◎You listen to me, and I’ll let you kill him.◎

Cui Heng walked out the door. Luo Wanqing lay on the bed for a while, then fell asleep. Near dawn, the female attendant entered the room and said respectfully, “Inspector, Young Master Guanlan brought you medicine. He asks that you drink the medicine and rest a bit—the Director wants to see you.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing’s heart tightened, but she feigned composure and responded: “Alright.”

With that, the attendant brought both medicine and breakfast, placed them on the table, and left.

Luo Wanqing got up from bed and sniffed the medicine. It was all top-grade detoxifying herbs—she didn’t know where Cui Heng had found them for her. She pressed her lips together, tilted her head back, and drank it down, then took a cup of cold tea from beside her and drank it to dilute the bitter taste.

After taking the medicine, she stuffed a few osmanthus steamed buns in her mouth, then began washing and preparing to meet Xie Heng.

Last night, she had told Cui Heng not to cover for her, so she knew Xie Heng would surely summon her—she just hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

Actually, she had considered whether to have Cui Heng keep her affairs secret, but first, she didn’t want to owe Cui Heng favors or implicate him; second, Cui Heng was ultimately part of the Supervision Department and might not truly stand on her side.

Cui Heng treated her well—she knew that.

She had self-awareness. With her current face, if it were about romantic love, that would be impossible. For Cui Heng, it was probably just the friendship from traveling together from the eastern capital. His anger was more like the dissatisfaction of children when they think their good friend is playing with others instead.

This feeling didn’t mean much to Cui Heng, but for Liu Xiniang, with so little left to her now, she treasured it all the more.

She would rather risk her life to meet Xie Heng than let Cui Heng get further entangled in these matters.

Moreover, meeting Xie Heng might also be an opportunity.

Given Xie Heng’s status, for her to go from a new Inspector all the way to Xie Heng’s side, becoming someone he trusted who could assassinate him, would require too much time.

Never mind whether Zhang Jiuran’s parasitic insect could endure that long—with her family in Xiang Sizi’s hands, every additional day made her uneasy.

If she could stay by Xie Heng’s side, she would have more leverage in negotiations with Xiang Sizi.

But how could she stay?

Tell Xie Heng directly that Xiang Sizi asked her to kill him, have him cooperate, and they’d take down Xiang Sizi together?

At this thought, Luo Wanqing almost wanted to laugh.

If she gave that reason, she would have to explain to Xie Heng why Xiang Sizi asked her to kill him. Whether it was Liu Xiniang’s identity as a Fengyu Pavilion assassin or Luo Wanqing’s identity as an imposter death row prisoner, either would be enough for Xie Heng to execute her legitimately afterward.

Moreover, even if Xie Heng accepted her identity, her goal was the parasitic insect and her family, while Xie Heng’s goal was Xiang Sizi. She had no means to check and balance Xie Heng. If Xiang Sizi used her family to threaten Xie Heng to spare his life, she probably couldn’t protect her family.

Even if she protected her family, with them connected to her, they would just go from one wolf’s den to another tiger’s den, forever remaining hostages to threaten her—what difference would that make?

She had to separate her family from herself, send them away where they could never threaten her again.

She could only secretly make Xie Heng work for her. Cooperating directly with Xie Heng would be like seeking skin from a tiger.

Not to mention, perhaps Xie Heng was naturally arrogant. If she proposed cooperation, he might think her lowly and worthless for cooperating, and just kill her directly.

If cooperation wasn’t possible, she could only stabilize Xie Heng and stay by his side, slowly negotiating with Xiang Sizi.

But how to stabilize him?

She had to give a reasonable explanation for eavesdropping on him, then make Xie Heng voluntarily keep her by his side.

Eavesdropping on Xie Heng was a serious crime, as it proved she harbored ill intentions toward him.

But… what about eavesdropping on Li Guiyu?

