The small courtyard instantly became deathly silent. There was only the rustling of the cold wind as it blew against the leaves. The sound of fallen leaves falling to the ground filled everyone's heart, making them feel as cold as the dead lake.

"Ah .." He killed someone .. "I killed him .."

After a long time, the palace maid who came with An Lan finally came back to her senses. She took small steps that trembled as she walked towards An Lan. Her trembling hands carefully reached out and placed them under her nose.

The next moment, her face turned pale with fright, as if she had suddenly turned ashen in June. All of a sudden, she scrambled to a corner of the small courtyard. Immediately, a deafening cry came out of her mouth, resounding through the entire temple.

Lan Yi looked at everything that had happened, and suddenly a bad premonition arose in his heart. However, he was worried about the young miss's condition. He didn't have time to care about these things and had already started to run. Like a sharp sword that had left the bowstring, she had already disappeared in a short while.

It was easier to find someone in the spacious Jade Cloud Temple than to find someone. She walked around in circles a few times but still couldn't find the imperial physician's residence.

At this moment, the news of her accidental killing of Anlan spread rapidly throughout the temple. In a fit of rage, the empress dowager ordered the imperial guards to come and arrest her. As the master, Bai Zhixi was naturally implicated, while he was still unconscious he was surrounded by the imperial guards, completely airtight. The empress dowager had ordered that if she didn't see Lan Yi's figure in two hours, she would be sent to prison and be punished as a servant who did not know how to behave.

"Pa .."

The quiet little courtyard was crowded with people, but they were all extremely respectful towards the furious esteemed empress dowager in front of them. And the crisp sound of the cup being thrown was from her hand.

"Impudent, you dare to murder a palace maid in a temple. You are simply disregarding all laws and regulations. Commander Chang, have you found anyone yet? "

The empress dowager, seated in a low chair, gripped the cane tightly with both hands and trembled slightly. His chest heaved violently like a balloon that was about to explode. The veins on his neck stood up shakily and his face flushed red. From his neck to the back of his ears, he looked like an angry Guan Gong.

"In reply to Esteemed Empress Dowager, we've already searched with all our might, and haven't found Miss Bai's maidservant. "Moreover .."

The right commander of the imperial guards, Ji Changde, was said to be the uncle of Bai Zhiru. However, the voice was as loud as a bell, and its tiny eyes flashed with light.

"And what?"

At this moment, the empress dowager, who was resting against the soft cushion with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes upon hearing what Commander Chang had said. She stared at him suspiciously.

"Moreover, Miss Bai has locked herself in her room and has not stepped out. I wanted to force my way in and see if she could hide the criminals, but there seems to be a formation outside of her house. I can only ask Her Majesty to send someone else to help me. "

After Commander Chang finished speaking, he silently retreated to the side. Thinking about how he wanted to walk into Bai Zhixi's house earlier, and not get blown away by the powerful air currents, it was clear that an expert was helping her.

He was still feeling pain in his chest. If it wasn't for his luck in healing himself, he wouldn't have been able to stand up. If he really had the help of an expert, he would have definitely revealed the true identity of the person in the shadows, disqualified Bai Zhixi from participating in the princess's selection, and completed the mission given by his master.

"What?" How could there be such a thing? Wasn't she a fool before? A fool would actually be able to create such a strange array formation. Even I, the dignified Commander of the imperial guards, was no match for her. Could it be that she's been pretending to be crazy in the past? "

Everyone was speechless for a moment, and the courtyard once again became silent. Everyone had their own thoughts. Everyone was wondering if Bai Zhixi only set up such a sinister array because he had received the help of an expert from the shadows.

Otherwise, how could she, a young lady from a pavilion who did not step out of the door and was foolish for decades, befriend such a powerful expert? If that wasn't the case, then she had been pretending all these years. A girl's mind was truly meticulous. It was truly not something to be looked down upon.

The empress dowager might have thought of this, but her dark eyes were still cold. Following that was a flash of killing intent.

Jun Mohan stood at the side and looked at the empress dowager who was behaving in such a manner. He suddenly understood that the empress dowager was suspicious of Bai Zhixi.

From his understanding of Lan Yi, he should not have acted so rashly to kill others. Furthermore, with such a huge matter happening, as the master, Xi Er actually did not come forward to settle it, and had even set up an array formation at the entrance.

"Royal Grandmother, your granddaughter told you all earlier that Bai Zhixi isn't as simple as she looks on the surface. She must have been pretending to be crazy and deceiving us previously, but we were fooled so foolishly by her that we didn't even notice. Grandmother, you must not shield her this time. You must punish her severely. "Otherwise, how can I explain it to uncle? An Lan is uncle's daughter, the young miss of the Situ family. If she dies like this, uncle will definitely not let this go."

