Nanny Yang hurriedly said: “In reply to Second Madam, she is currently at the dance workshop.” Before her words had finished, Wan Shi already said to Steward Lin: “Go, immediately arrest her and take her to the dungeon. Use severe torture to interrogate her. We must find out the origin of that assassin and the forces behind her. This kind of thing absolutely cannot happen a second time.”

“This humble one understands.” Not long after Steward Lin left, the door finally opened. Xia Houduan came out with a weary expression. Wan Shi hurriedly stepped forward: “Lord Xiahou, how is the Governor? Is it serious?”

After Xia Houduan handed the prescription to a servant, he said in a heavy voice: “Second Madam, the Governor and Third Young Master were poisoned with a rare toxin from the Western Regions, extremely uncommon in our Central Plains. I’ve only encountered it once in my youth. Fortunately, treatment was timely and prevented the poison from attacking the heart, otherwise even the great immortals would find it difficult to save them.”

Li Jiancheng urgently said: “Then are father and third brother already out of danger?”

Xia Houduan sighed: “The poison is temporarily controlled, but whether it can be neutralized depends on the prescription just now. I hope it can be effective.”

Li Jiancheng tightly clenched his hands hanging at his sides, gritting his teeth: “When I catch that lowly woman, I will definitely cut her into a thousand pieces!” Xia Houduan, besides his physiognomy and divination skills, was also skilled in medicine, far superior to ordinary physicians. If even he couldn’t save them, it would truly be more ominous than fortunate.

This wait lasted most of the night. Two hours after taking the medicine, Li Yuan and the other finally showed improvement. Their pulse became stable and no longer as dangerous as before, though they would still need time to wake up.

After confirming they were out of danger, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin left Songtao Residence. After walking a few steps, Li Jiancheng stopped and turned back to stare at Li Shimin: “Second brother, you’ve always been steady and careful in your actions. How were you so careless this time? Fortunately Uncle Xiahou happened to be at the mansion, otherwise father and third brother would have been in grave danger!”

Li Shimin lowered his eyes: “At that time, I just felt Wu Meixue was somewhat pitiful, so I wanted to give her a chance. I didn’t expect her to harbor such malicious intentions.”

Li Jiancheng scoffed: “You sympathized with her, yet she repaid kindness with enmity. Second brother, in terms of literary talent and martial arts, you are outstanding among us brothers, but you have one major weakness – you often have these unnecessary sympathy and trust, being indecisive. Remember, except for close relatives, you don’t need to care about others’ life or death. Even friends or close subordinates shouldn’t be trusted too much. It would be better to treat them as chess pieces. Do you understand?” Actually, Li Shimin was just naturally modest and sincere toward others, but in Li Jiancheng’s eyes, where everything was profit-first, this became indecision and womanly compassion.

Li Shimin cupped his hands: “Thank you for big brother’s guidance. Shimin will definitely remember firmly.”

Li Jiancheng nodded: “Although Second Mother has never had good intentions toward us, she said one thing correctly – this kind of thing absolutely cannot happen a second time! We must catch the assassin and uproot her and the people behind her. I will continue pursuing Shen Yunyi, and I’ll leave Wu Meixue’s side to you.”

Li Shimin was silent for a moment, then said: “I understand. I will personally interrogate Wu Meixue until she confesses everything.”

After Li Jiancheng left, Li Shimin walked toward the dungeon. Upon entering, he saw Meixue tied to a pillar with several whip marks on her body. Seeing Li Shimin enter, she hurriedly said: “Second Young Master, save me! I really don’t know anything!”

After signaling for the servants to withdraw, Li Shimin approached her with a gloomy expression, coldly saying: “Why did you deceive me?”

“No, I didn’t deceive you!” Meixue frantically shook her head, tears continuously sliding down her delicate yet panic-stricken face. “I really didn’t know Yunyi was an assassin. She never told me these things.” She then urgently added: “Second Young Master, please believe me. This matter truly has nothing to do with me.”

Li Shimin’s eyes flickered slightly: “Nanny Yang said you asked her to let Shen Yunyi go to Songtao Residence together.”

“Yes, I did speak to Nanny Yang about it, but that was because Yunyi told me she had been in the mansion for so long but had never seen the Governor, and really wanted to know what the Governor looked like. That’s why I went to ask Nanny Yang. If I had known she wanted to assassinate him, I would have done everything possible to stop her. I would never have let her harm the Governor. I… I always thought she truly cared for me and considered me a friend. I never imagined she had been using me all along. She deceived everyone!” Meixue was both heartbroken and afraid. Assassinating the Governor was no small matter. Once deemed an accomplice, not only would she die, but it might even implicate her father. Her father had worked so hard to raise her, and if he suffered a tragic death because of her, she… even if she died, she would never forgive herself.

Li Shimin carefully observed her expression and didn’t detect any traces of deception or lying. Could it be… this matter really had nothing to do with Meixue? Thinking this, he said: “How did you meet Shen Yunyi?”

Meixue recounted what happened that day when they were waiting outside the mansion for selection. Li Shimin listened carefully, and when Meixue mentioned a certain sentence, he interrupted: “You said Shen Yunyi also has a younger brother in the Governor’s mansion? What’s his name?”

“Yes, he was also selected at that time. His name is…” Meixue couldn’t remember for a moment, after all, she had only seen him once on the day they entered the mansion and never met him again afterward. Just as Li Shimin was about to have someone investigate all people surnamed Shen in the mansion, she finally remembered: “His name is Shen Moping!”

“Immediately investigate this person, and also send people to Little Yang Village to investigate their backgrounds.” After the servant left with orders, Meixue pleaded again: “Second Young Master, please believe me. Yunyi’s matter truly has nothing to do with me. I was also harmed by her!”

Li Shimin pondered for a moment: “I will investigate this matter thoroughly. Until then, you’ll stay here.”

“But…” Meixue looked fearfully at the servant standing aside holding a rattan whip. Li Shimin understood her meaning and turned to say: “Lock her up for now.”

The servant said awkwardly: “Second Young Master, Second Madam has instructed that unless she reveals the assassin’s origin and connections, the punishment cannot be stopped!”

Li Shimin’s face turned cold: “Didn’t she just explain everything clearly? What else is unclear?” Without waiting for the servant to respond, he added: “If Second Madam asks, I will explain to her myself.”

Seeing him say this, the servant dared not speak further and untied Meixue from the pillar. Suddenly freed from restraint, Meixue nearly fell, but Li Shimin caught her. As she was being locked in the cell, Meixue called out to Li Shimin who was about to leave, biting her lip: “Second Young Master, will I… die?”