Zuan put the note away: "Six of the personal guards of the Duke of Yunzhong later died in the line of duty. I had my men investigate their individual circumstances."

"The deaths of three of them were not suspicious, and their bodies were identified. However, the deaths of the other three were somewhat suspicious."

"Is there something fishy going on?" Pei Mianman asked curiously.

Zuan explained, "For example, one of them was besieged by the demon race and was eventually beheaded with a single blow. In the end, his colleagues only found a headless corpse."

"Another person went to investigate a case of smuggled medicinal herbs, but the warehouse he eventually found caught fire, and he was burned to a crisp."

"Another person had all his life essence drained by the evil creature, leaving only a dried-up corpse."

Pei Mianman was a smart person and immediately realized: "These people have one thing in common, that is, their identities are difficult to identify."

“That’s right!” Zuan nodded. “I suspect someone is using these methods to switch the bodies; those corpses may not actually be the real people.”

“But how can we verify this?” Pei Mianman asked with some concern. “After all, the identities of those people are no longer verifiable.”

“A person will inevitably leave various traces when they come into this world. Even the most meticulous murderer will leave flaws that go unnoticed,” Zuan paused and said. “Moreover, the living may lie, but the dead will not.”

Pei Mianman's expression changed slightly: "You wouldn't happen to be..."

Zuan smiled and nodded: "Beautiful lady, you've got nothing to do these days, how about you come with me to the cemetery outside the city for a date?"

"Pah, what normal person would go to a cemetery for a date?" Pei Mianman, being a woman, instinctively refused upon hearing such a thing.

Zu'an knew he was putting her in a difficult position: "Alright, you go home and rest first. I'll come back to find you after I've finished my business."

Pei Mianman looked conflicted, but ultimately couldn't bear to part with her lover: "No, I'll go with you."

Wasn't that home also a tomb for her?

When you're with the one you love, anywhere isn't home.

Zuan was also a little reluctant to part with her, and he smiled as he held her hand: "Alright, if we, husband and wife, work together, we can overcome anything."

"Who said we're husband and wife?" Pei Mianman said coquettishly, but in the end she still let him hold her hand.

Zuan mounted his horse and said, "The cemetery is outside the city, quite a distance from here. It'll be easier for us to get there on horseback."

He patted the area in front of him, gesturing for her to sit down.

Pei Mianman blushed slightly. If it were just in private, she would naturally cheer and sit on him, but now that people were coming and going in the city, sitting in his lap like this was too ostentatious.

She may not be a household name in Yunzhong County, but her outstanding appearance and status as a young lady of the Pei family have earned her considerable fame. If someone with ulterior motives were to see her and relay the news back to her parents, it would inevitably cause some trouble.

So she lightly touched the ground with her toes and sat directly behind Zuan.

"Hold on tight," Zuan reminded him.

Pei Mianman pursed her lips. In private, she would be more than willing to hug him or do anything else, but now, in the street, her girlish reserve made her somewhat hesitant to put her arm around another man's waist.

"Giddy up!" To everyone's surprise, Zu'an spurred the horse, and it galloped off.

Pei Mianman lost her balance and almost fell backward, but fortunately, she was highly skilled and reacted immediately, grabbing Zu An's waist with one hand to regain her balance.

Feeling the impact of the other party hitting him, Zu An's expression immediately became a little strange. Da Manman really lives up to her name.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Pei Mianman said irritably, punching his back lightly, but then reluctantly hitting him hard.

Zuan laughed heartily, flicked the reins, and galloped wildly out of the city.

A BMW with a beautiful woman—that's truly one of life's greatest pleasures.

"Hey, slow down... slow down, I can't take it anymore." Pei Mianman was almost thrown off several times while sitting in the back, and could only hold on tightly to the other person's waist.

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. I've recently started investigating these guards, and the forces hiding in the shadows are probably already on alert. I'm worried that if they destroy the evidence, it will be troublesome," Zu'an explained.

"Oh~" Pei Mianman was pressed tightly against the other person's body. Even through the clothes, she could still feel the other person's broad and thick back and its warm heat. She immediately felt a sense of peace.

She felt her heart overflow with happiness. This was the scene she had always dreamed of riding horses with her beloved, and she never imagined it would actually come true.

"Ah Zu, do you know why I came to find you today?" Pei Mianman pressed her face tightly against his back, feeling really good to have him shielding her from the wind and snow.

"Isn't it because you missed me?" Zuan replied with a smile.

“Hmph, that’s only one aspect,” Pei Mianman said without any hesitation this time. “The other aspect is that the Prince of Qi wants to know how far your investigation has gone.”

"Oh?" Zu An raised an eyebrow and listened to Pei Mianman recount Zhao Zhi's visit. He couldn't help but sigh, "Are all the men in this world out of their minds? Why do they all like to send their fiancées to other men?"

He pictured Sang Qian, that unlucky fellow, in his mind, but now that he was his brother-in-law, he felt a little embarrassed to badmouth him.

However, he still applauded this behavior, thinking that the more people like this he would encounter in the future, the better.

Don't pity me just because I'm a delicate flower. Come at me with everything and let them ravage me.

"Pah! Who's his fiancée? I never agreed to that." Pei Mianman bit the other person in a bit of embarrassment and annoyance.

“Of course you’re my woman. Zhao Zhi is a toad trying to eat swan meat. This time, we’ll teach him what it means to lose both his wife and his army.” Zu An laughed heartily.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!