Thinking of how Cui Heng had immediately suspected Li Guiyu last night, Luo Wanqing suddenly found her breakthrough.

In Cui Heng’s eyes, she had targeted Li Guiyu, which was why she gave the short flute to Zhang Yiran.

Having ill intentions toward Xie Heng was unforgivable, but Li Guiyu was different.

From last night’s negotiation between Xie Heng and Li Guiyu, he had no intention of allying with Li Guiyu, and even had friction with Li Guiyu over Luo Wanqing. If she had targeted Li Guiyu, Xie Heng might not only refrain from killing her but might keep her.

But why would she target Li Guiyu?

Luo Wanqing fingered the Qianji device in her hand, trying to extract herself from the identity of “Luo Wanqing.”

When people think about problems, they always mix their known information together, making it difficult to think from others’ perspectives.

For Luo Wanqing, she knew her own identity, Zhang Jiuran’s identity, and Xiang Sizi’s existence. But what about Xie Heng?

What Xie Heng had was the information that the Supervision Department had investigated about the death row prisoner. According to their investigation, Liu Xiniang, before Xie Heng, should be a Salt Syndicate sub-leader from Yangzhou, who was bought into the syndicate due to poverty and became a small leader.

Previous information should have been cleaned up by Xiang Sizi for Zhang Jiuran, or Zhang Jiuran wouldn’t have dared infiltrate the Supervision Department.

Why would a Salt Syndicate sub-leader target Prince Li Guiyu?

What connection could Liu Xiniang have with Li Guiyu?

Setting aside Zhang Jiuran’s past, the only connection between Liu Xiniang and Li Guiyu was…

Luo Wanqing?

At this thought, Luo Wanqing suddenly realized that when she and Zhang Jiuran had dug through the dungeon wall to file a complaint, such a major incident had resulted in no punishment from the prison. The dungeon wall was simply repaired as if nothing had happened, with no disciplinary action or thorough investigation.

Without orders from above, would the prison guards have let them off so easily?

If there were orders, who gave them?

Xie Heng?

If it were Xie Heng, then he should have investigated how she came to file the complaint and the matter of fighting with Liu Xiniang and ending up in the water dungeon. Xie Heng… might also know about it.

With this connection, if she said she had befriended Luo Wanqing and Luo Wanqing asked her to watch Li Guiyu, that would make sense.

This reason was half true and half false. Xie Heng could investigate and verify it however he wanted, and it would all check out. Given Xie Heng’s display of guilt toward Luo Wanqing last night, perhaps she could secure a way out.

The only problem was—

If Xie Heng knew Liu Xiniang had contact with Luo Wanqing and he had paid attention to Luo Wanqing, did he know about Luo Wanqing deliberately disfiguring herself by crashing into the brazier before leaving?

If he knew, would he suspect that she and Luo Wanqing…

Suspect what?

At this thought, Luo Wanqing suddenly became alert and stopped her continued suspicions.

She knew too much, so she would always fall into self-examination and doubt. But stepping outside the information she possessed and looking from an outsider’s perspective, who would think that a noble young lady could become someone who killed Zhao Yuyan in such a short time?

Luo Wanqing was only sentenced to exile. If she hadn’t had that prophetic dream, no one would have thought she would die on the exile journey. Luo Wanqing did not need to die in place of Liu Xiniang, a death row prisoner.

And Liu Xiniang, meeting Luo Wanqing by chance, had no reason to give all her internal energy to another person.

No one could understand these two women’s choices. Moreover, now that “Luo Wanqing” was dead, as long as her family wasn’t exposed by Xiang Sizi, she could insist she was Liu Xiniang, and even Xie Heng could do nothing about it.

Having clarified her thoughts, Luo Wanqing calmed down. She gripped the Qianji device in her hand and turned to look toward the back mountain outside the window.

Only now did she have the mental capacity to think about last night’s conversation between Xie Heng and Li Guiyu.

