◎Jiang Shaoyan, Her Scar◎

The pain came belatedly from her face, and Zheng Jinxin instantly screamed.

The screams echoed throughout the mountain forest, but Zheng Biyue had no intention of stopping.

Zheng Jinxin’s screams rang out across the mountains. When Luo Wanqing reached the foot of the mountain, she heard these screams.

Luo Wanqing’s heart turned cold. Without caring about concealment, she rushed directly up the mountain.

She moved so fast that the guards only felt a chill beside them before seeing a black-clothed woman swiftly charging toward the mountaintop.

Everyone shouted in alarm: “Someone’s going up the mountain!”

“Protect the young miss!”

“Chase her!”

Luo Wanqing rushed up quickly, running to the bamboo grove. From far away, she could see through the window Zheng Biyue stepping on Zheng Jinxin’s wounds. She directly flung her Qianji bead bracelet. Zheng Biyue instinctively sensed something was wrong, turned around, and was struck hard in the chest by the beads, violently knocked away. Then she saw Luo Wanqing leap in, while her guards also charged in, pulling her up and protecting her behind them.

Luo Wanqing crouched beside Zheng Jinxin and reached out to check her pulse.

Zheng Jinxin had been stabbed several times and was beyond saving. Luo Wanqing looked up at her and saw her biting a cloth strip, pulling a gem-encrusted dagger from her abdomen with trembling hands, and placing it in hers.

“Kill her…”

As soon as Zheng Jinxin spoke, tears and blood flowed down mixed, her eyes full of pleading: “Chief Inspector Liu… my mother… she also killed… she added safflower to the birthing medicine…”

Luo Wanqing’s heart tightened. Zheng Jinxin gripped her sleeve tightly, repeatedly saying: “Kill her… kill her!”

“Alright.”

Watching the person before her whose gaze was gradually fading, Luo Wanqing finally spoke.

Not far away, Zheng Biyue was helped up. Hearing this, she laughed: “Chief Inspector Liu dares to make such a promise. Aren’t you afraid she’ll come for your life on the road to the underworld, saying you broke your word?”

Luo Wanqing said nothing. She watched the light in Zheng Jinxin’s eyes completely fade.

She hadn’t closed her eyes – not even in death.

Luo Wanqing reached out to close her eyes, then turned to look at Zheng Biyue in the distance, saying calmly, “You killed your sister.”

“Who knows?”

Zheng Biyue looked at her with a slight smile: “Chief Inspector Liu, if you’re smart, hand over the dagger.”

“Give me the sheath, and you’ll come with me to the Supervision Department.”

Luo Wanqing placed Zheng Jinxin on the ground, gripped the dagger, and stood up.

Zheng Biyue stood behind the crowd with an indifferent expression: “Do you think you have the qualifications to negotiate with me?”

“Do you think the people in front of you can stop me?”

“The people in front of me naturally can’t stop you.”

Zheng Biyue chuckled: “But there are many who want your life.”

“I’m just a sixth-rank minor official – what do they want my life for?”

Luo Wanqing heard rustling sounds in the forest and gripped her sword handle.

Zheng Biyue patiently explained: “Though you’re a minor official, you’re handling the Eastern Palace case. Today, Xie Heng suddenly requested to announce the verdicts in court – you plan to convict everyone involved in the Eastern Palace case, especially the Eastern Palace’s Six Commands.”

“That’s not decided by a minor official.”

Luo Wanqing pretended not to understand Zheng Biyue’s meaning, her expression indifferent: “Even if you kill me, the Supervision Department has other Chief Inspectors. What should be judged will be judged.”

“But if you can’t appear tomorrow, everyone will have time.”

Zheng Biyue was unusually talkative: “Even delaying one day, all families can think of more suitable candidates. Xie Heng has prepared all those people to fill the positions, hasn’t he?”

“That’s the Division Chief’s business. I don’t know.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t say much more, only asking: “Are you coming over, or should I go over there?”

