When the sword was thrown to the ground, the hatred in his eyes grew even more intense.

He retreated several steps, rushing toward the main gate, but then he saw Ji Yunshu. He paused for a moment, said nothing, and left.

She had originally come to see Wen Xian. Seeing that person leave just like that, she couldn’t very well chase after him immediately, so she simply stayed.

Wen Panshi was born a military general and had grown up in military camps since childhood, so he had always been particularly strict about observing rules. When Wen Xian saw the young heir and left so rashly, he felt somewhat angry in his heart, yet he couldn’t show it in front of Ji Yunshu.

He said, “Young heir, please don’t mind him.”

She smiled. “What are you saying, General Wen? I quite admire Young Master Wen’s character.”

Wen Panshi didn’t know whether she was praising or criticizing.

Zhao Huai picked up the sword that Wen Xian had thrown on the ground, walked over, and bowed to Ji Yunshu.

“Greetings, young heir.”

“I never expected that the chief of Gaoshan Stronghold back then was hiding so deeply.”

“Young heir flatters me.”

“Actually, from the moment you saw that jade pendant, you should have known. That’s why you followed me all the way from Shanhuai County.”

“That’s right. I still remember telling the young heir that where the jade is, there the person is.”

Ji Yunshu: “You also said that one day, someone would naturally tell me everything. And the person you were referring to should be General Wen, correct?”

“Yes.”

This was getting more and more interesting!

In the mysterious workings of fate, some things were destined from the very beginning.

She let out a long breath. “Actually, I should have realized this earlier. How could such elaborate mechanisms outside Gaoshan Stronghold have been designed by an old mountain bandit? The hidden compartment design in the storage room was exactly the same as the mechanisms outside your Gaoshan Stronghold. I just couldn’t understand how, fourteen years ago, you were still just a child—how could you possibly be connected to the Linjing Case? It wasn’t until that day that I suddenly understood. The Linjing Case wasn’t connected to you, but to your father. His ability to design such sophisticated mechanisms shows that when you followed Duke Yuguo’s people, he was one of them.”

She explained it all clearly.

Zhao Huai: “Yes, my father was indeed under Duke Yuguo’s command before. He was specifically in charge of mechanisms and secret passages. Twenty years ago, Duke Yuguo decided to divide and disperse his troops, hiding the hundred thousand soldiers under his command. So my father took a contingent of troops to Shanhuai County, established Gaoshan Stronghold there, and started a wine-making business. But after my father died, due to a misunderstanding between Zhao Qing and me, the entire Gaoshan Stronghold fell into banditry, ending up in today’s pitiful state. However, to have found the young heir because of this—it was worth it.”

It truly was worth it!

Ji Yunshu’s feelings were complex. On one hand, she marveled that Duke Yuguo had subordinates willing to risk their lives for him. But on the other hand, because of Duke Yuguo’s death, so many people were implicated and so many died—was it really worth it?

But in the end, she said nothing.

After leaving, she boarded the carriage and went to the lakeside on the outskirts.

Wen Xian was indeed there.

He sat on that rock, playing the flute.

The melody was melodious, poignant and moving.

If this were modern times, this piece would definitely be a huge hit.

Ji Yunshu sat inside the carriage, looking through the window at Wen Xian’s desolate silhouette.

He had lost the woman he loved most, and now he had lost his best brother. That kind of pain was absolutely not something ordinary people could understand.

Presumably, his mood at this moment was like his flute music—desolate.

After the melody ended, she got out of the carriage.

She instructed Shi Zijin, “Wait for me here.”

“Yes.”

Ji Yunshu walked toward the lakeside. Wen Xian heard the sound and turned to look.

His eyes no longer held the hostility and hatred from earlier. They were gentle, melancholy, and sorrowful. If one looked at his perpetually melancholic face, beneath the melancholy there was also a sense of handsomeness.

Ji Yunshu stood beside him, looking at the calm water surface. “You used to come here often with Miss Ye’er, didn’t you?”

Hearing Ye’er’s name, Wen Xian’s brow furrowed deeply.

Ye’er was the hurdle in his heart that he could never overcome!

Every time she was mentioned, it was as if a knife was scraping his very bones, the pain tearing at his heart.

So over these years, he hadn’t mentioned her, nor had he thought about her.

Even his best brother Lin Feng wouldn’t bring her up in front of him.

She was a landmine, one that could not be stepped on.

“Does the young heir know everything now?”

“About half.”

“Then why suddenly bring up Ye’er?”

“It’s not sudden. I came to find you specifically about Miss Ye’er’s matter.”

“Speak.”

Ji Yunshu met his gaze. “Although I don’t know what happened between you two or what you experienced together, I only know two things. One is that you both loved and thought of each other. The other is that before she died, what she wanted to tell Young Master Qiao was actually about the disaster relief silver.”

“How did you discover this?”

“Because on the day Ye’er died, you were also at the scene. You were the one who knocked out Young Master Qiao because you were afraid she would reveal the matter of the disaster relief silver. But what you didn’t expect was that right after you left, she died. Although the yamen coroner accepted money from the Qiao family, the autopsy result was indeed death by poison suicide. You thought you had caused her death, so all these years, you’ve been living in self-blame and deep regret.”

Hit right on the painful spot so bluntly, Wen Xian smiled bitterly. His clear eyes deepened as he admitted frankly, “It’s not just self-blame and regret. I even wanted to kill myself and go down to the underworld to be with her.”

On countless nights, he had been startled awake from dreams. Each time he woke, he had the urge to commit suicide. In the end, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

He continued, “I’m not afraid of death. What I’m afraid of is that after I die, I won’t feel any pain anymore. That would be release. Only by continuing to bear that pain can I remember every moment that I owe her, that I owe her for a lifetime.”

His eyes gradually reddened, tears flowing, yet he forced himself to swallow them back.

Some love is like this—not afraid of pain, not afraid of living forever in self-blame and regret, but afraid of losing feeling, of never again understanding the sensations and beauty of loving someone. That would be worse than death, a hundred times more painful.

Rather than die, he would rather live a lifetime in pain.

Ji Yunshu’s eyes also reddened. She took a deep breath, calming her emotions. After a moment, she took out the jade pendant that Ye’er had sewn into the cloth doll, placed it in her palm, and handed it toward Wen Xian.

“This jade pendant—Miss Ye’er always kept it and carefully protected it by her side. I believe she never regretted it.”

Wen Xian was stunned for a moment before taking it, his hands trembling.

Then he placed that jade pendant together with the other half on his flute.

A complete piece.

Finally unable to hold back, tears fell, dropping onto that flute!