His Highness the Madman gave in again today.

"impossible."

Mo Sangyu gently shook her head.

Rong Huaijin was absolutely certain that she hadn't discovered them.

"Then he's a really scary person."

The thought that his mother might really be trapped by a morbid madman like him filled Feng Xingyu with murderous intent.

"We can't wait any longer. Tonight, I plan to go into their room and find out what's going on," Mo Sangyu said.

"it is good."

Feng Xingyu took a deep breath and nodded: "Let's go together."

Dark as ink.

The mansion was silent, and the lanterns under the eaves swayed gently in the night breeze, scattering the shadows of the trees on the ground.

Rong Huaijin and his wife's room had long been dark.

The couple waited a little longer to make sure the person inside was asleep before coming down from under the tree, concealing themselves, and then sneaking into the room.

The main house is very large, divided into two rooms, one inside and one outside.

The outer room is a study, furnished with bookshelves and a desk. On the desk is an unfinished piece of calligraphy, the ink already completely dry.

Mo Sangyu didn't look around much and walked inside with Feng Xingyu.

The door to the inner room was ajar, letting in a faint, cool breeze.

The couple slipped inside, their steps as light as if they were walking on cotton.

The bed was at the far end of the inner room, with the curtains half-drawn, obscuring the figure of the person on the bed.

In the darkness, the breathing of two people could be clearly heard, one deep and one shallow, even and long, indicating they were sound asleep.

Feng Xingyu and Mo Sangyu exchanged a glance and silently moved closer to the bed.

One step, two steps, three steps...

The curtain was not completely lowered, leaving a gap.

Mo Sangyu stood by the bed and peered through the crack.

Rong Huaijin's wife slept on the outer side, her long hair spread out on the pillow, her face serene.

Rong Huaijin was sleeping inside, facing outwards, lying on his side, with one hand on her waist.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on his face and clearly illuminating its contours.

Feng Xingyu frowned slightly.

Mo Sangyu also frowned.

The couple exchanged a silent glance, seeing the same meaning in each other's eyes.

The person on the bed is acting strangely.

It was hard to tell when separated by the courtyard, but now that it was right in front of me, the subtle differences became exceptionally clear.

This is not Rong Huaijin.

They looked exactly alike and had the same build, but the aura emanating from this person was completely different from Rong Huaijin's.

Others might not be able to tell, but Feng Xingyu and Mo Sangyu could tell the difference at a glance.

The couple quickly left the room.

Mo Sangyu leaned against a pillar in the corridor, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"It must be a double." Feng Xingyu stood beside him and said softly, "It's too similar. It's hard to tell unless you get close."

Mo Sangyu nodded: "Judging from this, he's not in the manor every night. But when was he replaced?"

I was still careless.

She turned to look at the closed door, her mind racing.

Rong Huaijin leaves every night and returns before dawn. What kind of place could make him do this every night?

"Let's go," she suddenly said.

Feng Xingyu looked at her: "Where are you going?"

Mo Sangyu grabbed his hand, and the two of them vanished into the corridor in a flash.

When it reappeared, it was already standing above the mansion.

A night breeze blew from afar, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, and the faint sound of the ocean waves.

Mo Sangyu closed his eyes, and his soul spread out like an invisible net, spreading in all directions.

Feng Xingyu stood beside her, looking at her without saying a word.

After a long time, Mo Sangyu slowly opened her eyes: "There is no trace of him within a hundred miles."

Feng Xingyu reached out and pulled her into his arms: "No rush. We didn't know about the substitute before. Now that he's coming back, we won't have to worry about finding an opportunity."

Mo Sangyu thought about it and agreed.

I've waited a whole month, what's a few more days?

She was glad she hadn't alerted them beforehand, otherwise it would have been even harder to discover what was going on.

This time, Feng Xingyu didn't leave after dawn either, staying with her to wait for Rong Huaijin to return.

The exchange between him and his double was almost completely silent.

After leaving the bedroom, Mo Sangyu and Feng Xingyu discovered that they were in the same place again.

The reason I didn't discover it before was because I didn't suspect anything in that direction, so I didn't check carefully. But now that I'm paying special attention, I've discovered that Bai Tian was also a stand-in.

Oh.

Mo Sangyu laughed at herself in exasperation.

Could it be that after all this time, they've been watching a counterfeit product?

Having probably never seen Mo Sangyu miscalculate like this before, Feng Xingyu couldn't help but chuckle, reaching out to touch her face and comforting her affectionately, "It's alright, we're just killing time anyway."

Mo Sangyu glanced at him sideways: "Aren't you leaving yet?"

Seeing that she was starting to shoo him away, Feng Xingyu's face immediately fell: "Can't I go back before the morning court tomorrow?"

