Fang Youzhen hurriedly stepped forward to thank Feng Fuce.

After the incident with Fang Wushen, no one dared to stay here anymore.

They quickly left the place.

Bai Zhi’er did not rush back to the palace.

Instead, she went to the nearby government office to inform them about the situation here.

After the government got involved, they discovered eighteen skeletons.

They were all innocent people, who were imprisoned because of mistakes made by their family members.

As their closest kin, they were confined in the Xing Sect.

They originally thought once their family’s case was cleared, they would be freed.

Unexpectedly, they waited, not for the day to see sunlight again, but for the fall of their nation and family.

This incident caused an uproar throughout the Capital.

Most people condemned the corruption of the former dynasty’s system, praising the hard-won prosperity and peace of the present.

Accompanied by Feng Fuce, Bai Zhi’er went to Xishui Village.

She had promised the Ghost Prisoner to check on his wife, Hong Yue.

However, she didn’t know if Hong Yue was still there now.

After entering the village, Bai Zhi’er and Feng Fuce asked a few people before finding Hong Yue’s residence.

A simple fenced yard, neatly tidy from the outside.

The couplets on the door were new, replaced annually, indicating the house was regularly inhabited.

Bai Zhi’er knocked on the door.

The one who answered was a boy around fourteen or fifteen years old.

He eyed the two well-dressed strangers outside with a confused frown.

"Who are you?"

Bai Zhi’er hesitated for a moment.

Did they come to the wrong place? Was Hong Yue not here?

Feng Fuce calmly asked, "We are here to see Hong Yue, is she home?"

The boy glanced up and down at Feng Fuce, then turned around and shouted, "Mom, someone is here to see you!"

Bai Zhi’er’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

The Ghost Prisoner hadn’t mentioned he had a child.

She looked at Feng Fuce beside her and murmured in a low voice, questioning, "Did Hong Yue remarry?"

Feng Fuce remained calm and said, "Perhaps, after all, it’s been nearly fifteen years."

A woman emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her floral skirt.

She had delicate features and a graceful, quiet demeanor.

Upon seeing Bai Zhi’er and Feng Fuce, Hong Yue was taken aback.

"Are the esteemed guests here for me?" She never recognized people of such status.

Bai Zhi’er pressed her lips together, "Your husband sent me to check on you, may we come in to talk?"

She initially meant to mention Hong Yue’s husband’s name.

But Bai Zhi’er suddenly realized she hadn’t asked for the Ghost Prisoner’s name.

However, hearing Bai Zhi’er say this, Hong Yue quickly invited them in.

She looked extremely delighted and excited, "Is there news about Lu Xianyong? Are you officials from the government?"

Hong Yue spoke while hastily standing up to pour tea.

Bai Zhi’er and Feng Fuce sat at a small table in the hall.

Hong Yue served two cups of tea, "Every year, I report him missing to the government, is there news of my husband?"

"Where is he now? After the fall of the former dynasty, he must have left with Lord Inspector, right?"

"After years of no word, I thought he had settled elsewhere, now finally there’s news of him."

Bai Zhi’er couldn’t even get a word in.

Hong Yue joyfully spoke to herself, "That’s great, as long as he’s alive..."

After she finished, she looked up at Bai Zhi’er, happily asking, "When will he return?"

Seeing Hong Yue so excited, Bai Zhi’er’s prepared words suddenly caught in her throat.

How could she truthfully tell this woman who had waited for over a decade that her husband had long since died?