Situ Ming did not give up and still wanted to try.

"But the soil on the mountain and the river flowing past that mountain clearly contain gold sand..."

The emperor interrupted him: "Is there no coal on the mountain? If you deliberately placed the coal there, how do you know that the gold sand wasn't deliberately scattered by someone else?"

If it weren't for the falsification of the coal mine, perhaps this matter could have been investigated.

Now it's all a mess.

Situ Ming was speechless when asked the question.

He then realized that his lie about having coal was a self-inflicted wound.

It's a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.

No, he eroded more than just rice; he eroded an entire gold mine!

The emperor, impatient with his sour face, sent him away.

Situ Ming rode back to the East Palace in a sedan chair, his resentment growing as he thought about it.

He's suffered such a huge loss; if he doesn't retaliate, he'll probably get sick from anger.

So he summoned his subordinates and gave them some instructions.

The next day, Yi Shuihan accidentally wandered into Qingfeng Pavilion, and the story of what happened to the seven men quietly spread.

After spreading the rumors, Xiao Qingyin had people keep an eye on the relevant personnel in the Eastern Palace, so she naturally learned about the matter immediately.

Aside from her own people and the people at Qingfeng Pavilion, no one else knew about what had happened at Qingfeng Pavilion.

The owner is terrified of dying, so he definitely won't tell anyone.

Only the person who orchestrated the scheme could explain the details so clearly.

She thus became certain that Situ Ming was the person behind it all.

Yi Wu was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode: "How dare he slander our master like this! I'll go to the East Palace and kill him right now!"

“Wouldn’t killing him be letting him off easy?” Xiao Qingyin sneered. “We should give him a taste of his own medicine.”

Yi Wu: "!!!"

"Great idea!"

That very night, he took the medicine given to him by Xiao Qingyin and a group of brothers to the East Palace, took Situ Ming to Qingfeng Pavilion, and made arrangements for the seven men from before.

When Situ Ming woke up, he found himself brutally humiliated. Overwhelmed with shock and anger, he fainted.

When she woke up again, she had already been sent back to the East Palace.

But his body was ruined.

The rumors about him overshadowed those about Yi Shuihan—after all, his deeds were witnessed by people, while the rumors about Yi Shuihan were nothing but gossip—which he knew nothing about.

The emperor, upon learning of this, placed him under house arrest.

All the officials heard of this, and even though he had not yet been deposed, he was already regarded as the deposed crown prince.

Leaving aside how much Situ Ming regretted it, let's talk about how Xiao Qingyin, after this incident, was worried that Yi Shuihan, that fool, would be deceived again, so she gave him a lot of advice.

"Even if you hear my voice again, you are not allowed to go with anyone, understand? There are people in this world who can imitate other people's voices perfectly."

Yi Shuihan nodded obediently: "Okay, I will definitely only follow you when I see my wife from now on."

"Seeing someone's appearance isn't enough; disguise techniques can also imitate others."

"That...taste?"

"Scent can also be manipulated."

Yi Shuihan was dumbfounded.

If the voice, appearance, and smell can be imitated, how can he tell if the person coming is his wife?

Xiao Qingyin smiled and said, "Let's set a secret code. The one who matches the code is me."

Yi Shuihan's eyes suddenly lit up.

"My wife is so clever. What's our secret code?"

Xiao Qingyin recalled an English joke that even people from Iraq in this era would definitely not understand.

He then said, "Learn two English phrases from me: 'How are you?' and 'How old are you?'"

Yi Shuihan repeated it twice and memorized it.

"If we ever get separated in the future, and you see me again, ask me the first question, and I'll answer you the second. If you answer incorrectly, you're impersonating me."

Yi Shuihan nodded: "Okay."

"good."

Afraid of forgetting, he reviews it every night before bed.

Seeing how well-behaved he was, Xiao Qingyin specially prepared a spicy dry pot of shrimp and crab for Chongyang Festival.

This dish is so good with rice that he ate too much without realizing it and then pitifully complained of a stomachache.

Xiao Qingyin had no choice but to massage his stomach for almost half an hour.

It feels like I'm raising a son.

Once his stomach felt better, the man regained his energy and showered her with sweet words: "Wife, you're so good to me. I must have done ten good deeds in my past lives to have met you."

Xiao Qingyin teased him, "I'm so good to you, how are you going to repay me?"

Yi Shuihan remembered what Zhang the hunter had told him: if he wanted to repay him, he should give Niu'er two dolls. Dolls should be the best way to repay him in the world.

But he didn't know how to give the doll.

He then asked Xiao Qingyin, "Wife, do you know how to give you the baby?"

Xiao Qingyin: "!!!"

What's this idiot thinking in broad daylight?

How is she supposed to answer a question like that?

She said "I don't know" and changed the subject to avoid the fool getting an answer from her and then going to ask someone else.

Yi Shuihan was somewhat disappointed.

But he was determined to give his wife a doll as a way of repaying her kindness. Once Xiao Qingyin was busy with other things, he asked Yi Wu to take him out.

Yi Wu: "Master, where are you going?"

"Buy a doll."

Yi Wu thought he wanted to buy a rag doll, so he took him to the fabric shop.

Yi Shuihan looked at the rag doll and shook his head, saying, "I want a living doll."

Yi Wu: "???"

Are you buying a child?

"Um."

What are you going to do with it?

"For my wife."

Yi Wu was completely confused: "Do you want to buy a maid to serve Miss Xiao?"

"no."

Yi Shuihan gestured.

"It's such a small baby."

Yi Wu: "..."

What's the point of buying such a tiny toy if it can't even serve tea and water?

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