The story begins here

  "What makes you think so?" Li Yan asked.

  "Just now, Xiaoyue answered me earlier, and subconsciously looked at you first. It can be seen that the reason why Qin Sang and Qiuchan don't get along is because of you, Wangye. Moreover, when Qiuchan quarreled with the girl in the building before, she also mentioned it vaguely." Yan Sanbai turned his head to look at Li Yan, who was slightly taller than him, so he looked up slightly.

  Here is the translation: Here comes another genuine blow from Yan Xiaotan.

  When Yan Sanbai looks at you seriously, you feel like the entire universe is looking at you seriously, making it impossible to tell a lie. Li Ye spread his hands, "Alright, I admit it, there's something going on. You're not suspecting that Qiu Chan took action against Qin Sang because of this, are you?"

  "What does the king think?"

  Li Yan said bluntly, "Qiu Cui is a straightforward person who loves and hates clearly. Although his mouth is a bit poisonous, he has a good heart."

  Yan Sanbai smiled and didn't say anything else. At this time, the Wangfu's carriage finally arrived, and the driver was none other than Ah Mon with a smile on his face. "Young Master Wang, Young Master Yan, please get in the carriage."

  Li Yan lifted the curtain of the carriage with a folding fan, and let Yan Sanbai get in first. Yan Sanbai didn't pretend to be polite either, and sat down first. The horse-drawn carriage wasn't very big from the outside, but it was quite spacious inside. The seats were covered with thick soft cushions, and there were various hidden compartments underneath for storing food. Li Yan rummaged around inside and actually pulled out a jug of wine, along with a set of white jade cups, which he placed on a tea-colored wooden table in the carriage.

  "Drink?" Li Yan sat cross-legged in front of the table, as casual as if he were sitting at home.

  Yan Sanbai shook his head, he couldn't hold his liquor and absolutely couldn't drink wine.

  The fine wine that Li Yan treasured was too fragrant, even if he didn't drink it, just smelling it made Yan Sanbai feel drunk. So he opened the car window curtains a little, breathed in the cool air, and admired the beautiful scenery outside.

  After a long time, there were more and more people on the road. Yan Sanbai looked up and saw a green mountain in front of him, and Lingjue Temple was at the foot of the mountain, built against the hillside. But when he turned his head back, Yan Sanbai found that Li Yan was asleep on the desk, and he didn't wake up until they reached the gate of Lingjue Temple.

  Yan Sanbai thought he must be very tired and didn't have the heart to call him. Just as she was about to get off alone, she hesitated again.

  He turned around, took off one of his clothes and gently put it on Li Yan. Fortunately, the weather was cool now, so they were wearing more clothes, taking off one layer wouldn't reveal their undergarments, still very elegant.

  After getting off the car, Yan Sanbai reminded Ah Meng again, "Don't wake up your Wang Ye at home, just go and come back."

  Yan Sanbai walked quickly, wearing a slightly thin outer robe, walking in the ancient and mysterious temple, with a white figure, black hair, and a bit more ethereal. He probably also noticed this, so every time others gazed at him, he disappeared from sight, only stopping to chat with the monks in the temple.

  "Benefactor, Qin young lady indeed came here not long ago, that was probably over a month ago. Although she has fallen into the world of dust, she is a kind-hearted person and often comes here to burn incense." After several twists and turns, a young Sha monk answered Yan Sanbai's question, and after Yan Sanbai showed Li Yan's token, he took Yan Sanbai to a courtyard wall.

  "She stood here for a long time that day, and I even saw her cry," said Xiaosha.

  "Cried?"

  "Yes, Little Moon gave her a handkerchief, but I saw Qin Sang's expression, it seemed like she was overjoyed and crying, not sad."

  Yan Sanbai seemed lost in thought, then turned to glance at the courtyard wall covered with scars of time and asked: "Did you see her talking to other men that day?"

  "A man?" Xiaoyi furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, then suddenly responded, "Ah, I remember now. That day, I seemed to have seen the young master of the Jia family come here too, and Qin Sang was still here at that time. They should have met here."

  "Lord Jia?" Yan Sanbai was slightly surprised, "But isn't it Governor Jia Qing?"

  "Yes, in Luoyang City, there is only one Lord Jia."

  Is Lian Jiaqing's son also involved? This case is getting more and more complicated, thought Yan Sanbai. At this time, Xiao Shami had something to attend to and left, so Yan Sanbai stood alone in front of the courtyard wall, standing where Qin Sang was standing as Xiao Shami said, looking forward.

  On the walls covered with moss and small cracks, many poems were inscribed. This was a habit of scholars and travelers, as if every time they arrived at a place, they had to leave something behind, otherwise it seemed like they hadn't been there at all. And right in front of Yan Sanbai's place, there was this elegant line of poetry: The old monk has died and become a new pagoda, the broken wall has no reason to show the old inscription.