Xiang Sizi had asked her to eavesdrop on their conversation. Although she went to probe Xie Heng’s stance, she was very clear that Xie Heng had chosen Li Guiyu.

In the previous life, they had been allies. Xie Heng had single-handedly helped Li Guiyu ascend to the throne, only for Li Guiyu to have him executed by a thousand cuts.

From Xiang Sizi’s tone, he had confirmed that Li Guiyu possessed something Xie Heng needed.

However, last night, Xie Heng had rejected Li Guiyu because of Luo Wanqing.

Why?

She was certain she and Xie Heng had never had any contact in the past. Could Xie Heng refuse an alliance with Li Guiyu just for the sake of guilt?

If so, he truly had excellent character. In the previous life, how had he cooperated with Li Guiyu?

Luo Wanqing couldn’t figure it out, but she didn’t have time to think more. She got up to wash, then heard Zhuque’s voice outside the door: “Inspector Liu, the Director summons you.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing paused in winding her Qianji bead bracelet, then took a deep breath, walked outside, opened the door, and said respectfully: “Yes.”

Seeing her emerge from the room, Zhuque said nothing more, looked her up and down, then said: “Remove the Qianji device.”

Luo Wanqing dared not object. She immediately removed all weapons from her body and handed them to Zhuque’s subordinates.

Then Zhuque had a female attendant search her thoroughly. After confirming she carried no weapons, he led her toward the back mountain.

Having prepared her explanation, she felt relatively calm. Following Zhuque up the mountain, she arrived at the courtyard where she had first paid respects to Xie Heng.

The morning sunlight was perfect. Xie Heng sat in the long corridor, looking down as he reviewed case files.

He wore plain white single robes and seemed to have just risen, his long hair half-bound with a jade ribbon, looking extremely leisurely.

But even in this casual posture, he carried an innate nobility permeating his bones, as if an invisible ruler surrounded him, every movement measured, making one dare not relax even slightly.

Beside him knelt a young man in blue, with a gentle expression, brewing tea. Seeing Zhuque bring Luo Wanqing in, the young man looked up and smiled, presenting Xie Heng with a cup of tea, saying gently: “Zhuque has returned.”

“Brother Qingya.”

Zhuque greeted him, then bowed respectfully to Xie Heng: “Young Master, I’ve brought her back.”

Luo Wanqing listened to their conversation, stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and said respectfully: “This subordinate greets Young Master.”

“Mm.”

Xie Heng responded indifferently, then got straight to the point: “Explain.”

Luo Wanqing hadn’t expected Xie Heng to be so direct, not even asking many questions, but directly determining that she was the one from last night?

For a moment, Luo Wanqing didn’t dare respond, afraid that Xie Heng was asking about something else and she would confess to things unprompted, exposing too much.

Seeing her silence, Xie Heng understood her thoughts and looked up: “Why did you go up the mountain unbidden last night?”

“This subordinate,” Luo Wanqing’s heart beat somewhat faster. She didn’t hide this nervousness, only lowered her head and said through gritted teeth: “This subordinate came pursuing the Third Prince.”

This answer seemed to surprise everyone present, and even Xie Heng paused.

He raised his eyes, seemingly puzzled, and frowned: “Li Guiyu?”

“Yes.”

Luo Wanqing answered truthfully. Xie Heng fingered his teacup, staring at her. His eyes seemed like a clear mirror that could see through everything as he said calmly, “Tell the truth.”

“This humble position was entrusted by someone to pay close attention to Li Guiyu, so I asked someone to watch him. Last night he traveled late at night. The person helping me to tail him informed me rather late. When I rushed to catch up, I discovered he had come to the Supervision Department.”

“To pursue his whereabouts, you disregarded prohibitions and went up the mountain?” Xie Heng understood her meaning.

“Yes.” Luo Wanqing quickly explained: “But this subordinate is incompetent. With so many mechanisms on the mountain, I arrived too late and heard nothing.”

