After the ghost-hunting master descended the mountain, his fame spread throughout the capital.

Xie Jinchen stood still, his breathing steady, as if the fierce battle just now had not exhausted him much.

His gaze was icy, fixed intently on Cui Yan, his voice so cold it could drip ice, "Where is he?"

Cui Yan paused slightly, looked up at Xie Jinchen, and the smile on his face slowly faded, finally turning into an almost inaudible sigh as he clearly uttered two words:

"He's dead."

The air in the courtyard seemed to freeze instantly.

Xie Jinchen's murderous aura surged suddenly, and he smirked, revealing a cold smile:

"Alright. Then I'll ask another question." He stepped forward, getting closer to Cui Yan, and lowered his voice, "When did you become his person?"

The meaning of "he" is self-evident.

Cui Yan did not avoid Xie Jinchen's piercing gaze. He slowly straightened his body, and the demeanor of a civil official that he had deliberately displayed earlier vanished. When his back was straight, he faintly revealed the unyielding spirit of a military general.

Cui Yan's gaze passed over Xie Jinchen, looking at the sky above the courtyard, cut off by the eaves, as if tracing back to a distant past. His voice was low and deep:

"A long time ago...so long ago, on the day you first entered the Cui family and began learning martial arts from my grandfather."

He withdrew his gaze and looked back at Xie Jinchen, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions—a mixture of scrutiny, reminiscence, and perhaps even a hint of guilt.

"Ah Chen, why do you think the Cui family took you in back then? And why did they tacitly allow me to live and eat with you, study literature and martial arts with you, and even... call you brother?"

Before Xie Jinchen could answer, Cui Yan continued speaking, his tone calm, yet every word was chilling:

"The Cui family has been upright officials for generations, loyal to the royal family, but even more loyal to the country and its people. In the late emperor's later years, when the current emperor was still the crown prince, his true nature... was already revealed."

"Suspicious, mean-spirited, and treating power as a forbidden fruit, he only sees the power struggles of the emperor and has no regard for the common people. The late emperor was benevolent and also saw through him, but unfortunately there was no prince of suitable age to succeed him. Therefore, he left a will and secretly entrusted part of the military power to the Duke of Xie, hoping that he could become a pillar of the country."

"At the same time," Cui Yan paused, "the late emperor also left a secret edict for the Cui family: if one day the current emperor persecutes loyal officials and shakes the foundation of the nation, the Cui family can use this secret edict to contact trusted ministers and former troops in the army to restore order... and set things right!"

Seeing the surging ferocity in Xie Jinchen's eyes, Cui Yan shook his head, his tone becoming more solemn than ever before:

"Ah Chen, rather than saying I am a man of the Duke of Xie, it would be more accurate to say that... the Cui family has always been a man of the late emperor, a man of the wise ruler and the state."

He stepped forward, his gaze intense, carrying the integrity and decisiveness characteristic of aristocratic families:

"If, when the late emperor passed away, Duke Xie had betrayed his loyalty and righteousness and wreaked havoc on the court, my Cui family would have been ordered to take up arms and kill him without regret! The fact that my family allowed me to be your brother back then was also a way to check and balance Duke Xie."

"The loyalty of my Cui family for generations is not limited to one family or one surname, but extends to the peace and prosperity of the world and the happiness of the people!"

Cui Yan took a deep breath and continued, "As early as when His Majesty was obsessed with magic and blindly trusted the Imperial Preceptor and the Protectorate Temple, my Cui family had already sensed that the fate of the nation was in jeopardy, the relationship between the emperor and his ministers was strained, and that a break was inevitable."

"And before leaving yesterday, the Duke left only one instruction: support the Crown Prince and rectify the court."

Cui Yan's gaze fell on Xie Jinchen's clenched fist, his voice heavy:

"So, Ah Chen, you have no choice. If the Xie family falls, the next one to fall will be the Cui family, who also know the late emperor's will and hold sway over public opinion! Even more so, anyone who might threaten that supreme imperial power!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchen abruptly closed his eyes.

