“An orphan, receiving the prefect’s careful nurturing, his life completely changed from then on. He entered the prefectural school, and received the most attentive guidance from the best teachers; he became a celebrated talent in Shu Prefecture, admired by all; he was gentle and attentive, protecting the prefect’s daughter in every way, making her forget everything in her love for him; three years later, he passed the provincial examination, riding high on success, about to embark on the path to greatness—he knew he no longer needed to use his enemy. So he moved out of the prefect’s mansion, giving Huang Zixia a hollowed double fish jade bracelet.”

When Zhou Ziqian heard the words “double fish jade bracelet,” he started, then quickly ran to the adjacent room to retrieve it, placing it on the table, saying: “Careful, it’s highly poisonous.”

“A bracelet, containing deadly poison.” Yet Huang Zixia showed no fear, gently picking it up to show everyone. The bracelet’s luster flowed, thousands of lamp rays shooting through its hollow spaces, then refracting out, creating countless brilliant colors impossible to describe.

She took a deep breath, pointing to the eight characters inside, saying: “‘The longest of woods, what harm a small flaw.’ This bracelet was designed according to the jade’s natural patterns, these characters carved by his hand, making it truly one of a kind in the world, with no duplicate. After Huang Zixia escaped, we found it with Fu Xinruan. Zhou Ziqian’s examination revealed that the poison Fu Xinruan and Wenyang used in their suicide was not the arsenic the coroner initially identified. What they ingested was an extremely rare poison passed down from the deep palace—Zhen poison.”

At this, not only did Zhou Shang and Fan Yingxi gasp, but even Wang Yun’s face changed color as he frowned.

“And from this, I recalled something—when the Huang prefect’s family met their tragedy, Huang Zixia also wore this bracelet given by Yu Xuan, never taking it off. This same bracelet was worn by Fu Xinruan before her death. At that time, those who died from poisoning all showed symptoms of arsenic poisoning. Could there be a connection between these cases?” She slowly put down the bracelet, saying softly: “Therefore, Zhou Ziqian investigated the Huang prefect family’s graves, exhuming the bodies for re-examination, bringing back hair samples from all three—sure enough, they too died from Zhen poison!”

Her gaze, passing through all the shocked and astonished crowd, fell on Yu Xuan as she said, each word distinct: “The Huang prefect’s family and Fu Xinruan, two groups of people who could never have crossed paths, yet died from the same rare poison. Thus, there’s a strong possibility that the Zhen poison came from this bracelet Yu Xuan crafted with his own hands—their only common link.”

Yu Xuan’s body shook violently, involuntarily curling in on himself as he raised his hands to press hard against his temples, struggling with all his might to maintain his seated posture. But it was useless—the veins on his temples and the back of his hands stood out prominently, he bit his lower lip hard until it turned blue, yet he couldn’t control his rapid breathing.

Watching his death-like agony, Huang Zixia remained silent, only breathing heavily, forcing the hatred and grief from her heart out through her trembling breaths, lest her consciousness be torn apart by these emotions.

A wave of hidden turmoil stirred through the room.

“Chonggu, I have a question. You once had Fugui lick your hand after touching this bracelet, and I also examined both the outside and inside of this bracelet, proving it non-toxic,” Zhou Ziqian spoke up, breaking the oppressive atmosphere. “Moreover, Yu Xuan gave this bracelet to Huang Zixia, and Qi Teng gave it to Fu Xinruan, both months before the incidents. I want to ask, if this bracelet truly was poisoned, does the poison come and go? Or can the timing of the poison be controlled after the bracelet is given?”

“Yes, the poison in this bracelet can indeed be controlled, requiring only a very small action.” As Huang Zixia spoke, she slowly picked up the bracelet, holding it before her eyes, gazing at it.

The two transparent hollow fish, lively and intimate, bit each other’s tails in playful chase. Small waves flowed in circles around them, appearing extremely clear and bright due to the hollow design.

Looking at these two fish, she said softly: “Because of the poor jade quality, to increase transparency, it was hollowed out. There are countless carved hollows and spaces, difficult to examine one by one. At this point, just a tiny amount of Zhen poison sealed within the bracelet’s hollow spaces allowed to dry slightly, then covered with thin wax, would leave no trace at all. Without accident, perhaps for a lifetime, this deadly poison would accompany its owner, never discovered.”

