The coroner’s conclusion came back swiftly—unexpected yet unsurprising. The young woman had indeed died three days prior.  

And this was only the second day of the Spring Hunt. In other words, she had died before the hunt even began.  

The news sent shockwaves through both the court and the public.  

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review strictly forbade its spread, but there are no walls in this world that don’t leak. The more something is suppressed, the more fiercely it spreads.  

Especially when linked to the recent theft of Xiangcheng’s battle formation maps, rumors ran rampant through the streets. Speculations ranged from the supernatural to the outright bizarre.  

However, riding the wave of this eerie gossip, the eldest daughter of the Qin family was completely cleared of suspicion.  

Sui Tan let out a sigh of relief. Though the outcome wasn’t perfect, at least it had achieved the goal of saving her elder sister.  

With this, the matter of the Duke of Qin’s legitimate daughter being implicated in the case was settled.  

Regarding her wrongful entanglement, the nobility of the capital maintained a facade of sympathy, flocking to the Duke’s residence one after another to express their condolences for the injustice suffered by his eldest daughter.  

Yet amid this endless stream of sighs—some genuine, some feigned—there was one person who refused to accept reality.  

At this very moment, this man stood in the main hall of the Duke’s residence, gesturing wildly and vowing to seek justice for his beloved, who had died a tragic death.  

“Utterly unreasonable! Lawless!”  

Hearing Lin Qi’s report of the commotion in the main hall, Sui Tan paced back and forth in her room, muttering under her breath. Her delicate, porcelain-like face flushed red with anger.  

“Where does that bastard Young Master Sun get the nerve to make a scene at our residence? If you ask me, the Court of Judicial Review should arrest him—he’s the most suspicious one!”  

Lin Qi stood to the side with his arms crossed, seemingly delighted by her disdain for Young Master Sun, his eyes brimming with warmth.  

But as Sui Tan continued her tirade, he coughed lightly and feigned seriousness, chiming in:  

“What makes you say that, Miss?”  

“The smell on him!”  

Unaware of his teasing, Sui Tan ranted on indignantly:  

“Remember? That day, it was because of his scent that I realized something was wrong!”  

“It wasn’t a sachet at all—it was incense used to mask the stench of a corpse!”  

The thought alone made her blood boil.  

“He was the one who brought her in, and he was wearing the incense ahead of time. Even if he wasn’t the mastermind, he was at least involved. If you ask me, arresting him would be the right move! Why won’t the Court of Judicial Review (Dali Temple) do it?”  

This grievance had been gnawing at her for days.  

The moment the coroner revealed the time of death, she had immediately reported Young Master Sun as the prime suspect, hoping to swiftly apprehend the person who had framed her sister.  

Yet, to her surprise, despite her fervent appeal, the notoriously ruthless Minister of the Court of Judicial Review—who was known for preferring wrongful executions over letting suspects escape—had done nothing.  

Not only was there no arrest or summary execution, but there wasn’t even an interrogation like the one her sister had been subjected to. The utter lack of action left her fuming.  

“The Minister must have his own considerations. You shouldn’t dwell on it too much.”  

Knowing Sui Tan was just venting, Lin Qi smiled faintly and dutifully comforted her as always.  

But this time, Sui Tan reacted differently.  

She tilted her head slightly, avoiding his gaze, and lowered her lashes, casting a shadow over her rosy cheeks.  

“Lin Qi.”  

In an instant, all her earlier energy vanished, replaced by a sullen tone. “I’m no longer your Miss.”  

The abrupt shift was like plucking a flower at the edge of a cliff. Lin Qi’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively denied it: “This subordinate would never—”  

“Then why won’t you curse the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review with me?!”

She suddenly spun around, hands on her hips, cheeks puffed out in indignation as she accused:  

“You defended the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review instead of me! You must not want to acknowledge me as your Miss anymore!”  

“This subordinate would never.”  

His momentarily suspended heart slowly settled back into place, and Lin Qi couldn’t help but felt both exasperated and amused.  

“This subordinate is undoubtedly on your side.”  

“Really?”  

“Really.”  

“But I’m indeed not your Miss anymore.”  

Sui Tan abruptly changed the subject, declaring:  

“I am the Third Prince’s fiancée, and you are the Third Prince’s subordinate. Logically speaking, you should call me ‘Madame’ instead.”  

“…”  

The words died in his throat. Lin Qi suddenly felt as though all his strength to refute her had drained away, leaving him speechless and helpless as he gazed at her.  

Sui Tan seemed immensely pleased with the reaction she’d provoked. Her starry eyes gleamed mischievously as she took a sudden step forward, closing the distance between them in an instant—so close that it bordered on intimate.  

Her dark hair was right before him, so near that a mere tilt of his head would bring his lips to it.  

Lin Qi’s throat moved involuntarily as he watched her lift her face, beaming up at him with a radiant smile—bright as the first ray of spring sunlight outside the window.  

Then he heard her say:  

“Come on, Lin Qi. Call me ‘Madame.'”  

“…”  

A scalding heat erupted across his face. For a moment, Lin Qi forgot how to speak, how to move. He could only retreat step by step in disarray, though even he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly he was afraid of.  

Sui Tan continued chasing after him, chattering relentlessly:  

“What’s wrong with calling me ‘Madame’? I’m the Third Prince’s most beloved future princess consort!”  

“Miss!”  

Fortunately, just as the atmosphere in the room was veering toward something even more ambiguous, a startled cry interrupted the peculiar tension.  

Lin Qi reacted swiftly, his figure flashing to the farthest corner of the room in an instant. Mutely, he mouthed the words “Miss” but refused to come any closer.  

Out of the corner of her eye, Sui Tan caught sight of his crimson-tipped ears and shrugged in satisfaction, looking as smug as a fox that had just stolen its prey.  

“What is it?”  

She turned toward Qinglian, her personal maid, who had rushed in breathlessly. Oblivious to the scene she’d interrupted, Qinglian excitedly relayed the big news to her mistress.  

“Miss! Eldest Miss has returned!”  

No matter how others interpreted the events, for Qin Suizheng, the eldest daughter of the Qin family, this whole ordeal had been nothing short of an undeserved calamity.  

The privileged and pampered eldest daughter of the Duke’s household had not only been wrongfully implicated in a murder case but also detained by the notoriously unyielding Court of Judicial Review (Dali Temple). In any era, such an incident would not be easily brushed aside.  

Thus, the moment the truth came to light, the Court of Judicial Review hastened to release her, even personally escorting her back to the residence.  

Sui Tan rushed to the entrance just in time to see her sister hesitating on how to disembark from the Court’s grand carriage.  

A man in black court robes stepped forward and offered his arm as support.  

Two delicate blushes instantly bloomed on the eldest sister’s cheeks. She dipped into a slight curtsy in gratitude before lightly placing her hand on his arm. The man’s eyes softened with warmth in an instant.  

“Elder Sister!”  

Sui Tan called out as she ran, her sudden, crisp voice startling the eldest sister.  

She hastily withdrew her hand, then seemed to realize her overreaction and shyly peeked up at the man.  

Only after receiving his understanding gaze did she turn to her younger sister, her eyes crinkling with tenderness.  

But because her back was turned, she missed the way the man’s gentle expression vanished the moment she looked away—his eyes turning colder than a blade’s edge.