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

Pei Jinxuan opened his mouth, but his indignant aura suddenly dissipated somewhat. He gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and said bluntly, "I have already executed him."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Emperor Yan took a deep breath, shifted his gaze from Pei Jinxuan's face, and closed his eyes to rub his forehead acupoints.

"The witness is dead. How can I confront Prince Liang? Even if I summon him to the palace, he can simply feign ignorance, shift all the blame onto Xuan Jing, and then pretend to be wronged after being deceived. He might even turn around and accuse you." Emperor Yan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on Pei Jinxuan again. "You are too impulsive."

"Brother!" Pei Jinxuan suddenly raised his head, crawling two steps on his knees. "You don't know this. When I arrived, Xuan Jing had already injured her, covering her in blood. If I hadn't intervened, she would already be a corpse!"

"So you're ignoring this excellent move and ruining the scheme you painstakingly set up?"

Pei Jinxuan was speechless. He felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, and he grew colder inch by inch.

He wanted to argue, to say that he hadn't done anything wrong. Lin Ci was injured so badly, why should he still care about the gains and losses on the chessboard? But when the words reached his lips, he couldn't utter a single one.

"Go back." The Emperor of Yan lowered his head slightly, waved his hand weakly, and said, "I have my own decision. In addition, I will have the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital give Physician Lin a proper treatment."

Pei Jinxuan remained kneeling, looking at the Yan Emperor, still wanting to seek some justice.

The Emperor of Yan simply said, "I am tired."

Helpless, Pei Jinxuan pressed his forehead against the cold gold brick, bowed, then stood up, pushed open the palace door, and walked out.

A cold wind swept through the corridor, brushing past the dried bloodstains on his robes and carrying a faint, pungent smell.

When Eunuch Gao saw him come out, he still bowed and greeted him with the same respectful tone as always, "Farewell, Prince Jing'an."

Pei Jinxuan did not respond. After leaving the palace, he returned to Cheng'an Hall.

Upon entering, Physician Xu had already cleaned Lin Ci's wounds, applied medicinal wine to reduce inflammation, and carefully covered them with clean gauze. Lin Ci lay on the couch, finally regaining some color, her breathing even, as if she were asleep.

Pei Jinxuan walked to the edge of the couch and sat down, his gaze fixed on her face for a long time.

Judge Xu said, "Your Highness, why don't you rest in the side room first? I will inform you when she wakes up."

"I'm not going anywhere." With that, Pei Jinxuan reached out and carefully tucked the blanket around Lin Ci.

I don't know how long I sat there, but then I heard footsteps outside the door.

Amo has arrived.

He held Pei Jinxuan's sword to his face with both hands. The blood on the sword had dried, congealing into dark red stains.

Pei Jinxuan took the sword, his fingers slowly tightening around the hilt. The fire he had just managed to suppress began to burn again.

"Where is the evil monk?"

Amo paused for a moment, then made a hand gesture: [Only the sword was found. The person was not found.]

Pei Jinxuan's gaze froze.

impossible!

He knew all too well the force of that throw; no one could withstand that sword strike and escape.

Unless... there's another ambush in the bamboo forest.

Pei Jinxuan gripped the sword, his knuckles tightening inch by inch. The dried bloodstains on the sword resembled a smiling face, mercilessly mocking him.

He closed his eyes and finally calmed down; he had lost today's game.

From the moment he learned that Lin Ci had been kidnapped, and then saw her covered in blood, held tightly in Xuan Jing's arms, he was driven by his emotions.

Killing Xuanjing was an impulsive act;

Breaking into the bedchamber was an impulsive act;

Saying those things to the Yan Emperor was also impulsive.

When did Pei Jinxuan become like this?

He opened his eyes, dejected, and his gaze involuntarily fell on Lin Ci's face. He couldn't help but wonder what she would say to him if she were awake now, or if she would laugh at him for his mishap.

He didn't want to be looked down upon by her.

Pei Jinxuan stood up, put his hands behind his back, walked to the window, and looked at the passersby outside. His peach blossom eyes lit up again.

"Ah Mo, King Liang owns five pawnshops in Linzhou, Chenzhen, and Yuchuan, as well as several gambling dens. Do you know their locations?"

