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

He was originally picked up outside the temple where the Empress Dowager often went to worship Buddha. He received a reward upon first meeting the Empress Dowager, and was brought into the palace upon seeing her again. He did not know his age or his birthday, only that his first birthday was celebrated by the Emperor.

At that time, his name was Wuying (Shadowless).

He was a secret guard responsible for protecting the emperor's safety, and he was fully aware of his affair with the Grand Prince.

"The Emperor trusts the Grand Uncle implicitly and has never doubted him. Yet he took advantage of the Emperor's trust to poison him. How can such a disloyal and unrighteous person be allowed to live?"

Marquis Yongchang counted on his fingers: "What the Emperor needs is someone who can serve him. As for who that person is, it doesn't matter. I'll kill him, take his place as Marquis Yongchang, and serve the Emperor wholeheartedly. It's a good thing for the Emperor and for the stability of the Northern Liang."

Where did you kill him?

"forget!"

"Forgot? You actually forgot something so important?"

"Important?" Marquis Yongchang said with a sneer, "What's important about killing someone who deserved to die? Or perhaps his death is important to His Highness the Crown Prince, but not to me. He's dead, he's buried, he's buried. In the deep mountains and forests, who would bother to remember? Even if His Highness the Crown Prince finds him, after all these years, how can he be sure that the bones buried under that tree are the orphan of Great Xia, my Marquis Yongchang of Northern Liang?"

"I just wanted to verify whether what you said was true or false."

"Does it matter whether it's real or fake? What matters is that whether it's the real Marquis of Yongchang or the fake Marquis of Yongchang, they are all going to die." The Marquis of Yongchang squinted. "Your Highness need not doubt anything else. I have only lived for the Emperor and have no intention of bringing disaster to the country."

“What you say sounds nice, Marquis Yongchang.” Lu Zhiyuan pointed out to him, “Has the Marquis forgotten that half of that batch of grain was given to foreign enemies by the Marquis?”

"I did send it, but how does the Crown Princess know I didn't tamper with that batch of grain?"

Did they tamper with it?

Lu Zhiyuan suddenly remembered something and asked urgently, "Shicheng..."

"The Crown Princess is indeed intelligent; she even knows about Shicheng." Marquis Yongchang opened his eyes and looked at Lu Zhiyuan: "The Crown Princess is only fifteen or sixteen years old. How did she know about Shicheng?"

"My lord, you may have forgotten that my eldest uncle is a merchant, and he also has a business in this Stone City. When I was young, I was frail, and my eldest uncle often told me strange stories from various places, so I have heard about the things in Stone City."

"Stone City?" The Crown Prince frowned. "Is there such a city within the territory of Northern Liang?"

“Shicheng is not in Beiliang,” Lu Zhiyuan said. “Your Excellency should have a map of Shicheng in this teahouse, right?”

Marquis Yongchang glanced at the chests and cages but remained silent.

Lu Zhiyuan gave Zuo Yi a wink, and Zuo Yi walked to the chest and opened it. The chest was filled with scrolls of varying lengths, and among the scrolls were several maps. One of them was of a foreign tribe, with Shicheng circled in red ink, making it very clear.

With just one glance, Zuo Yi noticed the strangeness of the matter.

"The route, the route for transporting the grain, that batch of grain was being transported to Shicheng."

“Shicheng once suffered from an epidemic, the cause of which was unknown, and countless people died. The symptoms were quite clear, though: abdominal pain and vomiting.” Lu Zhiyuan held up the map of Shicheng. “Judging from the symptoms alone, it didn’t seem like an epidemic, but more like poisoning. It’s a pity that the official in Shicheng was useless. He was afraid of taking responsibility, so he used the epidemic to cover it up, causing so many people to lose their lives for nothing. Because I have been ill for many years, I am quite interested in medicine, and I have also become somewhat curious about the things that happened in Shicheng.”

Lu Zhiyuan turned around. "Before the epidemic, Shicheng was suffering from a once-in-a-century drought, and the city had no harvest. The king was young and unable to make decisions. The empress dowager held power and her mind was not on the people. It was only after their imperial advisor advised the court to open the granaries and distribute grain that the treasury was empty, and the officials deceived the people. Not a single person reported to the empress dowager."

