While He Rui and the others rushed off to investigate the well, Lingxi stood outside watching the rain with Qin Yan beside her as usual.
"Are you sure you don't want me to get a carriage?" Qin Yan asked again.
The sky was dark and the rain was pouring heavily. Most officials in the Ministry of Justice had already left leaving the few on night duty behind.
"No, the downpour is quite strong", she insisted again.
She was silently waiting for He Yu to come pick her up and Qin Yan who knew that could not help but sigh, "what if he doesn't come? We've been waiting for a long time".
"He will come", she assured him.
'He Yu where are you?' she could not help wondering.
*******
Meanwhile, He Yu was waiting for her for dinner and she had not yet appeared. He eventually grew worried as the thunder roared. The sky was getting darker and darker. He wondered what was taking her so long in the ministry of justice.
"Butler Li", he called.
"Your highness", he answered from outside and was rushing inside.
"Take the dishes back and reheat them", He Yu instructed standing up.
"Yes", the butler answered and went on to pack the dishes.
He Yu, on the other hand, went to find her.
******
Lingxi was already shivering as she rubbed herself with her hands and paced up and down. She rubbed her hands to generate heat while watching out for He Yu.
She finally stopped when she noticed a carriage approaching her direction. She was relieved but it was cut short as the carriage passed her by.
Qin Yan could not help but give a quiet laugh. She glared at him.
Just as she was about making the decision of hiring a carriage, another carriage stopped in front of her.
He Yu shifted the curtain sideways to see her.
Lingxi's face brightened instantly and a big smile appeared, "your highness!"
She rushed towards the carriage. He Yu stepped out and helped her into the carriage. She was visibly happy but then she remembered Qin Yan.
"What about brother Qin Yan?" she wanted to call him but he was nowhere to be found.
Lingxi and He Yu exchanged glances and she chuckled nervously, "I should have known better", she murmured before sitting down.
She was still shivering when she felt a warm blanket over her.
She looked at He Yu with surprise and then the surprise changed to her fake emotional tears, "your highness truly takes good care of me".
He Yu wondered who she was acting for. Lingxi draped the blanket over her body as the carriage moved forward.
The journey was silent for a while till Lingxi broke it, "your highness", she called.
"Hmm?" He Yu answered.
She stood up and sat next to him. With the blanket draped over her, she leaned on his chest, hugging his waist.
"Your highness, the blanket is not as warm as you" He Yu decided to indulge her a little because she had caught a cold. She lifted the blanket to cover him too, "don't catch a cold"
*****
He Yu passed her a towel to dry her hair but she shifted closer with a bent head. He Yu had to help her dry it.
"Thank you, your highness", she smiled.
"There's hot water in the bathtub", He Yu said and she understood.
"I'll go bathe now", she said.
While she bathed, He Yu patiently waited for her while reading. Butler Li had already set the reheated dishes down. After some time, Lingxi came out and met Jun Jie reporting to He Yu. Jun Jie greeted her before leaving. Lingxi sat down opposite He Yu to eat.
He Yu passed her a bowl of hot soup. She accepted it with a smile and drank it gradually.
He Yu started eating. Lingxi looked at him for a while before setting the bowl down.
"Your highness", she called.
He Yu looked back at her.
"Why are you so good to me?" she asked.
"I'm merely fulfilling my duty", He Yu responded.
It was just a normal sentence and Lingxi understood there were no emotional attachments in them.
He Yu, as usual, ate little and watched her eat instead, studying her. She noticed but said nothing. After a while she set her chopsticks down.
"Does your highness enjoy watching me eat?" she asked.
He Yu gave a short smile, "don't you want to tell me something?"
Lingxi thought for a while then, remembered, "Yes, I met with He Yan today", she paused; unsure of what reaction her next words would have on him so she carefully picked her words.
"He asked me what to give in exchange for the Wu army token".
There was no change in He Yu's expression.
"I suggested the Phoenix Archive Token", she said slowly.
This time, there was a change in his expression but it was not a displeased one instead there seemed to be a faint gleam in his eyes and his lips curved slightly.
She peered into his face, "you are not angry?" He Yu stared back at her, "why would I be angry?" he said and stood up.
He walked up to the bed and lay down to sleep. For him, this was the first time someone had understood his intentions without him saying anything.
Lingxi's gaze followed his footsteps till he lay down before she continued eating.
[Wei City]
[Prime Minister's Manor]
The investigation was on-going in the Prime Minister's Residence while He Yu and Lingxi were sleeping peacefully. They had travelled down to Wei City through the evening and had reached by midnight. He Rui wasted no time in the investigation and went straight to the Prime Minister's Mansion. With him were Lv Chi, Lu Qian, Liu ying and a poison expert in the investigation bureau, Fu Jiu and other minor officials and guards.
The water was drawn up for Fu Jiu to test. He placed a silver needle in the water but there was no reaction.
"That's strange. The water is poison free", he said staring at the needle.
He Rui thought for a while, "from our calculations, the poison should be very subtle. It's normal for it to be undetected"
"In that case, we'll have to test it. If it really causes unconsciousness after taking it for some time, we'll find out then", Fu Jiu responded.
He Rui turned to the people with him, "any volunteers?"
They hesitated.
"Any volunteers?" his voice was higher and sterner.
Lv Chi scratched his head and the others were trudging their feet.
After seeing others hesitation, Liu ying spoke up, "I'll do it"
Everyone was relieved.
He Rui studied her for a while, "no".
That startled everyone and Liu ying did not understand
"Why?" Lv Chi asked.
Everyone knew He Rui did not look down on women so this was rather surprising.
"Why can't I do it?" Liu ying asked.
She wasn't happy with that. She had long disliked He Rui and now felt he was targeting her.
"You're Minister Liu's daughter. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to bear the responsibility", He Rui answered.
"According to your calculations, the poison is very subtle so I don't think it would affect her", Fu Jiu intervened.
"Are you teaching me?" He Rui asked as he turned his head to look at Fu Jiu who was standing behind him. He retreated.
He Rui turned to Lv Chi, "you'll do the testing".
Lv Chi was not impressed, "Aaaah, I don't want to", he said but everyone knew his words were meaningless and he could only sulk at that point.