Chapter 26: The Affair Exposed

Shen Xiunian sighed, likely having figured out why he was assigned to investigate this matter.

If the incident with the knockout incense was true.

Pei Zhouwu was imprisoned; he certainly couldn’t have obtained such a thing.

And who was the guard carrying the knockout incense meant for? To use against Pei Zhouwu?

This matter couldn’t be entrusted to just anyone. Both the Empress and the Pei family would object, fearing that the investigator might be in league with those on the mountain, colluding to conceal the truth.

It had to be someone who was not involved in the political struggles of Shangjing’s court, yet held a high position and was difficult to bribe or deceive.

Although he held the rank of second-grade official, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops, he had spent years campaigning abroad with little connection to Shangjing’s court and belonged to no faction.

Having him investigate was indeed the fairest choice.

After returning to his residence to change clothes and don his armor, he led his troops out of the city toward Xiangshan.

Pei Zhouwu’s place of imprisonment was exceptionally remote, nestled deep in the forest halfway up the mountain and extremely difficult to find. Finally, at the edge of a cliff, he saw the massive pendulum. The prison was perched between two cliffs, with no visible top above and no bottom below—a clever location indeed.

Seeing the orderly army approach, the guards at the mountain’s entrance were thrown into disarray.

“General, have you come to detain the traitor Pei Zhouwu?”

“Traitor?” Shen Xiunian looked the guard up and down, intrigued. “Whether Pei Zhouwu is a traitor has yet to be decided by His Majesty. Are you so certain?”

“Well… Pei Zhouwu has killed someone. How could he not be a traitor?”

“Why did he kill?”

“To escape, of course.”

“If I recall correctly, he has been imprisoned here for over half a year. Why didn’t he escape earlier, only choosing last night? Yesterday, your new captain took command, and that very night, he attempted to escape. Could it be that your captain deliberately gave him the opportunity?”

“How could that be? That’s…”

Shen Xiunian had no patience for further discussion and strode inside.

When the second room inside was opened, the thick scent of blood made him wrinkle his nose.

The person on the bed lay with eyes tightly shut, lips pale, and the blood on his body glaringly vivid.

As fellow court officials, Shen Xiunian and Pei Zhouwu had crossed paths before, though they had never interacted much.

In the past, Pei Zhouwu had been as radiant as the sun.

To see him reduced to such a state was truly lamentable.

Shen Xiunian extended two fingers to check Pei Zhouwu’s breathing, mainly because Pei Zhouwu’s condition seemed so lifeless, with no visible rise and fall of his chest.

“Su…”

Hearing Pei Zhouwu murmur, Shen Xiunian startled and quickly withdrew his hand.

“…Yueying.”

The voice was too weak for Shen Xiunian to make out clearly.

But unwilling to overlook any detail in the investigation, he thought it might be useful to glean something from Pei Zhouwu’s delirious mutterings while unconscious.

So, he leaned down closer.

After a moment, Pei Zhouwu spoke again, murmuring two words, “A Ying.”

A Ying.

“A Ying.” Shen Xiunian repeated the homophonic words.

A Ying?

Shen Xiunian abruptly straightened up, his back stiffening.

It was no wonder his mind immediately went to “A Ying.” Among all the people he knew, only Liu Fuying shared that syllable.

And for Pei Zhouwu to cling to it so persistently, uttering it with such intimacy, it was undoubtedly a woman’s name.

In an instant, an absurd thought struck Shen Xiunian.

Could it be that he had uncovered Liu Fuying’s secret affair?

He knew that Liu Fuying had a lover outside, and since she often went to Changmingguan on Xiangshan, he assumed she had arranged to meet her lover secretly at the temple. Could it be that he had guessed wrong? Perhaps the secret meeting wasn’t at Changmingguan, but…

No, how could that be possible?

Both the front and back were sheer cliffs, and the outside was guarded by soldiers. How could Liu Fuying possibly get in?

Suddenly, he remembered something and took a step back, frowning tightly.

He recalled that Liu Fuying had once fallen off a cliff on Xiangshan and only returned home the next day.

Ever since that incident, she had started frequently visiting Xiangshan, claiming to go to the temple to burn incense and pray for a child, but in reality…

Xiangshan, A Ying.

Could it really be such a coincidence?

Or perhaps it was truly just a coincidence!

The person Pei Zhouwu mentioned might simply share a homophone with Liu Fuying’s name—he was overthinking it.

Otherwise, even getting past the guards at the entrance would have been impossible for her.

It would have been a miracle if she hadn’t been mistaken for a rebel and killed on the spot, let alone allowed to enter repeatedly to engage in secret affairs with Pei Zhouwu.

“A Ying.”

Pei Zhouwu’s murmurs continued.

The more Shen Xiunian listened, the faster his heart raced.

It wasn’t jealousy over Liu Fuying’s affair with Pei Zhouwu that troubled him, but Pei Zhouwu’s complicated identity. The slightest misstep could bring disaster upon the entire Shen Family.

“Hairpin… hairpin.”

Pei Zhouwu’s restless murmurs tugged at Shen Xiunian’s emotions.

Summoning his courage, he took a few steps closer, hoping to hear more and clarify the situation.

“Hairpin…”

Pei Zhouwu’s voice grew more urgent, and Shen Xiunian furrowed his brows, focusing intently to hear more clearly.

“Yueying.”

“Su Yueying.”

Su…

This time, Shen Xiunian heard it clearly—very clearly. The surname of the person Pei Zhouwu was murmuring was Su, not Liu.

He breathed a sigh of relief, his brows relaxing with reassurance.

As long as it wasn’t Liu Fuying, that was good.

That was good!

As he moved, his foot suddenly stepped on something. He looked down and shifted his foot, discovering a wooden hairpin on the floor by the bed. He crouched halfway to pick it up, finally understanding what Pei Zhouwu had meant by “hairpin.”

Just as his fingers touched the hairpin, a glance from the corner of his eye caught something under the bed.

Sharp-eyed, he immediately recalled the incense his subordinate had mentioned earlier.

Reaching out, he pulled out a burnt-out stick of incense.

His heart sank in shock, and when he looked up, he met Pei Zhouwu’s eyes, which had somehow opened on the bed.

He abruptly stood up, and Pei Zhouwu struggled to sit up as well.

Despite his extremely weak state, Pei Zhouwu’s gaze was sharp and piercing, fixed on Shen Xiunian like a cold, murderous blade. It was as if Shen Xiunian were the one covered in blood and at a disadvantage.

Pei Zhouwu said nothing, merely extending his hand.

A silent standoff stretched endlessly in the room filled with the scent of blood.

Shen Xiunian understood his meaning—he wanted the wooden hairpin in his hand.

Something Pei Zhouwu still remembered even in his unconscious state must be of great importance to him. Shen Xiunian knew this feeling all too well—the unforgettable sentiment of being trapped by love. They were both prisoners of their emotions, after all.

Shen Xiunian didn’t make things difficult for him and handed over the wooden hairpin.

He also noticed two fireflies carved on the hairpin, instantly realizing that the “A Ying” Pei Zhouwu had been murmuring about was actually “firefly” (ying), not Liu Fuying’s name.

Indeed, he had been overthinking everything.

Liu Fuying and Pei Zhouwu—how could that be possible?

Recalling Liu Fuying’s words this morning about not being interested in him, it made sense. If Liu Fuying didn’t even care for him, how could she possibly be interested in a prisoner like Pei Zhouwu?

“General Shen,” Pei Zhouwu rasped out.