Amo nodded and made a gesture: [I understand.]

"Burn it all down, leave nothing behind." Pei Jinxuan replied with a gesture.

**

With a flick of her orchid-like fingers, she twirled her water sleeves.

The lights in the Prince of Liang's mansion remained on all night.

Inside the main hall, the sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air, and on the stage, actors sang a scene from "The Reconciliation of General and Minister."

Prince Liang leaned back in his rosewood armchair, his eyes half-closed, his fingers tapping a rhythmic beat on the armrest. He was still wearing the same clothes he had worn to the banquet earlier that day, and he went through cup after cup of tea, in high spirits.

When the song reached the part about Lian Po carrying thorns, King Liang smiled slightly and took a sip of tea.

The tea was this year's newly harvested pre-rain Longjing, far superior to that from the Jing'an Prince's residence. He breathed a satisfied sigh of relief and set the teacup down.

At this moment, the steward hurried over from the corridor, his steps quick and hurried. When he arrived, he dared not utter a sound, but stood to the side with his hands hanging down, his face pale.

King Liang did not open his eyes, but asked only, "What is it?"

"Your Highness..." The steward's voice trembled slightly, "We received a message by carrier pigeon that the pawnshop in Linzhou has been robbed."

King Liang paused for a moment as he tapped out the rhythm.

He slowly opened his eyes, his dark blue pupils reflecting the candlelight filling the room.

"When did this happen?"

"Two hours ago, the fire started in the backyard. The manager said it affected the accounts, the storeroom, the silver deposits..."

The manager dared not say any more.

Then, more footsteps came, even more hurried than before.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The pawnshops and gambling houses in Chen Town have all burned down!"

"Report! Report! Report!" Another man burst into the hall, a rocket-shaped token stuck in his crown. He knelt before King Liang, covered in dust, and reported, "Your Majesty, Yu Chuan's pawnshop, gambling den, and several antique shops have been burned to the ground. The gambling den manager perished in the fire while trying to put it out."

On stage, the singing went awry and off-key. The performer gradually stopped singing and knelt in the center of the stage, trembling.

The room was completely silent, with only the crackling of the candle flames.

King Liang was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"Good nephew." He picked up the teacup, only to find the tea had gone cold. He stood up and suddenly smashed the white jade cup on the ground. A pool of tea stain appeared on the ground, and the fine mutton-fat jade cup was almost shattered into pieces.

Everyone bowed their heads, pressing their foreheads to the ground, wishing they could disappear into the earth.

King Liang's face turned red, and he tilted his head back, his chest heaving violently. Suddenly, he turned around, drew his guard's sword, and swung it horizontally to cut off the messenger's head.

Hot blood splattered all over the ground, and the head rolled to the bottom of the stage. The headless messenger knelt for a moment before collapsing.

The hall remained completely silent.

King Liang slowly regulated his breathing, threw the knife on the ground, sat back in his armchair, and raised his hand to ask for tea.

The maidservant, her hands trembling, added fresh tea, a few drops spilling onto his clothes. His body went limp, and he collapsed to his knees, nearly fainting.

King Liang placed his foot on her head as if it were a footstool, then picked up the freshly brewed tea, brought it to his lips, and suddenly put it down.

"Where is Xuanjing?"

The manager, head bowed, said, "No news."

"Find him, alive or dead."

As he spoke, King Liang leaned back in his chair, gently closed his eyes, and tapped his fingers on the armrests to keep time.

On the stage, the gongs and drums started beating again, one after another, as if urging someone to give up.

The performer opened his mouth, and his voice was as sharp as tearing silk.

Inside Cheng'an Hall, the morning light peeked in through the windows, thinly covering the floor.

Pei Jinxuan remained seated by the couch, in the same posture as the previous night. In his hand lay the blood-stained handkerchief, now completely dry, the bloodstains congealed into a dark brown clump. He folded it neatly, then flattened it again, repeating this process all night long.

Lin Ci's eyelashes fluttered.

Pei Jinxuan saw it. He leaned forward slightly, holding his breath, as if afraid that if he made too much noise, he would scare the newly hatched sparrow back into its shell.

Her eyelashes fluttered again.

Outside the window, it was bright daylight.