“Neither is necessary.”

Swift winds came from outside, and many people suddenly leaped through doors and windows, surrounding Luo Wanqing.

Zheng Biyue pointed at Luo Wanqing and said coldly, “She killed my sister, the second daughter of the Zheng clan. Capture her!”

As soon as the words fell, everyone rushed toward Luo Wanqing.

Zheng Biyue turned to leave, instructing Zhou Ying beside her in a low voice: “When she’s dead, bring me the dagger.”

These words reached Luo Wanqing’s ears. She slashed the person pressed against the table and shouted back: “Don’t you feel any guilt for causing so many people to die?”

“Do you feel guilty when you kill an ant?”

Zheng Biyue stood at the doorway, glancing at her: “Don’t think entering the Supervision Department makes you somebody. Between you and me, there’s a world of difference.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing chuckled softly.

She watched Zheng Biyue walk out, looked around at everyone coldly staring at her, listened to the sounds outside, and called loudly: “Cui Guanlan!”

“Tsk tsk, so fierce.”

A voice suddenly came from the window. Everyone turned to discover that a young master had appeared sitting on the windowsill at some point.

He wore blue plain clothes, one hand casually hanging at his side, the other holding a wine bottle, his posture lazy and elegant, his temperament graceful and otherworldly. Behind a golden mask, his expression seemed amused as he looked at everyone with apparent friendliness.

Everyone unconsciously tightened their grip on their weapons, watching Cui Heng warily.

“You’re quite late.”

Luo Wanqing glanced at him helplessly. Cui Heng chuckled: “If you called me ‘my lord,’ I could arrive earlier.”

“I’ll leave them to you.”

Luo Wanqing couldn’t be bothered with his teasing and rushed directly toward Zheng Biyue.

Everyone’s expressions turned cold instantly. Blade light descended toward Luo Wanqing in unison. Cui Heng flung his wine pot, the alcohol scattering into droplets that flew toward everyone, clinking and colliding with the blade edges, numbing everyone’s hands.

In this brief moment of obstruction, Luo Wanqing broke through and struck directly at Zheng Biyue!

Zhou Ying’s expression changed dramatically. She grabbed a guard and rushed in front of Zheng Biyue.

Luo Wanqing’s blade instantly pierced through the guard. Zhou Ying used the guard’s body to trap Luo Wanqing’s sword. Zheng Biyue turned at the sound, just as blood splattered across her face.

The blade pierced the guard, stopping just half an inch from Zhou Ying. Zhou Ying held the body tightly against the sword, gritting her teeth: “Quick, notify the others. Miss, run!”

Hearing this, Zheng Biyue suddenly reacted and immediately rushed down the mountain. At the same time, a figure shot out swiftly.

Seeing this, Luo Wanqing kicked Zhou Ying hard. The blade cut through at an angle, splitting the person in half as she broke free and chased after Zheng Biyue.

But as soon as she moved, everyone rushed over. Zhou Ying gripped her crescent moon curved swords, trapping Luo Wanqing’s blade between the two swords. Her strength was enormous. Luo Wanqing’s sword was caught by her. If not for Xiling’s extremely hard material, the blade would have been shattered the moment it was caught between the two swords.

Luo Wanqing was trapped by her, watching Zheng Biyue run down, feeling anxious.

A light laugh came from behind: “Lower your hand three points, step back.”

Luo Wanqing followed the instruction and instantly pulled out her sword.

She looked back and saw Cui Heng leaning against a corridor pillar, arms crossed, smiling as he watched her.

“Horizontal slash, vertical thrust, Mountain Opening Third Form.”

Cui Heng’s voice continued. Luo Wanqing didn’t need him to say more. Knowing this curved sword style, Luo Wanqing didn’t give the two swords a chance to trap her. Her blade moved extremely fast, both firm and fierce. Large rotations created swift winds, small rotations brought dense rain, thrusts like sword snakes, slashes like mountain splitting.

