Cheng Maoming’s eyes were glued to the painting: “This is that Mister Fox?”

He looked quite unremarkable.

Minister Shen at the side reminded: “This is a face after disguise, not his true appearance.”

Cheng Maoming shot Minister Shen a glance, his voice carrying slight dissatisfaction: “I know.”

Did the villain’s exact words need this old man’s reminder? Making Prince Jing’s heir think he wasn’t sharp.

Minister Shen: “…” What was with Grand Commander Cheng’s sudden pettiness?

Qi Shuo looked at the person in the portrait and spoke: “Although this may be his appearance after disguise, it’s not without value. That kind of mask as thin as a cicada’s wing completely conforms to a person’s face shape. If he used the same kind of mask, the face shape should be like this.”

Lin Hao stared fixedly at the portrait, her heart far from as calm as her surface.

She had actually seen this person!

During those days following Daoist Master Mingxin, she had been closest to Emperor Pingle. Although those people were highly guarded against her, she couldn’t help but live at the center of the whirlpool—there were always occasions when she would see certain people or hear about certain matters.

This person was one she had happened to see together with Emperor Pingle.

Though she had only seen him that once, he left a deep impression because of Emperor Pingle’s courteous treatment toward him.

So this person was Mister Fox.

Thinking about it now, no wonder Emperor Pingle had been so polite to this person. A disguise expert who could create exquisitely crafted masks—his value was immeasurable, and recent events undoubtedly proved this point.

She dared to confirm that substitutions crafted by Mister Fox’s hand were definitely not limited to just these few instances.

Thinking this, Lin Hao reached out her hand, hovering it above the scroll.

“Second Miss Lin?” Cheng Maoming was puzzled by Lin Hao’s action.

“Look at the lower half of this person’s face—isn’t it similar to the person we sketched that time?”

Cheng Maoming raised an eyebrow: “Now that Second Miss Lin mentions it, it really is. Heir, you kept that portrait from back then, right?”

“Mm.”

“Which time?” Minister Shen asked in complete confusion.

Why were these three speaking in riddles?

Cheng Maoming glanced at him, his tone somewhat smug: “The person who gave the mask to the Jade Glaze maidservant. At that time, the heir listened to the gardener’s description and drew a man wearing a conical hat, but unfortunately the face wasn’t visible.”

Minister Shen’s eyes brightened slightly: “If these two people are the same person, we can confirm this villain is a remnant of the previous dynasty.”

“Heir, you still have that portrait?”

“I do.” Qi Shuo sent a young servant back to the prince’s mansion to retrieve the portrait.

He still remembered every sentence of the gardener’s description and could paint it now if needed, but after all, some time had passed, and this was no small matter—no need to be presumptuous.

The portrait was quickly retrieved and laid out on the table side by side with the newly painted one.

After carefully comparing them, everyone reached the same conclusion: at least the face shapes were identical.

“This person can change his appearance at any time. With just this information, finding him will be harder than reaching the heavens.” Minister Shen sighed.

“Let’s first enter the palace to report to His Majesty.”

Hearing Cheng Maoming say this, Qi Shuo then said: “Then we’ll head back first.”

“We’ve troubled the heir again today.” Cheng Maoming clasped his hands.

On the way out together, he hesitated to speak several times, glancing at Minister Shen before holding back.

He really wanted to tell the heir about the interrogation results, but it wasn’t very convenient with Minister Shen present. Forget it, he’d talk when he returned.

On the way back, Lin Hao’s dark brows knitted slightly as she told Qi Shuo her discovery: “A’Shuo, I’ve seen this Mister Fox once. He should be a very important person on Emperor Pingle’s side.”

Qi Shuo’s steps paused: “So this is the face he most commonly uses in front of people he trusts, perhaps even his true appearance.”

Lin Hao nodded slightly: “This possibility is extremely high, but now that the person who poisoned the Crown Prince has been caught, he’ll certainly change his appearance once he hears the news.”

The cool breeze struck his face, making Qi Shuo’s mind even clearer: “This person has at least two faces in the capital. The appearance he shows to ordinary people should be different, and he must have a reliable identity that can evade inspection by officials from all quarters.”

After walking in silence for some distance, Lin Hao brought up Cheng Maoming and Minister Shen who had entered the palace: “It wasn’t appropriate to ask too much with Minister Shen present. I wonder if Yang Zhe’s suspicion has been cleared.”

Regarding the Crown Prince’s matter, appearing too curious wouldn’t be appropriate.

“Grand Commander Cheng will tell us later.” Thinking of Cheng Maoming’s hesitation to speak, Qi Shuo curved his lips.

As they spoke, they arrived at the entrance. Lin Hao waved her hand: “I’m going in. Remember to tell me if there are new developments.”

Qi Shuo nodded, watching Lin Hao hurry into the General’s Mansion, sighing softly in his heart.

Originally, his and A’Hao’s wedding date had arrived, but the Crown Prince’s death meant everything had to be postponed.

And what weighed even more heavily on his heart were the problems and impacts brought by the Crown Prince’s death.

He turned his head to glance northward, then raised his feet and walked into the prince’s mansion.

Without needing Cheng Maoming to speak, Lin Hao soon learned the result. Shortly after Cheng Maoming and Minister Shen entered the palace to report, several people including Yang Zhe were released, which undoubtedly told the world they were innocent.

Of course, His Majesty’s thoughts toward these people were hard to say. The Crown Prince had met with mishap while drinking with these people. There was an emotion called displaced anger—everyone understood.

In any case, in the hearts of all the officials and nobles, these people’s careers were finished.

In the General’s Mansion, Lady Lin was in very good spirits: “As long as he’s safe, that’s what matters. Having a career is icing on the cake, but not having one won’t mean starvation.”

What she cared about naturally was her son-in-law Han Baocheng.

During the days Han Baocheng was held at Jinlin Guard, the General’s Mansion had sent people running to Jinlin Guard no fewer times than the Minister’s Mansion. Lin Hao had even made a trip to the Minister’s Mansion to visit Lin Chan.

“A’Hao just went to the Minister’s Mansion. Today, let’s have the steward make the trip.” The Old Madam also had a smile at the corners of her mouth.

Lady Lin had no objection and said with a chuckle: “Then have the steward bring more gifts to help calm my son-in-law’s nerves.”

The Old Madam nodded, then thought of Wen Feng: “That child is quite good. No matter what, he’s still A’Hao and the others’ cousin. We should also arrange for someone to go see him.”

Lady Lin instinctively frowned.

She actually quite liked that child Wen Feng, but mentioning anyone surnamed Wen made her instinctively think of that ungrateful wretch.

“Grandmother, Mother, I’ll go.” Lin Hao proactively took on the task.

Her cousin had quite a bit of contact with Yang Zhe. She wanted to chat with her cousin about this top scholar who always seemed to be caught up in storms.

Lin Hao brought consolation gifts and went to Wen Feng’s residence.

In the capital where every inch of land was worth gold, someone like Wen Feng naturally couldn’t afford to buy property. He rented a small courtyard in a decent location in the western district.

The carriage stopped by the roadside. Lin Hao walked to a doorway and knocked.

“Who is it?” The gatekeeper pulled open the door.

This was Lin Hao’s first time coming. She smiled politely at the gatekeeper: “I’m Second Miss Lin from the Lin family. I heard my cousin has returned and came to see him.”

The gatekeeper understood the situation between the Lin and Wen families to some extent. Hearing Lin Hao identify herself, he didn’t dare be negligent and hurried to announce her.