The princess regretted it.

In the Dali Temple on Xuanwu Street in the capital, Wang Zhengxing, the Dali Temple Minister, who was wearing a purple-red Dali Temple third-rank official robe, was sitting in his case room with a frown on his face, once again reviewing the case file of Lin Qian.

He had already read through the case files several times. Wang Zhengxing had immediately dispatched personnel to investigate upon receiving the imperial edict. But so far, he had found no useful clues. The incident had occurred suddenly, the scene was chaotic, the carriage was an ordinary one, and the driver was of ordinary build. Most importantly, no one could clearly see his face. Furthermore, investigations revealed that Lin Qian had not encountered anyone on the street.

Time passed without any progress in the case. Minister Lin was pressing the issue, and he had already angrily rebuked him during the emperor's morning court session.

After returning to the Dali Temple from court, Wang Zhengxing asked the temple secretary to move all the files to his own case and ordered his men to go out and continue the investigation.

Wang Zhengxing flipped through the files but had no clue. He was extremely anxious and at a loss as to what to do.

At this time, a yamen runner hurried into the Dali Temple's case room and whispered a few words into Wang Zhengxing's ear.

Wang Zhengxing's expression changed drastically when he heard this. He stood up suddenly, stared sharply at the yamen runner, and asked seriously, "Where did you hear this news?"

"Your Excellency, the news is spreading all over the place now, but there are too many people involved and we haven't found the source of the information yet." The bailiff took a step back and bowed in reply.

Wang Zhengxing could no longer sit still. He paced back and forth anxiously, his mind racing. "It's over, it's over! How could such news get out? Is it true? If it's true, and I report it to His Majesty, His Majesty will be furious, and I won't be able to escape the blame. But if it's false, and it's already spread everywhere, if His Majesty hears about it, and Princess Jin'an's reputation is tarnished, I'm afraid my head will be in jeopardy. What should I do?"

At this time, the yamen runner looked at Wang Zhengxing who was spinning in circles, opened his mouth and closed it again, and finally said: "Sir, this news spread so quickly, I'm afraid Minister Lin must have heard about it too, and he is very likely to come to you to make trouble."

Wang Zhengxing sat back in his seat with a look of despair on his face, covering his forehead with his hands. He waved weakly at the yamen runners, signaling them to leave.

As the bailiff bowed and withdrew, Cheng Zhijing, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple, hurried in. He bowed to Wang Zhengxing and asked, "Sir, have you found any leads in Minister Lin's case? I heard a piece of news today that this matter is related to Princess Jin'an in the palace. What do you think?"

Wang Zhengxing suppressed his inner turmoil, looked up at Cheng Zhijing, and said seriously, "What do I think? I just received the news, and the matter has not yet been finalized, so I can't make a decision for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhijing's eyes turned, and he took a step forward and said with a hint of meaning: "Sir, there is no smoke without fire. I think this matter may be..."

Wang Zhengxing paused, scanning him with scrutinizing eyes, and cautiously interrupted him, "Cheng Shaoqing, you're lying! Are you going to die? You should know that you must not make random guesses about this matter. Do you have any evidence?"

Cheng Zhijing replied with a pained expression, "To be honest, sir, something happened in my family recently that is related to the person mentioned in this rumor."

Wang Zhengxing frowned and asked in confusion, "Oh? What's the matter? Tell me now!"

Cheng Zhijing bowed and said, "It's my humble daughter. She recently attended the Imperial Concubine's flower viewing banquet. Because she said something inappropriate during the banquet, she angered Princess Jin'an. She was expelled from the palace and punished with copying scriptures. She also demanded that my daughter never appear in the capital again. I couldn't disobey her order, so I had no choice but to quietly send my daughter back home."

After hearing this, Wang Zhengxing didn't immediately believe it. To be able to reach the position of Dali Temple Minister—a third-rank official—he was no incompetent. Wang Zhengxing was quite skeptical at this point. Perhaps Cheng Zhijing wasn't telling the truth? Just because of a single inappropriate remark, Princess Jin'an would punish him so severely? He was a bit skeptical. However, he didn't ask immediately. Instead, he frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Is this true? But based on this alone, we can't conclude that this is related to Minister Lin's case. Furthermore, Princess Jin'an is of noble status, and her actions will be considered carefully. We shouldn't make hasty judgments."

After a pause, he continued, "We need to further verify the source and authenticity of this information. Please do not spread it casually to avoid causing unnecessary trouble."

Although Cheng Zhijing was unwilling, he could only bow and reply, "Yes, sir. I understand."

Wang Zhengxing leaned back in his chair, lost in thought once more. Who had spread this news? Why had it spread so quickly? Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he remembered what Cheng Zhijing had just said. If Lin Qian's collision was truly connected to the banquet, regardless of whether it was Princess Jin'an's doing, there must have been quite a few people in attendance. Could this be a breakthrough?

With this thought in mind, he quickly stepped out and ordered the temple secretary to summon several yamen runners. After whispering some instructions, the runners took their orders and left. He pondered over this matter and decided that he must report it to His Majesty first. Otherwise, if someone else reported it first, he would be punished. So, he hurriedly put on his court robes and rode in his carriage towards the palace gates.

At this moment, Wang Zhengxing was riding in a carriage towards the palace with trepidation, but he had no idea that someone from the Dali Temple would come to him angrily.