Zhou Ying couldn’t handle her blade at all, but stubbornly blocked Zheng Biyue’s path.

The surrounding people who rushed in died under her blade. Luo Wanqing broke through all the way, pursuing relentlessly.

Finally, Zhou Ying gave an order, and everyone desperately rushed at Luo Wanqing. Zhou Ying turned to flee downward, catching up with Zheng Biyue, wanting to carry her away.

Luo Wanqing spun in the air, her clothes sharp as blades, holding the sword reverse-handed, instantly slitting the throats of those around her.

Everyone was shaken back. Luo Wanqing quickly caught up with Zhou Ying and threw her long sword. Before Zhou Ying could react, the long sword violently pierced her chest.

Blood sprayed all over Zheng Biyue. Zhou Ying fell to the ground holding Zheng Biyue.

Zheng Biyue screamed and rolled to the ground. Zhou Ying raised her head dazedly, revealing a somewhat dark face, trembling: “Young miss… run…”

As soon as she finished speaking, Luo Wanqing pulled the sword from her chest. She couldn’t say anything more, only struggling to turn back, finally pushing Luo Wanqing once before losing her breath.

Zheng Biyue stared blankly at Zhou Ying. Luo Wanqing stood motionless.

She looked at Zhou Ying lying on the ground, remembering her final push, feeling somewhat uncomfortable for a moment.

But the situation didn’t allow her to think much. She gritted her teeth and grabbed Zheng Biyue. Zheng Biyue suddenly awakened and shrieked: “Liu Xiniang, let me go! How dare you touch me?!”

“What wouldn’t I dare?”

Luo Wanqing dragged her back to Zheng Jinxin’s side. The moment she tried to get up, Luo Wanqing pressed the blade to her face and said coldly: “You killed your sister. This violates family taboos. As long as I take this murder weapon out, even your father can’t protect you.”

Hearing this, Zheng Biyue clenched her fists. She vaguely understood something and said incredulously: “You knew I was going to ambush you?”

“I knew.”

Luo Wanqing answered calmly: “The Eastern Palace’s Six Commands are on their way. You and Zheng Jinxin arrived early because you were scheming against each other. You thought I would arrive late and encounter the Eastern Palace’s Six Commands, but unfortunately, I came early.”

“Then why did you still come?”

Zheng Biyue began trembling, her unease growing.

“Miss Zheng,” Luo Wanqing saw her panic and smiled, “everyone’s setting traps, but winning or losing sometimes depends on whether the blade is sharp enough.”

Speaking thus, Luo Wanqing switched the sword to the other side, placing it in a more convenient position: “If the blade isn’t sharp enough, what you think is luring the enemy into your trap might be me catching a turtle in a jar.”

Zheng Biyue’s pupils contracted sharply, her breathing becoming rapid.

“You also laid an ambush?!”

“No.”

Luo Wanqing smiled: “Just me alone.”

“And me.”

Cui Heng walked in leisurely. Among the corpses scattered everywhere, he swept a nearby rocking chair, sat down lazily, glanced at her with dissatisfaction: “Always forgetting me, ungrateful thing.”

“Because you don’t help.”

Luo Wanqing spoke irritably. Earlier, if Cui Heng had acted, it would have ended long ago.

But she also knew Cui Heng was teaching her. She wasn’t really angry. She turned back to look at Zheng Biyue and said calmly, “You’re a smart person. Don’t make trouble for yourself. You can’t withstand torture anyway. I ask, you answer. How long before the Eastern Palace people arrive?”

“I told them I’d leave at the ugly hour.”

Zheng Biyue spoke coldly. Hearing that there were only two of them, she calmed down.

She thought for a moment and understood today’s events, saying directly: “Lu Lingchan is dead, isn’t he?”

“I’m asking you, not you asking me.”

