After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

The one who came with Lord Xie... is Lu Yun?!

It should have been expected that even someone as noble as the Empress Dowager wouldn't target a mere court official, especially one trusted by the Emperor. If they couldn't touch Second Uncle, they would target those around him, such as her, and Lu Yun, who was always by his side.

Lu Zhiyuan turned around, looked at A Luo, and asked, "What did that thief steal?"

Seeing Lu Zhiyuan's serious expression, A'luo couldn't help but swallow and whispered, "This servant also heard it from the little monks sweeping the front. When the Empress Dowager entered the temple, she brought many things with her, the most precious of which were a golden Buddha and a jade Guanyin statue for the abbot. The golden Buddha is still there, but the jade Guanyin is missing. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the guard who accompanied Lord Xie had been to the meditation room where the items were temporarily stored."

“Right now, the Empress Dowager, Her Highness the Princess, His Highness Prince Yue, Lord Xie, and their accompanying officials and their families are all in the abbot's courtyard.” A Luo pursed her lips and whispered even more softly, “They are currently interrogating them…”

Lu Zhiyuan's face instantly darkened. "Is that guard surnamed Lu?"

"Her surname is Lu, but I don't know her given name."

“Lu Yun.” Lu Zhiyuan uttered those two words: “Framed, it must have been that old hag, the Empress Dowager, who planned it.”

Aro choked on his own saliva.

Miss Lu is indeed extraordinary for calling the Empress Dowager an old hag. I glanced cautiously at Lu Zhiyuan and asked, "How did you know it was the Empress Dowager who orchestrated this, Miss?"

"A mere jade Guanyin statue? Do you think my Lu Yun cares about it?" Lu Zhiyuan said angrily. "I've seen people humiliated, but I've never seen anything as humiliating as this! A jade Guanyin? Believe me or not, I'll smash ten or eight of them on that old empress dowager's head."

He instinctively called out to Liuying, then suddenly remembered that Liuying had gone to find his second uncle and should be in the abbot's courtyard right now. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to rush over, but Xiao Yebai grabbed his wrist: "You're just going to go like that?"

"What else? Bring a knife, a sword, a crossbow? No need for all that trouble. There will definitely be guards on site. Just grab whoever you like."

"Snatch..." Xiao Yebai choked: "That's the Empress Dowager."

"So what? The Empress Dowager is human too, and she's afraid of dying." She pushed Xiao Yebai's hand away and said, "Rest well. Let Sister A Luo take care of you. Once I've settled things over there, we'll all have hot pot together."

What time is it, and she's still thinking about eating hot pot?

Xiao Yebai felt both angry and amused, but his face remained expressionless.

“I will go with you.”

"You and me? Aren't you afraid they'll take this opportunity to make things difficult for you, saying that you, a hostage from Southern Chu, are plotting with the Xie family? If I hurt the Empress Dowager, you'll lose your head along with me."

"It's gone."

Lu Zhiyuan tiptoed and pinched Xiao Yebai's ear: "Did you hear me clearly? I said head, the head on someone's neck."

Xiao Yebai looked down at her bright eyes and couldn't help but gently pinch the tip of her nose: "Did you hear me clearly?"

Lu Zhiyuan lowered her head, thought for a moment, and said seriously, "I'm not healing you because I want you to repay me... Of course, I'm not without expectations, but it's definitely not what you want, to take you on an adventure with me. Xiao Yebai, you barely survived, you have to cherish your life. Don't worry, with my second uncle here, I won't mess around with the Empress Dowager. What I said just now was just something I said in anger. Be good and wait for me to come back."

Xiao Yebai sighed helplessly: "Miss Lu, you are much younger than me, so you should be the one who is obedient."

“I’m good, you’re good, we’re all good.” Lu Zhiyuan didn’t have time to argue with Xiao Yebai. She gave A Luo a look, signaling her to take Xiao Yebai back to the meditation room, and hurriedly went to the abbot’s courtyard.

They encountered Liu Ying on the way. Liu Ying looked flustered, and the person being interrogated was indeed Lu Yun.

