Princess Tongchang suddenly turned around, her voice changing slightly as she asked, “Pan Shufei of Southern Qi lived hundreds of years ago. When she said I should return what’s hers… does that mean… does that mean I should also…?”

“Princess, there’s no need to worry,” Huang Zixia, seeing her still frightened expression, consoled her, “It was just a dream, as insubstantial as scattered wind. Princess shouldn’t dwell on it. In this servant’s opinion, perhaps it was just because the Princess has been troubled lately that such a melancholic dream manifested.”

“Is that so?” The Princess studied her for a long while, then suddenly removed the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin from her head and held it out, “Eunuch Yang, take a look at this.”

Huang Zixia took the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin and examined it carefully. Behind the intricate intertwining of nine-colored phoenix designs was a crescent-shaped pin end, where two small ancient seal characters were engraved: Yu’er.

“This hairpin indeed belonged to Shufei Pan Yu’er of Southern Qi,” she sighed and said, “Now, can you understand why I’m so worried? The eunuch in my household met with misfortune, my Prince Consort met with misfortune, and I… had such an ominous nightmare. How can I not be anxious?”

“Please, Princess, try not to overthink. This servant will do everything possible to solve this case quickly and provide the Princess with answers.” Huang Zixia, seeing her state, knew that further consolation would be futile and only spoke these few words.

Only then did Princess Tongchang feel slightly relieved, saying, “If you can truly capture the culprit who harmed the Prince Consort and killed Wei Ximin, this princess will greatly reward you—or even if it is heaven’s punishment, you must still investigate clearly for me why the people around me must suffer such divine retribution?”

Huang Zixia looked at her thin, sharp, yet stubborn features, and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, saying, “Thank you, Princess. This is this servant’s duty. Princess need not worry, this servant will spare no effort in investigating this case.”

After bidding farewell to Princess Tongchang, Huang Zixia slowly descended the high platform alone.

The wind blew across the high terrace, lifting her light crimson gauze robe. She gripped her wide sleeve that was covering her eyes and descended the final step. Looking up, she discovered someone slowly approaching from beneath the silk tree.

The summer heat was intense, and flowers bloomed in abundance.

The silk trees bloomed like clouds and mist, falling without wind. Those nearly burning blossoms, under such intense summer sunlight, opened and fell without reservation.

The overwhelming flowers were enchantingly beautiful yet untamed. The flower trees drooped down to the eaves, half-concealing the approaching figure. It was someone whose grace could be felt even without seeing their silhouette.

And Huang Zixia, merely seeing his figure, felt cold sweat forming in her palms.

She quickly turned and hid behind a tall silk tree, forcefully suppressing her body’s trembling as she gazed at him.

The man slowly approached. Though silent, he carried an elegant and profound aura like ink painting. Like the glow of a new moon, he softly illuminated others, neither harsh nor dim, but with just the right brilliance.

He seemed to sense someone behind the tree, so amidst the thousands of flowering trees, he raised his head and gazed in her direction with eyes that could intoxicate all things in the world.

She involuntarily pressed her back tightly against the tree trunk, as if terrified of being seen by him. She struggled to suppress her breathing, as if afraid that with one exhale, something within her heart would burst forth uncontrollably.

Yu Xuan.

Why was he in the Princess’s mansion?

Moreover, at such an early hour, when the Princess and Prince Consort were living separately.

Footsteps softly sounded, grass rustling.

He walked to the tree where she was hiding, his voice gentle: “Eunuch, are you unwell? Do you need help?”

Only then did she realize that her exposed clothing was trembling slightly due to her intense suppression, making it appear as if she were ill.

She quickly pulled at her clothes, keeping her back to him, and managed to shake her head.

He was still concerned, asking caringly: “Are you alright?”

Huang Zixia bit her lip and quickly walked forward.

As she moved, the smile on his face suddenly froze. He stared fixedly at her retreating figure, and as her steps grew hurried, he called out softly: “Xia…”

These two syllables, reaching her ears, seemed like a dream. His voice seemed to travel across distant time, rippling by her ears, unable to settle for a long while.

Her steps involuntarily stopped, standing there blankly. After a long while, she turned around to look at Yu Xuan.

He stared at her steadily, his expression showing not just hatred, but something more complex. He looked at her as if gazing at his dead dreams, at the flowers he once personally nurtured now rotting into mud.

She gazed at him for a long while, then softly called out: “Yu Xuan.”