"no."

Mo Sangyu glanced at him, her tone leaving no room for negotiation: "There's no use in you staying now. We still don't know when Rong Huaijin will switch back with this substitute. Don't worry, even if I find out anything, I'll wait for you to come tonight so we can act together."

Feng Xingyu looked at her, his thin lips moved as if he wanted to say something but then swallowed it back.

There are indeed still a lot of unresolved matters in the court. The autumn imperial examinations are approaching, but the candidates for the examiners have not yet been decided. Those old men in the cabinet are arguing every day. With him not around, things will be delayed again.

He sighed, reached out and pulled her into his arms, then lowered his head and kissed her forehead.

"Then be careful."

"Um."

Feng Xingyu released her, his figure flashed, and he disappeared into the morning light.

Mo Sangyu leaned against the pillar in the corridor, watching his figure disappear before turning her gaze away.

It was already broad daylight, and there was some activity starting to happen inside the mansion.

Servants carried hot water and breakfast, moving about in the corridor.

Mo Sangyu was hiding in the courtyard, strolling around slowly.

She walked to the door of the main house, stopped, and looked inside.

The stand-in had already gotten up and was sitting at the table, holding a bowl of porridge in his hand, slowly drinking it.

His movements, demeanor, and even micro-expressions were exactly the same as Rong Huaijin's.

After observing for a moment, Mo Sangyu had to admit that apart from the different aura, this person was exactly the same.

If it were someone else, they probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference in their entire life.

No wonder even someone as cautious as Rong Huaijin dared to leave without worry.

Unfortunately, she still found out.

Mo Sangyu walked in and stood behind the stand-in, very close, close enough that he could reach out and touch his shoulder.

The stand-in was completely unaware.

He put down his porridge bowl, picked up a piece of vegetables with his chopsticks, and put it into his wife's bowl next to him.

The lady smiled, lowered her head and ate, showing no sign of any discomfort on her face.

The child sat in the middle chair, holding a small wooden spoon, clumsily putting food into his mouth, smearing it all over his face.

Mo Sangyu stared at the substitute for a moment, then silently extended her soul consciousness outwards.

His supernatural abilities were very weak, far inferior to the real Rong Huaijin.

That's probably the biggest difference between the two.

If it really is Rong Huaijin, he would definitely notice something amiss if she were standing behind him like this.

But this stand-in can't feel anything.

She withdrew her consciousness, stepped aside, and leaned against the door frame.

The family of three was still eating when the woman gently wiped her child's mouth with a handkerchief.

The stand-in looked at them, a faint smile in his eyes.

The scene was as warm and inviting as a painting.

Oh right.

Mo Sangyu discovered another different place.

That is the gloom in the two of them, one is hiding it, while the other is deliberately imitating it.

And that woman, does she know the truth? Does she know who her husband is?

Or is she actually cooperating with Rong Huaijin in an act?

Mo Sangyu's gaze fell on the woman's gentle profile, and he decided to find an opportunity to search the lady's memories.

Two more days passed.

This stand-in has been staying here for the past two days.

His daily routine was not much different from Rong Huaijin's: grocery shopping, cooking, spending time with the children, wood carving, and occasionally chatting with his wife.

At other times, I almost never go out.

Mo Sangyu still hasn't figured out when or where they changed people.

During those days, she wasn't exactly watching him every second, but she was pretty much oblivious.

That noon, when the stand-in went out again, Mo Sangyu did not go with him. Instead, he stayed in the mansion, went into the main room, knocked out the woman who was embroidering a purse, and took her away.

While she was unconscious, her soul invaded her brain, which could protect her consciousness from damage to the greatest extent.

However, the information she retrieved from searching her memories was a huge disappointment.

This woman apparently has a poor memory.

As far back as she could remember, she was already Rong Huaijin's wife. At that time, her child had just turned one month old. People in the mansion told her that she had almost died from severe bleeding during childbirth and had been in a coma for a full month before waking up.

After waking up, I couldn't remember anything from before.

The events of the next two or three years were basically the same as what Mo Sangyu had seen.

She had never discovered anything about Rong Huaijin and his stand-in, so in her memory, Mo Sangyu couldn't tell whether the person who had been by her side for the past two or three years was the real Rong Huaijin or the stand-in.

As for why they were "loving and affectionate" but never had sex, it was because the woman was weak after childbirth, and "Rong Huaijin" was reluctant to touch her in order to protect her.

You believe that?

However, the woman herself was not feeling well and had been taking extremely precious tonics for many years.

After searching through her memories, Mo Sangyu casually examined her.

The investigation revealed to her shock that her weakness was indeed due to childbirth. If it weren't for the meticulous care and constant administration of various tonics over the years, she would probably have died long ago.

