The Flirtatious Prince and His Savage Concubine

Lu Lingxi hurried to the main hall, and the moment she stepped through the threshold, her eyes fell directly on Nan Wangyu. She narrowed her eyes slightly, with a hint of doubt and questioning in them, as if she was asking Nan Wangyu with her eyes: "Did you arrange this on purpose?"

Nan Wangyu quickly shook his head, his movement not large but very firm, as if he was eager to show Lu Lingxi that he also knew nothing about the matter.

Lu Lingxi came forward and sat at the top with Nan Wangyu and asked, "What's going on?"

Concubine Shang bowed slightly and replied slowly, "Your Majesty, I have just inquired about this matter in detail. However, the Crown Prince's concubine Zhu has always clenched her teeth and insisted that she knows nothing about this matter. She said that she has no idea where the puppet used for performing witchcraft came from, and she has no idea why this evil thing appeared inexplicably in her room. Not only that, this woman also talked nonsense and made random accusations!"

At this point, Concubine Shang paused for a moment, raised her eyes to observe the changes in the expression of the noble woman on the main seat, and saw that her face was still gloomy, so she continued, "That Zhu actually said something irresponsible, claiming that it was you, the majesty, who ordered the maid beside you to deliberately bring your beloved pet to Xuanming Hall to cause trouble. When the hall was in chaos, the maid took the opportunity to place the pet in her palace. And you, the majesty, pretended to go to Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion to visit the Crown Prince's Concubine, in order to create a perfect alibi."

Lu Lingxi rolled his eyes. Well, just now he was worried that Zhu was implicated innocently and felt sorry for her, but he didn't expect that this wave was directed at him.

Lu Lingxi was not in a hurry to defend himself, but asked Concubine Shang: "Concubine Shang, what is the art of witchcraft? Are there any conditions required to perform the art?"

Concubine Shang nodded slightly and said slowly: "The so-called 'witchcraft' covers a wide range, mainly including many methods. Among them: there is the terrifying curse method, which attempts to bring bad luck to the enemy through vicious words and evil spells; there is also the strange and unpredictable art of shooting puppets, also known as the art of annihilation. This art is to use special puppets, cast spells or pray devoutly, in order to achieve the sinister purpose of suppressing others, objects, and even demons and monsters. On weekdays, we can also see some annihilation objects from time to time, such as carefully crafted Carved peach plates, lifelike peach figures, mysterious jade Bagua cards, uniquely shaped jade animal cards, extremely sharp swords, and lifelike puppets, etc. However, in order for this evil magic to be truly effective, it is necessary to closely fit the birth date of the person to be suppressed on these evil magic objects, and attach a small handful of that person's hair! Since ancient times, no matter which dynasty, this "witchcraft" has been regarded as a taboo, and the court has issued a clear order to strictly prohibit anyone from using such evil magic. Once anyone dares to violate the ban, he will be severely punished! "

Lu Lingxi nodded: "Oh, this is the first time I've heard of such a method. If you have a grudge against someone, you can just make a puppet at home and steal a bunch of hair to get rid of the opponent. This is too easy. Then no one needs to fight in the house, palace, or war. We can just make puppets at home."

At this time, Zhu, who was kneeling below, replied: "Your Majesty, you don't know that the conditions for the magic of Yan Sheng are still very strict. First of all, ordinary people's birth dates will not be disclosed to others at will. Secondly, something as private as hair cannot be obtained casually. More importantly, the time of the magic should be based on the effect you want to achieve, the birth date of the person being magicked, and finally, the deduction of the placement of the magic objects is also a very important step. Ordinary people may not be able to do it."

Lu Lingxi raised the corner of his mouth, stared at Zhu, and said with a smile: "Oh, it is true that ordinary people may not understand. Even I heard of the art of Yan Sheng for the first time today, but Zhu, you know a lot."

Zhu nervously twirled her fingers and defended herself, "I... my father from my mother's side was the director of the Imperial Observatory. I have heard about it since I was a child. I don't know how to deduce it specifically, and I haven't paid attention to it."

Lu Lingxi sneered: "Humph! You finally remembered to push it away now."

Lu Lingxi rarely showed up in front of these concubines and had not interacted with them. So Zhu originally thought that the Crown Princess was young and inexperienced, and had suffered many losses from Queen Gu. She thought that when something happened, she would panic and be unable to defend herself, so she could get away with it. She didn't expect that she could find her faults in just a few words, and she was a little flustered for a while.

After thinking about it, she had to pretend to be weak, so she kowtowed and cried, "Please spare my life, Your Majesty. I have never thought of going against you, Your Majesty. Please leave me a way out. Such a big thing as the art of exorcism has been blamed on me, and I have no way out. Wuuwuwu..."

This cry made Lu Lingxi a little annoyed, and he didn't want to get entangled with her any more, so he ordered Chunhong to step forward and silence her. Then he said coldly: "Whether you accept it or not, I don't want to beat around the bush with you. Goose leaves a sound when it flies, wind leaves a trace when it blows, if things are like this, how can people bear it! Since you don't want to plead guilty, then I have to investigate thoroughly. The fabric of this puppet, cotton, cinnabar used to write birthdays, wooden basin for holding water, and even the thread for sewing the puppet, which one has no source? If you investigate one by one, you will always find clues."

After saying that, he turned back to look at Nan Wangyu: "What do you think, Your Highness?"

Nan Wangyu was very pleased that Lingxi could handle the problem so calmly and wisely. He nodded and ordered, "Come here, investigate according to the Crown Princess's instructions."

Instantly, the entire hall fell into a dead silence, as if time had frozen at this moment. Everyone in the room held their breath, their eyes fixed firmly on the front, quietly waiting for the final result to be revealed.

Lu Lingxi always had the habit of taking a nap every day. During the long wait, she felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier, and yawned one after another. At first, she still tried to stay awake, but as time passed, the tiredness came like a tide, gradually drowning her consciousness. Finally, she could no longer resist the call of Zhou Gong, her head drooped little by little, her eyes slowly closed, and she fell into a sweet dream.

While Lu Lingxi was relaxing, Li, the Crown Prince's concubine, who was sitting behind Concubine Wang, was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat. She thought it was all over, and she was going to be finished this time. She hated Zhu, who was still covered with her mouth. "This idiot, I told her to throw these things away yesterday, but she didn't listen. She insisted that Su Yun hadn't officially married into Zeng's house yet, so there was still a possibility that she could return to the Crown Prince's house, and she must wait until she married Zeng Shen before throwing away the dolls. Now she's been discovered. What if she can't stand it anymore and gives herself away? Or should I confess my guilt before I find out, maybe I can get a lighter punishment?"

The more Li struggled internally, the slower time seemed to pass, and the more he regretted why he had teamed up with Zhu to do such a stupid thing in the first place.

Seeing that Lu Lingxi was drowsy, Nan Wangyu considerately put a thin cloak on her and reminded everyone in the hall to keep quiet and not disturb her nap.