“Who says my father was acting strange?”

Zhu Weixi glared fiercely at Young Master Pei. “I was my father’s first daughter—he’d been hoping for me for so many years!”

Why glare at me?

I’m just trying to help resolve the heart demon through these questions.

Young Master Pei couldn’t help asking again, “What about your two younger sisters? Does your father love them too?”

“He loves them too, but not as much as me. At most, Father would play with them a bit, but he never held them.”

Zhu Weixi continued, “Because of this, my second and third sisters have been jealous of me since childhood, always saying Father played favorites. But a person’s heart is naturally biased—don’t you agree, Young Master Pei?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Young Master Pei scratched his chin, thinking to himself: You women always have your reasons.

And indeed, there was reason to it.

Madam Mao had given birth to three sons in succession. Zhu Xuanjiu wanted a daughter, waiting and hoping endlessly until she finally arrived, so naturally he doted on her more.

Everything in this world ultimately came down to those two words: “precious and rare.”

The eldest daughter was precious; the second and third daughters became ordinary by comparison.

And Zhu Weixi lived up to this love. During the months Zhu Xuanjiu lay ill, she spent those same months running back to her parents’ home.

At this crucial moment, she stood up without hesitation.

Family affection was just like this—you give a little, I return a little. There could be no pretense.

Young Master Pei glanced at Yan Sanhe, and seeing she had no intention of speaking, asked again, “Besides doting on you, what other memorable things did Old Master Zhu do?”

Zhu Weixi thought for a moment. “My father was somewhat withdrawn. Others called him aloof, but I didn’t think so. In these times, only capable people can afford to be aloof; those without ability all go around flattering others.”

Young Master Pei thought of himself and slapped the table. “Right! That’s exactly it!”

“My father was devoted to his family. Once he came through the gate and removed his official robes, he didn’t like going out.”

Zhu Weixi continued, “During festivals and holidays, he also preferred to stay cooped up at home, studying divination and feng shui. Oh yes, my father didn’t drink alcohol, and he wouldn’t allow my three brothers to drink either. He…”

“Wait.”

Yan Sanhe suddenly spoke up. “Not a single drop?”

Zhu Weixi replied, “Not a single drop.”

Yan Sanhe asked, “Why?”

Zhu Weixi thought for a moment. “I don’t know. For as long as I can remember, he never drank.”

Yan Sanhe said, “Li Buyan, go immediately and ask the madam—or ask the old steward—why Old Master Zhu didn’t drink.”

Li Buyan replied, “I’m not going. Huang Qi, you go.”

Huang Qi didn’t dare object at all and obediently turned to leave.

Young Master Pei squeezed his eyes at Yan Sanhe: This girl seems a bit off somehow?

Yan Sanhe could only smile bitterly to herself: She probably still hasn’t gotten over that incident.

“Miss Yan.”

“Mm?”

Zhu Weixi asked anxiously, “Is there something wrong with not drinking?”

“Nothing wrong with it.”

Yan Sanhe reassured her.

“Resolving heart demons requires asking about everything in detail. Every small detail must be questioned, and sometimes investigated. Continue with what you were saying.”

What should she say?

In Zhu Weixi’s heart, her father was the best man in the world.

“When I had troubles I didn’t dare tell Mother, I would secretly tell Father. Whatever I did, Father supported me. Even when I did something wrong, he wouldn’t scold me or lecture me. He would just reach out and tap my forehead, calling me a silly child.”

What a good father—even more reasonable than the one in my family.

Young Master Pei made approving sounds and was about to offer some praise when Yan Sanhe’s voice suddenly cut in.

“What did you do wrong?”

“…”

Zhu Weixi froze for a moment, then smiled self-mockingly. “Miss Yan, my affairs have nothing to do with my father’s heart demon. Let me talk about other things.”

“It’s fine, I’d like to hear it too.”

Yan Sanhe said, “Just think of it as satisfying a friend’s curiosity.”

Heat rose in Zhu Weixi’s throat.

The Zhu household had strict rules. Young ladies were expected to stay within the inner quarters, never venturing beyond the gates. Even when visiting relatives and friends, the young ladies did nothing but compare—your dress is pretty, my bracelet is valuable. Their eyes saw only such vulgar things. It was utterly boring.

