These days, the court was in chaos.

First, when the Imperial Guards were searching the former Crown Prince’s residence, they rescued an elderly palace maid in a semi-deranged state.

This old woman was the only survivor among the palace servants who had attended the Empress during her “childbirth.” Based on her testimony, the Imperial Guards excavated three skeletons from a dry well outside the Cold Palace walls, sufficient evidence that the old palace maid’s words about “removing the mother to keep the child” were not unfounded.

Immediately after, the newly appointed Medical Director of the Imperial Medical Academy went to Kunning Palace to check the Empress’s pulse, and inadvertently discovered that Empress Feng had lost her ability to bear children many years ago. Judging from her bone structure, she did not appear to have ever given birth to the Crown Prince!

This revelation shocked the entire court.

If Empress Feng had confused the imperial bloodline by deceiving the Emperor and using a surrogate, passing off a lowly palace maid’s child as the legitimate firstborn son, she would be guilty of the capital offense of deceiving the Emperor!

With the Empress’s dethronement imminent, Kunning Palace remained serenely filled with the fragrance of Buddhist incense.

The Empress rested her hand on the armrest of her couch, eyes closed, fingering her prayer beads, seemingly oblivious to Ning Yin who strolled into the hall.

“Back then, the Gu family rose from the battlefield while the Feng family declined. Your position was precarious, and you urgently needed to give birth to a legitimate firstborn son to stabilize your status. Unfortunately, you suffered a miscarriage and lost your ability to bear children.”

Ning Yin stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the compassionate golden Buddha statue in the hall. His voice carried a cold elegance. “The Emperor’s interest in his forcibly acquired woman was at its peak. You feared that if your inability to bear children was exposed, you would lose favor and fall from the position of Empress. So you simply killed the examining physician, then used drugs to deceive the Emperor, letting a palace maid you had brought with you serve the Emperor in your place and conceive a child.”

“You feigned a life-threatening poisoning just to trick me?”

Empress Feng’s expression remained unchanged. “Let me see the Emperor.”

“Your plan was meticulous, deceiving everyone. You even executed the palace servants one by one before they could complete their service and leave the palace, silencing them forever.”

Ning Yin patted the lotus pedestal of the Buddha statue, then brushed past the incense burner, as leisurely as if he were merely strolling around for a casual visit. “But you never expected that one fish would slip through the net. Nor did you anticipate that when burying the bodies and evidence, you would be witnessed by that mad woman in the Cold Palace.”

“I demand to see the Emperor.”

“All of this is merely your conjecture.”

Empress Feng said, “Besides, the former Crown Prince committed treason and has already been executed. His past is no longer important.”

Ning Yin withdrew his hand from the incense burner and brought it to his nose to smell. “That’s why, when the palace coup failed, you had Cui An kill Ning Tan.”

Empress Feng’s hand paused in fingering the prayer beads, naturally aware that Ning Yin was saying all this to extract a confession.

Now that the former Crown Prince was dead, as long as the palace maid who had given birth was never found, the evidence would be insufficient, and no one could convict her.

And the location where that palace maid was hidden would never be found by anyone.

Empress Feng took a deep breath. “Do you have any concrete evidence for these claims? Mere words from the Imperial Medical Academy and a few unidentified skeletons are not enough to implicate me.”

Ning Yin stood before the Buddha statue, silent for a long time.

The corner of Empress Feng’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

Indeed… a bastard born of a lowly woman had only mediocre tactics.

“This Buddha statue is quite fine.”

Ning Yin, hands behind his back, had been examining the benevolent-looking Buddha for a long time before suddenly speaking.

“Fine in what way?” asked Empress Feng.

“The size is just right.”

Ning Yin glanced sideways, his words light as a feather. “Just large enough to hide a skeleton.”

Empress Feng suddenly opened her eyes.

Her sharp nails broke the string of beads, sending them bouncing across the floor.

Almost simultaneously, a palace maid standing nearby pulled out a dagger hidden in her sleeve and thrust it directly at Ning Yin’s neck.

Before the dagger could touch even a strand of Ning Yin’s hair, it was knocked away, piercing the Buddha statue with a “ding” sound.

Then the palace maid’s eyes bulged, her neck twisting at an odd angle as she fell to the ground.

The body of the assassin maid was quickly dragged away. Ning Yin walked forward slowly, raised his hand to grasp the dagger embedded in the Buddha statue, and forcefully pulled downward.

The gold skin of the statue curled back, lime seeping out. From the twisted crack, a dried finger along with the corner of a palace maid’s robe was revealed.

The Buddha wore a compassionate smile, forming a stark, eerie contrast with the curled-up corpse faintly visible through the crack.

Seeing the corpse in blue silk exposed, Empress Feng’s expression completely changed.

Everyone believed the Empress was praying for the realm’s blessing when she worshipped Buddha with Princess Deyang. No one knew that her benevolent facade was merely to conceal her crimes.

“Now, how should I deal with the Empress?”

Ning Yin turned and sat down, his index finger lightly tapping the armrest.

