Wei Feng frowned and shook his head. “I can’t think of anyone.”

The information Zisu had obtained from the young misses of the Wang family actually stated that his sister had chased after a man—how was he supposed to guess?

To be honest, the instant Lin Teng asked the question, he had thought of one person—his sister’s fiancé, Su Yao.

In Wei Feng’s view, the only man who could make his sister chase after him from afar would be Su Yao.

But though he thought it, he couldn’t casually speak it aloud.

Su Yao was a talented young zhuangyuan. Even though something as significant as the Crown Prince’s deposition had occurred, as the prospective son-in-law of Prince Pingnan’s Manor, his reputation remained unaffected. If he opened his mouth and dragged Su Yao into this, and in the end it turned out to have nothing to do with Su Yao, this marriage alliance would be ruined.

“In that case—” Lin Teng glanced toward the doorway. “It’s already very late now, and it’s inconvenient to inquire for information. Why don’t we wait until tomorrow to investigate further? If the two young misses from the Wang family could see the Commandery Princess chasing after a man, there must surely be others who saw it too.”

Wei Feng asked unwillingly, “Why not go ask the Fourth Miss from the General’s Manor? Didn’t the shopkeeper say Miss Xu the Fourth also came to the shop?”

Lin Teng looked deeply at Wei Feng and explained, “Miss Xu the Fourth entered when the Commandery Princess was still in the shop. Obviously she wouldn’t know what happened after the Commandery Princess left.”

Wei Feng awkwardly touched his nose.

Lin Teng cupped his hands toward Wei Feng. “First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll bring people to continue the investigation. During this time, if the Heir Apparent discovers anything, or if the Commandery Princess returns to the manor, please send word.”

“Naturally.” Wei Feng nodded.

People needed rest, and moreover, it was nearly time for the night curfew. Things being as they were, they could only speak of it again tomorrow morning.

That night passed amid the restlessness of many.

The next morning, the wind was rather strong. With few pedestrians yet on Qingxing Street, Lin Teng brought a squad of subordinates and split up to make inquiries.

You Jian Tavern was just ahead at a corner. Lin Teng stood there thinking, then walked in one direction.

This was the place the young miss from the Wang family had mentioned—where the man the Commandery Princess was chasing had turned the corner. Two living people, unless they had sprouted wings and flown away, would surely have been seen by someone.

A flower-selling girl approached.

“Excuse me, miss, around noon yesterday, did you see a young lady wearing an apricot-colored silver-threaded pleated skirt…” Lin Teng described Wei Wen’s appearance.

The girl’s face reddened slightly as she shook her head.

“Thank you.” After expressing his thanks, Lin Teng continued asking people with one of his subordinates.

After an unknown amount of time, the two of them were parched and hoarse, yet still had made no progress.

His subordinate couldn’t help saying, “Sir, making inquiries like this is no different from searching for a needle in the ocean.”

Lin Teng glanced at him. Though his lips were cracked, his tone remained calm. “You’ve followed me for quite some time—how can you still complain about this? Real investigations rarely have divine assistance. They rely on these laborious methods.”

Simple, onerous, yet indispensable.

Lin Teng walked forward and spotted several beggar children at the base of the opposite wall fighting over food. His brows immediately moved, and he strode over.

As Lin Teng approached, several beggar children looked over—some curious, some wary, some fearful—their reactions varied.

“There’s something I’d like to inquire about with you.” Lin Teng tried to soften his voice.

The several beggar children looked at him without speaking.

Lin Teng pointed to the steamed bun shop not far away that had already opened and gave his subordinate a meaningful look.

The subordinate immediately ran over and bought a bag of steamed buns. The several beggar children swarmed around and, receiving the buns, desperately stuffed them into their mouths.

Lin Teng didn’t rush them. Only after the children had wolfed down their food did he ask his previous question again.

This time, the several beggar children spoke up one after another.

