He felt a hot liquid gushing out of his pants, and his lower body was completely out of his control.
"Find Pei Xuan from the Dali Temple."
Qi Guze gave the order casually. He was used to giving orders and had seen many storms. All of this was commonplace for him.
Soon, Pei Xuan from the Dali Temple arrived.
In Heping County, Xu Yuehuai and Pei Xuan established a friendship. Now that Xu Yuehuai and his group have finally settled down in the capital, Pei Xuan, due to his high position and busy schedule, naturally has no time to meet with them privately.
The four of them couldn't help but beam with joy upon seeing Pei Xuan.
"Lord Pei."
Xu Yuehuai shouted, "We have been wronged!"
Pei Xuan nodded to Xu Yuehuai and the others, his face ashen.
In Xu Yuehuai's eyes, Pei Xuan was not a human being at all. He was clearly a well-constructed machine that would never break down, especially with his sharp, hawk-like eyes, which exuded a sense of aggression and real oppression when he stared at people.
Immediately afterwards, Pei Xuan approached Qi Guze and bowed in greeting.
Qi Guze said, "Lord Pei, you may dispense with the formalities. Please have your subordinates come and examine the corpses."
"promise."
Pei Xuan was very quick; in no time, someone brought over the body wrapped in a white cloth.
After much deliberation and consideration, the coroner finally reached a conclusion.
The coroner put down his tools and stood respectfully opposite Qi Guze. "Your Highness, the time of death of these bodies can be traced back to at least five years ago. One of them was murdered at the beginning of this year. The causes of death are different. Some were fatally struck on the head with a blunt object, some were killed by a sharp object, and most likely, they were poisoned."
Qi Guze nodded.
As expected, he continued, "Is there any mistake?"
The man shook his head. "I have been in the Dali Temple for fifteen years and I am an expert in making accurate judgments. This corpse has absolutely no connection with Miss Xu and the others."
Qi Guze immediately responded with an "Oh".
Gao Zhen was terrified and immediately began to verbally abuse his own coroner.
The coroner immediately confessed everything: "Your Highness, Your Highness! Lord Pei, I am but a puppet being manipulated. My master accepted a bribe from the Li family restaurant, and they want to wipe out Miss Xu and the others. I was forced into this situation."
"Even the emperor himself is committing such heinous acts, it's truly..."
Qi Guze stood up, clicking his tongue in amazement, "Incredible!"
"Pei Xuan, this person will be handed over to your Dali Temple for processing."
Pei Xuan nodded and said firmly, "Your Highness, rest assured. With me here, I will not allow them to suffer an injustice. Guards, bring Li Feng here."
A short while later, Li Feng was brought over.
Li Feng had never seen such a scene before, and he was immediately terrified.
He kept begging for mercy.
The truth soon came to light: Li Feng had bribed officials, which was why Xu Yuehuai and the others suffered such a cruel and inhumane ordeal. Pei Xuan took Li Feng, Gao Zhen, and the others away.
Xu Yuehuai was on edge. After experiencing such a dramatic turn of events, her vision went black and she fainted completely.
After an unknown amount of time, Xu Yuehuai finally slowly opened her eyes.
What came into view was Qi Guze's concerned face.
Xu Yuehuai's eyes focused on Qi Guze. "So you're a prince?"
“I have never hidden anything from you,” Qi Guze said, looking at Xu Yuehuai. “You always thought I was an imperial censor. Since you have misrepresented me, I have no need to explain.”
Qi Guze added, "Moreover, this identity does indeed present many inconveniences when traveling in the streets."
"You...should have told me too."
Although Xu Yuehuai was extremely grateful to Qi Guze, she still harbored resentment about hiding her identity.
At that moment, Zhou Wan brought in the food.
Xu Yuehuai glanced at Qi Guze again.
Seeing his dark circles and the two teacups of the same color on the table, she seemed to understand everything. Qi Guze must be taking care of her every step of the way. She should have been happy, but her heart was terribly gloomy, as if shrouded in a dark cloud.
"Your Highness, Tie Xiong is looking around outside, as if he has something extremely urgent to discuss with you. I'll leave this to you, why don't you go and take a look?"
Zhou Wan was as understanding as ever, and she spoke slowly and deliberately.
Xu Yuehuai looked at Zhou Wan and saw that she was perfectly fine, which made her quite bewildered.
She pointed to herself. "How long have I been in hibernation?"
After the system restarted, Xu Yuehuai couldn't remember when she had fainted; she only knew that everything went black and she lost consciousness.