Dongfang Yao squatted in front of the empress dowager, worry and helplessness on her elegant and beautiful face. But it also clearly told everyone that An Lan's identity wasn't simple, and she wasn't someone that a mere maidservant could beat to death.

Worry surfaced on Shangguan Jingyan's elegant face. As Bai Zhixi's good sister, she was naturally worried about how Bai Zhixi would settle this issue. This was related to her life and death.

However, if Bai Zhiru's future was affected because of this matter, she would definitely not let Bai Zhixi go. His heart was thinking of returning to the clan quickly after a while, to let his father remove Bai Zhixi's name from the clan, and chase her out of the Prime Minister's Estate. This way, even if she made a mistake to wipe out the Nine Tribes, it would have nothing to do with them.

"Chang De, send more people to look for the location of the maidservant. Remember to make sure to make the movements of the people under your command be gentler. Chen'er and Mo'er, go and take a look at Bai Zhixi's courtyard and see if Commander Chang's words are true or not. "

"Yes .."

After she finished speaking, the empress dowager's hands lightly tapped her forehead as she was helped out of the courtyard by the palace maids.

Seeing this, Jun Mohan and the rest all knew what the empress dowager's intentions were, and could only answer respectfully.

"Royal Grandmother, if you don't punish Bai Zhixi for allowing the servant girl to kill, how will I explain this to my uncle? "You should know Uncle's temper, he .."

Everyone had just reached the door when they heard Dongfang Yao's idiotic question. There was a hint of unwillingness in his voice.

"That's enough, I have yet to find the servant who beat Bai Zhixi, and I don't have a clear understanding of the matter. Furthermore, whether Bai Zhixi was previously stupid or pretending to be stupid and deceive the imperial family, I have yet to find out. An Lan was only a concubine. Even if she were to be beaten to death, she wouldn't be able to take Bai Zhixi's life as a direct daughter. Could it be that Imperial Uncle could kill me alone as an old woman? Hui Xiang, bring the princess down and serve her well. You are not allowed to come out without my orders. "

The empress dowager slowly turned around, her gaze staring calmly ahead. Her expression was at ease, but the words spat out from her beautifully shaped lips were like ice slags. The calmness that could not be any calmer flowed out from her mouth.

The empress dowager finished speaking and walked towards the direction of the abbot.

"Yes, granddaughter knows her wrongs."

Dongfang Yao was so scared that she quickly lied on the ground and didn't even take a deep breath. The empress dowager's words still flowed in her ears, but her heart still palpitated in fear. She respectfully bowed in the direction that the empress dowager had walked. Then, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He looked down like a soft cloud.

How could she forget that although her royal grandmother doted on her a lot, she was not the real mother of royal father. Naturally, she didn't put her uncle and his family in her eyes, and she never cared about how she felt.

"Alright, you were too impulsive just now. How could you threaten her with your uncle in front of the emperor's grandma? Furthermore, Xi Er is not the type of person you think she is. I hope you will try to treat her sincerely. After all, we need to get along in the future. "

Dongfang Chen looked at his sister, whose eyes were filled with tears and body was shivering uncontrollably. Originally, he should have comforted her a little, but when he thought about how she wanted Bai Zhixi to die so much, he couldn't think of anything to say.

He could only silently pat her shoulders and slowly leave with Jun Mohan.

Everyone knew about her conflict with Bai Zhixi. It was just that at this critical juncture, there was no conclusive evidence to prove that Lan Yi beating An Lan to death. Previously, Bai Zhixi had played the fool and lied to everyone.

Furthermore, the empress dowager's reply was unfathomable. From her attitude towards Bai Zhixi, everyone thought that she would definitely not show mercy to him. But to think that he would make such a declaration, and end the warning by those people who wanted to secretly frame Bai Zhixi.

Dongfang Yao saw that her own brother was actually helping an outsider. She suddenly felt sad in her heart. Tears streamed down her face like a waterfall, unable to be stopped.

"Princess Yao, don't cry. I believe Chen-gege didn't say that on purpose. Now that we have angered Esteemed Empress Dowager, we have to wait for the results. If Bai Zhixi is truly pretending to fool everyone, then I will definitely not let her off. will definitely give her the most painful lesson, and avenge you. "

Bai Zhiru carefully supported Dongfang Yao as they walked back to the small courtyard. As his smile deepened, the corners of his eyes became more and more handsome. A cold look appeared on her elegant face, as cold as the winter moon. The corner of her mouth was drawn in a sharp, cold arc, as vicious words slowly flowed out from her mouth.

"Yeah, cousin, what is the use of crying here? Maybe she, Bai Zhixi, is hiding somewhere and laughing secretly? It's only because you feel bad about hurting your body. "

As soon as Bai Zhiru finished speaking, she looked Situ Lingwei in the eye and understood the advantages and disadvantages of telling Dongfang Yao about what had happened. But it had also deepened Dongfang Yao's hatred for Bai Zhixi.