No lies told

Shaoyin Palace.

Lin'an was in a good mood. Today, Emperor Yuanjing proposed to depose the empress in court. After half a day of fermentation, almost everyone in the Great Feng officialdom knew about it.

Lin'an, who was in the palace, naturally heard about it.

The Second Prince, dressed in a gorgeous red dress, sat on a swing under a grape trellis, humming a little tune. Two small, exquisite embroidered shoes swayed merrily beneath the hem of his dress.

It's understandable that she's in a good mood. The Empress has admitted to framing the Crown Prince and murdering Consort Fu, so the Crown Prince will soon be released from the Dali Temple.

The mother no longer needs to cry every day.

And what's more, the lackey also came back alive. In just half a month, his luck has truly turned around.

Lin'an has a surprisingly peaceful and serene feel to it.

"Huaiqing must be very sad right now. Humph, it's all because the Empress framed my Crown Prince. Hmm, since I'm in a good mood, I won't brag to her for the next few days."

Her mischievous heart was itching to act, but considering that Huaiqing's fist was bigger than hers, Biao Biao chose to follow her heart's desire and provoke Huaiqing again in a while.

Bring your lackey along; he's a hero who fought against thousands of enemy soldiers, he'll definitely be able to protect you.

The guards outside the garden approached, stopping a dozen meters away before bowing and saying, "Your Highness, Lord Xu has arrived."

Biao Biao's face instantly lit up with a smile, "Please come in quickly."

She sat motionless on the swing, but tilted her head to the side, craning her neck in anticipation.

Xu Qi'an led the young eunuch in, and sat casually at the stone table under the grapevines, eating the fruit prepared for Lin'an by the palace maids, the pastries made by the imperial chef, and the specially supplied tea.

"Hey!" called out a palace maid standing to the side.

"Huh?" Xu Qi'an looked at her, puzzled.

"That was what His Highness drank," the palace maid whispered.

"Oh, sorry, sorry." Xu Qi'an picked up his cup and took another sip.

This time, Biao Biao couldn't hold back anymore. Her face turned bright red, and she scolded, "Xu Ningyan!"

Just then, a breeze blew by, causing the grapevines to sway slightly. Sunlight filtered through the vines, illuminating her round, oval face, her rosy lips, and her delicate nose. Her alluring, captivating eyes, framed by the blush on her cheeks, held an indescribable charm.

A woman with inner charm.

Huaiqing and Lin'an were both exceptionally beautiful, but unfortunately, the other two princesses, though pretty, fell far short of the description of "stunning beauty." Xu Qi'an felt a pang of regret.

Otherwise, he would do everything in his power to capture all the princesses of the Great Feng Dynasty.

"Lord Xu is both the eldest princess's favorite minister and the second prince's favorite minister. His future is limitless," the little eunuch thought to himself.

In this vast capital city, apart from the princes and princesses in the palace, perhaps only Lord Xu could interact with Prince Lin'an in this way.

In the past few days, the young eunuch accompanied Xu Qi'an on his investigation and witnessed firsthand his interactions with Princess Huaiqing and Princess Lin'an. Even a blind man could see that the two princesses valued and appreciated Xu Qi'an highly.

"Wasn't the case closed?" the woman said crisply. "You dog of a servant, why do you still need to come to the palace to handle cases?"

She deduced from the presence of the young eunuch that Xu Qi'an was still investigating the case; otherwise, he would be the only one at Shaoyin Garden at this moment.

"The case isn't over yet," Xu Qi'an exhaled forcefully, his expression turning sorrowful. "Your Highness, am I one of yours?"

"Of course!" Biao Biao nodded without hesitation.

"I was bullied." Xu Qi'an covered his face, overwhelmed with sorrow. "My family is extremely poor. My second uncle always told me that children from poor families mature early."

"But that damned bastard from Jingxiu Palace extorted ten taels of silver from me."

Although Lin'an was a bit of a hypocrite, she was still loyal. Upon hearing this, she was indeed furious, jumping off the swing with a "whoosh," her delicate eyebrows raised:

"Let's go to Jingxiu Palace, and I will seek justice for you."

