The staff member looked up.
"I still don't understand."
Gu Mochen looked at him.
"The crown prince has the title, and the third prince enjoys favoritism."
"If I continue to wallow in Shun'an Lane with them, when will my father ever see me again?"
"Father punished the Crown Prince today because the Crown Prince had interfered with the government."
"Father didn't punish the third son because he handed over all the money, martial arts supplies, and emergency shelters to the government, and even pretended to be useless."
Gu Mochen picked up a pill, smelled it, and then put it back.
"Then what can I do?"
The advisor whispered, "To prolong His Majesty's life?"
Gu Mochen nodded.
"Right."
"Give Father what he wants most."
The staff remained uneasy.
"But there's something wrong with Ke Ruodan..."
Gu Mochen interrupted him.
"Don't worry, I don't know if he'll live a long life, but at least he won't kill anyone. He should be able to outlive the day the crown prince is chosen."
He closed the lid of the box.
"Those few sorcerers in the east of the city, I've been supporting them for several years."
"Recent prescriptions have been checked, medicinal materials have been checked, and the people who participated in the drug trials are still alive."
The staff member did not respond immediately.
Gu Mochen put away the brocade box.
" The Eastern Palace cannot be touched now."
"The third brother just came out of the Hall of Supreme Ultimate, so he doesn't dare to move around."
"If I don't take this opportunity to express my filial piety, should I wait until they've recovered?"
The staff gritted their teeth.
What about Shun'an Lane?
" Chu Tianxing is still in prison, and our delivery of medicinal herbs is also on the case file."
Gu Mochen's gaze darkened.
"Sending medicinal herbs is a sign that I, the king, value talent."
" Chu Tianxing's refusal to accept the visiting card shows his ungratefulness."
"What does it have to do with me that Ye Qingyun bit the Crown Prince before he died?"
The aide said, "The medicine is sealed in the emergency shelter."
"Let it seal."
Gu Mochen tapped his finger on the table.
"The tighter the seal, the more it proves that I didn't retrieve the destroyed evidence."
The staff member bowed.
"Understood, I will arrange for the submission of the elixir."
Don't write "Offering Elixir" this time.
The staff stopped.
Gu Mochen said, "I heard that Father has been troubled lately, so I searched for a formula to calm the mind and nourish the body."
"Every word should be written with the spirit of filial piety, not with the spirit of contention."
The staff member nodded immediately.
"Understood."
Gu Mochen suddenly asked, "Has Chu Tianxing said anything?"
" Chang'an County is keeping a close watch on it."
Cao Jin forbade outsiders from entering his prison.
Gu Mochen put his hand back into his sleeve.
"Then don't touch him."
He stood up and walked to the window.
Rainwater trickled down the eaves, making the stone lanterns in the courtyard shine.
"A poor doctor, tormented by case files, will eventually seek help from someone who can save him."
The staff member bowed and withdrew.
Outside the door, the steward rushed in to report.
"Your Highness, the alchemy shop in the east of the city says that an old medicine slave has gone missing."
Gu Mochen turned around.
"Who?"
"His surname is Tao, he lost an ear, and he has an old burn mark on his wrist."
"All the elixirs pass through his hands; he doesn't let anyone near him on ordinary days."
Gu Mochen's expression changed.
When did you disappear?
"After the incident in Shun'an Lane last night."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Gu Mochen turned around.
"Try to find."
The steward knelt down.
"Yes."
Gu Mochen stared at the brocade box.
The smell of the pills still lingered in the room, a sweet scent mixed with sulfur, which made one's throat dry after smelling it for a while.
"I need to be seen alive."
The steward's forehead was pressed to the ground.
Gu Mochen added another sentence.
"If you can't find a living person, bring back a corpse."
Prince Yi's Residence.
The main hall was brightly lit.
Su Yao placed the teacup on the table, the porcelain bottom making a soft clinking sound, and all the noisy whispers in the hall stopped.
She sat next to the head of the table, while Gu Moran's seat remained empty.
The wick burned unevenly, so Biyu used silver scissors to trim it, causing the flame to leap upwards and illuminating the six faces in shifting light and shadow.
