Where had Li Buyan gone?

She had rushed back to the side room to check on that incense stick.

The incense had burned down another section, leaving only, only…

One-third remaining!!!

How to describe Li Buyan’s expression at this moment?

It should be more horrifying than seeing a ghost. Her knees went soft on the spot, nearly kneeling before this “incense.”

The case was investigated wrongly, yet the incense had burned down a large section.

There was no time left.

Not a bit of time left.

Li Buyan set the bundle aside and rushed back to the study. To her surprise, both Zhao Yishi and Xie Zhifei were already gone.

“Where is the Crown Prince?”

Pei Xiao sat very inelegantly on the threshold, head hanging. “Someone from the Crown Prince’s residence came, saying the palace urgently needed him.”

“What about Third Master?”

“Said he was going to keep Yan Sanhe company.”

Pei Xiao looked up: “By the way, where did you just go? You ran so fast, disappeared in the blink of an eye.”

Li Buyan sat down beside him and said in a low voice: “I went to check on the incense. It’s burned down a large section. This is very bad, Young Master Pei.”

Pei Xiao’s face changed, and he suddenly began coughing violently, choked by his own saliva.

He coughed until the world spun, finally stopping, gasping for breath. “Not one thing is going smoothly. This life is unlivable.”

Li Buyan nudged his foot.

“Young Master Pei, your brain is good. Tell me, where did we go wrong with this heart demon? Why couldn’t either Yan Sanhe or His Highness the Crown Prince light the incense?”

“…”

Pei Xiao swallowed the words stuck in his throat.

What he didn’t say was: You’re overestimating me. Even Yan Sanhe doesn’t know, how could I?

Li Buyan also knew she was being unreasonable, saying worriedly: “What do we do next?”

“What do we do? Keep investigating. How long did we investigate the Crow’s heart demon?”

Pei Xiao snorted coldly: “Besides, you need to trust Yan Sanhe. Who is she? A spirit medium! Tell me yourself, is there a heart demon she can’t resolve?”

There really wasn’t!

Li Buyan touched her nose. Young Master Pei usually spoke the most pessimistic words, and when something happened, no one shouted louder than him.

Had he changed his nature now?

Why were his words so pleasant to hear?

…

Young Master Pei had clearly overestimated Yan Sanhe.

That scene of the candle flame extinguishing was like a ball of cotton blocking her breathing.

In her mind, she went over the Zheng family matter again and again, re-examining it repeatedly. The result was always three words—no mistake.

An unprecedented sense of defeat surged up. Yan Sanhe walked to a long wooden bench and collapsed onto it, bending over, burying her face in her palms.

Not far away, Xie Zhifei stopped in his tracks. In the darkness, he seemed to smile.

Yan Sanhe rarely showed such weakness. Even after resolving the Crow’s heart demon, when living idle on Muli Mountain, she maintained an invulnerable appearance.

Yet this current weakness was because of the Zheng family.

At this moment, Xie Zhifei believed there must be cause and effect in worldly matters. The Zheng family was destroyed because of her, and she would certainly clear the Zheng family’s grievances.

He walked over and sat down on the bench.

Yan Sanhe lifted her head from her palms. He promptly grasped her hand and held it in his palm. “You think your thoughts. I’ll just keep you company. It won’t get in the way.”

His expression was too calm, so calm that Yan Sanhe felt embarrassed to chase him away.

He truly was just keeping company;

Truly didn’t say a word;

Even inexplicably brought peace of mind.

Yan Sanhe’s mind began churning again, fine and dense, layer upon layer, as if a hand were painstakingly pushing through layer after layer of fog, searching for what was hidden deepest inside.

After who knows how long, a “gurgle” interrupted her thoughts.

Turning her head, Xie Zhifei looked helpless: “Don’t blame me. We’ve been sitting here for a full two hours.”

That long?

Yan Sanhe quickly stood up. “Let’s go eat.”

“No rush.”

He gently pulled her back. “We’re already past hungry anyway. Let me help you organize your thoughts.”

“If the other half of the warhorses show no change, the problem lies in the latter part—the old general’s cause of death.”

After two hours, the fog cleared. Yan Sanhe’s thoughts were very clear.

“This matter will be clear once Zhu Qing returns.”

Xie Zhifei stared at her intently, the something in his eyes so intense it was about to overflow.

Yan Sanhe couldn’t bear such a gaze—it was too burning.

“Xie Chengyu, let’s make a bet.”

“I bet the warhorses aren’t better.”

He preempted what she was going to say.

Yan Sanhe could only say helplessly: “Then I’ll bet the warhorses are fine.”

Xie Zhifei: “What’s the wager?”

Yan Sanhe: “You say?”

“Climbing trees.”

Xie Zhifei: “If I win, I climb first; if you win, you climb first.”

Someone actually bet on this?

No, wait.

Yan Sanhe frowned: “Are we climbing the same tree?”

Xie Zhifei smiled lightly, clarifying his meaning.

“Master!”

Several zhang away, Zhu Qing approached, dusty from travel.

Xie Zhifei pulled Yan Sanhe to her feet, released her hand, and asked: “Well?”

Zhu Qing shook his head: “No change. Same as before.”

Having won, Xie Zhifei’s face showed no smile. Instead, his expression grew heavy, a layer of worry in his heart.

Huairen being urgently summoned to the palace at this time—could it be the Tartars in the north causing trouble again?

…

Xie Zhifei had guessed half right.

Indeed, trouble had arisen in the north, but not with the Tartars.

Besides the Tartars, the north had two other tribes: one was the Oirats, the other the Uriankhai.

Previously, these two tribes were one family, collectively called the Mongols.

Emperor Yonghe and Zheng Yu joined forces to attack Mongolia, achieving great victory and forcing internal division into two tribes.

These two tribes fought over territory constantly, you attacking me, me attacking you, posing no threat to Hua Kingdom.

In recent years, the Oirats gradually gained the upper hand, swallowing considerable territory from the Uriankhai.

Strength accompanied ambition.

The Oirats secretly allied with the Tartars and began attacking cities and seizing land. Black Mountain City, where Old General Zheng died in battle, was captured by the Oirat alliance ten days ago. The garrison troops abandoned the city and fled.

The new Emperor looked at the Crown Prince with a gloomy expression. “Crown Prince, what do you think should be done about this matter?”

What else to do? Naturally, soldiers block generals, water covers earth—send troops to campaign.

Hua Kingdom didn’t lack good generals. The difficulty lay in the warhorses.

Zhao Yishi frowned: “Your Majesty, the Zheng family case should reach the truth very soon. Once the warhorses recover, our Hua warriors will surely fight bravely, recapture Black Mountain City, and protect our mountains and rivers.”

“How soon is very soon? When is ‘once’?”

The new Emperor’s voice was displeased: “Trouble the Crown Prince to give me a definite answer.”

Zhao Yishi could give no answer, could only steel himself: “Your son will certainly do his utmost.”

“Crown Prince!”

The new Emperor suddenly fell silent for a moment, eyes slightly lowered, face showing fatigue.

“This realm is the Zhao family’s realm. You are a Zhao family descendant. Doing your utmost is not enough—you must devote yourself entirely, die exhausted, before you can face our ancestors. Otherwise, what face is there to answer to them?”

A cold current seeped down from the top of his head, even his bones filled with ice shards.

“Your son obeys the decree.”

He used his bowed head to hide the cold smile at the corner of his lips.