After hearing the background story, Xiaoying asked: “Then why are you looking for me?”

The Third Prince, with his wide, cow-like eyes, replied confusedly: “Elder Brother was punished by Father and made to kneel in the ancestral temple for beating Second Brother. He told me to secretly go to Five-Li Slope to find you. But he didn’t tell me why he wanted me to find you…”

Alright, Xiaoying understood the situation now.

Feng Yuan must have learned the truth from the Second Prince and realized that the person the Second Prince had captured wasn’t her.

Unfortunately, Feng Yuan couldn’t leave because he was being punished by His Majesty, so he sent the Third Prince, who knew she was at Five-Li Slope, to confirm her safety.

This bull of a man, upon hearing he needed to go secretly, actually didn’t bring any attendants and planned to go alone.

If she had truly fallen into the hands of bandits, was the Third Prince planning to rescue her single-handedly?

But the Third Prince’s arrival was timely. She pulled him aside and asked in a low voice: “Do you have a way to get me into the Imperial Temple?”

Although the Third Prince didn’t know why, he cooperated by lowering his voice and asking: “What do you want to do in there?”

To secretly transport Consort Yi into the Imperial Temple required credentials that could grant access to the temple.

Unfortunately, Feng Yuan was currently in trouble and couldn’t be relied upon, so she could only turn to this brute.

However, Xiaoying was a bit worried about his big mouth, so she looked solemnly at the Third Prince with such an intense gaze that it made Feng Qiwu inexplicably nervous.

“Lady Ying, why are you looking at me like that?”

Yan Xiaoying sighed dejectedly: “I was going to ask for your help, but considering how loose-lipped you are, I’m afraid to entrust you with this…”

The Third Prince was annoyed to hear this: “Why do you slander me? When have I ever been loose-lipped?”

“Who leaked that I resembled the Crown Prince before? Wasn’t it you? It caused a citywide uproar and even made Princess Anqing insist on meeting me. Then, because I damaged the Crown Prince’s reputation, Young Master Mu detained me and wanted to send me back to Jiangzhe. Pitiful me, a young woman, gave my purity to the Crown Prince, yet didn’t even get any proper status…”

Hearing this, the Third Prince’s face turned red with embarrassment, and he anxiously slapped his thigh: “Lady, it’s all my fault… But if you had told me earlier, I would never have reconciled with Yanyan. She doesn’t allow me to take concubines, so now… I can’t give you proper status either!”

What? This bull’s hoof was too unrestrained, suddenly running off in what direction?

Yan Xiaoying couldn’t quite follow the Third Prince’s train of thought and quickly pulled the conversation back: “Actually, status isn’t important. I deeply love the Crown Prince; how could I casually give myself to someone else? But if you leak other people’s matters, you might cost someone their young life!”

Feng Qiwu wanted to argue back defiantly, but Xiaoying started rubbing the not-yet-faded marks on her ankles, whispering mournfully: “Look at these shackle marks—all thanks to your big mouth…”

The Third Prince didn’t know he was being blamed for a June snowfall, but he nervously rubbed his hands together.

Xiaoying raised her eyes at the right moment and said solemnly: “A man’s mouth should be as tight as his belt—that’s what makes a real man. Understand?”

Feng Qiwu raised his hand and swore that if Lady Ying ever shared secrets with him again and he told others, may heaven strike him with lightning and may he die a terrible death!

This oath was made too early. As soon as Feng Qiwu finished his solemn vow, Xiaoying pulled another dirty “thousand-year egg” in front of him.

The Third Prince stared with his cow-like eyes, finally recognizing this as Consort Yi, who had been abducted by villains. His mouth gaped so wide it could have swallowed two thousand-year eggs at once!

After Xiaoying explained the crucial parts, telling how she had “coincidentally” rescued Consort Yi, he stammered: “No, you… What are you asking me to do? What do you mean by secretly transporting Consort Yi into the Imperial Temple?”

Xiaoying said: “The consort has been with me these past days, completely innocent. But if she returns like this, people will certainly spread rumors and drown her in spit. The world is so harsh toward women—why not help her? Sending her back to the Imperial Temple is the simplest solution. Don’t you agree this makes sense?”

Feng Qiwu instinctively replied: “Help… of course I’ll help, but specifically what should I do?”

Xiaoying carefully explained the plan to him.

Before long, the Third Prince had mobilized a group of soldiers to enter the Imperial Temple, claiming they needed to search for evidence related to suspects.

Xiaoying and Consort Yi, dressed in soldiers’ armor, blended in with the group. Then, the Third Prince ordered the soldiers to search the front courtyard while he led these two to the scripture tower at the back of the temple. They searched everywhere and found a dry well.

