In the rear garden, lanterns cast a ghostly light.

An altar table, an incense burner, two candlesticks, and three plates of melons and fruits had already been prepared.

In the distance, Lu Da stood with his ears perked up, intently listening to the movements around them.

Nearby, Li Buyan stood beside the altar, her expression somewhat dazed.

The Zheng family’s heart demon was about to be resolved by lighting the incense?

So fast!

How could there be no difficulty at all?

After a simple bath, Yan Sanhe changed into a moon-white robe.

She estimated that Zhao Yishi had already finished bathing and was waiting for Shen Chong. Given Shen Chong’s pace, he should arrive quickly—she didn’t have much time to delay.

In all her years, aside from Yan Xing, Yan Sanhe had rarely felt guilt in her heart.

But at this moment, standing before the altar, what surged up continuously was only guilt.

She very much wanted to meet the old general somewhere and ask him directly—

What kind of bewitching potion did Zhao Rongyu feed you to make you protect his orphan so steadfastly, even going so far as to seek out Yan Xing, and causing the Zheng family’s destruction? Was it worth it?

Was it truly worth it?

“Give me the incense.”

Li Buyan pulled the incense from the bundle. “Eh, why is there only one stick left?”

“Perhaps all the heart demons in this world have been resolved by me.”

Yan Sanhe took the incense and stepped forward, bringing it close to the candle flame.

One breath;

Two breaths;

Three breaths…

The incense head showed no reaction whatsoever.

Had she spoken too soon? Li Buyan grew nervous. “Sanhe, what’s going on?”

Yan Sanhe was instantly stunned, her complexion suddenly pale.

The incense wouldn’t light—did that mean she wasn’t the incense lighter?

But why?

Yan Sanhe had no time to think deeply. “Send the incense to Zhao Yishi immediately and have him try lighting it.”

“What about you?”

“I…”

Yan Sanhe’s eyes showed confusion.

She didn’t know.

Didn’t know where the problem lay.

Could it be that Zhao Yishi was the only incense lighter?

“Let’s go together. If I go alone, he might become suspicious.”

Though Li Buyan was shocked inside, the string in her mind remained taut. She had even written herself a slogan: Guard against fire, theft, and the imperial clan.

Yan Sanhe: “Let’s go then.”

The two walked to Lu Da’s side. Yan Sanhe didn’t hide anything. “The incense won’t light. Take down the altar first.”

Lu Da nodded without asking why the incense wouldn’t light, and headed toward the altar.

…

In the study courtyard, Shen Chong was attending to the Crown Prince’s change of clothes.

Xie Zhifei and Pei Xiao stood nearby.

It must be said, Huairen’s appearance was truly outstanding. Nine out of ten men wearing sandalwood would appear frivolous, but Huairen carried it steadily.

Zhu Qing’s voice rang out beyond the beaded curtain. “Third Master, Miss Yan has arrived.”

Xie Zhifei’s heart sank, and his long arm immediately draped over Pei Xiao’s shoulder.

Actually, there was no need to drape—Pei Xiao had been calculating the time in his mind all along.

How could the incense possibly be finished so quickly? Most likely, something had gone wrong on Yan Sanhe’s end.

“Your sweetheart has arrived. Why don’t you hurry over to keep her company?”

Pei Xiao swept away Xie Zhifei’s arm and pushed him outward. “Stop having your body here while your heart’s elsewhere, kid.”

Xie Zhifei took the opportunity to leave the room, his gaze quickly meeting Yan Sanhe’s.

Yan Sanhe silently mouthed three words: “Didn’t light it.”

Xie Zhifei’s pupils instantly contracted.

How could this be?

He strode over and lowered his head to whisper in her ear: “Then what do we do?”

Yan Sanhe raised her chin toward the side room: “Watch him. He should be able to.”

These words made Xie Zhifei breathe a long sigh of relief. A string in his mind had been taut all along—that half-burned incense stick in Yan Sanhe’s room.

At this moment, Zhao Yishi emerged. “Miss Yan, what should I do?”

