After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

Mei Qingru received the news on the night of the incident at Ciyun Temple.

Besides sending someone to report to the authorities, Abbot Jidu also sent someone to deliver the message to the Mei residence. Mei Qingru immediately dispatched two guards and Granny Niu to Ciyun Temple overnight.

The next day, as soon as Mei Qingru stepped out of the mansion, Mei Wanyin ran madly into Lü Zhi's courtyard.

"Mother, Mother~~~" Mei Wanyin rushed in in a panic without even combing her hair.

"What should I do? What should I do now?" Mei Wanyin felt weak all over and was about to cry.

"What do you mean, what should we do?" Madam Mei asked, her hands twirling prayer beads, her eyes half-closed, her voice calm and quiet.

"It's...it's about the mountain," Mei Wanyin murmured, lowering her voice.

Clearly, Mei Wanyin already knew the news. Madam Mei nodded to herself in agreement; her daughter was indeed most like her. Now, she could quickly grasp any developments in the Mei household. Back then, when she was Mei Wanyin's age, she was far inferior to her.

“Jueming was destined to die anyway. This was part of our plan all along. What’s there to be alarmed about?” Madam Mei put down her prayer beads and looked at Mei Wanyin.

"It's just that the person who appeared at the crime scene was Qiaoque, not Aqing. Whether it was Qiaoque or Aqing who did it, it doesn't really matter. Loyal servants are masters, and that reason is enough."

Hearing Madam Mei say this, Mei Wanyin felt much more at ease.

However, Madam Mei slowly frowned and muttered to herself, "But why is Meng Yan there? And how much does he know about this?"

"Did Qiaoque mention him in her daily letters before?"

Mei Wanyin shook her head and said, "No. There are very few people around Ciyun Temple. Apart from the monks in the temple, only Madam Lan's family lives there."

Madam Mei frowned even more, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes: "Madam Lan, it's Madam Lan again!"

"Last time, she caused the loss of one of my trusted men, and now she's causing trouble again! Has she figured something out?"

"Probably not, it's probably just a coincidence. They went to Ciyun Temple first this time, and they haven't had any contact with their elder sister since last time, so they wouldn't know she was going to Ciyun Temple," Mei Wanyin said.

Hearing her say this, Madam Mei did not dwell on the matter further, but simply said, "The most urgent task now is to understand the situation on the mountain and why the plan failed."

"But I heard that Ciyun Temple has been surrounded by the government, and unauthorized personnel are no longer allowed to enter or leave." Mei Wanyin said anxiously. She had also thought of this, so it seemed there was no way to let someone sneak in.

"Didn't two guards go in last night?" Madam Mei glanced at her indifferently.

Mei Wanyin suddenly realized, and looked at Madam Mei with admiration: "Mother is truly amazing!"

Mei Wanyin felt at ease and no longer panicked and shouted "Mother" loudly. Instead, she began to call her "Mother" properly again.

"We should get the news by the afternoon at the latest. Ah Yin, you still need to work on those three words: quick, accurate, and ruthless," Madam Mei said calmly.

"Yes, Mother. Your daughter has learned a lot."

But this time, Madam Mei's judgment was somewhat wrong. It wasn't until evening that they received news from Phoenix Mountain.

After reading the few short notes over and over again, Madam Mei sighed deeply, "Qiaoyan is still too young and careless. If she had checked who was in bed before she acted, this wouldn't have happened."

Yes, Mingjue was not killed by Mei Wanqing, nor by Qiaoque, but by Qiaoyan.

This was originally a perfect plan, but it failed because Qiaoyan didn't turn on the light to confirm who was in bed when she made her move. This allowed Meng Yu to turn the tables and use a substitution.

"So what should we do now?" Mei Wanyin asked.

"There is still a chance for this to turn around. Everyone in the capital knows that hairpin belongs to A-Qing. Even if it is a replica, the difference can be seen at a glance. Therefore, Qiao-Que can insist that it was A-Qing who did it, and that she was just covering her master's escape."

