Whenever Feng Ye came, he never left easily and always stayed at Yan Sikong's house. But this time he did not stay long. After having dinner with him, he left.

Yan Sikong was surprised and asked, "You're leaving now?"

Feng Ye smiled evilly and said, "Why, you can't bear to leave me?"

"But Jingshan Camp still has military affairs?"

"No, the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. I have to go to the palace to pay my respects to my aunt and send her a gift." Feng Ye hugged Yan Sikong and said coquettishly, "If you can't bear to leave me, I will go tomorrow."

"This is serious business, go quickly." Yan Sikong could hardly hide the smile on his lips.

"Then give me a kiss." Feng Ye bit his lips lightly, his face full of anticipation.

Yan Sikong didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You haven't grown up yet, how can you be so naughty like this."

"Why haven't I grown up? Do you want to see?"

Yan Sikong laughed and scolded, "Go quickly."

Feng Ye pursed his lips and rocked Yan Sikong gently while hugging him.

Yan Sikong coughed lightly and seemed a little hesitant.

Feng Ye leaned over with his handsome face, his eyes sparkling.

Yan Sikong shook his head helplessly, leaned forward slightly, and kissed Feng Ye on the lips.

Feng Ye was overjoyed, with a slightly shy but elated look on his face. He leaned close to Yan Sikong's ear and whispered, "Sikong, your lips are sweet."

Yan Sikong felt as if his ears were burning. He pretended to be angry and said, "Stop talking nonsense and leave quickly."

"No nonsense, it's sweet." Feng Ye rubbed Yan Sikong's cheek contentedly, "On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, let's go to enjoy the lanterns and release river lanterns, okay?"

"I don't know how long I will be confined to my house. I am not allowed to go out."

"What are you afraid of? Let's just put on the masks." Feng Ye was a little excited. "I've heard that the Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing is the most lively in the world, with all kinds of delicious food and fun things to do. The Mid-Autumn Festival in Datong is much more boring. Why do you have to accompany me to see it?"

Yan Sikong smiled and said, "Okay."

——

A few days later, the punishment for the new history case came to an end.

The several serious crimes that Wang Shengsheng was impeached for were all glossed over, and he was only charged with dereliction of duty and bribery. I think Xie Zhongren secretly made a lot of efforts. Wang Shengsheng was deprived of his title of Grand Scholar, expelled from the inner cabinet, and demoted to Bashu to replace the prefect of Chongqing who retired due to illness. Although Bashu was no longer a barren land, it was dangerous and treacherous, and the people were in poverty. Wang Shengsheng's career was in decline, even worse than Cai Zhongfan, who was framed by him and demoted to Qingyang.

The chief editor Liu Zhaolin was demoted to the position of magistrate of a county, and was to take up his post in Yongzhou, which was equally poor and remote. From Hanlin to magistrate of a county, it seemed that there was no change in rank, but in fact there was a world of difference. Hanlin was a place for training ministers and chancellors, which meant that one could rise to a high position in the future, while being a magistrate of a county meant that even if one did not make mistakes in his life, there was no possibility of promotion, not to mention that in Yongzhou, where banditry was rampant, it meant that one's future was ruined.

The other four people involved in the case were each fined half a year's salary.

On the day Liu Zhaolin took office, many of his colleagues in the Hanlin Academy went to see him off.

He used to be a person who loved to laugh and talk, but after this incident, he was already full of sorrow, as if he had aged ten years overnight. After studying hard for thirty years, he had entered the palace that all scholars dream of, but it was gone in one day. This kind of huge change in life is not something that an ordinary person can face calmly.

Yan Sikong looked at Liu Zhaolin silently in the crowd. He and Liu Zhaolin did not have much personal relationship, so it was not appropriate for him to have too many emotions at this time.

Liu Zhaolin sighed and said, "Thank you all. I have failed my fellow villagers, my mentor, my emperor, and also implicated all my colleagues. I have no face to drink a farewell drink, so I'll just treat it as an apology drink." After he finished speaking, tears welled up in his eyes and he drank it all in one gulp.

Everyone sighed.

Liu Zhaolin was on his way, but many people couldn't help but sigh: "It's just a typo... Hey, who hasn't made a typo before?"

"That's right."

Shen Hexuan said in a deep voice: "The manuscript of the new history has been returned to Wenyuan Pavilion. We need to review it again. With the previous experience, I believe that everyone will be more careful to avoid making any mistakes."

——

The thick history volume had been stacked back on the desk in Wenyuan Pavilion. When Shen Hexuan returned to the room, the first thing he did was to find the ninth volume and turn to the page that caused the turmoil.

Although everyone had read the reprinted New History, the reprint used a block-printed version, and the font and handwriting were almost unrecognizable, and the details of the original manuscript were naturally all missing. Therefore, everyone gathered around, wanting to see the fatal two words with their own eyes.

Sure enough, the two words "Zhaowu" were mistakenly written as "Wu Zhao".

There was a sigh in the house.

Shen Hexuan stared at the two words carefully, but frowned. Yan Sikong stood beside him, and his dark eyes took in every expression of Shen Hexuan.

That day, they reallocated the tasks and started a new round of verification.

At dusk, colleagues returned home one after another, but Shen Hexuan stopped Yan Sikong.

"Brother Shen, what advice do you have for me?"

