The maid’s expression froze, and after carefully identifying the location, she said, “Over there… Seventh Miss, there used to be houses there, but they were later burned down. The exact reason, this servant doesn’t know. Because it’s adjacent to the General’s residence, the houses were quickly demolished after the fire and the land was leveled. Only some trees at the edges still have some charring, but in about another year, they’ll gradually turn green again.”

Qin Shuying lifted her feet and walked in that direction.

Seeing that Qin Shuying wasn’t returning to Feiqiong Courtyard, the maid felt relieved to let her go.

This was that side courtyard!

Feng’er had died here.

She herself had also died here.

The ground had been tidied up and planted with some flowers and grass.

But the outline of the original foundation could still vaguely be seen. Though called a courtyard, it was actually just three low, shabby houses with roofs that had leaked from years of disrepair. Qin Yaoyao had been too busy at the time to attend to repairs. Usually, it was used to store firewood and miscellaneous items.

At that time, she had been thrown here.

She seemed to still hear Feng’er’s crying, his soft, tender voice calling out in pain: “Mother! I feel so terrible! Mother! It hurts so much…”

Tears could no longer be contained and instantly burst forth from her eyes.

“Miss…”

Ziteng immediately noticed Qin Shuying’s abnormality and hurriedly tugged at her sleeve.

Qin Shuying closed her eyes, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

Ziteng’s heart filled with suspicion, but she blocked Qin Shuying’s body and said to the maid, “Sister, I forgot to bring my handkerchief from the carriage earlier. Could you trouble yourself to bring a clean handkerchief for me to use?”

The maid was somewhat stunned, then immediately agreed, “Seventh Miss, wait here. This servant will go and return quickly.”

After the maid left, Ziteng stood to one side in silent silence.

Qin Shuying only cried for a moment before forcibly holding back her tears.

Feng’er, this revenge, Mother will personally avenge you!

Definitely!

Wait for me!

A world-destroying sinister aura condensed between her brows, her poisoned gaze sweeping over that corner.

Separated by only a wall was the General’s residence.

Adjacent to the Lu residence on the General’s residence side was a lake.

In the lake floated a three-story painted pleasure boat, drifting aimlessly.

What Qin Shuying didn’t expect was that in the highest room of that pleasure boat sat a young man in blue robes, holding a cylindrical instrument in his hands, with his eye pressed to it, looking in this direction.

Suddenly, the man paused, then adjusted the instrument, pointing the cylinder at Qin Shuying.

“Qin Shuying?” The blue-robed man observed for a moment and murmured to himself, “What happened to her? Is she crying?”

Though not entirely clear, it was generally accurate enough.

Qin Shuying naturally didn’t know someone was watching her. She stared blankly in that direction for a long time before withdrawing her gaze and returning with Ziteng and the maid.

Only when the man could no longer see Qin Shuying’s figure did he put down the cylindrical mirror. This cylindrical mirror was used in the military for distant viewing—some called it a far-sight mirror. However, far-sight viewing couldn’t extend too far, as greater distances would become very blurry.

The distance between him and Qin Shuying just now was actually only about ten zhang. Without this far-sight mirror, he naturally couldn’t see Qin Shuying’s expression. With it, he could just barely make out her expression, though not clearly enough to see details.

A thirteen or fourteen-year-old young lady who could cause an uproar at Duke Chu’s residence and protect herself in the palace before withdrawing. Sharp-tongued and quick-witted, unafraid even of Lianpin, able to utilize Princess Fuping—whom else would she fear? Who could make her shed tears?

This blue-robed man was Liang Zhe.

He put away the far-sight mirror, quite curious.

After sitting briefly, he called out, “Yanjun!”

Immediately a seventeen or eighteen-year-old man entered. He had handsome features and an upright bearing. Though he walked very quickly, he was extremely steady. His eyes flashed with keen intelligence—he was no ordinary person.

“Young Master!”

“There’s something I want you to quietly investigate—you go alone.”

Liang Yanjun said crisply, “Please give your orders, Young Master!”

“…In that household across the way, there’s a young lady called… Qin Shuying, about thirteen or fourteen years old. Go inquire about her.”

Liang Yanjun said, “Yes!”

After Liang Yanjun left, Liang Zhe casually picked up a book to read.

With gentle breeze and bright sun, the pleasure boat was peacefully quiet—perfect for reading.

Sunlight fell on the side of his face, illuminating his knife-sharp profile and profound features, both refined and deep.

After reading for a while, he put down the book and again picked up the far-sight mirror, wanting to seek traces of Qin Shuying, but could only see Lu residence servants and male guests coming and going.

At the Lu residence across the way, outside Feiqiong Courtyard.

As Qin Shuying walked back with the maid, she noticed some talisman papers and symbols pasted in hidden corners of the courtyard and asked the maid, “What’s this for?”

The maid said, “After Young Mistress returned from the Qin residence that time, she became somewhat restless. The in-law Madam obtained these talisman papers, and only then could Young Mistress sleep peacefully.”

After brief consideration, Qin Shuying understood—this was to guard against Qin Yaoyao’s ghost.

It seemed these talisman papers were indeed useful. After Qin Feifei’s fright, she had still been able to smoothly give birth—the psychological comfort was not insignificant.

Qin Shuying smiled slightly.

Stepping inside, she found Xu Shi and her two daughters chatting with smiles. Qin Shuying said, “Third Sister, just now in the back courtyard, I saw a residence that had been burned by fire. I don’t know if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I actually saw a woman in black robes with red patterns.”

“What?” Qin Feifei shrieked in alarm.

Qin Shuying frowned and said, “Speaking of which, it’s strange. Last time, after Third Sister returned home, that very night I also dreamed of a woman wearing black robes with red patterns. I couldn’t see her face clearly—she just kept crying. Third Sister, I have a question to ask you—don’t mind me being talkative.”

Qin Feifei unconsciously said, “You… you ask.”

Qin Shuying said, “When I went to the back just now, I felt it was very eerie and didn’t dare go far. Originally, Second Sister was burned to death in this very courtyard, dying so miserably—isn’t Third Sister afraid? I don’t suspect anything. It’s just that when I followed Father in the south years ago, there was a household where the daughter-in-law and grandson were also burned to death for some unknown reason. That family was remarkably bold—they held ceremonies and hired Taoist priests, thinking nothing would happen, and continued living in the garden. But not long after, the family’s concubine went mad, and the man, who had originally been a minor official, eventually lost his position due to the incident.”

Qin Feifei’s hands began trembling involuntarily. Xu Shi firmly pressed down on Qin Feifei’s hands and said, “Seventh girl, you must have been seeing things. Since you’ve visited your Third Sister, let’s return to Cixin Hall.”

Qin Shuying readily agreed, slowly rising and surveying Qin Feifei’s room once around, saying, “Third Sister has talismans in this room, which should somewhat help with calming the spirit. I was overthinking things. If Third Sister has nightmares and feels uneasy, drinking some talisman water should help.”

Only after Qin Shuying left did Qin Feifei calm herself.

Earlier, she had learned from her mother about Qin Shuying’s arrogant behavior in the palace and could hardly believe it.

This Seventh Sister wasn’t just strange—she was extremely strange!

Where did she get such confidence?

But now she couldn’t spare time to think about Qin Shuying’s oddities, being too shocked by the black robes with red patterns and the strange story Qin Shuying had told. She couldn’t recover her composure for a long time.

How did she know that she couldn’t sleep peacefully and needed to drink talisman water?