Zhu Weijin left on weak and unsteady legs.

Pei Xiao escorted her to the corridor, then hurriedly turned back and rushed inside.

The room had already been lit with lamps. The three Zhu brothers still sat in their original positions, each expression dazed, like eggplants beaten by frost.

Yan Sanhe stood in the courtyard with her hands clasped behind her back, pacing slowly.

Eh, where was Hero Li?

Hero Li emerged from the inner room. Looking up and seeing Pei Xiao, she quickly walked over and asked in a low voice:

“Did Zhu Weijin say anything else?”

“Her mouth never opened.”

Young Master Pei added with lingering fear: “Her expression was terrible, her eyes even more frightening. I didn’t dare look at her.”

Li Buyan rarely refrained from mocking Young Master Pei’s cowardice. Her almond eyes slanted as she sighed: “I wonder if she can understand the deeper meaning in Yan Sanhe’s words.”

Young Master Pei had a belly full of questions about Yan Sanhe’s earlier words.

He half-covered his mouth: “Was Yan Sanhe instigating Second Miss to confront the Zhu family men?”

“Exactly!”

Li Buyan’s lips curved.

“What’s the point of women fighting women? Fighting men—that’s where the sense of achievement lies.”

Young Master Pei’s mouth fell open: “…”

Fine!

Better change the subject quickly.

Don’t let the fire spread to me.

Young Master Pei nudged Li Buyan with his elbow: “Where’s Eldest Sister-in-law?”

Li Buyan glanced toward the inner room: “Sitting dazed, also not saying a word. Third Miss is keeping her company.”

“What do we do next?”

Young Master Pei’s heart was truly anxious: “In my opinion, we need to find that Geng Songsheng fellow and question him thoroughly.”

Li Buyan looked at him with some surprise.

This kid had gotten smarter recently. Indeed, they should find Geng Songsheng and question him.

Young Master Pei, seeing apparent agreement on her face, said: “We also need to find Xie Zhifei. He has brothers in the Embroidered Uniform Guard who specialize in tracking people down.”

“Why must everything involve Third Master?”

Li Buyan deliberately baited him: “Can’t you be useful for once?”

Young Master Pei shot back a look that said “what do you know,” then shamelessly replied: “Good steel should be used on the blade’s edge!”

Li Buyan: “…”

Just then, Second Master Zhu emerged from the hall.

“Miss Yan.”

Yan Sanhe’s footsteps paused as she looked his way.

Zhu Yuanzhao walked before Yan Sanhe: “I suddenly remembered something. I don’t know if it’s useful.”

Yan Sanhe: “Speak.”

Zhu Yuanzhao: “After the cheating incident came out, I went looking for him. I had one purpose—to beat him severely.”

To focus on review, Geng Songsheng had rented a small residence near the Imperial Academy for the final six months.

He entered the residence and headed straight for the study, smelling a burnt odor from afar.

Drawing closer, he discovered a fire at the courtyard gate. Geng Songsheng was throwing books into the flames one by one.

This bastard still had the face to burn books?

Zhu Yuanzhao was furious and rushed over to pummel him with fists and kicks.

“Of us three brothers, I was closest to him. In our free time, we often arranged to drink together. Setting aside Eldest Sister’s situation, I genuinely considered him a brother. For precisely this reason, I didn’t hold back.”

Zhu Yuanzhao: “He let me beat him without fighting back. Finally he fell to the ground on all fours, muttering over and over: ‘I cannot anymore, I cannot anymore, I cannot anymore…'”

Yan Sanhe frowned: “He repeated only this one phrase?”

“Yes, just this phrase.”

Zhu Yuanzhao: “I asked what he meant. He looked at me with tearful eyes, saying he didn’t know either—he just couldn’t anymore, just couldn’t. Seeing him crazed and delirious, I turned and left in anger.”

“Why did you suddenly remember this?”

Yan Sanhe: “Where was the problem?”

