Ning Yin coldly called her “Young Miss.”

This fellow had recognized her from the beginning, yet deliberately pretended not to know her, watching her dance like a clown trying to hide her identity.

Really…

As if the last layer of window paper had been pierced, a flush rose on Yu Lingxi’s face. The teacup she held steadily also began to ripple, and even the corners of her eyes were tinged with a light, enchanting peach red.

Past scenes of medicine taken by mouth flooded her mind like a torrent that had been suppressed to the extreme, instantly filling her thoughts.

Ning Yin admired her uncomfortable appearance, his eyes revealing a faint, cruel playfulness.

He slowly raised his hand to remove the veil covering her face.

How could one feed wine while wearing a veil?

But Yu Lingxi stepped back as if startled awake, the veil brushing past his fingertips, floating away without a trace.

The two civil officials had just left, and the brothel was a mixed place of good and bad. She wasn’t sure if anyone was watching Ning Yin from the shadows. If she revealed her face and exposed her identity now, it could create unnecessary complications.

She even forgot to curtsy, hurriedly turning to flee.

The corner of Ning Yin’s mouth moved imperceptibly, but he didn’t stop her.

By the seventh tap of his finger, Yu Lingxi stopped in her tracks, standing in the corridor.

Suddenly, a group of imperial guards and officials from the Court of Judicial Review poured into the courtyard. The lead imperial guard held a document and commanded: “Routine inspection! Everyone come out and line up immediately! Those who disobey will be dealt with on the spot for obstructing official duties!”

Cries of alarm rose, and the pleasure house, previously immersed in wine and luxury, instantly fell into chaos.

Although officials regularly came to collect taxes and inspect the brothel, they only went through the motions in the front courtyard and never searched the inner courtyard. After all, those enjoying themselves in the inner courtyard were all noble court officials with connections; no one could afford to offend them…

When imperial guards showed up, unless the Emperor had ordered a strict investigation of officials frequenting prostitutes, it was not as simple as a routine inspection.

Yu Lingxi focused her gaze and saw a familiar face in front of the imperial guards.

Xue Song? What was he doing here?

Going downstairs now would mean running into the imperial guards. Yu Lingxi simply hid behind a corridor pillar to observe.

Downstairs, the imperial guards kicked open doors one by one, driving out pairs of disheveled men and women, gathering them in the courtyard.

What kind of operation was this? Who were they searching for?

Yu Lingxi’s heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively looked back.

She saw Ning Yin holding the wine cup she had poured earlier, lightly sniffing it, appearing cold and indifferent, as if the commotion downstairs had nothing to do with him.

Strange, they weren’t coming for Ning Yin?

Until the imperial guards’ rough shouts abruptly ceased, Xue Cen walked out, meeting everyone’s astonished gaze.

Although he had managed to dress properly, his cap was still askew, and the hair at his temples was in disarray. It was obvious he had taken a nice “nap” here.

At once, those nobles and young masters, whether looking worried or cursing loudly, fell silent.

They stared at Xue Cen for a long time with strange expressions, their eyes like knives, as if wanting to flay and dissect his polished exterior, before suddenly erupting in a burst of laughter.

Xue Song, leading the imperial guards for an inspection, had caught his brother “visiting a prostitute”—it was like “a flood washing away the Dragon King’s temple.”

“Who would have thought that the upright gentleman Xue Second Young Master would also frequent such a place of romance.”

“Can’t tell from appearances, tsk!”

Xue Cen ignored them all.

His eyes were red, and he stood before Xue Song looking lost as if trying to confirm something. After a long while, he finally called out with a complex expression: “Elder Brother…”

Xue Song’s expression was quite fascinating at that moment.

Yu Lingxi, looking at Xue Cen’s stiff, awkward back, was also somewhat surprised.

In her impression, although Xue Cen was simple and foolish, with a bit of the inherent arrogance of a scholar, he was not someone who lusted after women.

“Whose clear and pure fiancé turns out to be a regular customer in a courtesan’s bed.” Ning Yin’s deep voice came from behind.

He had somehow walked up behind Yu Lingxi, his tall shadow enveloping her. He clicked his tongue and said, “How pitiful.”

Yu Lingxi could tell without turning around that he must be smiling, smiling in an extremely malicious way.

