good season

The person in front of me is my future brother-in-law. There are some things that he will find out later, even if I don't say them now.

It's better to tell him yourself, the person involved, than to find out from someone else at that time.

Just as she was about to speak, Zhao Shiqing had a sudden thought. How could she forget that Master Yan was from the Ministry of Justice?

Have you heard of the massacre at Zhuxitang, Qinglu County, Luzhou Prefecture, Wu region?

Yan Xia thought for a moment and asked, "Is it possible that a family has been missing for many years, and everyone who knows them mistakenly believes that they went to another place to seek medical treatment for their daughter, but in fact they were murdered ten years ago, and their bodies were found not far from the village?"

Yan Xia knew it as expected.

Such a big case is not only a major case in the small county of Qinglu, but also a major case in the entire Wu region. Moreover, the local officials have changed twice in the past ten years, so even if they were to investigate, they would not be able to hold the current one accountable. Therefore, the case was not concealed or suppressed, but was reported all the way to the Ministry of Justice.

However, like many unsolved cases, this case was shelved in the Ministry of Justice, and everyone tacitly agreed that it could not be solved.

Yan Xia also saw it in the criminal records room. Despite his poor academic performance, he had a photographic memory for case files. Therefore, when Zhao Shiqing mentioned this case, Yan Xia remembered it after a little thought.

"What does this case have to do with this matter?" Yan Xia asked.

Zhao Shiqing: "I am the little girl in the case who went to another place with her family to seek medical treatment. My family was wiped out, my closest relatives died, and I was dug out of the mass grave by a pack of wild dogs. Later, I was sold to Liangdi, but I was lucky enough to be rescued by my father and raised."

Yan Xia gasped. No wonder his sister-in-law made him sit down, lest he be startled and unable to stand.

"But you still haven't said how that case is related to this one?"

Zhao Shiqing said, "Four people were killed: my parents and grandmother, and another person, Dr. Yang, who was staying at my house. My village is called Zhuxitang."

The victim, who was sleeping in the room, was named Lin Xian. His family had lived in Zhushan'ao for generations. Zhushan'ao was very close to Zhuxitang. At the time of the incident, he was studying at a private school in Baifengcheng.

He had a classmate who lived in Zhuxitang. He often hitched a ride home on that classmate's mule cart and had even eaten at the classmate's house.

But at that time he didn't know that the mule cart he hitched a ride on belonged to my family, that my father was driving it, and that the classmate's house he visited was actually my house.

Because his classmate was staying at my house with his grandfather, who was also the other deceased in this case, Dr. Yang, and because this classmate was studying in Baifeng City and rarely came back, he escaped this fate.

Yan Xia narrowed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought: "Is Lin Xian's classmate in the capital now?"

Zhao Shiqing secretly gave Yan Xia a thumbs up in her heart. As expected of a master of criminal investigation, he immediately realized that his classmate was in the capital after she only told him the background.

"After losing contact with his grandfather, that classmate received help from Lin Xian's family. Later, the Lin family moved to Luzhou, and Lin Xian transferred to Luzhou to study. When he left Baifeng City, he gave all his New Year's money to that classmate. That classmate gave him a peace pendant that he had carved himself. The two made a promise to be good friends for life and to take the imperial examinations together to become a scholar, a provincial graduate, and a metropolitan graduate!"
Later, that classmate also left Baifeng City with his adoptive father, and they lost contact from then on.

Last year, or rather, the year before last, Lin Xian failed the provincial examination. His cousin was studying at Huiwen Academy in the capital. As you know, there are some famous academies in Wu, but they are difficult to get into. Although Huiwen Academy is not well-known, it can accept auditors. So Lin Xian traveled a long way to the capital to study.

As luck would have it, he ran into me while eating by the roadside on the day he arrived in Beijing, which is why I recognized him at a glance—this lucky but unlucky fellow was Lin Xian.

Zhao Shiqing paused for a moment, intending to keep Yan Xia in suspense and let her guess who Lin Xian's classmate was, but then she heard Yan Xia ask, "Lin Xian's classmate, is it Yang Shengqiu?"

Now it was Zhao Shiqing's turn to be taken aback.

Her already large eyes were now wide open like copper bells, gleaming with a gossipy light.

"Oh, how did you know that? By the way, how much do you know about Yang Shengqiu? Tell me about it."

Yanxia: Why does my sister-in-law sound like my own mother? Zhao Yunnuan definitely wouldn't be like that, no, definitely not!

Ever since he could remember, he had been battling wits with his mother. Now, with his wedding approaching, if his bride turned out to be just like his mother, well, if that were the case, he seemed to have no choice but to accept his fate.

