With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

Sun Huaiyi of the Dali Temple was drenched in cold sweat.

Now he understood completely: Prince Liang had set this trap today specifically for the physician from Prince Jing'an's residence. If Prince Jing'an's residence harbored this person, it would be a crime of protecting a criminal; if they handed him over in public, it would be like cutting off their own arm. And he, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was the sharpened blade in Prince Liang's hand. Had he known today would be so dangerous, he would never have come under any circumstances.

As if suddenly remembering something, Prince Liang turned his face casually to Pei Jinxuan and said, "Prince Jing'an, the physician in the manor just now seems to also be surnamed Lin, with the given name Ci. He is fair-skinned and aloof, and no more than twenty years old, which matches the description given by the people below."

Pei Jinxuan sighed, raised his hand to rub his temples, and his weary expression clearly said: Your trap was set too crudely.

"What does the Imperial Uncle mean?"

Pei Jinxuan decided to play along.

King Liang frankly said, "Why not invite that lady out and confront her in court to clear her name?"

"The physician I invited is completely innocent, why should he need to testify?" Pei Jinxuan smiled slightly, turning to Sun Huaiyi, "Lord Sun, the aggrieved party has a complaint, which must be investigated; if there aren't enough witnesses, issuing warrants and going through official channels is the authority of the Dali Temple. But if you bring someone in for questioning based solely on a word from the judge, if word gets out, will people say that Lord Sun doesn't know how to handle cases, or that the Jing'an Prince's Mansion is too lenient?"

Sun Huaiyi was already covered in sweat. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, Your Highness is right."

Pei Jinxuan said, "How about this? Zhao Fugui, you go back first. Once the Dali Temple has clarified the case, they will give you an explanation."

"Go back?" Zhao Fugui glanced furtively at Prince Liang, then suddenly raised his voice, "But this lord clearly said there's a woman named Lin Ci in the manor! Since she's here, why can't this humble subject see her? Does this grand Jing'an Prince's manor really intend to harbor an arsonist? No wonder someone wanted to kill me. I was wondering which important figure I'd offended, and now I understand—it's all a den of snakes and rats!"

"Insolence!" Prince Liang slammed his hand on the table, his dark blue eyes widening in shock. His voice, like muffled thunder, boomed overhead. "What do you take the Jing'an Prince's residence for? The Jing'an Prince is the younger brother of the Yan Emperor, a true gentleman! How dare you, a mere ruffian, spout such nonsense here! Censor Zhao from the Censorate is also present today. As an official responsible for remonstrating, he is always upright and never favors anyone. Your words clearly demonstrate that you are judging a gentleman by the standards of a petty person!"

Zhao Duan, feeling elevated by these words, nodded solemnly and said, "Indeed. I am paid by the court and speak on behalf of His Majesty. If there is any injustice, I will certainly investigate and clarify the facts, and record them truthfully. I will never be biased."

Sun Huaiyi broke out in a cold sweat again; even in this freezing weather, his undershirt was almost soaked through.

These people, so high and mighty, are all using him as a pawn. He wiped his sweat again and looked at Pei Jinxuan.

Pei Jinxuan slowly finished the last sip of tea and gently placed the teacup on the table. Her peach blossom eyes curved into a captivating smile.

"Since the Imperial Uncle has said so," he raised his eyes, his gaze slowly sweeping across the faces of everyone in the hall, finally landing on Prince Liang's face, "then please invite Lady Lin out."

Pei Jinxuan clapped three times.

The steward appeared silently from the side, walked to his side, and leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"Please invite Madam Lin out." Pei Jinxuan spoke softly, but everyone present heard him clearly.

"Zhao Fugui," kneeling on the ground, glanced at King Liang. King Liang nodded slightly, a smile involuntarily appearing on his lips.

Zhao Fugui felt more confident and straightened his back a bit. His answer just now had pleased the prince, so he needed to work even harder later.

After a moment, a slender figure emerged from behind the screen, wearing a frosty-colored cross-collar jacket with a dark floral pattern embroidered on the collar, and adorned with only a white jade hairpin in her hair. She walked with her head slightly lowered, her figure as delicate as a willow swaying in the breeze.

Zhao Fugui's eyes lit up, and he quickly pointed and shouted, "It's her! That's right, it's her!"

Everyone was surprised and turned to look.

At this moment, the woman raised her head. The same attire, but a different face; it was clearly not Lin Ci.