There was nothing pitiful about it, Yu Lingxi thought: she never cared about him anyway.

Ning Yin had been observing her reaction, trying to detect even the slightest hint of regret or anger in her eyes, visible outside her veil.

But Yu Lingxi’s eyes remained clear as ever, without a trace of resentment or gloom, and so the mocking ridicule in his eyes faded away, making his entire person appear gloomy and cold.

He was quite dissatisfied with Yu Lingxi’s reaction.

But Yu Lingxi no longer had time to deal with him or with Xue Cen. None of this concerned her; she only wanted to quickly find Hong Zhu.

And now Lanchun Pavilion was in chaos, with even the guards being controlled by the imperial guards—the perfect time to fish in troubled waters.

Yu Lingxi took a few steps, paused, and finally took a deep breath before descending the stairs, nodding to Qing Xiao who was keeping watch from the upper floor of the front courtyard.

Qing Xiao understood, taking advantage of the chaos to slip into the back courtyard amid the crowd and meet up with her.

Ning Yin stood coldly for a while, then returned to his room and closed the door.

The zither player was long gone, replaced by a young man in tight-fitting clothes—an unfamiliar face.

The man reported: “As Your Highness planned, that maid has already met with Xue Cen.”

“Very good,” Ning Yin clasped his hands behind his back.

He had said that rather than taking Xue Cen’s life, he preferred to destroy his heart.

“That young lady just now…”

“A cat that slipped in, I played with her for a while.”

Seeing that Ning Yin had spoken, the man didn’t ask more, only saying: “Just now I saw that young lady heading towards the woodshed, presumably also looking for that maid. Should this subordinate stop her and bring her back?”

Ning Yin’s expression subtly tensed.

So she had that trick up her sleeve? Hmph, she had grown skills.

“No need.”

Not only would he not obstruct her, Ning Yin wanted to facilitate this matter.

It wasn’t enough to let Yu Lingxi witness Xue’s Second Young Master being dragged down from his pedestal and falling into the mud. He also wanted to tear open the hypocritical facade of the Xue family and overthrow, bit by bit, the childhood friendship and righteousness she protected and believed in, crushing it to dust.

Destruction was always a pleasurable thing.

…

Yu Lingxi found Hong Zhu hiding in the utility room.

She had originally wanted to question her face to face, but for some reason, Hong Zhu had received a shock and kept crying uncontrollably, refusing to cooperate.

With no choice, but to avoid attracting the guards, Yu Lingxi had to have Qing Xiao knock her unconscious. They took advantage of the chaos to smuggle her out through a side door, and surprisingly, no one noticed.

Soon after, Qing Lan brought Tang Buli out.

Tang Buli had just beaten Chen Jian, and her two small mustaches had fallen off in her anger. She didn’t get into Yu Lingxi’s carriage but rode her horse back home.

Yu Lingxi was worried and had Qing Lan follow her from a distance to ensure she returned safely.

The carriage had not yet reached the Yu Manor when the unconscious Hong Zhu woke up.

Seeing herself in Yu Lingxi’s carriage, she was stunned for a moment, then got up and tried to jump out of the moving carriage.

“Let me go back! Let me go back…”

Those people had said that she would live if she obediently followed orders, but if she tried to run, there would only be death.

Hong Zhu stammered something that Yu Lingxi couldn’t hear clearly, so she had Qing Xiao restrain her.

“Don’t be afraid. Since I’ve brought you out, I will certainly do my utmost, using all the resources of the General’s Manor, to protect you.”

Yu Lingxi softened her voice to reassure her, and said earnestly, “I just want to know what happened the day before Zhao Yuming died.”

Hong Zhu just shook her head: “Second Miss is also here on behalf of the Xue family, right? This slave knows that you and Xue Second Young Master have been betrothed, you are on the Xue family’s side.”

“Also?”

Yu Lingxi hesitated. “Who else has asked you?”

Hong Zhu sniffled and refused to say.

Yu Lingxi understood, straightening her back against the carriage wall and changing her posture: “Since others have already found you, it means this secret is no longer safe, and you no longer have any value to exploit. If you don’t grasp this last straw of the Yu Manor, do you believe that if I leave you by the roadside now, the real murderer will eliminate you in the next moment?”

