Fu Jiuqu quickly walked in.

All the clerks and patients in the medicine hall crowded outside to watch the prisoners parade in the street. Only Zhou Daozi and an old man with handicapped legs and feet were sitting there talking. When he saw Fu Jiuqu coming in, Zhou Daozi let out a sigh and withdrew his wrist to cut the pulse.

When he was about to stand up and salute, Fu Jiuqu opened the curtain like the wind, bent down and walked inside.

Zhou Daozi sat back and stroked his beard.

There was no one in the back room, because Xin Yi opened the windows wide during the renovation, so he didn't need to hold a lamp during the day and the light was very bright.

Fu Jiuqu didn't see Xin Yi in the inner room. He hesitated for a moment and climbed up the wooden ladder to the second floor.

Xin Yi lived upstairs, and a platform was built outside the bedroom, overlooking the Wuzhang River.

Since the construction was completed, Fu Jiuqu has not been up there yet.

He walked very lightly and slowly walked to Xin Yi's door.

The door was ajar, no one could be seen inside, and it was eerily quiet.

Fu Jiuqu raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and tapped twice.

Xin Yi's voice came from inside.

"Are you a sweetheart? I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me. Just leave me alone for a while."

Fu Jiuqu frowned and kowtowed twice.

He didn't use much force, but the wooden door was pushed open with a creak.

Xin Yi was lying on the deck chair on the platform in single clothes, with a robe loosely draped over her shoulders. Her fragrant shoulders and jade skin were exposed. She was holding a thread-bound book in her hand, and her two white feet were crossed.

I was swaying on a footstool, and when I heard some movement, I turned back slightly dissatisfied.

"I said I'm fine..."

Before her voice fell, she saw Fu Jiuqu standing at the door.

"Prince?"

Xin Yi's lying posture was completely ungraceful. She had run too fast when she entered the room and was sweating all over. She took off her outer robe and shoe placket. She smiled in embarrassment when she saw this, quickly pulled up her clothes, put down her feet, put on her shoes and stood up.

salute.

"Why is the prince here?"

Fu Jiuqu glanced aside and didn't dare to stare at her abruptly.

Hearing this, he turned around.

There was no trace of sullenness on her face, but more of nervousness.

Fu Jiuqu looked slightly relaxed, "What I said just now was serious."

Xin Yi stared at him in surprise, put down the book and walked to the door, looking at him and smiling, "So? What is the prince doing here?"

Fu Jiuqu lowered his dark eyes and looked at her boudoir, which was unique in both style and decoration. There was a faint glimmer in his eyes and he snorted from the wings of his nose.

"I thought I offended my sister-in-law, so I came here to apologize."

Xin Yi glanced at him, pursed his lips slightly, and said apologetically: "I was impulsive just now. I shouldn't have stopped the prince in the street to say such things. I am the one who should apologize."

Fu Jiuqu: "Are you not angry?"

Xin Yi tilted his head, "Why should I be angry?"

Fu Jiuqu hesitated: "My tone is not good."

Xin Yi's heart skipped a beat and he teased disapprovingly: "You are the king of the county. Aren't you supposed to say whatever you say? Besides, I'm not that stingy."

"lie."

"..."

Seeing his serious look, Xin Yi raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said in a low voice: "But I wasn't just talking nonsense. I have gotten along with Na Hu Man and know her a little bit. She is not the kind of heinous person. I really don't know her.

Did you commit something that warrants execution?"

Fu Jiuqu raised his eyebrows, "Who said she wanted to be executed?"

Xin Yi was stunned.

It seemed to be the consensus that he would be paraded through the streets and taken to the execution ground for execution. When her husband said it, she believed it without thinking carefully.

Could it be...

"The parade in the Song Dynasty is not an execution, but a banquet?"

Fu Jiuqu's lips curled up slightly, amused by her witty rhetorical question.

"Of course Du Zhongqing will be executed, but Hu Man..."

He hesitated for a moment, then looked at Xin Yi and thought for a moment.

"Sin shall not lead to death."

Xin Yi breathed a sigh of relief, "Then why did the prince let Hu Man parade through the streets and why did he take her to the execution ground?"

"Accompany Du Zhongqing for a while, and then watch him ask for help."