“You have no authority to judge me privately.”

The Empress dug into her palm, forcing herself to remain calm.

“I do now.”

Ning Yin’s tapping finger stopped as he spoke in the most harmless, gentle tone, saying words that chilled to the bone. “For someone as devoted to Buddha as the Empress, she should sit in a vat to realize the Way.”

Empress Feng’s eyes suddenly widened.

The so-called “sitting in a vat” involved placing a monk in a large urn, and burying it underground. If the body remained undecayed after three years, one could become a flesh Buddha.

For devout senior monks, this was a method to achieve enlightenment, but for ordinary people, it was no different from being buried alive.

This little beast wanted to bury her alive!

Seeing the large vat carried into the hall by the Imperial Guards, Empress Feng’s composure completely shattered.

Her face twisted as she nearly shrieked, “I demand to see the Emperor! No one but the Emperor can judge me!”

But it was too late, far too late.

The hall doors closed behind him as Ning Yin’s expression remained cold, showing little satisfaction.

Zhe Ji followed behind, silent for a while before finally asking, “The Empress has no way out. Why not send her to prison?”

Given Ning Yin’s ruthless, vengeful nature, an enemy like the Empress should have been kept alive for slow torture.

Ning Yin’s face revealed neither joy nor anger as he wiped his fingers with a cloth. “I’m eager to get married, so naturally I must quickly dispose of those who stand in the way.”

Whether it was his imagination or not, Zhe Ji felt that when the master mentioned the word “marriage,” a faint smile melted into his cold, dark eyes.

The carriage waited just outside the palace gates.

The attendant knew that once his master had finished his business and left the palace, he would certainly go to the Gu residence, so he reported, “Your Highness, Second Miss Gu has gone to the Tang residence.”

Ning Yin boarded the carriage, placed his sleeve over the beast-shaped incense burner to infuse it briefly, and then raised his eyes slightly.

The attendant immediately understood and instructed the driver, “To the Tang residence.”

…

Old Lady Tang had finally not survived the winter and had departed this world.

Tang Buli had become an orphan overnight, with a large estate that attracted covetous eyes. Upon hearing the news, Gu Lingxi hurriedly changed into plain clothes and rushed to pay her respects, without taking time to prepare properly.

The Tang residence was draped in eye-catching white silk. The main hall where the body lay was crowded with people, including distant relatives whose names were hardly known, all putting on pretenses while eyeing the Tang family’s vast wealth.

There were also members of noble families who came under the pretext of paying respects but were there to watch the spectacle, creating a chaotic crowd.

As Gu Lingxi alighted from her carriage, she saw a young scholar in a half-worn scholarly robe standing at the main gate of the Tang residence.

Finding him familiar, Gu Lingxi paid extra attention.

Then she remembered that this handsome, quiet face belonged to Zhou Yunqing, the scholar whom Tang Buli had once sponsored—the future Deputy Chief of the Court of Judicial Review.

“Is Master Zhou here to pay respects to the Old Lady?” Gu Lingxi asked.

If he had come for Tang Buli, Gu Lingxi was willing to introduce him.

Hearing her voice, Zhou Yunqing seemed startled, gave a slight bow, and then turned to leave.

He appeared reserved and taciturn; looking at his appearance alone, no one would have guessed that he would become Ning Yin’s most capable “Cold-Faced Judge” in the future.

Gu Lingxi didn’t think much of it and casually asked Qingxiao behind her, “Have you done as I asked and provided assistance to this man in Buli’s name?”

Qingxiao nodded. “This man is principled and proud; he refused to accept money. So I regularly sent high-quality paper, ink, and books to him, using the title of the Qingping County Lady.”

“Very good.” Gu Lingxi felt somewhat relieved.

In the main hall, an unfamiliar middle-aged couple was greeting the noble guests who had come to pay respects, moving with ease and carrying themselves with the air of being the masters of the Tang household.

The true mistress, Tang Buli, wore a white hemp cloth band around her forehead and mourning clothes, kneeling quietly before the coffin.

As soon as Gu Lingxi saw her tall, thin silhouette, her nose stung with emotion.

Having lived through her previous life, no one understood better than she did the grief of losing her family and being left all alone.

“Buli.”

Gu Lingxi first bowed three times to Old Lady Tang’s coffin, then crouched down to be at eye level with Tang Buli, saying softly, “My condolences.”

Tang Buli’s lips pressed together as the tears she had cried dry threatened to flood again.

She quietly wiped her eyes and said with a choked voice, “Thank you, Suisui.”

“What’s going on?”

Gu Lingxi tilted her chin slightly toward the middle-aged couple outside who were greeting and seeing off guests, her eyes full of concern.

“My aunt and uncle, here to divide the family property.”

Tang Buli threw a handful of paper money into the charcoal brazier, saying woodenly, “They brought along a cousin I’ve never even met, saying they’ll arrange an engagement for us…”

Gu Lingxi frowned.