Xiaoying had Consort Yi change back into her clothes, then said to her: “You remember everything I told you to say, right? If anything is unclear, just say you fainted and don’t remember anything!”

Tang Mi nodded, then suddenly embraced Xiaoying: “We’re just strangers who met by chance. Why would you help me like this?”

Xiaoying smiled and hugged her back: “It’s nothing, hardly any effort at all. You said great kindness needs no thanks, so there’s no need for formalities. However, I’ll be leaving the capital in the future and probably won’t see you again. If you’re willing, the best way to repay me would be to look after the Crown Prince.”

If Tang Mi wasn’t willing to help, it didn’t matter. Xiaoying simply couldn’t stand seeing how society oppressed women and had extended her hand to help—she never expected repayment anyway.

Tang Mi looked at Xiaoying, feeling a sense of loss, knowing she would never see this young lady again.

In her most desperate and helpless moment, this young woman had been more reliable than her father and brothers.

She took a deep breath and finally, with Xiaoying’s support, descended into the well and began shouting for help.

And so, the sensational case of the consort’s abduction came to an abrupt end with Consort Yi being rescued from a dry well in the Imperial Temple.

The Third Prince, who had achieved this remarkable feat, explained that he had been inspired by his Second Brother’s night journey to Five-Li Slope and wanted to search for evidence in the city.

Additionally, he had slept restlessly the previous night and had a dream in which an immortal told him to go to the Imperial Temple, which was why he had gone there as if possessed.

Otherwise, since Consort Yi had been afraid to call out for fear of being discovered by thieves, and since the monks of the temple had been taken away for questioning by the Court of Justice, with no one going to the back of the temple, she might have starved to death in the well.

Of course, there were still some idle gossipers who suspected that Consort Yi had been violated when abducted by the villains.

But more rumors speculated that Consort Yi’s ability to inspire an immortal to appear in a prince’s dream indicated an extraordinarily fortunate destiny—perhaps she was a phoenix among humans?

These rumors even provoked the Emperor to ask the Third Prince: “Third, did you have such a dream?”

“Well…” The Third Prince hesitated, and just as those nearby were about to show “I knew it” expressions, the Third Prince continued: “Father, actually I saw a golden bird with a long tail falling into the Imperial Temple… After I woke up, I kept thinking about it, believing I might catch some rare and strange bird, so I went to check. Who would have thought that I didn’t see any bird but found Consort Yi instead? Isn’t that strange!”

If anyone else had said such things, Emperor Chunde would have suspected them of practicing witchcraft or speaking ill of the imperial harem.

But the one speaking these nonsensical words was the Feng family’s third son, and this simple man didn’t seem capable of concocting such an elaborate lie.

Talk of Tang Mi being a true phoenix was, of course, not something to be widely promoted.

After all, the Empress of Dafeng was still barely clinging to life!

Seeing that his father no longer questioned him, the Third Prince exhaled slowly, belatedly realizing—wouldn’t this count as deceiving the Emperor?

Somehow, since boarding Lady Ying’s bandit ship, the trouble seemed to be growing ever larger.

Thus, all talk about Consort Yi being abducted by villains and losing her honor was extinguished. After all, she was someone who had appeared in an immortal’s dream message, had been in the Imperial Temple all along, and had received the Buddha’s blessing—her fortune was profound indeed!

However, over in the Western Palace, things were beginning to boil.

Consort Shang looked at her son’s swollen face with heartache: “How did you provoke that madman? Why did he beat you?”

The Second Prince lay on his bed while palace maids applied medicine, groaning in pain: “How would I know? I was just talking to Third Brother when he jumped out from nowhere, pinned me down, and beat me. Then he asked where I had imprisoned the captured bandit and rushed off. He even broke into the Court of Justice to interrogate the person I had captured, but after one look, without asking anything, he suddenly left… A madman! A complete madman!”

At this point, the Second Prince felt a wave of guilt. Fearing his mother’s punishment, he had randomly arrested someone to fill the quota and deliberately left them alive to protect Consort Yi’s reputation.

Fortunately, that madman hadn’t interrogated anyone at the Court of Justice; otherwise, he would have been in serious trouble…

But he dared not tell his mother this, making his face hurt even more.

Meanwhile, Consort Shang was secretly seething with resentment. She had thought this would be a smooth opportunity to eliminate that little woman of the Tang family.

She never expected that she hadn’t even left the Imperial Temple. Now, returning with the reputation of having a “phoenix destiny,” she was even more irritating than that old woman of the Tang family!

But strangely, according to intelligence from Xiaoyan Mountain Villa, Consort Yi had been abducted to Five-Li Slope!

How had she appeared alone in the Imperial Temple in the capital overnight?

