Lu Chang stopped at the doorway, looking at Tang Li who was still dressed as a man.

Since entering, he had seen only Tang Li and the deaf-mute old servant who opened the door in the entire residence.

This place didn’t appear to be hiding Zhou Xiuqing but rather seemed like a trap set by Tang Li to lure him here, with even Lu Wenhan being drawn into her scheme.

Since he was here, he would face whatever came. At least Tang Li’s presence here was enough to prove that Zhou Xiuqing’s disappearance was connected to Prince Yu. Even if he didn’t find the person, this trip wasn’t entirely fruitless.

Thinking thus, Lu Chang said coolly: “If Miss Su needed to find me, you could have simply come to the Kaifeng Prefecture office. Why wait for me here?”

Tang Li smiled and nodded to the old servant who anxiously tried to stop Lu Chang. The servant bowed and withdrew after receiving her signal. Only then did she speak: “Lord Deputy Magistrate, we were classmates after all. I would prefer if you called me Tang Li.”

“But you are Su Tangri, not Tang Li.” Lu Chang entered the room, his gaze slowly sweeping over the furnishings before finally landing on her.

The room was simply furnished, with ink landscape paintings on the walls and a Buddhist pine in the corner. Multi-treasure display cabinets with moon-gate designs stood on both sides, while the center held a desk and high-backed chair. A pair of circular chairs and a tea table stood below – the room served as both study and reception hall.

Tang Li wore a navy blue round-collared robe, the color making her skin appear snow-white. Apart from her delicate features, there was nothing particularly feminine about her gestures or smiles.

“It’s different. Su Tangri was a weak official’s daughter, but Tang Li was a man. My lord, do you know that in this world, women can do so little? Reading, writing, understanding principles, becoming officials… these are all for men, while most women can only be confined to the inner quarters, serving husbands and teaching children. I quite envy your sister, being able to move freely in the world as a woman, doing what she wants to do…”

“Young Master Tang, you need not tell me these things.” Lu Chang interrupted her sentiments, showing no interest in debating the matter of how to address her.

Tang Li sighed, about to speak when Lu Chang’s subordinate hurried in, whispering in his ear: “Sir, we’ve searched – there’s no one else in the residence.”

Lu Chang showed no surprise, merely saying: “I understand. All of you withdraw from the residence and wait for me.”

The man accepted the order and left, taking with him those who had initially entered with Lu Chang. The small residence fell quiet.

“Won’t Lord Deputy search my place?” Tang Li asked him.

“No need.” Lu Chang shook his head.

“I admire Lord Deputy. Since you’ve honored me with your presence today, why not sit and reminisce about old times?” Tang Li made a welcoming gesture, inviting him to sit.

Lu Chang didn’t accept her courtesy, responding neither warmly nor coldly: “Although we were classmates at Songling Academy for several months, we had no private friendship, no old times to reminisce about. Let’s get to the point. Since I’ve already come here, Young Master Tang surely knows what I seek. Would Young Master Tang be willing to enlighten me? I would be most grateful.”

He spoke while making a slight bow with clasped hands, his expression composed.

“Very well, Lord Deputy is truly an impenetrable person.” Tang Li slowly stood, placing both hands on the desk, and asked, “Have you come for Zhou Xiuqing, the concubine of the Jian family from Jiangning?”

“Indeed.” Lu Chang nodded, then asked, “Is Zhou Xiuqing in Young Master Tang’s custody?”

Tang Li suddenly revealed a sweet smile, adding charm to her refined features: “She is in my hands.”

She admitted it directly.

Lu Chang also smiled: “Then may I ask what it would take for Young Master Tang to hand Zhou Xiuqing over to me?”

“Does Lord Deputy need her so badly? As far as I know, Gao Shicai should have been escorted to the capital by Cao Hai, arriving in recent days. Whether you have Zhou Xiuqing or not shouldn’t matter much to you, should it?” Tang Li slowly walked from behind the desk to Lu Chang’s side. Before he could speak, she suddenly covered her mouth in surprise, “Oh, I almost forgot, Gao Shicai committed suicide from fear of punishment on his way to the capital. But he should have confessed, and since he confessed and you’ve caught the culprit, why is my lord going to such lengths to find Zhou Xiuqing now?”

