When he arrived at Aluo’s residence, she poured him tea but her complexion wasn’t good. She sat to one side reading, and Li Zhaoting knew she was sulking because he hadn’t visited after several letters. He had his own calculations – first, major events and avoiding suspicion; second, he also wanted to cool her pride until the day she truly submitted. Seeing her state now, he smiled and went to kiss her. Aluo resisted at first but eventually softened and melted into his embrace.

The two nestled together talking intimately. Li Zhaoting felt stirred but remained very restrained, absolutely refusing to create complications at this time. He suppressed his desires, stood up, and took his leave. As he departed, Aluo saw him off. Xiao Si came forward and said ingratiatingly that the Magistrate’s Office was being renovated – Aluo would soon have a new place to work.

Aluo’s expression changed. After the master and servant bid farewell, she said to Meier: “Go to the palace and tell Lian Yu that I’m ill.”

Meier had wanted to advise her not to get entangled with Lian Yu anymore, but seeing her determined expression, could only hurriedly leave.

Aluo waited in her room. She had thought that he, now blinded by grief over Feng Suzhen’s death, would eventually be unable to bear the torment and regret, coming to find her. But for many days there had been no word from him, except once when he had Lian Jie come to ask whether she was inclined to continue as magistrate. If so, the magistrate’s office had prepared new quarters where she could move in anytime for convenient work. Otherwise, he would find someone else suitable.

So the old magistrate’s office site that Li Zhaoting’s servant mentioned wasn’t for her use at all!

She knew she shouldn’t send someone first, losing ground, but…

Two hours later, Meier returned with a person – the Director of the Imperial Medical Academy. And a letter from Lian Yu.

“When I broke with her, I was extremely harsh and never visited. Now that my heart has followed her in death, I certainly won’t meet again. Take care of yourself.”

The ink was sharp as a blade, coldly decisive. She could imagine his expression as he wrote.

She violently swept everything off the table: “Just wait and see – I’ll make you regret this!”

Leaving Aluo’s place, Li Zhaoting didn’t immediately return home but took a secret route to Si Lanfeng’s residence. Si Lanfeng was greatly surprised to see him, as for security reasons, this master of his almost never visited during daylight.

“Young Master?” He immediately sensed something major and came forward.

“Handle something for me.” Li Zhaoting’s words were swift and sharp, clearly urgent.

“Yes.” He agreed without hesitation.

“Leave immediately by secret route and travel to Huai County on a chosen date. Go to the old Feng family residence and confirm whether Feng Suzhen is alive or dead.”

“What?!” Si Lanfeng’s pupils contracted sharply as he exclaimed: “Wasn’t she clearly beaten to death? Why would…”

“Who knows!” Li Zhaoting coldly interrupted: “Confirm it and report back to me.”

“This subordinate obeys.” Seeing his expression – seemingly coldly furious yet not quite, dark and unclear – Si Lanfeng didn’t dare ask more.

“This matter cannot… be told to Teacher Wei. He never got along with Minister Feng, and I don’t want complications.”

Before leaving, Li Zhaoting added another instruction. Si Lanfeng understood – he didn’t want Wei Chenghui to know he still had some care for the Feng family.

He immediately nodded, noticing Li Zhaoting’s tightly furrowed brow, wanting to speak but stopping. Just as he was about to ask again, the other party had already stepped away.

He didn’t delay either, immediately going inside to pack, then to his study to write a leave request. His official rank wasn’t low, and now he was considered one of Lian Yu’s favorites. To leave the capital for several days, he needed to find a reason about urgent family matters. Li Zhaoting’s network included many people, but he didn’t send others for this task because besides being his trusted confidant, Si Lanfeng had worked with Feng Suzhen for a period and was quite familiar with her – he definitely wouldn’t mistake her identity.

Just as he was about to enter, he heard sounds from within the room. Usually only Wei and Li would enter his study. Remembering Li Zhaoting’s hesitation earlier, he pushed the door and asked: “Young Master, besides Feng Suzhen’s life or death, is there anything else you need this subordinate to handle, or any message for her? Lanfeng won’t be able to show himself, but could have someone deliver—”

Before the word “letter” left his mouth, he suddenly froze, his expression falling in panic at the man before him: “Wei… Teacher Wei?”

“This old man came to discuss some military matters with you.” The person in the room stood up, smiling somewhat strangely: “By the way, what were you just saying?”

…

After returning home, Wei Chenghui had someone fetch his second son Wu Jun and quietly instructed him on two matters. After listening, Wu Jun’s eyes took on a predatory gleam, and he stepped into the night.

While several factions secretly made their deployments, Lian Yu had also gathered trusted confidants for secret discussions. That day, Lian Yu met with Murong Ding for the first time in the imperial study. Also seated were Xiao An, Lian Jie, Lian Qin, Yan Da, Gao Chaofeng, Si Lanfeng, and others.

Lian Yu had actively sought a meeting with Xiao An. After Suzhen’s death, the mother-son relationship had indeed improved somewhat.

After the meeting, Lian Yu went to the military camp outside the city to inspect the soldiers’ training.

As night fell, he finally returned to the palace.

“Your Majesty.”

