Danzhou

The carriage rumbled out of Yangqu City. After Zhou Yanzhi finished reading the letter sent by Wu Goulang, Xie Xiangsi couldn't help but ask, "Cousin, did the letter say anything?"

Thinking of the contents of the letter, Zhou Yanzhi sighed and said, "Su Feng said that he has informed His Majesty of the information we found in Yangqu. The capital has been strengthened with security, but... there are not many clues at the moment. His Majesty has ordered me to follow the clues to Danzhou to continue the investigation."

Jie Xiangsi nodded thoughtfully and turned to look out of the carriage curtain.

Zhou Yanzhi closed his eyes, his heart sinking.

What he didn't mention was that the situation in the capital had become quite turbulent. Since Grand Secretary Zhang and Grand Secretary Yuan were ordered to stay home and reflect on their actions, the Emperor's illness had worsened, and the factions of the Fourth Prince and the Sixth Prince were fighting even more fiercely.

Qi Minghua also said that the emperor was poisoned by a chronic poison that had only recently manifested, and that the poison likely originated from the northern barbarians.

His name is Cangyuezeng.

Although the northern barbarians are poor, a kind of flower grows on the high mountains and snowfields. It does not bloom during the day, but only at night when the moonlight is strongest. At the same time, its poison is also the strongest. When the stems and leaves are damaged, it will spray out a poisonous sap, which is not obvious at first, but becomes extremely poisonous later.

The Emperor sent him to Danzhou for two reasons: first, to investigate the one million taels of silver, and second, to investigate the poisoner, Zang Yuezeng.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yanzhi's heart clenched again. If it really was Zang Yuezeng, then things would be complicated...

On the other hand, Xie Xiangsi thought differently from Zhou Yanzhi. Before she recognized her brother, he had been disgusted with her and even looked like he wanted to kill Xie's father.

Could it be... that the 500,000 taels of silver that mysteriously appeared in the Marquis's mansion was done by Xie's father?

Suddenly, a wave of nausea surged from the bottom of her heart, and Jie Xiangsi couldn't help but clutch her chest, trying to suppress the discomfort.

If it really was Xie's father who did it, she would really die with Xie Xiangsi's body.

...

Danzhou is located near the north, and its people are known for their rugged and unrefined nature. You can hear the cries of vendors from a great distance within the city.

Jie Xiangsi found it strange, and the gloom that had been hanging over her heart for many days began to dissipate slightly. At this moment, she couldn't help but look outside.

Fortunately, she had already told Zhou Yanzhi that she did not remember her time in Danzhou due to illness, so her actions did not arouse Zhou Yanzhi's suspicion. He simply thought that she had returned to her hometown and was feeling nostalgic.

Ji Feng drove his carriage to an inn. As soon as he entered, the innkeeper called out from behind the counter, "Welcome! Are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

Ji Feng took out three taels of silver and said simply, "Three superior rooms and three meals."

The shopkeeper quickly took the silver and said with a smile, "Alright!" He then walked out from behind the counter and led the three of them upstairs.

Jie Xiangsi's room is at the very back; you can see the view outside the window as soon as you open it.

In the low winter temperatures, all the lakes, large and small, in Danzhou are covered with a thick layer of ice. Children pull adults along, and teenagers play together, chasing each other on the ice. The lively sounds are so loud that even Jie Xiangsi can faintly hear them.

Unable to resist a smile, Jie Xiangsi suddenly felt like going up to play too.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Zhou Yanzhi's voice came through the door: "Cousin."

Jie Xiangsi opened the door, and Zhou Yanzhi came in with a bag of pastries. He looked at her and said, "You've seemed listless these past two days. You must have been bored in the carriage. This is a specialty of Danzhou, sour plum cake. Have a few pieces to whet your appetite, and you can go for a walk outside later."

After accepting the pastries, Jie Xiangsi thanked him, looked up at Zhou Yanzhi, and replied, "Then Xiangsi will go for a walk in a little while. Does Cousin want to come?"

Zhou Yanzhi shook his head. "No, I have an appointment with a few people who arrived in Danzhou a while ago. I have something to discuss later."

Jie Xiangsi nodded, "Then Xiangsi will go by herself."

Zhou Yanzhi agreed, then, as if remembering something, added, "Don't come back too late."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi felt that Zhou Yanzhi was being a bit fussy, and couldn't help but smile, "Okay."

...

In Beijing, snow is usually swept away as soon as it hits the ground, but Danzhou is different. Perhaps it was swept once before, because there is only a thin layer of snow on the ground.

At first glance, the long street was covered in snow, and the pale blue buildings looked particularly solemn against the backdrop of the snow.

Whether it was because the crowd had dispersed a bit when Jie Xiangsi arrived at the frozen lake, or because of the different perspective, the frozen lake seemed exceptionally large to her, and the distance between people appeared exceptionally far.

Jie Xiangsi bought a string of candied hawthorns, but didn't eat them.

She didn't know why she bought it but didn't eat it; she just thought the sugar coating on the red hawthorn looked pretty, so she bought it.

Holding a candied hawthorn, she strolled leisurely across the ice.

The ice was very slippery, and she could easily slip and fall on her bottom if she wasn't careful, so she walked very slowly and took each step very carefully.

Even though she was so careful, she was still knocked down by someone rushing from behind, and they both rolled onto the ice.

After sliding for about ten feet, Jie Xiangsi finally managed to see who was behind her.

