The news that the Marshal’s only son had been poisoned spread throughout the country, and everyone bore witness to the military’s swift, decisive action.

In just two days, the military blockaded two different locations in the name of their investigation. Even the Public Security Bureau didn’t dare intervene in the military’s overstepping of authority, only hoping to avoid being affected by Lei Cheng’s wrath.

Gradually, attentive media outlets noticed that all of the blockaded areas were connected to the Prime Minister, and a new round of speculation started from the grassroots media. Various versions of these speculations ran rampant.

Faced with overwhelming public opinion, official media did not report on, clarify, or refute the rumors, but instead seemed to tacitly approve of everyone’s speculations.

Due to the Ling Yi incident, Lu Hulun was already at the center of a hurricane of public outrage, and many people took the opportunity to anonymously report him.

Under Lei Cheng’s orders, regardless of whether the reports were true or false, all of the people who were reported and had connections to the Prime Minister were to be detained pending trial.

Under such a series of blows, Lu Hulun was ultimately unable to refrain from taking action.

You Lin reported to Tang De, who then reported to Oser, that the court was planning to destroy evidence, including some of the evidence in Ling Yi’s case.

When Ling Yi heard that Oser was planning to raid the court, he insisted on going with him. Oser thought that he was concerned about his own case, and acquiesced.

This was destined to be an unusual day. Oser’s guards took control of the court, and all staff were forced to remain at their workstations. The guards piled all of the suspicious documents they collected in one place and waited to take them away after the search was complete.

Chief Justice Bisi was handcuffed to a chair for interrogation. The person whom he had personally sentenced to death was right in front of him, but he was unable to recognize him. He only knew that the beauty brought by His Highness Oser was staring at him with a cold smile that made his hair stand on end.

“Would you please stop staring at me and smiling?” the Chief Justice pleaded humbly. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to wet my pants.”

He wasn’t even lying. He had been cuffed for over two hours, and his bladder was protesting his morning coffee.

Ling Yi gave a few sinister chuckles and even started to whistle.

The Chief Justice: “……”

The whistling cut off abruptly, and Ling Yi frowned.

“What is it?” Oser asked.

Ling Yi was like a child who had made a mistake “…..I need to go to the restroom.”

Oser shook his derisively. It didn’t seem to surprise him that Ling Yi would act this way.

“Turn left when you go out. Don’t go the wrong way.”

Ling Yi scurried off with a high degree of urinary urgency.

The Chief Justice observed this: “Your Highness Oser, I, I…..”

“What?”

“I need to pee too…..”

“Hold it.”

“……”

After a long wait, Ling Yi still hadn’t returned.

Oser was about to send someone to check on him when the Chief Justice spoke up again restlessly: “Your Highness—”

“Didn’t I tell you to hold it? Why are you asking again?”

“That’s not it.” He scrunched his nose. “Why do I smell smoke inside the building?”

Oser took a couple of sniffs. It seemed he wasn’t making things up.

At that moment, the fire alarm blared deafeningly, further confirming his statement.

“Ling Yi!” Oser rushed out of the Chief Justice’s office and received a faceful of smoke. 

He waved his hand, and the smoke dispersed slightly. Not far away, a figure was running toward him.

“Your Highness!” Ling Yi looked panicked. “There’s a fire in the building!”

Oser grabbed his wrist and rushed out, ordering Tang De: “Notify the fire department and evacuate everyone!”

Fortunately, the fire wasn’t large, and everyone only inhaled a little bit of smoke during evacuation.

After most people were safely evacuated, the fire intensified, and thick smoke billowed from the windows on the second floor.

Ling Yi’s gaze flitted over the people around him and he asked: “Where is Captain Tang De?”

Speak of the devil, and he would arrive. Tang De half-carried, half-dragged You Lin through the main gate. You Lin tried to rush back in as soon as his feet touched the ground, but Tang De restrained him with an arm tight around his waist.

“There’s a fire, you can’t go inside!”

“The evidence! The evidence is still in there!”

“What’s more important, the evidence or your life?” Tang De shouted at him.

“They set a fire to destroy the evidence! I have to go get it!”

“Be quiet!” Oser shouted forcefully as he hurried over.

You Lin was extremely anxious: “Your Highness, the evidence inside is our only chance!”

Oser glanced at the burning courthouse and said: “Tang De, keep an eye on him.”

“Yes!”

“And Ling Yi.”

“Ah?”

Before anyone could react, he left Ling Yi and rushed through the courthouse gate.

Tang De was horrified, and was about to follow when he spotted someone running faster than him. A quarter of his soul was frightened out of him by Oser’s actions, and the remaining three fourths were lost when he turned his head. 

“Your Highness Ling Yi! His Highness Oser told me to keep an eye on you. You can’t go in!”

Ling Yi was visibly anxious: “His Highness is in danger!”

