Father, who is both a heir and a descendant, is still biased; the bound system has gone berserk.

"Your Highness, this humble woman pays her respects."

The old lady of the Marquis of Anqing bowed and said.

Her eyes gleamed like knives as she looked at the Crown Prince and said, "Your Highness, if my granddaughter has offended you, I am willing to take the punishment on her behalf."

The crown prince smiled, but his beautiful phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.

The Anqing Marquis's family has made outstanding contributions; both the old Anqing Marquis and his heir were heroes.

The Northern Xuan Kingdom was founded in just two generations, and the Marquis of Anqing's family were rightfully the founding heroes. It would be fair to say that their merits were second only to those of the Duke of Zhenguo's family.

It was precisely because of this reason that the old lady of the Marquis of Anqing dared to challenge the Crown Prince in this way.

The smile on the Crown Prince's face faded considerably. He said gently, "The old lady of the Marquis of Anqing is getting on in years. How can I punish you?"

Since the old lady of the Marquis of Anqing wants to plead for her granddaughter, I will naturally give you that face. After all, the old Marquis of Weiyuan and his son are both heroes of my Northern Xuan.

However, I must remind the old lady of the Marquis of Anqing that meritorious service is not a permanent get-out-of-jail-free card. The old lady should understand this, shouldn't she?"

The old lady of Anqing Marquis's pupils contracted. Was the Crown Prince warning her?

A chill ran through her heart.

If the Crown Prince says this, could it be that this is also His Majesty's intention?

When the old lady of Anqing Marquis came to her senses again, the Crown Prince and his entourage had already disappeared from her sight.

"Grandmother, what's wrong?" Xu Lingyi stepped forward and called out cautiously.

She was afraid that her grandmother would be angry with her after this ordeal.

Unexpectedly, after getting up, the old lady of Anqing Marquis slapped the middle-aged man across the face.

The loud slap left a five-finger mark on the middle-aged man's face.

"aunt!"

The middle-aged man exclaimed in disbelief.

The old lady of Anqing Marquis's eyes were practically filled with hatred, as if she wanted to stab him. She said fiercely, "I told you to get rid of those philandering habits, but you just wouldn't listen. You have to cause trouble!"

"Aunt, Cong'er knows he was wrong, please forgive Cong'er this time!" The middle-aged man knelt down and begged for forgiveness, fear flashing in his eyes.

He was genuinely scared.

I've never seen my aunt get so angry.

The old lady of the Marquis of Anqing stared coldly at him. "I told you to take Lingyi to visit Huangjue Temple. Did you do it properly?"

Huang Zicong instantly remembered the task his aunt had given him, and his face turned ashen.

"Aunt, Cong'er really knows he was wrong. Cong'er will definitely take Lingyi to visit Huangjue Temple properly. Aunt, don't worry, Cong'er will never provoke other women again."

He spoke with such sincerity that he was practically swearing an oath to the heavens.

Xu Lingyi stood timidly to the side and said, "Grandmother, Lingyi can stroll around by herself, there's no need for Uncle to trouble himself."

The old lady of Anqing Marquis looked at her, her expression immediately becoming kind. "Lingyi, you've just returned, you should be taken care of more. Let your cousin take care of you, be good."

The old lady of the Marquis of Anqing spoke gently, but Xu Lingyi dared not refute her at all.

She nodded hesitantly, "Yes, Lingyi understands. Lingyi will not cause trouble for Grandmother."

The old lady of Anqing Marquis didn't say anything more, but gave Huang Zicong a warning glare before leaving with her servants.

Only Huang Zicong, Xu Lingyi, and others remained.

Huang Zicong turned around and looked Xu Lingyi up and down with a gentle smile. "Lingyi, let's go. Your uncle will take you sightseeing."

Xu Lingyi forced a stiff smile, followed after him, and said, "Okay, thank you for your trouble, Uncle."

