apologize

The charcoal stove in the center of the private room emitted a steady stream of heat, filling the entire room with a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Su Feng stood up abruptly and walked around Zhou Yanzhi again and again, clicking his tongue in amazement: "Yanzhi, Yanzhi, something's wrong with you, something's really wrong with you."

Under Zhou Yanzhi's icy, murderous gaze, Su Feng continued his analysis: "You definitely didn't just break off a red plum tree. Tell me, did you do something that would be considered an outrageous act?"

Zhou Yanzhi, who broke into the boudoir at night: "..."

He guessed all of that correctly?

Zhou Yanzhi coughed lightly, feigning composure, and said, "Don't make things up without evidence."

Su Feng retorted, "What nonsense are you talking about? I, Su Feng, am a master of analysis, and I have never made a mistake in more than ten years!" Then, Su Feng said confidently, "And our Lord Zhou is an upright and honest person, so he would certainly not do something like murder for money. That leaves... only matters of the heart."

As Zhou Yanzhi's gaze became increasingly evasive with his analysis, Su Feng suddenly placed his hands on Zhou Yanzhi's shoulders. His peach blossom eyes were intense, seemingly able to see through Zhou Yanzhi's eyes to his heart. He whispered, "Yanzhi, you don't happen to have some romantic entanglements, do you?"

Upon hearing this, even Qi Minghua, who was sitting calmly to the side, was stunned for a moment, and looked at Zhou Yanzhi with disbelief in his eyes.

The term 'romantic debt' is not a compliment.

The three of them grew up together and knew Zhou Yanzhi's character well: he was chaste, averse to women, and ruthless. To say that he had any romantic entanglements was less likely than believing that Su Feng could ascend to heaven on a sword, since in their opinion, the latter was much more probable than the former.

So how is that possible?!

Putting aside the grand performance Qi Minghua put on first, Zhou Yanzhi, who already had something to hide, felt a little guilty and immediately corrected, "It's not a romantic debt!"

"What is that?" Su Feng asked in return.

"Yes..." Zhou Yanzhi was about to explain when he suddenly realized what he was doing and shoved Su Feng's hand off his shoulder: "You tricked me?"

"No, no." Su Feng swiftly moved away, strolled leisurely behind Qi Minghua, and said seriously, "I'm analyzing this very seriously. It's you who has something to hide, but you haven't said it out loud, have you?"

Zhou Yanzhi gave a cold snort and remained silent.

Intrigued, Su Feng, unfazed by Zhou Yanzhi's cold stare, asked with curiosity, "Yanzhi, I never expected your matter to be related to romance. It's like a long-awaited flower finally blooming! As your best friend who grew up together, could you tell me which girl it is?"

"Sure, do you want me to describe it to you?" Zhou Yanzhi smirked.

"Okay, okay!" Su Feng nodded frantically.

"Shall I show you around?" Zhou Yanzhi asked with a gentle smile.

"Really?!" Su Feng exclaimed excitedly, but then hesitated for a second: "Isn't this a bad idea? What if we offend the girl?"

Qi Minghua: "..."

If a fight breaks out, who should we pull in?

Zhou Yanzhi: "..."

He really dares to think that way!

Su Feng forced him to laugh, and Zhou Yanzhi frowned helplessly: "Su Yunyun, I don't have a girl I like."

"How could this be... Waaaaah?!"

Qi Minghua firmly covered Su Feng's mouth, which was about to say something, and gave Zhou Yanzhi a very polite smile: "Ce'an, don't worry, I know. But if you're going to apologize to the young lady, you have to cater to her preferences."

"Put yourself in their shoes..."

Zhou Yanzhi pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, "I know what to give!"

After quickly thanking Qi Minghua, Zhou Yanzhi put on his fox fur cloak and hurriedly left the private room.

Seeing that the person had walked away, Qi Minghua released his hand from Su Feng's mouth and wiped it with a handkerchief with considerable disgust.

The next second, Su Feng's questioning voice arrived as expected: "Why did you stop me?!"

