After the interstellar female general died in battle, she transmigrated into the body of a dashing p

Winter weather is like a child's mood, changing in an instant. One day it's sunny and bright, the next day dark clouds loom over the city, and the north wind howls, stinging people's skin. The funeral banners at Liu Danqin's mansion flutter in the wind.

Since his coming-of-age ceremony, Zheng Zhian has stayed at Danqin's residence to oversee the funeral.

Danqin was unmarried and had no relatives, so the Duke of Yun adopted her as his goddaughter and she entered the Yun family ancestral hall to enjoy the incense offerings of the Yun family.

This made outsiders laugh, saying that the Duke had lost his mind, allowing an outsider into the family ancestral hall; they couldn't find another family like his Yun family.

There weren't many people who came to pay their respects; most of the time, it was Zheng Zhian and a group of Taoist priests chanting in the mourning hall.

Zheng Hongyuan did not agree with her keeping vigil herself, but he could not persuade her otherwise, so he let her go.

Zong Zhenping went there every day, but the two of them spoke very little, and sometimes they remained silent.

On the evening of the fourth day, Da Chui, who had been in charge of investigating Zhuang Shize, was brought to the mourning hall by Ling Fei.

"master."

Zheng Zhian got up from the prayer cushion and left the mourning hall.

"Zhuang Chun is currently in a small martial arts sect called Baqi Pavilion. She became the concubine of that pavilion master a few years ago and has a son who is now five years old."

What does the Orochi Pavilion mainly do?

"On the surface, he forges swords, and people from the martial arts world often come to him to order weapons. But in the shadows, he deals in some shady things, and also," Big Hammer paused for a moment, "he sells young women he finds from who-knows-where to those who buy swords."

Zheng Zhian cracked his neck, "Are there any officials colluding with them?"

"Yes, Kong Gaojun, the prefect of Jingnan, took two concubines, but it seems that Kong Gaojun has disappeared."

"Missing?" Zheng Zhian pinched his neck and turned to look at Ling Fei: "What happened?"

She remembered asking Ling Fei to send someone to investigate this person, but she had been busy and forgot. The fact that Ling Fei hadn't reported back meant that the investigation was still ongoing.

Ling Fei clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Kong Gaojun died at the Imperial Academy on the very day Danqin had her accident."

“Our people arrived in Jingnan before the New Year and found that Kong Gaojun had disappeared. His whereabouts had been deliberately erased. We just found out that he was heading to the capital, but then he disappeared again. Last time when they were looking for Danqin, Twelve and the others found his body in the courtyard where they were staying.”

"They suspect so," Ling Fei hesitated, not daring to speak.

Zheng Zhian narrowed his eyes slightly: "Who?"

"They suspect that it was the Crown Prince's men who did it."

Ling Fei and Da Chui were instantly forced to lower their heads by the intimidating aura emanating from Zheng Zhian, who exuded an imposing presence even without anger.

At a certain place on the beam of Zhengzhi Anwang House, there is a sign that reads "twelve".

"Master." Without her asking, Twelve bowed and continued, "That day, the Crown Prince Zong was also at the Imperial Academy. When we were searching, we encountered his bodyguards."

Zheng Zhian hadn't had a proper rest in days, her mind was tense, and at this moment her mind was like a tangled mess, being stirred by something. She heard a buzzing sound in her ears for a moment, so she stopped the internal energy circulating in her body and let the biting cold penetrate into her internal organs to keep herself awake.

She raised her hand, and Twelve returned to its original position. Big Hammer asked softly, "Master, Zhuang Chun and Orochi Pavilion?"

"kill."

Mo Ran's voice, carried by the biting cold wind, entered Da Chui's ears.

She won't repeat the mistake of being soft-hearted once.

This era cannot afford to show mercy to the enemy.

Back in the mourning hall, Zheng Zhian lay on a rocking chair and slowly closed his eyes as he listened to Mimi's chanting.

In a daze, she seemed to see the world turn blood red, with chilling roars all around her and the stench of blood assaulting her senses. Beneath her feet lay a small mountain of corpses, from which a thick, crimson liquid flowed. She tried to get down to the ground, but her hands and feet were as if bound by invisible chains, and no matter how hard she struggled, she could not move.

"Zheng Zhi'an."

"An'an."

A distant, deep, and familiar voice reached her ears. Who was calling her?

A warm sensation flowed through his body, and Zheng Zhian slowly opened his eyes.

A pair of eyes, as bright as stars, were reflected in Zheng Zhian's eyes. Her unfocused pupils slowly focused, and when she saw the owner of those eyes, she raised her hand and pushed away the face that was so close to hers.

