Li Muyun lived a reclusive life, even more upright than Shen Yi had been. After returning to the capital, Qin Wan had people investigate Li Muyun’s affairs but surprisingly found nothing. Running into Li Muyun today naturally surprised her.

Glancing at the shop Li Muyun had just left, Qin Wan narrowed her eyes—Cloud Crane Tower.

Cloud Crane Tower was closer to the imperial city than the Drunk Immortal Restaurant, yet lacked its reputation. Few officials and nobles dined there, and at this hour, the restaurant seemed particularly quiet. Qin Wan frowned, watching Li Muyun’s carriage start moving, unsure whether to follow.

As she hesitated, Qin Wan saw a young man walk out of Cloud Crane Tower.

The man’s appearance was ordinary, as were his clothes, but seeing his face, Qin Wan felt strangely familiar.

Yet she couldn’t recall where she had seen him before.

While still puzzling over this, Qin Wan saw Li Muyun’s carriage heading south. Her heart stirred, and she quickly instructed Bai Ying, “Follow that carriage with the blue curtains…”

Bai Ying cracked her whip, and their carriage immediately followed. Qin Wan lifted the curtain to look out, seeing the carriage heading straight south.

Li Muyun’s residence was in the southwest of the city, yet now he was heading directly south. Could he be going to the Lin’an Prefecture office?

Qin Wan thought Li Muyun might be going for official business, but unexpectedly, as they continued south, they weren’t heading toward the Lin’an Prefecture office at all. Watching the route, Qin Wan grew increasingly suspicious.

Was Li Muyun planning to leave the city?!

Qin Wan’s questions were only dispelled when Li Muyun’s carriage turned into a small alley. Seeing the alley could only fit one carriage, Qin Wan quickly had Bai Ying stop.

“Don’t go in—we’ll be discovered easily. This alley doesn’t seem to go straight through. Get down and see which residence Li Muyun enters…”

Bai Ying obeyed, immediately heading toward the alley. Qin Wan sat in the carriage waiting. After about fifteen minutes, Bai Ying returned, “Miss, Master Li entered the third household in the alley. His carriage stopped at the door. I took a look—it said ‘Guo Residence’ above the door. The entrance was ordinary, seeming to be a small two-courtyard compound.”

This area mostly housed moderately wealthy families, with no high officials or nobles. What was Li Muyun doing here?

Qin Wan said, “Remember this place. Later, have Han Dong investigate it.”

Bai Ying nodded, and Qin Wan returned to the Marquis’s mansion first.

The next day, Qin Wan went to Xun Niang’s place early. Seeing Fan Xin’s wounds hadn’t festered further, she felt greatly relieved. After personally changing his bandages, Fan Xin couldn’t help asking about the capital’s situation.

“The Northwestern Army has been under His Highness’s command for many years. Now with His Highness’s death, it’s like a piece of meat waiting to be divided—everyone in the capital wants a piece.”

Qin Wan sighed inwardly, “In the current situation, His Highness can’t do anything openly for now, but don’t worry, he has his plans.”

Hearing this, Fan Xin naturally understood, but looking at Qin Wan, his eyes were full of suppressed words he wanted to say but couldn’t.

As a member of the Northwestern Army who had personally witnessed the Rui Prince’s incident, Fan Xin naturally harbored boundless anger. Thinking of how the Northwestern Army had lost its commander and would now be subject to others’ orders, reorganized, given a new commander, and how the leaders who had been completely loyal to the Rui Prince would predictably face dire consequences.

Thinking of this, Fan Xin wished he could go to the Northwest immediately.

Qin Wan knew his indignation. “You must trust the Young Lord.”

Thinking of Yan Chi, the murderous look in Fan Xin’s eyes diminished somewhat. Qin Wan stayed a while longer before taking her leave, heading west to visit the Grand Princess. These past few days, she hadn’t visited the Anyang Marquis’s mansion.

Qin Wan was worried about Yan Chi, but this wasn’t the time to casually visit the Rui Prince’s mansion. Only by keeping busy could she dispel her concerns. After staying at the Anyang Marquis’s mansion briefly, she went with Yue Ning to the Yi Prince’s mansion. No acupuncture was needed today, so Qin Wan and Sun Muqing together created a new prescription for Yan Ze. After finishing all this, by the time she returned to the Marquis’s mansion, it was dusk. The next day, Qin Wan went to the palace to treat the Empress Dowager. In the palace, the Empress Dowager’s complexion was indeed worse than days before. Seeing Qin Wan, she didn’t say much, and Qin Wan dared not be careless, quickly writing a new prescription.

After watching the Empress Dowager take her medicine and rest, Qin Wan sat with Yan Sui for a while.