King Liang's eyes widened suddenly. He was about to give "Zhao Fugui" a wink when a maid came over to add tea. Her hand trembled, and a cup of hot tea spilled all over him.

King Liang jumped up in surprise and roared, "You blind fool!"

"Your Highness, please calm down." The maidservant quickly knelt down and, with trembling hands, took a handkerchief to wipe him.

Taking advantage of the situation, Pei Jinxuan asked Zhao Fugui, "Did you look closely? Is it really her?"

Zhao Fugui looked at King Liang, then at the woman, nodding vigorously. "That's right, it's her! Even if she were reduced to ashes, I'd still recognize her!"

He was eager to claim credit, but little did he know that Pei Jinxuan had brought in a fake.

The words had barely left his mouth when King Liang suddenly turned around, his dark blue eyes glaring at him as if he wanted to kill him.

Zhao Fugui shuddered, realizing he had misspoke. His eyes darted around, and he quickly corrected himself, "No...it doesn't seem to be her..."

Pei Jinxuan smiled without saying a word, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his gaze slowly fell on Sun Huaiyi of the Dali Temple.

Sun Huaiyi hurriedly asked, "You just said you'd recognize me even if I were ashes, how come you don't recognize me now?"

Zhao Fugui kowtowed, his voice trembling with sobs, and said, "This humble citizen has been searching for the murderer for many years, but has never found him. Just now, when I saw someone come out, I got excited and mistook him for someone else..."

"Oh?" Pei Jinxuan sneered, "So, your deep-seated hatred isn't that deep after all."

Censor Zhao Duan, noticing the inconsistencies in "Zhao Fugui's" statements and his extremely sleazy appearance, became suspicious. He asked, "Since you say this person isn't him, what does the real culprit look like?"

Zhao Fugui panicked. His hand on the ground clenched into a fist and then dug at the ground. He looked up at King Liang, who sat upright in his chair, his face as somber as a Vajra in a temple.

Zhao Fugui swallowed hard and stammered, "It's...it's a woman..."

Sun Huaiyi immediately became enraged upon hearing this, slamming his hand on the armrest. "Nonsense! This world is either male or female!"

Zhao Fugui's body trembled like a leaf.

King Liang took a deep breath and finally spoke: "You need not be afraid. The officials will take care of things for you."

When Zhao Fugui heard him speak, he felt like he had a strong backer, and his heart, which had been hanging in his throat, calmed down a little.

He closed his eyes to compose himself, and when he spoke again, his voice was much steadyer. "Reporting to you, sir, that woman was very fair-skinned, with willow-leaf eyebrows and an oval face. She was a quiet and aloof person who didn't like to talk to people, but she was very composed in her actions. By the way, once when she couldn't pay her rent, she paid for my aunt's medical treatment as payment."

Willow-leaf eyebrows and an oval face do match the woman before him. But the phrase "aloof and composed" clearly speaks more to Lin Ci's personality.

The three officials looked at each other, at a loss for what to do. Even if they had an idea, they didn't want to get involved in this mess.

Pei Jinxuan chuckled. He set down his teacup and said unhurriedly, "It seems this case cannot be tried today. Lord Sun, you should hand it over to the Court of Judicial Review for a thorough investigation."

Sun Huaiyi cupped his hands in greeting: "What Prince Jing'an said is absolutely right."

Prince Liang sneered, "What do you mean 'can't be interrogated'! Clearly, someone is interfering!" His gaze was like a knife, piercing Pei Jinxuan. "Prince Jing'an, why are you refusing to let Lady Lin show herself, deliberately using a fake to fob her off? Is it really as Zhao Fugui said, that your Jing'an Prince's Mansion is a den of snakes and rats?"

His voice wasn't loud, but his aura was overwhelming. The three people in the hall fell silent, not daring to utter a sound.

Pei Jinxuan's expression remained unchanged; he merely smiled slightly: "A person who keeps proclaiming his innocence can't even describe what the murderer looks like. Why should I believe his one-sided story? Besides, how did I obstruct anything? Isn't it only right that the case be handed over to the Supreme Court for a retrial?"

As he spoke, he looked at Prince Liang, his peach blossom eyes curving into a smile, and said unhurriedly, "Uncle, I'm rather curious. You usually never concern yourself with the suffering of the common people, so why are you so concerned about this case today? Is there some benefit to it?"

"benefit?"

King Liang laughed heartily, his laughter echoing through the hall for a moment before subsiding.