Xin’an’s expression stiffened. Ever since she had killed Yang You, she hadn’t slept peacefully. She often woke in the middle of the night, dreaming of Yang You covered in blood coming to claim her life. For this, she had even specially asked Luli to go to a temple to obtain a protective charm to wear, but she still couldn’t sleep soundly. Killing someone with her own hands… was indeed a first time for her.

Xin’an snorted coldly, “Everyone knows that the person who killed His Majesty was Li Shimin. Even if you speak with golden tongues, you cannot change this fact. Previously in Luoyang, when those common people spread rumors that Seventh Sister brought misfortune to her husbands, I didn’t believe it and thought they were speaking nonsense. Now it seems it’s true. Zheng Yang died, Cui Ji died, and now even Li Shimin is about to die.” Speaking to this point, she said with a half-smile, “Counting it all up, wedding preparations were made for you three times, yet you never married. How truly interesting. When this is recorded in the history books, do you think future generations will laugh every time they read it?”

Seeing her constantly pouring salt on Yunyi’s wounds, Ruyi couldn’t help but retort sarcastically, “That’s still better than being cursed as fickle and promiscuous!”

“Audacious!” Xin’an raised her palm to strike, but Yunyi grasped her wrist, saying expressionlessly, “As long as I draw breath, you will not rule in Mingse Hall!”

Xin’an stared at her for a long while, then laughed in fury, “Good, I’ll see how many more days you can be proud, and how many more days you can protect these two!”

Once the Prince of Tang ascended the throne and Li Jiancheng became Crown Prince, the first thing she would have him do was depose Yunyi from her position as Grand Princess and have her tortured to death. Let’s see how she could oppose her then!

Before leaving, Xin’an leaned close to Yunyi’s ear and said in a voice only they could hear, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been doing in secret. Monitoring me? Ha! Even if you monitored me for a year and a half, so what? You’ll never catch me!”

After saying this, Xin’an departed triumphantly. After she left Mingse Hall, Jixiang remembered the earlier matter and knelt to bid farewell to Yunyi. But before she could speak, Yunyi said, “You don’t need to go see the Prince of Tang.”

Jixiang said with a bitter voice, “This servant knows the Princess is benevolent and doesn’t want this servant to die in vain, but now Princess Xin’an is so arrogant. If Second Young Master dies, there will be no one left to protect the Princess. Who knows what methods she might use to harm the Princess then, so… Second Young Master absolutely cannot be harmed.”

Over there, Ruyi also knelt down, “Let this servant go instead.”

Yunyi helped both of them up, “I understand your devoted hearts. Rest assured, I’ve already thought of a way to prove Shimin’s innocence, so Shimin will be fine, and you will be fine too!”

Hearing this, Ruyi and Jixiang were both shocked and delighted, saying incredulously, “Princess, you… truly thought of a method?”

Jixiang also said, “Princess, weren’t you just at a complete loss? How do you suddenly have a solution? You’re not deceiving us, are you?”

Yunyi laughed lightly, “What a silly girl. Why would I deceive you for no reason? I truly do have a method now.”

Since Li Shimin had been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice prison, this was the first time Ruyi and the others had seen Yunyi smile. Unless she had gone mad, she truly had found a solution. Looking at Yunyi’s composed manner of speaking, it was undoubtedly the latter.

Thinking of this, the two were overjoyed and eagerly asked Yunyi what method she had found. Yunyi smiled, “You’ll know when the time comes. First, go invite the Prince of Tang here.”

Jixiang nodded repeatedly, “This servant will go immediately.”

When Li Yuan received Jixiang’s message, his heart was filled with excitement. Although he could use the feigned death medicine to preserve Li Shimin’s life, it was still a desperate last resort. How could it compare to an innocent release?

Li Jiancheng was also there, but his mood was exactly opposite to Li Yuan’s. If she truly could prove that the killer was not Li Shimin, then not only would all his careful arrangements be wasted, but he would also be in danger. He just couldn’t understand how, when he had arranged everything so perfectly, Yunyi had found evidence.

“Has the Princess truly found evidence? What is it?” Li Yuan’s voice startled Li Jiancheng from his contemplation, and he followed up, “That’s right, what evidence has the Princess found?”

“This servant is also unclear. The Princess said she could only speak after seeing the Prince of Tang.” As soon as Jixiang finished speaking, Li Yuan said to a servant waiting nearby, “Quickly prepare horses. This King must enter the palace.”

