What’s going on here? 

The fire hadn’t reached the side room yet, there was just some smoke inside. But Li Xun kept covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and nothing had hit him, so how did he faint? 

Could it be that this body is too weak, and even with his mouth and nose covered, he couldn’t handle it? 

Shen Qian hurried over, holding Li Xun’s upper body in his arms and shaking him a couple of times: “Gongzi, what’s wrong with you?” 

No response. It even seemed like he wasn’t breathing. 

Suddenly, Shen Qian was overwhelmed with panic, a deep fear rising in his heart. At this moment, Xiao Wan came running with two others, stomping her feet anxiously: “Why are you two so careless!” 

However, when he rushed into the room and saw Li Xun lying on the ground, he was also shocked: “What happened?” 

Shen Qian just held Li Xun, shaking his head blankly. 

It’s really adding chaos to the mess, no matter what happened, they can’t just sit here stupidly! “Let’s get out first and talk later!” He said, pulling Shen Qian up with one hand, and then had the two young attendants lift Li Xun and run outside. 

Outside, the maids and attendants, under Zhu’er’s command, had already put several tables together, stacked chairs on top, and then placed embroidered stools on the chairs, so they could climb over the wall. They had found a section of the wall without fire, letting the two young attendants climb up first. 

The two-meter height was neither too high nor too low, and if they weren’t careful, they might get hurt falling, but if they prepared to jump down, they could manage. Especially with the fire behind them, adrenaline was pumping, and things they couldn’t usually do, they could grit their teeth and manage now. 

Zhan’er had just arranged for the two young attendants to jump over, and when she turned around and saw the unconscious Li Xun and the dazed Shen Qian, she was also startled: “Gongzi was fine just now, what happened?” 

Xiao Wan said anxiously: “I don’t know either, just now Gongzi took a handkerchief and ran, I searched for a while before finding him, Gongzi and Xiao Die were in our room, one fainted, the other seemed soulless, who knows what happened!” 

He paused, then whispered to Zhan’er: “Quickly get Gongzi out, Gongzi… doesn’t look good.” He had taken a couple of glances earlier, and there was an indescribable feeling, even scarier than the last time he fell into the water. 

Zhan’er was even more shocked, quickly arranging for a few young attendants to lift Li Xun onto the wall, and had the two who went over first prepare to catch him. 

At this moment, the two young attendants on the other side of the wall suddenly screamed miserably and went silent. Zhu’er quickly climbed up the wall to look down, and in the dark, it seemed like someone was hiding there, and the two young attendants were lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. 

At this point, she didn’t dare to lower Li Xun, but the fire was getting bigger and was already approaching them. Zhu’er gritted her teeth and quickly made a decision: “Let’s find another place!” 

“No need.” 

Zhu’er was stunned, but it was Shen Qian who was no longer in that dazed state, his expression was something she had never seen before, cold. Zhan’er, however, found this expression familiar, like the day Xiao Die said he was going out of the residence to get medicine, it was just as determined, only now his face seemed to be coated with several layers of frost. 

He carefully placed the small wooden carved rabbit he had been holding into Li Xun’s arms, and then something unbelievable happened. 

Shen Qian grabbed a chair with one hand and casually smashed it against the wall, even Zhu’er, who was lying on the wall, felt as if the wall shook. For a moment, she had a ridiculous thought: if Xiao Die kept doing this, could he smash a hole in the wall? 

However, Shen Qian didn’t continue. The chair shattered into pieces, and a piece of the chair leg was held in Shen Qian’s hand, the broken end still had sharp wooden spikes. 

Shen Qian didn’t need Zhu’er to come down, everyone just felt a blur, and Shen Qian had already climbed onto the wall, his feet lightly tapping on the table and chair for leverage. Then he unhesitatingly took a deep breath and jumped down. 

Before the person in the dark could make a move, Shen Qian had already taken the initiative, the wooden spike stabbing fiercely into the opponent’s body. 

The person in the dark immediately let out a miserable scream, trying to crawl away, but this little guy, though not tall, had surprisingly great strength, and his moves were very seasoned, leaving the opponent with no chance to fight back. 

Shen Qian stabbed a bloody hole in each of the person’s legs, lifted him up, hesitated for a moment, then single-handedly threw him over the courtyard wall, and said to Zhu’er, who was lying on the wall: “Throw him into the fire.” 

With such a big fire in Ganlin Courtyard, burning one or two people to death would be normal, right? 