Luo Wanqing calculated the time. Zheng Biyue and Zheng Jinxin had left two quarters early. Now, there was probably less than one quarter before the Eastern Palace’s Six Commands arrived.

She didn’t have much time and needed to question quickly.

Zheng Biyue guessed the cause and effect and became much calmer, saying peacefully: “Today is a matter between the Supervision Department and the Wang family. I’m just caught up in it. If you kill me – murdering a legitimate daughter of a noble family without cause – you’ll surely die. I did kill my sister, but you should at least send me for an official trial, not kill me directly like this.”

“Logically speaking, that’s correct.”

Luo Wanqing smiled slightly: “So I won’t kill you. I just want to ask a few questions.”

Zheng Biyue looked at her warily. Luo Wanqing quickly sheathed her sword, took out a medicine bottle, grabbed her jaw, pulled the cork from her sleeve, and poured it directly into Zheng Biyue.

Zheng Biyue struggled frantically but couldn’t match Luo Wanqing’s strength. Soon the entire bottle was consumed. Zheng Biyue urgently said: “What did you make me drink?”

“This is called ‘Ghost Binding,'” Luo Wanqing crouched on the ground, explaining: “A drug the Supervision Department uses for interrogating nobles like you. It won’t leave wounds.”

As Luo Wanqing spoke, she observed her expression. Seeing the drug taking effect, she flicked Zheng Biyue’s hand. Zheng Biyue instantly withdrew her hand, looking at Luo Wanqing in terror.

Luo Wanqing looked up at her: “From now on, I ask one question, you answer one. Tell me the truth, or I’ll first use this knife to stab under your fingernails, lifting them one by one, then pull out all your hair handful by handful, scald your skin with boiling water, and tear it off piece by piece, finally cutting you up slice by slice.”

Zheng Biyue listened to her words, suppressing the fear in her eyes.

Luo Wanqing grabbed her finger, picked up the gem-encrusted dagger, pressed it between her fingers, and asked casually: “How did Luo Qushu die?”

Zheng Biyue looked at her in surprise: “You’re asking…”

Before she finished speaking, the dagger went in an inch, blood seeping from her nail. Zheng Biyue instantly screamed: “Suicide!”

“Why suicide?”

“I don’t know.” Zheng Biyue didn’t dare say more, only pouring out everything she knew, shaking her head: “My father handled everything. I just suddenly heard one day that he died in prison.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing thought for a moment and only said: “Why did your father frame him?”

“It wasn’t framing…” Zheng Biyue instinctively tried to argue, but Luo Wanqing just bent her finger. She immediately screamed: “For something!”

This made Luo Wanqing suddenly turn. She suppressed the turmoil in her heart and only asked: “Not for Li Guiyu?”

“It was…” Zheng Biyue held her broken finger, trembling all over from pain, tears falling involuntarily. She trembled as she spoke: “It was for Li Guiyu.”

“Think carefully before speaking.”

Luo Wanqing gripped her other finger: “Every detail, from the beginning.”

“Alright! I’ll talk, I’ll talk.”

Zheng Biyue immediately spoke. Luo Wanqing relaxed her grip. Zheng Biyue took a deep breath, thought for a moment, then said: “This matter goes back five years. Five years ago, the Cui clan dominated alone. The crown prince was Li Shengzhao, born to Empress Cui. My family sent me to the palace as a companion reader from childhood, hoping I could gain Li Shengzhao’s favor, but he had no interest in me. I could only turn to the Wang clan prince Li Guiyu. At that time, I never thought about becoming empress or crown princess. I just suddenly heard one day that Wang Shenfeng came to visit, meeting with my father in secret. I was still young then and didn’t understand much. I only overheard Wang Shenfeng saying he would make me crown princess, that the Great Xia Code couldn’t continue to be implemented, and they had an excellent opportunity to join forces with my father.”

