Everyone was the murderer, everyone was not the murderer.

Only inevitably feeling guilty, so they held memorial services year after year.

“At that time our anger hadn’t subsided. We felt it was good that she killed herself, only regretting that we hadn’t discovered the mastermind behind it all.” The mountain chief rubbed his temples with his fingers, candlelight casting bright and dark shadows across his face. “But whether to tell Teacher about this matter caused disagreement among us. Luchuan left the academy in anger over this very issue. Old Ge and I felt that Teacher had maintained a clean reputation throughout his life, beloved by all the world, and it absolutely couldn’t be tainted by this matter. And since Teacher deeply loved his wife, once he learned the truth, we also feared he couldn’t bear the blow. But Luchuan felt that while this matter could be concealed, we should tell Teacher the truth that his wife was a spy. We had a minor dispute, but after a night passed, Luchuan changed his mind and agreed with our thinking. After that…”

“After that, you covered up the real reason for Madam He’s suicide and made up a more cruel one. I really don’t know what you were thinking.”

Senior Nanny Gao said sternly: “Young man, show some respect!”

Tie Ci glanced at her.

Senior Nanny Gao’s voice faltered, instinctively not daring to speak anymore.

This young man’s gaze inexplicably made one’s heart turn cold.

The mountain chief didn’t notice that glance and smiled bitterly: “That was because for some unknown reason, after her death, her corpse showed strange peach blossom spots. She might have been poisoned while alive, which is why she became a spy. We knew Teacher’s deep feelings well—once he returned, even if she was buried, he would definitely open the coffin to take another look, and once he looked, everything would be exposed. We also couldn’t burn the corpse. Teacher had said he wanted to embrace his wife’s body in death and sleep together. If we rashly burned it, Teacher would definitely become suspicious. We could only use the most decisive method to ensure he could never approach his wife’s corpse for his entire life. Therefore, I imitated his wife’s handwriting to write a suicide note, forcing Teacher to never approach the grave site…” He lowered his head and sighed. “Don’t blame me for writing something so vicious. You don’t know Master He’s character, nor do you know how deeply the couple loved each other back then. If I hadn’t been so decisive, if Master He had learned the truth, he would definitely have followed his wife in death. Only by completely severing their love and affection was there a chance to keep him…”

“Then here’s the question.” Tie Ci said. “You noticed me and guessed my purpose from the moment I arrived at the academy, didn’t you?”

The supervisor took up the conversation: “Yes. We understand Teacher’s character. As soon as you came, we suspected he still hadn’t let go and wanted to find the truth.”

“So that night you deliberately went to the library?”

“At first we didn’t expect you could find your way to the library so quickly, so this matter was somewhat coincidental. During that period, the guards kept reporting that there were lingering food smells in the library in the mornings, so we paid extra attention to the library. That night we saw you enter there.”

Tie Ci silently cursed Rong Wei, that big glutton.

“Madam He was a spy, but since you discovered her, the communication content from back then couldn’t possibly still remain. I was destined to get no clues. So when you seemingly went to remove books, you were actually placing doctored books on the shelves. You forged spy communication information to lure me into investigating?”

“Probably only you, Eighteen, could figure it out—seeing the whole autumn from a single leaf.” The mountain chief said. “Yes, we imitated the way Madam He transmitted intelligence back then, leaving traces in those books, and deliberately left a corner imprint of my personal seal. If you didn’t discover it, so be it. If you did discover it, then we would tell you that Madam He was a spy.”

“Then you waited here, and if I came, you would explain the whole truth to me.”

“So we bore you no ill will. Your servant girl’s attempt at suicide earlier really scared me to death.” The mountain chief rubbed his temples.

“Is that so?” Tie Ci smiled, and without the smile fading, she suddenly collapsed forward onto the table.

The mountain chief was startled, called out twice, and when she didn’t respond, instinctively turned his head, his gaze sweeping around and landing on Senior Nanny Gao’s face.

Senior Nanny Gao’s expression remained unchanged as she pulled at the corner of her mouth.

“Why did you do this, Nanny?”

“Following my lady’s orders.”

“Why would Madam Rong order you to kill? The Chief Minister clearly agreed to give this child the truth.”

“This old servant follows my lady’s orders, and while my lady agreed to give him the truth, she didn’t agree not to deal with him.”

“Why deal with him?”

“My lady said: This matter passed many years ago, and suddenly someone claiming to be Madam He’s nephew appears, investigating the truth on Master He’s behalf—don’t you find this suspicious? Letting such an unrelated person know all the ins and outs, if word gets out in the future, whether it’s the mountain chief or the Chief Minister, they won’t escape the reputation of intimidating the teacher’s wife and betraying their teacher. How would you gentlemen handle yourselves then?” Senior Nanny Gao recited like she was reading from a book. “My lady said that the gentlemen’s reputations concern the scholarly world’s honor, while she is just a woman who doesn’t step outside her door—she doesn’t care about posthumous fame, so she’ll eliminate this matter root and branch on the gentlemen’s behalf, preserving the teacher-student bond between you and Master He.”

