The slight irritation in Fan Changyu's heart instantly dissipated.

She looked at Xie Zheng, then at the one-armed and one-legged uncle who had come out from the village to greet them. Though still puzzled, she pushed open the half-closed courtyard gate and stepped inside with some hesitation.

Xie Zhong stared at Fan Changyu's retreating figure. Noticing her steady gait and measured breathing—unlike that of an ordinary sheltered maiden—he suddenly formed a guess. Turning to Xie Zheng, he asked, "Marquis, could this young lady... be a descendant of the Meng family?"

But... the relationship between the Marquis and this girl seemed somewhat unusual?

Xie Zheng neither confirmed nor denied.

As the sun slanted westward, half his profile and eyelashes were gilded in golden light. His pupils reflected Fan Changyu's distant figure, the emotions in their depths too profound to decipher.

"Later, you'll personally escort her back," he said.

Xie Zhong was momentarily taken aback, then remembered what day it was. His eyes dimmed with sorrow: "When you go there, please take more guards. I fear Wei Yan might—"

"I know my limits."

Xie Zheng cut him off. With one last glance at Fan Changyu's silhouette bathed in sunset glow, he turned and left.

The setting sun stretched his shadow endlessly across the radiant horizon, making his solitary figure appear even more starkly alone.

Upon entering the courtyard, Fan Changyu heard boisterous voices from a half-open room.

"I won't drink this bile-bitter medicine! Bring me liquor!"

"General Zhu, don't make this difficult. The physician strictly warned against alcohol given your chronic ailments."

"By my mother's grave! Seventeen years locked up! If I don't taste strong liquor soon, my tongue'll rust clean off!"

Approaching, Fan Changyu peered through the doorway to see a square-faced, bearded man propped against the bedhead, while a young servant stood bedside holding a bowl of medicine.

Her position blocked some light, drawing attention from within.

The bearded man turned abruptly, eyes reddening as he tentatively called out, "Sister Lihua?"

Unfamiliar with the name, Fan Changyu remained silent by the door.

After scrutinizing her, the man suddenly corrected himself: "No... the eyes aren't Lihua's... and she's long gone..."

Trembling between joy and grief, he asked hoarsely, "You... you're Changyu, aren't you?"

Hearing her name, recalling Xie Zheng's earlier purpose in the capital and today's sudden invitation to meet someone, Fan Changyu guessed this must be one of her grandfather's former subordinates. Emotion welled up uncontrollably.

Stepping inside, she asked, "You know me? May I ask who—"

The man covered his face, his gruff voice breaking: "Heaven has eyes! To let old Zhu see General Meng's descendant before I die!"

Seventeen years of wrongful imprisonment and loss overwhelmed even this battle-hardened veteran. Tears streamed down Zhu Youchang's face as he gazed at Fan Changyu: "I'm your Uncle Zhu. Joined your grandfather's army at fourteen—rose from foot soldier to Tiger-Rousing Captain. Your mother was like a sister to me."Upon learning that this man was an old friend of her parents, Fan Changyu was overwhelmed with emotion. But as she stood closer, she noticed the thin, frail outline of Zhu Youchang’s legs beneath the blanket—far too slight for an adult man’s limbs.

Her throat tightened, but she steadied her voice as best she could. "Uncle Zhu, what really happened back then? And your legs... how did they end up like this?"

Zhu Youchang’s face darkened with grief and anger. "General Meng’s failure in transporting provisions was entirely framed by that traitor Wei Yan! As for these useless legs..." He patted the thin bones beneath the blanket, forcing a bitter smile. "They were injured on the battlefield in Luocheng. No point dwelling on it. At least these past seventeen years without feeling spared me the pain of imprisonment."

Fan Changyu recalled what Xie Zheng’s men had said earlier—that Zhu Youchang’s legs were beyond healing—and her heart ached.

"Did Wei Yan imprison you for seventeen years?"

At the mention of Wei Yan, Zhu Youchang gnashed his teeth. "As long as the Tiger Tally remained missing, that dog couldn’t rest easy. So he locked up anyone who sought to clear General Meng’s name or avenge General Xie and the Chengde Crown Prince."

Fan Changyu gasped. "General Xie and the Chengde Crown Prince’s deaths were also Wei Yan’s doing?"

Zhu Youchang recounted in detail how Wei Yan had used the Tiger Tally and a forged letter to deceive Meng Shuyuan into turning back to Luocheng to rescue the Sixteenth Prince. He then shared the suspicions he and Xie Zheng had pieced together over the years.

