The Buddha Bathing Festival ceremony is grand, and it's understandable that the officers and soldiers were momentarily negligent and couldn't take care of everything. It's not your fault."

He suddenly changed his tone: "But everyone in the temple—the novices, the master, the abbot, even the civil and military officials—is a suspect, and their testimonies are unusable. Only Zhu Yun is innocent, but—"

The Fifth Prince said, "I just sent someone there, and Zhu Yun said he doesn't recognize you. What do you say?"

Luo Yan was filled with grievances and clenched her sleeves tightly: "Anyway, I will not admit to something I didn't do!"

"You wouldn't admit it even if I killed you?"

The guard's sword moved forward, touching his clothes, and was still gradually piercing deeper.

Luo Yan really wanted to be like a warrior, glaring defiantly at the powerful and wealthy.

But she had just escaped from the crowd, only to be subjected to a series of interrogations and was also hungry!

She broke down in tears, trying her best to maintain her warrior's dignity, and said between sobs, "I didn't do it, so why should I admit it?"

Moreover, admitting it would be a huge mistake, and it would also bring misfortune to the Feng family and even the Luo family.

If all else fails, let her suffer alone!

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince suddenly clapped his hands: "Excellent, excellent!"

He changed his previous interrogation style and even became kind and amiable, saying to Luo Yan, "Remember your words, even if I kill you, never admit it."

Luo Yan looked at him as if he were a lunatic.

The empress gave him a cold look, then turned and walked behind the curtain.

The palace doors opened, and Li Chaoen quietly approached, using his sleeve to wipe the stains off Zhu Yun's clothes: "Shall we depart for the journey?"

Zhu Yun asked, "Still in prison?"

Li Chaoen naturally knew who he was asking, and had been keeping an eye on her. He knew that Luo Yan was released not long after Zhu Yun left.

After careful consideration, he asked, "Should I bring the person back?"

After all, he was a suspect. Even though Wang Lang, the physician, was known for his impartiality, he was still an official under Zhu Yun and would give Zhu Yun some leeway.

"What a terrible idea."

After that, Zhu Yun remained silent.

Wu Zi got up from the ground and refused Li Chaoen's help.

Extreme shame accompanied by intense stimulation made her increasingly sensitive. Zhu Yun was naturally affected as well. His pupils went unfocused for a moment, and he barely suppressed the urge to give in, saying impatiently, "Don't bite."

She paused for a moment, then followed her instincts and used the same trick again.

Hearing Zhu Yun's disordered breathing, and how she even had to raise her arm to steady herself, he was no longer the carefree bully he once was.

"Luo, Yan." A hint of embarrassment flashed in his eyes as he pulled her close, leading her to the mirror. The countertop was lower than the windowsill, making it easier for her to gain leverage, and the mirror clearly reflected the details.

Her gaze inevitably drifted downwards, fixing on the area with the stark color contrast.