“What did you use? Poison? Why did only he collapse?”

The mountain chief’s expression was shocked and strange.

Didn’t the Rong family know this person’s identity?

Could it be that none of those who knew the inside story told Madam Rong?

“Poison was applied to the front half of the gold and stone box. As long as he touched it, he couldn’t escape. To let him die understanding, this poison takes two quarters of an hour to take effect.”

“Ai! Your master… your master!” The mountain chief suddenly pushed the table. “Where’s the antidote? Bring the antidote! Your master has made a grave mistake!”

He pushed the table over, and Tie Ci, who was lying on it, suddenly fell forward. Just as she was about to eat dirt face-first, someone rushed in and caught her.

The cool air with a faint medicinal fragrance—it was Rong Pu.

Senior Nanny Gao’s voice: “Young Master, why did you come!”

Rong Pu’s voice contained anger: “Senior Nanny Gao, what have you done to her!”

Senior Nanny Gao said: “Young Master, I heard you’re quite friendly with this young man at the academy? The Old Madam also had this old servant bring you a message—don’t casually associate with ruffians, lest you fall into someone’s scheme.”

Above her head, Rong Pu seemed to let out a cold laugh, though his tone became gentler: “Yes, grandson respectfully follows grandmother’s teachings. But this person is not a villain, and our Rong family absolutely cannot harm her. Grandmother doesn’t know the inside story and has caused great trouble. Please, Senior Nanny Gao, give me the antidote immediately.”

Tie Ci felt his fingers were ice-cold, thinking this person’s health was really poor.

Senior Nanny Gao said: “Young Master, for someone to make you so unfilial, defying your grandmother, this person is already a villain.”

Rong Pu was silent for a while without speaking further. Tie Ci felt him searching for something on her body, then Senior Nanny Gao cried out in alarm: “Young Master, that’s your life-saving medicine! You use one and have one less—what are you taking it out for?”

Rong Pu said lightly: “Since grandmother won’t grant medicine, I can only try using my own.”

“You mustn’t!”

Tie Ci sighed inwardly, slightly moving her wrist so that when Rong Pu lowered his hand, he could touch her pulse.

Someone usually so astute—why was he being foolish today, not even knowing to check her pulse first?

Sure enough, Rong Pu’s fingertip touched her wrist pulse the next moment, and he was slightly stunned.

Tie Ci continued lying there without getting up, thinking since you’ve already defied your grandmother once for me, young master, defy her once more.

However, Rong Pu immediately sighed: “Eighteen.”

Tie Ci also sighed, supporting herself on the mat and lifting her head.

Really, why come so quickly?

She had wanted to listen a bit more.

Senior Nanny Gao, who had been sitting steadily, suddenly jumped up, her face looking like she’d seen a ghost: “You, you, you… how are you not poisoned…”

“You mean the poison on the box?” Tie Ci sighed. “Please, such crude tactics might work for killing chickens and ducks, but using them against me? Honey, I suggest you go back and study for three more years before trying again.”

Senior Nanny Gao: “Impossible! I saw you touch it! That poison only needs to touch the skin a tiny bit to take effect!”

Tie Ci calmly took off a glove thin as a cicada’s wing from her hand in front of her.

Senior Nanny Gao: “…”

Tie Ci walked toward her. She braced her hands on the ground and frantically backed away: “Don’t, don’t, don’t come…”

Tie Ci smiled: “Why so nervous? I haven’t even…”

A cold glint suddenly flew from the frantically retreating Senior Nanny Gao’s sleeve.

Tie Ci was crouching in front of her and instinctively flicked with her fingertip.

With a soft “tss” sound, the small steel ball was deflected.

“Quite a variety of tricks.” Tie Ci said.

But Senior Nanny Gao stopped crawling and looked up with laughter: “This one also kills on contact with skin! Let’s see what you have… what you have…”

She suddenly began to stutter.

Tie Ci calmly removed a second layer of gloves thin as cicada wings from her hands.

She turned her still normal-looking hands toward Senior Nanny Gao and smiled: “Want to try if there’s a third layer on my hands?”

Senior Nanny Gao sat dejected on the floor and stopped talking.

“Old Madam Rong comes from a military family and acts decisively—I’ve truly learned something today.” Tie Ci put her gloves back on. “However, please tell your Old Madam that those who kill will themselves be killed—not everything can be solved by killing.”

Old Madam Rong came from a military family. Her father had originally been Minister of War and General Commander of the Three Armies, stationed at the borders for many years. Under his command, the Di Family Army was a renowned elite force. Currently, half of the generals at the nine borders came from the Di school.

