The Flirtatious Prince and His Savage Concubine

Lu Lingxi's lunch break was very short, only about half an hour. When she woke up slowly, she felt a little lazy and weak. Nan Wangyu handed her the tea in his hand.

"Lingxi, drink some tea to moisten your throat and wake up!" Nan Wangyu said softly, and that voice was like a spring breeze, gently brushing through Lu Lingxi's heart.

Lu Lingxi nodded slightly and reached out to take the teacup. The tea in the cup exuded a light fragrance, lingering around the tip of the nose, making people feel relaxed and happy. She took a sip gently, and immediately a warm feeling slid down her throat, as if a clear spring was flowing through, moistening every inch of dry place. The temperature of the tea was just right, not too hot to burn the mouth, nor too cold to lose the original aroma and taste.

Lu Lingxi couldn't help but secretly praise Nan Wangyu in her heart. He was such a considerate person who could take care of even such small details. She drank a few more sips in succession, feeling the freshness and comfort brought by the tea. She gradually sobered up and was refreshed.

After drinking, Nan Wangyu asked: "Did you get enough sleep? Does it feel uncomfortable to take a nap sitting like this? Let's go back and have a good sleep after we finish dealing with things here."

Lu Lingxi moved his neck and felt a little uncomfortable, but a half-hour nap would be enough. It would be difficult to fall asleep at night, so he shook his head to indicate that it was not necessary.

Seeing a few more people standing behind the Crown Prince's Concubine Li, he asked, "How is the investigation going? Are there any results?"

Nan Wangyu nodded to the man in the lead, signaling him to reply.

The man clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "Reporting to the Crown Princess, your subordinates, according to your instructions, have checked the fabric, cotton, cinnabar, wooden basin, needle and thread of the puppet, and now we have the result. Cinnabar is poisonous, so it is not often used for writing and painting. It is not easy for you ladies to get it. Only the Crown Princess Zhu's family, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, often uses it for painting on talisman paper to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, the Crown Princess Zhu also often uses cinnabar for painting. Now there is still a small amount of cinnabar left in the hall. We compared the color, the added alcohol and the color pigment, and confirmed that it is the same cinnabar as the one used to write Miss Su's birthday."

When Zhu heard that person reporting to others that there was no cinnabar in the palace, she knew that she was finished and collapsed to the ground.

"In addition, my subordinates have discovered that the fabric of this doll is very special. It is a very precious Xiangyun yarn, which is produced in very small quantities. Even the ladies in the palace rarely see it. The Crown Prince's concubine Zhu has never had such fabric, and there is no record of such fabric circulating in the public accounts, so the source has not been found yet. However, I have checked the personal vaults of the ladies, and I believe there will be results soon."

Lu Lingxi nodded, and then asked: "Li, do you have anything else to say? Or do you want to talk about where this Xiangyunsha came from?"

Zhu's brain was working rapidly, and suddenly she had an idea. She kowtowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I really don't know what 'Xiangyunsha' is, let alone where it comes from. As for cinnabar, everyone knows where I came from. Maybe the cinnabar was stolen by the evildoer from my palace? His purpose is to frame me if the crime is exposed, and then he can get away with it."

Lu Lingxi snorted coldly, "Oh! You're quick-witted. But you can argue as much as you want. Xiangyunsha is hard to find, but it's not impossible to find. Even if it's impossible to find, it's impossible that you did this without the people around you knowing. How did you get Miss Su's birth date and her hair? You can't do it alone. If you torture the people around you, someone will confess."

Lu Lingxi thought: Do you think I didn’t see your mental breakdown and collapse on the ground when you heard Zhusha?

After hearing this, Zhu was in agony, wavering between waiting for the results or confessing her guilt.

Compared to Zhu, Li was the one who was more tormented at the moment. You know, that piece of eye-catching Xiangyun gauze fabric was provided by her! At the beginning, she had spent a lot of effort and tried her best to please Zhaoyi Qian before getting this precious fabric. At that time, she only felt that the fabric smelled fragrant, and simply thought that it was just soaked in some special spices to have such a strange fragrance. How could she know that it was actually priceless Xiangyun gauze! Even a noble person like the Crown Princess might not be able to own such precious fabric. But now, Qian gave it to her without any care.

However, it was not only this action itself that made Li extremely angry and confused, but also Zhu's words. What did Zhu mean by "whoever has Xiangyunsha is the evildoer"? Didn't she know that the fabric actually came from her? Or did she deliberately say this knowingly, wanting to shift all the blame onto herself? When she thought of this, Li's anger burned fiercely.

Li stood up and was about to speak when she heard another voice saying, "Crown Princess, I have something to say."

Lu Lingxi looked at the tall and thin woman who spoke below, and couldn't remember who she was for a moment, so he asked, "Who are you?"

Qian bowed and saluted, saying, "I am Zhaoyi Qian."

When Lu Lingxi heard her say that, he remembered that this was the daughter of the first imperial merchant in the Southern Expedition, the Zhaoyi Qian who built her own bedroom. It was not surprising that she knew something about the precious fabric Xiangyunsha. So he said, "Tell me about it."

Qian replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, this Xiangyunsha was obtained by chance by my father before you entered the mansion a few years ago. He knew that I loved exquisite fabrics, so he gave it to me as a precious New Year gift. Just as the flower-viewing banquet was approaching, the Crown Prince's concubine Sister Li accidentally saw the Xiangyunsha I had. She praised the fabric and said that it not only had a unique fragrance, but also smelled very pleasant. More importantly, Sister Li had a sudden idea that if she could use this fabric If I make it into a sachet and bring it to the Hundred Flowers Banquet, it might be able to attract butterflies with its unique fragrance. This way, it can be regarded as a rare wonder! Seeing that Sister Li liked it so much, I couldn't bear to refuse her request, so I gave her some. But I can assure you that the remaining fabrics of my own have been well kept and never used at all, so naturally there is no possibility that any scraps will be used elsewhere. If you have any doubts about this, you can send someone to check it out at any time, and I will never say no."

Lu Lingxi nodded, then turned to the Crown Prince's concubine Li behind Concubine Wang and asked, "Li, what do you say?"

Li walked quickly to Zhu's side, knelt down with a plop, made up her mind, closed her eyes and said bluntly, "Princess Consort, please forgive me. This doll was indeed made by me and Zhu together. Who let Concubine Su... No, she is Miss Su now, who let her steal our limelight at the Hundred Flowers Banquet? She was still under house arrest and had obviously made His Highness dislike her, but she was able to coax His Highness to release her from house arrest in advance with just a few words, and also coaxed the noble ladies to vote for her. Isn't the thing we carefully prepared better than what she made in a few days? She is not satisfied with winning three championships, and she still makes demands to embarrass His Highness. I just can't accept it."

Zhu wanted to cover Li's mouth but didn't dare. She had been holding out for so long and didn't admit it, but she admitted it as soon as she opened her mouth. It made her previous insistence look ridiculous, okay? In her heart, she couldn't help but curse all eighteen generations of Li's ancestors.