With a sweep of her wide sleeve, Wei Qingming unfurled a map of the capital region in mid-air. A blue light slowly traced the escape route of the Demon Zither as detailed in the reports. She continued, "This plan has a double insurance. If no one sees through it, they will keep chasing toward the southeast. If it is seen through, the pursuers will lose their lead for a time and surely send people outside the city to search. Even if they search within the city, they will lower their guard regarding this diagonal path. Therefore, the true direction of pursuit should not be exiting the city from the southeast, but rather the opposite—tracing it back. Furthermore, the places passed along the way are..."
"The northwest official residences, the Imperial Street, the wealthy districts of Yongjia and Yongxing, the bustling areas of Pingle, Xingye, and Yun Lane, and the East Market," Ye Jun sighed. "All are magnificent places, overflowing with treasures. Even with Miss Lu's eyes, it would be difficult to distinguish anything."
Wei Qingming smiled faintly. "The Pingle Quarter, where the demonic aura is thickest, is the best hiding spot. Second to that is the East Market; the major merchant houses there store many artifacts produced by the demon race. The official residences are tricky; with Xia Ji's intelligence, he might dare to take such a risk, but it is inconvenient for us to act there. It would be better to set that aside for now and only search if the other leads prove fruitless."
Ye Jun cupped his hands in a respectful salute. "My thanks." He then looked to Master Feng for instructions. Feng Zhen closed his eyes and gave a slight nod, and Ye Jun rose like a gust of wind to carry out his duties.
Next was the most urgent matter involving human lives: Miss Zhou. Wei Qingming raised her hand again, and the map marked all personnel movements over the past four days, including those from the Capital Governor and the Court of Judicial Review. The group led by Li Shuanglin had concentrated on the northwest and southwest suburbs, largely avoiding Ye Jun's route. Old Li said, "I knew Xia Ji's path and the path of the two young ladies would definitely be different. Therefore, I didn't take the routes the Thirteenth Brother had already walked, nor did I take the routes of Old Su from the Governor's office or Old Pan from the Court of Judicial Review."
"Mhm," Wei Qingming said calmly. "Brother Ye's route is primarily in the southern suburbs, while Brother Chu is on the eastern path. Filtering it down this way, only the due north remains temporarily untouched. North of the capital is covered in cold mountains; in this season, both hiding and searching are difficult. With the Ministry of Works in chaos, the Emperor is already displeased. Xia Ji would not truly allow the daughter of a third-rank official to perish in the wild. Brother Li's estimation was accurate, and his assignments were well-made."
Old Li waved his hand grandly, and Wei Qingming narrowed her eyes with a smile. "Since he stripped Miss Zhou of all her ornaments, if it were me..."
Her slender finger moved to a gray, shadowed area on the map in the northern suburbs, dotted with red. "I would hide her among the refugees."
I suddenly remembered that on the day of the Laba Festival, Luo Cheng had indeed mentioned a large number of starving people in the northern suburbs, and that Zhu Yixin and I could go there to distribute alms another day!
"Dammit, we just designated a spot and built sheds to manage that lot of beggars last month," Li Shuanglin said with a scowl. "Old Su clearly rounded up everyone who entered or exited on the nineteenth and gave them to me, but I didn't see her! I'm going to search right now!" With that, he also rose and hurried away.
I was frozen in place, stunned by my partner's grand discourse. With such casual ease, she had solved a problem that the combined strength of the capital's three major bureaus could not unravel. She had once said she didn't need ten days or half a month to solve a case; in truth, she was being modest. It didn't even take her half a day, and this was such a complex and major case...
Looking at her profile as she sat there composed, resolving the crisis as if it were mere small talk, my heart began to race with an untimely blush...
As for Li Zizhuo's side, no matter how overbearing the Dayou Merchant Association was, they were still just merchants. The bureaus didn't take them very seriously. Chu Jiangheng had taken the case because of the emergency; the busy Envoys Ye and Li had shoved all the work they couldn't handle onto Brother Chu, who was actually quite overwhelmed. Eight out of ten sentences in Chu Jiangheng's report were about these matters.
Master Feng had been listening quietly, his eyelids half-closed as if he were drowsy. After Chu Jiangheng finished, he only gave a faint "Mhm" and instructed that since Ye Jun and Li Shuanglin's matters now had a direction, Wei Jiu should take over Li Zizhuo's case. Only then did he seem to force himself to wake up, opening his eyes to look at me.
He looked at me and smiled, gesturing for a young eunuch to bring forward an object on a tray. It was a command medallion with a black lacquer base and seal script in gold. He picked it up personally and beckoned me forward with a smile to receive it.
"From this day forth, Zhenzhen's sect shall be a Special Envoy of our Temple." He gently patted my head.
A "Special Envoy" was the title given to families or sects with unique skills who served as external aid for the Temple. In moments of life or death, one could carry this token to any Yingzhao Temple office or stronghold to seek assistance. Although from a pragmatic standpoint, this was because the opponent's illusion techniques were powerful and the Temple needed Lu Kaifeng's support at the very least, regardless of the reason, with this medallion, no one could question my involvement in Temple affairs. Furthermore, the safety of my Gumeng Mountain was now assured...