The report detailed the state of the national treasury, revealing that the people desperately needed grain but had nothing to eat and were left to die. Just at this critical juncture, a shipment of grain suddenly arrived in Shicheng.

The Marquis of Yongchang laughed, with a hint of madness in his expression.

"If a pie falls from the sky, it's bound to be a poisoned pie."

"My lord, you have a brilliant plan!"

"I said I am loyal to the Emperor and would never do anything detrimental to Beiliang." Marquis Yongchang leaned against the wall to get up. "What happened back then was beyond my control. I admit my guilt if it is mine, and don't try to pin the blame on me if it isn't mine. I know I'm not a good person, and I have more than one or two lives in my hands, but I have not colluded with the enemy. Besides, I am a castrated man, and fame and fortune are useless to me. You can't take them with you when you die."

As for wealth and glory, I care even less. The only thing I've ever cared about is the Emperor.

Marquis Yongchang looked up at the Crown Prince and said, "Compared to all of you wives and children, I am the one who is truly good to the Emperor."

A castrated man? A eunuch! He was actually a eunuch!

No wonder she felt he was different from other men when she met him. She thought it was because he had taken an elixir of immortality. But she never expected... Lu Zhiyuan looked at him carefully and felt that he was not lying.

After a moment of silence, she quietly asked him, "Does His Majesty know the Marquis's feelings for him?"

"Of course he doesn't know." Marquis Yongchang straightened his clothes. "He is the Emperor, a man of integrity and wisdom, how could he possibly know my thoughts? I've said what I should and shouldn't have said."

"Take me to the capital so I can see the Emperor one last time."

The Crown Prince waved his hand, and Gu An stepped forward, preparing to escort the Marquis of Yongchang away. Seeing that he had difficulty moving, he changed from escorting to helping him onto the carriage waiting outside the teahouse.

Capturing the remnants of Yongchang Marquis's faction will require some effort, so the Crown Prince sent Zuo Yi to handle it. On his return, he saw Lu Zhiyuan huddled up in a ball, leaning against a chair.

Is she... feeling unwell again?

He rushed over and pulled her into his arms.

"what happened?"

"It hurts, it's cold, it's uncomfortable."

“I’ll take you back to find your uncle.”

"It's alright, just bear with it... just bear with it." Lu Zhiyuan shivered, and at the same time felt her tongue was a little stiff. "Crown Prince, Ayuan may not be able to hold on for another half month."

The prince was slightly taken aback, and called out towards the outside of the teahouse.

Fifteen minutes later, Physician Jiang rushed over. After taking the pulse, he frowned deeply.

“The situation is rather bad, A-Yuan, she…” Imperial Physician Jiang looked at Lu Zhiyuan, whose consciousness was already fading, huddled in the Crown Prince’s arms trembling: “There is one last way, it may not work, but we can only try.”

"Uncle—" The Crown Prince looked at him pleadingly and handed him the prescription from the Marquis of Yongchang: "Can I use it? Even if it's a monster, I want A-Yuan to stay by my side forever."

Physician Jiang took the prescription, said nothing, and silently withdrew.

The bathtub was full of poisonous creatures; just looking at it was enough to send chills down one's spine. Lu Zhiyuan was disoriented, her brows furrowed, leaning against the tub. Fearing for her safety, the Crown Prince ordered Zuo Yi to guard the door and had guards watch the surrounding area to prevent anyone from breaking in.

Several poisonous insects crawled into Lu Zhiyuan's sleeve, and she groggily called out "Crown Prince Brother." The Crown Prince couldn't bear it and wanted to help her remove the insects, but he was afraid of hurting her. After a slight hesitation, he took off his outer garment, entered the tub, and let Lu Zhiyuan lean against him.

Even poisonous insects possess a degree of intelligence; at the slightest movement, they escaped, cowering motionless on the edge of the bathtub.

Lu Zhiyuan pressed herself against his chest. Although she was drowsy, she could still sense who was holding her.

"Brother Prince..."

"I'm here."

"If there is a next life, I still want to marry you." Lu Zhiyuan murmured softly, "What I owe you in this life, I will repay in the next."