Yan Sanhe handed over the incense. “Light the incense, kneel down, and explain the full story of what happened.”

Zhao Yishi didn’t take it, but asked somewhat uncertainly: “Should I… apologize on his behalf?”

Apologize?

Wasn’t that too light?

Yan Sanhe sneered inwardly, though her expression showed no emotion. “That’s up to you.”

Zhao Yishi took a deep breath and accepted the incense.

At this moment, Pei Xiao had already moved next to Xie Zhifei, his hand gripping Xie Zhifei’s arm forcefully.

He was nervous.

The incense on Yan Sanhe’s end hadn’t lit, so the Zheng family’s heart demon could only rest its hopes on Zhao Yishi. Heaven protect them, it had to light, it had to light!

Li Buyan, Zhu Qing, and the others also quietly moved closer, their expressions more tense than the last.

A dark cloud covered the bright moon, and the world suddenly became dim.

There wasn’t a breath of wind in the courtyard. Summer insects stopped their calls.

In the deathly silence, Zhao Yishi raised his arm and, with a slight tremor, brought the incense close to the candle flame.

Suddenly, the flame flickered, then with a “puff” went out.

Huang Qi was so frightened his body shrank, and he jumped behind Zhu Qing, cold sweat instantly streaming down.

Mother!

My dear mother!

Not only wouldn’t the incense light, but how could… how could even the candle flame be extinguished?

Zhao Yishi was clearly also frightened by this scene. His hand loosened, the incense fell to the ground with a clatter, and he asked in a trembling voice:

“Miss, Miss Yan, what does this mean?”

Yan Sanhe’s eyes filled with disbelief, an indescribable terror slowly rising from the depths of her heart.

Even the candle flame had gone out?

This had never happened before.

Why?

“We may have truly investigated the wrong heart demon.” She murmured.

“Wrong? Where is it wrong?”

Pei Xiao raised his hand and vigorously rubbed his face.

“Old General Zheng hid the late Crown Prince’s orphan. After the expedition, the Emperor discovered this and in his fury exterminated the entire Zheng family and forced Zheng Yu to die on the battlefield. Where is the mistake? Yan Sanhe, tell me where the mistake is!”

Yes, where was the mistake?

Clearly the cause, process, and result all matched.

Moreover, this heart demon wasn’t based solely on her deduction—there was also the witness Yan Xi.

This shouldn’t be happening!

“Zhu Qing.”

“Miss Yan.”

“Go to the Bu Family Army immediately and check on the warhorses’ condition.”

“Yes!”

Yan Sanhe bent down to pick up the incense and handed it back to Li Buyan. “I also need to walk alone for a while. Don’t follow me.”

Li Buyan put the incense back in the bundle, her eyes signaling to Xie Zhifei: Really not following her?

Xie Zhifei’s expression at this moment could no longer be described as merely difficult.

He snatched the bundle from Li Buyan’s hands, undid it in a few moves, pulled out that stick of incense, and without a word brought it toward the other candle flame to light it.

“Third Master, what are you doing?” Li Buyan cried out in alarm.

“Xie Fifty, what incense are you lighting?” Pei Xiao shouted.

The candle flame flickered several times, then with another “puff” went out.

Xie Zhifei was so shocked he staggered back several steps, his voice as hollow as if it were drifting from the netherworld.

“I just wanted to test whether the candle flame was blown out by wind. Now I know—it wasn’t!”

“You nearly scared me to death.”

Pei Xiao snatched the incense from his hand and returned it to Li Buyan. Turning his head, he discovered Huairen standing there rigidly, face deathly pale, forehead covered in a layer of fine cold sweat.

Why was everyone acting strange?

“Huairen.”

Pei Xiao spoke dryly: “Don’t panic either. There’s still time. As long as we work together…”

Halfway through his words, from the corner of his eye he noticed Li Buyan had vanished in a flash.

What was wrong with that person now?

Pei Xiao thought to himself that he was about to be driven mad by all of them.