“Didn’t see anything.” The beggar child who said this quietly touched the bun he’d hidden in his clothing.

Even if he hadn’t seen anything, the bun certainly wouldn’t be returned.

“Didn’t notice.”

…

Lin Teng noticed one beggar child whose expression was unusual and inquired gently.

The beggar child hesitated. “I don’t know if what I saw is the person you’re asking about—”

“It’s all right, tell me what you saw.”

Lin Teng’s pleasant demeanor gave the beggar child courage.

“Actually, I didn’t first notice the young lady in the apricot-colored pleated skirt, but rather the man walking ahead of her. That young lady was chasing that man, which is what drew my attention.” The beggar child nervously bit his lip.

This wasn’t strange—in this area around Qingxing Street, elegantly dressed men and women could be seen everywhere. Without something special, ordinary people would have difficulty noticing a strange young lady.

By the same token, the same applied to strange men.

So Lin Teng patiently asked, “Why is that? Did you recognize that man?”

The beggar child nodded. “Quite a few people should have seen him. To me, he looked like the zhuangyuan who paraded on horseback through the streets several months ago.”

Lin Teng’s heart leaped, but he said impassively, “The zhuangyuan? Are you certain?”

The beggar child scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled. “It’s just that several months ago I caught a glimpse of the zhuangyuan from within the crowd and thought he looked quite similar. As for being certain… this commoner wouldn’t dare be certain.”

Lin Teng nodded understandingly and asked further, “Did that young lady catch up to him?”

The beggar child pointed with his hand. “They chased into Cat’s Eye Alley.”

“Did you see them come out?”

“They never came back out.” The beggar child hemmed and hawed. “When I saw them both go in, I was a bit curious, so I kept watching…”

Lin Teng asked several more questions. Seeing he couldn’t get anything else, he instructed his subordinate to first take this beggar child back to the yamen, then lifted his feet and headed toward Cat’s Eye Alley.

Cat’s Eye Alley was a narrow lane. The walls on both sides blocked most of the sunlight, and moss grew at the base of the walls.

Walking through it, Lin Teng felt a sense of oppression wash over him. However, what pleased him was that this was a dead-end alley.

A dead-end alley had no exit. If it was truly as the beggar child said and he hadn’t seen them come out, the Young Commandery Princess’s whereabouts were most likely somewhere in this area. At the very least, the neighbors in this area should have seen someone.

Obviously Lin Teng alone couldn’t question all the households in the alley. He walked out of the alley, gathered his men, and had them visit each household one by one. He also summoned Wei Feng and Su Yao to the Ministry of Justice yamen.

“Is there news?” Wei Feng asked.

Lin Teng looked at Su Yao. “Someone saw the Commandery Princess chasing a man into Cat’s Eye Alley. They said that man resembled Editor Su.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Feng’s face turned cold. “Su Yao, where exactly is Wen’er now?”

The calm expression Su Yao had maintained since entering showed slight change. “Yesterday when I heard the Commandery Princess had gone missing, I thought it was a rumor. I didn’t expect it to actually be true.”

Wei Feng sneered, “This is no time to play dumb. Why have you hidden Wen’er away? Could it be you’re dissatisfied with this marriage alliance, yet unwilling to bear the reputation of kicking someone when they’re down, so you’ve resorted to such crooked schemes?”

Su Yao laughed despite himself. “Heir Apparent, please don’t lose your temper first. Shouldn’t you ask where I was at that time?”

“Inviting Editor Su here is precisely to clarify matters.” Lin Teng calmly interjected.

Su Yao said indifferently, “At that time, I was dining with several colleagues at the eatery across from the Hanlin Academy.”

After Su Yao reported several names, Lin Teng immediately dispatched people to verify.

After an agonizing wait, the yamen runner returned to report. “Sir, several gentlemen from the Hanlin Academy have all confirmed that at that time, Editor Su was indeed with them.”