Qi Minghua leisurely warmed himself a cup of wine, then gave Su Feng a look that was full of disappointment, and sighed, "Although Ce'an is clueless about love, in my opinion, you're clueless about everything. Alas, how sad..."

Su Feng: "..."

Su Feng: "Hey! What do you mean?!"

...

The second floor of the library in the Prince An's Mansion.

A woman sat at a table copying scriptures. The window beside her was half-open, and snow was falling outside. Snowflakes drifted down from the sky and gently piled up on a withered tree in the courtyard.

Through the window, you can see some withered branches. This is a chinaberry tree, its flowers blooming until the end of spring and the height of summer is approaching.

When Zhou Yanzhi was still in the manor, he often liked to rest here, listening to the rustling of the branches and watching the chinaberry flowers bloom outside the window. Now, in winter, he stood under the withered tree in a blue robe, looking up at the beautiful figure by the window.

Snowflakes drifted into the attic and melted into a puddle of water in the woman's hand holding the pen.

Jie Xiangsi finished writing the last stroke, put the pen on the pen holder, turned her head and looked down to meet Zhou Yanzhi's gaze, and smiled at him: "Cousin, the wind is strong and the snow is heavy, why don't you go into the pavilion?"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhou Yanzhi seemed to awaken, used his lightness skill to lightly touch the ground and fly up, landing in front of the window in the blink of an eye.

How did my cousin find out about me?

"My cousin was dressed in dark clothes, so he was naturally conspicuous in the white snow."

Xie Xiangsi stepped back, gesturing for Zhou Yanzhi to come in, and then continued, "I thought my cousin was just passing by by chance, so I didn't say anything, but I didn't expect him to stand down there for so long."

"fine."

...

A warm brazier was lit inside the pavilion. Zhou Yanzhi took off his cloak and placed it aside. He glanced at the scrolls on the table, then looked up at Xie Xiangsi: "Are you copying scriptures?"

"Mm." Jie Xiangsi nodded.

Since she had told Aunt Jie yesterday that she had a habit of copying scriptures, she was determined to actually do so, otherwise she might give others cause for gossip. Therefore, after paying her respects to Aunt Jie today, she went to the library.

Firstly, he wanted to copy scriptures; secondly, he wanted to think alone about how to get involved in the Yangqu case.

If she hadn't already sensed Zhou Yanzhi's arrival, the paper on her desk would probably be filled with plans instead of scriptures.

She answered earnestly, but Zhou Yanzhi seemed to realize something and asked with a strange expression, "You like reading scriptures?"

Hearing him say this, Jie Xiangsi was somewhat puzzled.

"No, why do you say that, cousin?"

"Oh, that's good."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He then took out a book from his sleeve, turned his face away, and handed it to Xie Xiangsi, saying somewhat awkwardly, "An apology."

"apologize?"

Jie Xiangsi took the book with some doubt, glanced at it, and was immediately stunned.

The book cover bore five perfectly symmetrical large characters.

'The Coroner's Record of Corpses'.

Turning the pages, one finds not only detailed dissection procedures but also numerous lifelike illustrations of autopsies. To be honest, it is a rigorous and meticulously detailed manual for learning coroners.

But... it just doesn't feel right to be an apology.

Amused, Jie Xiangsi held up the book, showing off the cover, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Cousin, why did you think of giving me 'The Coroner's Record of Corpses'?"

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

Zhou Yanzhi was somewhat flustered, hesitant to meet Jie Xiangsi's gaze. He raised his head and then lowered it again, then raised it again, and after a long while, he said somewhat embarrassedly, "Didn't you say you were interested in criminal investigation? I was thinking that solving cases would inevitably involve dealing with corpses, so..."

Jie Xiangsi: "..."

Although... but... who would give these things to a girl?!

Seeing her silence, Zhou Yanzhi felt a little awkward: "You...you don't like it?"

