The fire caused by Yingzi accidentally knocking over a candlestick—what a coincidence!

Jiang Chen and Gu Suying’s hearts, which had been hanging in midair, finally settled just a little. In their extreme panic, they hadn’t the presence of mind to consider anything further—they simply longed desperately to hear good news.

Thank goodness, thank goodness—Beiyue had indeed woken up, but at least he’d missed witnessing the fire itself.

“Beiyue, so you woke up right in the middle of the fire? Such a massive blaze—when the Se Elder and I rushed over, we truly couldn’t even get inside!” the Gu family head said, sounding helpless.

Jiang Chen and Gu Suying couldn’t help but wait eagerly, desperate above all to know exactly when Jun Beiyue had woken.

From the timing of his awakening, they might at least be able to deduce something, gain some sense of where they stood, and stop feeling so utterly on edge.

But Jun Beiyue simply answered flatly, “Mm.”

The Gu family head’s brow furrowed, immediately sensing Jun Beiyue’s reluctance to answer, and didn’t press further—though a complicated flicker crossed his eyes as he stroked his beard. Could there really be something hidden here after all?

Seeing this, Jiang Chen and Gu Suying’s hearts, which had only just settled, clenched tight once more.

Jun Beiyue wasn’t saying anything!

What was his reasoning for staying silent? When exactly had he woken up?!

But while the Gu family head let the matter drop, Ziqing hadn’t forgotten the question she’d been interrupted on earlier, and pressed on with deadly seriousness, “Son-in-law, you still haven’t answered my question from earlier!”

Jiang Chen startled at once—of course he hadn’t forgotten. He’d actually been relieved when the Gu family head had interrupted!

Seeing Jiang Chen offer no answer, Ziqing furrowed her brow. “Mm?”

Jiang Chen still hesitated. Though he had no idea exactly how much Han Ziqing and Jun Beiyue actually knew, that red yang-natured medicine was absolutely the critical piece of evidence—proof of the poisoner’s identity, without question.

He had to think this through very carefully before answering, to make sure that whatever came of any investigation, he could protect himself.

He couldn’t help but feel a flicker of relief, at least, that Yu Xiao had intercepted him at the gate that night—if not for that, he would have been the sole one to bring the medicine back, and Gu Suying could have washed her hands of the whole affair entirely.

And knowing Gu Suying’s temperament, if pushed hard enough, she would throw him under the bus without a second thought!

Always so proud, so haughty, this brother-in-law Jiang still didn’t dare lift his head—but even so, he could feel Han Ziqing’s gaze studying him intently, waiting.

What should he do?

The Gu family head, having been rebuffed twice already by Jun Beiyue, finally worked up the courage to speak again, deciding not to press Beiyue any further, and instead turned to Ziqing, who seemed more talkative at the moment. “It was the red yang-natured medicine that saved Beiyue—that medicine sounds awfully familiar. Isn’t that… isn’t that…”

Ziqing, rare for her, listened to the Gu family head with remarkable patience, while Jiang Chen’s heart pounded wildly with every one of the family head’s “isn’t that”s, nearly leaping straight out of his chest!

The four of them sat there, seemingly making idle conversation, saying little of real substance, discussing nothing particularly serious—and yet, somehow, it felt as though they were drawing closer and closer to the truth with every passing moment.

Never mind Gu Suying—even Jiang Chen wanted to flee. This kind of torment was nothing short of pure torture.

Finally, as Jiang Chen’s heart raced faster and faster, the Gu family head suddenly remembered, slapping his thigh and turning to Jiang Chen. “Wasn’t that the medicine I sent you to find? That time when Yuan’er’s fever wouldn’t break, and the storehouse had run completely out?”

What could Jiang Chen do? Sweat pouring down his face, not daring to wipe it away, he forced a stiff smile onto his tense face and answered with as much gentle poise as he could manage, “Yes… that’s right!”

“Ziqing, how exactly did that medicine wake Beiyue up from his coma?” the Gu family head asked earnestly, clear suspicion now flickering in his eyes.

