Seeing Suzhen disappear from sight, Lian Qin worried: “Will something happen to her?”

“Half of our secret guards in the forest followed Sixth Brother back, and the remaining will follow to protect her safety. Besides, after killing those people, the murderer would have left long ago and wouldn’t linger at the scene.”

Lian Qin nodded, then suddenly asked: “Seventh Brother, do you think I did wrong? Shouldn’t I have told her the truth?”

Lian Jie shook his head and answered softly: “In this world, some things can be judged as right or wrong, but some truly have no clear right or wrong – it depends on where your heart stands and what position you take.”

“Sixth Brother was right to execute the traitorous minister back then, but she is after all Feng Shaoqing’s daughter. If we let her know the truth about her family’s revenge, Sixth Brother can’t bear to kill her, but if she suddenly turns against him, it would be troublesome. Now having his mother’s matter to constrain her might not be bad.”

“Perhaps she won’t go against Sixth Brother?” Lian Qin’s tone also became slightly agitated. “That’s what I think.”

“We can hope so. But it’s hard to say – after all, it’s the hatred of her entire family’s extermination. If it were you or me, could we let it go?” Lian Jie shook his head.

“If not for this matter, actually I… think she’s quite to our taste. We had more fun with her than with A’luo.”

“Yes, look how guilty Ming Yanchu is now, but we had no choice.”

“I hope she’ll understand why Sixth Brother would rather bear it himself than tell her.”

Lian Qin nodded again. Under the stars and moon, this usually carefree Ninth Prince’s face also showed a trace of sighing.

Suzhen ran all the way. After a long time, she reached a stream. Exhausted from running, she lay down directly without caring where she was.

Her mind was completely blank.

She couldn’t think. Perhaps because she didn’t know what else there was to think about, what else she could think about.

That night, she kept her eyes open until dawn.

In the early morning, she entered the city again.

Not for any reason, just because of loneliness.

She wanted to wander around, then leave to find Leng Xue and return to Huai County together.

She no longer had any meaning in staying.

If Feng Meiren truly had blood on his hands, and now his accomplices were still committing evil, what case was there left for her to overturn? Shouldn’t Feng Meiren pay with his life for the dead? Only Mother, Brother, and Hong Xiao were to be pitied.

The streets were bustling with people – busy shops, merchants and common folk, and beggars asking for alms by the roadside.

There were two children, one older and one younger. The older was a girl of about eleven or twelve, the younger a boy of seven or eight.

They approached a well-dressed man and woman to beg, and the man kicked the little boy, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Suzhen was angry and wanted to go teach that man a lesson, but then thought: you can’t even manage your own affairs, how can you have time to meddle in others’?

The boy was probably the girl’s younger brother. The girl was very angry and said: “You turtle bastard, I’ll steal that coward’s money pouch!”

The boy grabbed her hand and coughed, saying: “Sister, what if you’re accidentally caught and sent to the authorities? Besides, he’s bad, but does that mean we should be bad too? We still have some food left – we can get by today. If tomorrow there’s really no other way, we’ll think of something else…”

The girl was indignant but finally listened to her brother’s advice and sat back down on the ground holding him.

The boy whispered again: “When I grow up and have ability, I’ll definitely help people like us.”

The girl wanted to scold her brother for being unrealistic, but looking at his dirty, innocent face, she ultimately said nothing.

Suzhen finally couldn’t restrain herself. She took a silver ingot from her money pouch, kept it for herself, then went forward and placed the entire pouch in the girl’s broken bowl.

“The money inside is enough to change your fate.” Without saying more, she patted the boy’s head and left.

“Big brother, don’t go! Tell us who you are!”

Behind her, the girl pulled the boy and chased after her.

Suzhen flashed and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

The money pouch was something she’d taken from the carriage when getting out – it was Lian Yu’s. Ever since that time his attendant was robbed before they met at the inn, he’d carried his own money pouch when going out. When she took it in the carriage, he said nothing, so she took it. He had plenty of money anyway.

The debt with him – how could it ever be calculated clearly? It was just that learning the truth so suddenly was unacceptable at the time.

Thinking of this, she shook her head and smiled.

As she walked, the ordinary boy’s innocent appearance and words kept circling in her mind.

“If he’s bad, should we be bad too?”

“Don’t fail to do good because it seems small, don’t do evil because it seems small.”

Another voice in her mind overlapped with this one.