Before the servant could respond, Li Jiancheng also spoke, “Prepare an extra horse. I’m also entering the palace.”

The servant acknowledged and quickly departed. Soon the horses were ready. After ordering another carriage to escort Jixiang back to the palace, Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng mounted their horses and quickly headed to Daxing Palace.

Upon arriving at Mingse Hall, Yunyi was speaking with Imperial Physician Li. Li Yuan hurriedly performed a bow and said impatiently, “This subject heard that the Princess has found evidence proving His Majesty was not killed by Shimin. Where is this evidence?”

Yunyi rose and said slowly, “That day, the killer lured His Majesty here, then stabbed him to death with a dagger. The killer was very cautious, taking my clothes to cover themselves—first to avoid being splattered with blood, and second to frame me. Surely the Prince of Tang remembers all this.”

Li Yuan nodded, “Indeed, but what of it?”

“Although the clothes could block most of the blood, the hand holding the dagger would still have been splattered with some. As long as we investigate based on this, we can find out who truly wielded the blade.”

Hearing her words, Li Jiancheng secretly relaxed, saying aloud, “If this method had been used immediately after His Majesty was murdered, it might have worked. But now over ten days have passed. Even if there was blood on someone’s hands, it would have been washed clean long ago. How could we investigate?”

Li Yuan had come full of hope, but hearing such an utterly unreliable plan was like having cold water poured over his head, leaving him greatly disappointed. His expression immediately darkened as he said coldly, “The Princess’s so-called method simply won’t work.”

Yunyi smiled, “While blood on hands can indeed be washed away, what about blood on sleeve cuffs or ornaments? Surely many people would carelessly overlook such things.”

Her words made Li Yuan’s brow twitch, “The Princess means the killer might have blood on them without knowing it?”

“Exactly.” With these words, Yunyi raised her sleeve, pointing to a spot on the cuff, “This garment is what I wore the day His Majesty was murdered. Because I had touched His Majesty, the cuff was stained with some blood. But when Ruyi and the others took it to the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau for cleaning, they overlooked these blood spots and failed to wash them away. It was seeing the blood stains remaining on the cuff that gave me this idea.”

Ruyi frowned secretly from the side. This garment was clearly one the Princess had her fetch to change into only after Jixiang had left. It couldn’t possibly be as she described. As for the blood on the sleeve, it wasn’t His Majesty’s at all, but what the Princess had put there herself. Why… why was the Princess deceiving the Prince of Tang?

Li Yuan examined the blood stains on Yunyi’s sleeve carefully, his eyes beginning to show hope again, “So the Princess means to examine everyone who was in the palace that night for blood stains?”

“Not everyone,” Yunyi said with a slight smile, “just those who had the opportunity to commit the crime.”

Li Jiancheng felt increasingly uneasy, “But Princess, even if we find blood stains, how can we prove they belong to His Majesty and not from some other source?”

“That’s simple,” Yunyi gestured to Imperial Physician Li, “Imperial Physician Li has been studying the properties of blood. He can determine whether blood stains belong to the same person.”

Imperial Physician Li stepped forward and bowed, “Your Highness, this humble physician has indeed been researching such methods. While not infallible, there is considerable accuracy in determining if blood samples come from the same source.”

Li Yuan’s excitement grew, “Excellent! Princess, who do you suspect?”

Yunyi’s gaze swept over Li Jiancheng, then settled on a point beyond him, “I suspect… Princess Xin’an.”

“What?” Li Jiancheng exclaimed in shock, “Why would you suspect Princess Xin’an?”

Yunyi’s voice was calm but firm, “She was in the palace that night, had access to my chambers, and most importantly…” She paused, then continued, “She’s been wearing the same gold bracelet for days now. For someone who usually loves novelty, this is highly unusual. I believe she’s afraid to take it off because it has blood stains that would be discovered.”

Li Yuan’s eyes lit up with understanding, “Princess, you mean…”

“I mean we should examine Princess Xin’an’s bracelet immediately. If it contains His Majesty’s blood, then we’ll have our killer.”

The room fell silent as everyone absorbed the implications of Yunyi’s words. Li Jiancheng’s face had gone pale, but Li Yuan was already moving toward the door.

“Guards!” Li Yuan called out, “Summon Princess Xin’an immediately!”

As they waited, Yunyi caught Ruyi’s questioning gaze and gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Whatever her true plan was, she wasn’t ready to reveal it yet. But for the first time in days, there was real hope in her eyes.