After marrying into the Xie family, she managed the household, raised children, and dealt with social obligations—conversations always revolved around domestic trivialities.

In her twenty-five years of life, she had everything, but had never had a friend.

“Miss Yan.”

She took a deep breath. “I once misjudged a man.”

Yan Sanhe asked, “A man?”

Zhu Weixi replied, “Yes!”

Oh my!

Oh my!

Oh my!

Young Master Pei suppressed the curiosity nearly overflowing in his heart and asked with feigned composure, “What kind of man?”

Zhu Weixi answered, “A distant cousin, Geng Songsheng, courtesy name Jingyan, the eldest legitimate grandson of my maternal grandmother’s Geng family.”

Even after so many years, when Zhu Weixi spoke this name, her voice still carried a tremor she couldn’t quite control.

Tsk tsk.

Older cousin and younger cousin, a story of childhood sweethearts.

But one in the capital, one in Luoyang’s Geng family?

Young Master Pei asked curiously, “When did you two meet? Where?”

“We met when I accompanied Mother on a visit to Luoyang as a child. He was three years older than me.”

Zhu Weixi continued, “He placed first in the provincial examination at thirteen and was admitted to the Imperial Academy at fourteen. He was once a famous child prodigy throughout Luoyang Prefecture.”

Once?

A dark gleam flashed in Yan Sanhe’s eyes.

But Young Master Pei only cared about one thing: “What did he look like?”

“You’re such a damn gossip.”

Eh?

Young Master Pei looked at Li Buyan in confusion. “What does gossip mean?”

Li Buyan replied irritably, “Figure it out yourself.”

Figure out what!

It’s obviously an insult. Did she think he was stupid?

Young Master Pei sneered inwardly. Without finding out what he looked like, how could he report back to Elder Brother Xie later?

“Buyan, why don’t you go outside for a walk?”

Walk where?

Li Buyan planted herself down. “I need to stay with you every step of the way. At worst, I just won’t talk.”

Yan Sanhe smiled helplessly and turned her gaze. “Zhu Weixi, anyone you would take a liking to couldn’t have been mediocre.”

Zhu Weixi met Yan Sanhe’s eyes, and her hands resting on her knees slowly clenched into fists.

Not just not mediocre—he was extraordinarily brilliant.

The Geng family was already an established clan, the cream of aristocratic families.

Geng family sons began their studies at three, entered the clan school at five. Their ancestors had produced one top scholar, two third-place scholars, and seven or eight jinshi degree holders.

There wasn’t a single Geng family son who wasn’t intelligent.

Geng Songsheng was the outstanding one among them. His teachers said that if he put more effort into his studies, he would definitely have the makings of a top scholar.

His appearance was even more exceptional—sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes, and a red mole between his brows.

Father said this mole was positioned extremely well—it marked him as a reincarnation of the Star of Literature itself.

People say scholars are all arrogant.

But Geng Songsheng wasn’t like that.

The depth of his family’s heritage had cultivated him into a refined gentleman, polite to everyone he spoke with.

If there was any flaw, it was that he liked to slack off when doing things. If he could use seventy percent effort, he would never use eighty, saving the remaining twenty or thirty percent for sightseeing and travel.

“When he came to the capital for the Imperial Academy, setting out from Luoyang, it should have taken about ten days. But his journey took a full three months.”

Zhu Weixi continued, “Mother waited anxiously in the capital, terrified something had happened on the road. She even sent people to Luoyang to inquire, but the people she sent all returned before he arrived.”

Mother had no choice but to report it to the authorities.

Given Father’s position, the officials dispatched runners to search along the route.

But after searching everywhere without finding him, they concluded he had likely been killed by bandits. Mother was devastated and prepared to go personally to the Geng family to deliver the tragic news.

She had already packed her trunks when he showed up at the door.

Zhu Weixi would never forget that day for the rest of her life.

The man was tall and imposing, covered in travel dust, his face tanned dark, lips curved in a smile, his eyes sparkling with bright light.

“Auntie, have you ever climbed Mount Hua? Have you seen the Hukou Waterfall? Have you paid respects to Buddha at Mount Wutai? Have you seen the Great Wall?”

—