In this empty grove, beneath the silk trees. The hot summer wind brushed past the treetops, flowers falling like rain, both of them covered in delicate pink blossoms, like silk and stamens, impossible to brush away.

Huang Zixia, draped in flowers, quietly gazed at him, as if looking at her forever lost girlhood.

“The Princess commanded me… to investigate two suspicious cases in the mansion.”

He gazed at her, his eyes full of both distant and close detachment, faint yet present grief. After a long silence, he finally bit his lip and wore a cold smile: “Not bad, after killing your family, you can still work your old profession, winning everyone’s support.”

“I will return to Shu Prefecture, right after… the Princess’s mansion case is concluded,” she forcefully suppressed the bitter pain rising in her chest and explained, “Prince Xi has already agreed to help me. I will soon set out to return and reinvestigate my family’s case!”

He was stunned, staring straight at her: “You… will go back?”

“Why not? I not only want to clear my bloodstained injustice but also thoroughly investigate the massacre of my entire family!” She pressed her hand against her chest, her heart beating wildly. She could barely suppress her excitement, breathing heavily for a long while before she could squeeze out each word filled with tears from deep within, “I will personally catch that murderer and avenge my parents, my brother, my grandmother, and my uncle!”

Yu Xuan, standing ten feet away from her, stared at her steadily, listening to her oath, great waves surging in his eyes. Yet he ultimately couldn’t accept her explanation in an instant. He lowered his eyes, slowly stepped back, and said softly: “Huang Zixia, when you killed your family back then, the evidence was conclusive. I… refuse to believe you!”

Her heart seemed to stop beating at that moment. All the surrounding falling flowers like rain, all the beautiful scenery, became illusory.

But Huang Zixia stood before him, faced with such resolute words, in the midst of her whole body’s cold trembling, she suddenly smiled. The silk tree flowers continued to open and fall, scattering like rain. She stood ten feet away looking at him, her smile just like years ago.

Smiling, she said: “Don’t worry, Yu Xuan, I will show you when I catch the mastermind behind it all. Of all the cases I’ve faced, there’s never been one I couldn’t solve, and for this one, I bet my life on it!”

Though she was smiling, tears welled up in her eyes, yet she remained unaware, turning around sharply and striding through the silk trees ahead.

She walked faster and faster, until it almost became a desperate run, fleeing from him without looking back.

Until she ran out of the silk tree grove, she stopped bewildered and looked up. Through the sparse branches overhead, she saw him slowly ascending the high platform.

The wind moved his robes, floating as if immortal. That kind of graceful bearing was indescribable, unspeakable.

In his heart, had there been even a ripple of emotion for their reunion?

She moved her gaze away, looking up at the sky. The azure sky was unreachably high, bright, and piercing. The tears in her originally burning eyes finally flowed out.

Huang Zixia gazed at the vast sky, biting her tongue, letting her scattered thoughts quickly gather in the sharp pain.

She breathed forcefully, trying to calm the intense pain in her chest.

Again and again in her mind, she thought about Wei Ximin’s death, the Prince Consort’s fall from his horse, the Princess’s dream. Huang Zixia desperately sought the connection between these three events, trying to shift her attention away from Yu Xuan.

By the time she walked along the silk tree path to the moon gate, she had calmed down—at least, her exterior appeared completely normal.

Chuizhu was waiting for her at the moon gate, smiling as she approached: “The Prince Consort resides in Suwei Garden, let me guide you there, Public Official.”

“Thank you, I trouble Sister,” she replied.

Chuizhu smiled with pursed lips, gracefully leading the way in front. When they reached a certain door, she was about to push it open but quickly lowered her hand, leading her along another, more distant path. Even Huang Zixia, unfamiliar with the mansion’s layout, knew she had made a detour.

She looked back at that locked courtyard gate and casually asked: “What place is that, why is it locked?”

Chuizhu hesitated, then said uncertainly: “That’s Zhijin Garden, planted with many banana plants and irises, usually perfect for summer heat relief. But starting last month, people were crying at night there, and everyone says—” Chuizhu looked around, and seeing no one nearby, continued in a low voice, “They say there are impure things there. The Princess had Taoist priests perform rituals and locked the courtyard gates. They say the resentful energy needs ten years to purify before it can be reopened.”

Huang Zixia naturally didn’t believe in ghosts and spirits, but she still gazed distantly at Zhijin Garden, making note of this courtyard.

