A piece of Japanese incense

Zhi Yihe spent most of her time feeling groggy, the itching, pain, and dizziness from blood loss nearly rendering her unable to think. Food was difficult to swallow, and even the slightest bit of liquid food she managed to swallow would cause her to retch. Her already slender body had shrunk significantly in just a few days.

She curled up in the corner of the carriage, close to Yu Nian, trying to draw some strength from him to hold on, while using her body to isolate him from some bumps.

Feng Jinqi saw it all and was anxious. He wanted to order them to slow down several times to give Zhi Yihe a break, but seeing Agu's increasingly serious expression after each pulse diagnosis and Yu Nian's precarious condition, he knew that time was running out and there was no time to delay.

Just on the official road approaching Leyu City, a large team appeared.

Feng Jinqi's eyes glared, and he immediately laid his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. The guards, alerted, reined in their horses, and formed a defensive formation, protecting the carriage. Could it be the emperor's pursuers? Or had the local Leyu garrison received word of something?

The curtain of a luxurious carriage at the head of the team was lifted, and a young man in brocade clothes leaned out and looked over:

"With my sister?"

Zhi Yihe suddenly woke up: "Si Qi?!"

Feng Yan quickly supported Zhi Yihe who was about to sit up and lifted a corner of the car curtain for her.

After Zhi Siqi confirmed that it was Zhi Yihe, he immediately waved and called out, "Sister He!"

"Siqi? Why are you here?"

Zhi Siqi clutched the edge of the car window, fearing Zhi Yihe would disappear again. "Father has been furious since you disobeyed the imperial order and left, and has fallen seriously ill. Not long after, the imperial edict arrived, accusing Father of failing to raise his daughter properly and colluding with the West. The evidence was irrefutable, and everyone in the Zhi family, except me, was escorted to the capital. The Emperor, mindful of my young age and frailty, ordered me to recuperate in the mansion for a while before returning to the capital..."

"I received a letter from you, sister, saying you were going to Leyu. I was so anxious! Father had been taken away, and the mansion was in chaos. I was afraid you'd meet with another misfortune, and even more afraid that the emperor's men would come to Leyu to block you. I left behind a few loyal servants, sold some of our belongings, gathered men, and traveled day and night, chasing you all the way to Leyu. Fortunately... I met you here!"

Zhi Yihe felt a chill running from his feet to his head. His father was seriously ill and was being escorted to the capital?! The Zhi residence was raided?

Her first reaction was to turn her head towards the direction where Feng Jinqi was outside the carriage. Although she couldn't see his expression, she heard Feng Jinqi deliberately clear his throat.

She knew it!

Feng Jinqi had hidden something from her. When he wrote the letter, he probably knew that it would be lost in the sea once it reached Sanchuan, with no one to receive it. So he never mentioned it, nor did he stop her from sending the letter, because he was certain that there would be no response.

But he hadn't expected that the letter would be received by Zhi Siqi, who was temporarily staying at the Zhi Mansion to recuperate. He hadn't expected that her frail and sickly brother would desperately bring people to chase Le Yu.

Feng Jinqi looked through the car window and opened his mouth to speak, but in the end he said nothing. He just ordered the team in a low voice to keep moving forward and settle in the city as soon as possible.

Feng Jinqi found a quiet and clean courtyard to rest. After settling the unconscious Yu Nian and the exhausted Zhi Siqi, he took a deep breath and knocked on Zhi Yihe's door.

No one answered, so he pushed the door open and saw Zhi Yihe sitting alone by the window. The blisters on her face were covered with dark red scabs from the ointment she had applied, making her face less hideous.

"Did you come in?!"

"Uh... Ah He..."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Zhi Yihe interrupted him, "What about my father? He's sick and being taken to the capital! The entire Zhi family has been imprisoned, and you're right beside me, not saying a word?! I'm looking at me like a fool, and I asked you to write and deliver letters for me?!"

Feng Jinqi was speechless. "I... I just didn't want to add to your worries. The situation was critical at the time, and Yu Nian's life was hanging by a thread. Emperor Zhaoding had already issued an edict. Even if I told you, it would be useless and would only make you panic. I thought..."