Moreover, someone had witnessed the Crown Prince leaving the Court of Justice. When he was called by the Emperor to be punished by kneeling in the ancestral temple, he had whispered something to the Third Prince, and then that Third Prince had inexplicably gone to the Imperial Temple and brought back Consort Yi.

Consort Shang instinctively felt that Consort Yi’s unblemished return to the palace must have been the Crown Prince’s handiwork.

After much consideration, Consort Shang deliberately arranged to “coincidentally” meet the Third Prince in the Imperial Garden, hoping to extract some clues from this simple man’s mouth.

However, as soon as she began speaking and steered the conversation toward the Imperial Temple, the Third Prince unexpectedly pulled up his robe and tightened his belt.

Consort Shang was caught off guard and hastily averted her eyes, while her palace maids quickly used fans to shield their mistress.

When she looked back, the Third Prince had already strode away, giving her no chance to question him further.

Frustrated, Consort Shang muttered to herself, suspecting that madness was contagious—how else could the Third Prince also behave so erratically?

What Consort Shang didn’t know was that the Third Prince, who was never good at lying, had received guidance from an otherworldly expert.

Xiaoying had told him that if the Emperor asked about the Imperial Temple, he should repeatedly talk about his dream and express regret at not catching the bird.

But if others asked, he should tighten his belt to remind himself to keep his mouth shut.

This way, lying became as simple as a military drill.

The Third Prince’s first trial was extremely effective!

From now on, he would be a real man whose mouth was as tight as his belt!

Unable to extract any information, Consort Shang became even more suspicious that the Third Prince had been influenced by the eldest prince.

The Third Prince had merely returned to the capital with the Crown Prince—how had they formed such a bond that he was willing to act as the Crown Prince’s right-hand man?

Looking at it now, the Crown Prince seemed to be playing the fool!

She suddenly remembered that Xiaoyan Mountain Villa also seemed quite wary of this Crown Prince.

During the Mu family’s birthday banquet, Xiaoyan Mountain Villa had sent word that if anything unusual happened to the Mu family, she should cooperate to push things along and try to bring down the Crown Prince.

But unexpectedly, despite the Mu family’s mishap, the Crown Prince had returned safely to his mansion.

The Consort Yi incident also bore the Crown Prince’s fingerprints, preventing her from toppling that little woman of the Tang family, which left Consort Shang deeply frustrated.

It seemed that the master was right—among the current princes, the Crown Prince was subtly gaining the upper hand, with unfathomable schemes and calculations.

Since he hadn’t acted during the Mu family’s birthday banquet, this incident of him beating Feng Qiting without cause couldn’t be dismissed. It would be better to make a big scene and completely ruin the Crown Prince’s reputation!

Therefore, Consort Shang specifically arranged for relevant people to enter the palace and tearfully appeal to the Emperor, claiming that the Second Prince had been beaten by the Crown Prince until he vomited blood continuously, and his condition was worsening.

If the Crown Prince were allowed to continue acting so willfully, both she and her son might lose their lives.

Emperor Chunde comforted his beloved consort: “The eldest has already been punished with kneeling in the ancestral temple. I will order him to reflect behind closed doors.”

Consort Shang realized the Emperor was treating the matter seriously but punishing lightly. She immediately sobbed: “If it were just my son being beaten, so be it—they’re brothers, after all. But the eldest’s behavior is becoming increasingly unruly. I heard he’s taken a concubine who resembles the Crown Prince and parades around with her all day…”

Hearing this, Emperor Chunde slightly furrowed his brow and turned to ask Mu Hanjiang: “I heard the Crown Prince took his concubine to your mother’s birthday banquet. Does that concubine truly look like the Crown Prince?”

After asking, Mu Hanjiang remained silent, holding the King of Hell mask that Consort Shang had presented on behalf of the Second Prince, seemingly lost in thought, as if his mind were elsewhere.

The Third Prince couldn’t help but nudge Mu Hanjiang: “His Majesty is asking you a question!”

The Emperor looked at Mu Hanjiang and patiently repeated his question.

Mu Hanjiang had anticipated that the Emperor would challenge him. He had originally planned to send Yan Xiaoying back to Jiangzhe early. Even if the Emperor found out, the person would already be gone, and after some deflection, the Emperor would naturally not pursue the matter further.

But he never expected that Yan Xiaoying would mysteriously disappear from the suburban estate, and then the long-missing Little King of Hell mask would suddenly reappear, constantly distracting him.

Mu Hanjiang felt he had missed some important clue before, and now he couldn’t quite put everything together.

With the Emperor questioning him, he had to answer, but if he told the truth, it would inevitably put the young lady on hot coals.