The Prince Consort’s residence, Suwei Garden, was full of crape myrtles in full bloom, hanging heavy with countless flowers, creating a lively scene.

The Prince Consort was chatting and laughing with Cui Chunzhan. Seeing her being led in by the maid, Wei Baoheng smiled and said: “Eunuch Yang! We were just talking about yesterday’s ball game! Your skills are really impressive, how about another match sometime?”

Huang Zixia smiled and said: “Not at all, the Prince Consort is truly invincible, worthy of admiration.”

Cui Chunzhan looked at Huang Zixia in disbelief: “What? Eunuch Yang is so good at ball games? I really couldn’t tell.”

“You can’t judge a book by its cover, right?” Wei Baoheng laughed, “When Wang Yun initially invited me to play, I said Zhou Ziqin was a complete amateur, that big guy Zhang Xingying doesn’t even own a horse at home, and then there’s Eunuch Yang—even if I faced the three of them alone it would be bullying! And I even teamed up with Wang Yun, it was taking advantage of the weak! Haha, but in the end we lost to them.”

Cui Chunzhan’s jaw nearly dropped: “Wasn’t yesterday’s game stopped because your horse had an accident?”

“Ah, a loss is a loss, and with Prince Xi joining in, how could I dare continue?” he said, smiling at Huang Zixia, “Come to think of it, Eunuch Yang, you have influence. You’re the first person in the capital who could get three princes to play a game for you.”

“Not at all, the princes only agreed to play because they knew the opponent was the Prince Consort. I don’t have much influence,” Huang Zixia quickly said.

“Alas, I lost face this time, falling from my horse mid-game, years of reputation ruined in a day!” Wei Baoheng said, but showed no signs of frustration, grinning as he rolled up his sleeve to show them, “See this? The biggest wound on my body, two inches long, half an inch wide, just a scrape.”

Cui Chunzhan was both amused and annoyed, slapping his elbow: “Go on, a grown man putting medicine on such a tiny scratch!”

“The Princess said that even a small injury is still an injury, and if I’m scared, I can’t be a Prince Consort anymore,” he insisted, then said to Huang Zixia, “Eunuch Yang, about this matter, I thought about it for a long time yesterday but still can’t figure it out. How could someone have tampered with the horse I casually chose? Thinking back and forth, it seems impossible for anyone to have had the opportunity.”

“I currently have no clues either, this matter likely needs further investigation,” Huang Zixia said, then asked, “Does the Prince Consort have any noteworthy people around him, or noteworthy events?”

Wei Baoheng frowned in thought for a long while, saying: “Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Hmm…” While Huang Zixia was still pondering, he suddenly slapped the table and said, “There is! I recently met someone, truly strange beyond words, hard to describe!”

“What?” Huang Zixia and Cui Chunzhan quickly asked.

“A young eunuch, delicate and slender in appearance, yet plays ball more fiercely than all those big guys in the capital’s Defense Department—that’s the strangest thing I’ve encountered recently!”

“Prince Consort, please stop joking!” Huang Zixia smiled wryly, standing up to take a few steps around the room. She noticed a calligraphy painting hanging on the wall—a vibrant red cardamom branch with subtle green leaves, beside it was written Du Mu’s poetic sentiment—

Graceful and delicate at just thirteen,

Like cardamom buds in early spring.

Ten miles of spring wind on Yangzhou Road,

Can’t compare it to her rolling up pearl curtains.

Seeing the signature, Huang Zixia couldn’t help but praise: “The Prince Consort truly excels in both calligraphy and painting.”

“What excellence in calligraphy and painting? When I was at the Imperial Academy, I spent every day climbing trees and catching birds with Zhou Ziqin,” Wei Baoheng waved his hand and laughed, “It was all forced by my father, sigh.”

Cui Chunzhan then said: “I also love this poem, thirteen or fourteen-year-old girls, like cardamom buds, truly fresh and tender, especially enchanting…”

Wei Baoheng gave him a side-eye: “How old is your noble wife?”

“Ahem… three years older than me. But in my heart, she’s forever a fresh and tender enchanting young girl!”

Huang Zixia ignored the two men, only looking at the painting and saying: “The Prince Consort’s cardamom is well-painted, and in this entire poem, the best two characters written are also ‘cardamom.'”

Wei Baoheng’s expression was tinged with darkness, but he only smiled slightly, saying nothing.