After this analysis, Hong Zhu immediately trembled.

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you! I beg Second Miss not to abandon this slave!”

Hong Zhu hurriedly knelt. “Before Second Miss arrived, this slave was ordered to bring tea to a private room and ran into Xue Second Young Master. This slave thought he was… was here for that matter, so in my panic, I told him everything.”

She kept mentioning the Xue family, and Yu Lingxi had a bad feeling, asking calmly: “What did you tell him?”

“I told him about what happened before the young miss died.”

Hong Zhu twisted her coarse cloth sleeve, sobbing, “That day, when the young miss returned to the water pavilion, she saw Second Miss being intimate with a guard and wanted… wanted to go to the Xue Manor to expose Second Miss’s improper relationship with a servant to Xue Second Young Master, hoping to kill his desire to marry Second Miss. But the Xue Manor was strictly guarded, and the young miss couldn’t get in. She could only wait outside with me, planning to follow Xue Second Young Master when he went out and find an opportunity to expose this matter.”

“And then?”

“Then we waited for nearly two hours before a carriage left the Xue Manor. The young miss heard the servants calling the person in the carriage ‘Young Master Xue,’ so she hastily followed. Our carriage was a step slower, and by the time we caught up with Young Master Xue’s carriage, he had already gone up to a private room at Zuixian Tower, so the young miss followed up as well…”

Recalling everything from that day, Hong Zhu still couldn’t stop shaking.

“But there are two young masters in the Xue Manor, and we followed the wrong person. In the private room were Xue First Young Master and a fair, mild-mannered young man discussing matters. Xue First Young Master respectfully addressed that person as ‘Superintendent Cui’ and also mentioned something about ‘disaster grain.’ This slave was standing too far away to hear clearly, but I saw the young miss’s face change…”

Hong Zhu’s tears flowed down. “Then, the young miss was discovered.”

Hearing this, Yu Lingxi felt as if a heavy hammer had fallen in her heart.

Xue First Young Master was naturally Xue Song, and “Superintendent Cui” must be the Eunuch Superintendent Cui An, who had taken away her father’s military power.

When Zhao Yuming died, the disaster grain incident had not yet occurred, so their prior discussion of this matter could only mean they were secretly plotting to harm Yu Huanchen.

Only with the involvement of the Ministry of Revenue could the disaster grain be switched without anyone noticing.

Poor Yu Lingxi, relying on her memories from her previous life, had only identified the Right Vice Minister of Revenue, Wang Lingqing, but didn’t expect that even the Left Vice Minister, Xue Song, was also Cui An’s accomplice.

Does this mean the Xue family wasn’t as loyal and neutral as rumored?

“So, Xue First Young Master killed your young miss?” Yu Lingxi’s voice deepened.

“This slave doesn’t know. When Xue First Young Master discovered the young miss eavesdropping, he wasn’t angry at all and even politely invited her in for tea.”

Hong Zhu said, “This slave doesn’t know what they said inside, but when the young miss came out, she was deeply troubled, and later…”

Later, everyone knew what happened.

Zhao Yuming died from poison, from the “Hundred Flowers Kill” that had taken Yu Lingxi’s life in her previous incarnation.

So, in her previous life, the person who wanted to use her body to poison Ning Yin… was Xue Song?

Why?

In both lifetimes, the Xue family, while using their status as longtime friends of the Yu family, secretly harmed her brother and Ning Yin. Were they upholding what they called orthodox principles, or did they have other motives?

The destruction of the Xue family in her previous life now had a reason. One clue after another linked together, weaving into a terrifying truth.

…

Yu Lingxi quietly settled Hong Zhu in a separate courtyard, without anyone noticing.

She urgently needed to confirm something personally, so after some thought, she prepared substantial gifts and went to visit Xue Cen.

The news of Xue Cen’s visit to Lanchun Pavilion had already spread throughout the capital. For an ordinary man, being a bit dissolute might not matter, but being born into a strict, century-old noble family, he had damaged the family’s reputation and had to be punished according to family rules.

Thus, when Yu Lingxi arrived to pay her respects, Xue Cen was kneeling upright in the ancestral hall, repenting before his ancestors.

From his pale complexion, it was clear he had been kneeling for a very long time.