As Mu Hanjiang was considering his words, the Third Prince chimed in: “Look like what? Just the eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar. But the Crown Prince looks like a woman, and if you look carefully, many women resemble him—you can’t blame others for that! In my view, Elder Brother’s concubine is more of a true man than the Crown Prince…”

The Third Prince’s words were cut short by Emperor Chunde’s glare: “How dare you evaluate the heir to the throne! Your lack of restraint deserves punishment—recite the palace rules one hundred times!”

Feng Qiwu feared punishment like copying texts the most and immediately fell silent.

Did he enjoy hanging around his father? If not for this Western Palace consort complaining about the Crown Prince, and the fact that he had witnessed the Crown Prince beating the Second Prince that day, forcing him to be a witness, he would never have appeared before his father.

But with the Third Prince’s diversion, the deadly topic of the concubine’s appearance had been lightly passed over.

Emperor Chunde ordered the palace servants to summon the Crown Prince to apologize to Consort Shang in person, intending to settle the matter.

When Feng Yuan was brought in, his gaze first fell on Mu Hanjiang’s hands.

At that moment, Mu Hanjiang was stroking the mask with his long fingers, making Feng Yuan’s eyes grow increasingly dark.

Even if it was a mask once worn by the young lady, he didn’t want another man touching it.

Unfortunately, yesterday morning he had been too focused on beating Feng Qiting and had forgotten to crush the mask, preventing irrelevant hands from touching it endlessly!

Thinking of this, he concealed his gaze and bowed to Emperor Chunde in greeting.

Emperor Chunde waved his hand: “Go, apologize to Consort Shang, and then make amends to your Second Brother!”

Feng Yuan smiled sarcastically: “Them? They don’t deserve it!”

Hearing these words, Consort Shang’s cries became even more sorrowful: “Your Majesty, please don’t trouble the Crown Prince. Your concubine shouldn’t have bothered Your Majesty with the children’s affairs. It’s just that I remembered Your Majesty saying that I should pay some attention to the Crown Prince’s matters. But I am not His Highness’s birth mother, and some things still require Your Majesty’s intervention… As for that concubine…”

Although the Third Prince had diverted the conversation, Consort Shang persisted, trying to bring the topic back.

Her future daughter-in-law, Yao Shu, had seen that concubine at the Mu household and said the concubine looked exactly like she was cut from the same mold as the Crown Prince.

How could such a moral transgression be easily overlooked?

Just as Consort Shang was trying to lead the Emperor to summon the concubine, Feng Yuan coldly interrupted: “Your son recently learned about an old case—it turns out my madness years ago was caused by poisoning!”

At these words, Emperor Chunde was half-believing, half-doubting, unsure if Feng Yuan was having another delusional episode.

“What evidence do you have?”

Feng Yuan said solemnly, “This matter was thoroughly investigated by Young Master Mu, who informed your son. It would be more appropriate for Young Master Mu to explain.”

Mu Hanjiang’s expression subtly changed. That day, when he went to the prince’s mansion to apprehend Yan Xiaoying, he had indeed agreed with Prince Ruixiang to testify with his mother on the prince’s behalf.

The premise was that Prince Ruixiang would willingly give up Lady Xiaoying and have no further entanglement with this woman who impersonated the Crown Prince.

Prince Ruixiang had indeed released Xiaoying from the mansion as agreed, but Xiaoying had run away.

Strictly speaking, it was his failure to keep her secure, and he couldn’t blame Prince Ruixiang for not keeping his promise.

Moreover, his threat that day was only because he feared Feng Yuan wouldn’t release her, not because he truly intended to ignore the matter of his childhood friend being poisoned.

Thinking of this, Mu Hanjiang put the mask aside and gravely spoke about discovering traces of “Mashi San” poison in the Crown Prince’s body, and how someone had deliberately tried to make the Crown Prince go mad again by poisoning him.

“Your Majesty, if you don’t believe me, you can summon court physicians skilled in detecting poison to examine the Crown Prince’s body, and the truth will be clear.” Because the scent of the poison had triggered Feng Yuan’s symptoms again during the recent birthday banquet, an examination now would certainly yield results.

Emperor Chunde’s eyes grew wider as he listened. If Feng Yuan had been poisoned now, they could suspect someone outside the palace. But if he had been poisoned at age twelve, it had to be someone inside the palace.

And this person was still lurking in the palace, waiting for the right moment!

Realizing this, Emperor Chunde was both shocked and furious: “Who did this?”

Just as Mu Hanjiang was about to say the culprit hadn’t been identified, Feng Yuan said solemnly: “Your son suspects it was Consort Shang. That’s why, when I heard Feng Qiting call me a madman that day, I couldn’t control my anger and struck him…”

Consort Shang had never expected that her complaint today would unearth an old poisoning case, and hearing Feng Yuan accuse her without evidence, she immediately cried out in grievance: “Your concubine has been wronged! Why would I harm a child who had no support or reliance?”