Within the Glass Pavilion, Yingzi rushed about wildly, having nearly searched the entire pavilion without finding any trace of the prince.

He was panting for breath, not even pausing for a sip of tea before rushing off again.

Hongyi had come to report that the Court of Judicial Review had taken the princess consort away. Although Situ Haonan was accompanying her, Situ Haonan knew absolutely nothing about the real situation!

What’s more, because of Situ Xin’er, Situ Haonan was certain to hold some resentment toward the princess consort—heaven only knew how far that might extend!

Never mind the question of what progress in the case had prompted the emperor to summon the princess consort to the Court of Judicial Review in the first place!

Simply put, the princess consort’s temperament these days was nothing like before. In the past, she would at least have pretended to be obedient, gentle and mild, hiding her sharpness beneath softness. Now, she had no need to hide anything at all. If a conflict broke out and Emperor Tianhui found a way to exploit it, and something happened to detain the mistress, then the journey to Nanzhao would be impossible!

Besides, the master still had no intention of seizing the throne for now—he still needed someone to hold Da Zhou’s realm steady before he could free himself to leave!

Just as he was about to head out, Commander Ouyang came hurrying in with urgent news. “We’ve searched in all directions—she’s not with the military!”

“This… where on earth did they take Situ Xin’er!” Yingzi blurted out anxiously.

Commander Ouyang froze, dumbfounded. “What?”

Yingzi immediately clapped a hand over his own mouth, glancing around anxiously in all directions. Seeing no one nearby, he let out a breath of relief. “Good, good, that’s a relief!”

“Just now… are you saying…” Commander Ouyang looked utterly incredulous. Surely the master wouldn’t—

If Situ City ever found out about this, the trouble would be immense!

“Do you really think there’s anything in this world the master wouldn’t dare do?” Yingzi said helplessly. The two exchanged a glance and continued their search.

Meanwhile, inside the carriage, Situ Haonan truly couldn’t bear the silence. Even though Ziqing sat with her eyes lowered, perfectly composed, Situ Haonan still fidgeted restlessly, finding the whole situation unbearably awkward.

A man and a woman sitting together, and not even his mother or sister—not speaking felt genuinely strange, genuinely embarrassing!

Finally, he mustered his courage and looked up, seeing Ziqing with her head bowed, and immediately relaxed, having half-expected the woman to still be glaring fiercely at him.

Since Situ Haonan sat taller than Ziqing, from this angle he happened to catch sight of her lowered lashes, and at such close range he finally allowed himself to study her openly and carefully.

Even without a trace of makeup, this woman was breathtakingly beautiful—not the kind of overwhelming, world-toppling beauty, but more delicate and refined, the sort that nonetheless brought to mind exactly the phrase “beauty that topples cities.”

Her eyes were the purest, clearest he had ever seen. The longer he looked, the more he found himself dazed, and an inexplicable urge rose in him—he wanted to understand her.

Lost in looking, he blurted out without thinking, “Sister-in-law, let’s talk.”

The words startled even himself. Seeing Ziqing lift her head to look at him, he immediately lowered his own!

Those narrow, seductive eyes of his had once boldly and shamelessly stared down countless women—yet now he found himself afraid of Ziqing’s gaze!

Ziqing, lost in thought about the Chen family case, glanced at him once but said nothing more.

After a long while, Situ Haonan looked up again. Seeing Ziqing’s silent expression, he unconsciously rubbed his chin, a hint of regret flickering across his face.

Finally, the carriage came to a stop—they had arrived at the Court of Judicial Review.

The moment Ziqing stepped down from the carriage, she saw the gates of the Court of Judicial Review flung wide open, guards from deep within the palace lined up on either side!

Lord Huang hadn’t lied—Emperor Tianhui truly was waiting.

She was led all the way to the main hall. Upon seeing who was inside, Ziqing stopped short, and Situ Haonan, startled as well, halted alongside her.

Wasn’t this arrangement a bit excessive? This wasn’t a simple questioning—this was a full trial!

Seated squarely in the main seat was none other than Emperor Tianhui himself, with the Seventh Prince Jun Beiyao to his right, and Prime Minister Han to his left.

