With a roguish chuckle, Rong Yangao said, "Not bad..."

With a loud thud, the sword fell to the ground. Qin Weixi, dressed in plain clothes with her black hair disheveled, showed little emotion, except for a single, clear tear sliding down her cheek.

She said, "Brother, why did Father commit suicide? He loved Mother so much and worried about you so much, how could he kill himself? How could Father have rebelled?"

“How could my valiant Uncle Chu die at the border? Father would never harm him. What urgent secret letter, what grudges between our grandparents, are all baseless rumors.”

"And why was my mother so resolute in her decision to die, cutting her throat to appeal to the emperor?"

Luo Ling lowered his eyes and saw that she was barefoot, so he gestured for Feng Hua to go back to the house to get her shoes. He then turned around and took down a red ribbon hanging from the hibiscus tree, which was used to symbolize good fortune. He then gathered her loose black hair together, wrapped it around several times, and tied it into a knot.

Just like he did to his younger sister, Xiaoxing, many years ago.

“Brother, Liang Xu did not go up the tower,” she suddenly said.

"But the Star Gazing Tower collapsed ahead of schedule, and the Li family also met with misfortune ahead of schedule. It's just that Liang Xu wasn't hurt, and I'm still a little unwilling to accept it."

Luo Ling met Qin Weixi's eyes and listened patiently to her story. Seeing that she had calmed down, he smiled with relief.

When he was young, he would often comfort Xiaoxing, who was crying and refusing to take her medicine, in the same way.

"Two months ago, the guards discovered cracks on the third floor of the Star Gazing Tower and reported it to the Ministry of Works. At that time, Gao Jian was drunk at Shuiyun Tower. After sobering up, he didn't take it seriously. He only ordered people to restrict people from going up to the third floor. They repaired it together on the day of the Autumn Equinox. He was living too comfortably. How could he have imagined that the Star Gazing Tower would collapse?"

"But the Star Gazing Tower would still collapse even without this accident. Zhao Chong, the youngest son of the Hanlin Academy scholar, had already made arrangements with his classmates to hold a literary gathering at the Star Gazing Tower on the eighth day of next month, and Liang Xu would also be present. Gao Jian couldn't help but think that since people had already restricted people from climbing to the third floor, these dignitaries would not be able to go to the top."

"Over the years, the Emperor has been very lenient with the Liang family. When Liang Xu's second brother, Liang Bai, died in Penglai, he had just been engaged to Zhao Chong's daughter for less than a month. Gao Jian knew about the relationship between the Liang and Zhao families, and even though he knew that the Emperor restricted aristocratic families to only going up the tower on the nineteenth of each month, he did not explicitly prohibit it."

"Therefore, even without Li Sheng climbing the tower, Gao Jian would still have been affected by the collapse. This is because Zhao Chong's son and Liang Xu would definitely have climbed the tower."

Qin Weixi fell silent for a moment: "So it must be that Liang Xu saw something happened at the Star Gazing Tower and wanted to go and see what was going on. But he ran into Mu Tong, who wanted to kill Li Sheng."

"So the other person I saw that day was Liang Xu! And the person who injured me on the Star Gazing Tower was also his man. Liang Xu is a very suspicious person. He wasn't sure if I had seen him or not, and since the two of us fell, he was afraid of getting into unnecessary trouble because of it, so he wanted to get rid of me."

She looked up at Luo Ling: "Brother. Li Sheng is very afraid of our father, so how could he be on good terms with the Zhao family, who are at odds with Marquis Wuding? I think they probably had a serious argument back then. There were many people downstairs at the temple fair that day, and there were others on the top floor as well. Li Sheng should have known the implications and wouldn't have gone so far as to kill them."

Luo Ling concealed the masked man she had seen under the moonlight that day and nodded, saying, "When I came out of the palace, a colleague invited me to drink. Li Sheng was in a private room doing all sorts of nonsense with Lu Zhan and his group until later in the evening. But I didn't hear him mention going up the tower. Instead, I thought we should all go home after the drinks."