Zhou Wan smiled and said, "Mother has been unconscious for three days. These three days, Zhou Wan smiled sweetly and explained, "It was the Prince who took care of you without taking off his clothes. Everyone says that men are rough and careless, but in my opinion, His Highness is very meticulous."
"He's taking care of me?" Xu Yuehuai sneered. "Who cares?"
He then asked, "Where are Ah Qi and the others?"
"Very good, very good."
"Where are Third Sister and her husband?" Xu Yuehuai asked.
Zhou Wan smiled and said, "I went out to buy fruits and vegetables, and said I'd stop by the temple to pray for you on the way."
Xu Yuehua nodded. Soon after, San Niang and Jiang Qianqian arrived. Seeing that Xu Yuehua had woken up, San Niang was overjoyed. "I was wondering why everything seemed so good today. It turns out you're better. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, how about you guys? Have you three been studying hard lately?"
Jiang Shichen hurriedly leaned closer, "We've already studied more than two hundred of the Three Hundred Poems, and recently we've been studying the Zhuangzi."
"That's good."
This was very comforting for Xu Yuehuai.
Seeing everyone crowding around the room, Third Sister hurriedly said, "You all go out first. Your grandmother just woke up and hasn't fully recovered yet. How can she get better if everyone keeps making a fuss?"
The three little ones left reluctantly.
Xu Yuehuai looked at the two of them and said, "We've escaped death once again."
“And you’re still talking,” Third Sister sighed. “It’s all thanks to His Highness. If it weren’t for the Prince’s intervention, we would have surely died in the yamen that day. According to the Prince’s investigation, there are countless innocent people who have been killed by Gao Zhen and Lord Ming over the years.”
Xu Yuehuai also knew what kind of ending they would face.
But still curious, she asked, "Where's Li Feng?"
Third Sister chuckled and gestured towards the opposite side, "That shop has already closed down, and Li Feng has been arrested. I didn't expect Li Feng to have done so many bad things over the years. They're still investigating. If he falls into the hands of the Prince, he'll be lucky to escape with his life."
Xu Yuehua nodded.
"You all know he's a prince?"
ask.
Zhou Wan shook her head.
Her heart belonged entirely to Xu Yuehuai.
As for Third Sister, as a detached observer, she seemed to have seen through the mystery of everything.
"If I had known he wasn't just some censor, how could he get our child into the Imperial Academy? That's not standard procedure. I knew he was extraordinary, but I didn't know he was this capable."
Chapter 145 A Little Awkward
Xu Yuehuai felt slightly relieved.
Qi Guze indeed did not tell her his identity.
"How about the prince? How about the common people?" Third Sister said to herself, affectionately touching Xu Yuehuai's cheek. "Is our Yuehuai not good enough for him? It's a perfect match."
Xu Yuehuai didn't think that much about it.
“Third Sister is talking nonsense again.” Zhou Wan leaned closer. “Let Mother rest first. Mother, just tell me what you want to eat.”
"Wontons, the kind with thin wrappers and lots of filling, bursting with juice in every bite."
Xu Yuehuai tried to get up, but ultimately lacked the strength and drifted off to sleep again.
Seeing that Xu Yuehuai was resting, the two of them came out from inside.
In the afternoon, Qi Guze went straight to the inn after finishing his business at Longting.
Tianxianglou is still in business, but business is not as good as before.
Zhou Wan busied herself serving people, most of whom were young and beautiful girls dressed in dazzling arrays of clothing, their movements accompanied by a clattering sound.
It's absolutely beautiful.
These beautiful women arrived and only ordered a single cold drink, yet they could sit there all day.
They thought that after the Li family across the street closed down, they would have a second chance at success and see the light of day again. But little did they know that because of the corpse in the ancient well in the backyard, the hotel was now deserted.
Zhou Wan looked at the girls.
Third Sister angrily threw the rag on the table and was about to go and chase them away.
After all, these girls had ulterior motives.
We came here to see the Prince. Seeing that Third Sister was about to go over, Zhou Wan immediately grabbed her wrist. "Don't drive them away. Our place is deserted now. If they go too, it will really become a haunted place."
"Ghosts?" Third Sister sneered. "How long have I been here? I haven't seen any ghost stories or ghost tales. They're just scaring themselves."
"but……"
Zhou Wan was filled with worry.
Their finances are deteriorating day by day. Since they regrouped and reopened, they have been losing money almost every day. If this continues, the consequences will be unimaginable.
"Gossip can be a real fearsome thing."
"Let them talk nonsense."
Third Sister was furious.
In the afternoon, Qi Guze arrived, still accompanied by Tie Xiong alone.
Upon seeing Qi Guze arrive, the group of girls who had been waiting for him became excited and all stood up at once, crowding around him.
But Qi Guze didn't even look at the crowd; instead, he went straight to the backyard.
Immediately afterward, the burly Tie Xiong suddenly blocked their path. Tie Xiong possessed immense strength, like a mountain, and the others were powerless to stop him.
This startled a flock of gulls and egrets.
Xu Yuehuai woke up early and, upon hearing Qi Guze's footsteps, quickly pretended to be asleep.
Qi Guze entered the room on his own and moved closer to her.
"If you keep pretending, then I'm leaving."
Xu Yuehuai deliberately ignored him.
Qi Guze got up and went to the door. At that moment, Xu Yuehuai rolled over and saw Qi Guze looking at her with a charming smile.
The "footsteps" just now were actually disguised by individual chess pieces.
She hasn't fully recovered yet, so it's not good for her to exercise. Therefore, Zhou Wan brought over some chess pieces to play with her. "Oh dear, you've got my pieces!"
"I will give you a set of white jade pieces, each one exquisite and flawless. What do you think?"
"Do I care?" Xu Yuehuai stood up and slowly picked up the chess pieces scattered on the ground one by one. She then took the one from Qi Guze's palm before sitting down in her previous spot.
The two looked at each other in bewilderment.
"You never..."
Before Xu Yuehuai could even speak, Qi Guze, as if he had foreseen it all, said, "Yes, I have never told you my true identity. Sometimes it's better to know than not to know, isn't it?"
Xu Yuehuai did not agree.
"My heart is pure and unfettered towards you, but what about you? If it weren't for this tragedy, how long are you planning to keep this up?"
Qi Guze knew that Xu Yuehuai was most likely not going to get through this part.
He didn't know what to say, so he could only stay by his side in silence.
In short, they come every day, bringing either delicious food or fun toys, which is truly the envy of others.
Xu Yuehuai herself, on the other hand, wished that Qi Guze would just disappear from her sight.
Due to matters concerning the imperial court, Qi Guze has no choice but to stay.
He was absent, but Xu Yuehuai couldn't get used to it and was restless. When he learned that he wouldn't be coming today, he was overjoyed.
But after a short while, he became restless, tossing and turning, unable to concentrate.
Clearly, she was expecting something, and her muscle memory and body language had even been activated. Her little scheme was even noticed by San Niang and the others.
But Xu Yuehuai refused to admit it no matter what.
"I haven't been downstairs in a long time, I want to go for a walk in front." Xu Yuehuai has been resting for a week, which is the hardest thing for someone who likes to be active.
She stretched and was about to go out when Third Sister placed the cloak on her shoulders. "Even though it's the hottest time of summer, it's still chilly inside. You should be careful."
"I'm perfectly healthy," Xu Yuehuai insisted.
In a split second, San Niang and Zhou Wan exchanged a quick glance.
Xu Yuehuai noticed that look, and then San Niang grabbed her wrist, "Let's go to the backyard and look at the flowers and plants."
"No, go ahead."
Normally, the area in front of the building is bustling with people, but today it is quiet, which puzzles Xu Yuehuai.
Could it be that their business has suffered a major setback?
Inside the inn's lobby, a few women were whispering amongst themselves, commenting on Gu Ze. "If you ask me, he's the most handsome man in the world. He even smiled at me."
"Keep dreaming, you're clearly smiling at me."
“You’re all dreaming. I’m naturally beautiful, much prettier than you. People are smiling at me.”
Soon, the three self-righteous peacocks started fighting. Third Sister roared and went over to resolve the dispute, but the three girls quickly united and started pointing fingers at Third Sister.
Third Sister had long wanted to get rid of these guys, and today she finally got her chance. Cursing and swearing, she grabbed a feather duster and chased the three of them away.
Xu Yuehuai looked at the empty house, feeling even emptier inside.
"we……"
She finally understood why San Niang and Zhou Wan came to keep her company every day: it was because there was no business in the shop. "Is there no one here?"
"What are you saying?" Third Sister interrupted, "Of course, we're as popular as ever, but it's not mealtime now."
Zhou Wan followed silently behind.
Xu Yuehuai knew that Zhou Wan wouldn't lie, so he frowned and approached her.
It was practically an order; his authoritative gaze was piercing, making Zhou Wan even more uneasy. "Tell me, how's business here?"
Zhou Wan was forced to say, "Mother, a case has occurred here. Although the body is from many years ago, people in the capital are saying that our house is haunted. As a result, no one is willing to come over to eat anymore."
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