“Good!”

Yan Sanhe smiled.

A woman who could elope with a man, no matter how tightly she sealed herself within propriety’s bounds, no matter how many years she’d been sealed away, still retained that courage in her bones.

Zhu Weixi nodded to Young Master Pei and Li Buyan, took a deep breath, and walked out.

Would she really be all right?

Young Master Pei couldn’t help but follow, still feeling uneasy.

Zhu Weixi walked smoothly out of the courtyard. She wanted to turn around and wave at Yan Sanhe to show she was perfectly fine.

But as she turned halfway, suddenly a sharp, searing pain shot through her chest, as if someone were jabbing her heart viciously with red-hot tongs.

The pain twisted Zhu Weixi’s internal organs together, and her body curled up.

“Sister-in-law!”

Terrified, Young Master Pei rushed over. “How are you?”

“I…”

By now Zhu Weixi couldn’t speak. The color drained from her face in an instant, and her entire body trembled uncontrollably.

“Sister-in-law, sister-in-law?”

A figure rushed over, scooped Zhu Weixi up horizontally, and shouted at Young Master Pei, “Is calling her ‘sister-in-law’ useful? Go get your father!”

“Father, where’s my father?”

Young Master Pei stamped his feet anxiously. “Where is my father?”

“This servant will fetch him.”

A quick-witted servant immediately ran off to find him.

All the Zhu family members were waiting outside the courtyard.

Everyone had seen that scene clearly just now. Forget the womenfolk—even the Zhu brothers’ faces lost all color.

Especially Zhu Yuanmo—it was as if he’d returned to the netherworld, his entire body cold down to his bones.

Li Buyan glanced at Zhu Weixi, nearly unconscious in her arms, and made a snap decision. “Lead the way up front. I’ll carry her over.”

“Imperial Physician Pei is in the madam’s courtyard. Miss Li, please follow me quickly.”

Old Steward Zhu Jing turned and strode off.

Though advanced in years, his feet moved with impressive speed.

Young Master Pei was about to follow when he heard Li Buyan turn and shout at him, “You stay and watch Yan Sanhe. Don’t leave her side for even a moment.”

Young Master Pei’s feet halted, and he quickly ran back several steps to check if Yan Sanhe was all right.

She was fine.

She stood with her hands behind her back at the threshold, not a trace of surprise on her face, as if she had anticipated all of this.

Had Yan Sanhe really anticipated it?

She hadn’t.

If she had, she would have stopped Zhu Weixi at all costs.

The reason she hadn’t stopped her was actually for another reason: Zhu Weixi was a married daughter.

In all the heart demons she had resolved, not one had involved a married daughter. After all, married daughters were like water thrown out—they already belonged to another family.

Why?

Why hadn’t Zhu Xuanjiu’s heart demon spared even his married daughter?

This was too bizarre!

“Miss Yan.”

At some point, Zhu Yuanmo had walked up to Yan Sanhe, his voice trembling. “What should we do now?”

What else could they do?

Yan Sanhe stepped across the threshold and met Zhu Yuanmo’s eyes, speaking with unusual calm: “Suspend the questioning. Have everyone return to their rooms. Immediately send someone to inform Xie Erli that something has happened to the eldest madam.”

“All right.”

“Also.”

Yan Sanhe’s speech slowed considerably. “Zhu Yuanmo, we all need to think carefully about this matter.”

Think about what?

Naturally, asking you, Zhu Yuanmo, to make a choice: should we continue resolving this heart demon or not?

Continue, and everyone must be questioned;

But question one person, and that person immediately falls into trouble.

Don’t continue—set up protective arrays to block the malevolent energy, holding out as long as possible;

But the heart demon would remain, and the Zhu family would die one by one until they were all gone.

Forward was impossible, backward was impossible—this was a dead end.

Zhu Yuanmo suddenly thought of the divination he’d performed—total catastrophe!

Total catastrophe indeed!

A surge of blood rushed upward. Zhu Yuanmo’s throat tasted of iron, and with his mouth open, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Elder Brother!”

“Master!”

Second Master Zhu and Lady Zhu rushed forward to support him, their eyes filled with anxiety.

Zhu Yuanmo couldn’t speak, letting the blood from his mouth overflow down his lips.

People say fortune-tellers shouldn’t divine their own fate. When young and curious, he’d secretly cast his own eight characters. Good or bad aside, his life span should be long.

But everything before his eyes told him that divination must have been wrong.

Zhu Yuanmo pushed away their supporting hands, pulled a handkerchief from his robe, casually wiped the corner of his mouth, and looked down at Lady Zhu:

“Have everyone return to their courtyards. Don’t come out unless necessary. Arrange dinner as usual, but make Miss Yan’s portion more elaborate.

Gather all the children from the third household before you. Watch them personally. Have them sleep in our courtyard tonight.”

Lady Zhu’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes.”

Zhu Yuanmo continued, “Go now. Stay composed—don’t let the children see anything amiss.”

Zhu Yuanmo had given strict orders that the matter of Old Master Zhu’s heart demon must not be told to any of the children.

“Master must also take care of yourself.”

The tears Lady Zhu had held in her eyes could no longer be contained and spilled over. Turning back three times with each step, she left.

“Second Brother.”

“Brother?”

“Go watch over Eldest Sister.”

Zhu Yuanmo instructed, “Also comfort Mother. Tell her that Eldest Sister and I will find a way. Tell her not to worry—taking care of her health is most important. Her good health is my greatest support.”

Thinking of the blood his elder brother had just coughed up, Second Master Zhu couldn’t move his legs.

“Elder Brother, what about you?”

“I’m going to find Miss Yan to think of a solution.”

Zhu Yuanmo tucked the bloodied handkerchief back into his robe. His nose stung with emotion as he said:

“I refuse to believe that Father would truly have the heart to let our Zhu family die off one by one!”

…

The early winter sky darkened almost instantly.

Yan Sanhe liked walking in darkness—it made her thoughts exceptionally clear.

By this point, the question of what to do next wasn’t hers to consider. That choice belonged to Zhu Yuanmo.

What she needed to figure out was how to keep Zhu Weixi safe.

When she first met Zhu Weixi and heard her name, her heart inexplicably warmed.

“In the past when I first moved here, the scarlet flowers had not yet faded.”

Yan Xing had explained to her: “Zhuhua” refers to all flowers; “weixi” means “not yet withered.” When all flowers haven’t withered, it’s spring. Spring is first among the four seasons, symbolizing hope.

Someone whose very name was filled with hope must have a beautiful life ahead—she shouldn’t die young because of another’s affairs.

Yan Sanhe turned around and looked at Young Master Pei following behind. “Mingting, go see if sister-in-law has woken up.”

Young Master Pei felt truly conflicted.

Not go? The spirit medium had given orders;

Go? Li Buyan told him not to leave her side.

Whom should he listen to?

Hey!

Look at my pig brain—I’ve been scared silly by all these incidents.

Young Master Pei slapped his forehead and shouted, “Huang Qi, get your ass out here…”

But halfway through his words, he saw Li Buyan running over.

“Sanhe, I carried her halfway when the eldest madam fainted. Imperial Physician Pei administered acupuncture, and she only moved her eyelids. She hasn’t woken up.”

Yan Sanhe’s eyebrows moved slightly.

So then—

Why had Madam Mao and the third madam suddenly awakened?

This was a question Imperial Physician Pei had asked. At the time, she’d said she didn’t know, and Imperial Physician Pei hadn’t pressed further.

Now it seemed this was the key to the problem, and it definitely related to the netherworld.

So then—

What was the connection between Madam Mao’s and the third madam’s sudden awakening and the netherworld?