In the previous dynasty, Wen Shutang's father Wen Qian was dismissed from office and imprisoned, and the emperor ordered the Ministry of Justice to thoroughly investigate the Gong Mo case.

The magistrate of She County was imprisoned.

Dozens of people were involved and all were sent to jail.

Later, the Ministry of Justice discovered that Wen Qian was involved in corruption...

In the middle of winter in the eighth year of Yanchang, Wen Qian was sentenced to death, the Wen family's property was confiscated, and dozens of people involved were exiled.

This Gong Mo case, which caused a sensation in the previous dynasty, came to an end after a month.

Concubine Rou took the second prince to the palace to recuperate.

Before leaving.

Concubine Rou came to pay a visit to Ning Wanyin.

"Can the second prince be cured?" Concubine Rou asked anxiously.

The two biggest blows to her this time were that Wen Shutang, whom she trusted very much, actually assassinated the Second Prince...

Wen Shutang also confessed that she had poisoned the second prince's fish soup.

She was the one who took action that time too.

Taking advantage of the fact that Concubine Rou was completely defenseless against her, she poisoned her quietly without attracting anyone's attention.

Concubine Rou was very regretful. She regretted that she had trusted the Wen family and not been on guard against her.

The second is...

The Second Prince can be cured, it’s just a trap.

"Not sure." Ning Wanyin looked at her and said in a deep voice, "The old doctor does have a prescription that can help the second prince recuperate, but I can't guarantee a cure. Take the medicine and recuperate slowly. Any recovery is a good thing."

Concubine Rou couldn't help but shed tears, "Thank you, Imperial Concubine."

She knew that everyone had done their best.

She was extremely resentful of Wen Shutang, but she was already dead, and blaming her would not change the status quo.

And those who are alive still have to find ways to live well.

Therefore, in the days to come, she will try her best to take good care of the Second Prince's health.

Concubine Rou took the second prince to the hot spring palace.

Peace gradually returned to the harem.

As the year draws to a close, the spy Ning Wanyin sent to Jiangnan brings back the latest news.

Of those four people, two of them relied on their excellent skills in pruning flowers and plants to sneak into the Su Mansion and work there.

The other two were familiar with the business because they had worked as shop assistants before, so they set up stalls on the street to sell vegetables and became familiar with the Su family's purchasing manager.

A lot of this information was hidden in the idle chatter of the Su family's servants.

"Master, Su Ruhuan's biological mother never mentioned that she had any family. She usually followed the eating habits of Magistrate Su, but one time the chef in the mansion learned a dish from another place, and she actually recognized it."

"Southwestern cuisine - spicy tofu. Most people in Jiangnan don't know it."

"Mother Su is usually a man of few words. Once, she went out with her daughter to enjoy the bamboos. She sighed that the bamboo sea was not as good as Zhu County, and then stopped talking. I immediately sent someone to check. Zhu County is located in the southwest."

"There is also very important news. Su's mother has a scar on her calf!"

Outsiders could not see the woman's legs, but the nanny who was helping Su's mother bathe saw it.

A scar, ordinary people won't care.

But in Ning Wanyin's training nail investigation manual, even if there is only a scar, it is necessary to find out when the injury occurred, why the injury occurred, and what caused the injury?

"Mother Su said she fell accidentally. But I asked Doctor Ge about the scar described in the letter from Nail and found out that it was a scar left by a crossbow. Because the arrow of the crossbow pierces the flesh, the barbs on both wings will hook into the flesh, leaving this kind of scar."

The thorn crossbow is the standard crossbow in the army and is controlled by the court.

It cannot be said that there is no privately stored crossbow among the people, but generally speaking, it is only common on battlefields and frontiers.

Piecing together the various clues currently available.

Before going to the south of the Yangtze River, Su's mother stayed in the southwest.

As for the scars... it is very likely that the civilians living near the border were hit by crossbows and stray arrows during the battle between the two armies.

Southwestern border, military crossbow.

Ning Wanyin thought of someone almost immediately.

Governor of the Southwest, Xiao Yunjing!

In addition, there is the Dong family, who also guard the southwest.

When the evidence is not sufficient, Ning Wanyin cannot arbitrarily conclude who is behind Su Ruhuan.

And it involves the southwest...

Even if Ning Wanyin wanted to investigate, she couldn't reach the southwest. After all, it was Xiao Yunjing and the Dong family's territory, and it was difficult for outsiders to go in and investigate.

This matter...

Let the emperor handle it himself.

It was common for the noble families to openly send their daughters to the palace. But if they deliberately changed their names and identities to enter the palace, it would be very suspicious.

If the emperor had any suspicion, he would investigate it himself.

…

On New Year’s Eve, a grand New Year banquet was held in the palace.

As lively as previous years.

Royal relatives and civil and military officials all came to attend the annual banquet. Ning Wanyin's brother also attended the banquet today as the eldest son of the Shou'an Earl's Mansion.

The annual banquet ended with singing and dancing.

The next day was New Year’s Day.

According to the rules, all the concubines must go to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to wish them a happy new year today.

Lianrui helped Ning Wanyin put on the imperial concubine's auspicious dress.

Xiao Xiazi was waiting outside the door, ready to go.

"Master, the eldest son handed in a letter." Bongqi presented a secret letter.

Ning Wanyin opened it and took a look, frowning slightly, "My brother said that he had seen Concubine Yan before in Zhu County in the southwest. When I saw her at the annual banquet last night, she looked very familiar. But isn't Concubine Yan from Jiangnan?"

Ning Heng has been recuperating away from home for many years and has traveled all over the country.

He had also been to the southwest, but he didn't see Su Ruhuan at that time...

But if you check Ning Heng's whereabouts, you will find that he actually stayed in the southwest a few years ago.

It looked as if he had really seen it.

And it is normal that people still remember Su Ruhuan after seeing her with such a stunning beauty.

"Master, maybe it's a person who looks similar?" Lian Rui took over the conversation.

"Maybe. It is said that Concubine Yan used to live in the countryside with her biological mother, and was brought back to the mansion by her father a few years ago. She should have never left Jiangnan." Ning Wanyin said softly.

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