After everyone in the courtyard dispersed, Ji Yunshu pulled the still-furious Luo Yang into her room.

However, she didn’t close the door to prevent people from gossiping later. Luo Yang plopped down on a stool and rubbed his face, which bore the imprint of five fingers. He said angrily, “Nasty woman! She could hit anywhere else, but every time she only knows to hit the face, and she strikes so viciously. If there’s a next time, I’ll definitely hit her back hard, hit her so hard she’ll be looking for her teeth all over the ground. Let’s see if she’ll still be so arrogant then.”

Ji Yunshu silently shook her head, then poured him a cup of water and handed it over: “Why bother arguing with a young girl?”

“Young girl? Is she a young girl? She’s basically a monster! She doesn’t have the slightest bit of ladylike manner. Even the most unreasonable woman isn’t like this. If it weren’t for the principle that gentlemen use words not fists, I would have strangled her long ago.”

“Her biological older sister is the Empress. If you dare to touch her, you can forget about keeping your life too.”

“Is this young master’s life so easy to take?”

“In any case, just let this matter go. Next time, don’t be so impulsive either. A woman’s most important thing is her reputation. If you had said something inappropriate in front of everyone just now, how could she continue living?”

“If she can’t live, then she can’t live. This kind of person is useless alive anyway. She’s just a loudmouth showing off.” Thinking about Qiu Shu’s face made all of Luo Yang’s masculine dignity disappear.

Ji Yunshu knew Luo Yang’s temperament—he feared neither heaven nor earth—so she could only try to persuade him gently: “She’s still a young lady after all. No matter how wrong she is, she’s not some great villain. If you argue with her, you’ll only fall prey to gossip yourself. Next time something like this happens, you absolutely must not get involved.”

“I shouldn’t get involved? But I was doing it all for your sake!” Luo Yang looked at her earnestly.

“I can handle it myself.”

Luo Yang rubbed his face a few more times: “You woman, you’re just stubborn.” As he spoke, he leaned forward, staring into Ji Yunshu’s beautiful eyes, and asked, “Tell me, what exactly are you made of? Nothing matters to you, you shoulder everything yourself. Actually, showing a little weakness really isn’t such a big deal. If the sky falls, don’t I still have my back to hold it up for you?”

Although these words sounded somewhat clichéd, and coming from Luo Yang’s mouth made them seem even more glib, every sentence he spoke came from the bottom of his heart.

If the sky really did fall—

He would hold it up!

After spending these past days together, Ji Yunshu had actually already understood Luo Yang’s feelings, but she pretended not to know. She only acknowledged that they were friends, then changed the subject, saying: “I have serious business to discuss with you.”

Right!

Serious business.

Luo Yang almost forgot: “What matter exactly?”

“I need you to help me investigate Zhao Quanzhi, the son of the Governor-General of Jiangguang. See if he has any wounds on his body from being bitten by a dog.”

Zhao Quanzhi?

Luo Yang searched his mind for this name before remembering who he was!

Wasn’t he that wealthy young master who had spoken up for Li Shiyan in the hall at that time?

However, he didn’t understand: “Why do you need to check if he has wounds on his body?”

“I just want to verify something. Go help me investigate it clearly.”

Luo Yang didn’t know what scheme she was cooking up, and he also knew that even if he asked, she might not necessarily tell him. So he directly patted his chest and said, “Rest assured, when have I ever botched anything you’ve entrusted to me?”

“Then go!”

“Right now?”

“What else?”

Luo Yang pointed at his face and said, “My face still hurts. I want to rest a bit.”

Ji Yunshu said nothing, only stared at him…

Luo Yang’s cheek twitched a few times. He swallowed hard, feeling very uncomfortable under her gaze. Finally, he still got up, drank the water Ji Yunshu had poured for him in one gulp, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and said, “Alright, I’ll go now.”

“Mm!”

Ji Yunshu nodded lightly.

When Luo Yang left, he looked back at her once. He knew that Ji Yunshu was a block of ice, an extremely cold block of ice. He didn’t believe his fire couldn’t melt her.

Even an iron pestle could be ground into a needle!

He believed that his shameless persistent efforts would definitely not be in vain.

Thinking this, he was filled with fighting spirit and quickly rushed out.

After he left, Ji Yunshu had no mind to think about other matters. Resolving the matters at hand was most urgent.