She lowered her eyelashes, moving her gaze from the bracelet. The thorn that had been lodged in her heart for over half a year, through the raw pain, made her thoughts increasingly clear, even turning ice-cold, her whole body tense with alertness, supporting her frame, making her stand even straighter and more stable.

“The day the Huang prefect’s family met their fate, spring snow fell, and plum blossoms were in full bloom.”

Yu Xuan had come to find her that afternoon, bringing her a green calyx plum blossom. When she accepted the flower with a smile, or when they were picking plum blossoms in the back garden, or perhaps when they were holding flowers together, he used his fingernail or a flower branch to lightly scratch the bracelet, making the wax fall away, completely exposing the Zhen poison hidden within.

Afterward, Yu Xuan left, and the Huang family gathered intimately in the hall for dinner. As the most beloved daughter of the family, she always served soup to everyone, bringing bowls to each guest.

That day, because she was upset, following her mother’s advice, she went to the kitchen to carry the large bowl of lamb soup from the kitchen to the hall.

Leaving the kitchen door, passing the loquat tree in the courtyard, through the wooden door with its cracked boards, before she lay the smoothly polished bluestone ground and a long corridor.

The large bowl was heavy, and with its lid would have been impossible to carry all that way, so she left the lid behind and carried it carefully.

In the rising steam of the winter soup, the bracelet on her hand became damp with moisture. Occasionally it clinked against the soup bowl with a light ding-—

Those moist droplets fell, carrying the inescapable, incurable Zhen poison, mixing into the entire bowl of lamb soup.

As he had hoped, she diligently served soup to everyone in apology, the poison spreading in every bowl.

What he hadn’t counted on was that, due to her accumulated sadness, she didn’t take any of the slightly gamey lamb soup herself.

He had used her as his blade, borrowing her hand to avenge his family’s destruction, while also making her, like him years ago, alone and adrift in the world.

When Huang Zixia finished speaking, the room had fallen completely silent.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Yu Xuan.

His cold sweat had soaked through his clothes, and from pressing so hard against his temples, strands of disheveled hair had fallen forward, stuck to his pale face by sweat, the striking contrast between the extraordinary black and white shocking to behold.

But Huang Zixia didn’t look at him. Her gaze was fixed in space, only her words coming softly, slowly, yet undeniably: “And on the bracelet, so many holes. To be safe, fearing it might be difficult to find the poisoned spot at any moment, you must have sealed multiple locations with wax. That day, you may have opened one, or perhaps two. But you must have left one or two more—because Qi Teng, when saving you, likely learned about this bracelet. When he decided to kill Fu Xinruan to marry the Prefecture Chief Zhou’s daughter, he thought of this method, retrieved the bracelet from the pawnshop, then lured Wenyang to Fu Xinruan’s home, using the same method, scratching open a poison seal, letting Fu Xinruan prepare the poisoned soup herself, dying an unnatural death. And I, in yesterday’s test, opened the last one.”

Zhou Ziqian immediately nodded, suddenly understanding: “Yes! No wonder you used your fingernail to scratch inside it then. If you hadn’t mentioned it now, I wouldn’t have known what that was for!”

Yu Xuan breathed heavily, staring directly at Huang Zixia for a long, long time, before finally forcing out a few hoarse words: “Impossible…”

Huang Zixia slightly raised her chin, waiting for his defense.

He bit his lower lip hard, asking in a low, hoarse voice: “If… if I killed them, then tell me, what about that confession letter that appeared in my room?”

The others didn’t know what confession letter he meant, but seeing the painful and bewildered expression on Yu Xuan’s face, they thought he must not know about it, and began whispering among themselves.

Li Shubai raised his hand for silence, then said: “That letter, I remember it.”

He took paper and brush, and in Lady Wei’s small regular script, wrote out that letter:

“Ten years and more of filial joy, in one evening waves of chaos arise, of all the family I alone remain standing in the world, yet unwilling to let fresh blood stain my remaining days. Love proved false, long betraying heart’s desires, various karma, all fate’s manipulation. This life sees no more, this existence ends, pen touches paper for a final farewell, heaven’s wind and rain forever separate from the mortal realm.”

The identical characters, even the two horizontal strokes between the “pages,” were written just as in that letter, one stroke taking half a space, the remaining stroke dividing the remaining half, appearing like an added stroke.

