Pei Xiao slowly regained consciousness and saw a familiar pair of eyes.
You little punk?
You still have the face to come here?
Pei Xiao abruptly sat up, about to curse him out, when his mouth was firmly covered by Xie Zhifei.
“Listen to me first!”
Xie Zhifei looked directly at him. “This person helped our family dissolve an obsession and resolve a demon.”
Pei Xiao’s eyes suddenly widened, his eyeballs nearly popping out.
“So on this point, you don’t need to doubt.”
Pei Xiao was slightly stunned and nodded.
“As for why I investigated her?”
Xie Zhifei gritted his teeth and said vaguely: “It’s because like you, I didn’t quite believe such a thing existed, so I kept an extra eye out.”
Pei Xiao nodded again.
Xie Zhifei: “I’ve been investigating her while hiding it even from my eldest brother. If you dare reveal even one word to anyone, you should know what the consequences will be!”
Pei Xiao nodded desperately.
“Do you understand everything?”
“Mm, mm, mm!”
Xie Zhifei let out a long breath of relief and released his hand.
Pei Xiao took two deep breaths of fresh air. “Xie Fifty, did you wash your hands after using the latrine?”
“If I said no, would you curse me out again?”
Pei Xiao had no time to curse now. He brought his head close to Xie Zhifei’s, speaking mysteriously: “Your family’s old madam is still alive—dare I ask which ancestor below had their coffin crack open?”
Xie Zhifei knew he couldn’t hide it from this guy.
This person looked like an idle second-generation wastrel who spent all day hanging around monks, but inside he was sharp as a monkey—smarter than anyone.
Only this cleverness was never used for proper purposes.
“When my old ancestor was young, she was someone’s second wife. That person passed away a few months ago. Yan Sanhe is the adopted granddaughter of that person.”
“…”
One sentence shocked Pei Xiao until his soul nearly left his body.
The information content—explosive, explosive, completely explosive.
He stared blankly at Xie Zhifei, then made a throat-cutting gesture—
If I speak a word of this outside, you can kill me directly!
Xie Zhifei never doubted him. He pulled the person closer and said in a low voice: “Mingting, I want to borrow your hands to help me investigate this Yan Sanhe.”
His people were all in the capital, but this guy wasn’t. Although the Buddhist Registry was a sinecure, it oversaw all monks in Great Hua Kingdom.
This was also his true intention in revealing everything.
Pei Xiao swallowed. “What else do you want to investigate about her?”
Xie Zhifei pressed his brow and narrowed his eyes: “Everything, all of it, completely!”
…
The waiting time wasn’t long. In just half an hour, a vermillion box arrived in Ji Lingchuan’s hands.
In the quiet night, he carried the box into Jingsi Residence and nodded to Li Buyan guarding the door.
“May I enter?”
“Miss has been waiting for you.”
“I want to enter too.”
Pei Xiao puffed out his chest, glaring at Li Buyan, thinking: If you dare stop me, see how I curse you to death.
“Enter!”
Li Buyan had eaten and bathed—his mood was clearly good.
So accommodating?
Pei Xiao looked somewhat incredulously at Xie Zhifei behind him. Xie Zhifei pushed him, and he stumbled across the threshold.
Xie Zhifei stepped forward, pointed at himself, then at the room, silently asking: Can I enter?
Li Buyan stepped aside and made a welcoming gesture.
“Much obliged!”
As Xie Zhifei lifted his foot, a lazy smile floated onto his face.
The more urgent the situation, the more he pretended to be a wastrel young master, even his entire aura carrying a cynically detached flavor.
Entering the room, he gave Yan Sanhe an indifferent smile, then leisurely sat down in the chair beside Pei Xiao.
Yan Sanhe ignored this performance, her gaze looking toward Ji Lingchuan.
Ji Lingchuan quickly stepped forward and placed the box beside Yan Sanhe’s hand.
“Miss Yan, this is my sincerity. Please examine it.”
Yan Sanhe opened the box and took out the items inside one by one, placing them on the table.
Three years as a clean prefect earns ten years’ worth of snowflake silver—what’s more, Ji Lingchuan managed the richest waterway transport and granary storage in the realm.