Fu Jiuqu said it matter of course. Xin Yi listened to the meaning of his words and nodded with understanding, "It's just me who is superficial. Judging from the appearance of the prince, it seems that he has other plans?"

Fu Jiuqu hummed, not wanting to say more, but seeing the curiosity in Xin Yi's eyes, he paused for a moment, slightly lifted the corner of his robe, sat down on a wooden chair outside her door, and spoke slowly.

"Hu Man's crime did not lead to death, but she did become Du Zhongqing's accomplice. The method of refining the girl's body fragrance came from her. It was the unique recipe of the Saint of Zhenla. Du Zhongqing used it.

This method is used to refine Xiangnu."

After Xiang Nu's instruction, she either win over high-ranking officials or uses coercion and inducement to make them her own. From then on, she created a huge network of relationships from Shouzhou to the capital.

Xin Yi stared at him and thought for a moment, "Them? Who are they? Are He Xu and Shi Tang really the only ones behind the spice case?"

Fu Jiuqu's eyes darkened under her gaze.

"Shitang is responsible for collecting spices and making incense, and the counterfeiting, selling, and bribery were done by He Xu. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that it is pointed at the Zhang family, but neither Shi Tang nor He Xu said it. The Imperial City Secretary

Lack of evidence.”

"Aren't they willing to tell?"

"After being released from prison, these two men were very cooperative and confessed their crimes, but... there is still no more sufficient evidence against the Zhang family."

Fu Jiuqu pondered for a moment, and his eyes darkened a bit, "What's more, the officials don't think Zhang Yaozhuo is suspected of committing the crime."

The so-called "love the house and the bird", in Zhao Zhen's opinion, the Zhang family has a high position and is favored by the saints, so there is no need to do such a thing. He is more willing to believe that it is the personal behavior of Shi Tang and He Xu.

"It's not unreasonable." Xin Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly: "It's just that the officials have overlooked one point. What they want is not the money earned from making and selling counterfeit goods, but... the actual benefits that can be obtained by forming a party and pursuing private interests."

She looked at Fu Jiuqu and smiled slightly.

"For example - the right to decide on the matter of the crown prince."

This has been the case with power struggles since ancient times.

The Zhang family has everything because of its high position and power, but people in high places are overwhelmed. The more they get, the more they are afraid of losing. The more people they offend, the more they are afraid of being retaliated against. It is entirely possible to rely on the honor and favor obtained by a noble concubine.

Lost in an instant because of falling out of favor.

What the Zhang family wants to cultivate is power in the court.

Even if Concubine Zhang failed to give birth to a prince in the end, the next prince must be someone they personally supported...

In this way, this honor can continue, generation after generation, with constant protection.

Xin Yi's analysis was succinct, but most of it came from her previous education and history she had read. She felt that this was a truth that everyone would understand, but she didn't know how profound it was that a young widow in the Song Dynasty could express such an opinion.

Shocking.

Fu Jiuqu's eyes were filled with ups and downs.

After Xin Yi finished speaking, he saw him staring at her motionlessly, doubts seeming to flow in his cold starry eyes. Then he pursed his lips and said with a smile:

"I'm all lying. The prince can just listen to it. Go and do your work. My heart dropped when I learned that Hu Man will not be executed."

Fu Jiuqu asked her in a low voice, "Why are you so nice to a stranger?"

Xin Yi was startled.

It’s hard to explain this clearly. Maybe it’s because she participated in the planning? The girl who knew about the fox demon in advance felt sympathy for her.

She hesitated for a moment, "I saved her, but she is pregnant again. I can't bear it..."

"Sister-in-law is kind-hearted." Fu Jiuqu concluded for her, patted the chair and said, "I'm leaving."

The words were spoken so quickly that Xin Yi was stunned, then smiled and pulled the clothes on his shoulders.

"Prince, please go slowly. When you are free, come over. I have something to say to you..."

Fu Jiuqu glanced at her, "What's the matter?"

Xin Yi smiled and said, "I can't explain it in a few words. When you come over to see the child one day, I will prepare a table of dishes and we will talk slowly after dinner."

Fu Jiuqu nodded, and when he went downstairs, he suddenly looked back.

"I have a free night."
Chapter completed!