Zhu’er: “…” 

Zhu’er was only stunned for a moment before coming to her senses: “Okay.” 

She then climbed down from the wall, making way. The two young attendants struggled to lift Li Xun over the courtyard wall, one pulling him by the armpit, slowly lowering him: “Xiao Die, catch Gongzi!” 

Shen Qian stood there, looking up, watching the almost breathless Li Xun fall into his arms. 

And at this moment, Shen Qian heard the sound of wind behind him, the young attendant on the wall exclaimed: “Be careful!” 

Shen Qian didn’t even turn his head, just lifted his leg and kicked the person behind him more than a zhang away, the young attendant’s voice on the wall suddenly stuck in his throat. 

Shen Qian carefully placed Li Xun down, letting him sit against the wall, then turned to look at the person. 

It was a woman, now curled up like a shrimp, clutching her stomach and groaning, not far away lay a dagger glinting coldly. 

Shen Qian picked up the dagger and walked closer: “I wondered who it was, turns out it’s Bi Tao.” 

Bi Tao looked at him in horror, enduring the pain and retreating. She had dealt with Xiao Die from the eldest gongzi’s courtyard a few times, but never dared to associate Xiao Die with the demon-like person in front of her. The firelight, moonlight, and the cold light on the dagger all reflected on his face, making it believable that he had crawled out of hell! 

Shen Qian knew in his heart that he should actually keep Bi Tao. Liu Wang’er and others hadn’t been sent to the authorities yet, the case of the steward embezzling money in the residence wasn’t over, and the money Bi Tao embezzled was unknown, it would be best to tie her up, interrogate her thoroughly, and then send her to the authorities. 

But Shen Qian still grabbed her hair, and amidst Bi Tao’s terrified screams, slit her throat with a knife. 

The warm blood splattered on his face, and only then did the suffocating feeling in Shen Qian’s heart dissipate a little. 

The moonlight shone pale on Li Xun’s lifeless face. Shen Qian thought, he once thought, he didn’t care about this Ye Gui. 

He only cared about this body because it was the vessel for his retirement; he only cared about this status and position because it would ensure his life of luxury in the future. He only coaxed this Ye Gui to take good care of himself for these reasons. 

He should have hoped to get his body back sooner… 

But now. Shen Qian couldn’t explain the emotions surging in his chest. He just really wanted to kill Liu Yufu, wanted to kill Bi Tao—when he found himself trapped in the fire, he didn’t have such strong emotions. 

Shen Qian threw Bi Tao over as well: “Burn her.” 

The young attendants on the wall, who had witnessed the whole process, were too scared to speak, only nodding desperately. 

After that, the people from Ganlin Courtyard gradually climbed over the wall. The two young attendants who had been attacked earlier were fortunately just unconscious, and someone helped them up, while Xiao Wan carried Li Xun on his back: “Where are we going?” 

Everyone looked at Shen Qian. Although usually, it was Zhan’er and Zhu’er who managed the courtyard, in such critical moments, it was Xiao Die who was the backbone. 

They only realized after coming out that there was more than one place on fire in the residence… looking at the direction of the other fire, it seemed to be Quzhu Courtyard. And it was much livelier over there, after all, Shen Yi’an was living there, with people shouting, putting out the fire, beating gongs and drums, it was quite a scene. 

So, everyone went to save Shen Yi’an, and no one cared about the lives of the people in Ganlin Courtyard. 

Shen Qian sneered, Liu Yufu was ruthless enough, Shen Yi’an loved her like his own eyes, even had two children, yet for the sake of the account book, she could still bring herself to take Shen Yi’an’s life. 

He had no intention of caring about Shen Yi’an’s life or death at this moment. Shen Qian felt a bit dizzy, maybe it was the carbon monoxide poisoning from earlier, now it was starting to affect him again? He forced himself to say: “Let’s leave the residence, go… go to Hua Tongling’s residence in Yongkang Lane.” The residence was very unsafe now, if he collapsed, these maids and attendants with Li Xun would be like lambs to the slaughter, only Hua Tongling, with a bit of face from this Ye Gui, could they rely on. 

Thinking of Ye Gui, Shen Qian felt a pang in his heart. He had a very bad feeling, this wasn’t just a normal injury-induced fainting, but… 

He should have already left. 