Xie Zhifei’s expression went completely rigid as he watched. No wonder the Han Prince wanted to pin corruption charges on him—more than half of this silver probably came from improper sources.
So then, how much would Yan Sanhe take?
Xie Zhifei stared at Yan Sanhe, not wanting to miss any expression on her face.
Yan Sanhe looked at the pile of items on the table, her brow furrowing.
As soon as she frowned, Ji Lingchuan thought it was too little and quickly explained: “There’s also some actual silver. If I brought it all, I’m afraid the commotion would be too great.”
“Of weak water three thousand.”
Yan Sanhe pulled out two notes from the pile of banknotes and said coolly: “One ladle is sufficient for me. Two thousand taels—I’ll accept it.”
Only taking two thousand taels?
Pei Xiao’s jaw nearly dropped in shock. He reached out and pinched Xie Zhifei’s arm: Xie Fifty, what the hell is going on here?
Let go of me first, damn it!
Xie Fifty gave Pei Xiao a warning look. His eyelashes lifted sharply as he looked thoughtfully at Yan Sanhe.
Ji Lingchuan was so shocked he couldn’t speak coherently. “Miss Yan, this, this, this…”
“Don’t rush.”
Yan Sanhe’s voice was cool: “I still want one more sincerity from you.”
Ji Lingchuan blurted out: “Miss Yan, just say it.”
Yan Sanhe: “After successfully dissolving the obsession and resolving the demon, the Ji family must do one thing for me.”
Ji Lingchuan: “What thing?”
Yan Sanhe glanced at the night outside. “I haven’t thought of it yet.”
Ji Lingchuan: “…”
Pei Xiao couldn’t help himself and asked on behalf of his uncle: “The thing you’re talking about—is it murder and arson, or theft and adultery?”
Yan Sanhe looked at him coldly. “Are you negotiating conditions with me?”
“We absolutely must negotiate.”
Pei Xiao stretched his neck. “We’re all proper, upstanding people who don’t do those…”
Yan Sanhe gave a light “heh” and pointed at that stack of banknotes. The meaning was obvious—would proper people have this much money?
Pei Xiao obediently shut his mouth, glancing at Xie Zhifei from the corner of his eye: I just got checkmated.
Xie Zhifei: Serves you right.
Pei Xiao: Wasn’t I testing her for you?
Xie Zhifei: Next time use a smarter way to test.
Yan Sanhe had no time to watch these two exchange glances. She placed the banknotes in her hand on the table and stood up.
“I agree.”
The veins on Ji Lingchuan’s forehead bulged as he shouted loudly: “I agree to do one thing for Miss after the matter succeeds, and I will never go back on my word.”
“Buyan.”
Li Buyan walked into the room, took out a blank piece of paper and ink pad from her bosom, and said with a smile:
“Come on, make your mark!”
Ji Lingchuan gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and dipped his thumb in some red ink.
“Uncle, are you really agreeing to this!”
Ji Lingchuan glanced at his nephew. After his chest heaved violently several times, he lowered his head and pressed down firmly.
He had no choice!
The Ji family had no choice!
Even if she asked him to commit murder and arson, he had to make this mark!
“Miss?”
Yan Sanhe took the paper, walked to the door, and stood with hands behind her back.
Behind her, three men with six eyes stared fixedly, all wondering in their hearts what she planned to do next.
She slowly turned around, her expression calm: “Where is Old Madam Ji’s tomb? Take me to see it now.”
A chill rapidly rose from the soles of their feet, causing all three men to shiver involuntarily.
Pei Xiao looked at the boundless night outside, then secretly pinched Xie Zhifei’s arm again.
Why must it be the dead of night?
Couldn’t it be during the day!
This shortens one’s lifespan!
Xie Fifty didn’t feel the pain. He was puzzling over a question in his mind:
That blank paper had not a single word on it. If Ji Lingchuan denied it afterward, there seemed to be no way to hold him accountable?
Was Yan Sanhe careless, or did she have something to rely on?
The mystery seemed to grow larger and larger!