I started out with seven husbands, and I worked hard to support my family while crying.

Chapter 489: The Prince is Poisoned Again

Fang Xiaoxiao and the others bid farewell to the mysterious man, and after he left, they returned to their courtyard in Kyoto.

Li Wan'er, who had been away from home for many days, also returned to the Prince's Mansion. Hongxiu had nowhere to go, so Fang Xiaoxiao decided to take her in.

Pei Yan and Ouyang Tuoba had just sat down at the stone table in the courtyard when they received an invitation from He Jinnian, who said that a large number of female corpses had been found in the suburbs and asked them to help investigate. The two had no choice but to go.

Fang Xiaoxiao and Hongxiu had a long talk inside the house. Fang Xiaoxiao looked at Hongxiu tenderly, held her hand and said, "I will take care of you from now on, Hongxiu. You don't need to worry about anything else."

Hongxiu's eyes reddened, and she was moved to tears: "Miss Xiao, I have no way to repay your great kindness."

Fang Xiaoxiao gently patted her hand: "Don't say that, from now on we're family."

Hongxiu nodded repeatedly, her heart filled with gratitude.

Meanwhile, Pei Yan and Ouyang Tuoba followed He Jinnian to the outskirts of the city. The scene was a mess, with many women's corpses lying haphazardly, emitting a foul stench.

Pei Yan frowned: "This is too cruel."

Ouyang Tuoba's expression was grave: "Who did this?"

He Jinnian said, "It's still unclear at the moment, and the identities of these women need to be verified."

They began to examine the body carefully, hoping to find some clues.

Pei Yan noticed that these women all had strange wounds on their bodies, as if they had been caused by some kind of special weapon.

Ouyang Tuoba then discovered some suspicious footprints not far away.

“Look, these footprints don’t seem to belong to ordinary people,” Ouyang Tuoba said.

He Jinnian went over to investigate: "Could they be someone from the martial arts world?"

Just as they were deep in thought, a subordinate ran up to report: "Sir, we've found an abandoned house nearby, and there are some strange things inside."

They hurried to the house.

The room was filled with a pungent smell, and there were bottles, jars, and strange blueprints on the floor.

Pei Yan picked up a blueprint and examined it carefully: "This looks like some kind of evil magic formation."

Ouyang Tuoba was startled: "Evil magic? Could it be related to the deaths of these women?"

He Jinnian said with a serious expression: "This matter is of utmost importance and must be investigated as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, Fang Xiaoxiao and Hongxiu also learned about what happened in the suburbs and were filled with worry.

"I wonder if they'll be able to find out the truth," Fang Xiaoxiao said.

Hongxiu said, "I hope the murderer can be caught soon and those women can be avenged."

Just then, a knock came from outside the courtyard.

Fang Xiaoxiao opened the back gate, and the person knocking was none other than Li Wan'er. Li Wan'er tearfully explained that her father had become mentally unstable and seemed to have lost his soul after going to the palace a few days ago, and asked Fang Xiaoxiao to come and check on him.

Fang Xiaoxiao led the two to Prince Rong's residence. The residence was unusually quiet, and even the old lady seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. When the old lady saw Fang Xiaoxiao and the others walking towards her, she disregarded her status and quickly grabbed Fang Xiaoxiao, rushing towards the prince's room.

Inside the prince's room, only one maid was attending to him. Prince Rong sat at his desk, his eyes vacant and drool dripping from his mouth, giving him the appearance of a mentally challenged person.

Fang Xiaoxiao stepped forward and softly called out, "Your Highness?"

Prince Rong remained unresponsive, sitting there blankly.

The old lady couldn't help but shed tears: "What kind of sins did she commit to turn such a good person into this?"

Fang Xiaoxiao carefully observed Prince Rong, her heart filled with doubts.

"Wan'er, who did the Prince meet at the palace? What happened?" Fang Xiaoxiao asked.

Li Wan'er sobbed, "I don't know either. Father came back like this, and when I asked the people in the palace, no one would tell me."

Fang Xiaoxiao frowned, finding the matter quite strange.

"Could it be that she's possessed?" Hongxiu whispered.

Fang Xiaoxiao shook her head: "It's hard to say right now."

Just then, the maid suddenly spoke up: "I think I heard the prince say some strange things on his way back to the palace."

Everyone immediately looked at her.

"What did he say?" the old lady asked anxiously.

The maid thought for a moment: "It seems to be something about 'secret' or 'unspeakable'."

Fang Xiao's heart skipped a beat: "Could it be that the Prince has discovered some secret in the palace that he shouldn't know?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, all sensing that this matter was not simple.

Fang Xiaoxiao decided to search around the Prince's mansion, hoping to find some clues.

She went to the prince's study and searched carefully. In a book, she found a note with some blurry writing, but she could vaguely make out the words "palace" and "conspiracy".

Fang Xiaoxiao felt the situation was getting more and more serious, so she decided to go and discuss it with Pei Yan and the others.

When she returned to the prince's room, she found a strange man there.

A flicker of panic crossed the man's eyes when he saw Fang Xiaoxiao.

"Who are you?" Fang Xiaoxiao asked warily.

The man did not answer and turned to run away.

Fang Xiaoxiao quickly chased after her.

She chased after him out of the room, only to find that he had already vanished. The old lady and the others followed closely behind, and the old lady anxiously asked what had happened. Fang Xiaoxiao shook her head, suggesting that perhaps she was seeing things, and the group returned to the prince's room.

Fang Xiaoxiao said, "I need a quiet environment to treat the prince." The others had no choice but to leave the room.

Inside the room, Fang Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and used the Three Ghost Needles technique, inserting them into various important acupoints on the prince's head. A short while later, the prince suddenly awoke. Upon recognizing Fang Xiaoxiao, he said in pain, "Danger, Wushi..." Before he could finish speaking, he vomited blood and immediately fainted.

Fang Xiaoxiao rushed forward to check on him and found that it was just a case of blood and qi attacking the heart. She quickly took out her homemade medicine pills and gave them to the prince. Although she didn't get much important information, these few words already made her realize that this matter was no small thing.

After helping the prince into bed, Fang Xiaoxiao left the room.

Li Wan'er and the others were anxiously waiting in the back hall. When Fang Xiaoxiao appeared, they immediately stepped forward to inquire about the prince's condition. Fang Xiaoxiao shook her head and said, "The prince's poisoning is too severe, and he needs long-term recuperation. She also mentioned that the prince may lose his past memories even after his recovery."

Upon hearing this, Li Wan'er burst into tears. The old lady sighed and said, "It's already quite good that the person was saved."

Fang Xiaoxiao comforted her, "Wan'er, don't be too sad. As long as the prince's life is not in danger, with proper care, there might be a miracle."

Li Wan'er wiped away her tears: "Xiao Xiao, what exactly happened? How could Father be poisoned?"

Fang Xiaoxiao frowned: "It's still unclear, but the 'five stones' the prince mentioned before he fell into a coma might be a key clue."

Hongxiu said from the side, "Could it be related to the deaths of Liu Mei and the others before?"