The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Seeing that he did not refute, Xiao Yuzhen's smile deepened.

"Don't flatter yourself; you've been crazy since you were a child."

"And I... went mad the day that old man touched me."

She stopped talking abruptly halfway through her sentence.

The night breeze brushed against her temples, stirring up painful memories.

Xiao Yuzhen's tears finally fell.

"You despise me, don't you? But why didn't you save me—"

"You could have gone to the Xiao family to propose marriage before the imperial decree! You could have married me!"

"When it comes to being cold-blooded and ruthless, how can I compare to you!"

She cried so hard that her whole body trembled, and suddenly pulled a silk doll out of her bosom.

It was the very one that Master Longchuan was forced to make.

Pei Yan's pupils contracted sharply, but he quickly suppressed them, his expression remaining calm as before.

Xiao Yuzhen clutched it in her hand and rubbed it frantically.

"Didn't you say you could empathize with dolls?"

She rubbed it a few times, then eagerly looked up to see Pei Yan's reaction.

Pei Yan remained expressionless, even slowly lowering his eyes to look at the long box that had fallen to the ground.

Tears still clung to Xiao Yuzhen's eyes, but her features gradually contorted.

"Why isn't there any response... Why aren't you responding!"

She slammed the doll to her feet, then raised her foot and stomped on it hard.

At that very moment, Pei Yan clutched his chest, his body arched, and a muffled groan escaped his throat.

Xiao Yuzhen paused for a moment, looked down at her feet, then looked up at Pei Yan, and then grinned.

The laughter was initially faint, then it spread out, carrying a sense of madness.

"Ha...hahahahaha! It's actually true! That old Taoist priest really does have some skill!"

To confirm, she stomped her feet twice more.

Pei Yan's face turned pale, layer upon layer, and cold sweat silently trickled down his temples.

His right knee was almost kneeling down, but his right hand kept pinching the muscles at the base of his thigh.

Xiao Yuzhen finally stopped, bent down to pick up the doll, and examined it from all angles, unable to suppress the smile on her lips.

Fearing that Pei Yan would try to snatch it, he immediately turned around and casually tossed the doll behind him.

Her bodyguard caught it silently.

Under the moonlight, Pei Yan slowly straightened up, holding his breath in his chest for a long time before finally exhaling.

The doll is fake.

But Xiao Yuzhen didn't know.

He came tonight with the painting "Picking Lotus Flowers".

The scroll contains crucial evidence he has been gathering over the past few days.

Xiao Yuzhen raised a private army, colluded with palace eunuchs, lent money at exorbitant interest rates outside the capital, and secretly courted officials.

Each and every one of these incidents is enough to kill her three times over!

His original plan was to present the scroll to the emperor under the guise of a Lantern Festival gift.

But now—

Xiao Yuzhen has not only gone mad, but she also wants to drag hundreds of people from the Xiao and Pei families down with her.

If I had known, I shouldn't have taken advantage of her back then.

Pei Yan closed his eyes.

He still hasn't paid back what he owes his brother.

His grandmother is still waiting for him to return to Songhe Garden.

Jiang Guo'er was carrying his child...

He bent down and picked up the long box from the ground.

She took out a hairpin and writing brush, and wrote in her palm: 【Yuzhen, you're right.】

Xiao Yuzhen's tears were still clinging to her eyelashes when she heard this and suddenly looked up.

We are truly on the same path.

Pei Yan tucked the long box under his arm, his gaze calmly passing over Xiao Yuzhen's head and landing in some unseen corner.

I will go to Baiyun Mountain to worship Buddha on the 15th of March.

We'll discuss this in more detail later.

Having said that, the hem of his crimson and gold-embroidered python robe swept across the withered branches on the ground, and he turned and disappeared into the deeper darkness.

Xiao Yuzhen watched his retreating figure with lingering affection, her steps slowing as she unconsciously followed him, only to stop again.

Suddenly, I stepped on something.

It's soft and has a unique fragrance.

She crouched down, picked it up, and took a look.

Sachet?

Did Pei Yan drop it?