Lian Yu’s injuries were just beginning to heal, and after this full day, he felt quite tired. Leading Xuanwu and several others into the sleeping quarters’ courtyard, just as he raised his hand to his forehead, a fragrant, soft body approached and nestled into his embrace. His brow tightened, and nearby, Ming Yanchu and others “tactfully” withdrew.

“Zui’er has come.” He smiled slightly, gripping her shoulders and imperceptibly pushing the person in his embrace away.

Murong Zui said softly: “Your Majesty has also worked hard all day. This subject has had the imperial kitchen prepare dinner, waiting for Your Majesty’s return to dine together.”

Wei Wuyan had left, Feng Suzhen was dead, and for unknown reasons, that person Gu Xiluo had also left the palace to recuperate quietly. Without her aunt’s instruction, she naturally knew to seize this rare opportunity well.

“Zui’er has worked hard.” Lian Yu said, taking her hand into the hall.

Indeed, a sumptuous table was already set. Murong Zui personally served the dishes. Lian Yu seemed hungry too and ate quite quickly, soon setting down his chopsticks. Murong Zui hadn’t finished eating but also set down her bowl and chopsticks, personally attending to his hand-washing and rinsing, finally moving behind him to massage his shoulders and back.

Lian Yu smelled the waves of fragrance from behind and felt the intentional touches, thinking faintly: after a tiring day, this warm fragrance and soft jade was indeed an enjoyment. Too bad it wasn’t her – he couldn’t muster much interest. If it were her…

As he pondered, his gaze unconsciously darkened slightly. Behind him, Murong Zui said in a husky voice: “Your Majesty’s muscles are very tense – you’re tired. Go to bed, and this subject will massage you properly.”

Lian Yu pressed down her wandering hands firmly: “It’s much more relaxed now. Thank you, Zui’er.”

“You should go rest early too. Xiao Chuzi, come in and escort the lady back to her quarters.”

“Your Majesty…”

Murong Zui was anxious, but Ming Yanchu had already entered and, together with Baihu, supported her out on either side.

When the door closed, Baihu glanced at Lian Yu with a frown, but saw him slowly walk to the bed, drawing something from under the pillow, then lazily leaning against the bed wall with one leg bent upright.

He held up what appeared to be letters in his hand, seeming to want to tear them open. Finally, he just held them, repeating this motion several times…

After returning home, Li Zhaoting summoned two trusted guards, instructing them to go to the old Magistrate’s Office after nightfall and wipe clean the marks under the stone lions at the entrance.

These were former Prince Jin’s subordinates with exceptional skills. They acknowledged the order and left to handle it.

Li Zhaoting slept until midnight but woke with something on his mind.

“Perhaps I should go personally. Though Minister Feng betrayed and left me, he did show kindness to my mother and me in the past. I should personally confirm this Feng family daughter’s life or death. Though Feng is a traitor without conscience, I cannot be without righteousness.”

He thought faintly and got up to dress.

Meanwhile, the traitor’s daughter was on her way home.

But after leaving the capital, Suzhen didn’t immediately head for Huai County. She remembered the half-examined corpse from last time. With Lian Yu’s secret assistance, she believed Sang Zhan should have controlled the situation, but she still wanted to see what happened and whether they’d found the real murderer.

Lian Yu’s words at that time had rekindled something within her heart.

When she arrived, Sang Zhan personally received her.

Only then did she learn that Sang Zhan’s opposition to mining had two reasons: first, fear that once resources were depleted, the tribe’s livelihood would be difficult to sustain; second, there was a deeper cause – the mineral vein was too deep, and excavating it would shake neighboring tribes’ dwellings, causing disaster.

Thanks to their group of outsiders “causing trouble,” Sang Zhan later used strategy to extract admissions from Ying Yan’s confidants. Ying Yan was very likely Achuan’s murderer. However, before the tribe could capture and interrogate him, Ying Yan escaped with many followers.

Sang Zhan thanked her again and inquired about Lian Yu’s identity and their relationship.

For the former, Suzhen vaguely deflected with mentions of capital nobility. As for their relationship, she spoke frankly: they had once loved each other, but now the wind had blown the clouds away – they would forget each other in the martial world.

Sang Zhan seemed thoughtful.

Seeing the matter resolved, Suzhen took her leave, but Sang Zhan warmly insisted she stay. She remained three or four days. The two used tea instead of wine and surprisingly found kindred spirits, chatting very pleasantly. During this time, she discovered that Sang Zhan’s birth mother’s identity seemed unusual, as one day she saw people from the Chu royal family come looking for him. Chu was one of the great nations alongside Zhou and Wei. During the Pei Fengji case, Wei had been quite wary of this. Lian Yu had also used this to ally with the Wei minister.

Suzhen kept thinking of home and bid farewell again. She never expected Sang Zhan to express romantic interest in her. Frightened, she fled under cover of that night’s darkness, continuing her journey home. Unexpectedly, Sang Zhan was also a determined person and pursued her along the way. She had to disguise herself again, regretting having told him she was from Huai County. She hoped he wouldn’t follow her all the way there.

The night Suzhen left the Sang tribe, a carriage also raced through the darkness out of the imperial city for unknown reasons.

Sorry for being late tonight. This is the 28th update. Everyone is welcome to use their imagination, but there won’t be any plots of violence against the ruler in Huai County…