The words Xie Dai had once said to him now floated into his mind with unparalleled clarity:

【Chen'er, when I was your age, I also believed that people's hearts could be calculated and worldly affairs could be schemed. I thought I could see the game clearly and have my opponent in the palm of my hand.】

It turns out that Xie Dai had already seen through the endgame of this game, and even... he himself was a pawn that the opponent had placed early on.

"Heh..." Xie Jinchen chuckled softly, the laughter reverberating from his chest, tinged with self-mockery.

He opened his eyes, the turbulent emotions within them gradually settling into a bottomless, icy pool, and whispered:

"Xie Dai... I admit, you are a very good player."

He had a keen understanding of human nature and a keen grasp of the times.

Cui Yan watched as the last trace of struggle in Xie Jinchen's eyes faded into silence, knowing that the time had come.

Without another word, he took out the gleaming bright yellow imperial edict from his sleeve and presented it with both hands:

"This is His Majesty's secret decree ordering me to execute the Duke and capture the Crown Prince. Crown Prince, please make your choice!"

Just then, a slightly cool hand covered Xie Jinchen's tightly clenched hand.

Jiang Dusheng had walked up to him without him noticing. He didn't say anything, but just looked at him quietly.

Xie Jinchen turned his hand around and gripped her hand tightly. The icy touch strangely calmed the restlessness in his heart.

He stared at the blinding bright yellow scroll. "If I'm not mistaken, rumors are already flying through Changling City. The contents of this secret edict, along with the news of my father's tragic death, must have been circulating everywhere by now."

Cui Yan straightened up and met his gaze frankly: "That's right. My grandfather is currently in Changling, contacting old friends and disciples, and secretly making arrangements."

"News of His Majesty's persecution of loyal officials, along with a copy of this secret edict, has spread like wildfire. The upright officials of the court and the old guard in the army are all watching. Now, everything is ready—"

He paused, his gaze fixed intently on Xie Jinchen's face: "We only lack the east wind from you, Your Highness. An east wind that, in the name of the Heir Apparent of the Duke of Xie, with the pain of blood ties and the hatred of family and country, will purge the court of corrupt officials and rectify the government!"

Xie Jinchen raised his eyes and looked at the blood-red setting sun in the west. His gaze was tinged with a dark gold, and the turbulent emotions within him finally subsided.

"Alright. Now that the curtain has been raised and the drums have sounded... I'll stay with you and sing to the very end."

Three days later, outside Qingzhou City, at Shili Slope.

The terrain here is slightly elevated, offering a wide view, and it was originally an ordinary resting place beside the official road.

Now, however, it has become a temporary mourning hall.

There was no coffin.

Because Xie Dai was killed by a hail of arrows and his body was destroyed to cover up the crime, in the end only a few pieces of blood-stained broken armor, half a broken sword, and a jade pendant of the Xie family head that had been trampled and defiled were recovered.

The mourning hall was extremely simple, surrounded by plain white linen, with a memorial tablet placed in the center.

Before the memorial tablet, wisps of smoke curled from the incense burner, where the blood-stained armor plates, broken sword, and jade pendant were offered.

Apart from that, the emptiness was more shocking than any lavish offering.

The atmosphere was somber and mournful.

Outside the mourning hall, a dense crowd of people stood.

There were Qingzhou citizens who came spontaneously to pay their respects, and former members of the Northern Army who rushed over upon hearing the news. They were still in their armor, covered in dust, with red eyes and trembling fists.

Xie Jinchen was dressed in coarse hemp clothing, with a hemp turban tied around his forehead.

He knelt on the prayer mat in front of the memorial tablet, his face cold and stern, his thin lips tightly pressed together. All his former unruliness and nonchalance had vanished, leaving only grief and solemnity.

Her peach blossom eyes were slightly red, and her eyes were bloodshot, but she did not shed a tear.

Jiang Dusheng stood quietly to his side, slightly behind. She was also dressed in plain white linen clothes without any decoration, without any makeup, and her black hair was tied up with only a wooden hairpin.

Her gaze swept across the sea of ​​people outside the mourning hall. The cinnabar birthmark between her brows stood out starkly against the pure white backdrop, like a jade Guanyin statue standing guard by her side.