I was both astonished and inexplicably moved. Unable to speak, I instinctively knelt on the ground. Grandfather Feng hurried to coax me up. "Oh, why are you kneeling? No need, no need. Good child, you've suffered in this ordeal." He then gave a sly, squinting smile. "Let Qing'er dote on you properly."
He looked up at his foster son, Feng Tian, signaling her to help me up. Feng Tian remained as motionless as a mountain until I had respectfully performed three resounding kowtows. Only then did she pull me into her arms.
On the way back, as soon as I got into the carriage, I couldn't wait to hop onto Wei Qingming's lap. I rubbed her face and praised her excitedly the whole way. She only gave a helpless smile and shook her head. "It is only because, in the end, I am the same kind of person as Xia Ji. If one does not know evil, how can one restrain evil? In truth, I am more wicked than wickedness itself."
"Why do you always talk about yourself like that!" I pouted, annoyed. "Are my ten sentences of praise not even worth one malicious word from the rest of the world?"
Only then did her smile become somewhat relaxed and cheerful. She held me close in her arms and answered, "I have never cared what others say. A-Zhi is my goodness."
After getting off the carriage and entering the garden, a lively meal was served. After Wei Qingming and I changed our clothes, we walked toward the dining hall, chatting and laughing. Near the door, we saw Nie Xiaoyan stopping and starting, fiddling incessantly with a few wooden bars and joints that she couldn't seem to fit together. Seeing us, she looked rather embarrassed and instinctively hid the little toy behind her back.
Wei Qingming spoke up, "A Kongming lock?"
"Yes." Nie Xiaoyan blinked. "I bought it while browsing Xianglan. I made a bet with Miss Shen, who lives at the end of the lane—whoever can't figure it out has to treat the other to a meal."
Master Wei nodded. "Give it to me." She reached out her hand. Nie Xiaoyan, her face flushing, placed the object in her palm but didn't dare touch even a sliver of her skin, pulling her hand back like a flash of lightning.
Wei Qingming had already turned the wooden bars over in her hand. "Originally six bars, but five bars make a Seven-Star Knot. It goes roughly like this." She first assembled it with a few swift movements, then disassembled it just as quickly, leaving Nie Xiaoyan and me staring with our eyes nearly popping out.
To demonstrate, Master Wei assembled it a second time very slowly. After the third demonstration, Nie Xiaoyan snatched it away with a beaming face. "I've got it! I've got it!" She snatched it so urgently that she didn't mind the physical contact this time... It seemed the power of that hand when she first saw it had truly terrified her, but this had finally cured her...
As the young girl lowered her head, shouting with joy as she disassembled and reassembled the lock, Wei Qingming said faintly, "The Six-Union Mortise, the Seven-Star Knot, and the Eight-Reach Buckle are the three variants of the Kongming lock. The most complex can even reach a Twenty-four Lock Square. If Miss Shen also solves it, Miss Nie can test her with a new style."
"What style?" Nie Xiaoyan looked up at her excitedly, nearly grabbing her sleeve...
"I will give you the book after the meal," Wei Qingming said. "For now, it is time to eat."
Watching the young girl skip into the dining hall, I laughed and sighed in my heart: It turns out the way to make a love rival vanish into thin air is to make her fall in love with you instead...
I mischievously poked Master Wei's arm. "You even know these things. It's a pity Master Wei doesn't spend her time coaxing children!"
Master Wei shrugged. "I played with these until I knew them by heart when I was three or five years old. It's nothing."
Calculating back, the last time I had entered the Wen Manor was indeed six years ago to deliver a wedding gift to Sister Xiang. Given my unpresentable status, the only reason I could enter today was because Sister Jiang was ill. According to etiquette, it was appropriate for Wei Qingming to visit, and bringing along a female companion was fitting.
After our escape, I had instructed Wen Jiang and Wen Qi to omit my role in the matter. In any case, neither of them could clearly explain why I had suddenly appeared midway. They told their family only that Cousin Wei had given advance notice and that someone from the Yingzhao Temple would follow to protect them. Although I wore a veil, my demonic aura was still strong, drawing side-glances from the maids and nannies. Wei Qingming and I both acted as if we didn't notice, walking straight into Wen Jiang's bedroom.
Both Wen Jiang and Wen Qi had fallen ill. Wen Qi had caught a cold from being carried through the high altitude by the swan for half the night. Wen Jiang, however, suffered from both a physical illness and a sickness of the heart. I had brought many precious medicines for calming the spirit from "Into the Dream," including the remaining Seven-Heart Seven-Leaf Flowers I hadn't finished six months ago. She was now lying on the couch, withered and defeated, looking nothing like the lush peony face she had at the grand banquet. To think she had withered to this extent in just two or three days... My heart ached for her. I took her hand and called softly, "Sister Jiang..."
Only then did she slowly wake. Seeing it was me, a few tears welled in her eyes. "Zhenzhen... I don't know how to thank you... Are you... alright?"
"What could be wrong with me