She circled from Lu Chang’s left side to his right, pretending to ponder: “I guess… my lord feels that Gao Shicai wasn’t the mastermind? Your witnesses are either dead or missing, leaving only Zhou Xiuqing? So you want to find Zhou Xiuqing to get the truth from her?”

Lu Chang’s face still held a smile: “Your guess is correct. So have you found out who the mastermind is?”

“Of course I have!” She agreed immediately, her smile growing more triumphant, “But I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?” Lu Chang asked her.

“That’s not important. What’s important is that you now only have Zhou Xiuqing as a witness. Even if you knew who the mastermind was, without a witness, you couldn’t prove it against that person.” Tang Li’s voice carried a hint of excitement as she patted Lu Chang’s shoulder, “Lu Chang, I can give you Zhou Xiuqing, as long as you agree to do something for us.”

“Prince Yu sent you?” Lu Chang asked again.

“You could say that.” Tang Li shrugged.

Lu Chang laughed: “The Jian family case is merely being thoroughly investigated by the Third Prince on His Majesty’s orders, and I am just investigating the case for the Third Prince at the Kaifeng Prefecture. Now you use Zhou Xiuqing to threaten me into working for Prince Yu? This threat seems rather lightweight.”

“No, no, Lu Chang, I’m always accurate about people. You’re investigating the Jian family case not because of the Third Prince, but for your sister Ming Shu, right?” Tang Li covered her mouth and laughed again, “It’s truly touching. You consider everything for her, even willing to risk your career and life, yet she knows nothing. You like her, like her very much, don’t you?”

Hearing her mention Ming Shu, Lu Chang’s eyes grew three degrees colder.

Indeed, Prince Yu had already learned everything about the Jian family matter, even knowing more than they did.

But Tang Li wouldn’t let go: “You like her so much, surely you can’t bear to see her hurt. If Zhou Xiuqing dies, you’ll never know who the mastermind is, and never be able to prove it against them. They’ll stand behind you like a ghost, extending a knife when you let your guard down, and when you least expect it…” She made a throat-slitting gesture, “silence you all, eliminating Ming Shu as the final threat. You can protect her for now, but can you do so forever? Can you stay by her side every moment without leaving a step?”

Lu Chang’s smile gradually disappeared, a chill running up his back.

“What I can tell you is that your sister Ming Shu is in great danger right now… that knife is already hanging over her head. Do you want to save her? Want to avenge the Jian family?” Tang Li said word by word, her voice seeming to transform into an invisible giant hand, viciously gripping one’s heart.

“What do you want me to do?”

If this was their purpose, Lu Chang had to admit that in this round, Tang Li had won.

“Hahaha.” Tang Li suddenly burst into hearty laughter, seemingly particularly pleased by Lu Chang’s compromise, “If Lord Deputy can understand, that’s best, but there’s no rush. You can think about it more. What we want you to do, you’ll know when the time comes.”

No hurry – hearts should be ground down slowly. The longer the wait, the more likely his taut emotions would break.

Watching Lu Chang’s departing figure, Tang Li murmured to herself.

“The Ghost Festival approaches when departed souls should return…”

Two more days passed, and Ying Xun sent news to Ming Shu.

He had sent people to inquire at the city gates, confirming that Madam Peng and Yu Lian had indeed left Bianjing city the night of Liu Wan’er’s case hearing. Madam Peng’s hometown was in Xianping, and Ying Xun guessed they might have fled back there, but the journey from Bianjing to Xianyang plus the investigation would take time, not something that could be accomplished quickly.