It was nothing more than using the pretext of marriage to privately seize the Tang family property.

“This morning, they even put something in my porridge, trying to make me and my cousin…”

At this point, Tang Buli clutched the paper money in her hand tightly, forcing a smile. “Without Grandmother’s protection, I can’t handle anything properly. I must be quite a laughingstock to you.”

“How could that be?”

Gu Lingxi raised her sleeve to wipe away Tang Buli’s tears, saying with heartache, “You’re my best friend!”

As she was speaking, she saw Tang’s aunt pushing a man in his twenties over, scolding him in a low voice, “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help your cousin. Soon you’ll be family, one big happy family…”

The man was fat with a bloated face, his eyes nearly squeezed shut by the flesh. Hearing this, he reluctantly shuffled over and scattered a pile of paper money into the charcoal brazier.

From Tang Buli’s tense body, Gu Lingxi could feel her disgust.

Gu Lingxi stood up and looked directly at the woman, saying, “Buli is the Qingping County Lady personally appointed by the Emperor. Her marriage must be approved by the Ministry of Rites. Madam, with Old Lady Tang’s body not yet cold, you presume to arrange a marriage. Where does this leave the court’s etiquette and laws?”

The cousin, upon seeing Gu Lingxi, immediately opened his slit-like eyes wide.

In his entire life, he had never seen such a charming beauty, nor heard such a pleasing voice.

Tang’s aunt smacked the back of her son’s head, then raised her eyes to scrutinize Gu Lingxi, smiling, “This young lady must be the Second Miss Gu, right?”

She deliberately raised her voice to attract everyone’s attention.

In an instant, all eyes were on Gu Lingxi. The matter of her breaking off the engagement had caused quite a stir, and everyone’s faces were full of unspoken implications.

Tang’s aunt had come prepared, having thoroughly investigated Tang Buli’s social circle. She said eagerly, “Second Miss may not know, but the Tang family has a large estate, and a girl like Buli, so helpless and alone, must have a man to take care of her. We can’t trust outsiders, so finding a husband from within the family is most appropriate…”

Saying this, Tang’s aunt covered her mouth with a handkerchief, feigning apology, “Look at my mouth! Talking about marriage with Second Miss at a time like this is truly offensive.”

How could Gu Lingxi not hear the mockery hidden in her words?

“Watch what you say!”

Tang Buli rose with red eyes, standing in front of Gu Lingxi.

This was just like her—she could endure humiliation herself, but would not allow her friends to be insulted.

In this life, even with Old Lady Tang dying of natural causes, Tang Buli still faced such difficulties. Who knew how much suffering she had endured in her previous life?

Gu Lingxi held Tang Buli’s trembling fingertips and was about to retort when she glimpsed a tall figure walking in through the main gate. She couldn’t help but be stunned.

Not just her, but everyone present fell silent, quickly making way for Ning Yin, creating a path centered around him.

Tang’s aunt didn’t recognize Ning Yin, but her husband did.

Greatly alarmed, he hurriedly pulled his wife to bow, saying, “Your subject, Bureau Director Wang Sili of the Ministry of Works, pays respects to Prince Jing!”

The courtyard instantly filled with people kneeling, shifting their prostrate positions as Ning Yin walked.

Ning Yin, with his black hair and purple robes, emanated unparalleled nobility.

He sat on the only long chair in the hall, leaving half the space beside him, and nonchalantly took Gu Lingxi’s hand, then pulled forcefully.

Gu Lingxi fell onto the seat beside him, blinking very slowly.

Her face was serious, but her eyes were already dancing with laughter as she asked softly, “Why did you come?”

“To see my precious Suisui.”

Ning Yin stroked her back, then raised his eyelids to look at Tang’s trembling uncle. “Don’t mind me, continue.”

How could Wang Sili dare to continue?

Thinking of the “precious” by Prince Jing’s side who had just been mocked by his wife’s careless words, he wished he could knock himself unconscious against a pillar.

As he was sweating profusely, Ning Yin’s voice suddenly turned cold: “Speak.”

Wang Sili trembled and had to force himself to explain, “The Old Lady has passed away, and my niece is left alone and helpless. I ventured to come here to share her worries, with absolutely no ulterior motives…”

By the last sentence, his voice was trembling badly, whether from fear or guilt was unclear.

Ning Yin laughed, “Official Wang’s filial piety must surely comfort the Old Lady’s spirit in heaven.”

Hearing the little madman’s gentle tone, Gu Lingxi knew trouble was brewing.

Under the cover of her sleeve, she touched Ning Yin’s long palm, hardly believing he would come here just to join the commotion.

Ning Yin sat elegantly, turned his hand to catch Gu Lingxi’s little finger, pinched it, then hooked it slightly.

Then he said, “Then Official Wang should go down and keep the Old Lady company.”

“Go… down?”

Realizing Ning Yin’s meaning, the Wang couple immediately collapsed to the ground, their faces ashen.

Everyone present broke into a cold sweat.

His Highness Prince Jing was backing up Second Miss Gu?