What exactly is real, and what is fake?

Mo Sangyu escorted the woman back to the main room and had her lie face down on the table.

He then stuffed the half-embroidered purse into her hand, and after she woke up, she only knew that she had gone back to sleep.

Stepping out of the main house, Mo Sangyu's mind was momentarily in disarray.

At this moment, Rong Xuanci arrived.

He landed in the courtyard, looked around, but couldn't find Mo Sangyu. Just as he was about to go look for her, Mo Sangyu walked out from behind the pillar.

"elder brother."

Rong Xuanci turned around and looked at her: "Where did you go?"

Mo Sangyu didn't answer, but walked up to him: "Why did you come here in broad daylight? Did you find out some information?"

Rong Xuanci glanced at her and nodded.

"In the past three years, no child has been lost in the Rong clan's collateral branch."

"But three years ago, a cousin's wife had an accident during her pregnancy. She was attacked when she returned to her parents' home and went missing for a few days. When she was found, the baby was gone."

"The lady was greatly affected by this and passed away less than a year later."

"The child hasn't been born yet?" Mo Sangyu asked.

Rong Xuanci hummed in agreement: "According to the timeline, only the child who died before birth is about the same age as Third Uncle's child. There are no suitable candidates from other branches of the family."

Mo Sangyu paused for a moment: "Perhaps it's just a coincidence."

Rong Xuanci looked at her: "Why do you say that? Have you made any other discovery?"

Mo Sangyu roughly told him about the stand-in and the memory search.

After listening, Rong Xuanci also fell silent.

"In that case, Uncle San does indeed have a problem."

After a long silence, he finally spoke: "Otherwise, what's the point of him keeping a woman on the side and bringing back a substitute to cuckold him?"

He looked at Mo Sangyu with a hint of heartache in his eyes: "Little sister, you've had a hard time these past few days. Go back to the Rong clan and rest for a couple of days. I'll stay here and look after you for a couple of days."

"Need not."

Mo Sangyu shook her head: "Right now, I'm so focused on figuring out the truth of the matter that I'm not tired at all."

"You."

With Feng Xingyu not here, Rong Xuanci couldn't help but complain, "You seem quite concerned about his affairs."

"Don't worry, as long as my parents are still alive, I'll bring them back sooner or later."

Upon hearing Mo Sangyu's words, Rong Xuanci was slightly taken aback, then burst into laughter.

At least there's still a sliver of clue about Aunt Wangshu, and their Rong clan possesses resurrection magic, so their chances of survival are relatively high. But what about my parents...?

"No, Mother died a long time ago. She was killed by that witch clan member. You know that, so why are you saying Mother is missing?"

"I guessed."

Mo Sangyu shrugged and casually said, "Otherwise, do you think our father is so stupid that he would waste time looking for us?"

Upon hearing this, Rong Xuanci's heart skipped a beat.

He had never thought about it in that way; he only felt that his father refused to stay in the Rong tribe, a place of sorrow, because he couldn't accept his mother's death.

Hearing my sister's words now, I suddenly realized they made some sense.

"Sister, if they're still alive, are you really confident you can find them?"

"Give it a try."

Mo Sangyu leaned lazily against the tree trunk: "However, don't get your hopes up too high, just let fate decide."

"Um."

Rong Xuanci smiled bitterly. He was a grown man, yet he wasn't as insightful and carefree as a young girl.

"Yu Niang".

Suddenly, Rong Huaijin's voice came from the main room, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension: "What's wrong with you? Why did you fall asleep on the table all of a sudden? I'll go call the doctor."

As he spoke, Rong Huaijin came out of the house and left in a hurry.

Rong Xuanci stared at his departing figure, his brow furrowing slightly: "He does look very similar."

"You recognized me right away too?"

"Hmm, how could I possibly mistake my Third Uncle's aura?"

"His nervousness toward the lady didn't seem feigned."

Mo Sangyu narrowed her eyes suspiciously and boldly guessed, "Brother, do you think it's possible that this woman is actually the substitute's wife?"

"this……"

Rong Xuanci's mind raced, feeling that everything was just one thread away from connecting them: "I'll go back and check again to see if anything else unusual has happened around Third Uncle in the past few years."

After saying that, he left in a hurry.

The substitute quickly brought the doctor, who carefully examined the lady named Yu Niang and said with a smile, "Don't be nervous, Madam's health has recovered quite well, it's a world of difference compared to three years ago. With another year or two of proper recuperation, she might even have the chance to have another child."

"real?"

Mo Sangyu stood by the gatehouse and could clearly see the surprise on the stand-in's face.

This is completely different from Rong Huaijin's usual personality.

I wonder if his face is real or a human skin mask?