Seeing that Lu Tianlin remained silent, only sighing heavily, Lu Tianjiao stared at him intently, but her mind was in turmoil. After staring at him for a long time, she said, "Still not good?"

Lu Tianlin pondered for a while longer, but there seemed to be some things he still didn't quite understand.

Not far from the pavilion, the bustling crowd remained as excited as ever. But the two siblings stood together, gazing at each other.

Under the moonlight, two figures who grew up together and should be intimately familiar with each other are now stretched out to an infinite length, yet they seem so unfamiliar to each other.

After a long pause, Lu Tianlin hesitated for a moment before suddenly blurting out, "Sister, you...you're not very familiar with the masters in the palace, are you?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Tianjiao's heart skipped a beat, as if his heartbeat had stopped for a moment. He stared at Lu Tianlin's eyes for a moment, then quickly looked away.

She turned to him, feigning inexplicable anger, and said, "Me? What do you mean by that, brother? From childhood to adulthood, I have never been to the palace. When the Emperor summons me, it is always you who accompany Father to the palace to meet him. When have I ever seen any of those people in the palace? Let alone people, I don't even know which way the palace gates are open!"

Lu Tianlin listened blankly, and said dismissively, "But when you were young, you were deeply loved by the Dowager Consort and often accompanied her to the palace, didn't you? Didn't you ever get to know any of the people in the palace?"

Lu Tianjiao looked completely innocent and said urgently, "Brother, it's been eight years since the Empress Dowager passed away. I was only a few years old then. Don't you know that? Who can remember childhood memories?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Tianlin seemed to have no choice but to shut up, sighed helplessly, and shook his head.

"Brother, what exactly happened?" After a long while, Lu Tianjiao approached Lu Tianlin, who seemed at a loss, and asked softly.

Lu Tianlin remained silent with a serious expression, seemingly not having heard what Lu Tianjiao said at all, and was only lost in his own deep thoughts.

He stood upright by the pavilion railing, one hand behind his back, staring blankly at a group of red carp swimming freely in the water under the moonlight. Until one of the more lively fish suddenly leaped high above the surface of the water, then fell back into the water, creating ripples that broke the calm surface of the water.

Lu Tianlin seemed to have just come to his senses and said, "The restoration of the Guardian's portrait is complete."

Upon hearing this, Lu Tianjiao was both surprised and delighted, and finally let out a long sigh of relief. Then he quickly reached out and hugged Lu Tianlin's arm tightly, leaning on it, and said happily, "'Heaven rewards those who persevere,' that's wonderful, truly wonderful! All these years of hard work have finally paid off. Father did it, Father finally did it."

Suddenly, she slowly released her hand, the joy on her face gradually fading. She stood up straight, looked up at Lu Tianlin's worried face, and asked in confusion, "Now that the restoration of the Guardian's portrait has been successful, what is my brother worried about?"

Lu Tianlin sighed softly, looking up, and said quietly, "My sister should know that our entire Lu family has received immense kindness and virtue from His Highness Prince Qin and the Empress Dowager. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager, my brother and I would probably never have been born. If it weren't for His Highness Prince Qin, Father would probably have been murdered by treacherous officials and our entire family executed long ago. Emperor Jing is tyrannical, incompetent, and suspicious, while Prince Qin is kind-hearted, righteous, and loves his people like his own children. Therefore, our entire Lu family has always followed His Highness's lead."

Lu Tianjiao nodded in agreement with Lu Tianlin's words. Lu Tianlin looked into Lu Tianjiao's eyes and continued earnestly, "The Guardian's portrait has finally been successfully restored. Such a significant matter should naturally be reported to His Highness Prince Qin immediately, so that His Highness can decide how to handle it. However, just a few nights ago, after Father and I finished restoring the Guardian's portrait, someone from the palace thousands of miles away came with an imperial edict, summoning Father and me to the palace immediately with the Guardian's portrait, without delay. Clearly, someone must have leaked the news beforehand. And in the entire Xiqin Academy, only you and I, Father and I, know about this; no one else knows!"

"So, brother suspects it was sister who did it?" Lu Tianjiao suddenly realized.

"younger sister……"

Before Lu Tianlin could finish speaking, Lu Tianjiao hurriedly raised her voice to interrupt him, "Brother, is your sister really so worthless in your heart? My loyalty and devotion to His Highness are no less than yours and Father's. Others may not know this, but surely you, brother, know it too?"

“Sister…” Lu Tianlin seemed to have anticipated the inappropriateness of his doubts and words, but even with his utmost caution, he still managed to hurt his rather sensitive sister's feelings once again. However, he still tried his best to explain something to her, to make amends and offer comfort.