Shen Qian didn’t know why this happened, was it because of the fire, the smoke, or some other reason, but he couldn’t help but think, if he hadn’t insisted on going back, would this have happened? 

If Liu Yufu hadn’t ordered the fire today, would this have happened… 

He forced himself to stay alert: “We won’t go through the main gate, in case there’s an ambush. We’ll crawl out through the dog holes I used last time to leave the residence.” 

Zhan’er and the others naturally listened to him, the group sneaking around, all crawling out through the dog holes, heading to Yongkang Lane. Shen Qian felt his head getting dizzier, his body weaker, and finally, when he saw the gate of Yongkang Lane, he collapsed. 

Shen Qian had a dream. He dreamed of things from a long, long time ago. 

But actually, he shouldn’t remember this, it was all told to him by the system later. 

That was his first mission world, a cultivation world, he learned of a secret realm opening, with a spiritual herb he urgently needed inside. But his strength wasn’t high, going to that secret realm only had a forty percent chance of getting the herb. 

The system advised him not to go, but he went anyway, and indeed got trapped inside, trapped for twenty years. 

Although when he came out of the secret realm, he had advanced from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, he lost something very important: his past memories. 

He didn’t know where he came from, or why he signed a contract with the system. The first ten years of doing this task, he didn’t remember anything. But the system said, forgetting was good, he could start anew in this world. 

Then the scene began to distort, and in the dream, it wasn’t just him entering the secret realm, but also—that Ye Gui. This time when Shen Qian came out of the secret realm, he didn’t lose his memory, but Ye Gui died in that secret realm. 

What he lost this time was a friend without a name, without a gender, without an age. 

He shouldn’t have gone back, he shouldn’t have… 

At the end of the dream, Shen Qian heard the system’s voice again, but it was very cheerful: “Qian Qian, congratulations on finally achieving your wish, please enjoy your retirement life!” 

Shen Qian was anxious, he wanted to grab the system, ask where Ye Gui went—did he go to reincarnation, would he dissipate? Would I have a chance to see him again— 

But the system never answered again. 

Shen Qian opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Xiao Wan’s excited face: “Gongzi, you’re finally awake! You’ve been asleep for three days!” 

He was really scared to death! On the way here, Xiao Wan had been carrying Gongzi on his back, and he clearly felt that Gongzi’s breathing and heartbeat were gone, he had already shed a basin of tears. 

Fortunately, Hua Tongling immediately found a doctor, and Gongzi could wake up now, he was really overjoyed, thanking heaven and earth! 

Shen Qian was in a daze for a long time before realizing that the last part wasn’t a dream, the system was really congratulating him. 

He… switched back. 

Just like he had always hoped. 

This was a very unfamiliar room, Shen Qian took a long time to find his voice: “Where is this?” 

“This is the other courtyard of Duke Fuchang’s Residence.” Xiao Wan pouted, “It’s the one Liu Yiniang used to live in.” 

Shen Qian was stunned. Didn’t he bring people to Hua Tongling’s residence in the end? 

Fortunately, Xiao Wan had already started chattering: “What were you and Xiao Die doing that day, insisting on running back into the fire, and then you fainted, it really scared us to death. Fortunately, Xiao Die—” Xiao Wan paused, then said: “Xiao Die brought us to Hua Tongling’s residence for help.” 

“But Hua Tongling was very surprised, saying he didn’t dare let us into the residence, so he sent people to bring us to this other courtyard, and also sent people to guard outside.” This made sense, Hua Tongling was a bachelor, leaving an unmarried gongzi in the residence, that would be hard to explain. But Xiao Wan was always a bit puzzled, that day Hua Tongling’s expression seemed not only surprised but also a bit… fearful? 

He suspected he saw it wrong, what was there for Hua Tongling to fear? Maybe Hua Tongling just looked strange. 

Xiao Wan whispered again: “Hua Tongling listened to our story and also sent people to surround Duke Fuchang’s Residence. It’s said… if Hua Tongling hadn’t arrived in time, boye might have been gone, it was quite a spectacle.” 

He had no concern for his own gongzi’s father, instead, he felt very pleased, boye had always treated furen poorly for Liu Yiniang, and treated their gongzi poorly too, now almost dying at the hands of the one he loved most, the pain in his heart probably surpassed the physical illness. 

Shen Qian sat there in a daze, Xiao Wan’s words seemed to be heard, yet not heard, very distant. After a while, he finally regained his senses and asked: “…Where is Xiao Die?” 

