NOVPUBShen Roujia let out a helpless, cold laugh. “You can only deceive yourself this way. The facts? The truth cannot be covered up. What you’re searching for is nothing more than a demon in your heart.”
Hua Zui’s eyes reddened, her shoulders trembling as she struggled to maintain her composure.
“I’m not feeling well. Please leave.”
Shen Roujia gave her a pitying look but said nothing, turning to leave the qin room.
At this moment, Gu Zhi returned.
She had gone to Hundred Wisdom Pavilion to gather information as Shen Roujia had instructed.
Upon her return, her face was grim.
Shen Roujia’s guess had been correct.
Gu Zhi spoke with anger in her voice.
“I never expected it to be like this.”
Shen Roujia gently supported Gu Zhi. “Take your time, no rush.”
Gu Zhi frowned. “The woman was named Hong Xiao, a musician from the marketplace. She died in a fire a year ago.”
Shen Roujia was taken aback. “A year ago… where did it happen?”
Gu Zhi pressed her lips tightly together before responding, “In the qin room.”
Shen Roujia was slightly shocked. This detail was completely unexpected.
The room filled with famous instruments had been renovated.
She instinctively looked at Gu Zhi. “Are you alright?”
Gu Zhi sighed. “This matter is not easy to resolve.”
Shen Roujia did not hide her thoughts. “Indeed, because the root lies with Lady Miao Yin.”
Gu Zhi still seemed dispirited.
It wasn’t until Shen Roujia handed her a cup of tea that she snapped out of her thoughts.
“Aunt Hua has been kind to my mother and me. I remember she used to be an extremely kind-hearted person.”
Shen Roujia looked at her with pity, also feeling a slight pang of emotion.
“Often, love and hate can drive people to madness. Who are we to judge others’ lives?”
Gu Zhi lowered her eyes, feeling an inexplicable stir in her heart.
Why was this girl so serene and insightful, speaking as if she were a monk who had been meditating for years?
Gu Zhi couldn’t achieve this state of mind. Even when viewing things as an outsider, she easily got caught up in the emotional whirlpool.
But Shen Roujia remained unaffected, never consciously distancing herself, yet never getting involved.
Shen Roujia did not notice Gu Zhi’s emotional shift.
Calmly, she pieced together all the clues and started to form a bold hypothesis.
“Based on the timeline, a year ago was also around the time her husband died.”
“Her husband and Hong Xiao must have been in love.”
Shen Roujia’s head began to ache as she quickly doubted her own thoughts.
“There’s no evidence to prove any of this, and how could someone of Lady Miao Yin’s status be so entangled with a Hu person, ultimately taking away someone else’s love?”
Gu Zhi looked at the carved small window, then back at Shen Roujia.
“Everything has to wait. Wait for tonight’s full moon…”
Shen Roujia was about to nod in agreement when a sound of breaking tiles came from outside the door.
It sounded like a flowerpot had shattered.
Gu Zhi and Shen Roujia exchanged glances and walked out of the room. 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Several mute girls were watering flowers and had accidentally knocked over a pot.
Ignoring the maids’ apologies, Shen Roujia focused on the flowers destroyed by the fragments.
She frowned slightly and couldn’t help but bend down, picking up a broken flower and muttering to herself.
“Chinese orchids?”
Gu Zhi also looked over. “What’s the matter?”
Shen Roujia didn’t answer, immediately turning to look around. She then noticed that almost all the windowsills and doorsteps had several pots of Chinese orchids.