“Father…” She stopped in the crowd and looked up at the blue sky.

The sunlight came out, somewhat glaring. She raised her hand to shield her eyes.

Many things flowed through her mind one by one.

“Father, do you know everything?”

“Of course, your father is so clever.”

“Show-off. Don’t you ever make mistakes?”

“Well, that can happen. How can people not make mistakes? There’s no one in this world who hasn’t made mistakes – not a single one.”

“Young Master Li never does. Then when I catch your mistakes from now on, will you give me money to buy candied hawthorns? One mistake, one skewer.”

“Like hell he doesn’t. Also, is that all the ambition you have?”

“Then what? At home, follow father. I won’t follow you anymore then.”

“You can do that. If you think you’re right, why listen to me?”

“But if I don’t listen to you at home, when I marry I’ll still have to listen to my husband.”

“Nonsense. The three obediences include ‘when husband dies, follow the son.’ If your husband dies, would you follow a young child?”

“Go away, stop cursing Young Master Li for me!”

Thinking about this, her smile grew much broader.

“Father, there are so many things about you I don’t know. I always felt you wouldn’t be so cruel, but all the evidence points to you. Perhaps, except for loving Mother and us being real, you weren’t actually so genuine. But if you truly did wrong, I cannot approve of you, much less escape. I have a responsibility to stop this wrong. ‘The poor should perfect themselves alone, the accomplished should help perfect the world’ – this is what you taught me. People without ability still think of doing something for others. The world is too vast for me to help perfect, but I have the ability to change some people’s fates. I want to bring justice to those who died. I cannot let your accomplice continue harming people. I must root him out!”

“After solving this final major case, I’ll resign and leave.”

She wiped the moisture from her eyes, took out the silver ingot from her waist, and walked to a steamed bun shop. The steaming hot buns made her nose break out in a fine sweat. She reached to wipe it, but her sleeve brought a medicinal fragrance.

It turned out that in the carriage when she was sleeping, he had applied medicine for her…

She suddenly froze.

“Sixth Brother used lies about his most beloved mother – do you know how difficult that was for him?”

“He didn’t want to bind you with past grievances.”

…

All of Lian Qin’s words that had been suppressed in her heart resounded.

“Lian Yu, if I had known about your mother’s matter earlier… perhaps I would have treated you much, much better. But now it’s too late. Even if I love you more than my own life, what good would it do?”

In the capital, in the Wei residence study.

Wei Wuxia had recently returned home to visit her family and now knocked and entered her father’s room.

“Father, there’s something I want to ask. That day in the palace when you had me go find Murong…”

“You’ll know when the time comes. Xia’er, listen to Father. When Wu Yan returns, Father will help you vent that grievance.” Before she could finish, her father interrupted.

Wuxia nodded. “Daughter understands. Then daughter will go out.”

Wei Chenghui hummed in response. Soon after, he also left the Wei residence, his carriage taking him back to the Ministry of War.

In the Ministry of War offices, lights were burning.

“Teacher.” The person who arrived saw him and respectfully stood up to greet him.

“How is the situation in the palace?” he asked.

“According to the Seventh Prince, Li Huaisu had an unpleasant encounter with Consort Gu after barging into the Imperial Study. She’s locked herself in her room and has the imperial guards block anyone from seeing her.”

“What about the young master?”

“The young master also cannot see her.”

“This cunning girl has quite the nerve. Is she still the same as usual? That Gu Xiluo is Lian Yu’s old flame and new favorite!”

“But if the case isn’t solved… will this continue to obstruct our plans?”

“The young master won’t let her obstruct our plans.”

At Huguo Temple.

Dowager Consort Ai suddenly looked at Quan Feitong. “Has Councilor Quan made complete preparations?”

The man across the table squinted at the tea steam before him and said softly: “Now we just need to figure out how to block Wei Fox’s troops. Allow this subject to make final calculations.”

“Good!” Dowager Consort Ai stood up from the table, her eyes filled with fierce, smiling intent. “Councilor Quan, please hurry. This palace can hardly wait any longer.”

Beside them, Lian Yue, who had been silent, also brightened at these words. Dowager Consort Ai laughed and scolded: “You dead girl, you’re thinking about Huo Chang’an returning to the palace to serve the king, aren’t you?”

—Manual Author’s Note Divider—

The case will conclude in a few chapters. After it ends, there will be abundant romance scenes and the first major climax that you’ve all been waiting for…