“I know them?” Qin Wan was slightly surprised. “Who is it?”

As soon as she spoke, a male voice suddenly rang out. “Does Miss Ninth still remember me?”

Hearing this, Qin Wan immediately turned around. Looking carefully, she saw a young man in blue robes entering with Zheng Baishi. Qin Wan looked at the blue-robed gentleman’s smiling expression with surprise. “Young Master Wei?”

Qin Wan hadn’t expected to encounter Wei Qizhi here!

Since parting with Jin Zhou four months ago, Qin Wan hadn’t seen Wei Qizhi, and she never imagined she would meet him here. Why was Wei Qizhi in this place?

Zheng Baishi entered with a smile. “Young Master Wei just said he knew Miss Ninth. It turns out to be true.”

Wei Qizhi walked in slowly. Qin Wan glanced at Wei Qizhi’s legs and noticed he walked naturally, seemingly without any disability. Wei Qizhi noticed her gaze and immediately said with a smile, “I previously suffered from a leg ailment, but fortunately was saved by Miss Ninth. Otherwise, I might not even be able to walk today.”

Wei Qizhi’s father held an official position, and his mother was a lady from Duke Song’s household. Thus, Wei Qizhi was quite a renowned young noble in the capital. However, in all her days since returning to the capital, this was Qin Wan’s first encounter with him.

“Young Master Wei, I trust you’ve been well.”

Qin Wan curtsied, and Wei Qizhi returned the greeting with clasped hands. “Miss Ninth is too kind. I didn’t know you had come to the capital. I had said before that if Miss Ninth came to the capital, I would host a welcoming feast and gift you a horse.”

Qin Wan’s lips curved slightly. “I wouldn’t dare. I do not love horses, how could I take something so precious to others? Why is Young Master Wei here?”

Meng Zhou smiled and explained, “When I was at the Imperial Academy, Qizhi was my student. Later, though he had no interest in officialdom and didn’t enter government service, our teacher-student relationship remains. Now that Ziyi and his wife are being exiled to the north, Qizhi happens to have his horse farm there. Moreover, he has a team returning north these days, so they can look after Ziyi.”

Wei Qizhi also smiled. “Before the new year, I went north to buy horses and just returned these past few days. Upon reaching the capital, I heard there was a new divine doctor, and upon inquiry, learned that Miss Ninth had entered the capital.” Wei Qizhi’s face showed a relaxed smile. “I had thought before that if Miss Ninth came to the capital, she would certainly astonish everyone, and indeed it has proven true.”

“Young Master Wei flatters me. It’s merely a coincidence.”

Qin Wan responded modestly, but Zheng Baishi smiled, “This is no coincidence.” His tone then grew more serious as he said, “Brother Meng, since Miss Ninth has arrived, Ziyi and his wife should depart now. It’s about time.”

Wei Qizhi added, “Teacher, I’ve made all the arrangements. They’re waiting outside the city.”

At these words, Meng Zhou and the others’ expressions changed. Meng Ziyi and Madam Xu held Third Madam’s hands, their eyes reddening.

In just a few days, several more strands of gray had appeared in Third Madam’s hair. Hearing this, her eyes reddened, but she said hoarsely, “Good children, go on, go on…”

Meng Ziyi and Madam Xu both knelt and kowtowed three times to the Third Madam, then stood and walked toward the exit.

Third Madam took several steps forward in pursuit but ultimately didn’t speak again. Meng Yao stepped forward and supported Third Madam. Everyone slowly followed to the side hall’s entrance, watching as Meng Ziyi and his wife followed two guards out. Their figures grew increasingly distant until they disappeared around a corner…

Third Madam finally couldn’t hold back and began crying, covering her mouth.

Meng Zhou sighed, “Third Sister-in-law, as long as they’re both well, that’s what matters.”

Third Madam nodded while crying. The group stood for a moment longer, then Meng Zhou thanked Zheng Baishi and Qin Wan again before leading the Meng household members back home. Zheng Baishi personally escorted Qin Wan to the prefecture office’s back door and sighed, “With this, the case is finally concluded. Thank you, Miss Ninth.”

Wei Qizhi stood to the side, his expression also somewhat sorrowful.

Just half a year ago, he too had experienced a fatal case within his household.

“I don’t deserve such thanks. I didn’t help much, and this outcome is already the best possible.”

After Qin Wan spoke, Zheng Baishi also showed some melancholy. Knowing Zheng Baishi was busy, Qin Wan took the initiative to bid farewell. Seeing this, Wei Qizhi also said he would leave. Zheng Baishi indeed had official duties to attend to, so he bid them farewell and returned to the prefecture office.

Wei Qizhi looked at Qin Wan. “I never expected to meet Miss Ninth again because of another case.”

