Yan Sanhe knew nothing about what happened at the Jade Flute Building;

Knew nothing about Xie Zhifei’s affairs;

And knew even less about the undercurrents between Li Buyan and Zhao Yishi.

She awoke three days later.

During these three days, the Zhu family sent people to inquire countless times, but Li Buyan turned them all away.

Even after sleeping for three full days, Yan Sanhe’s face was still pale, though fortunately her energy and spirits seemed decent. In one sitting, she ate two bowls of millet congee and four crystal steamed dumplings.

After eating, she walked out of the room and saw Ding Yi standing beside Huang Qi, causing her to frown slightly.

“Ding Yi, you don’t need to follow me. Third Master’s side…”

Ding Yi fell to his knees with a thud. “Miss Yan, Third Master said if I dare leave your side for even half a step, he’ll break my legs.”

Li Buyan added a remark that seemed both intentional and casual.

“While you were sleeping, he had no time during the day, but at night he’d come check on you seventeen or eighteen times. Let Ding Yi stay with you.”

Young Master Pei also spoke up for his good brother. “This morning when leaving, he specifically instructed me to help you properly. More people means more strength, Yan Sanhe.”

Yan Sanhe was left speechless by their words, warmth rising in her heart.

“Let’s go.”

…

Two carriages arrived at the Zhu residence. The three Zhu masters, having received word, were already waiting at the gate.

As soon as Yan Sanhe descended from the carriage, she saw Zhu Yuanmo striding quickly toward her.

Drawing closer, she realized that though Zhu Yuanmo looked three years older, his complexion seemed somehow better than three days ago.

“Miss Yan, the day after that talisman was posted, the flowers and plants in the residence came back to life.”

Zhu Yuanmo continued, “Not only that, but Weixi and my third sister-in-law have also returned to normal—nothing’s wrong with them at all.”

“What about the madam?”

Yan Sanhe glanced at Third Master Zhu and lifted her feet to walk through the residence gate. “How is she?”

The previous words had just been preamble. This was what Zhu Yuanmo really wanted to discuss. “I don’t know why, but Mother has aged considerably all of a sudden.”

Yan Sanhe’s steps faltered.

This was clearly another strange occurrence.

The flowers and plants coming back to life, Zhu Weixi and the third madam returning to normal—all proved that the talisman drawn with her blood and Zhu Yuanmo’s blood had worked.

There was no reason for Madam Mao to be an exception.

Yan Sanhe turned around. “Mingting, let’s split up.”

Having idled for three days at the Bureau of Buddhist Registry, Pei Xiao was ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work. “Tell me, what should I do?”

Yan Sanhe replied, “You go question the eldest madam and Third Miss.”

The eldest madam was fine—she was a married woman anyway.

But the Zhu family’s Third Miss was still unmarried!

Pei Xiao’s ears grew hot, but he steeled himself and nodded.

Yan Sanhe continued, “Huang Qi, Ding Yi.”

“Present!”

“You two go to Old Master Zhu’s study. First do a rough sorting of everything there. Anything that seems off, set it aside separately.”

Huang Qi and Ding Yi exchanged glances. “Understood!”

Pei Xiao asked curiously, “What about you?”

Yan Sanhe stepped across the threshold. “I’ll go check on the madam first.”

Excellent arrangement!

So time-efficient!

Pei Xiao followed, but saw her blocking the doorway. “Eh… Yan Sanhe, why did you stop?”

“Did you all notice anything?”

Everyone was startled by her words.

Pei Xiao’s voice actually trembled. “In broad daylight, what…”

Yan Sanhe waved her hand, signaling him not to speak, then took a few more steps forward and drew several breaths.

“The atmosphere in this residence has changed.”

It had become clean, fresh, without that eerie, crushing feeling from a few days ago.

Joy lit up Zhu Yuanmo’s eyes.

“Miss Yan, to tell you the truth, we three brothers noticed it too. Especially my third brother—he hadn’t been back to the residence in a while. As soon as he returned, he said something was different about the place.”

Yan Sanhe looked toward Zhu Yuanhao.

Zhu Yuanhao thought carefully. “I just felt very comfortable, my breathing smooth. It was smooth and comfortable before too, but somehow different.”

Yan Sanhe asked, “Besides you three brothers, who else has this feeling?”

Zhu Yuanmo shook his head.

Yan Sanhe stated directly, “There’s a problem with your residence.”

Zhu Yuanmo’s heart shook violently.

As head of the Directorate of Astronomy and master of the Zhu household, he had followed his father examining countless feng shui sites since childhood.

Having seen so much, his body naturally developed instinctive reactions.

Some residences—he didn’t even need to take out his compass. He could just close his eyes, calm his mind, open his pores, and sense whether the feng shui was good or bad.

So-called feng shui was essentially a form of qi.

Qi came in many forms: yang qi, yin qi, ghost qi, evil qi, demon qi, malevolent qi, resentful qi…

A good residence had yang qi. Stepping into it felt like bathing in spring breeze—indescribably comfortable throughout the body.

The simplest way to test for yang qi was to find a male infant under three years old and place him in the residence.

If he smiled and played happily, then the residence was a yang dwelling with yang qi.

If the infant cried non-stop the moment he was set down, you didn’t even need to hire a feng shui master—something was definitely wrong with that residence.

But the critical issue was that the Zhu family’s ancestral home had been passed down generation after generation. From the initial site selection, the old ancestors had chosen the very best.

The best terrain;

The best layout;

To put it without exaggeration, even the trees planted in this residence—the ancestors calculated the hour and direction of planting to ensure they benefited the Zhu family and their descendants.

Therefore, the Zhu residence was the finest feng shui treasure aside from the Imperial Palace itself. There absolutely could not be any problems.

Until now, Zhu Yuanmo had firmly believed this.

It wasn’t until that talisman was posted and the flowers and plants came back to life, until he himself felt thoroughly invigorated, that he realized there was an issue.

So where was the problem?

He knew every single layout detail of this residence intimately.

Moreover.

Why hadn’t someone as spiritually sensitive as himself noticed anything before?

Zhu Yuanmo asked through gritted teeth, “Miss Yan, where do you think the problem might be?”

“I don’t know.”

Yan Sanhe glanced at him, speaking calmly. “But we’ll know sooner or later.”

…

Even with prior psychological preparation, when Yan Sanhe saw Madam Mao, she was still greatly shocked.

Madam Mao’s original appearance had been the plump, well-rounded type. Precisely because of this, Yan Sanhe had called her a flower of worldly prosperity and wealth.

The current Madam Mao half-reclined, half-lay on the bed. Her black hair had turned gray-white; her once-full cheeks had sunken in; her exceptionally well-maintained skin was now covered with wrinkles, withered and gaunt.

How to describe it?

Like a flower that had lost its nutrients and suddenly wilted.

Yan Sanhe sat down at the bedside. “Where does the madam feel unwell?”

Madam Mao shook her head. “Nothing feels uncomfortable—I just feel completely drained of strength.”

Yan Sanhe pressed, “Can you eat?”

“I have no appetite for anything. Bird’s nest, plain congee—they all taste the same.”

Madam Mao spoke weakly. “Miss Yan, what’s wrong with me? Am I the next unlucky one? Am I going to die?”