The money itself is a small matter, but the fact that she was bullied by the people of Lin'an is a much bigger problem.

Xu Qi'an followed obediently beside the princess, looking utterly aggrieved. After walking for a while, he casually asked:

"Your Highness, is there a palace maid named Lang'er by Consort Chen's side?"

"Mm." Lin An nodded.

"This palace maid must be an old hand at Jingxiu Palace."

"Yes, I have been serving by my mother's side since I entered the palace."

"Your Highness, could you tell me about this person? What does he like? What does he dislike? What has happened to him recently?"

Why would I care what a palace maid has been doing lately?

Biao Biao said matter-of-factly. After thinking for a moment, she added, "I do really like mung bean cakes. I often see my mother give her the leftover mung bean cakes; she loves them."

Through a series of questions and answers, they arrived at Jingxiu Palace.

In the distance, they spotted the gatekeeper eunuch who had just "embezzled" ten taels of silver from Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an stepped forward and slapped the eunuch across the face, then pointed at the eunuch who was covering his face and said, "Your Highness, he's the one who extorted me."

"You"

The gatekeeper eunuch covered his burning face, both angry and furious. He hadn't expected Xu Qi'an to bring the Second Prince back to cause trouble.

He was someone from Consort Chen's palace, and even the Grand Secretary was only a seventh-rank official. He, on the other hand, was someone from Consort Chen's palace.

Generally speaking, officials from outside the capital would not dare to confront palace eunuchs so directly; if they suffered a loss, they would mostly swallow their anger and bear it silently.

"Slap him again."

In front of outsiders, Lin'an maintained the demeanor befitting a princess, coldly issuing her orders.

Xu Qi'an slapped him again, causing the gatekeeper eunuch to stagger and experience ringing in his ears.

"You dare to extort my people? I'll let you off this time for the sake of my mother. But if you dare to disrespect Lord Xu again, you'll be demoted to hard labor."

Lin'an's pretty face turned ashen, "Spit out the silver."

She was willing to give a lowly gatekeeper eunuch a chance; she was actually a kind woman, more innocent than most royal women. Xu Qi'an thought to herself, it was precisely because of this personality that she easily attracted scumbags.

I have a good relationship with Lin'an, so I have to keep a close eye on her and not let her be ruined by a scumbag.

The gatekeeper eunuch was filled with resentment; five taels of silver was more than his monthly allowance, but he dared not disobey the Second Prince's order and had no choice but to hand it over.

He took out the silver notes he had just warmed and presented them with both hands, saying, "This servant has been blind and looks down on people, please forgive me, Lord Xu."

Xu Qi'an didn't take it. "I gave you ten taels."

Ten taels?!

The gatekeeper eunuch looked up, dumbfounded, and protested, "It was clearly five taels! How could Lord Xu wrong this servant?"

Xu Qi'an immediately looked at Biao Biao and said loudly, "Your Highness, look at this two-faced scoundrel! He doesn't respect you at all!"

Lin'an stared at her peach blossom eyes, which she could never bring herself to be fierce about.

"This servant wouldn't dare, this servant wouldn't dare."

The gatekeeper eunuch rummaged around for a while, finally pulling out three taels of silver and a handful of loose silver. His face fell. "This is all I have," he said with a mournful expression.

Xu Qi'an smiled and put the silver into his pocket, "Doing good deeds doesn't necessarily bring rewards, but not doing good deeds will eventually lead to retribution."

"I'll teach you a lesson; consider this silver as your tuition."

Some people always think that if they do something wrong, an apology is enough, and even if others are aggressive, it's just that the other party is being unreasonable. If apologies were effective, what would be the point of laws? You think returning five taels of silver that was cheated from me is enough? Dream on.

Then, he turned to look at Biao Biao's rounded profile. "Since we're already here, Your Highness, please take me to Jingxiu Palace. I need to finish up the Fu Consort case."

At that moment, Biao Biao led him across the courtyard gate and into the yard.