"I have something I want to discuss with you."

"Oh?" Yan Sikong looked curious.

Shen Hexuan walked over with the ninth volume of the manuscript and placed it on Yan Sikong's desk.

"This is the page that was missing."

"That's right." Shen Hexuan pointed at the word "Wu Zhao" and said, "Do you think these two words are a bit...inharmonious?"

Yan Sikong frowned and looked at it for a while: "It seems... I can't tell, Brother Shen, did you see anything?"

"I have two doubts." Shen Hexuan said, "First, the blank space in this line is less than that in the others. Everyone has his own writing habits. Some like to fill the page, and the handwriting often hits the edge, while others like to leave some space to appear generous. The spacing between the two characters Wu Zhao and the blank space after Zhao are different from Brother Liu's previous writing."

"Brother Shen, it seems that...something is indeed a little bit wrong."

"Secondly, Brother Liu must have been very tired when writing this part of the scroll. Although his handwriting is still elegant, it is a little loose and sloppy compared to the beginning of the scroll. However, the word 'Zhao' seems to have been written without fatigue..."

Yan Sikong was nervous. This Shen Hexuan really had a supernatural eye. "Brother Shen, what's your guess? Could it be... someone wrote this for you?"

Shen Hexuan shook his head: "I can't really say, this character is indeed Brother Liu's character... What do you think?"

Yan Sikong pretended to be thinking hard: "I didn't pay attention to it for a while, but the two things Brother Shen mentioned seem to be strange, but it's hard to say that we are just suspicious. It would be better if Brother Liu was here."

Shen Hexuan sighed: "Even if he is here, it's probably useless. He doesn't remember what he wrote at all. Even if he sees these two words, he probably won't remember anything."

"Why don't we go ask Lin Yue?"

"He was just a small clerk who helped us sort out historical materials. I don't think he knew anything."

"Then..." Yan Sikong smiled bitterly, "It would be better if Brother Shen didn't say anything. Once Brother Shen said it, this matter really made me feel uneasy."

"Yes." Shen Hexuan frowned and said hesitantly, "I have an idea in my mind, but it is... too bold. I dare not think about it carefully."

"What do you think, Brother Shen?"

"I..." Shen Hexuan stared at the case file and finally said, "Forget it, let me think about it again."

"Brother Shen, if you have any ideas, you can discuss them with me at any time. After all, you and I..." Yan Sikong said with a wry smile, "We are in the same boat."

Shen Hexuan bowed and said, "Of course."

Yan Sikong left Wenyuan Pavilion and realized that his palms were full of sweat.

Nothing in this world is perfect. There is always a loophole. When you meet someone as extremely smart and honest as Shen Hexuan, it is easier to be ruined by this small "loophole". I just hope Shen Hexuan can let it go. After all, the case has been closed and Liu Zhaolin has gone to Yongzhou, so there will be no evidence forever.

——

After returning home, Yan Sikong went into the kitchen, closed the door, opened the locked vegetable cellar in the corner, picked up the oil lamp, and climbed down the ladder.

The faint light of the oil lamp flickered in the dark vegetable cellar. Wherever the light reached, one could see glittering gold, silver and jade artifacts. There were so many of them that they filled every corner.

Yan Sikong squatted down and picked up a piece of antique jade, which was worth at least four or five hundred taels of silver. He also picked up a valuable jade hairpin before leaving the vegetable cellar, walking out of the kitchen, and calling Ali over.

Ali watched Yan Sikong pack up an ordinary wooden ink box on the jade table, and then handed the ink box to him.

"Did you find the family I asked you to investigate?"

Ali nodded.

"It's not far from the capital."

Ali shook his head.

"Leave the city on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival and bury this thing in the Liu family's field. Go quickly and come back quickly."

Ali cupped his hands.

"Also, give this to Miss Yeli, and don't tell anyone who sent it to you." Yan Sikong also handed the hairpin to Ali.

Ali looked at Yan Sikong in confusion.

"Do as I say. Go ahead."

——

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Jade Rabbit rises in the east and the silver plate hangs high in the sky, and the capital welcomes the lively Lantern Festival.

Lanterns of various colors are hung in the streets and alleys. There are many skilled craftsmen among the people. There are probably thousands of forms of lanterns, some are formal and elegant, some are lively and humorous, such as embroidered lanterns, flower tree lanterns, insect and bird lanterns, monster lanterns, zodiac lanterns, etc. There are also many human-shaped lanterns, including gods, lucky stars, heavenly soldiers and maidens, as well as actors, hawkers, boys and girls. It can be said that all kinds of people in the world can be found in the lanterns.

Thousands of lanterns were lit up in the dark night. At a glance, the city was filled with orange and red colors, making the capital as colorful as a dream. The most beautiful thing in the world is nothing more than this.

Almost all the people in the city took to the streets. There were countless vendors hawking their wares at the Lantern Festival. There was everything from eating to drinking to having fun, and there were also many interesting shows.

You can guess lantern riddles, watch magic shows, or just stroll around. There is also the annual lantern competition, where every year the contestants compete to see who has the biggest, smallest, most beautiful, and most ingenious lantern. It is the most watched show among the people.

Many people on the street were wearing strange masks, which is one of the traditions of the Lantern Festival. People were moving around and jostling each other, so no one noticed that two tall men with masks on were quietly holding each other's hands.