Is it possible that they just switched, and Ye Gui… went into Xiao Die’s body? 

He held onto a sliver of hope, looking at Xiao Wan. Xiao Wan, however, stiffened for a moment before saying: “Xiao Die… he, he did some impulsive things that day. Gongzi, please don’t blame him, we’ve all sworn not to say anything, Xiao Die did it all for everyone’s survival!” 

Shen Qian nodded, he knew the people he killed himself. 

Xiao Wan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then said: “Xiao Die might have been pushed to the limit and did something out of line, he might have been too shocked and lost his memory.” 

“His memory only stays at the day he jumped into the water to save Gongzi. Then he said some nonsense about flowers and grass, he doesn’t remember anything that happened during this time.” Xiao Wan secretly thought, he didn’t know if he still remembered the story of the white snake… it wasn’t finished yet! But Xiao Die had also been unconscious for a day, looking like he had just recovered from a serious illness, so he didn’t dare to ask. 

Shen Qian knew then, that was the real Xiao Die. He felt disappointed, and a bit ashamed: clearly, Xiao Die was the loyal servant who jumped into the water to save him, yet he… actually hoped Ye Gui would take over his body. 

Shen Qian closed his eyes: “I understand, let him rest well… I want to sleep a bit more.” 

Xiao Wan quickly agreed, tucked him in, and left. 

The arson case at Duke Fuchang’s Residence shocked the court, Hua Xiangming decisively sent people to surround Duke Fuchang’s Residence that night, not only rescuing Shen Yi’an, capturing Liu Yufu, detaining Liu Wang’er, Granny Zhao, and others, but also fought with a group of thieves. However, the incident was too unexpected, and several people escaped, the remaining two, seeing no hope of escape, immediately committed suicide by poison. 

Even Hua Xiangming was shocked, thinking it was thieves taking advantage of the fire to steal, but what kind of thief uses death warriors? He originally wanted to investigate the matter thoroughly, but was caught up by a sudden piece of good news. 

The crown prince Li Xun, who had been in a coma for fourteen days, finally woke up. 

Without any warning, one night. The palace maids were pinching the crown prince’s mouth to pour ginseng soup into it—these days, the crown prince’s life was sustained by this forcibly fed ginseng soup, otherwise, who could survive without eating or drinking for so long. 

Suddenly, the crown prince opened his eyes, almost scaring their souls away. 

As the crown prince’s companion reader and commander of the East Palace guards, Hua Xiangming naturally put other matters aside, prioritizing the crown prince. 

Li Xun’s body had been lying for fourteen days, if not for his good foundation and the ginseng soup sustaining him, he would have starved to death. Now he was very weak, Hua Xiangming originally thought he would be impatient, but unexpectedly, the crown prince seemed to adapt well to his weak body, losing his temper less. 

But he didn’t expect that upon arriving at the crown prince’s palace, he would still ask about the Duke Fuchang’s Residence matter. Hua Xiangming had to answer: “That Liu Yiniang claims she knew nothing, it was all the maid Bi Tao acting on her own, she kept crying and begging to see Duke Fuchang. Duke Fuchang was already angry that day, had a bit of a stroke, and after that night, he was both angry and scared, now he can’t even speak properly, he’s paralyzed in bed, how can he see her. He has a wet nurse who truly loves him, now taking care of him with his other two concubines.” 

“But the Bi Tao that Liu Yufu mentioned is nowhere to be found in the residence, she might have already run away.” Hua Xiangming said: “But to say Liu Yufu knew nothing, I don’t believe it either, so I had the Ministry of Justice use severe punishment, and she finally confessed, it turns out it was her foster mother, the procuress of Yuxiang Pavilion, who gave her the idea. She said the residence’s deficit was too big, and she didn’t know how to explain it to Duke Fuchang, she lost her head and listened to the procuress’s suggestion.” 

“However, when we went to Yuxiang Pavilion to arrest her, we heard that the procuress hadn’t appeared for two days. She must have already fled the capital.” Hua Xiangming said, feeling strange. If these procuresses, aren’t they just after money? A foster daughter married into a noble family, obedient, is a tree that can shake money continuously. To say something funny, which brothel owner in the capital doesn’t envy her for having a son-in-law from a duke’s residence? Why suddenly instigate Liu Yufu to commit murder and arson? 

