The back courtyard of the Yan Manor was concealed within a bamboo grove.

Entering the courtyard, in front of a long row of low houses, stoves, bamboo chairs, and baskets were scattered all over the ground.

Li Buyan righted a chair. “Sanhe, people still live here.”

It should have been servants who lived here, because several roughly made garments still hung on the bamboo pole for drying clothes.

Yan Sanhe examined each room one by one. After finishing the last room, she didn’t pause at all. “Let’s go to the theater.”

That was it?

What could she have figured out from that?

Li Buyan didn’t dare ask more questions. “Which corner is the theater in?”

“It should be in the back garden.”

Li Buyan teased, “This confirms once again that my Sanhe girl comes from a good family—your home must have had a theater too.”

Yan Sanhe was startled by her words. During this period, she had been busy resolving Xie Jingchen’s heart demon and hadn’t thought about her own origins in a long time.

“There should have been one, otherwise I wouldn’t have blurted it out.”

“Miss Yan, then please think again—which path leads to the back garden?”

The paths in a grand estate were winding and secluded, leading to various places. How would Li Buyan know which went where?

Yan Sanhe pointed her hand at the middle path. “This one.”

It was a small path paved with bluestone bricks, with bamboo still planted on both sides. When the wind blew, the bamboo leaves rustled—quite atmospheric.

Generally, scholars liked bamboo. Clearly, this bamboo grove was an old possession of the Tang family. After Yan Ruxian moved in, he had preserved its original appearance.

The two walked for about half a cup of tea’s time. After passing through an archway, the scenery of the back garden came into full view.

Li Buyan’s gaze swept across it, and she sighed in admiration. “It’s really huge.”

Yan Sanhe pointed her finger at a four-cornered pavilion in the distance. “That should be the stage.”

“Wow!”

Li Buyan’s eyes went straight. “That’s not a stage—that’s a complete theater building! So impressive!”

“Go walk around on the stage.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll sit below and watch.”

“Watch what?”

“Watch you.”

Watch me do what?

Though Li Buyan was thoroughly confused, she still nimbly climbed onto the stage.

“Sanhe, this stage was left by the old Tang family. The wooden planks underfoot are very old—they creak and groan as soon as you step on them. And it hasn’t been used in a long time—it’s covered in dust.”

This wasn’t strange.

Yan Ruxian was a eunuch. Eunuchs couldn’t openly take wives and concubines, so naturally he wouldn’t invite theater troupes to perform at home.

Over time, this stage had fallen into disuse.

Yan Sanhe looked at Li Buyan, and an image immediately surfaced in her mind: on stage, the imperial consort and emperor were intimately entwined, while off stage, Tang Zhiwei gently declined the former Crown Prince.

How ironic!

Yet how real!

…

After the summer solstice, the days gradually grew shorter and nights longer. Combined with the overcast weather today, by the time Xie Zhifei left the office, the sky was already quite dark.

“Master, take the carriage. This weather looks like rain.”

“Horseback is faster.”

Xie Zhifei took the horse’s reins and was just about to mount when he suddenly paused. “Where is he right now?”

He referred to Zhao Yishi.

Zhu Qing half-covered his mouth. “After escorting Minister Lu back to his residence, he was summoned by the Crown Prince’s people.”

“And the Crown Prince?”

“Filing the case at the Three Judicial Offices.”

Zhu Qing continued, “I heard that some elderly officials from the Ministry of Rites were all summoned for questioning this afternoon.”

Xie Zhifei asked, “Du Jianxue?”

Zhu Qing replied, “He was also summoned.”

Xie Zhifei asked, “Have the people sent to apprehend Li Xing departed?”

Zhu Qing replied, “Before court was even dismissed, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already departed.”

Xie Zhifei asked, “No movement from the Ministry of Rites or the Imperial Academy?”

Zhu Qing replied, “None.”

After this round of questioning, Xie Zhifei was completely reassured. He immediately mounted his horse and headed straight for Yan Sanhe’s residence.