"You thought? Ha!" Zhi Yihe sneered, "You thought again! Feng Jinqi, do you think you're so capable? What's the relationship between us? Do you need to worry about my affairs? The emperor doesn't trust my Yun family, doesn't trust my father, and he's eager to keep us locked up under his nose for the rest of our lives! This time back in Beijing, we might never be free again, do you know that?!"

"I know! I was also imprisoned in the Imperial City for three years! I know what it feels like! But what good will it do if I tell you? Are you going to break out of the prison?"

"Enough!" Zhi Yihe didn't want to listen to him. "Then how did you leave the imperial city safely? And you even openly escorted me, a 'prisoner of the throne', all the way?"

This was a thorn in Zhi Yihe's heart. Feng Jinqi's appearance itself was full of doubts, and his position had always been a chasm between them.

Feng Jinqi was silent: "Because..." He spoke after a long pause: "I presented the pipa to His Majesty."

Zhi Yihe's body trembled slightly.

Feng Jinqi continued, "I know he's been searching for clues to the Xiqi national treasure. I... by chance, came into possession of the pipa. I suggested to His Majesty that you might know the secret of the Xiqi national treasure, and he was persuaded."

He looked at Zhi Yihe with a complicated expression. "So, he gave me a chance to redeem myself and redeem myself. He ordered me to personally find you and bring you and... the Xiqi national treasure back to the imperial city. Only in this way can I protect myself and... have a chance to maneuver."

Zhi Yihe listened quietly. Feng Jinqi's words confirmed her worst suspicions. He was indeed sent by the emperor. Approaching her, protecting her, and even helping her, all with a clear purpose—to find the national treasure and complete the mission!

"I see." She uttered these four words softly, with no emotion in her voice.

The trust between them, already shaky and built on the exchange of interests, completely collapsed at this moment. All the repeated concealments sealed her away, completely isolating him from the world.

There was a slight noise outside the door, and Zhi Siqi was carried in by two servants on a simple bamboo chair.

"With my sister?" Zhi Siqi's eyes fell on the rash on Zhi Yihe's face, and he frowned with heartache. The servant put him down carefully and retreated.

Zhi Siqi waved tentatively in front of Zhi Yihe, but Zhi Yihe did not respond.

Feng Jinqi's voice changed tone and he responded coldly, "Don't shake me. Your sister is injured and poisoned. She can't see."

Zhi Yihe then "looked" in the direction of Zhi Siqi, with a bitter smile on his face: "It's okay, I just can't see it for the time being."

"How could this happen?! Sister, what have you been through these days?! Father was looking for you anxiously, but before he could find you, he... was taken away! I don't know where father is now, or how he is doing..." Thinking of his father, his voice choked.

Zhi Yihe briefly told Zhi Siqi about her experience after leaving Sanchuan Post Station, including being hunted, being rescued, going blind, Yu Nian being poisoned and seriously injured, and fleeing all the way, hiding many specific details. She was afraid that Zhi Siqi would be in greater danger if he knew too much.

"Siqi," she asked, "after I disappeared at the post station, did you... did you send anyone to the post station again? Did you find the jade pillar?"

Zhi Siqi shook his head blankly: "No, my father sent people to search several times, but they didn't find anything special. Then something happened at home."

Zhi Yihe's heart sank slightly; Yuzhu was gone. She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't ask about Ah Ban's whereabouts. His identity was sensitive, and the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

"With my sister." Zhi Siqi glanced at the door vigilantly, and Feng Jinqi retreated tactfully.

When they were alone in the room, Zhi Siqi finally spoke, "Um... Sister Yan... should we... tell His Majesty in secret?"

Zhi Yihe immediately shook her head, her tone firm: "No! Siqi, Feng Yan has had a hard time these years. Once she and Feng Zhiyan are handed over to the emperor, with the means used by His Majesty, the two siblings will surely die. Just pretend... you don't know. Don't mention their identities to anyone." She knew very well that Feng Yan had been following and monitoring her all the way, but she had also been taking care of her all the way. This complicated friendship made it impossible for her to cruelly push the other party to death.