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

A gentle night breeze stirred the curtains.

The young man pondered, his watery eyes flashing with an intermittent light. Using a pair of sisters to cripple a Southern Chu assassin, along with the entire assassin organization lurking in the Northern Liang capital, was undoubtedly the most ingenious, effective, and brilliant plan. More importantly, the people of Northern Liang, including the two sisters, remained unharmed throughout the entire operation.

As I was about to burn the paper, I saw a familiar name—Lu Zhiyuan.

Lu Zhiyuan, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Pingnan, the granddaughter of General Xie, and the niece of Minister Xie. She is Ping Le's close friend, a noble lady in the capital highly praised by the Empress Dowager, and even Xiao Yebai, the hostage prince of Southern Chu, treats her differently.

What kind of person is she?

"Your Highness, this Miss Lu is somewhat different." The guard's lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped himself. "I believe that Eunuch Cheng's death may be related to her."

“I remember she was younger than Ping Le. How could a little girl be related to Eunuch Cheng’s death?” The young man turned and glanced at the guards: “And the things you found but didn’t write down.”

The boy was curious about the guard's hesitant appearance.

"Please feel free to speak, just consider it casual conversation," the young man said with a smile, encouragingly.

"Before the Empress Dowager's imperial carriage left the temple, the abbot, Lord Xie, and this Miss Lu all left, going to a place called Xinghua Village. Afterwards, a family of four left Xinghua Village and went to a small town behind Huguo Temple. According to investigations, they were family members of the abbot before he became a monk, and they had some connection with that Eunuch Cheng. Their departure this time may be related to Lord Xie and Miss Lu's visit."

"It's not surprising that Minister Xie went, but what's surprising is why he brought Miss Lu with him? Could it be that Miss Lu is pestering Minister Xie and wants to get some fresh air?"

"The last person Eunuch Cheng came into contact with before his suicide was Miss Lu. Miss Lu was skilled in medicine, and her medical skills were extremely high. Around the Mid-Autumn Festival, every single event that happened in the capital was related to this Miss Lu. His Highness's uncle, Imperial Physician Jiang, would bring people from the Imperial Hospital to discuss medical techniques with her. Commandant Ma of the Commandant's Office didn't even give His Highness face, but he obeyed Miss Lu's every command. And the Garrison Commander, who was also arrogant and disrespectful to everyone except the Emperor and Empress, even disregarded the Ministers of the Six Ministries, but he was respectful only to Miss Lu. It is said that on the day the strange man attacked the city, this Miss Lu, dressed in red, led her own guards and forced her way into the Garrison Commander's Office, taking the transfer order from Garrison Commander Wu."

"So capable? No wonder the Empress Dowager speaks highly of her." The young man's lips curled slightly. "With Grandmother's sudden passing and the entire nation in mourning, is this Miss Lu still in the palace?"

"Your Highness, she's at Ronghua Palace," the guard replied. "Miss Lu is not a member of the royal family; she only needs to observe mourning for the Empress Dowager, not keep vigil over her spirit. After returning from Huguo Temple, she moved from Jinxiu Palace to Ronghua Palace, along with the hostage prince from Southern Chu. Her personal guard, Lu Yun, has also entered the palace, presumably on Lord Xie's orders to protect Miss Xie's safety."

The boy waved, and the guards donned their cloaks and left quietly, just as they had come.

The lamp oil was running low, and the flame was dying. The boy sat back down at his desk, picked up the book he hadn't finished reading, but found he couldn't concentrate. He rubbed his forehead with his long, slender fingers, the cool night breeze ruffling a few strands of hair. Looking at the wick, he vaguely saw a crimson shadow.

Ronghua Palace, it's time to go to sleep.

With a slight stirring in her heart, she got up, changed into an inconspicuous casual dress, and went to Ronghua Palace under the moonlight.