  The ink marks of this poem are still very new, and it can be seen that the title has not been written for long. Yan Sanbai stretched out his hand, and with his fingertips, he gently wiped away the dust on top, imagining the scene when Qin Sang stood here. Was she overjoyed to tears after seeing these words?

  It should be.

  In that Butterfly Dream story, when the young lady and Dong Lang first met, Dong Lang happened to write this poem on the old temple's broken wall.

  He was focused on writing, one stroke at a time, carefully outlining. A young lady he didn't know saw him and was moved by the atmosphere of his words, delighted by the elegance of his handwriting, so she read out this poem before he could even put down his pen. Donglang heard that ethereal and beautiful voice, subconsciously turned around, and thus the story began.

  "The old monk has died and become a new pagoda, the broken wall cannot see the old inscription?" Suddenly, a pleasant voice came from behind Yan Sanbai's back. He turned his head abruptly and saw an enlarged handsome face appearing beside him.

  Li Yan's mouth curved up, and he slightly turned his head, the distance between them was only a fist away, their breathing audible. He blinked, curiously gazing at the red flush climbing up Yan Sanbai's earlobe, "What's wrong?"

  "Cough, nothing." Yan Sanbai averted his gaze, "Why doesn't the prince sleep for a while longer?"

  Li Yan stretched out his hand, shaking the white outer garment in his hand. "Just now, I had a dream of being in a southern utopia, where I dreamed of a beauty in white clothes drinking and playing the zither with me. When I woke up, this piece of clothing was on my body. Am I not looking for its owner right now? Perhaps we can continue our previous fate."

  "Prince, don't joke around." Yan Sanbai seemed slightly angry, took the outer garment and put it on, and stood a little further away from Li Yan.

  But Li Ye knew he wasn't angry, if any other man had come over and been teased like this, they would probably have stormed off. But Yan Sanbai was a good-tempered person, his thin anger was fake, and not very skillfully faked at that, there wasn't even a hint of anger in his eyes.

  Li Yan didn't expose him either and followed suit by apologizing, "I was rude."

  Yan Sanbai glanced up at the sky and decided not to bother with him anymore. The Buddhist scriptures say: All phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. Like dew and lightning, one should view them as such.

  One should be calm and composed in life.

  Li Yan couldn't help but take another glance at Yan Sanbai, saying he was calm and gentle, but his ears were red, which was a fact. However, this calm demeanor was emanating from deep within him, contradictory yet strangely harmonious, ultimately forming a... peculiar charm.

  Two people walked shoulder to shoulder out of the temple, and on the way, Yan Sanbai inquired about Qin Sang and Jia Qing's young master Jia Le, but got little information. Li Ye was impressed with this young master Jia.

  "I saw him at the Mid-Autumn poetry gathering last year, his writing was quite good and he had beautiful handwriting. He resembled his father in appearance, very dignified, and was still unmarried, currently a xiucai."

  "Xiucai?" At the mention of this word, Yan Sanbai couldn't help but hesitate.

  Li Yandao said, "Isn't it a coincidence? All the men related to this case are without exception all xiucai, just like Dong Lang. And I remembered Jia Le because when everyone else was writing poetry and appreciating the moon, he wrote a love poem that was full of emotion, looking like a lovesick person."

  Yan Sanbai's expression turned slightly solemn, "Alright, let's go meet this lovesick fool."

  However, when Yan Sanbai and Li Yan arrived at the Jia Mansion, the main gate was tightly closed, with not even a doorman in sight. Yan Sanbai went up to knock on the door, but no one answered for half a day.

  He turned his head towards Li Yan - ?

  Li Yan thought for a moment, stretched out his hand to pull Yan Sanbai back, then suddenly closed the fan with a "brush" sound and put it behind him. He lifted one leg and shouted: "Boom!"

  The door is open.

  Li Yanhong's red dress fluttered as she walked in with a leisurely pace.

  Yan Sanbai was stunned for a moment before catching up.

  Following Luoyang Wang to investigate cases is like a cow, under the sky, there is no door that he dares not kick.

  But after entering the door, Yan Sanbai and Li Yan found something wrong. Just now no one answered the door, but it doesn't mean that there is no one in Jia's house, on the contrary, there are many people here, very chaotic and anxious. All the servants were rushing around, looking around, flipping through things, and shouting something in their mouths. Yan Sanbai listened carefully, and it seemed to be the two words "young master".

  Seeing Li Yan and Yan Sanbai coming in, those people still had a hint of panic on their faces, then they quickly went to call Jia Qing.

