Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

Zang Lan took Gui Yao to his study.

As soon as the door closed, he asked, "What did she say to you?"

"I cannot tell the adults; if they want to know, they can ask her themselves."

Gui Yao sat down opposite him. "But sir, could you tell me what you know about her family?"

Why should I tell you?

Cang Lan stared sharply at Gui Yao, "What do you want to gain by interfering in this matter?"

She's timid and has never done anything wrong; she just occasionally makes a few silly mistakes. Don't bother her.

He was really afraid that foolish woman would use him and Gui Yao as a bargaining chip.

"Since you care about her and want her to get better, you must tell me the truth."

Gui Yao stared at him. "Those things about her family, weren't you involved?"

After getting to know her, I found that Madam Zang was not a woman of deep cunning, but Zang Lan was no ordinary person to have risen from the countryside to the capital and become the Prefect of Jingzhao in his early thirties.

He couldn't possibly be completely unaware of what was going on with his wife's family.

Zang Lan suddenly looked up at the woman in front of her.

Today, Gui Yao wore a tassel hat, concealing her true face, so Cang Lan couldn't see her eyes clearly.

But for some reason, he felt that the woman in front of him knew everything.

"Can you really make her better?"

He asked Gui Yao, as if he wanted a promise.

Gui Yao nodded, "If you truly wish her to recover, I can make her recover."

But in reality, Lady Zang is already Gui Yao's employer, and no matter what Lord Zang's attitude is, Gui Yao will protect her.

I said this simply to see Zang Lan's true feelings.

Zang Lan did not disappoint her.

He stood up, walked to her, and bent down on both knees, pleading, "Please save her."

Gui Yao took out a folding fan from his sleeve and used it to support his knees.

"Lord Zang is willing to kneel before me, a commoner, for his wife. I see your sincerity."

With a firm pull, Gui Yao sent the kneeling man back to the armchair.

Gui Yao stopped arguing and asked, "Did her mother really die suddenly from a serious illness?"

Zang Lan nodded, "Yes, but it wasn't sudden. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with an incurable disease a long time ago, but we just kept it from her."

Gui Yao nodded slowly.

It wasn't influenced by having sex.

"Then what about her sister being jilted at marriage, her brother losing his official position, her younger brother breaking his leg, and her brother-in-law changing his mind?"

Zang Lan clenched his fist and coughed lightly. "My brother-in-law has been acting improperly. I felt he was no longer fit to receive a government salary, so I took some measures to keep him away from officialdom."

The younger sister's engagement was called off because the other party sensed that her brother-in-law had problems and didn't want to be implicated.

My brother-in-law broke his leg because he was playing around. My brother-in-law's affair has nothing to do with me. He's been keeping someone else for a long time and no longer hides it because his wife's family is weak and he no longer needs to be afraid.

"Inappropriate actions?"

Gui Yao pondered these words, his eyes turning slightly cold. "Did the Ji family secretly trade salt when they were officials?"

"you……"

Zang Lan was so startled that she stood up from her chair. "Who are you?"

How did you know this secret?

Selling contraband salt is a capital offense. If Gui Yao, an outsider, were to expose this, and his wife's family were to be in trouble, she, who cares so much about her family, would probably not survive.

That's what he thought of when he lost his brother-in-law's official position. Without the position, the offenses he committed would be less serious.

Zang Lan was visibly anxious, no longer displaying the composure he had shown during the previous trial.

Gui Yao gestured for him to sit down, saying, "I'm not anyone's person; it was your wife who told me."

How could someone who cares so much for his wife possibly have any other thoughts?

Gui Yao shook his head secretly. "Lord Zang, have you ever told your wife that you care about her or anything like that?"

Upon learning that it was his wife who told him, Zang Lan became even more nervous.

His wife is incredibly naive and easily fooled; what if she's being used by someone...?

Just as I was worrying, I heard Gui Yao ask this question.

For a moment he was confused, then he hurriedly asked, "Did my wife say anything to you?"

Gui Yao nodded. "Yes, she said that the master doesn't love her, that he has fallen for someone else, and now all he sees are other women."

The lady was heartbroken, she cried buckets of tears, and felt hopeless about living…

"Where did this happen?"

Zang Lan jumped up again in a panic, "When have I ever had another woman...?"

If the old house really caught fire, they immediately went outside.

