It can be said
The disturbing noises outside the courtyard gradually faded away, and a hurried sound of footsteps approached.
Jie Xiangsi was not in a deep sleep, so she woke up the moment she heard the sound coming from her direction. Before she could open her eyes, a gentle breeze blew past her ear, and she suddenly felt a slightly heavy touch on her shoulder.
She opened her eyes to see a thin, dark blue cloak embroidered with eagles, still warm to the touch, clearly having just been removed from someone's body.
The familiar scent filled her nostrils, warming her heart and causing a smile to unconsciously creep onto her lips. She didn't know why, but ever since they had confirmed their feelings for each other, she was always moved by these little details.
Seeing that she had opened her eyes, Zhou Yanzhi pulled the cloak up around her again and said in a softer tone, "Did I wake you up?"
"No." Xie Xiangsi shook her head, her eyes clear and gentle. She tugged at Zhou Yanzhi's sleeve, gesturing for him to sit down, and then smiled softly, "I wasn't asleep, I was just resting with my eyes closed."
She glanced up at the dark circles under Zhou Yanzhi's eyes, blinked, and couldn't help but lean forward, touching his face with one hand, saying, "I heard you've been staying at Nanfeng Pavilion every day. Is it too noisy there and you haven't been getting enough rest?"
"……Um."
Hearing her mention Nanfeng Pavilion, a hint of unease flashed across Zhou Yanzhi's face. It wasn't just that he hadn't rested well; he'd been awake all night, forced to eavesdrop on others, making it incredibly difficult for him to fall asleep.
Every day is the same: the scene next door is incredibly exciting, while his side is... incredibly awkward.
Seeing Zhou Yanzhi's ears turn bright red, Jie Xiangsi clenched her palms, trying her best to suppress the corners of her lips that wanted to curl up, and then secretly laughed to herself.
It seems that these past few days have really put Lord Zhou in a difficult position. He has grown up in a clean and upright manner since childhood, and apart from handling cases, he has probably never stepped into a brothel, let alone stayed overnight.
but……
Thinking of something, Jie Xiangsi coughed lightly and said in a serious tone, "Cousin."
"What's wrong?" Zhou Yanzhi asked gently.
Jie Xiangsi looked up and met his clear eyes, and slowly said, "You... and Lord Su really don't have anything between you, do you?"
Actually, she had heard what those people hiding outside the courtyard were saying. People, when it comes to this kind of thing, will more or less have a bit of a "let's watch the show" attitude.
However, she couldn't very well ask Su Feng, since she had just asked him to help identify the portrait. Furthermore, it was indeed inappropriate for her to discuss this issue with Su Feng, so she had no choice but to ask Zhou Yanzhi instead.
Of course, she wouldn't admit that she just wanted to tease Zhou Yanzhi. Finding the mastermind was urgent, and although he didn't say anything, she knew he must have been under a lot of stress these past few days. She wanted to make him relax with a little joke.
While she thought things through clearly, Zhou Yanzhi was thunderstruck, completely stunned.
Zhou Yanzhi: "...?" What's going on? Does this mean what he thought?
Seeing his eyes momentarily become confused, Jie Xiangsi almost burst out laughing. He looked so funny. If she were still Xiao Yan, as his mortal enemy, she would definitely make fun of him.
But unfortunately, the persona she was in wasn't Xiao Yan, so she could only suppress her laughter and pat Zhou Yanzhi's hand, her tone revealing an undisguised slyness: "Alright, alright, sorry, sorry, I won't ask anymore."
Changing the subject, she glanced at the courtyard gate and asked疑惑地问道, "Where is Lord Su? Why didn't he come back with you?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi looked up, paused for a moment, looked at her with conflicted eyes, and then... raised his hand and pointed behind her, saying calmly, "Behind you."
Jie Xiangsi: "..." Could I really be that unlucky?
Turning her head shakily as well, Jie Xiangsi met a pair of peach blossom eyes that were still smiling. When she looked at him, Su Feng even gave her a "friendly" smile.
The beautiful woman spoke languidly, with an ambiguous undertone: "Hello, cousin..."
A gentle breeze blew by, and Jie Xiangsi suddenly shivered. She moved closer to Zhou Yanzhi without making a sound, as if she wanted to push Zhou Yanzhi behind her into front of her.
After a moment of silence, she forced a smile and said, "Greetings, Lord Su. When did you return? Why didn't you come in through the main gate?"
Su Feng lifted his eyelids, thought for a moment, and then suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" He stared at Xie Xiangsi with a half-smile and said, "I guess... I came back when you asked Ce'an if there was anything between me and him."
"Um... also, I prefer to use VPNs."
Jie Xiangsi: "..."
Completely unable to laugh, Jie Xiangsi quickly lowered her head. Was there a hole in the ground? She almost wanted to crawl into it.
After a long silence, she suddenly raised her eyes and said with a look of grim determination, "Lord Su, I am so sorry, because you are just too outstanding and so handsome."
Su Feng nodded with obvious satisfaction, a hint of pride creeping into his eyes, and gestured for her to continue.
Jie Xiangsi continued in a clear and articulate voice, "I'm afraid my cousin has ulterior motives towards you, so I wanted to use this opportunity to give him a warning and make him give up that idea."
This time, Zhou Yanzhi was stunned and couldn't help but retort, "I can... umm!"
Jie Xiangsi covered Zhou Yanzhi's mouth with one hand and said quickly, "Right, right, weren't we going to talk about serious business? Lord Su, please sit down, let's start now."
