Chapter 10 Even if you do something, you don't have to suffer any consequences...

Huo Luchao winked at Yang Jiarong, but Yang Jiarong remained composed and pretended not to notice.

Li Hebi didn't rest much afterward. He spent most of the day in the palace, and the problem most likely stemmed from there.

This put Li Shangxuan in a very difficult position. Murdering the heir of a prince was a very serious crime, and he had to find out the truth as soon as possible in order to report back to the emperor and Prince Ning.

The group checked everything Li Hebi had come into contact with. The tea served by the eunuchs was the local tea brought from the Prince of Ning's residence. The teacups hadn't been cleaned after the incident, but Yang Jiarong found nothing wrong with them.

After dark, still finding nothing, Li Shangxuan stared at the sky for a while, but remained outwardly calm. "I'll go to the Chi family to ask what's going on. You all can go back now."

After Huo Lu and Yang Jiarong left, Li Shangxuan secretly went to the Chi family and heard from the Jinwu Guards that she had cried several times that day, probably because she was terrified.

He was relieved when he saw her. Although she was a little flustered, she was generally okay and not too frightened.

The next day, after a whole day of frantic activity, they finally made some progress. Yang Jiarong frowned slightly as she stared at the sachet hanging from his waist. "Your Highness, this isn't something from the palace, is it?"

Li Shangxuan said, "...No. Is there a problem?"

Yang Jiarong said, "Could you take it off and let me see it?"

Li Shangxuan was somewhat reluctant, but seeing Yang Jiarong's serious expression, he didn't say much and took it off and handed it to him.

Yang Jiarong opened it and her expression turned serious. "Where did Your Highness obtain this item?"

Li Shangxuan paused, not answering directly, "Is there something wrong with this thing?"

Yang Jiarong said, “This should be a fake peony, a specialty of Yunzhou, the fiefdom of Prince Ning. Although this flower looks similar to a peony, its fragrance is much richer. I heard my grandfather tell this story as a strange tale. A very small number of people who touch this flower will experience intense itching and swelling of the skin. Prince Ning’s heir previously had a feud with Miss Chi because of this swelling, which may be related to this flower. Where did Your Highness obtain it? This should be the key to this case.”

Li Shangxuan took the sachet, held it tightly in his hand, his eyes flashing a few times, and after a long while asked, "Is this flower enough to kill someone?"

Yang Jiarong shook his head: "I am of limited knowledge and have only heard rumors, so I do not know this. However, my grandfather should know. He is cultivating in Ge Mountain, and if someone is sent to invite him now, he should arrive tomorrow."

Li Shangxuan had mixed feelings, but he nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble him."

The petals in her hand were not completely dry yet; their pale yellow color was exceptionally fresh and tender, exuding a rich fragrance, much like the dress she wore at the Grand Princess Zhaohua's residence that day.

Li Shangxuan said, "Let's first check whether the Prince of Ning's illness is truly related to this thing."

Unexpectedly, the more he investigated, the more panicked he became. The first time Li Hebi fell ill was on the Flower Festival, February 15th. There were many people present at the time, and it was easy to find out that the sixth Miss Chi had a peony flower in her hair.

The truth seemed to have surfaced, and Li Shangxuan felt complicated. Fortunately, besides him, only Yang Jiarong knew about this, so it wouldn't be difficult to cover it up if he wanted to.

The Prince of Ning's heir was indeed rude. Even if it was really related to her, she couldn't be blamed. It was all Li Hebi's own fault.

Moreover, Yang Jiarong only has a superficial understanding of the matter of the fake peony. The truth will only be known when Mr. Yang arrives.

Mr. Yang was also an extraordinary person. He was a nobleman from a noble family, but he neither loved literature nor martial arts. Instead, he was obsessed with medicine. He was quite talented in this field. He had previously provided free medical consultations and solved countless difficult and complicated diseases, saving many lives.

In recent years, as I've gotten older and my strength has waned, I've been living alone in the deep mountains with only two young children.

Mr. Yang is truly a man of high moral character and prestige. Even if the Prince of Ning really died because of this flower, as long as he says "no," it will be enough to convince everyone.

Thinking of this, Li Shangxuan breathed a sigh of relief and went to the Chi residence again under the cover of night.

Logically speaking, since the emperor entrusted this matter to him, he shouldn't have come here secretly time and time again. If someone with ulterior motives discovered him, there would surely be more gossip and arguments...

But there was no time to worry about that now.

Yang Qingxin has always been very cheerful. Even after such an incident, she still ate, drank, and slept well, unlike the Second Madam, the Third Madam, and Chu Ying, whose dark circles under their eyes were so heavy after just one day that they looked like they hadn't slept for months, and whose faces were also very haggard.

As expected, Li Shangxuan came to see her again that evening. However, seeing that his expression was different from yesterday, she began to feel uneasy. Could it be that he had found out something?

As she expected, Li Shangxuan immediately asked, "Ah Xun, do you know what kind of flowers were inside that sachet from yesterday?"

Yang Qing: "Huh? What flower..."

His expression was one of perfectly feigned confusion. "Is that in the sachet? It's from a peony my family recently got. I don't know what kind of new variety it is, but the fragrance is exceptionally pleasant, so I put some in it."

She asked cautiously, "Is there something wrong?"

Li Shangxuan stared at her intently and said solemnly, "If you have done anything, don't be afraid, just tell me everything."

Yang Qing pretended to be clueless: "What did I do..."

