Yan Sanhe couldn’t wait and spoke first.

“When we return, have Third Master find a way to arrange it—I need to see Ji Lingchuan.”

“See him?”

Xie Zhifei’s expression was exactly the same as Li Buyan’s just now.

“What do you want to see him for?”

“I have questions to ask.”

Xie Zhifei knew Yan Sanhe wouldn’t go to the prison to see someone without good reason, and immediately agreed readily: “I’ll arrange it when we return.”

“We can’t wait until we return. Have Ding Yi set out for the capital now. As soon as we’re back in the capital, I need to see him immediately.”

“Yan Sanhe…”

“Don’t try to dissuade me. Time is more important than anything else. Nine Miss’s death is already enough.”

Xie Zhifei suddenly smiled: “That’s not what I was going to say.”

Yan Sanhe paused, “Then what were you going to say?”

“That bitter tea, when you taste it carefully afterward, beneath the bitterness there’s a hint of sweetness.”

Xie Zhifei’s deep eyes looked at her. “Don’t you think this tea is very much like you?”

The first impression was bitter, but with careful tasting one could detect sweetness—memorable with a lasting aftertaste.

Yan Sanhe gritted her teeth: “Is Third Master praising me?”

“Mm, praising you!”

“Has Third Master heard the old saying—sweet mouth, spicy heart?”

“That can’t be!”

Xie Zhifei solemnly refuted: “Toward you, my words match my heart.”

How did this person’s sweet mouth return?

Yan Sanhe’s ears turned slightly red, her eyes didn’t know where to look, her expression extremely unnatural.

“Rather than spending time praising me, Third Master should go make arrangements. After all, with my status, seeing a court criminal won’t be easy.”

Xie Zhifei narrowed his eyes. “For me it’s not easy, but for a certain someone, it is easy.”

Yan Sanhe’s heart shook with alarm.

Traveling together for a full two and a half months, aside from jokes and banter, every serious sentence this person spoke was very cautious.

Her thoughts paused as she deliberately asked with a curious expression.

“Who is this certain someone?”

“Don’t you already have the answer in your heart?”

Xie Zhifei’s eyes narrowed. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have made the excuse of going for a walk with Li Buyan, deliberately leaving the room for us.”

Yan Sanhe looked at this handsome face that had slimmed down considerably, secretly grinding her molars.

What Xie the dandy—he was fundamentally Xie the master tactician!

That’s right.

She indeed had an answer in her heart.

Someone who could move the Ji family’s female relatives to the Flower Goddess Temple; who could let Imperial Physician Pei enter the prison to treat Twelfth Master of the Ji family with needles…

This was definitely the work of that Imperial Grandson.

She had pulled Li Buyan away because she didn’t want to hear about any Crown Prince, any Imperial Grandson, or any of those various princes’ damned affairs.

Who was allied with whom, who was fighting whom to the death—what did it have to do with her?

Yan Sanhe stared directly into Xie Zhifei’s eyes.

“I came to resolve obsessions and dispel inner demons, not to meddle in other people’s business, Third Master.”

Xie Zhifei revealed a harmless smile.

“You promised Wu Shunian and Zhou Ye that you would investigate the truth of Old General Zheng’s family massacre. And investigating this case will definitely require meddling in other people’s business.”

When Yan Sanhe heard these words, her heart became greatly alarmed.

“I promised on behalf of the victims, and the one who actually agreed was Pei Xiao. Third Master shouldn’t expect me to do anything.”

“Yan Sanhe, do you want to go back on your word?”

Provocation?

Yan Sanhe raised an eyebrow at Xie Zhifei. “It seems that cup of bitter tea wasn’t effective enough. Third Master should drink two more cups later to reduce the fire and clear your head.”

“Good, I’ll drink them later. I’ll listen to what you say, Yan Sanhe.”

Yan Sanhe:

Yan Sanhe:

How could he say it so smoothly?

Yan Sanhe felt somewhat unable to cope and quickly lowered her head to drink plain water.