Shen Ling'er sat on the left, holding a medicine box, her toes tapping the floor tiles.
Murong Xue leaned to one side, the knife on the table beside her, only half a foot away from her palm.
Lin Qingdai stood with her arms crossed, refusing to sit, her skirt tied around her waist.
Xie Wanqing sat upright, with a stack of plain paper beside her.
Liu Ruyan stood by the window, her fingertips twirling the lid of her teacup, but she didn't drink it.
Su Yao glanced at everyone and spoke.
" The Shun'an Lane case has occurred in the palace. Before her death, Ye Qingyun implicated the Crown Prince and Chu Tianxing, and my husband was also dragged into it by a single sentence."
Shen Ling'er immediately responded.
"If you ask me, even a dead person who talks too much should be charged a consultation fee. He didn't finish his story, causing his husband to be sent to the palace and punished."
Lin Qingdai looked at her.
You even insult dead people?
Shen Ling'er hugged the medicine box to her arms.
"I'd curse him even if he were alive. He killed himself and then dragged others down with him."
"If my grandpa had this stubborn and talkative guy, he'd have to raise his consultation fees."
Murong Xue's brows twitched when she heard the words "price increase".
"You doctors from the Central Plains, still insisting on charging based on your own words?"
Shen Ling'er nodded.
"The more stubborn they are, the more expensive they should be."
Murong Xue thought about it carefully.
"To afford Lin Qingdai's medical treatment, you'd have to sell at least a horse."
Lin Qingdai was taken aback, and reached out to touch the teacup on the table, intending to throw it.
Su Yao frowned and tapped the table with her fingertips.
That's enough.
Lin Qingdai hurriedly withdrew a teacup and uttered four words.
"She's lucky to be alive."
Shen Ling'er made a face.
Su Yao ignored them and continued speaking.
"I've summoned you all here tonight to ask you only one question."
Her gaze fell on the empty seat in the main seat, the edges of her sleeves illuminated by the candlelight.
"My husband has been frequently summoned by the Emperor these past few days."
The aftermath of the martial arts school incident in Chengnan hadn't even died down when another murder occurred.
I'm worried he might be in trouble this time.
No one spoke in the hall anymore.
The wind outside pushed tree branches against the window, causing the wooden frame to rattle twice.
Su Yao pushed the stack of case files to the center of the table.
"If anyone is afraid of being implicated, they should go back to their parents' home now and hide there."
I will step forward to prove my sister's innocence.
Shen Ling'er looked up.
" Sister Su, what you said is incorrect."
Su Yao looked at her.
Shen Ling'er rested her elbow on the lid of the medicine box.
"We're all married into this family, why would we go back to our parents' home?"
Lin Qingdai sneered.
She asked if I was afraid.
Shen Ling'er looked at her.
Are you scared?
Lin Qingdai reached out and slammed the sword at her waist onto the table.
"I'm just afraid Gu Moran die a pathetic death."
Murong Xue suddenly stood up straight.
She pulled the chair leg backward, making a sound on the floor tiles.
Everyone looked over.
Murong Xue reached out and picked up the knife.
"Then everyone, don't just sit there, hurry back and pack your things."
The hall was quiet for a moment.
Lin Qingdai's face darkened, and she took a step forward.
" Murong Xue."
Murong Xue looked at her.
Lin Qingdai placed her hand on the hilt of the sword.
" Gu Moran spoiling you lately, yet your Azure Wolf Courtyard is the first to want to disband?"
Shen Ling'er opened her mouth, wanting to persuade him but not daring to.
The wind lifted a corner of the plain paper in Xie Wanqing's hand, but she reached out and pressed it down without saying a word.
Liu Ruyan raised her eyes slightly, the tea lid resting on the rim of the cup.
After listening, Murong Xue first looked at Lin Qingdai, then at Su Yao.
Tilting his head.
Its large green eyes were full of confusion.
"Your Central Plains dialect is very strange. Going back to pack your things, does that mean we're breaking up?"
(๑·̀ㅂ·́)و✧?