Qin Wan looked Wei Qizhi up and down for a moment. “Has Young Master Wei’s leg truly healed?”

Wei Qizhi’s smile deepened. “It has, though it still aches somewhat on rainy days.”

“Young Master Wei’s injury was severe and went untreated for so long, it’s natural some issues would remain.” After a slight pause, Qin Wan continued, “Young Master Wei didn’t spend the New Year at home?”

Wei Qizhi gave a wry laugh. “After what happened before the New Year, things became somewhat uncomfortable at home. After I returned to the capital, I soon left for the north to clear my mind. By chance, I came across some fine horses, so I stayed longer.”

Qin Wan sighed lightly. “The incident back then wasn’t related to Young Master Wei. You needn’t dwell on it. Since you enjoy training and raising horses, you could specialize in this field, though I wonder if your father and mother would approve.”

Not to mention, Wei Qizhi’s mother was a lady from the Duke’s household and the current Consort Wan’s sister. She probably wouldn’t be happy to see Wei Qizhi living so freely. Hearing this, Wei Qizhi smiled. “After that incident, Father and Mother stopped managing me, and we’ve reduced our interactions with the Duke’s household. Now I’m completely free, but one can’t live life solely pursuing one’s interests. These precious horses I acquired in the north will be supplied to the court. After spring begins, there will be the customary spring hunt. These horses sold for a good price, making the trip worthwhile.”

Wei Qizhi loved horses, and now that he was in the horse trade, he could interact with them daily. Qin Wan smiled and nodded, exchanged a few more pleasantries with Wei Qizhi, then took her leave. Wei Qizhi knew Qin Wan now lived in the Marquis’s mansion, and given the capital’s tendency for gossip, although he wished to thank Qin Wan properly, he couldn’t find an appropriate way, so they parted there.

Qin Wan had been missing Princess Tai Chang and Yue Ning, and seeing Wei Qizhi made her think even more about the events in Jin Zhou. Upon returning to the Marquis’s mansion, she wrote another letter to send to Jin Zhou. However, for some reason, no reply had come from Jin Zhou’s direction. Qin Wan’s pulse-taking visits to the Empress Dowager changed from every two days to every five days, and she also visited the Meng mansion twice to see Meng Yao. Thus, time quickly passed to mid-February, the snow melted, tender willows sprouted, and winter imperceptibly gave way to spring.

On this day, Qin Wan entered the palace as usual to check the Empress Dowager’s pulse. Just as she reached Shoukang Palace’s exterior, she saw the Ninth Prince Yan Sui playing in the main courtyard. He held an exquisite brush in his hand, using water to write characters on the ground tiles.

Nurse Su stood guard beside Yan Sui. Seeing Qin Wan arrive, she immediately came forward to bow. Qin Wan smiled at Yan Sui’s back and said, “The Ninth Prince has only studied with his tutors for a few days, yet he’s already become so diligent?”

Hearing this, Nurse Su gave a bitter smile. “Miss Ninth misunderstands. The Ninth Prince has several tutors – one teaching poetry recitation, one teaching the Thousand Character Classic, and one teaching calligraphy. The Ninth Prince does well with reciting poetry and texts but particularly dislikes writing characters. Right now, the Ninth Prince is just playing, though strangely, he enjoys writing and drawing while playing.”

Hearing this, Qin Wan also found it strange and asked, “Could it be that the tutor is too strict?”

Nurse Su sighed. “This servant follows the Ninth Prince, and the tutor, seeing how young the Ninth Prince is, is very gentle. Yet oddly enough, the Ninth Prince simply dislikes writing characters in the classroom.” She looked at Yan Sui somewhat helplessly and continued dejectedly, “The Empress Dowager said it might be that the teaching method doesn’t suit him, so she suggested letting the Ninth Prince play freely for a while. After some time, we’ll find a new tutor to teach him.”

Then Nurse Su added, “Several elders from the White family of Yi Zhou will arrive in a few days. I hear some will enter the Eastern Palace, while others will be responsible for teaching the princes. The Empress Dowager plans to wait until then to have the Ninth Prince resume his writing lessons.”

Given Yan Sui’s young age, Qin Wan said, “The Ninth Prince is young, indeed we shouldn’t rush him.”

Speaking of this, Qin Wan thought about Nurse Su’s mention of the White family from Yi Zhou coming to the capital. Half a month ago she had encountered Wei Qizhi, and now the White family was entering the capital. Lately, she seemed to keep encountering people connected to past cases.

Qin Wan wanted to see what characters Yan Sui had written, but the watermarks on the stone slabs were half-dried, and with Yan Sui’s unsteady hand, the characters were crooked and messy. She couldn’t make out what he had written. After exchanging a few more words with Nurse Su and seeing Yan Sui absorbed in his play, Qin Wan proceeded directly into Shoukang Palace’s main hall.