Xiang’er sneered coldly: “What could this Miss Shuangcheng be tired from? She’s like half a mistress in the palace, with food, clothing, and daily needs all personally arranged by Eunuch Chu—even better than some real consorts.”

Wuyan said indifferently: “Perhaps she regards this court as a cage. Otherwise, why would she be sleepless every night?”

Xiang’er was still anxious: “Miss, you absolutely cannot be careless. She just now actually asked His Majesty to stay. Tell me, will His Majesty come to dote on her the way he dotes on you?”

Hearing this, Wuyan’s brow furrowed sharply, then her gaze looked into the distance without saying anything more.

At this time, Suzhen had also gotten up. She and Xiaozhou and others had discussed for half the night, were extremely tired, but hadn’t slept well.

This case had reached an almost deadlocked situation. Even if they could find Resurrection Hall, if Resurrection Hall refused to admit anything, there would be no recourse. Taking it ten thousand steps further, even if Resurrection Hall was willing to confess, would people believe it?

Unless a certain number of people could recognize that those three corpses weren’t actually the courtesan and others.

Though Lian Yu had granted her these three days to still skip court and have more time to move around, she was still anxiously distressed to the point of wanting to die.

After washing up, she paced into the courtyard.

She saw Leng Xue and the others arguing about something there. At this moment, they were still adding to the chaos… She angrily ran over to look and discovered they were arguing about a bird again.

She didn’t know if Wuqing had a feud with birds, but last time his sharp eyes had spotted a bunch of sparrows, causing everyone to have a great time hunting. This morning he had caught another one.

Everyone held different opinions—Xiaozhou, Wuqing, and Leng Xue said it was a magpie, while Zhuiming and Tieshou insisted it was a crow.

Xiaozhou grabbed her arm: “You came at just the right time. Tell us what this is.”

Suzhen glanced at the half-dead unlucky bird in their hands and couldn’t help but roar quietly: “You bunch of ignorant guys, this is a carrier pigeon, a carrier pigeon, still a carrier pigeon! All of you go find Resurrection Hall!”

Everyone was startled by her shout and threw the bird away, immediately scattering. Xiaozhou was unconvinced and muttered quietly as he left: “I don’t believe it. Three of us recognized it correctly—this young master will find an expert to identify it.”

Suzhen was so angry she wanted to take off her shoe and throw it at him, but suddenly something flashed through her mind—numbers, recognition… recognition…

She paced back and forth anxiously when Fu Bo led someone in. She looked up, stunned, then smiled, showing two rows of white teeth: “Marquis Huo.”

The visitor was indeed Huo Chang’an. He looked somewhat amused: “How are you always wearing that cheerful ghostly expression?”

Suzhen glared at him: “What kind of talk is that? Are you happy that I’m suffering misfortune?”

She then made an “eh” sound: “Wait, isn’t this morning court time? How did you come here?”

Huo Chang’an smiled: “Don’t you know my title? Marquis Xiao Yao—I’m semi-retired at home. Unless there’s border warfare or major court affairs, I attend court. Normally, if I don’t want to go, I don’t have to. Years ago, there were bandits along the northern coast of Great Zhou. I led troops to pacify them and was severely wounded—that counts as merit. The Empress Dowager graciously granted me this privilege.”

Suzhen understood. When he said “merit,” it was actually great merit. Besides gratitude, thinking of that naval battle, she couldn’t help feeling excited, and her fondness for this marquis grew even more. She smiled cheerfully: “I’ve never been able to repay your great kindness, and you supported me in court last time. Come, let me treat you to drinks.”

“Good!” Huo Chang’an was also straightforward and immediately agreed. But Suzhen had more questions: “Wait, you, a dignified Marquis Xiao Yao, didn’t come to my house just to wait for me to buy you a drink, did you?”

Huo Chang’an smiled and asked back: “Though you lost the battle, after yesterday’s events, you’ve become a great favorite before His Majesty. Everyone can see it clearly, and by now it must have spread throughout the court. Isn’t it natural for me to come bask in your reflected glory?”

Suzhen knew he was referring to yesterday when Lian Yu had pulled her out of the crowd. She suddenly wondered if she had seen Zhaoting at the time—he had probably left. Now that word had spread, he must know too. Would he despise her even more?

But it was just a passing thought. Regarding matters concerning him, she suppressed herself from thinking too much. She also wondered how court officials would view her, a failed “favorite.” Quan Feitong probably wouldn’t let her off either. The thought of enduring others’ behind-the-back criticism during morning and evening court sessions was truly troublesome.

“Why are you thinking so much? You’ve already done your utmost for that case—no need to care what others say.” Huo Chang’an suddenly straightened his expression and declared clearly.

Suzhen was grateful and nodded vigorously. Huo Chang’an then glanced slightly at Fu Bo. Suzhen smiled: “Look how silly I am—what’s the point of drinking so early in the morning? Fu Bo, brew us a pot of tea first.”

“Right away, this old servant will go immediately.”

Fu Bo looked at the two of them, rubbed his hands with a smile, and withdrew.

“Fu Bo isn’t your cousin’s spy, is he? I’m completely loyal to him.”

Suzhen shrugged, understanding what Huo Chang’an was wary of. Huo Chang’an just smiled: “Who knows? He’s not your person anyway. He instructed me not to get too close to you. If he knew I also had secret correspondence with you, that would be the end. I truly don’t visit temples without purpose. Here.”

As he spoke, he reached into his robes and pulled out a letter to hand to Suzhen.

Suzhen was startled, then heard Huo Chang’an lower his voice: “Entrusted by White Clothes.”

White Clothes?

Suzhen was both surprised and delighted. Just as she was about to take the letter, she suddenly saw the bird that Wuqing and the others had knocked unconscious and thrown on the stone table in the courtyard slowly wake up, flap its wings, and fly away unsteadily, leaving only a few feathers.

But Suzhen felt as if those feathers had struck her heart, making it jump heavily. She said: “Marquis Huo, I have something to go out for. I’ll treat you to drinks when I return—you drink tea and wait for me a moment.”

Huo Chang’an only saw her eyes suddenly brighten as she ran off like a wisp of smoke.

Soon after, she hurried back to snatch his letter from him, then ran off again.

He smiled and walked to sit at the stone table.

The next day, after the national case ended, Guixiang Tower—which had been deserted with no one daring to visit—had another major incident and suddenly became bustling with visitors. At court, there was also a major development.

Also, Lian Yu fell ill.