"That treacherous snake had ambitions from the start," Zhu Youchang spat. "He must have planned to install a puppet ruler and seize control of the court. Why else would he push for the powerless Nineteenth Prince to ascend the throne after the deaths of the Chengde Crown Prince and the Sixteenth Prince, and the Late Emperor’s passing? He used the military influence of the Wei and Xie families to silence all opposition!"

The truth about the supply transport failure and her grandfather’s wrongful condemnation left Fan Changyu stunned.

Yet, beyond grief and fury, she sensed there was more to the story.

Her father had lived in Qingping County for over a decade—a quiet, kind-hearted man who sold pork and often undercharged the poor. He helped anyone in need, even giving alms to beggars.

That was why, when Old Scholar Song died and his widow and child knelt in the streets begging for a coffin, her parents had stepped in without hesitation.

If her father had truly been a key general under her grandfather’s command, he would have known the catastrophic consequences of delaying the supply transport—for the Meng family, for Jinzhou, and for Great Yin.

Fan Changyu refused to believe he would betray her grandfather for power, aiding Wei Yan’s scheme and leaving her grandfather branded a traitor responsible for countless deaths.

Moreover, Yu Qianqian had once mentioned Qi Min’s hatred for the Sui family. There might have been a reason the Crown Princess chose the Sui family to help Qi Min escape.

And the troops her father had sought to replace the supply convoy were none other than the Sui family’s Chongzhou Army.

Something else must have happened!Fan Changyu suddenly raised her head to look at Zhu Youchang: "Uncle Zhu, Wei Yan might truly be that treacherous and evil man, but I don’t believe my father would help Wei Yan commit such heinous acts! If he had truly wronged my grandfather, my mother would never have forgiven him—how could she have lived in seclusion with him for sixteen years?"

Upon hearing that Meng Lihua had gone into seclusion with Wei Qilin, Zhu Youchang angrily said, "It must have been that cunning Wei Qilin who deceived your mother!"

But Fan Changyu shook her head. "If my mother had known nothing about what happened back then, she wouldn’t have followed my father in death after he was forced to take his own life."

Zhu Youchang’s eyes reddened, and his voice abruptly changed. "Your mother followed your father in death?"

Fan Changyu lowered her gaze to hide the bitterness in her eyes. "Or rather... she took her own life to protect my younger sister and me."

Zhu Youchang urgently asked, "What exactly happened?"

As the sealed memories resurfaced, Fan Changyu seemed to see again the bleak winter of last year in Lin’an Town—white funeral paper mingling with the falling snow, covering the thin layer of snow on the road as the authorities transported her parents’ bodies back on a cart...

Her voice was hoarse as she spoke. "Sixteen years ago, my parents relied on the help of Uncle He Jingyuan to forge household registrations and settle in Qingping County. The handwritten letter Wei Yan sent to my grandfather had always been in my parents’ possession.

"Last early winter, under Wei Yan’s orders, Uncle He was instructed to take my parents’ heads. He had intended to warn them, urging them to flee with my sister and me. But my parents, fearing they would implicate Uncle He and knowing Wei Yan’s ruthlessness would never spare Ning Niang and me, chose to end their own lives. They placed the letter in a box and entrusted it to Uncle He, instructing him to hand it over to Wei Yan when he came searching our home. This was to ensure our survival."

Recalling those events, Fan Changyu’s throat tightened unbearably. "My parents must have known some inside information, which is why Wei Yan silenced them. But my father would never have betrayed my mother or grandfather! The only ones who might know the truth are the Sui family. Unfortunately, Prince Changxin and his wife are already dead. We can only interrogate the Sui family’s servants to see if we can uncover anything."

Others, unfamiliar with Meng Lihua’s temperament, might dismiss Fan Changyu’s words as mere conjecture.

But Zhu Youchang, who had been as close as a brother to Meng Lihua and knew her better than anyone, said, "I may not trust others, but I trust your mother. She appeared gentle, but at her core, she was unyielding.

"Back then, when your grandfather fell for the enemy’s diversion tactic and his camp was ambushed by a group of Northern Jue soldiers, your mother—a seemingly frail woman—killed two intruders in the tent with her wits. If your father hadn’t arrived in time, she would have slit her own throat rather than be taken hostage to threaten your grandfather."

As he recounted these memories, Zhu Youchang couldn’t hide his sorrow.