"The fact that you know Lin Xian's classmate lives in your house means that he must have mentioned that classmate's name to you. You said earlier that you lost contact with that classmate a long time ago, but you still mentioned him to a stranger like you. This means that classmate is quite famous, at least among his classmates, and everyone is proud to be his classmate."

You mentioned that your classmate's grandfather's surname is Yang. Judging from Lin Xian's age, his classmate should be around the same age as him.

Lin Xian was a scholar, and someone who could make a scholar proud must have shone brightly in the imperial examinations.

At this age, and with the surname Yang, I can only think of one person: the top scholar Yang Shengqiu.

Furthermore, Yang Shengqiu is an orphan, which perfectly matches the background of Lin Xian's classmate.

Zhao Shiqing had to admit she was impressed. Good heavens, Yan Xia's brain was definitely not human.

Yes, she is the human brain. She represents the most intelligent part of humanity. So, anything smarter than her is definitely not human. Yes, not human!
Zhao Shiqing decided to write to her sister as soon as she got back today, telling her that Yan Xia was incredibly smart and that her sister should practice martial arts diligently. If all else failed, she should ask Master Murong Xiang to come out of seclusion and give her sister some extra training.

Make sure your sister masters martial arts; no smart person can't be solved with a good beating. If she can't, then she hasn't been beaten enough.

Yan Xia noticed that his sister-in-law's eyes were darting around, and he couldn't guess what she was thinking.

Of course, he never dreamed that his sister-in-law was plotting how to beat him up.

“That’s right, Lin Xian’s classmate was Yang Shengqiu. I advised him not to tell Yang Shengqiu about the massacre of his family. Now look at his fate, he must not have listened to me.”

Yanxia: "You suspect that Yang Shengqiu was the one who tried to kill Lin Xian?"

Zhao Shiqing nodded: "Not only that, I also suspect that Lin Xian's cousin was murdered. By the way, do you know why my father used his connections to send Yang Shengqiu to study in Baifeng City, which is a hundred miles away?"

Yan Xia shook his head. He wasn't a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and before today, his understanding of Yang Shengqiu was limited to the fact that Yang Shengqiu was an orphan from a poor family. Zhao Shiqing said, "When the Yang family grandfather and grandson passed through our village, they fell into the river along with their cart. My father led a group of people to rescue them. At that time, both grandfather and grandson were seriously injured. After they recovered, their bodies were very weak, so my father asked the village headman for help to send Yang Shengqiu to Baifeng City to study. Because that private school not only taught academics but also martial arts, my father wanted Yang Shengqiu to learn some martial arts to strengthen his body."

Yan Xia knew what Zhao Shiqing wanted to say, and he said, "You mean, Yang Shengqiu knows martial arts."

"That's right, he knows martial arts! Although Lin Xian also studied there, he transferred schools later, while Yang Shengqiu stayed with Mr. Xu and even recognized Mr. Xu as his godfather. Mr. Xu is skilled in martial arts, which means that Yang Shengqiu has been practicing martial arts with Mr. Xu all along. Lin Xian was able to climb out of the ice hole to save himself after being seriously injured, which shows that he is not a weak scholar. After all, he has practiced martial arts since childhood and has a foundation. It's just that he is not as good as Yang Shengqiu, who has been practicing martial arts all along."

"Then why would Yang Shengqiu kill him? Lin Xian was able to come to the capital to listen to the proceedings, so he must have some wealth. It doesn't seem like he would be trying to freeload off Yang Shengqiu, does it?" Yan Xia asked, puzzled.

“I was blind when I was a child, which is why there was a rumor that my family took me to another place for medical treatment. In fact, my eyes were almost cured at that time. The doctor who treated my eyes was Dr. Yang, who was once a royal physician.”

Brother-in-law, you're a smart man. Think big, think boldly. Don't just look at what's in front of you, and don't just look at what's far away. Look up and look up too.

As Zhao Shiqing spoke, she stretched out a finger and pointed it towards the sky.

Yan Xia's breathing suddenly stopped. He looked at Zhao Shiqing and asked abruptly, "Ten years ago?"

Zhao Shiqing: "It's been twelve years."

Yan Xia looked at Zhao Shiqing with a deep gaze and suddenly said out of the blue, "Brother-in-law will give you lucky money every year from now on."

Zhao Shiqing was overjoyed and wanted to ask: Will you still give it to me when I'm seventy or eighty?

But Yanxia had already turned and gone inside.

