Many things suddenly click in a certain instant.

Once they click, many previously clouded and obscured matters reveal their true faces.

Just then, Zhu Qing and Huang Qi returned one after the other.

“Miss Yan, they went to Old Madam Zhao’s maternal family home. I carefully observed the entire route—there were no abnormalities.”

“Miss Yan, after Liang Pangde returned, he got himself dead drunk and slept for two full days. Nothing happened at all.”

Chen Pi, who performed the autopsy at Haitang Courtyard, was dead.

The two night watchmen who saw the black-clothed figure were dead.

Granny Lai was dead.

The Zhao family was fine.

Liang Pangde was fine.

She was fine, Third Master was fine, Young Master Pei was fine, all of them were fine—even the guards from the Military Patrol Bureau had only been knocked unconscious.

Yan Sanhe had originally harbored a layer of suspicion about this black-clothed figure, but hadn’t dared to think in that direction.

Now, with so many matters connecting together, everything made sense.

In this world, there was another type of person who didn’t want the Zheng family case brought to light—someone who knew her identity and wanted to protect her.

It should be him.

He brought her from the Crown Prince’s residence to the Zheng family.

Then brought her from the Zheng family to Yan Xing.

This was a shortcut.

As long as they found him, all the secrets of Haitang Courtyard couldn’t remain hidden—Zheng Huaiyou’s true identity, why the Zheng family was massacred, how she was rescued, who the true mastermind behind it all was…

All of this could surface one by one.

At that moment, voices of several people gathered together came from the outer room.

Huang Qi made a “tsk” sound: “Strange, why would the Zheng family drive out the wet nurses, maids, and those serving Madam Zhao?”

Ding Yi’s voice, having just drunk tea, carried a clear moistness: “Clearly the twins wouldn’t bring misfortune to people, yet they used the excuse of bringing misfortune to lock up the twins.”

Zhu Qing’s voice was a bit hoarse from traveling: “What secret do the twins hold?”

“Ding Yi.”

Huang Qi: “You’re clever—think it through carefully.”

Praised for being clever, Ding Yi became pleased with himself: “Could it be… the Zheng family discovered the twins weren’t General Zheng Huantang’s offspring, that Madam Zhao had an affair, so they wanted to lock them up?”

“That’s not called clever, that’s called oxygen deprivation to the brain.”

Li Buyan scoffed: “Wouldn’t it be simpler to just divorce her and throw her out of the residence?”

Ding Yi: “…”

Zhu Qing pondered: “Perhaps… the twins contracted some strange illness?”

“If there’s illness, treat the illness. Why lock people up?”

Li Buyan made two tsk-tsk sounds: “In this world, there’s only one type of illness that can’t be treated.”

Zhu Qing: “What illness?”

Li Buyan: “Stupidity.”

Zhu Qing: “…”

Huang Qi sighed: “Could it be… that pair of twins were freaks?”

“Mm, Granny Lai saw two freaks and was so delighted she danced for joy: Congratulations, General, your family has two more freaks with five arms and ten legs.”

Li Buyan’s sigh was even heavier: “Huang Qi, your brain isn’t just oxygen-deprived—it’s much worse than that.”

Huang Qi: “Then what’s it lacking?”

Li Buyan: “Everything.”

Huang Qi: “…”

After a brief silence.

Huang Qi, who was lacking everything, slapped the table and said through gritted teeth: “Then what brilliant idea does Miss Li have?”

Li Buyan’s tone was very steady: “Could it be that one of the twins was switched?”

Huang Qi: “Switched?”

Ding Yi: “Switched?”

Zhu Qing: “Switched?”

After a long silence.

Ding Yi made an “mm” sound: “I think switching is most likely.”

Huang Qi made an “mm” sound: “Twins generally look very much alike.”

Zhu Qing also followed with an “mm” sound: “Afraid others would notice something amiss, they could only lie about bringing misfortune and lock them up accordingly.”

After an even longer silence.

Ding Yi’s voice was puzzled: “But why switch them for no good reason?”

Huang Qi’s fingers tapped the table: “Whose child was switched?”

Zhu Qing murmured lowly: “It should be some important personage’s child, otherwise why hide it so thoroughly?”

Li Buyan suddenly slapped the table, her tone becoming urgent: “You three, quickly guess—which important personage?”

In the outer room, there was no more sound.

Separated by a wall in the study, Yan Sanhe slowly curled her lips in the darkness.

Look.

The timing came just right—neither early nor late.

Xie Zhifei looked at the cold smile at the corner of her lips, and somehow his heart ached faintly.

This girl was truly clever.

With Granny Lai’s death, the twins’ lead was completely severed. No matter how she guided them, there was no way to direct everyone’s attention toward the deposed Crown Prince’s residence.

Regardless of the black-clothed figure’s purpose, he was someone in the know, an excellent breakthrough point.

“Yan Sanhe, how do you plan to capture him alive?”

“Use a stratagem.”

“What stratagem?”

“Jiang Taigong fishing—willing fish take the bait!”

…

The next day, early morning.

The flower hall.

With Granny Lai’s death, everyone in the separate residence became dispirited. Even the usually carefree Lady Li wore a worried expression.

The breakfast meal felt like attending a funeral.

Xie Zhifei couldn’t help himself and heavily placed his chopsticks on the table: “Why is everyone so dejected? Perk up, all of you.”

Pei Xiao glanced at him: “How can we perk up? All the leads are broken.”

“Broken what? Broken where?”

Xie Zhifei: “Didn’t that Granny Lai say before she died that the wet nurses and maids were all driven out? Why were they driven out?”

“That’s right.”

Young Master Pei found it strange too.

“A wet nurse in a wealthy household isn’t an easy position to obtain—they investigate your ancestors back eight generations. To suddenly drive them out—where would you find good ones on short notice?”

Yan Sanhe’s heart stirred: “Third Master?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll go find Cai Si right away.”

Xie Zhifei turned his head: “Zhu Qing, you go find Han Yong. Ding Yi, return to the Military Patrol Bureau and check the population registers. I don’t believe we can’t find even one of those two wet nurses.”

The population registers contained the names of everyone alive in the capital—the Military Patrol Bureau had one copy, the Ministry of Revenue had another.

“Wait.”

Pei Xiao stopped Xie Zhifei as he stood up, asking somewhat uncertainly: “Sanhe, will finding the wet nurses be useful?”

“The people who nursed the twins—do you think they’d be useful?”

“Since they’d be useful, we need to be extra careful and protect that person well. We can’t add another death.”

Pei Xiao: “Xie Wu Shi, don’t rush to find them. Let’s think this through carefully first.”

Xie Zhifei was silent for quite a while, then his voice suddenly lowered: “I think we should handle this matter like this.”

He hooked his finger, and everyone leaned their heads together…

The early summer sun shone on the young people gathered in the room, and also on the person lying motionless on the roof.

That person wore the most ordinary clothes and had the most ordinary face in the world.

That face pressed against the roof tiles, brows tightly furrowed, as if troubled by something.

…

Two days later, at the hour of the Rat.

All was quiet.

No stars, no moon.

A black shadow silently descended into the courtyard.

This was an ordinary family’s residence—just three rooms with an outhouse, even simpler than Chen Pi’s home.

The black shadow unhurriedly circled the courtyard once, then sat down by the well.

He sat quietly for a moment, then stood up with an unperturbed expression, drew a knife from behind him, and walked leisurely toward the door as if strolling in a garden.

He had a habit when killing—if he could use the door, he absolutely wouldn’t break through a window.