He showed this writing to everyone, and Fan Yingxi immediately said: “This… this is writing about the Huang prefect’s daughter! Could this be her confession letter?”

Zhou Shang nodded: “Indeed, look at the content—parents nurturing for over ten years, in one night only she remains, hands stained with blood, all because of love—isn’t this the confession of the Huang prefect’s daughter, Huang Zixia?”

Yu Xuan silently nodded: “Moreover, I spent much time with Huang Zixia, very familiar with her handwriting, this… is undoubtedly in her hand.”

“Are you sure?” Huang Zixia took a deep breath, holding this confession letter in her hand. “May I ask when you received this confession letter?”

Yu Xuan looked at her determined eyes, the unwavering expression they’re finally beginning to shake his long-held beliefs: “On… the day the Huang prefect’s tomb was completed, April 16th this year.”

“Then the circumstances under which you received this so-called ‘confession letter,’ was it when you attempted suicide at the tomb and were saved by Qi Teng?” she counter-questioned.

Yu Xuan nodded, and at this moment, because of the word “suicide” on her lips, he suddenly felt his back stiffen, an intensely cold, sharp pain traveling up his spine, finally piercing brutally into his brain—

A kind of panic he had never felt before made his breathing suddenly quicken.

“Then, how did that letter appear? You say it suddenly appeared on your desk after you were rescued and brought home. But in a house with nothing else disturbed, who could have sneaked in, doing nothing else, only to deliver such a letter to you?”

Yu Xuan’s breathing came heavy and forced, like a dying beast. He saw what he feared most, advancing step by step, mercilessly pressing forward, descending, until it destroyed him.

Huang Zixia’s voice, clear and resolute, reached his ears word by word: “After fleeing Chengdu Prefecture, three months to reach the capital, in April Huang Zixia was in the capital city, living under an assumed name, helping His Highness solve the case of the missing princess—when would she have had the opportunity to send you a letter?”

Her gaze slowly turned to Master Shan, saying coolly: “Master, your great name is praised by all in Chengdu Prefecture. Everyone knows your boundless Buddhist wisdom can transform people’s thoughts and mindsets. So I wonder, why did Yu Xuan attempt suicide then, why did Qi Teng request your presence beside the newly rescued Yu Xuan, and what did you do to Yu Xuan—I can guess something of this.”

Master Shan pressed his palms together, looking at Prince Kui’s expression, his eyebrows hanging down in a sorrowful manner: “Amitabha… Patron Qi invited me that day, saying a friend wished to end his life, asking me to save him. When I arrived, Patron Yu was indeed in a violent state of mind, difficult to control. Saving a life surpasses building a seven-story pagoda—how could this old monk merely observe? So I helped him forget that most terrible past event.”

The thousand-branch candelabra blazed brilliantly, casting thousands of chaotic shadows in the night wind.

Everyone’s gaze turned to Yu Xuan, but none could speak, only watching his face. He stared at Master Shan, the last trace of hope on his face melting away like spring snow, leaving only despair and pain to consume every bit of color from his features, leaving behind complete pallor.

In the dead silence, Huang Zixia felt only a bewildering pain in her heart, a bewildering hatred, yet more desperate than bewildering.

She looked at Yu Xuan, at this man she had once loved unreservedly in her youth, suddenly overwhelmed by despair in her heart, emotions near madness making her grab the confession letter Li Shubai had written and throw it violently at Yu Xuan: “Yes, you forgot, forgot all the evil deeds you once committed!”

Her body trembled, thoughts chaotic, throat making harsh sounds, barely able to produce complete words: “You wrote the confession, placed it in your room before attempting suicide, yet still wished to preserve your reputation, only daring to write in Huang Zixia’s hand! This was a confession letter written by your hand, yet after you forgot everything, it became another piece of evidence against Huang Zixia, firmly remembered in your heart!”

The others didn’t understand why she was so agitated, all greatly shocked.

Li Shubai stood up, and gently patted her shoulder, but said nothing, only turning back to tell everyone: “The Huang prefect and his wife showed great kindness to Chonggu.”

Everyone nodded quickly, hastening to show expressions of sympathy.

Only Yu Xuan stared blankly at Huang Zixia, his deathly pale face, and dark hollow eyes without any light. After a long while, he slowly shook his head, saying in a hoarse voice: “That’s not it.”