“The deficit in Duke Fuchang’s Residence isn’t that simple.” Li Xun shook his head, sharing his suspicions with Hua Xiangming: “Duke Fuchang’s grandmother was from the Huainan salt merchant Cheng family, leaving him with millions in family assets, Duke Fuchang loves that Liu Shi very much, doesn’t care about some deficit, he can afford it. Liu Shi, however, was so afraid of being discovered that she resorted to murder and arson, even killing Shen Yi’an… it’s too strange, there must be other hidden truths inside.” Li Xun paused, then mentioned the missing land deeds of several estates in Huainan to Hua Xiangming: “But now that Liu Shi has set the fire, many account books and evidence must have been burned.” 

Hua Xiangming said solemnly: “So there’s such an inside story.” He also sensed something strange, “It seems we need to investigate thoroughly, this might not just be a matter of the inner residence.” 

Li Xun nodded: “Have the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice conduct a joint trial, you go supervise, make sure to find out the truth behind it. Find out whose hands those estates ended up in, and where that procuress ran off to, everything must be clarified.” 

Looking up, he saw Hua Xiangming looking at him with a strange expression. Li Xun felt a bit guilty, he shouldn’t know so much about Duke Fuchang’s Residence… but Hua Xiangming leaned closer, asking in a low voice: “When did you get to know the eldest gongzi of Duke Fuchang’s Residence? I was really surprised when I received the letter that day. Aren’t we almost together every day, when did you find the time? Did you send someone else to protect him, is that why you know the details so well?” 

Li Xun pushed him away with a cold face: “What you and I, no manners.” 

Hua Xiangming grinned: “Your Highness.” 

The two joked a bit more, seeing that Li Xun was really unwilling to reveal the details of his dealings with the eldest gongzi, Hua Xiangming could only leave reluctantly, still complaining: “Your Highness is too stingy, I even tell you when my family arranges blind dates for me, yet you hide things from me…” 

Li Xun thought, what relationship could he have with that eldest gongzi? At most… use him a bit, to get his personal attendant. 

He still remembered, that night he touched the talisman paper in Xiao Die’s book, and immediately fainted, returning to his own body. After waking up, he memorized the pattern of the talisman paper, and sought out Taoist priests and shamans to identify it, but no one recognized it. 

What other surprises does this Xiao Die have that he doesn’t know about? 

In the evening, the Guifei also came to visit. These days, the Guifei came every day, showing concern for Li Xun, and Li Xun treated her as usual, as if he didn’t know anything. 

Today, however, the Guifei brought the eldest princess along. After the eldest princess stammered to ask about Li Xun’s well-being, she stood by the bed staring at Li Xun, her concern in her eyes not hidden at all. 

The Guifei smiled: “While you were sick, this child kept asking when her royal brother would get better, she was very anxious.” 

Li Xun let the eldest princess sit beside him, and she obediently sat down. This was a fool, a real fool… fools don’t know how to lie, so she was genuinely worried about Li Xun. 

The Guifei said: “I came today to tell you, I had already selected some companion readers for her, but because you were sick, it was put on hold. Do you think we should summon them to the palace in the next few days to take a look, or wait a bit longer?” 

Selecting companion readers for the princess doesn’t require his approval? The Guifei was actually talking about some side consort candidates for him. 

But to the Guifei’s surprise, Li Xun asked her for the list of these candidates. Even if the Guifei didn’t have it with her, she sent someone to her palace to fetch it. 

The Guifei was a bit puzzled, but didn’t think much of it, smiling: “What, afraid your aunt’s taste is bad? Want to personally check them out.” 

Li Xun looked at the list, it had over twenty names, all girls and young boys, with ages marked. There was a group aged ten to twelve, truly for the eldest princess as companion readers. There were also a few aged fifteen or sixteen, Li Xun pointed at one: “This one…” 

The Guifei leaned over to take a look, froze for a moment, but quickly covered it up without showing it, smiling and asking: “What’s wrong with this one? Is it because of the recent incident at Duke Fuchang’s Residence, you don’t like his family? Then we can remove it—originally I didn’t consider their family, but that Duke Fuchang begged many people, and it reached me.” 

If Li Xun hadn’t spent some time as the eldest gongzi of Duke Fuchang’s Residence, he wouldn’t know where the problem was. But he clearly knew, Shen Yi’an was running around for the eldest son, this matter even went through Hua Xiangming. 

But now on this list, behind Duke Fuchang’s Residence, it was written Shen Qiao’s name.