When Zhan Xinjia rushed back to the Imperial College, the sun had not yet set.

She had only spent about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea running around, and she didn't know what Lord Shen was doing yet. Bored, she leisurely walked towards Andingmen.

Earlier, Master Shen told her to wait here...

Never mind, let's go buy some food first!

——

Inside, incense smoke curled up from the burner, rising in the shape of cranes and clouds.

Wen Zhizhou stroked his beard with an air of nonchalance. Although his temples were gray, his eyes were exceptionally clear and sharp, and he was full of energy.

"Lord Shen doesn't seem to have come here specifically to play chess with me. Seeing how serious your expression is, just ask whatever you want."

A woman standing nearby brought out freshly brewed tea and stood guard with a tray in her arms.

Staring at the tea leaves floating and unfurling in the light brown tea in his cup, Shen Suqing pondered silently for a moment before speaking.

"I have only been in the capital for three or four years and know nothing about why the Zhan family moved nine years ago. But Lord Wen has been in the capital for decades, so he should know some of the inside story, right?"

Shen Suqing had wanted to investigate this matter for a long time.

It all started when he was kidnapped by the people of Lanjiang and passed by the old residence of the general's mansion in the suburbs.

Moving is a normal thing, but what he saw at the time was clearly a pile of ruins left after the General's Mansion was burned to the ground. Even the plaque was broken. It was hard to imagine how big the fire must have been to burn such a large mansion down to just an empty shell.

Even after nearly ten years, you can still smell a faint burning smell in the air when you pass by, which is enough to show how terrible the fire was back then.

This matter originally had nothing to do with him, but since it was related to Ah Zhi, he had to have a general idea in mind beforehand.

After all, this fire didn't seem like an accident; rather, it seemed like someone wanted to cover something up and simply burned everything to the ground.

Wen Zhizhou was surprised by the question raised by Shen Suqing.

In his view, this young Lord Shen had absolutely no connection with the Zhan family, so why would he suddenly be interested in this matter?

Under Shen Suqing's gaze, Wen Zhizhou's hand holding the teacup trembled.

Whether it was a sigh or a lament, the smile on his face froze, gradually faded, and finally turned into a look of pity.

"Some things are better left unknown; they're all old news."

“Lord Wen, the reason I have come to see you must be because I have a reason that I must know.”

"Lord Shen, it's not that I'm hiding something and don't want to talk about it, but the Emperor himself issued an edict to keep this information confidential and not allow anyone to mention it again. I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to know."

Even though he said that, Wen Zhizhou had always been aware of Shen Suqing's character and was not afraid that the young man had any ulterior motives.

Furthermore, so many years have passed, how could there possibly be any more trouble or controversy?

It's better to give him face.

With a sigh, Wen Zhizhou looked out the window, his thoughts drifting back to many years ago.

"I didn't witness this myself, but I've heard about it from others..."

At that time, General Zhan was still stationed at the border. By the way, Lord Shen, do you know Nanjun?

"Nanjun?"

He frowned deeply.

He vaguely remembered that this was a small country that had been trampled by General Zhan's iron cavalry many years ago.

Because it bordered the Great Sheng Dynasty, Nanjun had caused a lot of turmoil by burning, killing and looting along the border in its early years. After being defeated and becoming a vassal state of the Great Sheng Dynasty, it gradually calmed down and eventually made peace.

Because of its small size and poor conditions, coupled with the language barrier, the emperor at the time had no interest in Nanjun and simply ignored it.

To this day, the ruler of Nanjun is still a puppet emperor with no real power. There has been no news of him in recent years, but he still sends a lot of tribute every year.

What does this have to do with Nanjun?

Sipping his tea, Wen Zhizhou continued his story.

"When General Zhan broke through the outer city of Nanjun and the news of the victory was sent back to the capital, everyone was overjoyed. No one expected that the remnants of the Nanjun forces who had been lying dormant in the capital for many years would suddenly make their move at this time... Think about it, who would they hate the most and want to take revenge on the most?"

"Of course..."

Shen Suqing's face darkened before he could finish speaking.

They were naturally General Zhan's family members.

The two fell silent. Suddenly, the woman holding the tray seemed to remember something. She raised her hand to cover her mouth, her face extremely pale, as if she could not suppress the urge to vomit.