Seeing her expression, Li Shangxuan realized she genuinely didn't know, and sighed, "Never mind, I must have been overthinking it."

He then asked, "Have you had dinner?"

Yang Qing nodded: "I've already eaten."

There was another moment of silence between them, an awkward silence that would never have happened before.

Li Shangxuan was very distressed and wanted to say something, but he was told to leave.

"It's getting late, Your Highness. You should hurry back. It would be bad if someone saw you like this."

Li Shangxuan could only say, "Then I'm leaving."

Another night passed, and for some reason, Mr. Yang still hadn't arrived. Li Shangxuan also obtained a lot of information from several servants of the Chi family.

Several people are pleading for justice for the family, saying that the Prince of Ning's heir is like a piece of chewing gum—once you're involved, you can't get rid of him. How could they possibly let their own sixth and seventh daughters, two beautiful flowers, be wasted on such a worthless person?

She also learned from the maid that the flower in the Sixth Miss's hair on the day of the Flower Festival was a hairpin from Yang Qing, and that she herself also wore one in her hair.

The housekeeper, Madam Qian, also mentioned that the Prince Ning's mansion had indeed sent several peony plants. Under Huo Lu's deliberate attempt to elicit information, she also revealed that the second young master of the Prince Ning's mansion and Yang Qing had exchanged a few words.

Huo Lu didn't quite understand why Li Shangxuan was asking these questions. Yang Jiarong knew about the fake peony and already had a rough idea in mind. When they were alone, she asked in a low voice, "What does Your Highness intend to do?"

Li Shangxuan pondered for a moment, then simply said, "Let's talk about it when your grandfather arrives."

Yang Jiarong sighed inwardly, knowing that this meant she wanted to protect the person.

He had no particular thoughts on it; he already had a bad impression of Li Hebi, and whether he lived or died was none of his business.

As for that Miss Chi Qi, he hadn't expected her to cause such a big commotion.

Li Shangxuan could guess what he was thinking, but he didn't feel like explaining. Even though everything pointed to her, he still felt that something was off.

For example, wasn't the second son of Prince Ning, who only appeared briefly, quite abrupt?

*****

Yang Qing's spirits have been noticeably low ever since Li Shangxuan visited last night.

Has he already discovered something?

I worried all night, and although it didn't prevent me from falling asleep, I still had many dreams, in which Li Shangxuan appeared.

Most of the scenes in her dreams were in the palace. When she first married him, he was still quite gentle and considerate. But after less than half a year, he showed his true colors and would bully her whenever he had the chance.

Li Shangxuan was just a hypocrite. So what if she was the empress? He had tried every place in the palace. Once during the Mid-Autumn Festival, he specially took her boating. Yang Qing found it interesting, but she didn't expect that he would become so beastly in the middle of the lake.

Although there were many people in the palace, this lone boat seemed to have become an extraordinary magical artifact from a cultivation novel, isolating a world for only the two of them.

She could actually swim, though not an expert. But the lake in the palace was man-made, and its depth was clearly recorded. It was also stagnant water, so even if she fell in, she could swim back up unharmed.

But she was still afraid. The small boat swayed gently on the calm lake with his movements, creating ripples.

Seeing her frightened expression, Li Shangxuan not only didn't stop, but became even more enthusiastic, a smile playing on his lips. "If you're scared, hold me tight."

When she woke up, the east was just beginning to lighten, and Yang Qing was covered in sweat. She was both embarrassed and angry about having such a dream.

It was still early, but I couldn't fall asleep if I lay down any longer, so I simply put on my clothes and sat on the bed for a while, watching the light outside get brighter and brighter.

The Li Shangxuan in her dream intertwined with the Li Shangxuan of last night. Yang Qing bit her lip, unable to stop wondering, had he really discovered something? What if he really handed her over to the Dali Temple...?

Fortunately, my grandmother still has a get-out-of-jail-free card, so she shouldn't lose her life.

She really only wanted to punish Li Hebi a little, but who knew that he would die so easily.

When Liu Ye'er came in to wake her up, she was startled. As she helped Yang Qing with her washing and dressing, she felt bitter. Although her mistress had been eating and sleeping normally these past few days, she must have been afraid.

After having a quick breakfast, Yangqing prepared to visit Chuying. As she passed through the Second Madam's small garden, she saw several people in official robes standing there. Startled, she quickly left with Liuye'er.

Li Shangxuan has probably really found out something.

When they arrived at Chuying's room, she had already gotten up. She had only washed and dressed, and her face was pale with obvious dark circles under her eyes. She looked haggard, a far cry from her previous proud and radiant appearance.

Seeing Yang Qing brought him back to life, and he gritted his teeth and cursed, "That fat bastard was a troublemaker in life and he's still causing unrest in death. Couldn't he have found a quiet place to die? He had to die in front of us. He's a menace whether he's alive or dead."

Yang Qing just chuckled awkwardly, said a few words, and was about to take her leave. Chu Ying sent a young maid to see them off, but little did she know that this maid was the one who had been questioned. At thirteen or fourteen, she was at the age where she was very talkative and chatty. In just a few steps, she recounted everything that had just happened, "Those people from the Imperial Guards are really scary. This morning, they grabbed me and asked me all sorts of questions, even asking what kind of flowers the Sixth Miss wore for the Flower Festival and where they came from. I could only tell them that the two young ladies picked them in the courtyard. I really don't know why they're not investigating the murderer, but instead coming to our backyard to ask about these pink flowers."

A note from the author: