His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

"Why are you only arriving now?" Mu Yuan asked slowly, his tone indifferent.

Lin Xueshang crossed her arms and leaned against the cell door, saying, "This is a prison. If they don't come in the middle of the night, do they think they can break in during the day?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuan was left speechless, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

His sixth sister-in-law seemed aloof and taciturn, but sometimes her words could really leave people speechless.

"Have you found any clues?" Mu Yuan asked.

Lin Xueshang sighed and said, "We sent out several teams to investigate, but they all came up empty-handed."

Hearing Lin Xueshang's answer, Mu Yuan remained calm. After all, the information he received from Zhu Zhu indicated that no third person was present when Feng Zhong found Lan Que that day.

Without eyewitnesses, there is naturally no way to investigate.

Secondly, Lan Que gave Feng Zhong poison, and before taking the poison, Feng Zhong threw the bottle on his way back to the Xifu Army's camp.

As a result, the evidence is missing.

There were neither eyewitnesses nor physical evidence.

I want to investigate.

There was simply no way to begin.

Fortunately, among the information Zhu Zhu had given him earlier, Mu Yuan had caught the most crucial clue: the medicine bottle that Feng Zhong had thrown away.

The only way to clear his name now is to find the medicine bottle that Feng Zhong threw away.

Afterwards, a coroner will be called in to perform an autopsy.

This would prove that Feng Zhong died from poisoning.

It wasn't Mu Yuan who killed him.

"I do have some clues here; you can try to follow them." Mu Yuan raised his head and looked at Lin Xueshang.

Lin Xueshang's expression changed slightly, and she said:

Tell me about it.

"Before Feng Zhong died, he met with Lan Que in private. Lan Que gave him a bottle of poison. Feng Zhong threw the bottle away on his way back to the Xifu Army's camp. Now, if we can find the bottle that Feng Zhong threw away before he died, we can clear my name!"

A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Xueshang's eyes. She was very curious as to how Mu Yuan, who was in prison, had obtained these clues.

She initially wanted to ask more questions, but then she changed her mind and gave up on the idea.

Saving Mu Yuan is the most important thing right now.

Other matters can be put aside for now.

"I'll take care of it right away."

Lin Xueshang readily agreed and followed Mu Yuan's instructions.

She had just turned to leave when she immediately remembered that Mu Yuan was in prison and it wasn't safe for him, so she asked, "Do you need someone to protect you secretly?"

"Need not."

Mu Yuan waved his hand in refusal.

He voluntarily came to the prison, so neither Prince Ning, Zhu Zheng, nor Lan Que would be foolish enough to send someone to assassinate him.

If Mu Yuan is assassinated here, wouldn't that be showing outsiders that he didn't kill Feng Zhong, and that the murderer is someone else?

At least, until things settle down.

He has no need to worry about his safety in this prison.

The following days.

Mu Yuan lived a peaceful life in prison.

His identity and status already distinguished him from the other prisoners in the jail.

Every day, the jailer would specially prepare fish and meat, as well as fine wine and spirits. Without having to worry about hard work, Mu Yuan turned prison into a pleasure.

This made the other prisoners in the cell extremely envious.

Every day in the middle of the night.

Lin Xueshang would sneak into the prison to report the situation to Mu Yuan.

However, several days passed without any further news regarding the search for the medicine bottle.

After all, Feng Zhong threw away the medicine bottle on his way back to the Xifu Army's garrison, and Lan Que's residence was dozens of miles away from the Xifu Army's garrison.

This long stretch of road is flanked by bushes, forests, and a fast-flowing river.

Even if you throw it into the bushes, finding a medicine bottle would be incredibly difficult.

Not to mention mountains, forests, and rivers.

If the animal were to be thrown into the mountains or rivers, searching the area would require a huge amount of manpower and resources. Doing so would undoubtedly alert the enemy.

Prince Ning and Lan Que, having gotten wind of this, will surely try to sabotage it.

If you throw it into the river, given the current and the fact that the medicine bottle will sink to the bottom and be buried by the sand, finding it would be as difficult as a celestial being descending to earth.

"Could it be that we're really going to fail this time?"

The medicine bottle was a crucial clue for turning the tables and clearing his name. After several days of fruitless searching, Mu Yuan felt a sense of despair.

Even though he knew he had been framed by Lan Que.

But these words are said to others.

But who would believe that?

"According to the information I've gathered, the imperial court has already sent people to the southwest, and they should arrive the day after tomorrow." Lin Xueshang brought Mu Yuan even worse news.

Mu Yuan frowned, his expression becoming very serious.

The imperial court already intended to suppress the Mu family, so the people they sent this time were certainly not to be trifled with.

The crucial clue—the medicine bottle—has also disappeared.

If the medicine bottle cannot be found before the arrival of the court officials, he will have no chance to clear his name or exonerate himself.

Lin Xueshang noticed Mu Yuan's unusual emotions and said:

"How about... I rescue you now?"

"And then?" Mu Yuan looked at her and asked in return.

Lin Xueshang offered her suggestion: "Then return to the Western Army and continue living as before. With nearly 200,000 Western Army soldiers, the imperial court would certainly not dare to act rashly."

After listening to Lin Xueshang's advice, Mu Yuan showed a bitter smile.

"The imperial court is just looking for a reason to bring down the Mu family and seize military power in the Western Army. Now that you've rescued me, isn't that exactly the reason the court has to bring down the Mu family and seize military power?"

Lin Xueshang fell silent.

They also realized that Mu Yuan's current situation was almost a matter of life and death.

"By the way, how much does the old lady know about my affairs?"

Mu Yuan thought of Old Madam Mu and couldn't help but worry that she wouldn't be able to bear it if she knew he was imprisoned, after all, she was quite old.

Lin Xueshang truthfully reported:

"My sister-in-law had previously given orders that no one in the household was allowed to reveal any information about you being in prison. The matriarch doesn't usually go out, so she probably doesn't know about your situation yet."

"That's good." Mu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Increase the search efforts these next few days. We must find the medicine bottle that Feng Zhong threw away before he died, before the imperial officials arrive!"

Lin Xueshang nodded in agreement, but then, still somewhat worried, she asked:

"What if we can't find it by then?"

This time, it was Mu Yuan's turn to remain silent.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Lin Xueshang didn't press him further and turned to leave.

At the same time, Lin Xueshang made up her mind.

If the imperial court's people come to the southwest and still can't find the crucial medicine bottle, she will do everything in her power to rescue Mu Yuan from prison.

The days passed by.

In the blink of an eye.

Officials sent by the imperial court to investigate the cause of Feng Zhong's death also arrived in the southwest.

The Governor's Hall.

Mu Yuan was brought here.

Besides familiar faces such as Governor Ma Chengwu, Prince Ning Zhu Zheng, and Lan Que, there were also two unfamiliar faces.

An elderly man with gray hair and sharp eyes, and a middle-aged man who gave off a sinister and scheming air.

The old man looked Mu Yuan up and down and said:

"You are the heir of the Mu family of the Prince of Xiping, and also the commander-in-chief of the Western Army?"