Xie Zhifei’s smile slowly faded. “Yan Sanhe, there’s an important matter we must discuss.”

“About Zhou Ye?”

How clever!

Xie Zhifei’s peach blossom eyes slightly drooped.

Having personally witnessed that great fire at the foot of Daming Mountain, after the initial shock, no one had mentioned Zhou Ye and the others again throughout the journey.

With only three days left until they entered the capital, some matters had to be discussed.

Pei Xiao was currently devastated by the Ji family’s affairs and couldn’t make decisions. Only the two of them could.

“Zhou Ye was the prefect. His death in the flames will definitely be submitted as a memorial to the Ministry of Personnel, which will then forward it to the Emperor.”

Xie Zhifei paused, then continued: “Out of caution, the Ministry of Personnel will send people to investigate, but Zhou Ye immolated himself precisely to leave no traces, so the possibility of discovering anything is slim.”

Yan Sanhe: “That’s a good thing.”

Xie Zhifei: “But don’t forget—when resolving Hu Sanmei’s obsession, we couldn’t avoid mentioning two people.”

Yan Sanhe: “Wu Guanyue and his father?”

Xie Zhifei nodded. “And when my father and elder brother ask, I’ll also have to mention these two people.”

Yan Sanhe drew out her words, “So Third Master’s meaning is…”

Xie Zhifei shifted his body closer to Yan Sanhe, his voice very low.

“We weren’t familiar with Zhou Ye; the culprits in the Zheng family case were still Wu Guanyue and his father. We only discovered that the old lady and Wu Guanyue were childhood sweethearts.”

Yan Sanhe’s eyes fixed intently on Xie Zhifei.

His two sword-like eyebrows were tightly furrowed. Yan Sanhe had never seen this usually carefree handsome face look so grave.

“Are you afraid that once this case comes to light, it will cause a huge uproar?”

“Not just a huge uproar—it will be earth-shaking, devastating. This involves the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, the Censorate, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard…”

Xie Zhifei took a deep breath. “The scope and number of people implicated is simply unimaginable. If handled poorly, many people will die.”

“Is it really that serious?”

“More so than I can express.”

Yan Sanhe felt her heartbeat instantly quicken after he said this. After a long while, she finally spoke.

“Xie Zhifei, saying we weren’t familiar with Zhou Ye is fine, childhood sweethearts is also fine, but saying the culprits were Wu Guanyue and his father might be difficult.”

Xie Zhifei’s expression changed drastically: “Why?”

Yan Sanhe: “After I see Ji Lingchuan and confirm certain things, I’ll tell you why.”

“Did you resolve the other half of Old Lady Ji’s inner demon?”

Xie Zhifei’s pupils dilated as he suddenly reached out and gripped Yan Sanhe’s shoulder forcefully. “Tell me quickly—what is it?”

Yan Sanhe looked at the hand on her shoulder, then at Xie Zhifei.

She ground her teeth.

Xie Zhifei was completely oblivious, his eyes fixed intently on Yan Sanhe.

Yan Sanhe sighed. “Xie Zhifei, have you considered a question?”

“What?”

“When Hu Sanmei heard that the Zheng family massacre was committed by Wu Guanyue and his father, what do you think her reaction would be?”

Xie Zhifei’s mind buzzed as he subconsciously asked.

“She lived deep in the inner quarters—what reaction could she have?”

“See, this is you men’s presumption!”

Yan Sanhe laughed coldly and removed the hand from her shoulder.

“Don’t think that women in the inner quarters are foolish, stupid, without love, hate, joy, or sorrow.

They are people, living people. Their identities aren’t just Old Lady Ji or Lady Ji—she also has a name, called Hu Sanmei!”

Third Master’s sweet mouth immediately came into play.

“I apologize, Yan Sanhe. I didn’t mean to demean her. I was just curious what her reaction would be…”

Suddenly, Xie Zhifei shuddered, his hand shooting out like lightning.

This time, he grasped Yan Sanhe’s slender arm.

“Yan Sanhe, do you mean…”