His bold manner of baring his chest truly resembled a radiant golden light shooting directly at their faces.

Meng Qufei nearly fell on his backside, while Shen Lingzhen was also dazzled by this expanse of pale brightness and turned her head away to dodge, her hands pushing out to block in midair: “Young Master, don’t catch a chill. Just exposing a little bit at the bottom is enough…” As she spoke, she made a gesture indicating “a little bit.”

Huo Liuxing raised his eyebrows looking at her.

Through the gaps between her fingers, Shen Lingzhen glimpsed his displeased expression and had no choice but to extend one index finger with difficulty, saying solemnly: “…Then I’ll begin.”

Huo Liuxing jerked his chin.

She set aside her discomfort and adopted a businesslike attitude, tracing an arc on Huo Liuxing’s body, lightly drawing from his side waist to his lower abdomen, explaining as she went: “It was like this—the wounds at both ends were shallower, but especially deep in the middle…”

Meng Qufei said incredulously: “Are you certain it was shallow at both ends and deep in the middle?”

Shen Lingzhen nodded at him.

Meng Qufei was about to say something to Huo Liuxing when he saw him staring fixedly without blinking at that finger pointing at his lower abdomen, as if appreciating a priceless masterpiece, completely entranced.

Shen Lingzhen was preparing to withdraw her hand when she sensed something unusual beneath her finger and exclaimed “Eh?”: “Why has Young Master’s belly become hard?”

“…” Huo Liuxing brushed away her finger and began arranging his clothes. “This is called thermal expansion and contraction. I caught a chill, so the flesh contracted and became firm, naturally it got hard.”

Meng Qufei made a “tsk” sound, looking at him with disdain: “Did you even hear what Sister-in-law just said? Shallow at both ends, deep in the middle—what kind of weapon do you think caused this wound?”

Huo Liuxing did possess the ability to multitask to this extent. It was just that he had only heard her words with his ears, not his brain. Now, at Meng Qufei’s reminder, he immediately recovered his serious expression.

Shen Lingzhen still didn’t understand where their grave demeanor came from when she heard Huo Liuxing ask: “Those people who abducted you, what weapons were they using?”

“Just ordinary short knives.”

“Straight blades or curved blades?”

“Straight blades.”

“No axes?”

Shen Lingzhen shook her head.

Meng Qufei asked suspiciously: “Does Sister-in-law even recognize axes?”

She nodded quickly: “Of course I do! Although I don’t understand martial arts, I’ve still seen servants chopping wood.”

Huo Liuxing and Meng Qufei exchanged glances, their expressions growing even more solemn.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Lingzhen asked.

“The wound you just described sounds like it was caused by a large curved-head axe. According to your description, those people didn’t have axes in their hands, which means this wound may not have been left when he rescued you. Perhaps he encountered other enemies before meeting you. And this curved-head axe is precisely the weapon Xiqiang people commonly use on the battlefield,” Huo Liuxing explained. “But at that time, there was no war between Daqi and Xiqiang.”

Meng Qufei asked again: “Never mind whether they were Xiqiang people or not—this curved-head axe isn’t something ordinary people can withstand. How did his injury look?”

Shen Lingzhen shuddered recalling this: “The skin and flesh were curled back, a blurry mass of red and white. Blood kept gushing at the time. It looked quite serious…”

Huo Liuxing furrowed his brows.

Meng Qufei bluntly concluded: “Then it’s over. Eighty percent—no, ninety percent—he couldn’t have survived.”

Shen Lingzhen was shocked.

Huo Liuxing vaguely blocked Meng Qufei and scolded: “Don’t scare her.”

“I’m telling the truth. By making it clear, at least you two won’t keep being distracted by a dead man, right? This curved-head axe cutting across the waist—it wouldn’t be difficult to split someone in half. According to what Sister-in-law said, that blurry red and white mass was probably his internal organs. You’re built like iron too—if your organs were exposed to that degree, could you survive it?”

All color drained from Shen Lingzhen’s face. She looked at Huo Liuxing tremblingly, waiting for his answer.

However, Huo Liuxing remained silent for a long time. After a while, he looked at her and shook his head: “Qufei is right. This is a fatal injury. The chances of survival are extremely slim. That he could hold on to save you was already a miracle.”

The hands Shen Lingzhen had clenched in her sleeves trembled.

Since those bandits had used knives, she naturally assumed it was a knife wound. She had been frightened unconscious and had no idea what happened afterward, nor did she know that the person who saved her was already at the end of his strength.

No wonder he couldn’t escort her home and only sent her to a nearby hiding place.

Since the incident, her father had comforted her, saying that not seeing a corpse meant he was still alive. Later she had mistakenly identified Huo Liuxing as her benefactor and happily planned to repay him. But she never imagined that the person she wanted to find might have long since departed from this world.

She hadn’t even been able to offer him a stick of incense, nor did she know whether he had been properly buried, or where.

Meng Qufei sighed: “No wonder we couldn’t find anyone all this time. If that person is dead, wouldn’t he indeed be ‘far away in the heavens’? As for ‘close before your eyes,’ could it mean he’s buried nearby?”

Huo Liuxing shot him a sharp glare, signaling him to say less. Looking at Shen Lingzhen, who was silent with her head lowered, he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of empathy.