He needs to talk to his wife and make things clear.

Suddenly, he stopped.

His wife must have seen something and misunderstood him.

However, the most urgent task is to save the lady's life.

As long as his wife survives, there will be plenty of time in the future for him to let her know that she is the only one he loves.

He couldn't abandon Gui Yao, so he turned back into the house and sat down. "There are no other women, only her."

"Do you know that your wife has always believed that her family's decline was caused by her?"

Gui Yao leaned forward slightly, "Because she shared a room with you at her parents' home. When a son-in-law sleeps in a bed, the family's fortunes suffer."

Her family also blamed her for the family's misfortunes and used this as leverage to force her to let you help her family.

She hopes you will be a good official and doesn't want to implicate you, putting her in a difficult position between you two.

"I have no idea."

Zang Lan clenched her fists tightly. "How dare they lie to her like this?"

He had already protected his wife's family for her sake, and he was no longer a good official.

Gui Yao glanced at him and sighed softly, "Lord Zang, mouths are for speaking."

It's not just about eating and kissing.

The couple clearly cared for each other, yet they stubbornly refused to say a word.

Zang Lan covered her face in anguish, "So that's why she committed suicide."

Did Madam Zang commit suicide?

Gui Yao frowned. "Could you take me to see it?"

Madam Zang said that she was not willing to die.

Her soul has now left her body, and she can only be seen by Zang Lan, which shows how much she misses Zang Lan.

Having handled cases for many years, Zang Lan keenly noticed the difference in Gui Yao's tone and immediately stood up, saying, "Please come with me."

Gui Yao saw Madam Zang in Zang Lan's courtyard. She was lying on the bed, unconscious, with a deep bruise on her neck.

Following her gaze, Zang Lan also looked at Madam Zang's neck. "It's been four days. I've been applying medicine to her every day, but the marks haven't completely disappeared yet."

The marks haven't faded after all this time, which shows how deep they were. "If I hadn't gotten home early that day and saved her in time..."

He lost her completely.

Gui Yao checked her breathing; it was weak, but there was breath.

but.

"If she doesn't come back to life within three days, she'll really die."

"Please, young lady, save her."

Gui Yao lifted Madam Zang's eyelids, then examined her fingernails and body...

Seeing that she was about to undress his wife, Zang Lan quickly asked, "What do you suspect? There's nothing wrong with her."

He washed her body and changed her clothes every day, and found no problems.

"The soul will not leave the body until the person has breathed their last."

Upon hearing this, Gui Yao turned to look at Madam Zang's hair, "Madam, this is very unusual."

"I haven't had a chance to wash her hair these past few days."

Zang Lan also squatted down to help Gui Yao with the check.

The next instant, Gui Yao pulled a needle as thin as a cow's hair from the top of Madam Zang's head.

Zang Lan was greatly alarmed, "What is this?"

Three words immediately popped into Gui Yao's mind: "Soul-Capturing Needle".

She held the needle up to her eyes, and as she looked at it, memories of the Soul-Capturing Needle kept flashing through her mind.

"The needle is imbued with an evil curse. Once inserted, it can invade the other person's consciousness, implant subconscious commands, and then seal away the memory of being manipulated afterward."

"Are you saying my wife didn't commit suicide, but was manipulated by someone?"

Gui Yao nodded and then told Zang Lan about the conversations between Madam Zang and her on the two occasions.

"The Soul-Capturing Needle rarely fails. Even if you save her once, she will try to kill herself a second time."

The reason Madam Zang is still alive is probably because she can't bear to part with Lord Zang; when a person has something to care about, their will becomes very strong.

Even with such power that his soul broke through his body, he still sought out the Xuanji Tower to protect Canglan.

A thought suddenly flashed through Gui Yao's mind: sleeping with the prince wasn't entirely useless; at least she had no memory of the Soul-Capturing Needle before.

But the thought only lasted a moment before she regained her composure.

"It's all my fault."

Zang Lan held his wife's hand, his lips trembling, "I thought it was for her own good to keep her from knowing about her family's dirty secrets."

Gui Yao looked at her and asked, "Do you know who did it?"

Zang Lan nodded. "Actually, I was drugged that night. I pestered her, and that's why she did it to me and then drugged me..."

After a pause, hatred flashed in Cang Lan's eyes. "She's her own sister, my sister-in-law."