A piece of Japanese incense

Zhi Yihe stepped over the threshold and entered the courtyard, where he was greeted by silence. Throughout the entire mansion, on the floors of every room, there was not a single messy footprint. Every wooden board seemed to be immersed in boundless loneliness, emitting a cold luster.

Although the furniture is still there, there is no dust on it. They just stand there quietly without any signs of having been used.

In the study, on the bookshelves, the books are arranged in an orderly manner, but they reveal the silence of having never been read.

"Miss, I got the book here." Yu Yi said.

"Well, put it back."

Zhi Yihe glanced at the books on the bookshelf: "Notes in the Clouds", "A Hundred Birds' Feathers", "Reflections in the Field"...

She picked up a few books at random, all of which were classics related to Xiqi, and her mind was filled with thoughts.

My grandmother and the others might be imprisoned by the current prince. When I was unconscious, the prince released Yu Yi to treat me, risking his identity. Could it be that he wanted to use me to get information from my father? However, Prince Yun had passed away, and the hope of Xiqi's restoration was gone. What else did they want to know? Did they know about the existence of my cousin? I was also of some use to them. How should I act to rescue my grandmother from prison?

"Girl, girl?"

Zhi Yihe came back to his senses: "Huh?"

"Should we go back?"

"Wait a little longer. We'll just stay there anyway. Why not find a book to read here?"

"It's still a little chilly at night. I'll go back and get you a gauze cloak."

"Yeah, okay." Zhi Yihe put his index finger on his lips, took off his shoes, stepped on the armchair, and reached for a book called "Folk Taboos" on the top of the bookshelf.

Just as she was immersed in an interesting passage in the book, Zhi Yihe suddenly felt a warm breath beside her. She lowered her eyes and saw Hefeng standing with his hands behind his back, his head slightly tilted, reading with her shoulder to shoulder.

"Roar!" With a scream, Zhi Yihe instinctively took a step back, put one foot on the empty space on the back of the chair, leaned forward, and waved his arms around in the air while losing balance.

Hefeng was hit directly in the corner of the eye by Zhiyi and the book in her hand. The moment he took the book, he saw that she was about to fall, so he put his arm around her waist and held her steadily. At the same time, he supported the chair ring with the hand holding the book to prevent her from falling again.

Zhi Yihe's body fell uncontrollably on Hefeng. She hugged his shoulders and gasped heavily.

Hefeng was distracted by Zhi Yihe's hug. The warm touch spread all over his body, like a ray of sunshine in winter, making him feel safe and comfortable.

The world seemed to stop at this moment, all worries and anxieties were isolated by these arms. The corners of his mouth rose unconsciously, and he greedily put his arms around her slowly and held her in a tighter embrace.

Zhi Yihe quickly adjusted her mood. She felt a tightness around her waist and pushed Hefeng away. She wanted to scold him, "You stinky rascal," but then she remembered that she still needed to rely on him to find her grandmother. So she sat cross-legged on the chair, as if nothing had happened. She put her hands together and prayed softly, "Amitabha! Amitabha! I was really scared! Thank you, Master He!"

He Feng's arms were still hanging in the air. He retracted his hands, pretended to brush his sleeves lightly, and asked with a smile: "I heard from the servants that you made a big fuss in my room?"

Zhi Yihe shrugged slightly awkwardly and replied in a relaxed tone: "Well - you estimate the losses, and then from my..."

Before she finished her words, He Feng suddenly bent down and approached her face to face, locking his eyes with her sharply: "Did you enjoy the fall? Do you want to try another place?"

Zhi Yihe shrank his neck, put his hands between the two of them and waved: "I dare not! I dare not! I will definitely pay you back the money I owe you!"

The breeze was irresistibly gentle, brushing across her cheek carelessly as if touching a work of art, accurately pinching the outline of her jaw.

Zhi Yihe tried to avoid it, but he gently applied force with his thumb and index finger, guiding her face to slightly rise, forcing her to face his gaze.

Zhi Yihe was so overwhelmed by his straightforward gaze that she slapped his hand away, slipped off the seat and put on her shoes in a panic.

"I see that you have recovered well. You don't have to worry about leaving scars and being unable to get married."

