Ji Yinshu felt she must have been poisoned by Jingrong’s sweet words.

In the past, hearing such words would make her whole body tingle. Now listening to them, she inexplicably felt they were like rice wine—endlessly savory.

Yes, she must definitely be poisoned. Diagnosis complete!

Jingrong was very satisfied with her reaction.

His arrogant manner showed as he said, “Little enchantress, whether you come tonight or not, this prince will leave the door open for you.”

Ji Yinshu: “…”

Well, the romantic atmosphere that had just been ignited was instantly washed away to almost nothing by these words of his.

She could only push hard, extracting her body from between his strong arms, immediately bouncing to the side, modestly straightening her clothes.

While doing so, she said, “Speak seriously. What exactly do you want to tell me?”

“Guess!”

“Don’t want to guess. If you won’t say it, forget it.”

She turned to leave, but was pulled back by Jingrong.

“Alright, no more fooling around. I’ll tell you the truth.” He said seriously, “Do you know that of those several leaders of the Liu Gang back then, six have already appeared now.”

Six?

Ji Yinshu thought about it—that’s not right!

Even adding Li Yuan, there were only five.

She asked in confusion, “Could you be saying that Miss Yu Yin is actually a man in women’s clothing? That she’s actually a man, one of the seven brothers?”

The next moment, Jingrong curled his fingers and rapped her forehead hard.

“What are you thinking? You’re so sharp when solving cases, but when it comes to this, you’re like a blockhead. How about this prince cracks open your head and checks if it’s filled with water?”

Ji Yinshu rubbed her forehead in pain and glared at him fiercely.

“Then tell me, who’s the sixth one?”

Jingrong revealed, “Yun Tongyang!”

“Yun Tongyang?”

Shocked!

“Yun Tongyang of the Longyang Escort Agency?”

“That’s right.”

Ji Yinshu suddenly laughed, finding it somewhat ridiculous. This matter was too interesting.

Even more interesting than reading celebrity gossip.

“I really didn’t expect this—running into everything, and all happening to converge together.” She asked again, “But how did you know?”

Jingrong replied, “The people this prince sent to the Li residence to check on the ink discovered it. They said they personally saw Yun Tongyang go to find Li Mingzhou and even call him Fifth Brother. Later, the two entered a room, and no one knows what they said.”

“Then this matter is truly becoming more and more interesting. Didn’t Li Mingzhou say that back then, because of certain events, the seven brothers all eventually went their separate ways? Since they supposedly cut ties completely, each going their own way, how is it so coincidental that after twenty years, they all appeared in Yuzhou City? This severed relationship doesn’t seem to be very thorough!”

“Could it be that these three murder cases are truly related to those seven brothers?” Jingrong suspected.

Ji Yinshu didn’t dare make a definitive judgment, only saying, “Right now the evidence laid out in the open is truly too much, yet I feel there are no clear leads. One can’t grasp or see through it. This is my first time encountering such a case. I wouldn’t say it’s difficult, just too strange.”

“It’s not too strange—rather, the murderer is too clever.”

His tone carried a hint of comfort!

Ji Yinshu glanced at him, smiled, and said nothing more.

Not long after, Shi Ziran came over, saying that Young Master Wei had awakened but refused to take medicine, refused to eat, wouldn’t even drink water. He just sat on the bed without saying a word, staring blankly.

As if he’d become even more foolish than before!

This frightened Ji Yinshu, who hurried over.

Inside the room!

Muruo was standing by the bed holding a bowl of rice.

“Little Wei, oh Little Wei, man is iron and rice is steel—missing one meal makes you starve. Look at yourself, you’ve gotten so thin. If you don’t eat, you’ll die. When that happens, we won’t have money to give you a grand burial. We’ll just wrap you in a straw mat, throw you in a mass grave, and then wolves and wild dogs will come eat your corpse, devouring you until not even bones remain.”

His words were insufferably tactless!

I’ve heard of people who can’t comfort others, but never one this bad at it.

Wei Yi completely ignored him.

His face was haggard!

His originally innocent and clear eyes stared at the bedding clutched in his hands, unfocused and scattered!

He gripped it harder.

Muruo sighed, utterly helpless. “Fine, you’re the ancestor, you’re my ancestor, Muruo. In my whole life, I’ve never begged anyone to eat before. Just consider our months together and eat the food, okay?”

His tone was gentle, approaching pleading!

He held the rice out beside Wei Yi’s hand!

The result—

Bang!

Wei Yi raised his hand and swept it away, directly knocking the bowl of rice to the ground, shattering it to pieces, several chunks of his favorite twice-cooked pork rolling out.

Muruo retreated several steps back, but he didn’t get angry. Instead, he looked at the food on the ground with heartache, scratching his head in frustration, then looking at Wei Yi with exasperation.

“You brat, wasting food is shameful. ‘Every grain comes from hard work’—don’t you know that?”

He got no response!

Outside, Ji Yinshu took in this entire scene, preparing to step inside, but was held back by Jingrong.

“Let me go instead.”

“You go? What will you say?” Ji Yinshu was puzzled.

He pointed with his chin at Wei Yi inside. “There’s always a way. Don’t worry.”

So—

He stepped inside!

Ji Yinshu could only watch from the doorway, hoping Jingrong wouldn’t resort to violence to solve the problem.

As it happened, Shi Ziran on the side began gloating.

Squinting, he said, “Mr. Ji, guess—will the prince use a pillow or use a sword?”

Hm?

What does that mean?

She turned to look at him with questioning eyes.

Shi Ziran shrugged. “According to the prince’s past temperament, he’d either smother Young Master Wei with a pillow or kill him with one sword strike, ending it once and for all. After all, a love rival is something unpredictable, and one that cannot be kept.”

You!

“Are you that idle?” Ji Yinshu asked coldly.

“A bit.”

“Then go chant sutras with the monks.”

“Chant what sutras? I’ve already eaten vegetarian food in the temple for half a year. I can’t bear to chant sutras again.” He looked disgusted, then asked, “But Mr. Ji, why are you telling me to chant sutras?”

“Stop your humming!”

The monk chants sutras, stop your humming!

She knew this saying.

Shi Ziran’s forehead darkened, and he could only slink away to the side.

Inside the room!

After Jingrong entered, he signaled to Muruo that he would handle it.

Muruo spread his hands. This hot potato was best tossed away, so he walked to a pear wood chair on the side, sat down, and silently began drinking wine.

The entire room was filled with a strong aroma of wine.

Jingrong sat down by the bed and called out, “Wei Yi.”

“…”

“This prince isn’t good at comforting people. If you’re listening, listen well. This prince will only say this once.”

“…”

“Yunshu has always regarded you as her family, and you’re her only family in this world. If you truly want to know how much she cares about you, then this prince can clearly tell you—she would die for you.”

Eh!

Wei Yi’s eyeballs moved. His originally scattered gaze gradually focused, then he looked at Jingrong.

Without speaking.

Jingrong’s cold, hard features now softened as he continued, “Wei Yi, Yunshu will never leave you for the rest of her life. She will continue to take care of you. But you cannot make her carry a burden in her heart because of this. You must understand that the love between family members is not true romantic love. She will not be your wife. Not now, and not in the future. Can you understand that?”

There was forcefulness!

There was dominance!

But even more, there was counsel.