Seeing Yan Sanhe’s unfocused eyes, Xie Zhifei knew this girl was thinking again, disregarding her head injury.

This time, he didn’t try to dissuade her. Instead, he released the small hand from his palm, turned to Li Buyan, and said: “Go fetch Zhu Qing.”

Moments later, Zhu Qing entered and closed the door behind him.

“Master?”

Xie Zhifei’s tone carried no emotion. “Make preparations. Tonight you and Hero Li will conduct a night investigation of Chonghua Palace.”

Everyone’s faces changed abruptly.

Even Yan Sanhe on the bed, her eyes instantly cleared.

“The matter clearly points to Prince Han—that person must be Prince Han’s man.”

Xie Zhifei’s expression remained unchanged. “Prince Han has acted with remarkable caution these recent years. Huairen has long suspected a master strategist guides him from the shadows.”

“You mean… the person who played the qin for Yan Sanhe is that master strategist?” Young Master Pei forced out these words through clenched teeth.

“Uncertain, which is why we need to investigate.”

Zhu Qing had searched for nearly ten days, and Han Yong from the Embroidered Uniform Guard was also helping, yet they’d found absolutely nothing.

Someone even the Embroidered Uniform Guard couldn’t find was definitely no ordinary person!

Xie Zhifei’s gaze shifted. “Big Brother Zhu, divine the fortune of this expedition for them.”

Divining fortune wasn’t difficult.

What Zhu Yuanmo was uncertain about: “What if it comes out inauspicious?”

Xie Zhifei said nothing, only looked at Li Buyan.

“We go anyway.”

Li Buyan had been brooding over Yan Sanhe’s injury, fire building in her belly waiting to be released. She answered without a moment’s hesitation.

The divination came out inauspicious indeed.

Yet Xie Zhifei raised his hand to stop them. “If it’s inauspicious, don’t go. Wait until a day when it divines as auspicious, then go.”

Li Buyan sneered. “What, is Third Master himself afraid?”

Xie Zhifei pointed to the person lying in bed.

Ridiculous.

Is Third Master someone who fears?

Third Master fears her worrying about you!

Strike the snake at its seventh inch. Li Buyan’s arrogance immediately deflated by thirty percent.

Young Master Pei quickly interjected: “Things have reached this point—being careful can’t hurt. We can’t have anyone else getting injured. Xie Fifty, what about those little beggars you keep?”

Did he even need to remind him?

Xie Zhifei: “I’ve arranged over ten to take turns loitering around Chonghua Palace, but they can’t get too close—that would arouse suspicion.”

“I’m not trying to scare you.”

Young Master Pei nudged Li Buyan with his elbow. “That day Chengyu and I entered Prince Han’s residence together—everywhere was eerie. Who knows how many hidden guards are concealed in that residence?”

Who knows how many hidden guards are concealed?

Who knows?

Suddenly a light flashed in the depths of Yan Sanhe’s mind, quick as summer lightning.

She instinctively tried to catch that lightning bolt. Her body shot up from the bed. Before she’d even steadied herself, she felt the world spinning, nausea instantly surging in her stomach.

Her mouth opened and she vomited up all the medicine she’d just drunk, leaving nothing behind.

Xie Zhifei roared as he rushed over. “Yan Sanhe, why are you sitting up?”

Young Master Pei shook his head frantically. “Disobedient, so disobedient. My father said you need to stay in bed at least another twenty days.”

Li Buyan ground her teeth. “Yan Sanhe, I really want to beat you.”

“I…”

Yan Sanhe braced herself against the bed edge, gasping. “Xie Zhifei, I… I think I know where we went wrong.”

Xie Zhifei’s face showed no softening, cold enough to make one’s courage falter, yet his hands were incredibly gentle.

He supported her, helping her slowly lie back down, then took the cloth from nearby to wipe the bitter medicine from her lips.

Finally, he took the warm tea Li Buyan handed him and brought it to her lips.

Yan Sanhe drank from his hand. After one sip, the bitterness in her mouth dissipated somewhat.

Looking up, she saw the man’s lips curved in a cold, severe arc. Recalling how when she first woke, this person had that haggard look of competing with ghosts for desolation, Yan Sanhe’s heart softened.

“Do you have candy?”

Xie Zhifei snorted coldly. “Disobedient—where would candy come from?”

Just die of fierceness!

Yan Sanhe lowered her lashes.

Suddenly, something pressed against her lips. Her mouth opened and a preserved plum was pushed through the gap in her teeth.

As sweet-sourness spread through her mouth, she looked up at Xie Zhifei before her and smiled triumphantly.

Seeing that smile, Xie Zhifei cursed himself inwardly: Look at your pathetic self, asking for a beating!

Feeling more comfortable, Yan Sanhe’s gaze turned to Zhu Yuanmo.

Only now did Zhu Yuanmo realize why Third Master and Miss Li had been adamantly blocking him from seeing Yan Sanhe these past days.

Over ten days later, she still couldn’t even sit up…

This injury was truly severe.

“Miss Yan, rest well. I’ll come again in a few days.”

He drew a breath, lowering his voice. “Things have reached this point. There’s no use being anxious…”

“Everyone sit down.”

Yan Sanhe spoke crisply. “It’s Shen Duruo—that’s where we went wrong.”

Shen Duruo?

These three words exploded like firecrackers, shocking everyone into stunned silence.

How could it be her?

Yan Sanhe slowly turned over, lying on her side—this position seemed to make her slightly more comfortable.

“Just now Mingting said, no one knows how many hidden guards are concealed in Prince Han’s residence. So then… who knows how many hidden guards were concealed in the Former Crown Prince’s residence? How many spies?”

What did that mean?

Everyone looked at each other. Each word was comprehensible, but the deeper meaning when strung together wasn’t quite clear.

“Do you remember?”

Yan Sanhe fell silent for a moment. “Shen Wei said at the time that he didn’t know what Prince Zhao’s side wanted Shen Duruo to do. Shen Duruo only told him one sentence: Have them come find me.”

The air instantly froze.

Everyone’s expressions solidified.

After a long while, Young Master Pei’s eyes widened in shock. “Yan Sanhe, you mean to say the witchcraft doll wasn’t placed by Shen Duruo? There were other spies in the Crown Prince’s residence?”

“Though Shen Duruo agreed with her own mouth, we haven’t confirmed whether she actually did it or not.”

Yan Sanhe: “In other words, she might have done it, but she also might not have—right?”

“Right, but…”

Young Master Pei’s eyes widened further. “But why wouldn’t she do it? The Shen Wei couple had already pressured her to that extent—it’s impossible!”

“By logic, it truly is impossible.”

Yan Sanhe raised her voice. “But now Zhu Xuanjiu still has half his dark energy remaining. This impossibility might have become possible.”

No one spoke.

“Zhu Yuanmo?”

Yan Sanhe: “Do you remember when you discovered Zhu Xuanjiu’s face was half black, half gray-blue?”

“I remember. The day Miss Yan and Young Master Pei went to Qingliang Temple.”

“That day, we were investigating Shen Duruo.”

Yan Sanhe: “But at that time you only checked the ice cellar every ten days. Perhaps Zhu Xuanjiu’s complexion had changed several days earlier.”

Several days earlier would be right when they’d completely investigated the Taiwei lead.

So half of Zhu Xuanjiu’s resentment dissipated?

In other words, Shen Duruo was wronged??

But that’s not right!

Young Master Pei: “If Shen Duruo didn’t do this, why would the one on the dragon throne show such indulgence toward the Shen family?”

Yan Sanhe didn’t answer, but continued speaking:

“I recalled a small detail about Shen Duruo.”