Zhi Yihe raised her eyes, met his half-smiley eyes, raised her lips and revealed a brief smile: "Thank you for your good wishes."

"Didn't you say you had something to discuss with me?" He Feng leaned against the desk and put the book to his nose and sniffed it.

Zhi Yihe finally reacted and asked, "When can you take me to see my father?"

He Feng lazily crossed his legs and twisted his neck to respond: "Wait a moment. I'm busy with many things right now. You can rest in my house for the time being. When I'm done, I'll take you there."

When Zhi Yihe heard that they still had to wait, he couldn't help but get anxious: "What on earth are you busy with? It's just a matter of going into the prison to talk for a few minutes, why delay and wait for so long!"

"What are you talking about? It's all your fault!"

"Me? What's wrong with me?"

"Have you forgotten the corpse you found in Zhang Xian Temple?"

Zhi Yihe rolled his eyes, curled his lips, and sat down on the desk casually: "Could it be that you are inefficient? A corpse alone can keep you busy for several days?"

"One? Ha! More than one! So far, more than a hundred bodies have been excavated! The left and right guards of the Eastern Palace led more than 40 people to dig for two days and one night, but they still haven't found all of them!"

Zhi Yihe covered his mouth in shock, and curiously asked, "Doesn't that mean the entire temple foundation has been turned upside down?"

He Feng laughed, pinched her cheek, and said word by word, "It's all your fault! You led us there for no reason. Now the people in the capital are in a panic, and rumors are spreading that the temple is a place of cannibalism. Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and those with ulterior motives are making a fuss about it."

Zhi Yihe slapped his hands with a grin, trying to get rid of He Feng's grasp. He snorted coldly, "What does it have to do with me? If you want to wear the crown, you must bear the weight!"

"Alas! The emperor has given us ten days to solve the case, but now the bodies are piling up like a mountain and the coroner is overwhelmed. Where can we start? The banyan tree is really an ominous tree!" Hefeng pressed his nose and sighed.

As Zhi Yihe's eyes turned, he took out "Anecdotes" from the bookshelf. "Hey! Look! Although the banyan tree is an ominous tree in Dongli, it was once regarded as a sacred tree in Fu County in Xiqi. They even have a special festival there, the 'Banyan Qing Festival'."

Hefeng frowned, took the book and examined it carefully. Zhiyihe brought the candlestick and moved it to where his sight was, waiting for him to finish reading.

"So, for them, the banyan tree is a spiritual tree that can ward off evil and misfortune?"

Zhi Yihe nodded in agreement: "So, I'm afraid someone killed someone, and in order to suppress the evil spirits, they found such an ancient tree and buried the dead there."

Their eyes met, and there was a tacit understanding flashing in their eyes.

"Princess?!"

"Yan Xunhua!"

They said the same person's name at the same time and smiled at each other.

Zhi Yihe touched his lips with his hand, thinking and analyzing without any defense: "Then why did she kill so many people? Her aunt is the queen, her father is a founding hero, and her brother commands a large army. She-"

"My husband's favor!"

"The prince's offspring!"

They both spoke in unison again. Zhi Yihe avoided Hefeng's gaze, pursed his lips, and lowered his head to play with the paperweight in his hand.

He Feng didn't notice her little action, and excitedly put his hand on her shoulder: "Ah He, I know very well that you can always help me!"

Zhi Yihe blinked, but before she could say anything else, Hefeng had already hurriedly left the study, leaving her alone in the empty study.

Zhi Yihe shook his head, with all the details of the case surging in his mind.

She thought of the two wooden boxes that Butler Wang had entrusted to her for safekeeping, as well as those mysterious symbols and patterns. Her thoughts drifted back to her dream, where Yan Xunhua was the culprit in the strange case of eating babies...

An idea suddenly occurred to her. Although the wooden box had been burned by Yan Xunhua, she still vaguely remembered those symbols. So she picked up the pen and sketched out those patterns.

"Girl, if you practiced painting diligently, why would it be like this? What are you painting?" Yu Yi held the rice paper in her hand, looked left and right, and shook her head in disdain.

"Oh no! I just drew it according to what I thought in my mind! But my hands just don't listen to me~" Zhi Yihe scratched his head helplessly, held his cheeks with both hands, and let out a long sigh.