Even though she looked no different from usual, Zong Zhenping still keenly noticed that Zheng Zhian's gaze towards him had turned cold.

After Zheng Zhian finished washing up, Qiu Shi had already prepared breakfast, and Zong Zhenping sat down to wait for her, just like the previous days.

The two remained silent. Zheng Zhian finished half a bowl of porridge and put it down. Zong Zhenping also put down his chopsticks, glancing at the half bowl of porridge left in her bowl and frowning almost imperceptibly.

Zheng Zhian wiped his mouth and calmly looked at Zong Zhenping: "Did you send someone to kill Kong Gaojun?"

Relieved by her affirmative question, Zong Zhenping met her gaze without flinching and replied, "Yes."

"reason."

"He has evidence of the General of the Western Garrison's private business dealings with merchants from the western border."

The single stone stirred up a thousand ripples. Zheng Zhian raised his hand to rub his temples, his chest also aching slightly. After a long silence, he finally spoke again: "Anything else?"

If it were just a business transaction, Zong Zhenping wouldn't risk taking someone's life at the Imperial Academy. Even if he wanted to use this to frame his third uncle for colluding with Xi Yu, he could have simply detained the person and handed him over to himself or his maternal grandfather. There was no need for him to risk exposing his strength.

Zong Zhenping admired how quickly she had figured out the key points, but also felt a little sorry for her. She clearly hated thinking about these complicated matters, and these past few days she had watched her grow thinner and thinner.

Seeing that he was lost in thought, Zheng Zhian tapped the table with his finger.

Zong Zhenping snapped out of his reverie, his eyes gentle and sincere: "It's also related to what I'm investigating, but it's not convenient to tell you right now."

Seemingly fearing that Zheng Zhi'an might misunderstand, he added, "Don't worry, it will be soon."

Zheng Zhian looked into Zong Zhenping's beautiful eyes, where his emotions were laid bare, and he couldn't tell how much of it was genuine and how much was feigned.

Back at the mourning hall, less than fifteen minutes after Zheng Zhian finished offering incense, the pain in his chest intensified, and before he could even step out the door, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Zong Zhenping had been watching her closely. Upon seeing this, he slapped the wheelchair with his palm and used his internal force to propel the wheelchair swiftly behind Zheng Zhian, pulling her into his arms around the waist.

Chunhua, who was waiting outside, turned pale with fright and rushed forward to check her pulse. Her pulse was erratic and her qi was stagnant, which was clearly a sign of poisoning.

But she had checked all of her master's food and supplies, so where did this poison come from?

"Xia Chan, come quickly and help Master out!" Chunhua shouted outside, disregarding all etiquette.

Zong Zhenping didn't give her a chance. He used his internal energy to take her away from the mourning hall and send her back to her temporary room.

Upon hearing that his master had been poisoned, Qiu Shi immediately placed the breakfast that the two of them had eaten in front of Chun Hua.

Yang Jixing was astonished.

Seeing Zong Zhenping's unfriendly gaze, Qiu Shi knew they might have misunderstood, so he quickly explained, "When we went to Muyun Palace, Eunuch Lin told us that the first rule of serving our master was that we should leave all the food that our master had eaten for half an hour before dealing with it."

Yang Jixing nodded in admiration. This Eunuch Lin really knew how to plan ahead. The palace was truly no place for a human to stay!

Zong Zhenping roughly guessed that it must be a rule set by Danqin when she was alive. The empress died of poisoning, and she was once bitten by a snake and was afraid of ropes for ten years.

After examining everything, Chunhua held Zheng Zhian's bowl and checked it repeatedly. Then she took out a silver needle and ordered, "Go get a spittoon."

"Boil a finger-length piece of bitter ginseng in two bowls of water until it boils, quick!"

The group fussed until the afternoon. Zheng Zhian vomited until his stomach was full of acid. He woke up in a daze and was forced to eat a few mouthfuls of the medicinal soup prepared by Chunhua by Zong Zhenping. He then fell into a deep sleep again.

Taking advantage of the lull, Zong Zhenping interrogated everyone in the courtyard and quickly identified them.

That night, Zong Zhenping, who had already returned to his residence, secretly returned to Zheng Zhian's side.

Chunhua, who had been staying close by, sensed something was amiss and cautiously advised, "Young Master, why don't you go back first? Master will be fine with us watching over him."

Zong Zhenping walked past her to the bedside and noticed that her cheeks were flushed an abnormally, and a wet cloth was draped over her forehead.

"Why is this happening even after the poison has been neutralized?"

His face was half hidden in darkness, half flickering in the swaying candlelight, exuding a chilling gloom. He was nothing like the amiable and gentle man he was during the day.