Hearing his father’s answer, Li Mingrui finally let out the breath he had been holding in his heart. He slowly released the steward’s collar and collapsed unconscious from the pain.

“Quick! Carry the young master inside! Quick!” Li Mao’s expression changed drastically.

Watching his son being carried hurriedly into the courtyard by the servants, Li Mao’s face grew terrifyingly dark. His hands clenched behind his back as he leaned close to the steward’s ear and whispered, “Go to Jiuchuan Alley to find the old man and immediately send him to Princess Zhenguo’s mansion. If Princess Zhenguo truly doesn’t want the old man’s life…”

Li Mao’s voice paused, then dropped extremely low: “After the old man returns to Jiuchuan Alley, put something in his medicine to finish him off.”

The steward was quite surprised: “But… but if the young master wakes up, won’t he be furious?”

Li Mao narrowed his eyes, a bone-chilling coldness showing in his gaze: “Mingrui is the legitimate eldest son of the Li mansion. He cannot have any weaknesses!”

Originally, Li Mao had only thought that since the old man had saved his wife and son’s lives, and had forgotten his past with nowhere to go, the Li mansion could provide for the old man in his old age.

But now, this old man had made his decisively ruthless son protect him so fiercely!

Li Mao wasn’t stupid, and he understood his son well. Li Mao feared that to protect the old man, Li Mingrui had deliberately wounded himself with the dagger in front of Princess Zhenguo.

Li Mao absolutely could not tolerate the existence of someone who could influence Li Mingrui to such an extent!

Li Mingrui was the future of the Li family.

“But Chancellor, doing this… when the young master wakes up, I’m afraid he’ll blame this servant!” The steward was still deeply afraid of Li Mingrui. Their young master appeared gentle as jade, but was ruthless at heart.

“Just blame it on Princess Zhenguo!” Li Mao turned to look at the steward. “This way… Mingrui will naturally harbor resentment toward Princess Zhenguo, and after this incident, Mingrui will surely understand that Princess Zhenguo’s methods are divine and ghostly. He won’t underestimate her anymore just because she’s a woman, and will use his true abilities to deal with her carefully. For our Li mansion… this might not be a bad thing!”

Hearing Li Mao speak this way, the steward nodded in agreement, then led people to the Du residence in Jiuchuan Alley to find the old man.

Indeed, as Li Mingrui had guessed, the old man was at the Du residence. However, the old man wasn’t injured, only trembling all over while clutching his head, his face pale as strange and familiar images continuously flooded his mind.

A cold-faced little girl was practicing with long swords and short blades in heavy snow, her face blue from cold, yet she refused to give up. A tall, smiling young man brought her hot soup, brushing the snow from the little girl’s head as he said, “Drink the soup and stop practicing! Go back to your room to rest and warm up by the fire!”

The little girl wiped the soup from her mouth with her sleeve, her gaze determined: “Master said I can’t rest until I’ve practiced for two hours.”

“Master is always hard-mouthed but soft-hearted. Master is the one who told me to bring you this meat soup.”

Hearing this, the little girl’s clear, bright eyes looked in his direction.

The old man pressed his head tightly, remembering the girl who had seen his face today and called him Master… who had nearly had her arm severed by him. Those eyes were identical to the little girl in his memory.

But… who was that young man?

The more he thought, the more his head hurt. The more it hurt, the more desperately he wanted to remember. His head felt like it was about to explode.

Suddenly, the old man’s ears twitched. He heard what sounded like a large group of horses approaching Jiuchuan Alley. The old man stood up and reached for his waist, only to discover his short blade was missing.

The old man didn’t hide. He tilted his ear and closed his eyes, listening carefully to the footsteps. One of the footstep patterns he had heard before – it seemed to be the Li mansion’s steward who had previously come to the Du residence to ask him to protect Li Mingrui.

Only then did the old man lower his guard. He walked to the door and opened it, waiting quietly outside for the Left Chancellor’s mansion steward.

Soon, the Li mansion’s riders stopped in front of the Du residence. The old man endured his headache as he looked at the Li family steward walking briskly toward him.

Seeing the Li mansion steward bow to him, the old man nodded slightly: “What matter?”

“The eldest young master has returned to the mansion and commanded that I come to escort the old man to Princess Zhenguo’s mansion to meet with Princess Zhenguo. Please rest assured, old man… the eldest young master wounded himself with a dagger, pleading with Princess Zhenguo not to harm the old man in the slightest. Old man, please feel free to come with this old servant.”

The Li mansion steward deliberately emphasized how Li Mingrui had pleaded for the old man by wounding himself. Sure enough, he saw the old man’s pupils tremble as he wished. Only then did the Li mansion steward step aside and invite the old man to board the carriage: “Old man, please!”

“How… how badly is the eldest young master injured?” the old man asked.

The Li mansion steward didn’t raise his head, keeping his eyes downcast: “The injury is quite serious. If this matter is resolved quickly, the eldest young master can rest easy and recover. Old man, please don’t delay. Please…”

The old man frowned, thought for a moment, then boarded the carriage brought by the Li mansion steward and accompanied them to Princess Zhenguo’s mansion.

When Shen Qingzhu heard that the Li mansion had sent the old man over, she was so shocked she couldn’t sit still and rushed straight to Qinghui Courtyard.

Seeing Shen Qingzhu running into Qinghui Courtyard, Zhenming smiled and lifted the curtain for her: “The eldest miss is changing clothes…”

Shen Qingzhu nodded. Upon entering, she saw Bai Qingyan had already put on a fox fur cloak and was receiving a silver hand warmer with hollow-carved bamboo gentleman design from Zhenguang’s hands. Shen Qingzhu clasped her fists and bowed: “Eldest Miss!”

“I know you’re anxious. Let’s go!” Bai Qingyan pulled her cloak tighter and stepped out of Qinghui Courtyard’s main room, her gait steady – nothing like a frail person.

Watching Bai Qingyan board the sedan chair, Shen Qingzhu followed at her side, reminding herself that she absolutely must not show any inappropriate expression while the Li mansion’s people were still present.

But having not seen her master for so many years, only to have him return from the dead, Shen Qingzhu’s emotions were churning like towering waves.

Seeing that the servants carrying the sedan chair weren’t taking the path to the front hall, Shen Qingzhu was quite surprised: “This isn’t the path to the front hall?”

“I’ve already had someone invite your master to my father’s study.” Bai Qingyan looked down at Shen Qingzhu walking beside the sedan chair. “To prevent you from being emotionally unstable in the front hall and revealing flaws in front of the Li mansion’s people! If your master is unwilling to stay at the Bai mansion and wants to return, it would be disadvantageous to your master.”

Moreover, although Bai Qingyan had only met Shen Qingzhu’s master Shen Baizhong once, and this Shen Baizhong had never even lived in the capital city, since he was someone her father trusted, perhaps he had been to her father’s study before. Having Shen Baizhong go there… might help him remember something.

“The eldest miss is very thoughtful.” Shen Qingzhu was filled with gratitude.

Shen Baizhong followed the Bai family servants to Bai Qishan’s study, passing through the winding corridors with their carved beams and painted rafters, looking at the pavilions and towers on both sides of the azure stone path.

On the right side, in the southeast corner, was the slightly ice-covered surface of Youbi Lake. In the center stood an octagonal pavilion with flying eaves, its bronze bells gently swaying in the wind, their silhouettes outlined by the setting sun…