North City Military Patrol Bureau.

Commander Xie sat with his legs crossed, holding a cup of tea in his hands, but his thoughts had run off to the Ji family.

Where should they start investigating Old Lady Ji’s obsession?

What was she doing right now?

Would the Ji family members cooperate or not?

Had Pei Xiao recorded her every word and action?

Thinking of this, Third Master felt somewhat restless, mentally calculating whether he should use the excuse of street patrol to go take a look at the Ji family.

“Master.”

Zhu Qing entered. “Xu Sheng didn’t leave his residence today—he’s home nursing his injuries. Xu Lai went to court before dawn.”

Xie Zhifei set down his teacup, stood up and paced around the room several times, then stopped abruptly. “We must carefully investigate who Xu Sheng met with these past few days and what he did.”

Zhu Qing: “Master, rest assured. Instructions have already been given.”

Xie Zhifei turned his head, looking at Zhu Qing. “Keep a close eye on Xu Lai for me as well. That old bastard has a vengeful temperament.”

Zhu Qing lowered his voice: “Master, that person sent someone last night asking about the Ministry of Justice matter. This subordinate told them everything, down to the last detail.”

Xie Zhifei’s expression changed.

Even he had sent someone to inquire—clearly everyone in the capital who should know about this matter already knew.

“What did he say?”

“He instructed Master to be careful. Xu Lai is Prince Han’s dog. When beating a dog, one must still consider the master. Prince Han has likely noted this account.”

Xie Zhifei’s face grew somber as he remained silent.

Zhu Qing observed his master’s expression and added in a low voice: “Master, he had one more instruction: the national treasury is empty, and given the Crown Prince’s nature, he will certainly sacrifice pawns to save the king.”

Xie Zhifei felt as if something had struck his head heavily.

If Xu Lai was Prince Han’s dog, then Ji Lingchuan was the Crown Prince’s dog. If the dog’s master abandoned the dog to protect himself, wouldn’t the Ji family be on the verge of collapse?

After pondering for a long while, he said gravely: “Send him a message. Pei Xiao and I want to meet with him.”

“Yes!”

At this moment, Ding Yi rushed in, carrying a food box in his hand.

“Master, Miss Du’s people sent this.”

“You all divide it and eat it.”

Xie Zhifei turned and walked out. Ding Yi called to his back, “Master, where are you going?”

“Why aren’t you following quickly!”

As Zhu Qing shot him a sharp glance, he also said softly: “To the Ji family!”

…

Seeing Ji Lingchuan again, even Yan Sanhe was startled.

Overnight, his hair had turned almost half white. His already sunken eyes had practically receded into his skull, making his eyeballs appear abnormally prominent.

No one knew that Ji Lingchuan hadn’t closed his eyes all night, thinking over and over only one thing—

Mother, for the sake of a dog you would bring calamity upon your children and grandchildren? How could you bear to do this?

Yan Sanhe understood this feeling all too well. The night she saw her grandfather’s heart demon, she too had kept her eyes open until dawn.

Not knowing how to comfort people, Yan Sanhe said dryly: “Everything has cause and effect. Finding that cause is more important.”

Ji Lingchuan nodded with vacant eyes.

Yan Sanhe: “The old lady’s heart demon is a dog. Are you certain the residence truly kept no dogs?”

Ji Lingchuan: “We truly kept none.”

Yan Sanhe: “Why not?”

“I know this point.”

Pei Xiao said: “My maternal grandmother didn’t like dogs, so we didn’t keep any.”

Yan Sanhe’s expression stiffened slightly. She didn’t like dogs, but her heart demon was a dog—wasn’t this very contradictory?

“Why didn’t she like them?”

Yan Sanhe asked: “Was she bitten by a dog?”

Ji Lingchuan recalled for a long time, then shook his head. “Mother was never bitten by a dog.”

Yan Sanhe’s heart stirred. This clearly made even less sense.

Though the capital was at the feet of the Son of Heaven with excellent public security, from what she’d heard, prestigious families all kept several dogs to guard their houses and courtyards.

