When San Niang saw the Duke of Zhenguo arrive, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked, "Your Excellency, just now Aunt Cui said that A Yue had an accident in Mingyue Kingdom. Although we just received their letter, the round trip naturally took a lot of time. Therefore, we would like to ask you, what exactly happened to A Yue?"

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Zhenguo frowned.

He had been keeping an eye on the movements of the Mingyue Kingdom and hadn't heard about these things, but since it concerned Xu Yuehuai, he was naturally a little unsure.

“I haven’t heard anything about it.” He waved his hand, but his face was ashen. “However, if something had really happened to them in the Kingdom of Dark Moon, I think we would have heard something about it in Chang’an. But nothing has happened, which means they are still safe.”

“Mingzhi wouldn’t lie to me,” Cui Rou quickly replied.

“He heard it from Marquis Ningyuan, how could he be wrong?”

She wholeheartedly believed in Xu Mingzhi, and ultimately she also cared about Xu Yuehuai's life or death.

Upon hearing that it was Marquis Ningyuan who spoke, the Duke of Zhenguo's suspicions only grew stronger. He quickly said, "Are you sure it was Marquis Ningyuan who told Xu Mingzhi himself? The two of them have never gotten along with A-Yue. How could they suddenly pay attention to A-Yue's whereabouts? If this is true, I'm afraid it's probably related to Marquis Ningyuan."

Third Sister's heart, which had just settled down, tensed up again.

She thought she would receive good news, but instead received only an ambiguous answer.

"Third Sister, I'll leave the Tianxiang Tower to you during this time. As for A-Yue, I'll find out as soon as possible. In the meantime, you must not trust anyone's words," the Duke of Zhenguo instructed.

With Xu Yuehuai not around, he naturally hoped that he could help take care of everyone at Tianxianglou.

Moreover, some things that come out of the mouth of Marquis Ningyuan need to be carefully considered.

Third Sister immediately nodded in agreement. No matter what, she trusted the Duke of Zhenguo, especially when it came to matters related to Xu Yuehuai.

...

Bai Yiyi felt that there was still a chance for her marriage, so she went to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. But she didn't even get to see anyone from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

She was anxious: "My father is the Minister of Justice. If you don't let me see Princess Heyue, I will definitely have my father teach you a lesson!" Tears welled up in her eyes.

Although she knew that marriage was a major life event arranged by parents and matchmakers, she did not want to marry someone she did not like.

Upon hearing this, the servant sighed: "Miss Bai, it's not that we don't want you to see her, it's just that Princess Heyue has already gone to the Mingyue Kingdom. If you want to find her, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for her to return."

"What!?" Bai Yiyi was shocked.

However, now that Xu Yuehuai is gone, she can't continue making trouble like this. It seems she still has to work on Shen Yubai.

Thinking of this, she left immediately.

...

Although Shen Yubai left the Shen family, he still hadn't forgotten about wanting to form a marriage alliance with the Bai family, so he had been waiting for Bai Yiyi.

Therefore, after seeing her leave the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, he immediately followed her.

"Miss Bai—" he called out to stop her.

Having learned her lesson, Bai Yiyi now flees in panic the moment she hears a strange man's voice, only feeling at ease when she gets back home.

Shen Yubai didn't chase after them for long before he was found by a servant of the Shen family.

"Young Master, Young Master, we've finally found you." The servant held tightly to Shen Yubai's arm, trying not to let him leave. "What Master said earlier was just a momentary outburst. You are the only male heir of our Shen family. How could he possibly kick you out? You should come back with me quickly. As long as you apologize to Master, he will definitely forgive you."

As he spoke, he pulled the man toward the Shen family's residence.

...

That said, ever since Xu Yuehuai and the others returned to the Mingyue Kingdom, they discovered that the Mingyue Kingdom's ruler was not in good health as before, and he needed to sleep for ten hours every day. However, this was a matter for the country, and they could not interfere.

The little princess was really worried, so she came to ask Xu Yuehuai for help.

"...Sister Xu, that's what happened. What should we do?" she said, holding Xu Yuehuai's hand with a worried expression.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuehuai's heart stirred, but she comforted him, saying, "It's alright. He probably hasn't been resting well lately. I'll go to the palace to see if I can make some good food to help your father recover."

The little princess nodded in agreement. After all, she had been very happy after eating what Xu Yuehuai had made, and she thought that her father would be happy too.

Xu Yuehuai, on the other hand, used the excuse of packing her things to go and discuss things with Qi Guze.

“Indeed, if something happens to the King of Mingyue, it will definitely affect my bartering business. It would be best to go and see him.” Qi Guze agreed with Xu Yuehuai’s opinion.

The two then followed the little princess into the palace.

Upon arriving at the king's palace, the two entered without announcing their arrival because of the Fifth Princess. When they saw the king on the bed, both Xu Yuehuai and Qi Guze gasped in shock.

The King of Mingyue's lips were purple, and his face was extremely pale. This was clearly not due to lack of sleep, but poisoning.

Qi Guze gestured to Xu Yuehuai not to make a fuss, and then pointed to the little princess.

Seeing that the two hadn't followed, the little princess walked over and asked softly, "Sister Xu, what's wrong?"

Having received the hint, Xu Yuehuai said with a worried expression, "I just thought of a particularly delicious dish, but this dish requires fresh carp. Go and see if the imperial kitchen has any. If not, then we can't make it."

The little princess panicked upon hearing this. This was to cook for her father, the emperor, and she would lose face if he didn't do it. So she hurriedly ran out.

After sending the little princess away, Xu Yuehuai asked in a low voice, "What do we do now?"

"Zhao Yinfang," Qi Guze said calmly.

"I can't leave right now, so I can only rely on you."

"Give it to me," Qi Guze said, pointing to the hairpin in Xu Yuehuai's hair.

"What are you doing?" Xu Yuehuai asked suspiciously.

"He only trusts you."

"be safe."

Xu Yuehuai nodded and handed the hairpin from her hair to Qi Guze, who then quickly went to find Zhao Yinfang.

Zhao Yin was initially somewhat skeptical, but after seeing Xu Yuehuai's hairpin, he no longer doubted it and, along with the physician from his household, rushed to the palace.

...

The three of them, Shaoqing, were discussing quietly in the bedroom of the King of Mingyue.

"The king has indeed been poisoned, and by more than one kind of poison."