If it had been him, knowing his life was ending, he probably wouldn’t want Shen Lingzhen to see his corpse with her own eyes either, but would choose to leave quietly without a trace.

Meng Qufei closed his mouth. Seeing Shen Lingzhen’s heartbroken expression, he sighed.

His cousin was truly pitiful. A rival like Xue Jie, even with his childhood bond with Shen Lingzhen, could at least be competed against. But how could one compete with or compare to this suspected rival who was already dead?

Huo Liuxing sat beside Shen Lingzhen and drew her into his embrace: “He didn’t die in front of you because he didn’t want you to be sad and grieving. You’re fine now, and he would be happy.”

Shen Lingzhen nestled against him, gripping his arm, and nodded: “I’m fine.” After a moment of silence, she repeated: “I’m fine.”

——

The search for the person had reached a dead end.

Shen Lingzhen suffered this blow and was inevitably dispirited, but fortunately something came along to distract and occupy her—she had to move house with Huo Liuxing.

Huo Liuxing had been officially appointed to office. Although it was currently just a nominal position requiring attendance only at the grand court assemblies on the first and fifteenth of each month, he couldn’t possibly continue living long-term at his wife’s family home and needed to properly establish his own mansion.

Previously at the Qingyang Huo mansion, Yu Wanjiang managed household affairs, and with Shen Lingzhen’s noble status, she didn’t need to handle those tedious matters. But now at this Bianjing Huo mansion, she had become the lady of the house, so naturally many responsibilities fell on her shoulders.

For half a month straight, she learned this and that from Nanny Ji. And because Huo Liuxing casually mentioned that “the layout of the Qingyang Shen residence is quite nice,” she supervised the servants in arranging the new mansion bestowed by His Majesty to replicate that pattern, transplanting many elegant flowers, plants, and trees inside.

At the end of July, on the day they moved into the new mansion, Huo Liuxing was indeed impressed by this completely renovated residence.

Looking at the festive lanterns and decorations at the mansion gate, then watching dozens of servants bustling about, lively carrying wooden trunks inside, he sighed gently before the spirit wall.

Shen Lingzhen was standing beside him, directing the servants with authority, pointing at one trunk saying “handle with care, it’s fragile,” pointing at another saying “move it to the storeroom.” Hearing his sigh, she stopped and said: “On this joyful day of moving, why is Young Master sighing?”

“Didn’t I say I would give you a home?” Huo Liuxing smiled. “I’m happy.”

Shen Lingzhen’s heart stirred faintly.

She knew how hard-won this home was. It was what Huo Liuxing had earned through the blood and sweat of the past year, or perhaps even the past several decades.

She looked at him sincerely and said: “I will live here well.”

“…” Seeing her earnest manner, Huo Liuxing shook his head and smiled.

When handling serious matters, Shen Lingzhen was meticulous. Only after finishing the inventory of their belongings did she follow him inside, saying to him as they walked: “Young Master said to arrange it according to the Qingyang Shen residence, but the seasons are different, so the flowers and plants couldn’t be identical. Right now the lotus blossoms aren’t blooming abundantly, but the osmanthus is fragrant, so I made some changes.”

Where would Huo Liuxing be so demanding about such trivial matters? He had simply wanted to give her something to do since she’d been in low spirits recently. Besides, the one who had felt an instant connection upon first entering the Shen residence wasn’t him, but her.

He said: “All flowers look the same to me. I can’t tell much difference. Just follow your own preferences.”

Unexpectedly, this considerate remark earned a low mutter from Shen Lingzhen: “I knew it…”

Confused, Huo Liuxing glanced at her sideways: “What did you know?”

“Young Master doesn’t understand these refined things at all. Those flowers sent to the mausoleum back then were definitely handled by your subordinates. You never personally oversaw it.”

Huo Liuxing froze.

Well, well—she had that wrong. He hadn’t even assigned it to subordinates.

Huo Liuxing was extremely good at forbearance and believed in “a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years.” Since he had planned to return to Bianjing when the time was ripe, during that period he naturally focused entirely on the bigger picture.

With the border war in a stalemate, he had to strategize and defeat the enemy from a thousand miles away. Where would he have the leisure to come up with various ways to amuse her? Knowing she was safe and sound was enough.

But speaking of this, while he was busy defending the nation, someone had actually taken advantage and tried to steal her away?

Huo Liuxing’s expression shifted unpredictably in a brief instant.

Shen Lingzhen immediately waved her hands: “I don’t mean to blame Young Master. With the nation in crisis, Young Master shouldn’t have been distracted by me. Moreover, since Jianjia and Bailu could never catch Young Master’s person, he must have been a top expert by Young Master’s side. This show of respect was already quite grand.”

“Oh.” Huo Liuxing nodded, thinking to himself that this wall-stealer had done it anonymously, quite honorable indeed. Since this person wanted to be a gentleman, don’t blame him for being a villain.

He said: “It’s good that you understand. At that time I really was stretched too thin and couldn’t attend to it.”

Shen Lingzhen nodded, saying considerately: “Young Master was already very thoughtful. During that period I could see all sorts of rare and exotic flowers all the time—it was quite interesting.”

Huo Liuxing revealed a fatherly smile. Turning his eyes, his gaze sharply scraped over Jingmo standing nearby: Which bold fool was it? Go investigate for me, investigate thoroughly!