Seeing Yu Lingxi, Xue Cen’s already bloodless face grew even paler, and his calm face showed guilt and remorse.

His body swayed, and Yu Lingxi immediately said: “Don’t move.”

Xue Cen shook his head and, despite the almost numbing pain in his knees, slowly gathered his sleeves in Yu Lingxi’s direction and bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry, Second Sister.”

His voice had none of its usual clearness but was as hoarse and heavy as sandpaper. “I was careless for a moment, I’m sorry to you…”

“It’s all right, you don’t need to apologize.”

Yu Lingxi poured him a cup of tea and said gently, “I’ve always respected you as an elder brother, and if we marry by imperial decree in the future, I won’t stop you from taking concubines.”

Xue Cen’s shoulders trembled.

She said “If we marry,” she said she wouldn’t stop him from taking concubines.

Such gentle tolerance felt like a sharp dagger stabbing into his heart.

Only when there is no love can there be such indifference!

When he raised his head again, Xue Cen’s eyes were red.

He had many things he wanted to confess, to argue, but his Adam’s apple moved, and he only managed to utter a hoarse word: “…Alright.”

He was no longer pure and had no right to ask for Second Sister’s compassion.

If not for the fact that the imperial marriage concerned the survival of two families, he would have hanged himself with a white silk rope last night, taking his pure love for Second Sister with him.

“In the future, Second Sister can also do what she wants to do, I… won’t stop you.”

Xue Cen turned his face away and said with difficulty.

Yu Lingxi was truly surprised; what did Xue Cen mean by these words?

Before she could figure it out, a deliberate low cough came from behind.

Turning around, Yu Lingxi’s gaze darkened: it was Xue Song.

Before she could think of how to approach him discreetly, he had come to her.

In terms of appearance and talent, Xue Song was not as outstanding as Xue Cen in every aspect. Quiet and elegant, he would be hard to pick out in a crowd—not at all like a major villain.

“First Young Master.”

“Second Miss.”

The two greeted each other, and then Xue Song turned to Xue Cen: “Grandfather sent me to ask what exactly happened last night, did you…”

Considering Yu Lingxi’s presence, Xue Song didn’t speak too explicitly.

“I don’t know.”

Xue Cen glanced at the quiet and beautiful young woman beside him, as if weighing something, and after a while said, “Elder Brother should investigate the other princes.”

Hearing this, Yu Lingxi’s heart tightened.

Among the few remaining princes, naturally, no one would dare investigate the Crown Prince, the Third Prince was mentally challenged, and the Little Prince was only a few months old. The only one who could be investigated… wasn’t it just Ning Yin?

What was Xue Cen implying?

“Bear your own mistakes, don’t shift the blame.”

Xue Song spoke with a serious face, saying calmly, “Princes are still princes, they have the luxury to indulge in sensuality, and no one dares to control their comings and goings to pleasure houses. Unlike you, Cen, who is grandfather’s valued direct grandson with high expectations.”

Xue Song’s seemingly ordinary words made both Xue Cen and Yu Lingxi’s hearts sink.

Yu Lingxi wasn’t foolish; in just a few words, she deduced that Xue Song was indeed keeping tabs on Ning Yin.

Otherwise, how would he know so clearly about Ning Yin’s movements in and out of pleasure houses?

The information she hadn’t managed to extract had been drawn out by Xue Cen.

Indeed, Xue Cen had also become suspicious of Xue Song.

But he didn’t know that Hong Zhu had already fallen into Yu Lingxi’s hands, so he wasn’t cautious, thinking Yu Lingxi couldn’t discern the mysteries within.

With a complex expression, Yu Lingxi found an excuse to take her leave and galloped back to her manor.

Without hesitation, once determined, she told her brother everything Hong Zhu had said, word for word.

Yu Huanchen was greatly shocked and personally questioned Hong Zhu again.

After getting the answer, his heroic eyebrows knotted into a lump: “No wonder the news about the Yu family secretly investigating the Seventh Prince’s whereabouts got to the Emperor so quickly. I suspected many people, but never our families’ decades-long friendship. This bond has become a handle for them to exploit us…”

Looking at it this way, the imperial decree for the two families to marry was also a trap to devour the Yu family.