“Miss Yan doesn’t know.”

Zhu Yuanzhao: “Geng Songsheng was truly brilliant. In Luoyang Prefecture, if he claimed his learning ranked second, no one dared claim first.”

Yan Sanhe: “So?”

Zhu Yuanzhao’s expression turned sorrowful: “There’s no ‘so.’ Second Sister probably triggered the memory. Looking back now, there should have been more meaning in those words.”

*I cannot anymore?*

*I cannot anymore?*

Yan Sanhe repeated this phrase over and over in her mind.

What deeper meaning lay behind Geng Songsheng’s repeated emphasis on these words when he’d fallen from the clouds to hell? Did it have any connection to Zhu Xuanjiu?

“Also.”

Zhu Yuanzhao: “He loved books most. Borrowing his books was like demanding his life. Yet he burned them one by one without the slightest heartache. Looking back now, that also seems strange.”

Indeed strange.

Yan Xinglei, fallen to such straits, still transported his books to exile, unwilling to discard a single one.

Yan Sanhe rubbed her brow: “Do you know Geng Songsheng’s current situation?”

Zhu Yuanzhao instinctively glanced toward the inner room and said in a low voice: “I only know that less than a month after he returned, he was expelled from the Geng family. His name has been removed from the family register.”

Yan Sanhe’s elegant brows knitted tightly: “So no one can know where he is now?”

“At least we didn’t continue investigating. As for whether the Geng family knows, that’s hard to say.”

“We must find a way to locate him.”

Yan Sanhe quickly walked inside: “Zhu Yuanmo, Geng Songsheng is crucial.”

Zhu Yuanmo rose from his chair, wiping his palm across his face: “Miss Yan, I’ll dispatch people to search immediately.”

Yan Sanhe: “How will you search?”

Zhu Yuanmo was stunned: “First go to the Geng family in Luoyang Prefecture to inquire, then…”

“Too slow!”

Yan Sanhe looked at him: “You and I don’t have that much time. Find Xie Zhifei.”

“We should find Xie Zhifei.”

Young Master Pei quickly interjected: “He’s fastest at finding people. Back when the Ji family needed to find someone, they relied entirely on him.”

Third Master Zhu Yuanhao said urgently: “Elder Brother, I’ll personally wait at the city gate!”

“Third Brother, I’ll go!”

Zhu Weixi, supporting herself on the doorframe, slowly emerged, her face washed with clear water unable to hide its pallor.

Zhu Yuanhao stamped his foot: “What would you go for? Hurry back…”

“Let her go!”

Yan Sanhe walked before Zhu Weixi: “If you ask him, he’ll certainly search faster.”

Third Master and Miss Yan were so close—how could Zhu Weixi not hear this was just comforting words? She nodded through tears.

“Also, I retract my earlier statement.”

Yan Sanhe: “If you’re willing, you may continue following this heart demon. Together we’ll unravel the mystery surrounding Geng Songsheng and resolve your father’s heart demon.”

Tears burst forth.

When Zhu Weixi stepped forward at this moment, she wanted to beg Yan Sanhe to let her stay at the Zhu family.

She never imagined that before she could speak, Yan Sanhe had already proactively invited her to join.

“The prerequisite is settling the Xie family matters first.”

Yan Sanhe pulled out her handkerchief and gently wiped her tears.

“If the old master, old lady, and lady make things difficult for you, I’ll speak for you—no need to fear. But there’s one person you must speak to yourself.”

“Miss Yan!”

Zhu Weixi dropped to her knees with a thud, clutching Yan Sanhe’s legs as she sobbed uncontrollably.

She had thought of everything for her—every single detail.

“Why are you crying!”

Yan Sanhe reached out to ruffle her hair.

“You’ve called me ‘Miss Yan’ so many times, yet I haven’t cried. You don’t consider me a friend at all!”

Zhu Weixi’s body shook violently as she cried even harder.