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

"No matter what, I am still the Marquis of Yongchang, personally bestowed by the Emperor." The Marquis of Yongchang calmed down and looked at the Crown Prince with his eyes, which were so red they seemed to be dripping blood: "Your Highness should know what the name Yongchang means. The Emperor is seriously ill, so how could I let him suffer any more trouble? What happened back then was unavoidable. If I had to do it again, I would have to leave myself and the people some way out, so that the people would not blame the wrong person and make the Emperor take the blame for me for no reason."

If your eyes feel uncomfortable, slowly close them.

"I arranged everything that happened these past few days, with the aim of disrupting and hindering His Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess's investigation."

"Is it necessary to use the entire Liu family to pave the way for obstructing the investigation?"

"It's true that I ordered the fire at the Liu family's house, but it's what the Liu family deserved," said Marquis Yongchang. "Manager Liu is only outwardly kind; in reality, he's a ruthless merchant who plots to kill. He took a fancy to a woman and wanted to force her to be his concubine. When she refused, he set fire to her house. The poor, honest family was burned alive. Only the woman escaped because she wasn't home that night."

The words made the Marquis of Yongchang's alluring face appear even more somber.

"Upon hearing the devastating news, the woman returned home to find her house reduced to ashes and several charred, unrecognizable corpses. She was heartbroken, unable to comprehend where the fire had come from. Her grandparents were cautious, her parents even more so, and her younger brother was too young to have caused such a disaster. Besides, the whole family was asleep; how had the fire started? She asked everyone she met, until she finally reached Liu, the shopkeeper, hidden in the crowd. Their eyes met, and Liu smiled defiantly."

The woman instantly understood that the fire at her house was set by Manager Liu as revenge. She went mad, desperate to avenge her family, but was immediately apprehended by Manager Liu's henchmen. Manager Liu put on a kind face, saying the woman was simply heartbroken and he wouldn't hold it against her, and instructed his henchmen to arrange a doctor and lodging for her. Manager Liu became the kind-hearted man in everyone's eyes, while the woman became a pitiful figure, crying out in vain. She was humiliated by Manager Liu and his henchmen.

She was on the verge of death and was dragged outside the city to be buried alive. I happened to be passing by and saved her.

His gaze fell on Gu An's face: "Her face was disfigured by Manager Liu, and her appearance is not much better than General Gu's."

Gu An touched his face: "Is there any way to save this girl? No, he never intended to save her at all. First, he disfigured her, then he buried her alive."

Disfigurement was to prevent people from recognizing the girl, while burying her alive was to take her life.

“It’s not just disfigurement,” said Marquis Yongchang. “They also scalded the woman’s throat with boiling water and severed her tendons, rendering her unable to speak or write. Even if she survives by chance, she won’t be able to seek justice for herself. Fortunately, I have some things in my possession.”

"The Marquis used that girl as a test subject?"

“It was her own choice,” said Marquis Yongchang. “I also promised to help her take revenge.”

The Liu family's house was burned down by someone sent by the Marquis of Yongchang, and the conflicts between Manager Liu and the villagers were also instigated by someone sent by the Marquis of Yongchang. He understood that killing someone was easy, but causing someone eternal suffering was difficult. True revenge was not about killing the person, but about making that person slowly, bit by bit, lose what they cared about most and valued most.

Alu's appearance was an accident; he had no idea that the Liu family would be wiped out.

“You’re lying. A-Lu was saved by the Marquis.” Lu Zhiyuan stared into his eyes: “Given the Marquis’s character, it’s impossible that he didn’t investigate his background.”

"Whether the Crown Princess believes it or not, I truly did not conduct any investigation," said Marquis Yongchang. "Since Your Highness and the Crown Princess have investigated me, you should know that I have many subordinates, from all walks of life. I cannot possibly verify the identities of each and every one of them; I do not have the time. I only know that A-Lu comes from the Dark Guard. The Dark Guard consists of my assassins, who specialize in taking lives for me. His dealings with the Lu family were likely arranged by him. If the Crown Princess does not believe me, she can investigate for herself."

“Now that things have come to this, there’s no need for you to lie to us, Lord Marquis.” Seeing cold sweat beading on Marquis Yongchang’s forehead, Lu Zhiyuan took his pulse and used acupuncture to suppress the rising blood pressure in him.

"The Crown Princess's medical skills are indeed exquisite." Marquis Yongchang opened a crack in the window: "What else would Your Highness and the Crown Princess like to know?"

"Where did all those pills that the Marquis concocted go? Could they still be hidden in the mountains?" Lu Zhiyuan tapped the broken glass bottle.

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, those failed pills have all been destroyed," said Marquis Yongchang. "The prescriptions are on me; Your Highness can take them whenever you wish."

Lu Zhiyuan gave Zuo Yi a look, and Zuo Yi looked at the Crown Prince. At the Crown Prince's signal, he took out the prescription from the Marquis of Yongchang. When he opened it, it contained some messy and disorganized writing.

Zuo Yi didn't understand, so he handed it to Lu Zhiyuan.

Lu Zhiyuan shook the prescription a few times: "An encrypted version, as expected of the Marquis! One last question, the Marquis sends people into the cave every now and then, but it's to get the mushrooms in the cave... the stones, the kind of stones the Marquis mentioned."

"Yes and no." The rush of blood to his head had caused him soreness all over, and he couldn't help but rub his shoulders. "That thing alone can't make an elixir of immortality. I've already tried it, so why would I go back for it again and again? Did I tell you what that monster is like? First, it goes mad for no reason, then its skin changes. Its skin turns blue, hardens, and has a layer of something like snake scales. Later, the user loses their mind, becomes bloodthirsty, and bites any living thing they encounter. Those bitten also have spiderweb-like things in their wounds."

The spider silk was bluish-green, unlike the silk left by the large snake.

Gu An asked curiously, "Can those who are bitten also live forever?"

“Those bitten will die from rotting flesh all over their bodies, and the death will be extremely painful.” Marquis Yongchang raised his eyes, opened them, and looked at Gu An: “You and I are the lucky ones, but you are even luckier than me. What I obtained from the snake den was a snake, a small snake kept in the snake den.”

Having asked all the necessary questions, Lu Zhiyuan gestured for Zuo Yi to take out the prepared confession and place it in front of Marquis Yongchang. Marquis Yongchang didn't even glance at it before signing and affixing his fingerprint.

"General Gu, are you ready to speak now?"

"What are you saying?" Gu An rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky. "I was beaten and thrown into the cave by the Marquis's men while I was unconscious. All the brothers who were with me died, not from the mouth of a giant snake, but from knife and sword wounds. I was lucky enough to crawl out of the cave. The Marquis insists on asking more questions..."

In the process of climbing out of the cave, I ate something and drank some water from inside to survive. "My lord, please don't ask me what I ate. I don't know; I just grabbed whatever was at hand, I didn't even look closely."

Marquis Yongchang paused for a moment, "The Crown Princess is skilled in medicine, so she must have examined General Gu as well. Is he truly free of any abnormalities?"

“No!” Lu Zhiyuan said, “Aside from the damage to his appearance and the lingering old scars, there are no other abnormalities. General Gu is not immune to aging, but rather ages more slowly than the average person. I deduce that it is thanks to the giant snake. He was poisoned by snake venom like the Marquis, but he was luckier than the Marquis because he absorbed the venom.”