“Join forces to do what?” Cui Heng finally turned back, looking over calmly.

Zheng Biyue shook her head, only saying: “I don’t know. They went to a secret room afterward, and I couldn’t hear. I only know that one day, Guiyu suddenly told me he was going to the Northern Rong, saying goodbye to me. At that time, I didn’t want him to leave.”

Zheng Biyue turned away, her eyes reddening: “I didn’t want to marry someone else. I asked him what I should do after he left, but he told me… told me he had no feelings for me, only saw me as a sister, and I shouldn’t wait for him.” Zheng Biyue laughed: “All these years he considered me a sister?! Ridiculous! Since he had no feelings for me, I wouldn’t debase myself either. So I didn’t stop him. He wanted to be a hostage, wanted righteousness, wanted to be a saint – let him go!”

“What happened next?”

Luo Wanqing listened quietly, her mind sketching the young Jiang Shaoyan.

Five years ago, Cui Qingping forcibly implemented the Great Xia Code, causing instability among noble families. At this time, the Northern Rong, who had been at war for years, suddenly proposed peace talks but demanded mutual exchange of hostages. So Jiang Shaoyan voluntarily requested to be a hostage and was sent to the Northern Rong.

At that time, everyone was scheming, but only he truly believed this was a situation to achieve great righteousness for the country.

“Later?” Zheng Biyue sneered: “He abandoned me and went to the border, then got his comeuppance. Later, as you know, the Northern Rong suddenly attacked, the border fell, the entire Cui clan was imprisoned, and he disappeared. But actually, he didn’t disappear,” Zheng Biyue’s voice carried some smugness. “Not long after the border fell, I received a secret letter from him. He said he was in the suburbs of the Eastern Capital, being hunted by the Empress, with nowhere to go, begging me to save him and notify His Majesty.”

“You didn’t save him.”

Remembering the meeting, that young man outside the Eastern Capital, Luo Wanqing, knew the outcome. Even now, she couldn’t help but grip her sword tightly.

“Why should I save him?!” Zheng Biyue shouted angrily, then laughed arrogantly: “The Wang clan had already agreed with my father to support the Seventh Prince and marry me as his wife. I was to be the crown princess – why would I save him? I pretended not to receive his letter and then told the Empress about his whereabouts. At that time, I thought he was dead. Who knew the Wang clan would later break their promise,” Zheng Biyue’s voice carried unwillingness, “Li Shangwen married a daughter from a second-tier noble family instead! It was at this time that he contacted me again.”

“When was that?”

Luo Wanqing listened, suppressing all emotions. Zheng Biyue thought for a moment, then said: “The twelfth year of Changshun.”

The twelfth year.

Luo Wanqing recalled – her family was imprisoned in the autumn of the thirteenth year of Changshun. In the twelfth year, she was still sweet and happy with Li Guiyu. She had just turned eighteen and was thinking about discussing marriage with him.

Her family said that marrying too early was harmful to a woman’s health, so they told him to wait until she was twenty to marry. He had readily agreed then.

It turned out that when he agreed to the marriage, he had already contacted Zheng Biyue.

Luo Wanqing felt mocking in her heart but maintained an expressionless face, only asking: “What did he say?”

“He told my father that he had spent these five years undercover in Jiangnan at the home of a former Cui clan minister. This person was someone Cui Qingping had entrusted. Cui Qingping had sent something back from the border at the end – something sufficient to bring down the Wang clan. He had obtained this thing, and if my father wanted it, he should come to Jiangnan to find him. At that time, he had only one condition.”

Zheng Biyue spoke with mockery on her face: “He said he wanted to marry me.”

Hearing this, Cui Heng folded and unfolded his fan, coolly glancing at the two women on the ground: “He wanted to marry quite a few people.”