Hearing this, Xie Heng gave a soft “heh.” Luo Wanqing couldn’t tell if it was mockery or something else.

Zhuque, beside them, scoffed softly: “Being able to get up the mountain is already your skill. Why be modest?”

Luo Wanqing dared not speak. Xie Heng thought for a moment, then continued questioning: “Watching the Third Prince is a life-risking matter. Who entrusted this to you, making you so desperate?”

“It was…” Luo Wanqing showed hesitation on her face, as if she thought her words absurd, but she continued anyway, saying softly: “It was a friend I met by chance. She saved me, and to repay this kindness, I don’t mind risking my life.”

“She has a grudge against Li Guiyu?”

Xie Heng asked casually, seemingly not believing her words: “Though the Third Prince has lived among the people for a long time, he has always had an excellent reputation. What kind of friend do you have who could form enmity with him?”

“She is just a sheltered young lady, insignificant compared to the Third Prince. But having received life-saving grace only to face family extermination,” Luo Wanqing raised her head to look at Xie Heng: “This is a blood feud.”

Hearing this, Xie Heng paused in his tea-drinking, looked up, and frowned: “Who is your friend?”

“The day I entered the Supervision Department, I had just heard news of her death.”

Luo Wanqing looked at Xie Heng with a calm expression: “Her name was Luo Wanqing.”

Everyone around froze. Xie Heng stared into her eyes for a long time, then laughed softly.

He stood up from the long corridor, walked barefoot down to her.

“Liu Xiniang, do you know what I hate most in life?”

He looked down at her. Just standing there, Luo Wanqing felt an invisible pressure bearing down from above.

He seemed to know everything, tolerating not a single lie.

Luo Wanqing controlled her racing heartbeat and said calmly, “This subordinate doesn’t know.”

“I hate it most when people think they’re clever. I’ll give you one last chance,” Xie Heng’s gaze deepened: “Tell the truth.”

“Everything this subordinate said is the truth!”

Luo Wanqing raised her eyes. She desperately restrained every muscle that tried to express emotion, every breath.

The person before her was like a fierce tiger watching her, a god of judgment. If she showed any flaw, he would pounce and bite through her throat.

She perfectly controlled all emotions, completely forgetting her true identity, playing the role of Liu Xiniang, standing up for her friend. She showed anger and said, “This subordinate did commit the crime of eavesdropping on Young Master’s conversation. But standing up for a friend’s revenge—isn’t this proper? Why won’t Young Master believe me, insisting I have malicious intent?”

This made Xie Heng pause. He looked down at the person before him, momentarily unable to distinguish truth from falsehood.

“What about Fengyu Pavilion?”

Xie Heng asked coldly: “On your second night in the Supervision Department, you secretly left and made contact with Fengyu Pavilion people. Why?”

“This subordinate went out at night to retrieve a horse I had previously pawned at a medical clinic.” Hearing this, Luo Wanqing knew Cui Heng had told everything about her. She immediately denied it: “I encountered Fengyu Pavilion assassins pursuing me halfway and fought them, but had no private dealings.”

“Then, when you ditched Cui Heng alone to go outside…”

“I went to find Li Guiyu, then found Zhang Yiran to tail him for me.” Luo Wanqing interrupted Xie Heng and kowtowed: “Young Master, every word this subordinate spoke is true. Please investigate clearly.”

This made Xie Heng pause, and those present exchanged glances.

Xie Heng stared at her. The person before him was airtight—without using torture, he couldn’t advance even half a step.

But torture…

She had endured bone reconstruction; even if he crippled or flayed her, he might not extract the truth.

The two faced off as the scene fell into silence.

After a moment, Xie Heng called: “Qingya.”

Hearing this, Qingya understood Xie Heng’s meaning. He laughed softly, took case files from the side, and said gently: “According to Inspector Liu, this friend of yours is Miss Luo from the Luo family, Luo Wanqing?”

