The atmosphere in the imperial garden was rather tense than it was supposed to be.
Lingxi calmly took a sip of the chrysanthemum tea, "the tea is good", she commented.
"I'm glad grandaunt likes it", He Yan said.
Lingxi set the teacup down, "I believe your highness did not merely invite me to have tea"
He Yan gave out a steady breath of air, "grandaunt is correct" There was a short pause, "last time, I realized I did not show enough sincerity enough so I would like to correct that today", he said.
Lingxi smiled fiddling with the teacup in her hand, "Sincerity? In that case, how does your highness intend to prove your sincerity?"
"I would like grandaunt to enlighten me on that", he said.
Lingxi set her cup down and stood up to view the surroundings.
"Has your highness heard of the term 'an equivalent exchange'?" she asked.
"Yes but I know I have nothing in value that can compare to what I'm asking"
Lingxi smiled, "you are wrong", she said and turned to him, "everything in this world has an equivalent price"
"In that case, what does grandaunt think is equivalent to what I'm asking?"
Lingxi once again viewed the sky for a while. Rain has started drizzling but the sun was still shining brightly.
She stretched her hand to feel the water droplets, "back in the plains during one of my travels, I came across a certain teahouse, Feihong teahouse. It is quite famous, your highness must have heard of it."
"I have. Once I had the opportunity of visiting there. It is surely splendid", He Yan answered.
"Then your highness must also know that the tales told there are unrivaled", she added.
"Of course, I especially liked the tale of the Xia heritage", he said and added, "I guess grandaunt and I share common interests".
Lingxi smiled and did not respond to that but continued, "one of such tales I heard is the tale of the empress of great Xia"
There was a pause and He Yan sensed something brewing but could not tell what it was.
"It was said our empress holds information concerning every minister, secret investigations and secret messages. They say she can rule comfortably because of this treasure", she turned to him, "I wonder if your highness has heard of this treasure"
He Yan's fist tightened underneath the table, but his expression remained calm.
"How can Your Highness believe mere hearsay? That is rather unexpected."
Lingxi walked closer calmly, "Whether those are mere hearsay, you know the answer."
They stared at each other for a long while, He Yan's brow tightening.
Lingxi smiled, "It will be dark soon. I would not want to miss dinner. I'll take my leave," she said, and left with Qin Yan.
Lingxi walked out, but the rain was getting heavier, so she decided to take shelter right next to the Ministry of Justice.
Liu Ying, who had just come out to stretch after sitting for so long, found her with Qin Yan.
"Sister Xi," she called, waving her hand.
Lingxi noticed her and waved back. Liu Ying went on to fetch two umbrellas and rushed up to her. She wanted to hand one to Lingxi, but Qin Yan took it instead and held it for her.
Liu Ying led them into the Ministry of Justice.
"It's raining quite heavily. Why were you outside? Be careful not to catch a cold," she advised.
"Thank you," Lingxi smiled as they went in.
Everyone was looking very busy and in deep thought.
"Everyone, this is the grand prince consort; let's pay our respects, shall we?" Liu Ying announced.
Everyone was quite surprised at her presence but stood up to greet her.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
"Spare the formalities," Lingxi accepted the greeting.
She did not expect Liu Ying to announce her presence. She walked up to a table and reached for a case file, but a hand took it away before she could read it. It was He Rui.
"Your Highness is not from the Ministry of Justice. Don't touch anything," he said.
Lingxi smiled bemused, "Is your highness upset with me or is the case very overwhelming?"
"How can I be upset with your highness?" He Rui answered sealing the file.
"If you are not upset, why so distant?" she said.
"Distant? I don't think your highness and I are close in the first place"
"We aren't close but as per protocol, you ought to call me grandaunt", Lingxi corrected. The room paused.
"Grandaunt, happy now?" he said.
He wanted to get back to his case.
Lingxi smiled, "it really is interesting".
He Rui paused and his mind went down a memory lane and recalled what she was talking about.
That day at Tianyan pavilion she had said, 'just the thought of you calling me grandaunt is already interesting, isn't it?'
"You…" He Rui wanted to say but Liu ying intervened.
"Your highness", she called Lingxi, "how about you sit with me before the rain stops?"
"Sure", Lingxi agreed and went on to sit with her.
As they sat together, Liu ying casually explains the case to Lingxi. Lingxi, of course, already knew about the case but chose to patiently listen.
"That is the case. The closer it gets to being solved, the more complicated it becomes", Liu ying concluded.
"Your highness", Lv Chi called Lingxi as he walked closer, "would you like a peach?" he asked stretching a peach towards her.
Liu Ying smacked his hand.
"Can you be serious for once? Her Highness and I are having a serious conversation."
Lingxi accepted the peach, "thank you."
"You're welcome."
"You're welcome," Liu Ying mimicked him, "what's wrong with you? Why are you giving out peaches all of a sudden?"
"My mother used to say, 'more peaches, more smartness'. Since Her Highness is helping, I should welcome her with peaches."
"Fool," Liu Ying commented.
There was a short pause and Lingxi focused on the file.
"Your Highness, what do you think?" Liu Ying asked.
Lingxi studied the file more intently, "If I was the killer, I wouldn't use the direct method," she said.
"What method would you use?" Lv Chi asked.
"You said they were gagged and throat slit, right?" she asked Liu Ying.
"Yes," Liu ying confirmed.
He Rui who had wanted to ignore Lingxi paid closer attention to what she wanted to say.
"If I wanted to kill them without raising an alarm, I would poison them first", Lingxi said.
"There were no obvious signs of poisoning", He Rui commented.
"You are right but what if I poisoned them so subtly that no traces could be left after death?" Lingxi asked.
Liu ying and Lv Chi exchanged glances.
"What kind of such subtle poisoning is that?" Lv Chi asked.
"There are many poisons in the world that leaves no traces in the body. They are more like sedatives", He Rui realized.
"Even if there were poisoned by sedatives, what kind of sedatives could poison an entire household at the same time?" Liu ying asked.
"It should be something that everyone in the mansion would take", Lv Chi said, "like...."
The three of them exchanged glances, excluding Lingxi, "water!"
[Li Residence]
Li Min walked in to meet her parents in the main hall.
She greeted them, "father, mother"
"Come here", Li Changsheng said gesturing for her to sit beside him. Li Min obeyed.
"Did you visit the palace today?" Madam Li asked.
"Yes, I visited First Prince", Li Min answered.
"Has His Highness found a way to solve the problem?"
"Yes, he is going to give the Grand Prince something of value in return," Li Min answered.
"That's good, but I don't think His Highness has many valuable things that could match with the Wu army."
"I believe His Highness will find a way," Li Min assured.
"I hope so," Li Changsheng heaved a sigh.
There was a short pause, then Li Min seemed to have remembered something.
"Oh, right, before I left the palace, I heard that the Ministry of Justice had found a new clue and is very close to solving the case," she said.
Li Changsheng froze for a second and sighed. He stood up and took a few steps forward, backing them.
"What's meant to come will come," he said, before turning to his wife. "I think it's high time we finalized the engagement between Min and His Highness," he said.
Madam Li nodded, aware of the situation. Only Li Min was confused.
She Stood up, "Engagement? Why are you suddenly deciding to get me engaged?" she asked.
Li Changsheng turned to her, "Didn't you always want to get engaged to the First Prince?"
"But..... this is rather abrupt,"she said, very confused at the drastic change in attitude regarding her marriage.
"We have no other choice", Li Changsheng sighed, leaving her even more confused.