Additionally, Ming Shu had personally gone to inquire about Liu Wan’er around the Liu household. The Liu couple were migrants to the capital from a distant place and had no relatives in the city. According to the neighbors’ recollections, the Liu couple did indeed have such a daughter – their only child and a late-life child, so the couple treasured this daughter greatly. They raised her like a noble family’s daughter, rarely letting her leave home. Moreover, this daughter had been physically weak since childhood and was thus kept in seclusion. Therefore, almost none of the neighbors had seen her appearance, let alone knew anything about her. They only knew of her existence but not her face.

“No one has seen Liu Wan’er? But surely she had to appear for her parents’ funeral affairs?” Ming Shu was greatly puzzled.

“Well, miss, you don’t know, but it’s quite pitiful. Her parents died one after another from acute illnesses, with very similar symptoms. At the time, nearby neighbors suspected it was a contagious epidemic, so no one dared to come to pay respects at her parents’ funeral. Later it was reported to the officials, who handled the arrangements, and Liu Wan’er was taken to Qing’an Hall… that’s the place outside Bianjing City that specially houses epidemic patients. To be honest, even we neighbors were surprised she returned safely.”

“Do you know when she returned?” Ming Shu asked.

“Probably…” The person thought hard before hesitantly saying, “Two months ago?”

Two months ago would have been the end of April this year.

Ming Shu thanked the person and left Horse Trading Street.

It would have been better not to inquire – the more she investigated, the stranger Liu Wan’er’s past seemed. According to the neighbors’ account, didn’t that mean no one actually recognized Liu Wan’er? However, people who entered Qing’an Hall should have been registered by the officials – they would need to investigate this lead further.

Pondering this, Ming Shu returned to the mansion absent-mindedly.

With Gao Shicai dead, they should have moved back to the Top Scholar’s Residence, but for some unknown reason, Lu Chang still hadn’t agreed to move back to their own home, and the three of them continued living in Wei Manor.

Just as she turned past the screen wall onto the martial arts practice ground, Ming Shu suddenly heard a horse’s neighing and someone shouting urgently: “Make way, everyone make way!”

Ming Shu looked carefully and saw a horse charging directly at her, about to collide.

The horse was large and fierce – being hit by it would mean death or at least grave injury. Ming Shu hurriedly dodged aside, and the rider had already pulled the reins to stop the horse. The horse neighed and reared up, stopping. Ming Shu was so frightened that her forehead broke out in sweat. Though it was just a false alarm, as she was patting her chest in relief, someone suddenly leaped out from the side.

“Brother!” Ming Shu cried out in alarm, seeing Lu Chang swing his fist as he landed, attacking the person on horseback without a word.

That person was knocked off the horse, rolling on the ground with a bruised face. Lu Chang still wouldn’t let up and was about to continue when he was sternly stopped by someone rushing up from behind.

“Lu Chang, show mercy!” Wei Zhuo said.

Cao Hai also rushed up to help the person. He had no residence in the capital and had been staying at Wei Manor since arriving.

“It’s a misunderstanding, Lu Chang, calm down.” Seeing Lu Chang’s eyes turning red, Wei Zhuo hurriedly stepped between the two parties, blocking them while explaining, “This is Commander Cao’s deputy officer. Today I gave Old Cao a Western warhorse, and his deputy was just trying to tame it here, not expecting the horse’s temperament to be so fierce, nearly colliding with Ming Shu.”

Although Cao Hai saw his deputy being struck, he didn’t rage at Lu Chang, instead angrily scolding his deputy: “I told you fierce horses are hard to tame, yet you had to show off here! Quickly apologize to them!”

The deputy wiped his mouth corner and bowed with clasped hands to apologize to Lu Chang and Ming Shu.

“I’m fine, the horse was stopped, it didn’t hit me.” Ming Shu quickly waved her hands, then pulled Lu Chang’s sleeve, hinting for him to say something too.

Lu Chang’s face was somewhat pale, his forehead also breaking out in sweat. He merely managed a forced return bow to the deputy, then wordlessly pulled Ming Shu away.

Ming Shu furrowed her brows.

Something was wrong with Lu Chang.