Born a prince, he was most familiar with the imperial palace. As a child, he often sneaked out late at night when his eunuchs and nannies were asleep. At first, he simply missed his father and mother and would stand near their palaces. As he grew older, he became curious about places other than the Eastern Palace and his father and mother's palaces, including the Cold Palace that his nannies spoke of.

Avoiding the palace guards, they unknowingly arrived at Ronghua Palace.

He was extremely familiar with Ronghua Palace. When he was young, he would come here when he was scolded by his father and reprimanded by his mother and had nowhere else to go. This place was the most haunted place according to the palace staff. The old nanny beside him could tell him ten or eight ghost stories about it. Strangely, there were no male ghosts, only female ghosts and infant ghosts.

He didn't believe in ghosts or gods, but he knew where the female ghost and the infant ghost that the old woman mentioned came from; they were all souls buried in this deep palace.

He had never seen a ghost, but he had seen palace maids who came here to secretly perform sacrifices.

The gates of Ronghua Palace were tightly shut, exuding a cold and desolate atmosphere. He stood in front of the palace gate for a while, intending to return, but then he heard strange noises coming from inside. Through the crack in the door, he saw several people busy at work, and at a glance, he identified Lu Zhiyuan as the one in question.

The youngest, dressed in the simplest clothes, yet he was holding a gleaming kitchen knife.

"What are you doing?" He pushed open the palace gate, strode up to Lu Zhiyuan, and snatched the kitchen knife from her hand: "Swords have no eyes, and they just let you make such a fuss."

Lu Yun snatched the knife away and stood protectively in front of Lu Zhiyuan: "Who are you? Why are you coming to Ronghua Palace to interfere in our young lady's affairs for no reason?"

“Lu Yun, Miss Lu’s housekeeper, if you truly care about your young lady, you should keep an eye on her and prevent her from touching these dangerous things.”

"You know me?" Lu Yun narrowed his eyes, sizing up the young man. He was about his age, dressed plainly, but possessed an air of nobility; he was probably some member of the royal family. Before he could figure out his identity, Xiao Yebai bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

The Crown Prince? His Highness the Crown Prince?!

Lu Zhiyuan tugged at Lu Yun, who quickly put down the kitchen knife and bowed.

"Your Highness, I, Lu Zhiyuan, have come to pay my respects. I thank you for your concern and ask that you not blame Lu Yun. He did not mean to offend you. He did not know that you were the Crown Prince, nor did he know that you would come to our palace."

Lu Zhiyuan glanced towards the Empress Dowager's palace: "Your Highness, you should be keeping vigil for the Empress Dowager in her palace."

"I am free to move around as I please," the young man said. "At night, I can, as there are some official matters to attend to. I was invited by Ping Le to see if Miss Lu needs anything."

The Empress Dowager's passing plunged the entire nation into mourning. Royal family members, officials, and commoners alike were required to observe a seven-day mourning period. During the first three days of national mourning, no fires could be lit for cooking; only cold food could be consumed. For one hundred days, weddings and funerals were forbidden, as were alcoholic beverages and meat; only a vegetarian diet was permitted. Slaughter was prohibited for forty-nine days, along with other regulations.

There weren't many rules to follow in the palace, but the first three days were spent eating cold food, and the hundred days were spent eating vegetarian food, just like officials and commoners. Looking at the fruits and vegetables on the table, it seemed they were preparing a meal. Remembering that she had just returned from Huguo Temple and was unfamiliar with palace rules, I kindly offered a few words of advice.

"Your Highness, rest assured, we are eating cold food, and it's vegetarian. If Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can try it." Lu Zhiyuan picked up a piece of radish and stuffed it into the boy's mouth, startling him so much that he stepped back and stared at Lu Zhiyuan with wide eyes.

Having been the crown prince for over a decade, this was the first time he had encountered someone so audacious.

I was about to spit out the radish, but after tasting it, I found it quite delicious. After chewing it a couple more times, the flavor was even better, so I couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"