Song Wanchu gave him a glare. "Stop fooling around!"
Cheng Simian blushed and gently pushed the Crown Prince.
Although she had a strong enough psychological quality, she still felt really embarrassed in this situation.
She pursed her rosy and moist lips. The unique scent of the Crown Prince, mixed with a hint of sandalwood, lingered around her nose, warm and wafting towards her face.
It lingered for a long time.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She was in a daze for a while before regaining her senses.
But she didn't dare to meet the teasing looks of Song Wanchu and Liang Yuzhou.
The Crown Prince gave a light cough.
"Mianmian makes a good point," he said.
Liang Yuzhou couldn't help but sneer. "Oh, right, right, right. When I say the same thing, it's a shallow opinion, but when the Crown Princess says it, it's definitely reasonable."
The Crown Prince was already used to his character. Facing his teasing, he neither got angry nor took the bait.
"Qin Feng would surely disdain using such a dirty trick as poisoning. But as long as it's beneficial to him and the Qin family, there will surely be someone to do it for him," he said.
Song Wanchu said, "If we let the government investigate, we'll inevitably confront Qin Feng. Your Highness is not supposed to have an open conflict with the emperor's trusted courtier at this moment."
Cheng Simian nodded. "Wanchu's right. If we want to investigate this matter, we should start from the inner courtyard and lure the snake out of its hole."
"You've already got a plan, Mianmian?" Song Wanchu smiled.
Cheng Simian also smiled. "I still need your help, Wanchu."
The two men watched as the two women echoed each other.
Liang Yuzhou proudly lifted his chin. "Your Highness, I've told you before that I'd be doomed without Wanchu."
"I can't achieve great things without Mianmian either," the Crown Prince said.
Cheng Simian was shocked.
A complex and indescribable sense of contradiction quietly emerged from the bottom of her heart, disturbing the calm of her heart.
Inappropriately, she thought of the landscapes in the south of the Yangtze River and the carefree Mr. Mingxi.
After the four of them discussed for a while, Liang Yuzhou and Song Wanchu left.
The room fell silent.
It was a hot summer afternoon. The ice cubes in the copper basin had almost melted.
Fine beads of sweat oozed from Cheng Simian's forehead.
The Crown Prince took out a handkerchief, pulled her onto his lap, and wiped the sweat off her cheeks.
Their summer clothes were thin. Through the two layers of fabric, they could feel each other's body temperature.
More and more sweat broke out on their bodies.
The Crown Prince tucked a strand of her damp hair behind her ear. His fingertips felt the soft and delicate touch. His Adam's apple rolled, and his voice was hoarse. "Mianmian, it was my fault that almost put you and your mother in danger. Being my Crown Princess is a very dangerous thing. I shouldn't have forced you to stay back then."
Cheng Simian knew that if the Crown Prince still only wanted to make a deal with her, he would never have said such things.
He was truly nervous and concerned about her.
The path was chosen by herself.
She had also agreed to it with her own mouth.
She had already foreseen the danger of this role.
She just didn't expect that the power struggle would be so fierce and dangerous every time.
Before she even became the real Crown Princess, there were already countless knives pointed at her.
"Your Highness, I don't regret it. As the Crown Princess, it's my duty to fight side by side with you," she said.
The Crown Prince was already deeply in love, and his breathing was a bit chaotic. But Cheng Simian remained calm and clear - headed.
Her words were like a cold wind blowing into his chest, instantly cooling his restless heart.
Duty?
Was being the Crown Princess just a job for Mianmian?
"Mianmian, after we find out about the poisoning, I want to have a good talk with you, okay?"
Cheng Simian seemed a bit confused, but she still nodded seriously.
After the Crown Prince left, Cheng Simian called Hongrui to her side.
...
In the evening, a coffin was quietly carried out from the back door of the Rong family's old residence.
At the door, several old women who were watching the excitement craned their necks to find out what was going on. They kept gossiping from the moment the coffin was loaded onto the carriage until it was out of sight.
"I heard that Miss Cheng will marry the Crown Prince in less than four months. Why is there a death at this time? It's really inauspicious!"
"Don't you know? Someone was poisoned here today. Even the Crown Prince was alarmed. He broke the rule of not seeing the Crown Princess before the wedding and came to visit in person!"
"Oh, the poisoned person must be a very important and respectable one. Otherwise, how could it have alarmed the Crown Prince?"
The coffin was transported out of the city and headed towards the cemetery in the northern suburbs.
As the night grew darker, the coachman had no idea that he had been quietly followed.
When they reached the cemetery, three servants jumped off the carriage. Together with the coachman, they started digging the grave with great effort.
After the coffin was buried and a tombstone was erected, the four of them placed three fruit platters, lit a stick of incense, burned some paper money, and then left under the cover of night.
Not long after the Rong family's servants and the coachman left.
Three black - clothed men sneaked up and started digging the grave.
The coffin lid was lifted. Two of them held torches, and one of them jumped down and leaned closer to look at the person lying in the coffin.
"Can you see clearly?"
The man said, "I can see clearly. It's Hongrui. There's no mistake."
"You'd better look carefully. The madam has given the order. This matter is of great importance. There can't be the slightest mistake!"
"How could there be a mistake? It's this slut. It's a pity that she's dead," the man said.
"Look again. Is it as the madam said, with a gray face, purple lips, and black nails?"
The man was already a bit impatient. "So it's only you two who remember the madam's words? I've seen clearly. She died of the Red - Crowned Crane Poison!"
Only then did the two men holding the torches pull the man up with confidence.
Before they could restore the cemetery to its original state, a hidden weapon flew from nowhere and hit one of them in the throat.
The man's torch fell to the ground. He covered his throat and let out a painful hiss.
He twitched and fell to the ground. Blood spurted three feet high. It was hideous and terrifying.
The remaining two men were so scared out of their wits that they were about to run away when they were grabbed by two shadows that dropped from the sky.
Zhou Sheng and Zhou Yan pressed the two men's heads to the ground.
"Spare our lives, good men! Spare our lives!"
Zhou Sheng viciously grabbed one man's neck and forced him to look at his dead companion.
"Can you see clearly? Now, answer whatever I ask. If you dare to tell a single lie, I'll send you to see Hades right away. I guarantee you'll die more painfully than him!"
"I'll tell, I'll tell, I'll tell. Don't kill me. I'm just following orders!"
Zhou Yan did the same thing.
"The one who tells us more useful information will live, and the one who tells less will die!"
Zhou Sheng added expressionlessly, "Only one of you can live. Do you understand?"
The two men were so scared that their bodies went limp. They cried out for their parents and kept kowtowing, competing to spill the truth.
An hour later.
In Yunshen Alley.
Zhou Sheng and Zhou Yan reported the situation.
Liang Yuzhou, Song Wanchu, the Crown Prince, and Cheng Simian were all there.
"We've got it all. It's almost as we thought, but there's also a pleasant surprise."