The Emperor was skeptical of Feihua Zhenren’s claims. In his mind, once a person was dead, they couldn’t be resurrected. ’Otherwise, the world would be plunged into chaos!’

Yet, the abilities Feihua Zhenren had just demonstrated proved he wasn’t one for making baseless claims. He must have had something to back him up to dare speak so boldly before the Emperor.

’Since things have come to this, what’s the harm in trusting him just this once?’

’Things have already reached this point. How much worse could they possibly get?’

Clinging to it as a last resort, the Emperor said to Feihua Zhenren.

"If you can truly bring Prince Zhao back to life, I will reward you handsomely."

Feihua Zhenren bowed slightly. "I will do everything in my power to live up to Your Majesty’s expectations."

...

Feihua Zhenren stated that to save Prince Zhao, a ritual must be held.

This ritual would last for three days. Until it was complete, no outsiders were to enter the mourning hall.

Feihua Zhenren listed out all the items required for the ritual.

Once all the items were ready, Feihua Zhenren began the ritual inside the mourning hall.

As Prince Zhao’s wife, Hua Manman was instructed to kneel in the very center of the altar.

The Emperor and Princess Ningyang stood by and watched.

Even the Empress Dowager, upon hearing the news, made a special trip to observe. She wanted to see with her own eyes if the miracle of resurrection was truly possible.

As for other uninvolved personnel, they were all sent away and forbidden from entering the mourning hall without permission.

Feihua Zhenren put away his Peach Wood Sword. With a Compass in one hand and a copper bell in the other, he began to circle the coffin endlessly, chanting under his breath.

The copper bell jingled and jangled, and the needle on the Compass spun wildly.

He would sometimes stop, sometimes speed up, his movements utterly bizarre. Everyone present watched, completely bewildered.

At first, the Empress Dowager managed to watch with patient focus, but her attention soon began to wander, and a wave of drowsiness washed over her.

She used her sleeve to cover her lips and quietly let out a small yawn.

Noticing her discomfort, the Emperor suggested that she could return to her chambers to rest if she was tired.

The Empress Dowager found the ritual dreadfully dull and had no desire to watch any longer. She nodded and prepared to leave.

As she passed by Princess Ningyang, the Empress Dowager paused and asked out of courtesy.

"This ritual is going to last for quite a while. Ningyang, would you care to join me in my chambers to rest?"

Princess Ningyang was the late Emperor’s elder sister. By age, she was even four years older than the Empress Dowager.

The two of them rarely interacted on a daily basis, and their relationship was quite distant.

The Empress Dowager was only asking as a formality. She knew Princess Ningyang wouldn’t accept.

And just as expected,

Princess Ningyang first thanked the Empress Dowager for her concern, then politely refused the offer.

The Empress Dowager said no more and left the mourning hall with her palace maids and eunuchs in tow.

In the afternoon, the Emperor had matters to attend to and temporarily left the mourning hall.

Only Princess Ningyang remained, keeping vigil in the mourning hall.

She clung to a final sliver of hope that the ritual would be successful.

Hope that her grandson could truly be brought back from the dead.

The ritual only paused for the day after the sun had set and the sky had grown dark.

Finally unable to endure any longer, Princess Ningyang also left the mourning hall to get some rest.

The Imperial Kitchen sent over a meal.

A small table was set up in the side hall next to the mourning hall, laden with a full spread of dishes.

These were all prepared for Hua Manman.

Feihua Zhenren was not with her. He had been taken elsewhere to eat and rest.

Hua Manman sat down at the table and said to the palace maid standing in attendance nearby.

"You may go about your duties. I prefer not to have anyone waiting on me while I eat."

The palace maid curtsied slightly. "I will take my leave then. Please just call if you require anything. I will be right outside."

After the palace maid left, only Hua Manman remained in the room.

She immediately stood up, ran to the side of the coffin, and pushed open the coffin lid with some effort.

"Prince, it’s time to eat!"

Li Ji vaulted out of the coffin.

In his hand, he held a leather pouch that had been filled with chicken blood.

The chicken blood was now gone, leaving only the empty pouch.

That’s right. The reason the coffin had appeared to be seeping blood earlier was that Li Ji had been squeezing chicken blood out of it.

He had aimed the spout of the pouch at a crack in the coffin and squeezed the blood out bit by bit. The bright red liquid oozed from the seam, making it look as though the coffin itself was bleeding.

Li Ji tossed the empty pouch aside and stretched his arms and legs.

It must have been difficult for a man with such long limbs to be cooped up in a coffin for that long.

The two of them sat down at the table.

Because it was still the mourning period, the table was full of vegetarian dishes.

In this era, rapeseed didn’t exist, so naturally, there was no such thing as rapeseed oil.

All available cooking oils were rendered from animal fat.

Lard, beef tallow, and mutton suet, for example.

Since these were all derived from animals, they were forbidden during a period of mourning.

In other words, not only did their dishes contain no meat, but they also lacked even a drop of oil.

As Hua Manman ate the bland, flavorless food, she desperately missed fragrant rapeseed oil.

’Even if there’s no rapeseed oil, peanut oil would be great, too!’

At this thought, Hua Manman decided she would figure out how to produce peanut oil later.

Peanuts existed in this era, but no one used them to make oil yet.

Coincidentally, peanuts were grown on her estate, so she could use the harvest to make oil.

’If I had peanut oil, I could have delicious fried chicken.’

At the thought of how fried chicken tasted, she couldn’t help but swallow.

Completely lost in her culinary fantasies, Hua Manman failed to notice the peculiar expression on the man’s face.

Li Ji had heard Hua Manman’s thoughts, but there were a few words he didn’t understand.

Rapeseed and rapeseed oil, for instance.

He had never heard of them and had no idea what they were or what they were used for.

Then there was the peanut oil she’d thought of.

He never knew peanuts could be used to make oil.

Most importantly, the things she was thinking of were not ideas that the ordinary second daughter of an Uncle’s Mansion would have.

Coupled with all her previous oddities, Li Ji couldn’t help but grow suspicious of her origins.

Li Ji’s mind raced with thoughts, but his expression remained impassive as he asked.

"Aren’t you going to eat?"

Snapping out of her reverie, Hua Manman waved her hand and said.

"I’m not hungry. Please, you eat first."

She pushed her bowl and chopsticks in front of Prince Zhao, assuring him that she hadn’t used them, so they were clean for him to use.

Since the Imperial Kitchen had prepared dinner for Hua Manman alone, there was only one set of bowl and chopsticks.

And in a mourning hall, it was impossible to find a second set.

So, Hua Manman could only let Prince Zhao eat first. She would eat after he was finished.

Fortunately, Hua Manman wasn’t a germaphobe, so sharing utensils wasn’t an issue for her.

Li Ji picked up the bowl and filled it with soup.

It was a very plain cabbage and tofu soup.

He used a spoon to scoop up a spoonful of soup, brought it to Hua Manman’s lips, and gestured for her to open her mouth.

Hua Manman said quickly, "You eat first. You don’t need to worry about me."