Quests Released

Lin Zhiyue squatted in place and did not stand up immediately.

Ten years. Su Jinyu had died ten years ago.

Su Qing'er had entered the palace that very same year, and the decline of the national fortune had also begun ten years ago. It was too coincidental. Could there really be such a perfect coincidence in this world?

Lin Zhiyue stood up and patted the dirt off her hands, glancing at Cen Xi'er beside her. Cen Xi'er had also set down the vegetable leaves in her hands, her expression much more serious than before.

After returning to the courtyard, Lin Zhiyue turned the names Su Jinyu, Xie Tianci, and Su Qing'er over in her mind.

The public annulment of the betrothal by the heir of the Marquis Jing'an's manor, the death of the legitimate daughter from illness, and the concubine-born daughter entering the palace in the same year and enjoying enduring favor—there were too many missing links in this sequence of events. She could only set these fragments aside for now and piece them back together once she had more information.

When she pushed open the door to her room and walked inside, the twilight outside had already begun to fade from the paper windows. Palace lanterns lit up one by one, forming a string of warm yellow points of light under the corridor.

Faint music drifted from the distance, suggesting that the banquet was still ongoing. Having traveled across several walls, it reached her as nothing more than a blurry outline.

She blew out the candle, lay down, and closed her eyes.

...

The next day, Lin Zhiyue and Cen Xi'er went to Qi Yan's room and briefly recounted what they had heard from the young maidservant.

The ten-year timeframe had appeared three times in total—it did not seem like a coincidence.

Qi Yan leaned back in his chair and listened without making an immediate comment. After a moment, he spoke up, mentioning that he had talked with the four Chief Enshriners last night. They had not provided any particularly useful information; they only knew that the national fortune was declining, but they could not point out the root cause.

Lin Zhiyue and Cen Xi'er exchanged a glance, understanding the situation.

Early that morning, Lin Zhiyue, Cen Xi'er, and Jiang Yuezhan left the imperial palace.

The main street of the capital was far more bustling than they had imagined inside the palace. Shops lined both sides, with stalls selling spiritual ingredients, silks, and food standing side by side.

As Lin Zhiyue walked, she observed the pedestrians on the street. Some carried shoulder poles while shouting their wares, while children chased one another around the street corners.

Compared to the heavy, oppressive atmosphere of the palace, it was like two entirely different worlds.

Minister Su's manor was situated deep within a wide alley on the eastern side of the capital. Two stone lions stood before the gate, and a plaque reading “Su Manor” hung above the entrance.

The three of them did not use the main entrance. Instead, they each applied an Aura-Concealing Talisman and scaled the side wall, landing soundlessly on the branches of an old locust tree. Concealing their figures within the dense canopy, they moved a short distance along the eaves before crouching in the shadows of the roof above the main hall.

Two people were sitting inside the hall.

Seated at the head of the room was a middle-aged man dressed in dark brown ordinary clothes. His face was lean and gaunt, but there was a deep vertical crease between his brows. He spoke in a measured, unhurried tone that carried the composure forged from years of serving as an official.

Beside him sat a woman in a dark purple dress. She appeared to be around fifty years old, her appearance well-maintained, though a sharp, shrewd look glinted in her eyes.

The two were conversing, their voices traveling up through the thin roof tiles, allowing most of their words to be heard clearly. Minister Su was speaking about the impact of the Grand Protector General's death on the imperial court, while Madam Wu, in her replies, was more concerned about whether their family's connections in court would be affected. No abnormalities were revealed in their conversation.

Lin Zhiyue lay flat on the eaves and listened for a while longer, waiting for about the time it took an incense stick to burn. Confirming there was no more valuable information in the main hall, she gestured to Cen Xi'er and Jiang Yuezhan. The three of them silently retreated from the main hall's vicinity along the path they had come.

Just as they retreated near the eastern courtyard wall, Lin Zhiyue's steps suddenly halted.

A dense, freezing aura, thick enough to almost materialize, descended without warning, creeping up her skin inch by inch.

She felt goosebumps instantly break out across her back, and her fingers instinctively pressed against the short dagger hidden in her sleeve.

Cen Xi'er, standing beside her, also underwent a change in expression. Her reaction was even more extreme than Lin Zhiyue's; the hair on her arms stood on end, and she felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her entire body.

Jiang Yuezhan had already drawn his sword. The iron blade slipped from its scabbard much faster than usual, its tip pointing slightly toward the direction where the aura was thickest.

The three of them simultaneously looked toward a low, small side room in the corner of the eastern courtyard wall. That soaring resentful energy was gushing continuously from that direction, so thick that even breathing felt sluggish.

Lin Zhiyue lowered her body and exchanged glances with Cen Xi'er and Jiang Yuezhan, signaling them to retreat further before deciding on their next move.

The three of them silently withdrew from the Su Manor's boundaries along the eaves, stopping at a quiet alleyway three streets away. As the effects of the Aura-Concealing Talismans gradually faded, the freezing aura dispersed along with it.

Lin Zhiyue leaned against the wall to catch her breath for a moment. Once her heartbeat steadied, she turned to look at Cen Xi'er, whose goosebumps had still not completely receded.

Jiang Yuezhan had already sheathed his sword, but his gaze remained fixed in the direction of the eastern side of the Su Manor.

Just as Lin Zhiyue caught her breath, the system's light screen suddenly popped up, its interface appearing slightly brighter than usual.

Four consecutive quests were lined up side by side, each row marked in gilded font on the panel, looking like anything but something that could be easily completed: 【Instance Quest “Chiyan Imperial Dynasty: National Fortune Mystery” Activated】

Basic Quests:

Investigate the truth behind Su Jinyu's death

Investigate the truth behind the annulled betrothal between the Su and Xie families

Investigate the origin of Noble Consort Su's resentful energy

Investigate the truth behind Heir Xie's death

Lin Zhiyue stared at the light screen for several seconds, running the four quests through her mind.

The betrothal between Su Jinyu and Xie Tianci, Su Jinyu's death, Xie Tianci's annulment of the betrothal, Su Qing'er's entrance into the palace and her enduring favor, and the soaring resentful energy they had just felt on the eastern side of the Su Manor—

The system would not issue quests for no reason, nor would it provide directions unrelated to the current situation. This meant that these matters were indeed inextricably linked to the decline of the Chiyan Imperial Dynasty's national fortune.

She had originally started her investigation from the "ten years" timeframe based purely on intuition. Now that the system had explicitly listed these fragments as quests, it was equivalent to confirming that her direction was correct.

What she needed to do next was to follow this thread step by step.

The truth should be waiting at the very end.

She closed the light screen and looked up at Cen Xi'er and Jiang Yuezhan. The chill brought by that resentful energy still lingered on her skin, but her thoughts were already clearer than before.