“It’s enough for him to be in danger by himself, you can’t risk yourself again!”

Tang De tried to stand in front of him, but then another person rushed past him – You Lin.

If there was a darkest hour in Tang De’s life, this must be it.

“Hold him down!” The experienced captain of the guard couldn’t do all of the work himself.

Guards rushed over and asked: “Which one?”

Tang De pointed at You Lin: “That one, of course!”

The guards transformed into rugby players, ruthlessly pinning You Lin down.

“You two go after His Highness. Make sure he’s safe, no matter what!”

The guards obeyed his order and rushed toward the fire without looking back.

Ling Yi was the only one left, and was still looking for an opportunity. Tang De could use neither violence nor persuasion, and itched to kowtow to him.

“I beg of you to wait for His Highness to come out. If he finds out that I couldn’t stop you, my life will be in your hands.”

“But His Highness—”

“His Highness is blessed with good fortune, nothing will happen to him. Besides, the firefighters will be here soon – there they are!”

Firetrucks arrived on the scene with lights flashing. Fully armed and equipped with professional firefighting tools, the firefighters skillfully entered the scene of the fire through several entrances.

The fire was extremely fierce at this time, and there were flames burning behind nearly every window.

The fire chief evacuated the crowd: “Back off! Everyone back away!”

Ling Yi grabbed onto him like a life-saving straw: “His Highness Oser is still inside, you have to save him!”

“We will rescue anyone who’s inside. Unrelated personnel should step back and not interfere with the rescue work!”

Ling Yi paused, then unexpectedly pushed him away and ran inside.

“Hey!” The fire chief didn’t react in time to stop him. Immediately afterwards, someone else passed by him.

Tang De followed without hesitation when he saw Ling Yi push the fire chief aside. Just as he was about to sprint over and tackle him, he suddenly saw two hazy figures appear at the main gate, backlit by the firelight.

He finally understood why Ling Yi was suddenly so agitated. Changing his target, he went to meet them: “Your Highness!”

Oser was holding a person who appeared to be unconscious. Ling Yi and Tang De escorted them out together, and two guards soon followed.

When they reached a safe area, Oser threw the man onto the lawn in disgust. Only then did everyone see that the person who had passed out from smoke inhalation was the Chief Justice who’d been handcuffed to a chair.

Ling Yi’s worry instantly transformed into anger: “The fire is so dangerous. Is this kind of person really worth risking your life to save?”

“Who said I wanted to save him? If he hadn’t begged me to save his life, I wouldn’t have bothered to pay him any attention.”

Oser glanced regretfully at the burning courthouse: “It’s a pity that the evidence couldn’t be salvaged.”

Ling Yi’s entire body trembled, perhaps due to fear, or perhaps due to excessive worry. This kind of complex mood was unable to be hidden.

Tang De had recovered half his soul, and couldn’t wait to describe Ling Yi’s reaction to Oser.

“Your Highness, did you see how Ling Yi rushed in to find you just now? I did everything I could to stop him. To be honest, I’ve never had to try so hard even to stop an assassin.”

Although he was exaggerating the matter, Ling Yi didn’t refute it. He seemed to be lingering in the aftermath of his fear.

Oser was moved, and wrapped one of his arms around the man.

“You were worried about me?”

Ling Yi stood there in a daze for a moment, then wrapped an arm around Oser in return.

Although he remained silent, his trembling hands revealed what he was feeling.

Tang De thought to himself that this was some kind of world-famous painting, and secretly took out his cell phone for a photo.

You Lin stared at the burning fire, his face awash with resentment. And when he caught a glimpse of what Tang De was doing, he became even more furious.

“Taking photos while the courthouse is on fire, how leisurely and tasteful!”

Tang De, having just experienced extreme stress, was particularly relaxed at this moment.

“Brother, what’s the point of being upset when the evidence is already gone?”

He showed the photo to You Lin: “See? The light and shadow is purely natural, without any special effects. This is the most beautiful love that can be recorded by the human lens.”

You Lin turned his head away in a temper.

The firefighters put out the fire. The good news was that only a few people had minor injuries, but the bad news was that all of the evidence had been burned.

When rescuing the Chief Justice, Oser had dismantled the chair with his bare hands. His left hand was the most seriously injured, with blisters forming where they had been burned.

Luo Li picked the blisters one by one and applied medicine. The treatment process looked painful, but Oser’s expression didn’t change.

When he was done with the complicated part, Luo Li handed the cotton swabs and ointment to Ling Yi, who had been watching from the side.

“Applying the medicine isn’t difficult. How about you give it a try?”

As Ling Yi took them hesitantly, Luo Li leaned in close to his ear and said: “Caring for the sick and injured is the best way to foster a relationship.”

He considerately left after saying this, creating the ideal environment for the two of them.