The two sat on the beauty couch under the corridor, with others keeping their distance. Recently, Qin Wan often brought Yan Sui here to talk. Seeing the Ninth Prince speaking more than usual, others naturally dared not disturb them.

Qin Wan could see the surroundings at a glance, naturally preventing others from eavesdropping. Moreover, when Yan Sui spoke to her, his voice was extremely low. Yan Sui said, “Mother was afraid of everyone…”

“Didn’t the Emperor favor Noble Consort Jin? Was she afraid of him too?”

Yan Sui nodded, “And the Empress, and the Noble Consort…”

Though Yan Sui looked like a little dumpling, his manner was mature. Qin Wan asked, “Did they offend your mother then?”

Yan Sui shook his head, “I don’t know.”

His not knowing didn’t mean it hadn’t happened.

Qin Wan couldn’t be sure where Noble Consort Jin’s fear came from but found it very strange. Noble Consort Jin was the only one the Emperor treasured like a pearl after the Noble Consort. There was no reason for her to suddenly become afraid. Although the Crown Prince hadn’t been designated then, Yan Sui was too young—neither the Crown Prince nor the Prince of Cheng had taken him seriously, so there was no reason for anyone to harm the Ninth Prince over the succession, making Noble Consort Jin afraid…

But if not for this reason, then what?!

Qin Wan asked again, “Your Highness, the characters you often write, did Noble Consort Jin teach you?”

Yan Sui shook his head. Qin Wan frowned, and Yan Sui’s little brow also furrowed deeply. He looked around, his eyes full of struggle, as if deciding whether to tell Qin Wan.

Qin Wan didn’t rush him, just quietly watching Yan Sui. After some time, Yan Sui straightened up and pulled Qin Wan’s sleeve, gesturing for her to lean down. Qin Wan leaned over, and Yan Sui whispered something to her.

“I… when I saw Mother that day… I saw several red characters written beneath her…”

At these words, Qin Wan’s expression immediately changed! At the time, Yan Sui was the first to run to Noble Consort Jin who had fallen in a pool of blood. The Prince of Jin was also by her side then. Yan Sui saw those characters, but none of the people who came later mentioned them, not even in the Prince of Jin’s testimony. Yan Sui said they were red characters—they must have been written in blood!

Qin Wan felt sorry for young Yan Sui seeing such a scene, but anxiously asked, “How many characters did Your Highness see?!”

Yan Sui thought for a moment, “Two, or three… Mother was bleeding so much, only half of the first character remained.”

Qin Wan held her breath, “Did Your Highness recognize these characters?”

“Only the last one.”

Qin Wan quickly asked, “Was it the character for ‘wang’ (king/prince)?”

Yan Sui’s eyes brightened, and he nodded.

Qin Wan grew anxious, “The two characters before it, does Your Highness remember roughly what they looked like?”

Yan Sui pressed his lips together, “The first character wasn’t very clear. The second character, I didn’t recognize it, and… can’t remember it now. I only remember one stroke was like this, and there were two dots…”

Yan Sui drew two strokes in the air. Qin Wan found this puzzling—a downward stroke plus two dots could be many different characters.

“If you saw that character again, would Your Highness recognize it?”

Yan Sui pressed his lips together, appearing nervous and hesitant. Qin Wan didn’t dare push Yan Sui too hard and quickly reassured him, “It’s alright, it doesn’t matter. When you see it and think it looks familiar, just tell me.”

Yan Sui finally relaxed and nodded.

Although Yan Sui was now learning characters with his tutor, he had been spending less and less time practicing reading and writing lately. Now with the Empress Dowager ill, there was even less supervision of these matters. Perhaps when Yan Sui learned that character he would remember, but how could she be sure now? That day in the palace, only the Prince of Jin was there, or at worst the Prince of Yong or the Prince of Cheng—but why did Noble Consort Jin write three characters?

Qin Wan asked again, “Does Your Highness recognize the Prince of Jin?”

Yan Sui nodded, and Qin Wan asked, “What was he doing when Your Highness saw him?”

Yan Sui’s pupils contracted, seeming somewhat afraid, but he still said, “He was holding a dagger, standing beside Mother. Mother had fallen to the ground, blood everywhere. Mother’s eyes were closed…”

After saying this, Yan Sui’s little face turned deathly pale. Qin Wan quickly grabbed his small hand, “Did Your Highness notice anything strange about the Prince of Jin? When the Empress and others came later, did they see those characters?”

Yan Sui shook his head, “I don’t know if anything was strange. By the time the Empress came, Mother’s blood had covered the characters…”

“Have you told anyone else about this?!”

