In the mist-shrouded chamber, it was so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

Luo Sheng gazed at the beautiful Longevity Immortal Maiden, her expression gradually becoming grave.

The unusual odor in the incense seemed to grow increasingly strong as she approached. That indescribable smell lingered at her nose, inexplicably filling her with alarm.

Luo Sheng stood before the Longevity Immortal Maiden, which was taller than herself, silently contemplating it.

Then she lowered her eyes to look at the cushion on the floor.

The gold-threaded brocade cushion sat quietly on the ground, looking perfectly neat without a single wrinkle.

The cushion was so smooth, as if no one had knelt on it. Yet Princess Changle should have just finished her morning devotions not long ago—she had been here when Luo Sheng arrived.

What did this mean?

A vague thought flashed through her mind, and a sudden chill surged up.

Luo Sheng lifted her eyelids and examined the Longevity Immortal Maiden once more.

This time she looked longer, so long she almost forgot about time.

Luo Sheng reached out her hand.

“Ah Sheng, what are you doing?” Princess Changle’s voice came from behind her.

The voice passed through the fragrant mist, somewhat ethereal.

Luo Sheng pretended to be startled, hastily turning around while forcefully pushing the statue of the Longevity Immortal Maiden.

The statue crashed down with a thunderous sound, falling heavily to the ground and instantly shattering into pieces.

An arm extended out, and then a person rolled out.

To be precise, it was a corpse.

The door to the meditation chamber had been closed when Princess Changle entered. Hearing this earth-shattering commotion, the maid outside shouted: “Your Highness, are you all right?”

The meditation chamber for worshipping the Longevity Immortal Maiden was not a place people could enter casually, especially when Princess Changle was inside.

“I’m fine.” Princess Changle spoke, her gaze fixed intently on Luo Sheng.

Luo Sheng retreated several steps, looking at Princess Changle in shock: “Your Highness, she—”

Watching Luo Sheng’s astonished appearance, Princess Changle suddenly smiled: “She’s the young princess. Doesn’t Ah Sheng recognize her? Why are you so frightened?”

As Princess Changle spoke, she walked step by step toward Luo Sheng.

As for what she would see after toppling the statue of the Longevity Immortal Maiden, Luo Sheng had been mentally prepared. Her current shock was half genuine, half feigned.

Watching Princess Changle approach, Luo Sheng put away her astonishment and regained her composure.

“It’s really the young princess?”

“Ah Sheng can look for herself and find out. You two are fairly familiar, aren’t you?” Princess Changle, who had drawn near, spoke with a half-smile, showing not the slightest panic at having the corpse inside the statue discovered.

In fact, Luo Sheng detected a hint of scrutiny from her.

She leaned forward slightly to examine the corpse on the ground, then smiled: “So the young princess was here with Your Highness.”

In that instant, Luo Sheng understood.

For Miss Luo and Princess Changle to have become close friends, they naturally had to be compatible.

When wine meets a kindred spirit, a thousand cups are too few; when words don’t align, half a sentence is too much. Could a girl who remained unmoved after being discovered having killed her cousin become good friends with a girl who would scream in terror at the sight of a corpse?

If she responded with the reaction of an ordinary woman, that would arouse suspicion.

“Ah Sheng wasn’t frightened, was she?” Princess Changle asked gently.

Luo Sheng curved her lips in a light smile: “How could I be? It’s not as if I haven’t seen such things before. Your Highness, you don’t know—last year when I attended Princess Pingnan’s birthday banquet, I stumbled upon a murder case and saw two corpses…”

After listening to Luo Sheng’s account, Princess Changle was fascinated: “How interesting. I wasn’t in the capital then. What a pity.”

Luo Sheng’s heartstrings grew even more taut.

To still chat casually at a time like this—she could confirm that Princess Changle’s mental state was not quite normal.

Such a person could be a close friend one moment and turn hostile the next without warning.

At least for now, facing a hostile Princess Changle, the identity of Grand Commander Luo’s daughter would be useless.

“How did the young princess end up here?” Luo Sheng asked without changing expression.

Princess Changle’s lips curved slightly. Her cold gaze swept over Wei Wen’s corpse as she said coolly: “She hurt me, so I brought her here.”

At first, her cousin wasn’t even dead yet.

Thinking this, Princess Changle smiled and extended her hand toward Luo Sheng.

On her palm was a red mark, looking like it had been scratched by something sharp.

Luo Sheng frowned: “The young princess actually injured Your Highness? Then she got what she deserved.”

“Yes, she insisted on courting death. I couldn’t stop her.” Princess Changle withdrew her hand and said with a smile.

Luo Sheng also smiled.

Princess Changle glanced at the shattered statue and asked softly: “Ah Sheng, what were you doing just now?”

Luo Sheng’s heart tightened, knowing the critical moment had arrived.

Her answer would determine Princess Changle’s attitude toward her afterward.

Luo Sheng also glanced at the broken Longevity Immortal Maiden and sighed with regret: “Your Highness asked me to worship the Longevity Immortal Maiden together, so I took a good look at the statue. Your Highness, guess what I discovered?”

“What did you discover?” Princess Changle smiled. “The young princess’s corpse?”

Luo Sheng smiled gracefully: “Your Highness, please don’t tease me. I’m merely mortal—how could I see what was inside the statue?”

“Then what did Ah Sheng discover?” Princess Changle gazed intently at Luo Sheng.

Those eyes were very dark, rippling with obscure waves.

Luo Sheng calmly met her gaze without the slightest evasion.

“I discovered that this Longevity Immortal Maiden somewhat resembles Your Highness.”

Princess Changle’s eyes flickered slightly, but she said nothing.

Luo Sheng looked regretfully at the broken head of the statue. The Longevity Immortal Maiden still gazed at her with gentle compassion.

This was another astonishing discovery after she had formed that bold conjecture.

Earlier, when Princess Changle had stood in the meditation chamber in her flowing robes, it had given her the illusion that she was seeing a celestial being.

It turned out it wasn’t an illusion—the statue of the Longevity Immortal Maiden had been crafted according to Princess Changle’s appearance.

“Discovering that the Longevity Immortal Maiden looked very much like Your Highness, I was extremely surprised and couldn’t help but want to touch it. I didn’t expect Your Highness to enter just then.”

At this point, Luo Sheng displayed an embarrassed expression: “In that instant, I thought the Longevity Immortal Maiden had come to life. In my panic and confusion, I accidentally knocked the statue over…”

The chamber filled with Princess Changle’s silver bell-like laughter: “Ah Sheng, how do you come up with such interesting ideas? You actually thought the Longevity Immortal Maiden had come to life.”

Laughing like this, Princess Changle was in an excellent mood.

When she had commissioned this Longevity Immortal Maiden statue, she had deliberately made it bear some resemblance to herself.

By worshipping such a Longevity Immortal Maiden, it was as if she too could achieve longevity like the goddess.

She hadn’t expected that what even her personal maids hadn’t noticed, Ah Sheng had discovered.

Princess Changle’s reaction allowed Luo Sheng to breathe a slight sigh of relief. She asked softly: “Your Highness won’t blame me, will you?”

“How could I?” Princess Changle smiled, kicked aside the debris at her feet, and said lightly, “In any case, it can’t be used anymore. I would have had to replace it sooner or later.”

It had even prevented her from kneeling to chant sutras.

Princess Changle took Luo Sheng’s hand and asked casually: “Ah Sheng, will you tell anyone that the young princess is here with me?”

Luo Sheng met Princess Changle’s half-smiling gaze, knowing another test had arrived.

Of course she would tell others—but she couldn’t offend Princess Changle.