After saying that, he reached out to take back the "Coroner's Record of Corpses," but unexpectedly, Jie Xiangsi raised her arm and swung it backward, preventing him from grabbing it.

"Hey!"

Jie Xiangsi waved the scripture twice, smiling brightly, and said, "It was supposed to be an apology to me, why is my cousin taking it back?"

Zhou Yanzhi coughed lightly twice, clenching his fist, and said softly, "Didn't you... dislike it?"

He spoke very softly, as if he had some nameless grievances that he was too embarrassed to say. Jie Xiangsi's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, and then suddenly, a soft laugh escaped her lips.

"Pfft—"

She rolled up the book and slapped it repeatedly in her hand until Zhou Yanzhi's body became increasingly stiff with each slap. Only then did Xie Xiangsi draw out her words with satisfaction: "Cousin, I never said I didn't like it."

Amid Zhou Yanzhi's astonished gaze, she hugged the book to her chest, leaned forward, and declared loudly, "Since my cousin gave it to me, then this book is mine."

Just then, the sound of boots crunching on the snow came from outside the window, approaching from afar and then receding into the distance, a soft, creaking sound.

Seeing Xie Xiangsi suddenly approach, Zhou Yanzhi's long eyelashes trembled rapidly, and his hand, hidden in his sleeve, trembled almost imperceptibly. After a moment, he said softly, "If you like it, that's fine."

But how could his little trick escape Xie Xiangsi's notice?

Jie Xiangsi couldn't help but chuckle to herself, sighing inwardly.

I always thought Zhou Yanzhi was as cold as ice, unapproachable, and capable of making people angry to death with his words; he was an absolute cruel official.

She was surprised to see him so shy, which made her feel a little uncomfortable.

Thinking this way, Jie Xiangsi felt a surge of excitement at Zhou Yanzhi's provocation and wanted to say something to tease him.

The next second, the sound of footsteps on a wooden staircase came from not far away.

"Thump, thump, thump—"

Both of them frowned at the same time. On the surface, only Xie Xiangsi was in this library today. If someone came and saw Zhou Yanzhi and the two of them alone in the room with no third person present, it might cause some trouble.

Although Zhou Yanzhi was not good at romantic things, he still understood the principles of worldly life.

Therefore, before Jie Xiangsi could say anything, Zhou Yanzhi climbed out the window and left again, just like last night. But this time he left in such a hurry that he didn't have time to put on the cloak he had taken off.

As the footsteps drew closer, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Jie Xiangsi quickly gathered her dark cloak into a ball and casually tucked it into the snow-white fox fur beside her.

Just as they finished doing all that, the footsteps of the newcomer stopped a good ten feet away.

"Miss, it's almost noon." It was Qing Shu's voice.

Jie Xiangsi pretended to carefully fold the scriptures and said gently, "Okay, I'll organize the scriptures and then go back. You go downstairs and wait for me."

Upon hearing this, Qing Shu responded with a "Yes" and quietly went downstairs.

Seeing that the person had gone far away, Jie Xiangsi breathed a sigh of relief and took out Zhou Yanzhi's cloak from under her snow-white fox fur coat.

Looking at the cloak in her hand, Jie Xiangsi sighed, feeling a bit of a headache.

The style of this cloak is clearly that of men's clothing. In addition, the embroidery is exquisite and the fabric is luxurious. If it is not handled properly, it may cause unnecessary trouble.

We still need to find an opportunity to return it to Zhou Yanzhi.

Thinking this, she unfolded the cloak that she had haphazardly crumpled into a ball, intending to fold it carefully.

Suddenly, a piece of paper fluttered down from the trembling cloak and landed quietly on the ground.

Jie Xiangsi picked it up, not intending to peek, but her attention was drawn to the exposed characters "Yangqu".

Yangqu is a place related to the Xiao family case.

Looking around, she carefully unfolded the note and looked down at it. But as soon as she saw it, her brows furrowed involuntarily, and her heart pounded wildly.

The note read: "On the tenth day of the first lunar month, I secretly visited Yangqu."