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Chapter 3994: The Truth Revealed

Speaking of Duanyue, Qiaoqiao had been engrossed in finding the three-headed, blue-eyed hound's blood for her master's sake. Besides their quiet cultivation at the academy, their entire focus had been on this matter of the blood. Duanyue's situation, unfortunately, had been put aside.

Mo Lian squeezed Qiaomu's small hand. "Something's happened with Duanyue."

Qiaomu was startled. "What happened?"

Mo Lian was gathering his thoughts, about to tell his wife about Duanyue, when he saw Hao Fei arriving swiftly with his men. Seeing the couple, Hao Fei visibly exhaled in relief.

Dismounting from his horse, Hao Fei quickly approached, cupping his hands. "Greetings, Crown Prince, Crown Princess."

"You two have finally returned."

"Crown Princess, over ten days ago, Tian Danhang received a letter from His Highness Prince Chen of Cangzhou."

"The physicians at the Danhang repeatedly examined the items Prince Chen sent, but found no issues."

Mo Lian and Qiaomu took the reins from the stable boy and followed Hao Fei towards Tian Danhang.

At the entrance of the Lin Family Restaurant, the "Seven Flowers" exchanged glances, their bright eyes full of charm.

Meanwhile, the young couple soon reached the south of the city.

They quickly entered with Hao Fei, just as they happened to meet Fairy Huanghe.

Huanghe's eyes suddenly lit up, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Qiaoqiao, you're back!"

Qiaomu nodded, trotted over, and patted her arm. "Little Huanghe, how have you been lately?"

"Quite good," she replied. "Leisurely refining pills, idly chatting when there's nothing to do, occasionally going into seclusion to practice cultivation—life couldn't be more comfortable."

Most importantly... there was someone to chat with!

Qiaomu nodded upon hearing this and was led further inside.

Soon, Fairy Huanghe accompanied her into a private, small alchemy room.

In this room, besides a half-human-tall alchemy furnace, there was also a bamboo shelf holding medicinal herbs.

Fairy Huanghe took an item wrapped in a square cloth from the top layer of the shelf, carefully opened it, and used tweezers to take out a fingernail.

Qiaomu's face was unreadable. She summoned the Nine Stars Reflecting Moon Cauldron, took the fingernail, and began to examine it.

Not long after, Fairy Huanghe and Qiaomu emerged from the alchemy room.

Crown Prince Mo was sitting in the inner hall, quietly drinking tea. Seeing the two come out, he stood up and asked, "How is it?"

Fairy Huanghe angrily clenched her fists. "Qiaoqiao found out. It's the Soul-Devouring Flower poison."

"This substance, when mixed into cosmetics like rouge and powder, is completely colorless and odorless. Long-term application will subtly poison a person. Only at a certain point, with a specific catalyst to fully activate it, can it cause a person to die silently."

Fairy Huanghe said with indignation, "It's too despicable. This Soul-Devouring Flower has no effect on cultivators. It can only bully mortal women."

Mo Lian silently lowered his gaze. Whether it was useful to others didn't matter; being able to strike at Duanyue was enough.

"Long-term application, you say?" Mo Lian spoke softly. "Could it be that as soon as their mother and son returned to Cangzhou, they were targeted, and Duanyue's mother was poisoned?"

Fairy Huanghe, seeing Qiaomu's silence, nodded. "That's likely it. If this substance is ingested little by little every day, its potency isn't enough to be immediately fatal."

"It would require at least half a year or more."

"People's hearts are truly wicked," Fairy Huanghe clenched her fists.