Ling Yi applied the medicine to Oser, being very careful not to hurt him.

“The repair fluid used on me was really effective. How about you use it, Your Highness?”

“You need to soak your whole body in that stuff. Why make a big deal out of a small injury?”

“How is a burn like this not a big deal? What’s even more infuriating is that you got this burn saving a scumbag,” Ling Yi griped.

Oser saw his worry and rubbed his head with the other hand: “Everyone says I’m fine. Why are you still so upset?”

“Why do you want You Lin to proceed with the investigation?” Ling Yi asked.

“If we can find evidence of self-defense, we can change your verdict to not guilty. Don’t you want your verdict overturned?”

“What’s the point?”

“Even with a pardon, you’ll still have a criminal record on your file.”

“So what? Does the consort still need to take his résumé and apply for jobs?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why should I care whether or not I have a criminal record? Killing is not a stain on me – it’s the medal I wear, an honor I earned with my own strength. Why should it be erased from my life résumé?”

Ling Yi gingerly lifted Oser’s hand: “I don’t care whether or not I’m found innocent or have a criminal record. I just hope Your Highness won’t take any more risks for me in the future.”

The sincerity in his eyes touched Oser. It was completely unexpected that Ling Yi would worry so much about him. He had always thought that Ling Yi was in this for business rather than affection, but now, it seemed that wasn’t the case. 

Oser, who remained perpetually unaffected whether he was doing good or bad things, felt guilty for the first time when facing Ling Yi.

Tang De was also touched by Ling Yi’s performance, but compared to his immediate boss, he was visibly more anxious than relieved.

Lan Ze had come to the lounge for some water, and met Tang De there smoking a cigarette.

Tang De took the initiative to show his goodwill: “Doctor Lan Ze, would you like one?”

“I don’t smoke.”

“These don’t have nicotine. They’re harmless.”

“The nature of them is to enhance pheromones to stimulate the secretion of dopamine in the substantia nigra cells of the brain. If you wish, I can help you implant a needle in the ventral tegmentum area of your brain, and as long as electricity is continuously applied, the same effect can be achieved.”

“……” Tang De awkwardly put out his cigarette and decided to put this man on the list of people he should never offend.

He watched Lan Ze pour a glass of distilled water and sit down to drink it.

“Does Doctor Lan Ze not drink coffee for the same reason?”

“Pretty much.”

Tang De simply couldn’t control his desire to complain: “But why are you so ritualistic about drinking water that you have to come all the way to the lounge to drink it?”

“I separate my work and rest areas so that my brain produces different amounts of cortisol in different environments.”

“……” Tang De nodded. “Meticulous. Truly meticulous.”

Lan Ze ingested a moderate amount of dihydrogen monoxide.

“People typically stimulate dopamine for two reasons: one is to elevate happiness, and the other is to relieve worries. Captain Tang De seems to fit the latter category.”

Tang De really needed someone to listen to him, and didn’t care if that person was Lan Ze.

“The story goes like this: His Highness risked his life to run into the fire and rescue the evidence, and His Highness Ling Yi is deeply moved because he believes that His Highness did so to clear his name.”

“What is the truth?”

“The truth…..of course, it was mainly for the purpose of overturning his verdict, which serves the subsequent purpose of revoking the pardon. His Highness Ling Yi is currently unaware of the other consequence of overturning his verdict.”

“I understand. You’re worried that Ling Yi won’t be so moved when he finds out that His Highness entered the fire to protect his throne.”

Tang De nervously leaned closer: “Do you think he will?”

Lan Ze took another unhurried drink of water: “How would I know? I’ve dissected over a hundred, but I still can’t understand what goes on in people’s hearts.”

“Don’t people use their brains to think?”

“I’ve dissected many more brains, hundreds of them, and I’ve also implanted tools such as steel needles and electromagnetic plates in different areas of living people’s brains. Unfortunately, research on changes in brain activity corresponding to different thoughts has made limited progress so far, as volunteers often withdraw from the experiments due to excessive pain.”

Tang De: “……”

Lan Ze turned his head and said: “My lab is still recruiting volunteers.”

Tang De silently put more space between him and Lan Ze.

Ling Yi finished applying the medicine, and when he went out, someone was waiting for him in the shadows of the corridor.

“Come with me,” You Lin said, and went into a rarely-used room next door.

Ling Yi didn’t look surprised at the man’s appearance. He followed him into the room and closed the door behind him.

“You’ve probably guessed why I came to see you.”

There was no emotion on You Lin’s face, but years of studying law had given him a fierce, oppressive aura when questioning someone. 

“I’ll get straight to the point. Why did you set the fire?”

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T/N: I lowkey want a Lan Ze romantic comedy spinoff. I can’t even imagine the weird shit he would come up with to try to woo someone.

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Chapter 35 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 37