"Your Highness, I am looking for a palace maid named Lang'er. Please help me bring her here."

Xu Qi'an followed the palace maid into the side hall, while Biao Biao went to visit her mother. He called out to the back of the woman in the red dress, but she didn't turn around and said sweetly, "I know."

Upon entering the side hall, a young palace maid stood not far away.

Xu Qi'an asked, "Where is the outhouse?"

"Please wait a moment, sir," a palace maid replied softly, then went out and found a young eunuch, saying, "Take you to the latrine, sir."

Xu Qi'an followed the eunuch out of the side hall and went to the outhouse on the south side of the courtyard. After closing the door, he poured out the Confucian School version of the "magic book" from the fragments of the Earth Book, tore off the paper recording the Qi-Watching Technique, and ignited it with his Qi.

Two streams of clear energy shot out from the pupils, then receded.

"After using it for a while, the magic book is already half thin. No, this is such a useful thing, I have to keep using it. After the imperial examinations, I'll go to the Cloud Deer Academy to meet my three teachers. Hmm, I need to think about how to get their poems for free beforehand."

Returning to the side hall, he drank tea and waited for the palace maid named Lang'er.

Inner courtyard, main house.

Consort Chen leaned lazily against the soft couch, attended by two personal maids, one massaging her shoulders and the other kneading her legs.

Emperor Yuanjing's harem had no Imperial Noble Consort, so Consort Chen was second only to the emperor and above all the other consorts. Moreover, it wouldn't be long before her position in the harem was truly unparalleled.

Holding a scroll in her hands, Consort Chen smiled and said, "This 'Spring Courtyard Moon' is truly well-written; I enjoy it more and more as I read it today."

Lang'er smiled slightly, "Your Majesty is in a good mood, so you find reading enjoyable."

Another palace maid chimed in with a smile, "Yes, although the Crown Prince hasn't been released from the Dali Temple yet, it's only a matter of time. Her Majesty has been weeping constantly lately, and we servants are heartbroken."

Lang'er whispered, "I never imagined that the Empress would be so ruthless, harming Consort Fu and framing the Crown Prince. We thought she was truly kind and compassionate."

Consort Chen frowned and rebuked, "You are not allowed to speak ill of Her Majesty the Empress."

"Your Majesty, you're being too cautious. His Majesty proposed deposing the Empress in court, and once the officials confirm it, she will no longer be the Empress." Another palace maid giggled.

"Perhaps our Lady will soon become Empress."

Consort Chen frowned repeatedly, wanting to reprimand the two outspoken palace maids, when she suddenly heard light footsteps approaching.

"Mother, we've arrived from Lin'an."

The light and shadow flickered outside the door, casting Lin'an's shadow into the room. Then, the fiery red skirt resembled a cluster of fireworks swaying in the wind.

The two head palace maids fell silent in unison, ending the conversation.

Consort Chen revealed a loving expression, straightened her slender waist, and beckoned, saying, "Lin'an, didn't you just come this morning?"

"I miss my mother. I wish I could stay in Jingxiu Palace and be with her every day."

Lin'an was a charming and sweet-talking girl who was doted on by both Emperor Yuanjing and Consort Chen.

"Then keep your mother company for a while. When you get bored, you can go back to Shaoyin Garden." Consort Chen took her daughter's hand and made her sit down beside her.

Okay!

After sitting down, Biao Biao said sweetly, "I mainly missed my mother, and then I took care of some errands on the side."

Consort Chen's smile remained unchanged as she softly asked, "What is it?"

Biao Biao looked at Lang'er and instructed, "Lord Xu has something to ask you. He's waiting in the side hall of the outer courtyard. Go there."

After saying that, he explained to Consort Chen, "It's Xu Qi'an, the night Nightwatchers I trained. Mother Consort also remembers him. He was the one who handled the Crown Prince's case. It seems he has something to ask Lang'er, but the gatekeeper won't let him in."

Consort Chen pondered for a moment, then waved her hand, "Lang'er, go and see him."