“Yes.” Luo Wanqing responded, her voice somewhat hoarse: “It’s her.”

“According to records, Inspector Liu was a salt merchant who lived by her wits in the rivers and lakes, while Miss Luo was a sheltered daughter. How did you meet?”

Qingya opened the case files and asked gently.

Luo Wanqing lowered her eyes and calmly recounted how she and Zhang Jiuran had met: “In Yangzhou prison, we were in the same cell. I had a conflict with Wang Qiniang in the cell. She happened to dislike Wang Qiniang too, so she helped me, and we got to know each other.”

She spoke while Qingya questioned, asking about every detail, every sentence, very carefully.

As he questioned, he took notes. By the end, even Qingya was frowning as he looked at Luo Wanqing.

Xie Heng glanced at Qingya. After hesitating briefly, Qingya said slowly: “There are no perfect lies in this world—everything can be traced. Miss Liu, everything you’ve said can be verified by finding people to corroborate. You should know the Supervision Department’s methods.”

Qingya seemed to be looking out for her: “If you tell the truth now, Young Master can still show some leniency. If we investigate and verify first, I’m afraid you won’t even make it back to death row—you’ll go straight to the imperial prison.”

Hearing the words “imperial prison,” Luo Wanqing’s mind flashed to that hanging human skin.

Her heart turned cold, but her expression remained unchanged as she said: “Please investigate thoroughly, Young Master.”

Xie Heng didn’t speak. He fingered the Qianji bead bracelet in his hand, one bead at a time, seemingly thinking about something.

Everyone waited for him to speak, no one daring to speak rashly.

After a long wait, Xie Heng finally looked down calmly at Luo Wanqing and asked: “According to you, Li Guiyu and Luo Wanqing have a deep blood feud, and you are her friend. Now that she’s dead, you must kill Li Guiyu?”

Luo Wanqing was startled—she hadn’t expected Xie Heng to ask this.

She seemed to have entered a logical trap.

Hearing Xie Heng’s concern for Luo family news and his rejection of Li Guiyu’s alliance for Luo Wanqing’s sake, she subconsciously assumed Xie Heng didn’t care about Li Guiyu’s life or death.

But this was the Supervision Department, the authority over punishment, subordinate to the court. If Xie Heng had no designs on Li Guiyu, would the Supervision Department tolerate her wanting to kill a prince?

But she had spoken with such conviction before, establishing herself as someone who valued relationships and would risk her life for ten days of friendship. If she now changed her tune and said she didn’t plan to kill Li Guiyu, all her previous words would lose credibility.

Realizing this, Luo Wanqing finally felt a drop of cold sweat fall.

She couldn’t overturn her previous words—she could only gamble.

She closed her eyes and said, “Young Master, given Li Guiyu’s character, after you rejected him last night and mentioned Wanqing, he won’t let this go.”

“Ridiculous!”

Zhuque, beside them, scoffed: “What ability does he have to threaten Young Master?”

Luo Wanqing ignored Zhuque and wanted to continue persuading.

But just as she began to speak, she heard Xuanshan’s somewhat panicked voice from outside.

“Young Master!” Xuanshan had never been so agitated. Everyone looked over to see he had even forgotten Luo Wanqing was present, saying urgently: “Something happened to Aunt Baili. Her Shadow Envoy returned severely injured with only one message.”

“Speak.”

Xie Heng spoke directly. Xuanshan said breathlessly, “Li Guiyu established a memorial tablet for Luo Wanqing in his bedroom in the name of his deceased wife.”

This left those present somewhat confused. Zhuque asked directly: “What does that mean?”

No one dared speak. Luo Wanqing listened but remained calm.

Jiang Shaoyan truly had established a memorial tablet for her.

He was indeed as she knew him, pretending to be deeply devoted.

The tablet was placed in the bedroom to avoid discovery. Baili probably discovered this, and combined with Li Guiyu’s failed alliance with Xie Heng, Li Guiyu was making an example of her.

