When Song Yaozhu returned to the Prince's Mansion, she learned that Lan Yuning had died vomiting blood in the courtroom of the Dali Temple. His last words, "The Xie family will buy the exam questions," shocked everyone present.

She clenched her fists and went back inside to wait for Dr. Pan's diagnosis results.

The court judge sighed and said, "This old minister does not know what kind of poison it is, but Your Highness's pulse is weak, which is not a sign that you will live a long life!"

He looked at Song Yaozhu intently and said, "The prince's fever is still high, and the most urgent thing is to bring it down. If he can get through this, there will be another day."

With red eyes, Song Yaozhu stuffed a purse into his hand and personally escorted him to the door.

Then he said to the gatekeeper, "His Highness has been seriously injured in an assassination attempt. From today onwards, the Prince's residence will be closed to all visitors!"

"yes!"

When they returned to the house, Fang Rao and the others had already come back.

They came to apologize. They didn't understand how Lan Yuning, who had shown no abnormalities, could suddenly die. It could only mean she had been poisoned beforehand.

"This is not your fault. You should go and rest."

"Your Highness, how is the Prince?"

Song Yaozhu raised her hand and rubbed her temples. "It's alright."

Fang Rao pursed his lips and remained silent. In the end, he chose to believe the princess and left with his men.

Caijin brought in a bowl of bird's nest porridge and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, you haven't slept all night. Go and rest for a while."

Song Yaozhu shook her head, drank the bird's nest porridge in one gulp, got up and went to the bedside to see Xie Liwei.

Granny Qin was resting by the bedside when she saw her come in. She stood up, her legs still numb.

"Your Highness, please go and rest for a while!"

If she used to treat her as a dispensable mistress in the palace, now she has sincerely accepted her as the princess consort!

If it weren't for her, Qin Yu and the others wouldn't have been able to interrogate her so quickly and find out the name of the poison.

Song Yaozhu patted her shoulder, "Granny, you've worked hard. I'll take care of things here. You should go and rest."

Granny Qin wanted to refuse, but when she met Song Yaozhu's gaze, she nodded and withdrew.

Xie Liwei lay on his side, and several pillows were placed behind him to prevent him from pressing on the wound.

Her fingertips lingered on the mask on his face for a moment, but she ultimately didn't remove it. Thinking of what he had said to her before he lost consciousness, Song Yaozhu's heart clenched.

Ah Li recognized her, didn't he?

It doesn't matter if they recognize each other; they can still be good siblings like before.

She rested by the bedside for a while, and when she woke up it was already afternoon. Xie Liwei was still asleep, but the fever on his forehead had subsided.

She washed her face and beckoned Caijin over to ask, "How is things on King Xuan's side?"

"Lan Yuning died in court, and Prince Xuan cleared the area. We can't get any information now. The students who were arrested earlier have all been released, and the master has stopped allowing visits to the prison."

Song Yaozhu ate something and her mind raced, trying to come up with a good solution.

"Your Highness, Young Master Cao requests an audience."

"Let him in."

Song Yaozhu went to the flower hall to meet people. Cao Zhi hadn't suffered at all in prison and came out refreshed and more spirited.

"Greetings, Your Highness!" Cao Zhi bowed and said, "I have discovered a turning point in the Xie family's case of buying exam papers."

Song Yaozhu's heart jumped. "Tell me quickly!"

Cao Zhi pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "This year's exam question is related to the floods in Jiangzhou. Many scholars have speculated about this question over the years. After the floods, many people in Da Chen wrote related articles, which were compiled and collected into a book by 'Jin Deng Ke'. The paper contains articles written by all the great scholars in 'Jin Deng Ke' about the floods in Jiangzhou. Among them, ten articles are by Xie family scholars. The title of Mr. Xie Lü's article is similar to this year's exam question."

Song Yaozhu looked at the paper, and then heard Cao Zhi say, "Two years have passed, and these articles have probably been forgotten by most people, but the book 'Jin Dengke' is still here. We can use this to prove that the Xie family just guessed the questions correctly, and did not cheat by buying the questions."

Song Yaozhu was speechless with gratitude. "Thank you, Young Master Cao. Just tell me what you need, and I will do my best to fulfill it for you!"

Cao Zhi bowed and said, "The Xie family are exemplary scholars. I have benefited greatly from discussing literature with the elders of the Xie family these past few days. I only hope that these gentlemen can be freed from their imprisonment soon!"

Song Yaozhu was very grateful. After seeing the person out of the mansion, she immediately spread the word about the incident.

"Jin Dengke" was a small newspaper that specialized in catering to candidates. It compiled and sold the essays of candidates from previous years, and would also occasionally publish articles by renowned scholars. It also accepted submissions of excellent essays from students all over the country, and was quite well-known in the entire Dachen area.

With its newspapers and public opinion in place, I don't believe Yuwen Wuji would refuse to release him.

What I fear most now is that Yuwen Wuji will resort to a desperate measure, causing the Xie family to die in prison and leaving behind an unclear confession.

"Send Fang Rao to the Ministry of Justice prison to protect the safety of the gentlemen. If necessary, they can break them out of prison!"

This was the worst-case scenario she had considered.

People from the Prince's mansion cautiously went out, and soon rumors spread throughout the city that "the Xie family members had guessed the exam questions correctly, but were wrongfully imprisoned."

Some students even held up the "Jin Deng Ke" newspaper and shouted loudly at the palace gate, their shouts shaking the heavens.

Some people even blocked the entrance to the Ministry of Justice, shouting in unison, "We've come to take Mr. Xie home!"

Its sheer scale and power were terrifying.

The most panicked was You Mingwang, the Minister of Justice. He was completely lost and could no longer see his path to promotion.

Inside the palace, Yuwen Wuji had smashed most of the ornaments in the Qiankun Hall, and was trembling with anger.

Li Wei dared not utter a sound, fearing that he would become a tool for the other party to vent their anger.

Yuwen Wuji braced himself on the table with his hands, his breathing heavy.

Just when Li Wei thought he was going to overturn the table again, Yuwen Wuji suddenly fell straight down.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Summon the Imperial Physician!"

Chaos erupted instantly within the palace. The emperor, in the prime of his life, was not behaving normally! In an instant, the entire court and the inner palace were alarmed. The concubines stood guard outside the palace, and several high-ranking officials also arrived.

Soon, the imperial physician entered and administered acupuncture, and Yuwen Wuji slowly regained consciousness. He grabbed the physician and asked, "How is my health?"

"His Majesty fainted due to a sudden surge of anger and blood rushing to his head. As long as he doesn't get angry, he'll be fine," the imperial physician said, trying to sound comforting.

Yuwen Wuji breathed a sigh of relief, only to hear a senior official say, "Your Majesty, the people's hearts are now with you, the Xie family should be released."

Mentioning the Xie family reignited Yuwen Wuji's anger. What a golden opportunity this had been! Instead of eliminating this major threat, they had only enhanced the Xie family's prestige among scholars!

He beckoned Li Wei over and said through gritted teeth, "Release them!"

The following day, the Ministry of Justice's prison opened, and the entire Xie family emerged unharmed. The students who had been waiting outside the Ministry of Justice shouted, "Your Majesty is wise!"

"We are deeply grateful for your righteous help in this ordeal! Please accept our bow!" Several elders of the Xie family bowed to the students from afar.

The students returned the greeting.

On the opposite street, Song Yaozhu saw this scene and couldn't help but shed tears.

She has come to take her father, brothers, and clan elders home!