"Isn't it normal for a daughter of a prime minister to run away in fear after accidentally killing someone?" Madam Mei said with a smile.

"Yes, daughter will arrange it right away."

Madam Mei was right; indeed, the red gold filigree peony hairpin became the focus of attention.

Miss Mei was suspected of murder, and Prefect Tan Tong of the Capital Prefecture dared not be negligent in the slightest, especially since Mei Qingru wanted to personally attend the trial. So he took half of the constables from the Capital Prefecture to Fengming Mountain.

After three days of continuous questioning and investigation, the facts are basically clear. However, the question of who committed the murder remains unresolved.

Experienced detectives, upon seeing Mei Wanqing in person, would not suspect her of being the murderer. Yet, her hairpin was the only murder weapon, and on the day of the incident, everyone saw her wearing it.

Although Qiaoque was present at the crime scene, based on the amount of sedative she still had in her body the following day, she simply didn't have the power to kill Jueming. It's important to understand that Jueming only had aphrodisiacs in his system, not sedatives.

Therefore, all the deductions point to the least likely possibility: that Mei Wanqing committed the murder, and then Qiaoque took the blame.

Upon seeing everyone's testimonies, Mei Qingru's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Because Gan Cai'er was involved, Lan Tingzhou applied to be a spectator, and Mei Qingru agreed. Lan Tingzhou knew who the real culprit was, but he had no evidence to accuse them. The other party was too clever, clearing themselves of all suspicion without leaving a trace.

Although Gan Cai'er was not detained, she was required to remain at the Bamboo Grove Villa until the case was solved. When she heard that the red gold filigree peony hairpin had become the key to Mei Wanqing's escape from suspicion, she immediately took out her own red gold filigree peony hairpin and waved it in front of Lan Tingzhou.

"Oh, a red gold filigree peony hairpin? What's so special about that? I have one too! Not only me, but many women in Kyoto have them!!"

Lan Tingzhou's eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze towards Gan Cai'er changed. However, he didn't have time to think further. He snatched the gold hairpin from her hand and went directly to find Tan Tong, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture.

When two identical, indistinguishable, filigree peony hairpins were placed side by side in front of Tan Tong and the constables, Gan Cai'er was once again invited into Ciyun Temple.

In the makeshift courtroom, Gan Cai'er, true to her honest style, recounted how and why she commissioned the hairpin.

Gan Cai'er noticed that Mei Qingru's expression had darkened further.

After leaving Ciyun Temple, Gan Cai'er noticed that Lan Tingzhou's steps were much lighter, and the gloom on his face from the past few days had disappeared.

"Is my hairpin very important?" Gan Cai'er asked.

“Yes, it’s very important.” Lan Tingzhou nodded.

"Will Aqing be alright?" Gan Cai'er was still a little worried.

"Don't worry, as long as that hairpin isn't unique, she'll be fine."

"By the way, why did you order a hairpin that is exactly the same as Miss Mei's?" Lan Tingzhou stopped and looked at Gan Cai'er.

Gan Cai'er's heart tightened, and she quickly said loudly, "Because it looks good! If it's a replica, it has to be as similar as possible."

Lan Tingzhou glanced at her twice, but ultimately didn't press the matter further.

The people sent down the mountain by the Prefect of Jingzhao to investigate the hairpins returned quickly. The matter was easy to investigate. Following the address provided by Gan Cai'er, in less than half an hour, the shopkeeper explained the ins and outs of the hairpins clearly, and also provided account books and banknotes.

Upon hearing the news, Gan Cai'er excitedly pulled Lan Tingzhou aside and asked, "Now, can we catch the mastermind behind this?"

"No," Lan Tingzhou said calmly.

"Moreover, Qiaoque is about to die."

The prophecy of "Lanting Boat" came true.

The next day, Qiaoque indeed died.

She hanged herself early in the morning in the room where she was being held.