Upon hearing these words, Qin Weixi suddenly recalled the restaurant that had caught fire that day. She first encountered Li Chuirong, then the Star Gazing Tower began to collapse, followed by flames filling the sky.

“Brother, that restaurant seems a bit unusual to me.”

Luo Lingdao said, "But later, the imperial court sent people to investigate. It turned out that a firecracker accidentally ignited a large stack of dry firewood placed outside the kitchen of that restaurant, causing the fire to spread and burn through the entire restaurant. However, if it weren't for this fire, more people might have been affected below the Star Gazing Tower." He put his hands behind his back and looked into the distance, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

He smiled and said, "But there are indeed some shady dealings with that restaurant. My sister is very clever. However, the restaurant's owners have all disappeared. But we found out that ten years ago, the restaurant was ostensibly run by an ordinary couple, but secretly it was run by the father-in-law of Deputy General Li Mou. Later, it was sold to a wealthy merchant from the south. That merchant died of illness years ago, and his servants have been managing it ever since."

"He is utterly loyal."

"The late emperor emphasized that officials should not engage in business or compete with the people for profit."

Her gaze sharpened. Li Mou, the man she wanted to tear to pieces every single day.

In the spring of the third year of the Kang Le era, I followed General Chu Lanzhe to the border to fight the enemy. This battle lasted from spring until the winter snow fell. Until one by one, the passionate young men died, and one by one, cold coffins were placed inside, containing the most renowned and capable generals in life.

A few soldiers returned, including Li Mou, a lieutenant general who had been promoted by Chu Lanzhe.

He was also a direct witness to the Qin family's downfall.

Back then, he lost an arm, but carried a secret letter from Duke Dingguo, Qin Heng, accusing him of treason. He returned to the capital in glory and accused the Duke of treason and murder of his friend, which led to the unfortunate capture of the war god Chu Lanze in the enemy camp, where he died in battle at the border.

In the winter of the third year of the Kang Le era, the day after the New Year's banquet at the palace, Li Mou, drunk, accidentally killed a poor scholar who had just entered the imperial examinations. He was thrown into the Dali Temple prison and committed suicide the next day out of fear of punishment.

Before Li Mou was imprisoned in Dali Temple, Li Mou's wife absconded with their family fortune and daughter, thus ending the only clue.

Over the past decade, the Luo family has sent out wave after wave of people, but the response they received was always the same: no word from them.

Rumors soon spread throughout the capital that Zhuang Shijun, who had disappeared that day, must have regretted his actions and returned to the capital to seduce Li Mou. This Zhuang Shijun was not only a former advisor to the Qin family, but also the beloved son of Zhuang Bicheng, a close follower of the old Duke Dingguo. During the battle when the wives of the old Duke Dingguo, Qin He, and the old Marquis Jingning, Chu Boling, were left to defend Fengchi against the enemy, Chu's wife's miscalculation led to Qin He's wife being humiliated and killed.

Then a feud developed between the two. After the country was stabilized and they were both old, the old grievances resurfaced, leading to a complete breakdown in their relationship. The old Duke Dingguo fell seriously ill as a result. Then, General Chu died young due to his early military career, and shortly after, the old Duke Dingguo died with his eyes wide open in discontent. Zhuang Bicheng, as the old Duke Dingguo's close follower, witnessed his father's resentful death. After his own death, he must have left a will instructing his beloved son, Zhuang Shijun, that one day he must assist the Qin family in taking the Chu family's lives, causing the Chu clan to be destroyed and wiped out.

Now that Li Mou is dead, his wife has also disappeared.

Qin Weixi faced Luo Ling, looked at a hibiscus tree in full bloom, reached out to stroke it, and remained silent.

Luo Ling's brow twitched slightly, and she asked, "Ye Ning? Why didn't you go back?" Her voice held a hint of surprise.

Qin Weixi, standing under the flowering tree, suddenly caught her breath, her hand that had been caressing the flowers stopping on a petal.