……

After leaving Huangjue Temple, Ying Yufu and her group did not immediately take a carriage to leave, but instead began to admire other scenery.

The scenery on the western hill outside Huangjue Temple is equally delightful, with vast expanses of red maple forests resembling a red sea, rippling with red waves when a gentle breeze blows.

"Let's go sit in that pavilion over there. Chong'er, go get some tea."

The prince's eyes lit up. "Fu'er, are you going to that pavilion to brew tea?"

Ying Yufu nodded, her eyes filled with reverence: "I heard that fifty years ago, the Hermit of Yunhai and Mr. Fan Huai were brewing tea and discussing Taoism in a pavilion on West Mountain, where they predicted that the Northern Mystery would appear in the world."

After that prophecy, the previous dynasty truly perished, and the Northern Xuan dynasty rose to power. The late emperor was a man of great stature, and no one could rival him.

A hint of hesitation flashed across the Crown Prince's face. Then he leaned close to Ying Yufu's ear and whispered, "Actually, it was Grandfather who deliberately made them say that."

At first, the two were unwilling, but the emperor's grandfather tricked them by saying that his beggar's chicken was especially fragrant and could not be tasted anywhere else, which lured them here.

When the two arrived, they found that the beggar's chicken prepared by the emperor's grandfather had a strong, fishy smell that made them want to vomit, and they realized that they had been tricked.

But since they had already deceived him, they could only cooperate with the emperor's grandfather in staging a play, all to create momentum for the Northern Xuan Army at the time.

In reality, the Northern Xuan Army did not have a guaranteed victory; they did this to strike at the enemy.

Ying Yufu: "..."

Ying Yufu stopped in anger, her eyes reddening, and glared at the Crown Prince.

The crown prince was taken aback, then panicked. "Fu'er, why are you glaring at me like that? I'm only telling the truth!"

"Who asked you to tell the truth! Waaaaah!"

"Fu'er!" the prince exclaimed in surprise.

What's wrong with the little girl?

He lifted his foot to chase after him.

Shangguan Tang suppressed a laugh and stopped him, saying, "Don't worry, Fu'er just can't accept it for a while."

From a young age, she admired Yunhai Jushi and Mr. Fan Huai, and she especially enjoyed reading their various legendary stories with the late emperor.

Therefore, what you just said may have surprised Fu'er's understanding of them.

Ying Yufu's mind was filled with the idea that Yunhai Jushi and Mr. Fan Huai were actually two foodies who were easily fooled by the late emperor.

The late emperor was not a wise and powerful ruler, but a great liar who knew how to deceive people.

That's even less reliable than stealing someone's underwear back in the day.

[Host, it's just that your idol's career has collapsed, it's no big deal.]

Xiao Dian comforted him.

Ying Yufu didn't care what this had to do with the house collapsing. All she knew was that the lofty images of the late emperor, Yunhai Jushi, and Mr. Fan Huai in her mind were completely destroyed.

She lost all interest in brewing tea in the pavilion and decided to turn back and go home.

I lifted my foot and tried to walk forward, but I didn't move.

I tried to move it, but it still wouldn't budge.

My ankle is being strangled by something.

Ying Yufu felt a chill run down her spine. She slowly looked down and saw that her right ankle was being gripped tightly by a blood-red hand.

Faint conversations could be heard from not far away.

"Mother is getting more and more confused. She insists that Xu Lingyi is her biological granddaughter. Anyone with eyes can see that Ningxiang looks so much like her brother and sister-in-law."

The woman said with a sigh.

The man said, "It's been so many days, and Ningxiang's body still hasn't been found. Could it be that she was eaten by wild animals?"

I heard that a wild boar just appeared on the hill behind the village; I wonder if it's true.

"Wild boar?" The woman's voice trembled slightly.

"My lord, perhaps we should stop searching. What good will finding a corpse do?"

"Nonsense, we must find Ningxiang's body, otherwise..."