“Has the residence never kept dogs, or did you stop keeping them later because the old lady didn’t like them?”

When Ji Lingchuan heard her ask this, he thought carefully, and his eyes suddenly brightened.

“We kept them. I remember very clearly—when I was young, our home had dogs, several of them. Later, after Mother took charge of the household, we stopped keeping them.”

Yan Sanhe pondered thoughtfully: “I’d like to see where the old lady lived.”

“I’ll take you.” Pei Xiao made a gesture of invitation. “It’s not far—we’ll arrive quickly.”

Yan Sanhe ignored him.

“Minister Ji, are the people who served your mother during her lifetime still around?”

Ji Lingchuan’s face twitched slightly: “After the old lady passed away several months ago, half the people remained in the residence, half have been dismissed.”

Seeing his expression, Yan Sanhe knew something was wrong. “The person who attended her most closely—was that person also dismissed?”

Ji Lingchuan’s expression was extremely helpless.

“Only one person attended the old lady personally, called Mama Chen. Mingting also knows her. This person followed the old lady for decades. As soon as the old lady passed, she requested her release and returned to her hometown to enjoy family happiness.”

Yan Sanhe: “Where is her hometown?”

Ji Lingchuan was stumped by the question—he truly hadn’t had time to inquire about such matters.

Pei Xiao quickly said: “That’s easy to handle. I’ll have Xie Wu-shi investigate and we’ll know.”

Yan Sanhe glanced at Pei Xiao from the corner of her eye, feeling that this person was being excessively enthusiastic today.

“Was this Mama Chen brought from the old lady’s natal family, or was she from the Ji residence?”

Ji Lingchuan hadn’t expected her to ask in such detail. After thinking again, he said: “She was from the Ji residence. My mother’s natal family was far away—she didn’t bring anyone when she came to the capital.”

Came to the capital alone?

Yan Sanhe’s brow furrowed. “That’s rather unusual. When daughters of prestigious families marry, don’t they usually bring maids and dowry attendants?”

Ji Lingchuan looked extremely embarrassed: “My mother wasn’t any prestigious family’s daughter. She was originally my father’s concubine, later elevated to legitimate wife.”

That explained it.

But new doubts arose—how did a concubine climb step by step to the position of legitimate wife?

Yan Sanhe turned her face slightly, glancing at Li Buyan. Li Buyan caught the hint and called out: “Master Pei.”

Pei Xiao turned his head. “What instructions does Miss Li have?”

Li Buyan smiled sweetly. “Don’t turn around—just send word now for Third Master to help investigate.”

Who do you think you are? Your mistress hasn’t even spoken yet!

Pei Xiao was about to retort when he heard Yan Sanhe say coldly: “Tell him, the faster the better!”

Pei Xiao wanted to curse.

Surnamed Yan, can’t you just speak directly? Must you go through your maid’s mouth?

Are you maintaining your mystic’s mystique?

“Mingting?”

Meeting his uncle’s eager eyes, Pei Xiao beckoned to his personal guard Huangqi in the distance.

Huangqi quickly approached.

Pei Xiao whispered in his ear at length, then loudly commanded: “Go quickly.”

Huangqi nodded and was already several yards away.

Li Buyan observed discreetly, and while no one was paying attention, said softly in Yan Sanhe’s ear: “This person’s martial skills are quite good.”

…

As they spoke, they arrived at the old lady’s courtyard.

The courtyard was hidden within a bamboo grove, with quite a bit of an otherworldly immortal flavor.

But Yan Sanhe only felt the courtyard had a gloomy, ominous air—the dense bamboo blocked most of the sunlight.

“Did the old lady not enjoy liveliness during her lifetime?”

“She did!”

Pei Xiao: “What my maternal grandmother loved most was having her children and grandchildren around her, the whole family lively and warm.”

Yan Sanhe pointed. “If she enjoyed it, why live here?”

“Is something wrong with this place?”

“Heavy yin energy!”

Holy hell!

Pei Xiao roared inwardly—

Xie Wu-shi, come quickly—this master is scared!