The more he spoke, the darker his expression became. He wiped his face and said to Yu Lingxi: “Don’t worry, Sui Sui. I’ll go inform Father now so we can discuss countermeasures.”

With Yu Huanchen’s words, the huge stone pressing on Yu Lingxi’s heart finally lifted halfway.

She didn’t stop there. Also caught in the vortex alongside the Yu family was Ning Yin.

Yu Lingxi had guessed that Hong Zhu’s hiding in Lanchun Pavilion might have been Ning Yin’s doing.

But Ning Yin didn’t have memories from his previous life.

He didn’t know that Zhao Yuming and the Yu family were just stones in Xue Song’s path and that Ning Yin, who threatened the Xue family’s dominant position, was Xue Song’s real target, the one he feared and wanted to eliminate.

The outcome of her previous life must not be repeated; she had to find a way to tell Ning Yin.

After pondering for a moment, Yu Lingxi went to the street and bought a wishing lantern.

On the lantern paper, she carefully drew a picture of “A Child Hiding” and wrote two contextual lines: “Embracing head north of banana tree, hearing southern speech; hiding under flowers where no one is around.”

If these two lines were decoded according to position, they would form two characters: “Jing” (warn) and “Xue.”

Beware of the Xue family.

For safety, it was a bit obscure, but with Ning Yin’s intelligence, he should be able to figure it out, right?

Having done all this, Yu Lingxi had the coachman turn the carriage around and make a detour to the Tang Public Manor.

Outside the Tang Manor, a large crowd had gathered. Yu Lingxi entered through the main gate and heard Tang Buli grumbling: “It’s nothing, I just had my engagement broken off.”

“Broken off?” Yu Lingxi frowned.

Tang Buli explained: that she had caught Chen Jian visiting prostitutes last night and, unable to control her anger, had publicly whipped Chen Jian more than a dozen times.

The Chen family couldn’t save face and, taking advantage of the fact that her family had no man to back her up, used the excuse that she was “wilful and unreasonable, lacking in wifely virtue” to break off the engagement.

In such matters, even though the fault lay with the man, once the engagement was broken, it was the girl’s reputation that was ruined.

Yu Lingxi fell silent, feeling both indignant for Tang Buli and regretful that she had to trouble her at such a time.

“It’s just delivering a greeting card to the Seventh Prince for you, isn’t it?”

After hearing her purpose, Tang Buli waved her hand generously. “It’s a small favor.”

Yu Lingxi knew that the Lady of Qingping Village was a proud person who would never display her inner pain openly.

She presented the blood ginseng and longevity pills for the old Lady Tang and said softly: “I cannot meet with the Seventh Prince, nor can I let others know I have any connection with him, so this greeting card can only be sent in the name of the Tang Manor.”

The Tang Public Manor had no real power, so even if they contacted Ning Yin, no one would be suspicious.

“No problem.”

Tang Buli said, “But that Seventh Prince is very reclusive, rarely coming out. He might not even look at a card from my family.”

Yu Lingxi remembered the high tower with bright lights on the night of the Qixi Festival, lowered her eyes, and smiled slightly: “Let’s take a gamble.”

Apart from shamelessly bringing up the past, she had no other way.

Yu Lingxi handed over the greeting card and the wishing lantern, solemnly giving them to Tang Buli.

It was neither the Qixi Festival nor the Lantern Festival, so Tang Buli was quite puzzled by her gift of a lantern, but she didn’t ask more and immediately called the steward to make arrangements.

“Thank you,” Yu Lingxi bowed to her.

Tang Buli was amused by her formality and pinched her cheek: “Silly Sui Sui! Between sisters like us, there’s no need for such courtesy.”

Yu Lingxi also smiled faintly.

After a while, she said seriously: “Ali, you deserve someone better.”

On the way back to the manor, Yu Lingxi pulled back the carriage curtain and said to Qing Xiao: “Help me investigate a person named Zhou Yunqing. The ‘Yun’ from ‘harboring,’ the ‘Qing’ from ‘guest minister,’ likely a poor scholar preparing for next year’s imperial examinations.”

She added: “Find him and sponsor him in the name of the Lady of Qingping Village. Be sure to treat him sincerely and well.”

