As night fell, Chi Yan returned late, and Shen Tangning casually asked, "Did you find any clues?"
After searching for books all day, he inevitably looked tired. He lazily raised his hand to remove his court robes and looked over in the dim candlelight, his eyes hiding a hint of ambiguity: "The Fourth Prince also went to the library today."
"The Fourth Prince?" She raised an eyebrow. "And then?"
Chi Yan slowly hung his clothes on the wooden rack: "I borrowed a few miscellaneous books and then left."
Shen Tangning turned her head, looking thoughtful: "What a coincidence? Why did you have to come and borrow books when you were here?"
"You also feel something's not right?" He turned around, arms crossed, a half-smile in his eyes.
Shen Tangning remained noncommittal. Perhaps due to the previous incident at Qingyu Workshop, she had a preconceived notion that the Fourth Prince was not a simple person, so she always felt that his every move was worth pondering.
Furthermore, the fact that Liu Yifu's previous investigation into the antique forgery case ended without any resolution when he reached Qingyufang further illustrates the power behind this force.
"So, what did you learn today?"
“Not yet.” Chi Yan lowered his eyes slightly and smiled enigmatically. “But it will be soon.”
She was a little confused, but seeing his mysterious look, she didn't press him for details.
“By the way,” Shen Tangning recalled what happened during the day and tentatively discussed with him, “I think your cousin seems to have been deceived by someone and is planning to go to Baiyun Temple to find out the truth.”
If the other party weren't Chi Yan's cousin, she wouldn't have bothered to meddle. But the Feng family was closely related to the Chi family, sharing weal and woe, and her mother-in-law had always treated her quite well...
Furthermore, given that the other party was likely targeting her, she felt it was necessary to make the trip in person.
After hearing this, Chi Yan sat down next to her and said, "You can decide this little thing yourself." He took her hand and gently stroked it in his palm, sighing, "It's just that he treated you like that, and you still consider him in every way. It's really unfair to you."
He didn't think this was a given. People are all made of flesh and blood. If you give a peach, you should return a precious jade. Only through mutual exchange can things last.
The idea of repaying evil with kindness is utter nonsense.
Shen Tangning's bright eyes curved slightly, but she didn't offer any further explanation.
...
The next day, before dawn, Chi Yan was hastily summoned away by a message—
The library caught fire last night!
When Shen Tangning saw that he didn't seem flustered when he left, but instead looked confident, a thoughtful smile appeared on her lips.
When Chi Yan arrived, Liu Yifu had already been there for a while. The other man looked extremely solemn, but Chi Yan still had the mind to joke, nudging him with his elbow: "Lord Liu, don't be so serious, how much was burned?"
He squinted at the library, where one wall was charred black, while the rest was still relatively intact.
Liu Yifu's tone was slightly cold: "It was discovered in time, and only a dozen or so bookshelves were burned. Although we haven't yet figured out exactly which categories they were, the books we're looking for are most likely in there."
Chi Yan nodded: "What was the cause of the fire?"
Liu Yifu repeated what the palace servant had said: "Last night, a window was left open, and the wind was too strong, which blew over the candles inside and caused a fire. Books cannot withstand moisture, and the library needs to be kept dry. In such an environment, once an open flame is encountered, it can spread like wildfire."
Logically speaking, such a place should not have candles burning all night, as it poses too great a safety hazard.
However, the few lamps and candles were meant to provide light for the night watchmen. They were all covered with lampshades and were located far from the bookshelves. After carefully closing the doors and windows, there was no major danger.
But by some strange coincidence, a window was not closed properly last night due to the negligence of the palace staff, which led to the fire.
"What a coincidence!" Chi Yan sighed, seemingly unconvinced. "Where are the palace guards on night watch?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com