Unexpectedly, Lu Tianjiao suddenly began to back away step by step, covering his ears and shaking his head, seemingly incredulous and angrily stopping him, "Stop talking, stop talking! I know you don't believe me, Father doesn't believe me, nobody believes me, even His Highness... In this world, nobody believes me, so what's the point of me living? I hate you all, I hate you all, I never want to see you again!"

While shouting angrily, Lu Tianjiao wiped away his tears and hurried down the stone steps of the pavilion. He then ran towards a quiet path and disappeared in a flash.

"Tianjiao, Tianjiao..." Lu Tianlin looked panicked, glanced at the sky, and strode after him.

The dazzling lights and fireworks eventually fade away, but the sun and moon remain eternal.

At dawn on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, before daybreak, the bustling streets that had been teeming with activity for most of the night gradually quieted down.

In front of the Yi family mansion in the west of the city, the carriage carrying the patriarch Yi Shangkun to the palace began to slowly head towards the imperial palace as usual.

Yi Shangkun, dressed in a new dark blue robe with subtle patterns, was sitting in the carriage, resting with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he felt his right eyelid twitching incessantly. He seemed to have some worries in his heart and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Heavens above, I hope nothing bad has happened!"

As the carriage approached Zhao's Teahouse at the street corner, a seemingly familiar carriage suddenly appeared in the opposite direction. It was traveling at such a high speed that it didn't even slow down when it reached the blind spot at the corner. If Yi Shangkun's carriage hadn't just started moving and the old servant driving it hadn't pulled on the reins in time, the two carriages would likely have collided head-on, resulting in far more than just a few people and horses falling over.

Yi Shangkun, sitting in the carriage, seemed to be startled awake. His eyes widened, and he was shocked. He angrily reached out and flung open the carriage curtain, his anger about to erupt, when he heard the old servant driving the carriage respectfully say, "Young Master is back!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Shangkun exclaimed in surprise, "Is it Jun'er?"

Before he could even lift the carriage curtain, Yi Shangjun had already jumped down from the carriage and strode over to Yi Shangkun's carriage. He bowed to him and said urgently, "Father, something terrible has happened!"

When Yi Shangkun appeared, he saw Yi Shangjun looking disheveled and exhausted. Apart from him and the driver, the carriage was empty. A very bad premonition immediately rose in his heart.

After a moment of stunned silence, she asked anxiously, "What happened? You...did you travel back overnight? Where's Yan'er? Why didn't she come back with you? And Yun'er? Where's your eldest sister?"

Unexpectedly, Yi Shangjun suddenly knelt down heavily with a thud. Seeing this, Yi Shangkun was terrified, feeling dizzy and seeing stars. Trembling, he was helped down from the carriage by the old servant who was driving, and stared at him in astonishment, trembling as he asked, "What happened? Tell me quickly!"

Yi Shangjun, his face filled with fear, anxiety, and worry, lowered his head and said to Yi Shangkun, "Father, my eldest sister... she fell off a cliff on a stormy night, in the pouring rain, and her fate is unknown. She's gone missing!"

"What did you say?" Upon hearing this, Yi Shangkun stumbled, and the old, frail servant almost made him fall to the ground.

"Father, Father..." Yi Shangjun quickly reached out and caught him, preventing him from hitting the ground.

Yi Shangkun felt his vision becoming increasingly blurry, and he was carried by Yi Shangjun to the front of Zhao's Tea House next to him. Yi Shangjun then pulled out a long wooden bench from the stall and made him sit down, and he was completely unaware of it.

He simply pressed one hand to his forehead, his elbow resting on the table in front of him, feeling as if the sky were about to fall. After a long while, he lowered his head and murmured softly, "What...what happened?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Shangjun reported the entire story of the search for the person in the south of the city to him without missing a single detail.

"I knew it! She shouldn't have gotten involved with that Prince Qin. Now look what's happened, this is finally a disaster!" After listening to Yi Shangjun's words and remaining silent for a while, Yi Shangkun seemed to be simmering with anger and said resentfully.

However, Yi Shangjun stammered in defense of him, "Father, this matter... doesn't seem to be blamed on His Highness Prince Qin. His Highness Prince Qin was also seriously injured and fell off the cliff while trying to save my eldest sister."

Yi Shangkun pondered for a moment, then lowered his hand, snorted coldly, and said to himself, "Could all of this really be fate, something we can't escape no matter how hard we try? My benefactor was right after all. She shouldn't have gotten involved with those members of the royal family. They only brought trouble to Yun'er... Heavens, she has already paid the greatest price in a woman's life for this. Are you still not willing to let her go?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Shangjun asked in great confusion, "Father, what are you talking about? What do you mean by 'paying the greatest price in a woman's life'? What happened to my eldest sister?"