Yan Xia didn't deny it, which meant he admitted it. Zhao Shiqing decided that when she was seventy or eighty years old and her hair was white, she would go to her sister's house with a cane to ask her brother-in-law for New Year's money. If he dared not give it to her, she would speak ill of him and encourage her sister to beat him up.
That evening, Lin Xian was secretly taken away by Yan Xia, who repeatedly instructed Old Wang and the group of beggars not to mention the matter again.

Old Wang had run a shop in the capital for many years. When he heard people calling Yan Xia "Great Hero Yan," he knew he was in trouble.

Even if Yanxia told him not to tell anyone, he wouldn't say anything. He would keep it to himself and would rather die than tell anyone.

As for those beggars, Broken Stone Brothers patted their chests and guaranteed that they would keep a close eye on them and would not utter a single word.

The Broken Stone Brothers are members of the imperial clan. Their grandfather lived a long and successful life, and through his teachings, they would never do anything foolish.

Yanxia left with his men, and the others agreed to meet at Baisui Teahouse in a few days before returning home.

When Zhao Shiqing returned home, she realized that she had talked with her brother-in-law Yan for so long, but forgot to ask about the progress of the investigation into Prefect Huang's case.

It will be difficult to see Yan Xia again. Just as Yan Shiyi said, Yan Xia is very busy. It depends on fate for his family members to see Yan Xia.

Zhao Shiqing didn't forget to write to her sister, telling her everything about meeting Yanxia that day. She even asked her sister to remember it for her, as Yanxia said she would give her lucky money every year from now on.

Although the Liang Prince's Mansion had its own messengers, the journey was long, and Zhao Shiqing didn't know when her sister would see her letter.

At this moment, Zhao Yunnuan had just received a letter from Yan Xia.

This is the fifth letter Yanxia sent her.

Each of Yan Xia's letters consisted of only a few lines, written in plain language, and described what he was doing.

For example, in this letter, Yan Xia said that he was out handling a case. This was the closest he had ever been to Liangdi. The case was a bit tricky. Two of his men were injured, but fortunately, their lives were not in danger. However, he had originally planned to return to the capital before the New Year, but now it seemed that it would be two or three days later. He had a large family, and they would all get together for the New Year, setting off a lot of firecrackers and fireworks, which was very lively.

The entire letter contained not a single greeting; it was simply a report of the itinerary.

Zhao Yunnuan folded the letter again and put it in the envelope. A smile appeared on her lips. Her younger sister also said that the Yan family was a big family, but they had long since separated and lived their own lives. However, the family members were very loving and united.

Zhao Yunnuan couldn't imagine what it would be like. There were also some large families in Liangdu that hadn't separated yet, but intrigue and backstabbing were rampant.

Zhao Yunnuan was disgusted by these things. The Liang Prince's Mansion already had Nie Qionghua, who was already quite annoying. Nie Shi was no pushover either. Fortunately, now that Meng Xiaotang was here, and Zhao Yunnuan's marriage had been arranged, Nie Shi no longer targeted her as before. She only focused on dealing with Meng Xiaotang. Unfortunately, Meng Xiaotang was too clever, and Nie Shi had already been defeated. Now she placed all her hopes on Zhao Tingxuan and longed for his return.

Thinking of all this, Zhao Yunnuan called over a nanny and asked, "How has the old princess been these past two days?"

The old lady said, "The day before yesterday, the old princess was unwell. The imperial physician saw her and said there was nothing seriously wrong, but the old princess still said she couldn't eat. After hearing this, the princess sent Chen and Hu to serve the old princess her meals, and the old princess ate well."

Zhao Yunnuan nodded. See? She had no choice but to cause trouble, and she had no ability. Meng Xiaotang sent someone over, and she obediently ate her meal.

Zhao Yunnuan dismissed the old woman and opened another letter.

This letter came from someone she sent from the capital.

The letter told her that Fan Qiuyun had entered the palace as a lady-in-waiting, but there was a hidden reason: Fan Qiuyun was having an affair with the Third Prince, and she was brought into the palace only to cover up their affair.

Zhao Yunnuan gave a cold laugh and said, "Change your clothes, I'll go see my brother."

Recently, there was another happy event at the Liang Prince's Mansion: Meng Xiaotang became pregnant.

Emperor Yongjia once issued an imperial edict ordering Zhao Tinghan to have children as soon as possible, since there was a large group of imperial children in the capital waiting to be adopted by Zhao Tinghan as his sons.

However, Zhao Tinghan had been living in Wangling for a long time, so it was only a year after Meng Xiaotang married into the family that the good news came out.

This matter was kept secret until the Lunar New Year, when it finally came to light. The reason Madam Nie fell ill again was because she heard this news. (End of Chapter)