Before Lu Zhiyuan even arrived, someone informed the Empress Dowager: "Miss Lu has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, everyone, including the Empress Dowager, looked towards the doorway.

Lu Yun's arm was restrained. He pursed his lips, his dark eyes following everyone's gaze toward the door. There was no fear in his eyes, only the joy of reunion after a short separation.

This is the scene that Lu Zhiyuan saw when she walked in.

The Empress Dowager sat in the main seat, with Princess Ping Le and Prince Yue seated on either side. Lu Jin Yao stood behind Prince Yue with an unpleasant expression. Next to Princess Ping Le was her second maternal uncle, Xiao Yu Bai, and on either side were the accompanying officials or their families, whom Lu Zhi Yuan did not recognize and did not care to recognize.

Besides them, there was also the little monk who had led the way for them.

Once Lu Zhiyuan had stood still, the old woman behind the Empress Dowager spoke up: "Miss Lu, you've come at the right time. I heard from Miss Wei that this Lu Yun is your servant. Your servant came with Lord Xie, but took something from the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager is in a dilemma and doesn't know how to interrogate him. Now that Miss Lu is here, let Miss Lu interrogate him."

As he spoke, he ordered someone to bring a chair for Lu Zhiyuan.

"I heard that the young lady is unwell and unable to stand, so let's interrogate her while she sits." The old woman had a standard, insincere smile on her face. "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is kind and does not wish to investigate further. As long as Lu Yun returns the items, that will suffice."

She appeared magnanimous, but in reality, she was convinced that Lu Yun was the thief and pinned the blame for the lost jade Guanyin on him. She was Lu Yun's daughter, in other words, the thief's daughter.

Lu Zhiyuan smiled slightly, sat down calmly, and looked at Lu Yun who was being held captive.

Her clothes were torn and disheveled, and there were several scratch marks on her neck. She was clutching a rather ugly purse in her hand, with footprints on it, clearly indicating that someone had stepped on it.

Lu Zhiyuan's gaze fell on the purse.

That was the first purse she learned to make from Liuying. As a young lady of a noble family, she still had to learn needlework, but unfortunately, she lacked talent and was clumsy. After several days of embroidery, she only managed to make such an ugly thing. She wanted to throw it away, but Lu Yun picked it up and treasured it, hanging it on his waist. Feeling ashamed, she embroidered another one, slightly better than the first, but he refused to exchange it and let Han Ting take it.

I've never seen Han Ting wear it; I wonder if that kid took it and threw it away.

"I'm young and don't understand those interrogation procedures. I only know that the people around me are definitely not the kind of people who would steal." She immediately adopted a protective stance: "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager said that Lu Yun took your things. May I ask what those things were? When were they lost, and how were they lost? Your Majesty, how are you so sure that Lu Yun took them?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yun laughed, while the Empress Dowager's face darkened even more. Princess Ping Le, seeing this, quickly stood up to smooth things over. She explained that after the Empress Dowager alighted from the carriage, her belongings were temporarily placed in a meditation room, originally intended to be tidied up after the memorial service. However, someone had entered the meditation room. By the time the guards and nearby young monks discovered this and went to check, the person was gone. There were signs of disturbance inside the meditation room, and the jade Guanyin statue was missing.

"Someone entered the meditation room, and you all suspect Lu Yun? The Jade Guanyin is missing, and you all suspect Lu Yun too? What, does Lu Yun have 'I am a thief' written on his face?"

“Miss Lu, your words are absurd.” The old nanny beside the Empress Dowager spoke up: “Huguo Temple is a royal temple. Everyone in the temple has been carefully selected. It is absolutely impossible for them to steal in the temple, let alone dare to touch the Empress Dowager’s things. This year, like in previous years, the items are all stored in the same meditation room. This situation has never occurred in previous years.”

“There are more than just monks in Huguo Temple. Just because something is missing doesn’t mean Lu Yun stole it. Where’s the evidence? Without evidence, I won’t admit it, and neither will my second uncle.”

Lu Zhiyuan narrowed her eyes: "If you want to smear us, you'd better think twice about whether your basin is big enough and whether you can hold it steady enough."