“Indeed.” Zheng Biyue sneered: “But I didn’t know that then. I thought he had regretted it, that he missed me. So after discussing with my father, we decided to go to Jiangnan to bring him back. To avoid making this matter too conspicuous, Father specifically reported to His Majesty about the rampant private salt trade in Jiangnan, obtaining the opportunity to come to Jiangnan specifically to handle the salt case. Then I pretended to travel for leisure, came to Jiangnan to ‘accidentally’ encounter him. Since he and I were childhood friends, I recognized him at a glance, then reported to His Majesty, and bringing him back to the palace became natural.”

“Going to such great lengths,” Luo Wanqing mocked, “you truly loved him.”

“Where’s the love in it?” Cui Heng, beside them, chuckled lightly: “Noble Consort Zheng’s child isn’t capable of great responsibility. In the succession struggle, if the Zheng clan competed with the Wang clan, they had no chance of winning. Among all the princes, the Wang clan had the best odds.”

Cui Heng played with the folding fan in his hand, rocking in the chair, leisurely explaining to Luo Wanqing: “The Zheng clan’s best calculation was to have a Zheng family daughter become crown princess, then empress, sharing the realm with the Wang clan. Unfortunately, the Wang clan saw through the Zheng family’s plan, so they chose the Lu clan as crown princess. At this time, Li Guiyu contacted them, directly saying he wanted to marry her – that gave the Zheng clan another path. Li Guiyu was talented and handsome, with an excellent reputation, and was the Empress’s son. After the Cui clan’s crown prince, whether by legitimacy or seniority, Li Guiyu was most suitable to inherit the throne. If not for going to the Northern Rong that year, how could it have been Li Shangwen’s turn? She might have had some feelings, but more than that, she just wanted to be empress.”

Cui Heng spoke, smiling as he looked at Zheng Biyue: “What happened next? After you arrived in Jiangnan, what did you do?”

“After arriving in Jiangnan, I contacted him, only to learn he had a fiancée there. He told me the Luo family had shown him kindness and asked if I was willing to be a co-wife. This was ridiculous – I would consider it beneath me even if that woman became his concubine, and she wanted to be my equal? I told my father about this, and the next day father imprisoned his family on charges of selling private salt.”

“So,” Luo Wanqing pondered, “Li Guiyu didn’t participate in this matter?”

“Correct.” Zheng Biyue sneered: “He just understood me too well.”

So he achieved everything without bloodshed, doing nothing, yet caused the entire Luo family to be imprisoned and Luo Qushu to receive a death sentence.

It was precisely because of this that he could brazenly claim in the Supervision Department that this matter had nothing to do with him.

Because he hadn’t acted directly.

“How did you manage it?” Luo Wanqing listened to the past, surprisingly becoming calm.

She asked peacefully, “Framing someone always requires evidence.”

“What evidence is needed?” Zheng Biyue’s voice was indifferent: “A merchant family – first we found someone to report Luo Qushu for selling private salt, then had people investigate directly, throwing a roomful of coarse salt into the house on the spot. Caught red-handed with the evidence – isn’t that enough proof?”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing gripped her blade tightly, gritting her teeth as she smiled: “That’s indeed a method. I’ve learned something. Who did you have make the report?”

“I don’t remember.” Perhaps this was too trivial a matter in her eyes, as she had no intention of concealing anything, saying coldly: “Those sesame-seed officials in Yangzhou – I only remember a prison warden named Sun Cui, a prefect named Zhou Chun. I don’t remember the others.”

“Why do you remember them?”

This puzzled Luo Wanqing. She didn’t remember others, and Zhou Chun was understandable – perhaps he often met with them as the host for the Zheng family. But a prison warden – why would she remember him?

“Zhou Chun was the one who helped me handle affairs, and he was the one who arrested Luo Qushu. As for Sun Cui, I had Sun Cui help me watch Luo Wanqing. I even went to see her once specifically.” Zheng Biyue’s voice carried some pleasure. Cui Heng, hearing this, also looked over.