Yongping Guard Commander Di Yiwei, the famous general who guarded the Yongping front line, defending vital positions for Great Qian and restraining both Liaodong and Western Rong, was said to come from a fallen branch of the Di family.

So the Rong family led the literary civil servants yet was backed by the military, with a hundred years of noble heritage—that’s why they had the confidence to challenge the Xiao family.

With Tie Ci’s status, she knew even more.

For instance, the Di Family Army had now almost all been absorbed by Commander Di, becoming the famous Scorpion Camp of Yongping.

For instance, that famous Commander Di was a woman.

For instance, this Commander Di had been sheltered in the Rong residence in her youth, receiving Rong Luchuan’s care, but had also been tempered by the strong-willed Old Madam Rong. For years she hadn’t returned to the capital, wasn’t close to the Rong family, yet invariably sent gifts to the capital during festivals—her relationship with the Rong family appeared both contradictory and complex.

So much so that while the Rong family should have been unmatched in combining literary and military talent, they now had to yield to the Xiao family.

Tie Ci had heard of Old Madam Rong’s reputation and had seen her. From a distance, she appeared kind and benevolent, but turned out to truly be a tiger daughter of a military family.

Back when everyone refused the marriage proposal, only Rong Pu requested to stay. Father Emperor was moved, thinking of the Di family. She refused, also because of the Di family.

Now, witnessing Old Madam Rong’s methods, she was more firm in her opinion of the Rong family.

Old Madam Rong clearly had her own way of doing things and her own power base. When a great family had several strong voices, it wasn’t a stable and reliable family.

She bowed to the mountain chief and others: “Thank you all for telling me the truth. You needn’t worry about this matter spreading—after all, I care more about Master and Madam He’s reputation in life and death. Please rest assured.”

The mountain chief stared into her eyes, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself, finally saying: “Then let this matter end here. I said before that pursuing to the very end, one might not be able to bear that truth. You should understand how to explain this to Master He.”

Tie Ci smiled without answering and walked out.

Rong Pu followed her out.

In the courtyard, those two had already released Dan Shuang. Dan Shuang waited at the door with a cold expression. Seeing Tie Ci, she said: “Master, earlier I was just testing—I knew those two had limited martial skills and no intention to kill me…”

“Shut up.”

Tie Ci rarely lost her temper. Even these words were spoken coldly, but the moment those two words left her mouth, Dan Shuang immediately lowered her head and didn’t dare speak.

Tie Ci ignored her and walked forward, saying as she walked: “Your temperament is too stubborn. Before life and death, how can you be so rash? What if you guessed wrong? What if the opponent was hiding their martial skills?”

“There wasn’t…” Dan Shuang glanced at Tie Ci’s tense mouth corners, pressed her lips together, and swallowed her words.

“I’ve said before, needing subordinates to repay with death is a sign of the master’s incompetence.” Tie Ci turned back to look at her. “Dan Shuang, I hope you can be a bit softer, value life a bit more, trust me a bit more. Trust that all roads lead to Rome, trust that except for life and death, there are no truly unsolvable problems in this world, trust that this world isn’t simply black and white—forgive others and forgive yourself.”

Dan Shuang had a tragic background. She had fled as a child, suffered greatly, and it was precisely those experiences that formed her extreme character. That’s why Master had never formally accepted her into his school, always saying she was too extreme and stubborn to be saved.

Tie Ci had been made Crown Princess from childhood. The Eastern Palace had officials, tutors, and lecturers aplenty, but those she could truly hold in her heart were only these few people by her side.

After a long while, Dan Shuang said softly: “This servant knows her error. This servant doesn’t distrust Master… never again.”

“One more time, and I’ll marry you off.” Tie Ci answered flatly.

Dan Shuang showed a horrified expression.

Tie Ci indicated for her to go aside and properly contemplate married life, then stood on the small path outside Aiwan Study, looking at Rong Pu who had been following.

Rong Pu coughed, and after a long while said: “Your Highness, regarding today’s matter, I apologize on behalf of my grandmother.” After speaking, he made a deep bow.

He felt somewhat regretful. Because he knew grandmother’s mind was heavy, both he and grandfather didn’t discuss political matters with grandmother, nor had they told her about Tie Ci being at the academy. Who knew she would treat human life like grass, striking without hesitation.

Tie Ci smiled and shook her head.

“Young Master Rong is aggrieved, encountering someone cockroach-like as me, having no choice but to apologize. Otherwise, for a dead person, what apology would be needed?”

Rong Pu lowered his eyes.

Tie Ci’s meaning was very clear.

Don’t apologize—you can’t afford to. If it wasn’t me today, it would have been an innocent life killed by your grandmother. What would be the point of false apologies then?

The night wind rustled. Despite the warm summer night, he felt somewhat cold.

At this moment, he suddenly understood the reason Tie Ci kept him at a distance.