  Li Yan and Yan Sanbai exchanged a glance - there was something fishy going on.

  Before long, Jia Qing hastily arrived.

  Li Yan asked before he opened his mouth: "Master Jia, what happened in your mansion?"

  "But where is Master Lian?"

  Jia Qing's face showed signs of struggle, and he absolutely did not want to reveal this matter unless absolutely necessary. He was afraid that Li Yan would find out, so he chose to conceal it instead. But unexpectedly... Alas, now it seems like he can't hide it anymore.

  "Your Highness, Lord Yan, to be honest with you, my son has indeed gone missing. I've searched the entire mansion and it seems he's escaped outside."

  "Escape?" Yan Sanbai pondered over the word, "Lord Jia, why use the word 'escape'? Are you imprisoning your young master at home? Because of Qin Sang's daughter?"

  Jia Qing let out a sigh, "Lord Yan's insight is truly divine, I am ashamed. To be honest, my son has admired Qin Sang for a long time, and when he heard of her passing, he insisted on going to see her. My heart softened, and I allowed it. I thought that would be the end of it, but then he heard about Li Qian's situation and became convinced that it was Qin Sang's ghost seeking revenge. He wants to go meet with that ghost, can you believe this nonsense?"

  Jia Qing let out a long sigh, and the hair at his temples seemed to have turned whiter by a shade. "I was afraid something would happen to him, so I had no choice but to keep him confined at home. But just now, one of my servants came in and said he's nowhere to be found. Your Excellency, Lord Yan, this humble official has only this one son; if anything really happens to him, my heart..."

  Jia Qing spoke with emotion, but there was one thing he didn't say. The reason he locked Jia Le at home and kept it a secret was probably because he didn't want Li Yan to know. Like others, he thought Li Yan had a deep relationship with Qin Sang, and if Jia Le really had something to do with Qin Sang, it would inevitably offend Li Yan. It's worth noting that although Li Yan didn't hold real power, he was still the nominal governor of Luoyang, and offending him would be extremely detrimental to Jia Qing's career.

  Yan Sanbai and Li Yan were both clever people, they didn't think of this reason anywhere, but revealing the truth would only make Jia Qing look bad, which was not conducive to the case. Now the most important thing is to let Jia Qing cooperate with them.

  "Master Jia, I suppose you've also heard about Cheng Rui's death?" asked Yan Sanbai.

  "Of course, of course." Jia Qing wiped the sweat from his brow. His concern for his son was genuine, and with two consecutive deaths, it was inevitable that he would feel uneasy psychologically.

  Yan Sanbai's expression turned serious, "For now, the best plan is to find Young Master as soon as possible, to prevent him from encountering any mishaps. I also request that Lord Jia lend his full support and not hide anything again."

  Jia Qing hastily agreed, and Yan Sanbai did not delay either. After consulting with Li Yan, he immediately sent all the people in the mansion to search for Jia Le.

  Yan Sanbai asked Jia Qing for the calligraphy model that Jia Le used to practice with, then decided to make another trip to the Shallow Crimson Pavilion to see Qiuyin. Li Ye, because of his liking for Qiuyin, decided to avoid suspicion and did not follow them, but instead returned to the Wang Manor.

  Before leaving, Yan Sanbai pulled him back and whispered a few words in his ear. Li Ye raised an eyebrow, "You suspect them?"

  Yan Sanbai smiled and said, "Many people are suspicious, who is telling lies, who has something to hide, one test will reveal."

  Li Yan nodded in agreement.

  After parting ways, Yan Sanbai walked alone towards the Shallow Red Building. As news of Cheng Rui's death spread within the city, many rumors and gossip began to circulate on the streets. Yan Sanbai listened carefully along the way and heard that the most common rumor was that Qin Sang had placed a curse and turned into a vengeful spirit to seek revenge against her unfaithful lover.

  Are Li Qian and Cheng Rui being wronged? In fact, not many people care about this. Countless rumors will be dug up, and the unknown 'other side' of Li Qian and Cheng Rui will gradually become known to all. As for the authenticity of the news, out of ten pieces of information, perhaps only one is true, but that single piece of true information can sometimes explain everything.

  Yan Sanbai walked and listened all the way, and the images of Li Qian and Cheng Rui gradually became more vivid in his heart. When they were halfway there, Ling Ding suddenly ran over again with a fiery passion.

  "Yan Da Xia!" Ling Ding waved the handkerchief in his hand, panting and running to his front, "Hand...handkerchief, I've found it!"

  "How?" asked Yan San Bai.

  Ling Ding looked around and leaned in close to Yan Sanbai's ear, saying: "This handkerchief belongs to a young lady from a wealthy family who lives in the eastern part of the city. I've secretly investigated and it's likely that they have a private relationship!"

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