She looked to be a girl about her age, wearing a light yellow jacket with velvet trim and a moon-blue pleated skirt. Her pretty little face was flushed from the cold.

Realizing he had bumped into someone, he didn't bother to tidy himself up and immediately looked up to apologize: "I'm sorry, miss, I didn't... have any lovesickness?!"

Seeing her surprised expression, Jie Xiangsi was stunned for a moment, and was about to say something when a youthful voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Little Pomegranate! Did you hurt yourself?"

A young man dressed in a scarlet brocade robe with bound sleeves hurried over and draped a silver-embroidered white cloak over the girl. He was somewhat surprised to see Jie Xiangsi.

"Miss Jie?"

However, he quickly looked away, tying the ribbons for the girl while scolding her, "I told you not to run so fast, now you've fallen, haven't you? You're not allowed to run so fast again."

Although it was meant to be a lesson, the tone was anything but a reprimand.

It's more like he's begging someone.

The girl seemed to have anticipated the boy's response, and upon hearing this, she merely made a few feigned "ouch" sounds before finally surrendering under the boy's slightly lowered gaze.

She tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "I know, I won't do it again next time, Zigui, don't be angry."

Seemingly afraid that the boy would say something else, the girl pushed him aside and quickly helped Jie Xiangsi up, saying sweetly, "I'm sorry, Xiangsi, I accidentally bumped into you. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Jie Xiangsi shook her head.

So the girl continued, "By the way, didn't you go to the capital? I thought it would be a long time before I saw you again, but I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Upon hearing this, Jie Xiangsi's heart tightened slightly, and she mumbled, "I..."

Just as she was wondering how to ask, the young man beside her spoke up, "Miss Jie, is there something you're having trouble saying?"

Jie Xiangsi nodded hurriedly, "Yes, to be honest, I fell ill before going to the capital, and I don't remember many things, including..."

She looked up at the two of them.

"Huh?!" The girl was the first to exclaim, pointing at herself with a shocked expression, "Me? You don't remember either?!"

Jie Xiangsi nodded.

The girl blinked. "I'm Zhao Liuyi! Your best friend." She then pulled the boy next to her over and said, "This is my fiancé, Jing Yun, Jing Zigui."

Jie Xiangsi smiled apologetically, "Sorry, I can't remember."

Hearing this, Zhao Liuyi sighed, then held Xie Xiangsi's arm tightly and said, "I told you not to go to the capital, but you insisted on going. Now look what happened, you've forgotten all our years of friendship."

Before Jie Xiangsi could say anything, she continued, "By the way, why did you insist on going to the capital back then? You left in such a hurry that I didn't even have time to see you off."

Before Jie Xiangsi could speak, she slapped her forehead again and laughed, "Look at me, I've forgotten that you just said you didn't remember."

Looking at Xie Xiangsi's understated yet luxurious clothes, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "But judging from your current appearance, you must not have suffered any injustice in the capital. It was worth it for Uncle Xie to send so much silver to the capital earlier."

Upon hearing this, Jie Xiangsi's heart tightened.

He pressed further, "Silver? What silver?"

Zhao Liuyi suddenly realized what she had said, immediately covered her mouth, and turned to look at Jing Zigui beside her.

With a helpless sigh, Jing Zigui began, "In early autumn, Governor Xie sent a batch of silver to the capital. It was supposed to be kept secret, but Liu Yi and I happened to run into the escort team and overheard it."

Seeing that Xiangsi's expression was off, Jing Zigui explained, "Since it was meant to be a secret, we didn't want to spread the word. But not long after you arrived in the capital, we heard about the Xiao family..."

Having said that, he stopped there and didn't go into further detail.

Composing herself, Jie Xiangsi forced a smile. "I didn't know about this either. Thank you both for informing me."

After saying goodbye to the two, Jie Xiangsi wandered aimlessly, looking at the exquisite ice sculptures around her, and a sudden surge of hatred welled up in her heart.

It seems that the silver that appeared out of nowhere at the Marquis of Jin'an's residence was the batch that Xie's father had transported to the capital.

No wonder, no wonder my brother hates Xie Fu so much.

So that's how it is, so that's how it is...

Suddenly, she chuckled softly.

How ridiculous of God to play such a cruel joke on her.

He raised his hand and slapped himself across the face. The slap was so hard that he could taste blood in his mouth.

It can relieve longing, but it doesn't feel heavy enough, it doesn't hurt enough.

This is the body of my enemy's daughter, yet she insists on using her identity to take revenge.

Why, why is God doing this to her...?

A wave of nausea surged up, and Jie Xiangsi couldn't help but lean against a withered tree and bend over to dry heave. But after struggling for a while, all she felt was a burning sensation in her throat.

Exhausted, she slid to the ground, leaned against the withered tree behind her, and closed her eyes helplessly, letting the bitter sea of ​​sorrow rage in her heart.

She was so disgusting I wanted to die.

"cousin."

Zhou Yanzhi's voice suddenly came from behind.

A warm cloak fell on her, and someone carefully wrapped it around her tightly.

Zhou Yanzhi squatted down in front of her, glanced at the obvious handprint on her face, and then looked into her watery eyes. He couldn't help but frown: "Who bullied you?"

His tone was tinged with anger, but Jie Xiangsi felt a sudden tenderness in her heart. She turned her lips down and, under Zhou Yanzhi's slightly stunned gaze, leaned over and threw herself into his arms, burying her head in his neck.

He said with a distinctly nasal tone, "Nobody bullied me."