"Yes," Lang'er replied, placing her hands flat on her lower abdomen. With graceful steps, she crossed the threshold, left the courtyard, and her figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

Lin'an withdrew her gaze and continued the topic, "Mother, the Crown Prince was able to clear his name thanks in large part to Xu Qi'an. Mother, you don't know how hard it was for me to raise him."

"You always say Huaiqing is good at cultivating talent and building influence, but Lin'an is no less so. When I first met him, he was just a minor constable in Changle County. It was all thanks to my hard work in nurturing him that he became so outstanding."

Consort Chen asked in surprise, "How did you come to know a mere constable?"

"Oh, don't worry about the details. Anyway, the person I trained saved my brother, the Crown Prince, right?"

"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to Lin'an. If it weren't for the people trained by Lin'an, your brother, the Crown Prince, would have been in danger." Consort Chen pinched her daughter's plump oval face.

In the side hall, Xu Qi'an sat in a chair, holding a teacup in his hand, and gently blew on it.

The tea at Jingxiu Palace, even the kind used to entertain guests, is far more fragrant and mellow than the fine tea that my aunt treasures.

"However, it's still quite inferior to the tea we had in Lin'an earlier. We'll ask Lin'an for a few ounces of tea leaves later, so that my second uncle and aunt can also try this tribute tea."

Xu Qi'an thought to himself, took a sip with relish, then looked at the young eunuch standing beside him and smiled:

"Young eunuch, you are sent by His Majesty to supervise me; in official terms, you are an imperial envoy. Please sit down, don't stand."

The young eunuch, surprisingly insightful, said helplessly, "Once they leave the capital, they become imperial envoys. But I'm still in the palace; I'm still just a servant. It's like those governors—they're all powerful and imposing outside, but once they return to the capital, they're just lowly censors."

These words made Xu Qi'an laugh. "So insightful, so insightful!"

If Governor Zhang were to return to the capital, he would be like a junior, but outside, he would be awe-inspiring, and even bigwigs like the Provincial Treasurer and the Commander-in-Chief would have to treat him with utmost respect, referring to himself as "your humble servant."

"By the way, is the young eunuch working in His Majesty's palace?" Xu Qi'an asked.

The young man nodded.

"After the eunuch finished his report yesterday, His Majesty went to the Empress's Phoenix Palace?"

Xu Qi'an had a question on his mind for a long time. Yesterday, he found out about Huang Xiaorou's connection with the Empress from the Crab Pavilion. The clues started to point to the Empress, but the income and expenditure records of the Imperial Pharmacy had been secretly torn up, so there was no conclusive evidence to prove that the Empress had saved Huang Xiaorou.

Given Emperor Yuanjing's wisdom and shrewdness, he should not have rushed to question the Empress before the facts of the case were clear.

If Emperor Yuanjing was truly such an impulsive and brainless person, he should have deposed the crown prince immediately after the crown prince's case came to light.

"No." The young eunuch shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and whispered:

"It was Consort Chen who went to His Majesty's palace to cry and complain, accusing the Empress of framing the Crown Prince. His Majesty, mindful of his relationship with Consort Chen, went to Fengqi Palace to question the Empress. It was around that time that His Majesty summoned me for questioning, before I even had a chance to report it myself."

How did Consort Chen learn about the progress of the case?

Needless to say, it must have been Biao Biao who told her. As soon as the case made a breakthrough and brought her one step closer to becoming the Crown Prince, it was no surprise that the brat was overjoyed and wanted to share her happiness with her mother.

As they were talking, a woman dressed in a lotus-green palace gown stepped across the threshold and entered the side hall.

She had delicate features, fair skin, and was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. Her eyes were round and almond-shaped, like Chu Caiwei's, but not as big as the latter's.

Chu Caiwei's big eyes always reminded Xu Qi'an of his two-dimensional waifu.

With her round, oval face, sweet and adorable appearance, she truly deserves the title of "big-eyed cutie."

The palace maid entered the side hall, curtsied gracefully, and said, "Greetings, Lord Xu."