Yan Sui’s lips were pressed tightly together. After a moment he said, “I told my former wet nurse. She told me not to tell anyone, so I stopped talking about it.”

Qin Wan’s heart trembled slightly. She wanted to ask more, but seeing the terror in Yan Sui’s eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to continue. Instead, she stood up and took him for a walk in the courtyard. Yan Sui cheered up a bit and asked about the golden oriole. Qin Wan had to make up some stories to comfort Yan Sui. After a while, Qin Wan went to find Mama Su.

“Mama, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

Mama Su now trusted and respected Qin Wan, and quickly said, “Please ask, Princess.”

Qin Wan asked in a low voice, “Who attended to the Ninth Prince before you?”

Mama Su’s expression changed slightly, “Why does the Princess ask this?”

Qin Wan gave a bitter smile, “Just now His Highness mentioned it, asking where that wet nurse went…”

Hearing this, Mama Su wasn’t suspicious, but said, “Princess should not ask about the people who served Noble Consort Jin in the future. Those people were all dealt with, especially this wet nurse—Master Yuan personally handled her.”

Yuan Qing personally handled it?!

Qin Wan’s heart skipped a beat. She nodded, “I understand. Don’t worry.”

Mama Su curtsied and went to look after Yan Sui. Qin Wan didn’t want to stay longer and took her leave, leaving the palace with a heavy heart. In the carriage returning home, Yan Sui’s words lay like an iron weight on Qin Wan’s chest.

It was too simple—if the Prince of Jin had killed Noble Consort Jin, how could he have watched her write several characters in blood?!

If she wrote characters in blood, he should have destroyed them immediately. Yan Sui saw those characters, so the Prince of Jin must have seen them too, yet he never mentioned them. Her father’s notes didn’t record them either…

Thinking this way, Qin Wan’s heart suddenly trembled. In her father’s notes, the last entry mentioned meeting the Prince of Jin once, but after that final meeting, her father decided to flee the capital with his family. What did the Prince of Jin tell her father? Was it related to Noble Consort Jin’s blood characters?!

At this thought, Qin Wan’s heart began to race wildly.

Though excited, she dared not reveal any hint that she was investigating this matter. After returning to the Marquis’s mansion, she could only suppress her worry about Yan Chi while carefully analyzing the details of the Prince of Jin’s case. After reviewing it several times, she was still certain the Prince of Jin must have been wrongly accused. But in the palace, who could have killed Noble Consort Jin so silently?! Where did Noble Consort Jin’s fear come from?!

Qin Wan couldn’t figure it out. The next day, after visiting Xun Niang, she didn’t go anywhere else. After waiting two days at home like this, Han Dong sent the news first. Reading the letter Han Dong had delivered to the Marquis’s mansion, Qin Wan’s brows furrowed deeply.

Bai Ying said, “Han Dong came personally. The Marquis and Lady thought it was about the shop.”

Han Dong’s letter said the residence was empty and belonged to Li Muyun. Could it be that, like the Third Young Master Wu, Li Muyun liked to occasionally stay in his empty residence?!

Qin Wan shook her head, not believing this at all. She suddenly realized Li Muyun had probably gone there to meet someone and regretted not waiting longer that day.

Qin Wan couldn’t see Yan Chi, and the palace case had no leads. She found it hard to endure, but unexpectedly, two days later, a breakthrough in the case finally came—

Early that morning, after finishing breakfast and planning to enter the palace, before Qin Wan could leave, a servant came to announce that Captain Zhan Yang had arrived. Hearing Zhan Yang had come, Qin Wan’s heart jumped, her first thought being that someone had died!

When she reached the front courtyard, she saw Zhan Yang indeed waiting anxiously. Seeing her arrive, he quickly said, “Princess, we’ve discovered a new case. Please come with me to help.”

Qin Wan naturally agreed readily, but asked, “Who has died?”

Zhan Yang shook his head, “We don’t know the identity yet. That’s why we want the Princess’s help to confirm it.”

Qin Wan saw Zhan Yang’s solemn expression and felt her heart tighten. Not wanting to ask too much at the Marquis’s mansion, Qin Wan quickly informed Lady Hu and followed Zhan Yang out, wondering if the body was too decomposed to recognize.

Getting into the carriage, with Zhan Yang riding ahead to lead the way, Qin Wan watched as they headed northeast, instinctively suspecting they were going to the Rui Prince’s mansion. However, three streets before reaching the Rui Prince’s mansion, Zhan Yang changed direction. Soon, Qin Wan saw the scene of the crime—those magnificent gates covered in spider webs, yet unable to hide the imposing calligraphy of the three characters reading ‘Prince Jin’s Mansion’…