As she spoke, she flicked the previously folded portrait out of her sleeve, slammed it on the table, and said solemnly, "First, we need to start with the person depicted in this portrait..."
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
Su Feng: "..."
...
As noon approached, the sunlight became quite dazzling, casting shadows on the stone table and reflecting into people's eyes, causing them to feel inexplicably dry.
After saying her last sentence, Jie Xiangsi couldn't help but rub her eyes, and then continued, "So, my current guess is that He Yun and the Northern Barbarian King He Yunye are twins."
“The Record of Customs of the Northern Barbarians says: ‘When encountering twins, abandon the weaker one to worship the gods and support the stronger one to protect the people.’ Since twins mostly look alike, I think He Yun is the weaker one among the twins.”
Upon hearing this, Su Feng pondered for a moment, then turned to Zhou Yanzhi and asked, "Was the person you saw in Danzhou that day really not He Yunye himself?"
Zhou Yanzhi didn't speak. After a moment of silence, he nodded and said, "That's definitely not it."
Upon hearing this, Su Feng's face showed a hint of shock, and even Xie Xiangsi couldn't help but look up at Zhou Yanzhi. However, her shock was different from Su Feng's; she was shocked that Zhou Yanzhi had admitted that He Yun was not He Yunye.
In fact, they all knew that they were hiding in a secret passage in Danzhou that day. Zhou Yanzhi never saw He Yun's face with his own eyes. Even the name "He Yun" was said by Xie Xiangsi.
Zhou Yanzhi never actually met He Yun; he was just gambling... gambling that what she said was true.
For some reason, Xie Xiangsi suddenly felt a lump in her throat, and a surge of emotion welled up in her heart, making her inexplicably want to cry. But she also felt that she was being a bit strange. She didn't cry when she died, so why was she crying now? How pathetic.
So she took a deep breath and forced the sour feeling back down.
From now on, she will treat Zhou Yanzhi with the utmost kindness and consideration. Once the Xiao family case is resolved, she will tell him all her unspeakable secrets, and there will be no more secrets between them.
A gentle breeze stirred the fallen leaves on the ground and also rustled the thin sheet of Xuan paper on the stone table.
After Zhou Yanzhi said that, everyone fell silent for a while. After a long while, Su Feng spoke first, his tone no longer joking, but serious and earnest: "In that case, is it possible that the Xiao family's case is related to the Northern Barbarians?"
"No." Zhou Yanzhi raised his eyelids.
"Why?" Su Feng frowned and analyzed, "Although the custom in the Northern Barbarians is to abandon the weaker of twins, He Yun and He Yunye are, after all, brothers born of the same mother. Isn't it reasonable for the two of them to cooperate in eliminating the Xiao family, who have guarded the Northern Barbarians for generations?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi reached out and put away the constantly flipping portrait, while patiently explaining, "Because the Northern Barbarians have an almost fanatical sense of identification with their traditional customs."
The Record of Customs of the Northern Barbarians states: "Any abandoned infant who is not yet dead must be killed if seen," otherwise there will be divine punishment. To avoid divine punishment, they would definitely kill He Yun.
Moreover, if the Northern Barbarians wanted to eliminate the Xiao family, they could simply train their troops and slaughter the Xiao family's army on the battlefield. However, divine punishment was something they could not contend with.
After a pause, Xie Xiangsi's eyes suddenly turned sharp: "Therefore, no matter how much benefit keeping He Yun would bring them, they would not risk divine punishment to keep him."
Suddenly, a gust of wind arose, forcefully lifting the hems of the three people's clothes. The expensive fabrics swirled in the air, making a constant rustling sound, as if echoing the words of longing.
After listening to Jie Xiangsi's long speech, Su Feng tapped the jade fan that had appeared out of nowhere on his palm twice. After a while, he clicked his tongue and said, "I thought the custom of inheriting the queen in the Northern Barbarians was strange enough, but I didn't expect there to be such a custom of killing one's own child to worship the gods. It's really vulgar and disgusting."
There was a moment of silence.
After a moment of silence, Zhou Yanzhi nodded and said, "The Northern Barbarians have a much lower sense of morality regarding human relationships and social norms than we do, so He Yunye's side should not cooperate with He Yun."
“So, I have an idea,” Xie Xiangsi suddenly said.
"What are your thoughts?" Two voices rang out simultaneously.
Meeting the two curious gazes above, Jie Xiangsi slowly said, "Since He Yun and He Yunye look alike, is it possible that he made a deal with the person behind the scenes? He helped the person behind the scenes to bring down the Xiao family, and in return, the person behind the scenes helped him kill the Northern Barbarian King He Yunye, allowing him to replace him and become the new Northern Barbarian King without anyone noticing?"
After all, she remembered the pile of silver in the secret room of the governor's mansion in Danzhou, which was specifically reserved for He Yun. So much silver was enough for him to do many things.
As she spoke, Xie Xiangsi lowered her voice to a very low level: "Two people who look alike and share the same blood, if they pay a little attention to their attire, who can tell them apart?"
Yesterday it was a different person, but overnight, the person standing next to you today could be a different person.
But the problem was, only he knew this; no one else knew until he was willing to tell the truth.
Imagining that scene, Su Feng felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around and said earnestly to Jie Xiangsi, who was secretly fanning him from behind, "Cousin, can you speak normally? It's a little scary. Also, don't scare me secretly."
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