Suddenly, something hit his left cheek. When he touched it, it was rain.

Zhu Qing caught up. “Master, it’s raining.”

Xie Zhifei gave the horse’s rump a smack. “While it hasn’t gotten heavy yet, let’s go!”

…

Meanwhile, on another front.

Li Buyan drifted down from the stage and walked to Yan Sanhe. “It’s raining. Let’s go back.”

“Buyan, there’s one question I still can’t figure out.”

In the dimness, Yan Sanhe said softly, “Someone as ungrateful as Lu Shi—why didn’t the former Crown Prince take action to eliminate him and help Junior Sister avenge being betrayed?”

“Oh my goodness, my ancestor!”

Li Buyan stomped her foot and forcefully pulled Yan Sanhe up. “Can’t you think about this after we get back? The rain is getting heavier.”

Only then did Yan Sanhe realize it was raining. She quickly said, “Let’s go back.”

It was already too late. Just as they turned out of the alley, raindrops began pelting down.

Li Buyan’s body had just recovered from internal injuries and had only been recuperating for a few days—she couldn’t catch cold. Yan Sanhe made a quick decision. “Find a place to shelter from the rain first. Once it lets up a bit, we’ll go.”

Li Buyan stood on tiptoe and looked around. “Sanhe, we can shelter over there.”

Yan Sanhe looked in the direction Li Buyan indicated—it was a protruding eave.

“Let’s go!”

The two ran over in one breath. They had just steadied themselves and hadn’t yet brushed off the water droplets when two more people ran over to shelter from the rain.

Out of habit, Li Buyan pulled Yan Sanhe to one side, positioning herself between Yan Sanhe and those two people.

“When will this rain stop?”

“Heaven knows.”

“How long have we been out?”

“At least half a shichen!”

“Can we make it in time?”

“It’s risky.”

“Then should we go?”

“Let’s go!”

The two rushed into the heavy rain. Yan Sanhe instinctively glanced at them—they were two young scholars wearing襕衫 (lanshan robes).

Not long after those two left, the rain gradually lessened but the wind grew stronger.

Li Buyan saw the clouds roiling in the sky and feared even heavier rain was coming. “Sanhe, while the rain is light, let’s go too.”

“Alright.”

Though they said “go,” they actually jogged. As Yan Sanhe ran, she suddenly noticed several scholar-dressed people overtaking them.

Li Buyan muttered quietly, “On a rainy day, instead of properly studying at home, what are they running out for?”

Yan Sanhe suddenly stopped in her tracks, a certain conjecture vaguely surfacing in her mind.

Li Buyan ran more than ten zhang away before suddenly realizing Yan Sanhe had disappeared. She turned her head to look—good heavens, this person was standing rigidly in place, motionless once again.

Spacing out had to be timed right!

Li Buyan hurried back, huffing in exasperation. “I say, ancestor, can you…”

“Buyan.”

Yan Sanhe grabbed Li Buyan’s arm.

She gripped very tightly—so tightly that Li Buyan’s eyebrow twitched slightly. “What’s wrong?”

“Where do you think Third Master is right now?”

Where else could he be?

“Either at the office or listening to songs at the pleasure quarters.”

“What method would find him fastest?”

“Simple—just grab any member of the Five Cities Military Commission and ask.”

“Then use the fastest method to find out Third Master’s whereabouts, and then…”

Yan Sanhe took a deep breath. “Then tell him that the scholars might cause trouble. Tell him to hurry to the streets and see.”

“What?”

Li Buyan was immediately dumbfounded. “You, how would you know?”

“No time to explain in detail.”

Yan Sanhe released her hand. “I’m going to follow those scholars.”

“Wait!”

When Li Buyan heard this, her hand shot out to grip Yan Sanhe’s shoulder in fright. “Why are you following those scholars?”

“Besides making it convenient to rendezvous with you all, there might be some unexpected gains!”