She swallowed the acid rising in her stomach, her eyes filled with tears, and she spoke almost pleadingly.

"...Mr. Wen, could you at least wait until I leave before bringing this up?"

After saying this, the woman hurriedly pushed open the door and left.

Watching her retreating figure, Wen Zhizhou chuckled helplessly and explained, "Lord Shen, please don't take offense. She witnessed the scene firsthand back then, and it's no wonder she was left with some psychological trauma."

In fact, Wen Zhizhou also found it hard to imagine the version he heard at the time.

That must have been a living hell.

From the gate to the backyard, everything was a bloody mess. More than twenty people from the mansion were dead, their bodies strewn everywhere, and blood flowed like a river.

You can find a fingertip or half a shriveled eyeball in the grass. They look like they've been suddenly shattered after being thrown from a great height. They're everywhere. You can find some of these little bits and pieces in almost every corner, and they're even painted on the walls.

All of this comes from one child.

No one knows what that child went through at the time, when he was found—

Perhaps it cannot be said that he was found; he was no longer complete, and it is impossible to define what constitutes "him." From the moment the arriving soldiers stepped into the palace, perhaps the child had already been found.

Lady Liu escaped the calamity because she was visiting friends at the time. It is worth mentioning that even under such tragic and horrific circumstances, survivors were eventually found in the mansion.

It was a little girl hidden in a low cabinet.

Thanks to her young age and petite stature, she could barely fit into a drawer-style low cabinet that seemed impossible to hide in, thus avoiding being found by the ruthless remnants of the West County gang.

When she was discovered by the soldiers, she was biting a piece of cloth from her sleeve tightly in her mouth, and her palm was tightly clenched with one hand.

The little girl smiled sweetly as she took out the piece of cloth.

"My brother said that if he holds my hand, he won't be afraid."

However, all she was holding was one hand.

A severed hand, its cut surface a bloody mess, long since detached from the body.

Amidst the nearly collapsing, desperate screams of Madam Liu, who was kneeling on the ground, the little girl, seemingly unaware of what had happened, tilted her head in bewilderment and went forward to try to comfort her mother.

She held onto that hand the whole time, refusing to let go no matter what.

So she was pushed away by her mother, who was already terrified and on the verge of collapse, and she leaned back against her again and again, feeling wronged, until finally her mother, in despair, held her whole body, including her severed hand, tightly.

The woman's desperate screams turned into strange sobs.

Strangely, people can't cry in that situation; they can only squeeze out fragmented "ah" syllables from their throats.

The bloodstains on the ground could not be washed away, and the rotting tissue, caused by the hot weather, emitted a pungent stench. Finally, a swift fire burned the nightmare to ashes.

The young Mrs. Liu held her unconscious daughter in her arms.

She watched the fire in silence, her face pale, utterly despondent.

Even after General Zhan returned to the capital and the Emperor ordered the matter to be sealed off, no one dared to mention it again.

Fortunately, the seven-year-old girl seemed to have suffered from memory confusion due to the excessive shock. She then had a high fever and was in a coma for half a month.

When she came to her senses again, she had completely forgotten about it.

For a young child, this is almost the best possible outcome.

At least she's not crazy, is she?

——

Shen Suqing had no idea how he left the Imperial College.

My steps felt unsteady, as if I were walking on cotton. My thoughts were muddled, my heart felt as if it were being soaked in icy water in the twelfth lunar month, and an unbearable chill permeated my limbs and bones, penetrating to the bone marrow.

Upon reaching Andingmen, he paused and stood there for a long time.

Under the blood-red glow of the setting sun, amidst the interplay of light and shadow, a little girl in a green dress leans obediently against the wall, holding in her hand a string of candied hawthorns, half-eaten and coated in sugar.

The moment she saw him, a bright smile bloomed on her face.

"Young Master Shen, what would you like to eat tonight?"

This carefree smile now appears exceptionally fragile and easily lost in Shen Suqing's eyes.

He suddenly had a strong premonition that perhaps one day she would never be able to show such a smile again.

Staggering forward, Shen Suqing, having exhausted all his strength, reached out and hugged her tightly, his eyes lowered, silently grieving.

I just hope that day won't come too soon.