The gallery seats to the side were packed to capacity—every member of the imperial family, every noble and minister who had attended the welcoming banquet earlier, all present here!

What exactly did Emperor Tianhui mean by this!

A flicker of unease passed through Ziqing’s eyes. Her sharp gaze bore directly into Jun Beiyao, and he returned her stare just as boldly. Their eyes met for only a moment, yet the tension between them was thick enough to ignite.

Situ Haonan watched from the side, curious, but asked no questions, walking in alongside Ziqing to pay respects to Emperor Tianhui.

“Why has Nephew Situ come as well?” Emperor Tianhui asked politely.

“I ran into sister-in-law at the mansion gate and followed along to see what was happening. Has something major occurred?” Situ Haonan asked.

“Indeed, something major has occurred. Nephew Situ, please have a seat,” Emperor Tianhui said, his expression solemn.

Situ Haonan cast Ziqing a reassuring glance before taking his seat.

“Father Emperor, I wonder what matter could be so significant as to require arresting me in the middle of the night for questioning?” Ziqing said flatly, still puzzling over why Jun Beiyao was present.

But the moment she finished speaking, Emperor Tianhui threw down a sharp arrow with great force, saying coldly, “Do you recognize this object?”

Ziqing glanced at it—this was precisely the fabricated evidence she had once had someone deliver to the Court of Judicial Review, an arrow belonging to the private archers Jun Beiyao secretly kept.

“I don’t recognize it,” Ziqing said flatly.

“Bring in someone to examine the arrow!” Emperor Tianhui said coldly.

Soon, a blacksmith hurried in, took the arrow, and examined it carefully for a moment before reporting earnestly, “Your Majesty, this arrow belongs to the palace. Outside the palace, only the Prime Minister’s residence possesses such arrows.”

The moment these words left his mouth, Prime Minister Han, seated among the gallery, was struck with sudden shock. Was Emperor Tianhui implying…

“Father Emperor, so you believe this arrow must have come from the Prime Minister’s residence?” Ziqing countered.

“This arrow wasn’t found at the Chen residence—it was found in that private room at the House of National Beauty.”

The moment these words left his mouth, Ziqing couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath, her cold eyes cutting toward Jun Beiyao. What was he trying to do!

Emperor Tianhui then threw down another identical arrow. “And this one—do you recognize it? This was found in the back garden of the Chen residence!”

These two arrows couldn’t prove anything on their own, but they were more than enough to suggest that whoever used such arrows had appeared both at the House of National Beauty and the Chen family’s back garden!

“Ziqing, I’ll ask you only one question—do these two arrows belong to you, or to someone else!” Emperor Tianhui demanded coldly.

For a moment, every eye in the room turned toward Ziqing. Without question, if these arrows were Ziqing’s, then she was undeniably tied to the Chen family murder case. If they weren’t hers, then whoever they belonged to—how could that person possibly be young master Chen! In other words, someone else had been present in that private room at the House of National Beauty, and Han Ziqing had lied!

Situ Haonan rubbed his chin, his mind already in turmoil. Rather than believe that Han Ziqing had killed young master Chen, he found himself far more inclined to believe that someone else entirely had been the one to spend that night of passion at the House of National Beauty—and that this person had killed young master Chen to silence him!

If that were the case, then Han Ziqing had been shielding that man all along!

No wonder Emperor Tianhui had convened this trial in the dead of night—the matter truly was serious. Emperor Tianhui hadn’t resorted to forced confession, merely presenting two pieces of evidence—there was little he himself could do to help.

Now, it all came down to how Han Ziqing would explain herself.

Such a simple logic—everyone present understood it perfectly well. Only one truth remained possible now: either Han Ziqing had killed young master Chen herself, or Han Ziqing had shielded the true culprit and framed young master Chen in his place.

The entire hall fell silent, everyone waiting for Ziqing’s explanation. A thick smile curled at the corner of Jun Beiyao’s lips, his cold eyes looking down on Ziqing with undisguised provocation.

Ever since losing the three western cities of Xichu, he had thrown all caution to the wind—he wanted to see whether Han Ziqing could still play this game.

Finally, Ziqing parted her thin lips and said flatly, “I’ve never seen these two arrows.”