Under the corridor, Chu Yening stood there upright, wearing a royal blue, narrow-sleeved, belted robe, with his hair tied up in a high crown.

I don't know how long I stood there.

As dawn broke, half of his body was bathed in light, and his dark eyes, hidden in the twilight, quickly shifted from the fallen sword to the girl in white.

He made a sound in his throat and quickly emerged from the shadows.

The soft sunlight shone on his angular face, just like when he was young, his eyes full of untamed spirit.

Yesterday, past midnight, Chu Yening climbed over the wall of the Luo residence, startling Luo Ling, who was resting in the study, awake with a thud. He then began rambling incoherently.

Luo Ling only vaguely heard him say, "Brother Luo, can I have some water?"

Seeing that he smelled of alcohol, I held up the lamp and saw that he was completely drunk. I helped him into the study and then went to the kitchen to cook him a bowl of hangover soup.

As dawn broke at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), the person, just waking from a daze, seemed to have completely forgotten everything that had happened the day before. They simply said "Thank you" and then walked away.

Therefore, Luo Ling thought he had left.

He said casually, "Oh, the jade pendant is lost. I'll go back and look for it." Then, he changed the subject, his gaze seemingly casually falling on the sword on the ground, and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Why does this sword look so familiar?"

Luo Ling turned her gaze away from the sword and said truthfully, "Zhu Ruo gave it to me. Xiao Xing was plagued by nightmares when she first returned to the capital. This sword was personally forged by the late emperor and is extremely powerful. I thought it would be better to use it to ward off evil spirits."

Chu Yening chuckled, "That's a pretty good idea." He then sighed to himself, "This sword is very sharp. If it can be used to kill a villain someday, it will be a good use of its power."

His eyelashes drooped slightly as he looked at the sword again, then he said to the girl in white who still had her back to him, "Be careful not to hurt your hand."

"But those mosquitoes were really vicious that day. Little Eighth Sister, didn't you get bitten?"

Suddenly hearing the sound of hurried footsteps, she abruptly lifted her skirt and ran, turning her back to the two people under the flowering tree, and ran in one breath to the Tingyu Pavilion and entered the house.

Chu Yening smiled slyly and picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground: "They say that an object resembles its owner, can people be the same? Brother Luo, it's been many years since we last met, and this little sister who used to 'hold a rabbit and drop a golden pearl' seems a bit unfamiliar to me."

Luo Ling: "..."

Suddenly, a hurried footstep came from behind, followed by a servant shouting, "Young Master Tao! Young Master Tao! The reins are still in your hands."

The two turned around and saw Tao Qingyun walking towards them with a solemn expression.

He was quite surprised to see Chu Yening and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Luo Ling asked, "What happened?"

Tao Qingyun's expression darkened again: "Let's go up the mountain together quickly. It's Grandmother Zhao. She heard about the Three Bones Case from somewhere and fainted after vomiting blood."

Luo Ling asked anxiously, "When did this happen?"

"Just now. The man Old Wood left at Xiaguang Peak rushed over to report. The man didn't know the reason either. He only said that Grandmother Zhao met a very young father-in-law, and before they could exchange more than a few words, Grandmother Zhao fainted."

Tao Qingyun recalled for a moment: "I only know his name is something like... something like Cui Lu."

Huh? Cui Lu! Isn't that the person they rescued from the jaws of death back then? He hadn't thought much about it when he got the news and came out in such a hurry.

Thinking of this, he looked at the person who had saved Cui Lu back then, who was also present at the scene: "Chu Jiayou, do you still remember this person?" He then frowned slightly and turned to ask Luo Ling: "Why are you all gathered here? Where is Xiao Xing? Quick, pack up, let's go up the mountain together! Old Wood and Zhen Hui have already gone ahead."

The door to Tingyuxuan's room was opened again.

The girl, who was originally tearful, was no longer dressed in plain clothes and her black hair was now disheveled.

With delicate features and youthful beauty, she was like a girl with eyes as clear as autumn water. Who else could she be but the eighth daughter of the Luo family back then?

A note from the author:

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