"Sister Lang'er," Xu Qi'an returned the greeting with a smile.

Lang'er stood in the side hall, nodding slightly. "What does Lord Xu wish to ask? Her Highness is still waiting for this servant to attend to her."

Xu Qi'an immediately replied, "I apologize, but I am only acting under orders."

He paused for a moment, then cut to the chase and asked, "Did Sister Lang'er visit the Imperial Pharmacy a few days ago?"

Lang'er nodded.

What are you going to do?

"Since the Crown Prince's accident, Her Majesty has been in tears every day and is in low spirits. The other day she had a headache, so I went to the Imperial Pharmacy to get some medicine to soothe her mind and refresh her spirit," Lang'er answered frankly.

"Did you tear up the Imperial Pharmacy's income and expenditure ledgers?" Xu Qi'an asked.

He was equally decisive with the other palace maids and eunuchs on the list. With the Qi-Watching Technique, he was essentially a foolproof lie detector, even more effective than surveillance.

Although the Qi-Watching Technique has many limitations—it can be blocked by Law Artifact, is ineffective against Warlock, and cannot be used to indict officials of the fourth rank or above—the case of Consort Fu concerns the foundation of the nation, and therefore the Qi-Watching Technique cannot be used as evidence.

However, the Qi-Watching Technique was not restricted for these eunuchs and palace maids, and besides, Xu Qi'an only used it as an aid.

I'll confirm you're a werewolf first, and then investigate you. This is much simpler and more convenient than following clues step by step.

Lang'er was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Xu Qi'an to be so straightforward. She shook her head. "No."

"Phew, that's the truth." Xu Qi'an, who was using the Qi-Watching Technique, sighed in disappointment.

It seems his judgment was wrong; the person who tore up the account books didn't enter the Imperial Pharmacy within five days, but rather sometime earlier. As for sneaking into the Imperial Pharmacy, that's highly unlikely.

Because Emperor Yuanjing's imperial pharmacy stored precious elixirs and medicines, and the emperor's personal treasury was used for alchemy, it's not an exaggeration to describe the imperial pharmacy as a treasure trove.

Since it's a treasure trove, it's naturally heavily guarded; you can't just sneak in.

"Two possibilities: either the person who tore up the account books entered the Imperial Pharmacy five days ago, or there's a traitor within the Imperial Pharmacy. We'll question the palace maids and eunuchs working there later."

Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "I've finished asking my questions, but this case isn't over yet. I may visit again in the future."

He was giving a heads-up to avoid being turned away again.

Upon hearing this, Lang'er's eyes revealed obvious impatience.

Xu Qi'an quickly replied, "I'll send some small gifts to Sister Lang'er later. The mung bean cakes from Cassia Moon Tower in the capital are their signature dessert."

He knew that Lang'er liked mung bean cakes; Lin'an had told him about it on the way to Jingxiu Palace.

"No need," Lang'er shook her head, her tone distant and slightly resistant, and said indifferently, "This servant doesn't like mung bean cakes."

Am I being disliked? Ha, this woman looks like she's almost at the age where she's like a wolf in sheep's clothing, yet she treats a rare beauty like me with such rudeness.

Is it that the pills for rebirth aren't effective enough, or that the path to the flower has never been swept by a guest, thus failing to recognize the goodness of men?

"In that case, I will not disturb you any longer."

Xu Qi'an suddenly froze.

According to the vision provided by the Qi-Watching Technique, Lang'er's emotions were stable and she was not lying.

You're not lying?!

PS: Thank you to the leader "Hahaha_123" for the reward, and thank you to the leader "Mountainside Tail" for the reward. Thank you two big guys.

P. S.: Wishing you success in the college entrance exam! As the old saying goes, even last-minute cramming can be effective. Also, it's important to maintain a stable mindset. I was incredibly calm during my college entrance exam. Back then, I was quite naive and only thought about finishing the exam quickly so I could enjoy a happy summer vacation.

Looking back now, if I had crammed at the last minute, I might have gotten into Tsinghua or Peking University. Hahahaha.