She took out that bloody patterned fabric and continued studying it…

After the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, Luo Yang leisurely strolled to the courtyard where Zhao Quanzhi was staying. Seeing no one around, he slipped in like a wisp of smoke, then aimed his gaze at the room where Zhao Quanzhi was and looked around.

However, he didn’t know how to investigate whether there were wounds from a dog bite on his body.

He couldn’t just go directly ask, could he?

Or go strip off his clothes?

He quickly dismissed these two ideas. After pondering for quite a while, his eyes finally rolled, and an idea popped into his head. He chuckled: “This young master is just clever.”

Then he left the courtyard to carry out his plan!

…

Zhu Yao, accompanied by Cai’er, arrived outside Water Moon Pavilion. She had also brought a thicker quilt, planning to send it in to Li Shiyan.

The two elite soldiers standing guard outside were nearly dying of distress. Today, first Su Ziluo had come, then Zhao Quanzhi, and now the daughter of Minister Zhu. Each one was an important personage. They didn’t know whether they should stop them or allow them all to enter.

Zhu Yao said in a gentle tone, “I trouble you to please help me and let me go in to see him.”

“Miss Zhu, please don’t make things difficult for us. Chief Justice Huang has ordered that no one is allowed to enter. Please go back. If the heir apparent didn’t kill anyone, he’ll definitely be able to come out.”

“I just want to go in and see him once. I won’t do anything. Once I see him and bring this quilt in, I’ll leave. It won’t take much time. Please help me.”

She was different from Su Ziluo. Su Ziluo hadn’t made things difficult for them but said he would go request permission from Chief Justice Huang, then left as soon as he said he would. She was also different from Zhao Quanzhi. When Zhao Quanzhi came, he said nothing and just barged straight in.

But she begged pitifully, with a somewhat piteous appearance, plus those glistening tears, which made the two grown men feel unable to bear watching without feeling heartache.

In the end, they really couldn’t withstand Zhu Yao’s gaze and pleading, so they agreed to let her enter.

Zhu Yao followed the elite soldier to the door. When it opened, the scent of osmanthus wine wafted out from inside. Because the wine had been knocked over by the cat, Li Shiyan had furiously driven the elite soldiers out, and he hadn’t even cleaned up the broken wine bottle on the floor. Not only had the wine smell not dissipated, it had become increasingly strong, permeating the room.

Li Shiyan had originally been lying on the bed. When the door opened again, he squinted and saw it was Zhu Yao!

He sat up from the bed at once and asked in surprise, “How did you come here?”

The moment Zhu Yao saw him, her eyes reddened. She walked over quickly, looking at Li Shiyan’s somewhat haggard and thin face, and asked worriedly, “Shiyan, are you alright? Knowing you encountered trouble, I couldn’t sleep night after night. I’ve been constantly worried about you. How are you?”

As she spoke, she reached out and tightly grabbed Li Shiyan’s arm.

Li Shiyan silently pulled his hand from hers, then got off the bed, stepped aside a few paces, and said, “I’m fine. You don’t need to worry. At a time like this, you’d better not come see me. I’m doing quite well here.”

“But I’m worried about you! Shiyan, rest assured, I’ll definitely go beg my father to help you. You’ll definitely be fine. Even if everyone else doesn’t believe you, I believe you. I believe you didn’t kill anyone.” She walked up to him again, raised her head, and said firmly.

“Miss Zhu, thank you for trusting me.” He stepped back again. “You should hurry and leave. If someone sees you, it won’t be good. Moreover, Chief Justice Huang has ordered that no one is allowed to enter.”

“I just wanted to see you.”

“Well, now you’ve seen me. Hurry and leave.” His tone was very gentle; he couldn’t bring himself to speak harshly.

Zhu Yao’s eyes brimmed with tears. She knew he didn’t want her to get involved, but how could she feel at ease? Finally, she instructed Cai’er: “Put down the quilt.”

“Yes!”

Cai’er placed the quilt they had brought on the bed.

Zhu Yao said, “Water Moon Pavilion is cold and damp. I brought you a quilt to prevent you from being cold at night. Take good care of your health.”

Her endless care was like a fire, constantly burning around Li Shiyan, so intense, as if it wanted to consume him.

Li Shiyan wasn’t a heartless and ungrateful person either. He knew that Zhu Yao was good to him. But that kind of goodness was something he couldn’t reciprocate. The person his heart held was Ji Yunshu, not Zhu Yao. So the more Zhu Yao treated him this way, the more guilty he felt.