Seventeen years had passed. Their old friends had long been buried, and everything had changed beyond recognition.

He looked at Fan Changyu. "You’re right. If Wei Qilin had truly betrayed the old general, and if your mother had known, she would have been the first to kill him."

Fan Changyu was momentarily dazed by Zhu Youchang’s words.

The mother she remembered had always been gentle and soft-spoken, rarely even raising her voice. The mother Zhu Youchang spoke of—a woman as brilliant as flames—was a side of her she had never seen.She smiled faintly, feeling proud of such a mother, yet also sorrowful that no matter what her mother had been like, she would never see her again.

Zhu Youchang said, "I've heard about the Sui family's rebellion. If the Sui family truly knew the inside story, wouldn't they have grasped Wei Yan's weakness? When raising the banner of rebellion, they should have announced it to the world."

These words pulled Fan Changyu's thoughts back.

She replied, "Shortly after the Sui family rebelled, rumors did spread about Wei Yan orchestrating the Jinzhou massacre."

It was upon hearing such rumors that Xie Zheng investigated the past events, only to be nearly killed by Wei Yan's schemes on the Chongzhou battlefield.

Fan Changyu felt that all these fragmented clues were slowly connecting.

Zhu Youchang immediately asked, "Were those rumors spread by the Sui family?"

After pondering for a long while, Fan Changyu shook her head. "It's impossible to confirm now. We can only decide after interrogating the Sui family's servants."

Zhu Youchang's earlier words had actually enlightened Fan Changyu. If the Sui family knew the truth of that year and had solid evidence, why didn't they directly expose Wei Yan's crimes to the world?

Instead, they spread baseless rumors?

Recalling what Yu Qianqian had once told her, Fan Changyu could only tentatively speculate on one possibility—the Sui family had also been involved in the Jinzhou case back then!

As for why Wei Yan had left the Sui family as a potential threat until now, the reason remained unknown.

Eager to verify her conjecture, Fan Changyu wished she could return immediately to interrogate the Sui family servants being escorted to the capital.

After bidding farewell to Zhu Youchang, she hurried out of the courtyard gate, only to see a middle-aged man missing one leg and one arm waiting by the carriage outside.

Unable to clasp his hands in salute due to his missing arm, the man simply nodded to her and said, "This humble servant is Xie Zhong, a retainer of the Xie family. By the Marquis's order, I await the General here to escort you back."

Just the words "Xie family retainer" ensured Fan Changyu would never treat him as a mere servant. Guessing that his missing limbs were likely lost in battle, her respect for him grew.

She nodded slightly in return as a gesture of courtesy.

Noticing Xie Zheng's absence, she couldn't help but ask as she boarded the carriage, "Where has the Marquis gone?"

Xie Zhong, holding the reins with one hand and leaning on a crutch, paused at her question. After studying her for a moment, he hesitated briefly before doing something presumptuous for the first time—acting against Xie Zheng's wishes.

He said, "Today is the anniversary of Madam Xie's passing. The Marquis has likely gone to the Xie family mausoleum."

Xie Zheng had returned to the capital in secret. Paying respects during the day might attract attention from those watching in the shadows, so he had chosen dusk for his visit.

This answer made Fan Changyu's hand, lifting the carriage curtain, freeze—all of Xie Zheng's unusual behavior now made sense.

He had never mentioned a single word about Madam Xie to her. Yet after hearing Zhu Youchang recount the details of that year's imprisonment and Madam Xie's sacrifice, even Fan Changyu, an outsider, felt sorrow. How much more so for Xie Zheng, her son?

His unwillingness to tell her about this was likely because he didn't want her to see him in moments of vulnerability and pain.

Fan Changyu's fingers gripping the thick silk curtain tightened unconsciously. After some thought, she decided it was best to respect Xie Zheng's choice.

Very well, she would return to the Office of Presentations first.Xie Zhong seemed to have discerned Fan Changyu's decision and continued, "The Blood-Clad Cavalry rescued General Zhu, and Wei Yan already knows the Marquis is currently hiding in the capital. I fear Wei Yan might take this opportunity to set an ambush at the Xie family cemetery. I advised the Marquis to bring more men, but he insists on going alone every year to pay respects. I couldn't persuade him otherwise..."

Fan Changyu's eyes darkened slightly, her lips pressing together. After a brief silence, she asked Xie Zhong, "Can you take me to the Xie family cemetery?"