Meanwhile, inside the Zhaogan Hall—
Adhering to the principle that the more one conceals, the more misunderstandings will arise, Yun Xi told Hun Yuan everything that Zongzheng Fengyi had said just now without reservation.
"It's impossible!" Hun Yuan denied without hesitation.
"I know Master's character better than anyone. If he wanted to harm you, why would he have bothered to place the second suppression gu on you back then?"
"Zongzheng Fengyi just says whatever comes to his mind. Eight out of ten of his words are probably lies. And that ghostly national teacher is the same. He took something from my master but was too vague to explain clearly. Clearly, the two of them are scheming something. You two aren't so stupid as to believe everything they say, are you?"
Hun Yuan was obviously angry, and his words were full of fire.
Yi Yuan's face darkened. Considering that Hun Yuan had probably just seen the tongue - bone beads that Master Qingyi always carried, and it was very likely that Master Qingyi was no longer alive, which must have made Hun Yuan feel sad, Yi Yuan held back his anger for the time being.
"Of course I can't believe it." Yi Yuan frowned, and his eyes were filled with uncontrollable irritation.
"But we can't completely disbelieve them either."
"Apparently, they know Xiao Xi very well and are also extremely familiar with Master Qingyi. They know many things related to the yin gu on Xiao Xi and also that she's taking Master Qingyi's pill to seal the gu."
Glancing at Yun Xi beside him, Yi Yuan's voice became even deeper:
"That national teacher even said that the reason why Xiao Xi has the mind - reading ability is entirely because of him."
"Thus, they must know a lot of inside information. Even..."
A cold light flashed in his phoenix eyes, and Yi Yuan's aura instantly became sharp:
"They might very well be the masterminds!"
"Right," Yun Xi nodded in agreement.
"What A Yuan said is exactly what I've been thinking."
"If they are really the masterminds, then the person who placed this yin gu on me, which can make one immune to all poisons after being refined, must be their subordinate. And Zongzheng Fengyi insisting on marrying no one but me must also be for this reason."
"I just don't understand. They could have obtained this gu in a hundred different ways. In about two months, if I can't find the person with the yang gu, I will surely die.
"They could have stolen it secretly or taken it by force openly, or simply hidden in the shadows and jumped out at the critical moment to merge the gu with a drop of blood. Any of these methods would have been better than exposing themselves by coming to Dayin to marry me. Why did they choose the most difficult way? It can't be that they really want to save me."
When this was said, everyone thought it was absurd and ridiculous.
By now, Hun Yuan had calmed down a lot. He plopped down beside Yi Yuan and analyzed:
"Sister's thoughts are very reasonable."
"There are two possibilities for this matter. One is that what Zongzheng Fengyi said is true, and he does have the yang gu. But he deliberately concealed something unfavorable to him. For example, without sister's yin gu, he... would also die. That's why he rushed here to propose marriage."
"The second is that something unexpected went wrong with the gu on sister. If they don't intervene, they may not be able to obtain this miraculous gu on sister, which they've put so much effort into. So they didn't hesitate to offer the seeds of the good - harvest rice and use the people of Dayin to force sister to marry him."
"There's another possibility," Yun Xi suddenly raised her eyes and continued after Hun Yuan:
"It could be both."
"Zongzheng Fengyi concealed something unfavorable to himself, and there's also a problem with the gu on me."
But... what exactly could the problem be?
The three of them stared at each other for a while, but none of them could come up with an answer.
Finally, Yi Yuan spoke:
"Investigate."
"Use all the methods you know. Without harming Xiao Xi, investigate this damned gu again!"
Yun Xi and Hun Yuan glanced at each other and nodded in unison.
What followed was a flurry of activity.
Hun Yuan almost moved all his tools out and started checking them one by one.
The night grew darker, and the Zhaogan Hall was brightly lit by candles.
Hun Yuan tinkered with one item after another for a while, but his expression grew increasingly grim.
Yi Yuan easily noticed Hun Yuan's change, and his heart couldn't help but lift. He asked with extra caution:
"How's it going? Is there anything wrong?"
Hun Yuan was silent for nearly half a moment. Then, with a green - black face and as if it was hard to speak, he said:
"For the time being, there's no sign of anything wrong with the gu on sister. But the previous accelerated erosion of the heart meridian by the yin gu was indeed... caused by Master's gu - sealing pills."
"Clang—"
The copper magic tool that Yi Yuan was holding fell to the ground, making a series of ear - splitting noises.
It was actually... true.
If so, then was Zongzheng Fengyi really the person with the yang gu?
This was too unexpected for everyone, and the hall fell into silence. No one said a word.
All of Hun Yuan's previous vehement denials seemed like a joke. Hun Yuan hung his head, lost in thought. He only said:
"I... believe in Master."
His voice was dry and hoarse.
"He must have had his reasons for doing this. As for the remaining pills..."
Not daring to look at the other two, Hun Yuan closed his eyes weakly:
"Don't take them for now. Bring them to me tomorrow. I..."
"Your Excellency," the shrill voice of an eunuch suddenly came from outside, interrupting Hun Yuan's words.
"The last palace gate in the imperial city is about to be locked. If the prince and Miss Yun don't leave now, they may not be able to get out."
Only then did the three of them realize that they had stayed in the Zhaogan Hall for too long.
Hun Yuan responded and sent the eunuch away. Yun Xi looked at Yi Yuan, stood up, and stated her stance:
"I also believe in Master Qingyi."
"I've almost finished the pills anyway. There are only one or two left, and it's too late to make up for it. I'll continue taking them. As for whether Zongzheng Fengyi has the yang gu," she turned to look at Hun Yuan and said, "Brother, it's up to you to verify."
Yi Yuan also stood up and simply said:
"Agreed."
After a pause, he stared at Hun Yuan seriously and said:
"And that national teacher. Apart from the bone beads, when I fought with him just now, it was obvious that he didn't use his full strength. He seemed to be hiding his real strength. I'll send the people from Chongshuang to investigate. Don't act alone again."
Hun Yuan: …
Early the next morning, the news that Zongzheng Fengyi had traveled a long way with countless treasures and the seeds of the good - harvest rice just to propose marriage to Yun Xi spread to every household.
Likewise, the news that Yun Xi had repeatedly refused and flatly disagreed also came out.
For a while, everyone from the court to the common people was discussing whether Yun Xi should marry or not.
At the same time, some people were very curious about what charm Yun Xi had. A Prince Yu'an, the second young master of the Shen family, and now the seventh prince of the Ying State. Why did they all only want Yun Xi? It was as if they had been bewitched.
The other branches of the Yun family also received the news.
Grandma Yun, who had always lived in the second branch, came in person accompanied by Yun Xi's second uncle and his wife.
When she arrived, she didn't say anything. She just listened to the people from the second branch talking to Yun Xi and Liu Jingyue. Her eyes when looking at Yun Xi were complex and deep.
It wasn't until the people from the second branch were about to leave. Yun Xi thought Grandma Yun wouldn't say anything more.
But Grandma Yun suddenly said:
"Don't you want the seeds of the good - harvest rice?"