Long Yi nodded, "The Fourth Prince has not only turned into a monster, but the mansion in Liancheng has deepened considerably. In the past, whenever the Master mocked him, he would get angry, but today he can even smile."

Long Rui: "In the future, take good care of the madam."

Long Yi: "Yes."

He understood what the Prince meant. The Fourth Prince has always had designs on Situtu Xueer, but Situtu Xueer has never been interested. After a series of events, their enmity deepened further. The Fourth Prince has turned into a monster and certainly won’t spare Situtu Xueer. The Prince’s concern was not without reason.

The county magistrate and coroner were still examining corpses at the door of the Buddhist hall.

Long Rui walked over and asked, "Master, have you found anything?"

The county magistrate handed a small piece of fabric to Long Rui, "Prince, look, the deceased had this fabric in hand. This type of fabric is extremely valuable and rare in the Capital. I plan to start the investigation from here."

Long Rui recalled the red clothing of the Fourth Prince. His eyes flashed, and he said, "Those who can wear such fabric are either rich or noble. Master, when the time comes, will you dare to investigate?"

In front of the War Prince, even if he was scared, he couldn’t show it. Hence, the county magistrate confidently replied, "The Emperor often says, ’Princes breaking the law are punished like commoners’. I eat the Emperor’s salary and bear the Emperor’s worries. What is there not to dare? At worst, I’ll lose my head."

Long Rui nodded, "Well said."

The county magistrate was delighted upon hearing this, and continued, "Prince, the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas is not the first murder scene. I plan to search the vicinity with my men."

Long Rui: "Alright, take your men to search everywhere. If you gather any evidence, don’t discard it."

County magistrate: "Yes."

Long Rui waved the piece of fabric in his hand and said, "Leave this fabric under my custody, and when we catch the demon, we’ll hand it over together."

Having the Prince preserve evidence was a great honor! Of course, the county magistrate agreed immediately.

Long Rui couldn’t understand why the steward’s corpse appeared at a place dozens of miles from the Capital at the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas? Wasn’t he supposed to return to the Fourth Prince’s mansion to retrieve the property? Even if the Fourth Prince killed him, the corpse ought to be with the Fourth Prince.

However, the fabric in the steward’s hand clearly matched the attire worn by the Fourth Prince. Long Rui glanced at it and tucked it into his robe.

Imperial Palace, Empress Dowager’s Palace.

The Empress Dowager, who was fine initially, became mentally unclear after visiting the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Upon hearing this news, the palace concubines hurried over.

Upon finding out, the Emperor also hurried over with Eunuch Li.

In front of Empress Dowager’s bedroom were numerous people, including some concubines of relatively high status.

The Empress and Noble Consort Wang had already entered the bedroom.

"Blessings, Emperor!" The Emperor, dressed in vibrant yellow imperial robes, rushed over with several eunuchs, and the concubines immediately knelt to greet him.

"Hmm."

The Emperor paused and asked, "What’s wrong with Mother now? What happened? She was fine when she left in the morning, how did she come back like this?"

The concubines exchanged bewildered glances, as they had just received the news and didn’t know what had happened.

Seeing their confused faces, the Emperor knew he wouldn’t get any answers from them, so he asked, "Where’s the Empress?"

A quick-witted concubine hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the Emperor, the Empress is inside!"

The Emperor furrowed his brow, "Have the Imperial Physicians been summoned?"

The concubine lowered her head and replied docilely, "They’ve all been summoned and are inside."

The Emperor said nothing more and strode inside.