Jiang Chen couldn’t help shooting Gu Suying a pleading look—they had to find a way out of this, or the two of them were absolutely finished!

But at this point, what could Gu Suying possibly say?

Hadn’t she also gone and found medicine, when the entire island had none left?

Things had already gone this far—if their father found out the entire island had genuinely run dry of the herb, everything would become painfully, unmistakably obvious.

But to everyone’s surprise, Ziqing simply said flatly, “We came across it by chance, that’s all.”

The answer was so vague it offered no useful information whatsoever!

The Gu family head, brow still furrowed, was about to press further when Ziqing rose lazily to her feet, stretching. “We haven’t slept all night. Everyone should go get some rest—we’ll be heading down to the Sea Valley soon, and I hear it’s quite a sight. We should all recover our strength for it.”

Jun Beiyue rose along with her. If Han Ziqing wasn’t going to answer, Jun Beiyue certainly wouldn’t either, and the Gu family head was tactful enough not to press for an answer he clearly wouldn’t get.

Jun Beiyue and Han Ziqing’s manner might have seemed rude, but it felt deliberately so—and Han Ziqing, much like Jun Beiyue himself, was normally such a tight-lipped, reserved person. That she’d said so much just now seemed to carry some deeper meaning, some hidden implication beneath the surface.

Once Jun Beiyue and Ziqing had left, the Gu family head shot Jiang Chen a displeased glance and said flatly, “You should go rest too.”

He was still holding a grudge from the last time Jiang Chen had failed to step forward.

A son-in-law was, after all, different from a daughter. He held no grudge against Gu Suying—if anything, her performance last night had been quite admirable, and father and daughter had returned to their old rapport once more.

If there was any favoritism to be found, Madam Gu naturally leaned toward Gu Meiting, protective of her as always—while the Gu family head himself leaned, if only slightly, toward Gu Suying.

His elder daughter was sweet-tongued and talkative, while his second daughter was reserved but capable—he’d seen it all along.

Once Jun Beiyue and the others had gone, Jiang Chen felt an enormous wave of relief wash over him—at least he was safe for today! He shot Gu Suying a quick glance and hurried off. At a moment as critical as this, he naturally needed to find a way to see Bai Feiyao—otherwise, left alone here with nothing but wild guesses and constant worry, he’d torment himself to death sooner or later.

Once he’d gone, Gu Suying hurried to leave as well, but the Gu family head caught her by the arm.

“Suying, don’t you think there was something more to what Beiyue and Han Ziqing were saying just now?” the Gu family head asked in a low voice.

Gu Suying’s heart nearly stopped, cold sweat instantly breaking out across her body.

Even her own father, who had no idea what game Han Ziqing and Jun Beiyue were really playing, had grown suspicious! And he’d clearly waited until Jiang Chen was gone before saying this—which meant, unmistakably, that their father no longer fully trusted Jiang Chen.

If suspicion had already fallen on Jiang Chen, how long before it reached her too?

At this point, Gu Suying genuinely half-wished Jun Beiyue and the others already knew the full truth—then, at least, she could strike first and gamble everything on a single bold move.

But if they truly didn’t know much, if it was all still mere suspicion, then gambling everything now would be a terrible waste, wouldn’t it?

This was the real source of her anguish, her torment.

“Suying, did you catch anything from what they said just now?” the Gu family head asked again, quietly.

Only then did Gu Suying manage to collect herself, forcing anger to mask her panic, and snapped, “Father, are you really that afraid of them? If you want to know something, just ask Beiyue directly! You gave him his internal power, you saved his life! I refuse to believe I’d be ungrateful enough to side with some wretched woman over you!”

“Shh…” the Gu family head glared at her sharply.

“Father!” Gu Suying whined, playing the pouting daughter.

But instead, the Gu family head lowered his voice further. “Suying, your father has lived through enough to know better. Listen to me, just this once—however much you despise Han Ziqing, in front of Beiyue, you must hold yourself back. Otherwise, you’ll never get the chance to bring her down. Understand?”