Zheng Biyue seemed to remember something happy, slowly saying: “When I went to see her, she stank terribly, like a maggot. I had someone give her a cold wash, but didn’t give her clothes or charcoal. That Yangzhou winter was very cold. I thought she would surely die, but forgot that she and her mother were doctors, so she survived.”

Hearing this, Cui Heng’s expression turned cold.

Luo Wanqing wasn’t surprised, listening as she continued: “At that time, your Division Chief was at the Supervision Department, so I couldn’t be too excessive. I couldn’t kill her openly, so I had Sun Cui send in a ruffian who had conflicts with her and her mother. Originally, we agreed to have this ruffian help me torment them to death, but within two days, Luo Qushu died.”

“So Wang Qiniang was someone you sent in.”

Luo Wanqing understood. In her dream of the previous life, it was from that Wang Qiniang that the Luo family was pushed step by step to desperation.

“Yes, but Luo Qushu’s death was unexpected.” Zheng Biyue said, closing her eyes with an unpleasant expression: “Only after he died did we learn that Li Guiyu had nothing in his hands. He had only inadvertently been tricked by Li Guiyu into revealing information. Only Luo Qushu knew where this thing was. When Li Guiyu went to interrogate him for the last time, he somehow obtained a pottery shard and committed suicide. With the person dead, he later told my father that with the Supervision Department here, the longer Luo Qushu lived, the more unstable things became. Since only Luo Qushu knew about the thing, and most of the Cui clan’s former ministers were dead, with his death, the thing would never appear again, telling my father to rest assured. But how could my father be assured without seeing the thing? What if it was with him?!”

“If it were with him, what would you fear?” Cui Heng suddenly spoke. Zheng Biyue paused.

Cui Heng smiled: “This thing could not only bring down the Wang clan, but also cause trouble for your Zheng family?”

Zheng Biyue realized she had misspoken and remained silent.

Cui Heng tapped his palm with his fan, slowly saying: “So you were deceived. You thought the thing was in his hands, that he could certainly use it to threaten the Wang clan to bring down the crown prince, and also threaten you, so you rushed to Jiangnan and framed the Luo family for his sake. But he had nothing in his hands.”

Zheng Biyue didn’t speak, showing some unwillingness on her face.

“But you had already come to Jiangnan for him. During those days, he actively met with you, and everyone knew about it. With his strength in the martial world, you had no way to kill him. Since you had seen him, if you didn’t bring him back in the future and he returned on his own, before His Majesty, you would be guilty of knowing but not reporting. Moreover, your relationship with him was too deep. When choosing a good match in the future, unless you didn’t want to be empress, any prince would be inferior to him. Comparatively, rather than offending him, forming a marriage alliance with someone of such capability was a better path.”

Zheng Biyue said nothing, pressing her lips together silently.

Luo Wanqing thought of the rumors she had heard in prison – it was indeed so.

Shortly after she was imprisoned, she heard people say he was boating on the lake with Zheng Biyue. At that time, she didn’t believe it, thinking those who entered the cell were deliberately lying to provoke her. Now thinking about it, this should have been true.

Li Guiyu had deceived her and also deceived Zheng Biyue.

“You were his childhood friend and the one he repeatedly trusted and asked for help. When he reappeared after five years, capable and outstanding, still obsessed with you, you should have thought you were his only choice. So when you publicly appeared with him in various venues, you never thought this was one of his moves, did you?”

Cui Heng asked calmly.

Zheng Biyue turned away, saying awkwardly: “He was just one of my moves, too.”

“You thought he adored you, so you allowed Luo Wanqing to be exiled to Lingnan. At that time, you felt that whether she lived or died had little impact on you; otherwise, you would never have left such a large variable as Luo Wanqing to threaten you. What if in the future, when he was in a position of high power, he missed Luo Wanqing and summoned her back from Lingnan? Wouldn’t that be losing both your investment and your troops?”

