Liang Zhi was able to quickly connect the alley blood case with the fire that had occurred beneath his feet, Fu Zhen was gratified.
He was the Liang family member that Fu Zhen, after careful consideration, deemed most suitable to reveal her identity to first. First, he spent the most time with her when he was young, second, he returned home numerous times over the past six years and was more knowledgeable about the capital city’s situation than Liang Chen. And third, it’s because Fu Zhen’s years in the northwest overlapped with both Liang Zhi and Xu Yin.
In other words, if there was another person in the Liang family, aside from Liang Ning, familiar with Xu Yin, it was Liang Zhi.
Fu Zhen got down from the wall, walked to the original doorstep, "He set the fire himself, came up from the stone steps, first used the Liang family’s Soft Muscle Powder to ambush me, then forced me to hand over that dagger. Finally, taking advantage of the night when the Buddha hall was lit with a full room of long-lasting lamps filled with lamp oil, he staged an ’accident.’"
Liang Zhi shivered in the late spring breeze!
He looked at the remnants of the Buddha hall foundation, the doorstep stone, stone steps, and stone corridor ahead of him, feeling as if burdened by a colossal mountain, suffocating and unable to breathe!
"Why him?" he said, "Aunt treated him so well, the Liang family treated him so well as well. Why did he commit such a vile act? Is he a beast?!"
He punched the crumbling wall under his hand, and with a crashing sound, the already broken wall instantly collapsed.
And the ruins shrouded in a mournful aura seemed even more silent after this sound.
Liang Zhi croaked, "How did he do it, Aunt, how did it all happen?..."
Pei Zhan left the Canglang Pavilion and wandered along the moat searching.
The guards followed closely, without the slightest neglect.
Liang Xuan, speaking without reservation, said things at the Gu family and at the Liang family that Guo Song and the others heard but did not believe that Pei Zhan truly changed so drastically because of a mere phrase like "being jilted."
The beauty of Miss Fu was obvious to everyone, but Pei Zhan, with his extensive experience, had no shortage of beauties offered to him over the years. Discounting appearance and knowledge, how many were not charming?
His heart was as firm as a rock, never swayed by beauty.
His acquaintance with Miss Fu was brief, and every interaction was not particularly noteworthy. How could he be so unsettled by her?
Yet the guards did not dare to ask Pei Zhan why. Their master, though young, had deep strategies. They could only trust that Pei Zhan had his reason for searching so relentlessly.
This search covered the entire city.
They not only failed to spot Liang Zhi and the others, but even Xiao Si and the other guards were nowhere to be seen.
Pei Zhan looked at the dark sky and stopped in front of the city gate.
Everyone always believed him to be mature beyond his years, with mountains in his chest, yet tonight, he was genuinely confused.
He didn’t know where Fu Zhen would take Liang Zhi, nor could he articulate why he came out this time; he only knew it was instinctual.
Just like when he caught Fu Zhen climbing the walls of the Liang family, he instinctively paid attention to and guarded against her.
When it came to the Liang family, he never managed to stay calm.
Liang Zhi enlisted in the army at fourteen, older than Pei Zhan by ten months. Though he hadn’t fought on the front lines in six years, he had considerable experience.
Such a person should not have been a worry for Pei Zhan, yet since he knew Fu Zhen sought him out, his heart could not settle down.
"Send someone to check at the Fu family."
He thought of the least likely yet most appropriate place to search.
Guo Song stepped forward, "Master, a quarter of an hour ago, I already sent someone to ask Li Huai at the Fu family, who said Miss Fu has not returned since leaving in the afternoon."
Pei Zhan listened to the distant sound of time-tellers—night was not young, it was past midnight, and yet a young lady of noble status had not returned!
"Master," Guo Song said hesitantly, "I heard that Fu Jun has divorced his wife, and Miss Fu and her brother followed their mother. In this way, Miss Fu became a merchant’s daughter. Moreover, Miss Fu personally signed a document today with Du Third Madam to annul the marriage.
"Could this move by Miss Fu be a scheme against General Liang?"
A merchant’s daughter and an official’s daughter are worlds apart; marrying into a family like the Liang family would be akin to becoming a phoenix perched high!
Guo Song was reluctant to speculate, but in the dead of night... apart from this conjecture, he truly couldn’t think of what the two could be doing.
Pei Zhan was quite surprised to hear the words "annulment," and looked at Guo Song, then harshly reprimanded, "She’s not that kind of person!"
Guo Song couldn’t help but ask, "Then, in your opinion, Master, what kind of person is Miss Fu?"
Pei Zhan pursed his lips and looked ahead without speaking.
Would Fu Zhen personally settle the annulment with the Du family?
He thought the reason she made such exertions to save Du Third Madam that night was to win her favor, was so that the marriage could continue!
The title of Du family’s young mistress was out of her reach, yet she apparently didn’t care at all?
Once more, confusion flooded Pei Zhan’s heart, as if the more he learned about her, the more he realized he couldn’t understand her.
Just what kind of person was she?
But at this moment, he was even more certain that someone with such open-mindedness and resilience couldn’t possibly devise a scheme involving Liang Zhi’s body, a General’s wife’s status!
Otherwise, why would she forgo seeking Du Third Madam?
He had this confidence.
Because he once saw a woman with the same open-mindedness and resilience. If Fu Zhen was even a bit like that person, she couldn’t be all that bad.
But what exactly was she seeking from the Liang family?
He lowered his head, looking at his shadow cast on the ground under the lamplight, and when he noticed Liang Xuan’s shadow beside it, he couldn’t help but ask, "Why did you specifically tell me she was with your second uncle?"
"Because Mother said, in life and in deeds, there are seniority and sequential order!" Liang Xuan’s bright eyes shone like stars, "The Fu family sister knew Fifth Uncle first, and Second Uncle after, so naturally, I should help you, Fifth Uncle!"
Seniority and sequential order?
Pei Zhan raised his head slightly, a bitter smile on his lips.
Even a child knew about seniority and sequential order, yet that person, that person never knew all their life!
He and Xu Yin—obviously, he met her first!
"Fifth Uncle, don’t worry, what is meant to be yours will certainly be yours. Second Uncle is too impatient, Miss Fu is not suitable for him."
Liang Xuan gently tugged his sleeve.
"Guo Song," Pei Zhan took a step into the night, "Take Brother Xuan back."
Liang Xuan was anxious: "What about you?"
"I have my whereabouts."
Pei Zhan mounted his horse, turned and rode into the night.
He swiftly showed his identity to the city gate soldiers and galloped out of the city.
The road leading to Baihe Temple, he had traversed countless times, so not only was it familiar to him, but also familiar to his horse. Updates are released by NoveI-Fire.ɴet
He couldn’t find Liang Zhi.
His mind was a muddle.
He wanted to find some peace.
In one breath, he arrived under the temple gate, knocked on the door, and as usual, headed straight to the northwest corner of the ancient temple.