The workmanship is exquisite, and the stitching is unique, but it is not the established style in the palace.

The fragrance was also not commonly found in the palace.

Xiao Yuzhen glanced in the direction Pei Yan had left, and a slow smile spread across her face.

He then tucked the small sachet into his sleeve.

After returning to his residence, Pei Yan first went to Songhe Garden to pay his respects to the old lady, and then returned to his inner room.

Xue Lingyi was so nervous that she was afraid he would stay overnight, so she kept trying to find things to talk about.

When asked about the palace banquet, he also mentioned Jiang Guo'er's diet and daily life that day.

Pei Yan nodded, then suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

Before you went to your maternal grandparents' house, did you know all the noble ladies in the capital?

Xue Lingyi's heart skipped a beat.

"Most of those my age are people I know... Why does Your Excellency ask this?"

Pei Yan wanted to find out more about Murong Shunshun, but dared not speak directly.

The case of the Marquis of Dingyuan's family colluding with the enemy and betraying the country is an ironclad case personally determined by the Emperor. It is really strange that he suddenly mentioned the people of the Marquis of Dingyuan's family.

I have a good friend, General Sima Di, who guards the frontier. Four years ago, at the Lantern Festival... he fell in love at first sight with a girl... and has been asking me to find her ever since.

I have no other clues, only this painting.

He took the "Lotus Picking Picture" out of the long box and unfolded it on the table.

[Can you tell which noble lady from the capital painted this?]

Xue Lingyi felt as if a bucket of water had been overturned, her heart filled with turmoil.

I only glanced at it twice before subconsciously taking a half-step to the side.

How could she not recognize her?

This is clearly Shunshun's handwriting! But why is Shunshun's painting in Pei Yan's hands?

Xue Lingyi clenched her hands resting on her knees, her palms already sweating.

Should she tell the truth or a lie?

Was it General Xuanwu Sima Di who fell in love with Shunshun at first sight, or was it Pei Yan himself?

Pei Yan's expression was too calm, so calm it was unsettling. Xue Lingyi had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak:

"I was only ten years old when I met them, and this painting... shouldn't have been painted by a ten-year-old girl."

Pei Yan nodded.

She must have been fourteen years old at that time.

You know so much about it!

Xue Lingyi was terrified, but she had to maintain a composed facade. "Does General Xuanwu remember what this girl looks like?"

Pei Yan nodded, then shook his head.

He only said that the girl had extremely beautiful eyes, like luminous pearls from afar. She had a small black mole on her little finger, but that was all he knew.

Xue Lingyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Shunshun had already removed the mole on her little finger herself.

"This is not a good idea... Look at the strokes of this brush, they are somewhat like... the habits of... the legitimate daughter of the former Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion... Murong Shunshun."

"How about we wait until spring arrives and the flowers bloom, and I host a spring banquet to invite all the eligible young ladies from various noble families to test the waters?"

Pei Yan was stunned.

What did you say?

"I said, when spring arrives and the flowers bloom, we will hold a spring banquet..."

[Previous sentence!]

Xue Lingyi held her breath.

"I say, the strokes and pressure of this brush resemble those of Murong Shunshun, the legitimate daughter of the former Marquis of Dingyuan."

Pei Yan didn't speak, but slowly closed his eyes.

Could it really be her?

How can he face his brother in the afterlife?

There were doubts about the case involving the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion, but for some reason, he did not argue his case.

He dared not think too deeply about it.

If the Marquis of Dingyuan's family was truly wronged, would his elder brother still acknowledge him as his younger brother in the underworld?

No, he must get to the bottom of this!

The candlelight flickered gently beside him, partially illuminating his profile in light and partially shrouding it in darkness.

Xue Lingyi saw his Adam's apple move slightly, then stop moving.

It was an expression she had never seen before.

It wasn't grief, but something deeper, something I couldn't process immediately, like a twilight that silently pressed down.

Pei Yan's eyes even showed a hint of moisture.

Xue Lingyi was greatly alarmed.

Good heavens—Pei Yan's beloved is truly Shun Shun!