According to her memories from her previous life, Zhou Yunqing, as the Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was a star among the new court nobles and also Ning Yin’s right-hand man.

Such a person had a great future and had never been heard to have any improper hobbies, much more reliable than that Chen Jian fellow.

Hopefully, he would remember Tang Buli’s kindness and, as he rose to prominence in the future, would be able to support her.

…

As night fell, the biting north wind of late autumn howled, with no stars or moon visible.

Ning Yin, in a purple robe, stood in the corridor, admiring a beautiful bird singing melodiously in a cage.

The bird’s foot was tied with a thin gold chain. The handsome prince with black hair falling to his shoulders toyed with a blade of grass, teasing the bird to flutter up, only to be mercilessly pulled back by the chain, finding endless amusement in this.

An attendant reported: “Your Highness, this afternoon someone from the Tang Public Manor delivered a greeting card, along with a wishing lantern.”

Ning Yin couldn’t be bothered to interact with people and usually didn’t read greeting cards.

However, since the attendant had reported it directly to him, there must be something special about it.

“What message did they bring?”

Ning Yin didn’t turn around, his voice lazy and harmless.

The attendant said: “Just one sentence: ‘May all wishes come true, may every year be peaceful and safe.'”

Ning Yin showed no reaction and, twirling the grass stem in his hand, said: “Bring it here for me to look at.”

The attendant then brought both the card and the wishing lantern.

The handwriting on the card was elegant and beautiful, quite familiar, and the brush stroke was dry and white, indicating that the brush used was quite stiff and didn’t absorb ink well, clearly not written with a sheep-hair or wolf-hair brush.

Ning Yin recognized this brush, after all, every detail was from the hairs he had selected one by one from cut hair.

He lowered his eyes with a sneer and folded the card, tossing it aside.

With a smack, the attendant shrank his neck in fright and withdrew.

The unopened wishing lantern lay on the table, looking somewhat ironic, reminding him of past events.

Ning Yin stood for a while, finally losing interest in teasing the bird, and went over to pick up the wishing lantern as well.

The lantern paper had an illustration of a child with hair tied in two buns, hugging his head while hiding under a flowering tree, looking cautious as if playing hide and seek with playmates.

Beside it were written two lines: “Embracing head north of banana tree, hearing southern speech; hiding under flowers where no one is around.”

Pondering these two lines, Ning Yin narrowed his eyes.

Just this?

His Highness the Seventh Prince was quite unsatisfied. Going to such lengths just to remind him of this?

At the very least, she should have written a thousand-word letter of repentance, and only then might he consider whether to treat her more gently in the future.

After all, he was a vindictive person who held grudges.

He brought over a candle and lit the wishing lantern, the firelight making his black eyes flicker uncertainly.

The lantern left his hand, slowly rising from under the eaves. A sudden gust of wind came, and the lantern struggled for a moment before the wind blew a hole in it. In an instant, it turned to black ash and fell, not even the bamboo frame remaining.

“Good wind.”

Ning Yin admired, his eyes containing an elegant madness.

He couldn’t wait any longer.

He would use this wind to send the Crown Prince a grand gift.

…

The appearance of Hong Zhu allowed the Yu family to see many things clearly, forcing them to re-examine their relationship with the Xue family.

For several consecutive days, Yu Yuan and his eldest son and daughter talked in the study from evening until late into the night.

“If the Xue family is truly two-faced, Sui Sui marrying into their family would become a hostage. That won’t do!” It was Yu Xinyi speaking.

Yu Huanchen’s expression was grave: “An imperial marriage decree isn’t as simple as you think.”

Yu Xinyi anxiously said: “This won’t work, that won’t work, then what do you suggest?”

Before they could come up with a strategy, Qing Xiao hurried over, knocking on the door: “Young General, urgent news from the palace!”

Urgent news from the palace—something had happened in the Eastern Palace.

A fire broke out in the storehouse at the hour of the Tiger, and due to the northwestern wind, it threatened to spread to the imperial palace.

The Emperor ordered Yu Huanchen and Cui An to lead the imperial guards to jointly fight the fire, but unexpectedly, this firefighting effort uncovered something extraordinary—

Hidden in the Crown Prince’s storehouse were fine bows and armor, as well as a dazzlingly bright dragon robe and imperial crown.