She had known last night that Li Guiyu wouldn’t let this go, but she hadn’t expected him to be even more ruthless and faster than she imagined.

Xie Heng had just rejected him, and he immediately sent back news of Baili’s near-death.

As one of the Four Chiefs of the Supervision Department, Baili was killed at will—he had no regard for Xie Heng anymore.

Luo Wanqing pondered this, lowered her eyes, and remained silent.

After everyone was silent for a moment, Xuanshan finally lowered his head, his eyes red as he said hoarsely: “Young Master, this matter…”

“Where’s the body?” Xie Heng’s voice was terrifyingly calm.

Xuanshan was startled, then immediately realized the turning point and said urgently: “Aunt was chased to a cliff edge—we haven’t found her body yet.”

“Go search. I want to see her alive or see her corpse.”

“Yes.”

Xuanshan immediately responded, called the others, and rushed out urgently.

Suddenly, only Luo Wanqing and Xie Heng remained in the courtyard.

Luo Wanqing kept her eyes lowered, thinking about what had just happened.

Baili was the Supervision Department’s top spy. From everyone’s reactions, she should have deep emotional ties with the Supervision Department’s people. With something happening to her, the Supervision Department would never let it go.

Xie Heng might not believe what she had just said, but sometimes truth and falsehood didn’t matter—what mattered was usefulness. If she were useful, Xie Heng would at least keep her temporarily.

With Baili having an incident at Li Guiyu’s place, the Supervision Department couldn’t possibly send another spy to Li Guiyu’s location to die.

Instead, she—someone under suspicion who also had a deep blood feud with Li Guiyu—became the best piece to investigate Li Guiyu.

If she could secure this opportunity, Xie Heng might value her particularly.

The closer she got to Xie Heng, the more expectations Xiang Sizi would have of her. This way, she would have more leverage to negotiate with Xiang Sizi.

Processing this information in her mind, she pondered, then decisively spoke: “Young Master, this subordinate wishes to atone for her crimes by avenging Baihu Chief.”

Hearing this, Xie Heng turned to look at her.

Luo Wanqing prostrated herself on the ground, not daring to raise her head, only saying: “This subordinate knows Young Master still harbors doubts about me. Investigating the Third Prince is extremely dangerous. Young Master might as well send this subordinate. If successful, that would be best. If I fail, this humble life isn’t worth regretting.”

Xie Heng didn’t speak. He stared at her back, seemingly seeing through everything.

He remained silent for a long time. Finally, he stepped forward slowly, looked down at the person half-kneeling on the ground, and said softly: “Raise your head.”

Luo Wanqing was startled, knowing Xie Heng had made a decision but not understanding what he wanted to do. She hesitantly raised her face to look at the coolly-expressed young master before her, and saw him looking at her face, asking calmly: “Do you want to avenge Luo Wanqing?”

At these words, Luo Wanqing understood Xie Heng’s meaning.

He agreed!

He had murderous intent toward Li Guiyu.

Whether or not they could kill Li Guiyu, at least in this life, Li Guiyu’s alliance was gone.

Thinking of being able to kill Li Guiyu, she became somewhat excited.

She restrained her overly strong emotions, pretending to be a friend seeking justice, and simply said: “Yes.”

“At any cost?”

“At any cost.”

“Very well.”

Xie Heng’s tone seemed helpless.

He bent down, raised his hand to grip Luo Wanqing’s chin, gazed into her eyes as if making a joke, saying lightly: “Then change your face.”

Luo Wanqing was slightly stunned.

Xie Heng’s eyes drooped slightly, his hair naturally falling down, letting the breeze brush past, bringing his cold fragrance to caress her cheek.

The young master was like a jade-carved deity, noble and self-possessed. He gazed into her eyes, his fingers stroking over the scars on her face, saying calmly: “You listen to me, and I’ll let you kill him.”