Zheng Biyue remained silent.

Cui Heng chuckled: “Foolish.”

“I’m foolish?” Zheng Biyue was provoked to anger, sneering: “Do you think he has such deep feelings for Luo Wanqing? Luo Wanqing was just a chess piece, too. If I had given up on Li Shangwen a few years earlier, he would have come to find me long ago! If he truly liked her, would he have harmed her like this? Although it was my Zheng family who acted, it was he who told my father about Luo Qushu’s identity, he who hinted that we should have the Luo family imprisoned, and he who finally interrogated Luo Qushu and drove him to death! Do you think he has any deep affection for Luo Wanqing?!”

Cui Heng played with his folding fan without speaking.

“Moreover, one Luo Wanqing,” Zheng Biyue spoke mockingly, “just one Luo Wanqing – what did I have to fear? She understood nothing, knew nothing. Did she know what kind of person Li Guiyu was? Did she know his past? Did she care about him? Did she love him? No! She had none of that!”

Zheng Biyue spoke, laughing loudly: “‘The King of Yue’s Sword’ she played was just a melody. She didn’t understand Li Guiyu at all, nor was she willing to understand. If she had loved him and cared, with him by her side for five years, how could she not see through his forced smiles? One was a liar, one was ignorant – what affection could they speak of?”

“You’re quite right.”

Luo Wanqing smiled mockingly.

Cui Heng glanced at her but said nothing more, directly asking: “So, you have connections with the Northern Rong?”

Hearing this, Zheng Biyue was stunned, then said: “What nonsense are you talking about?!”

“That maid who just died,” Cui Heng pointed, “her twin-blade technique comes from the Northern Rong military. Why was she your maid?”

Zheng Biyue was stunned, then turned around somewhat awkwardly: “I bought her. I don’t know why she knew this.”

“Don’t know?” Cui Heng chuckled softly. He stood up, walked to Zheng Biyue, and crouched down.

“Then,” Cui Heng smiled gently, “why don’t you tell me what you do know?”

Zheng Biyue looked up warily.

Cui Heng’s ink-gold eyes carried a smile, yet inexplicably chilled one to the bone: “Five years ago, when Lady Xie committed suicide by assassination in the palace, you were there, weren’t you?”

Hearing this, Zheng Biyue’s eyes widened in shock.

“Who are you?”

Zheng Biyue couldn’t help but ask.

The questions this young man asked were different from Liu Xiniang’s.

Liu Xiniang’s questions concerned matters where the Zheng family was at fault, but whether it was joining with noble families against the Cui clan or framing a merchant, none of it was enough to shake the Zheng clan.

But this young man’s questions were word by word about secrets sufficient to topple a family.

And moreover…

Five years ago, Lady Xie…

Zheng Biyue looked at him in shock.

No one knew she was in the palace then… even at the scene. How did he know?

Seeing her caution, Cui Heng smiled, laughing as he raised his hand to instruct: “Xiniang, go outside and wait for me.”

Luo Wanqing paused upon hearing this. Zheng Biyue instantly realized something and lunged at Luo Wanqing, grabbing her dress: “Don’t go! Please don’t go! Don’t leave me here!”

“Oh my.”

Luo Wanqing instantly stiffened. Cui Heng sighed and tapped Zheng Biyue’s fingers with his small fan.

Zheng Biyue immediately wailed and cried, and Luo Wanqing felt her release her grip.

But she was still crying and shouting: “Liu Xiniang, don’t go.”

Luo Wanqing couldn’t move her feet. Cui Heng’s voice was firm: “Xiniang, close the door. Don’t be afraid. I’ll come out in a moment.”

Luo Wanqing hesitated for a moment, then reached out to close the door.

The moment the door closed, screams suddenly came from within the bamboo house. Luo Wanqing’s pupils contracted sharply. Her hand gripped the door handle, and after hesitating for a moment, she let it go.

Screams echoed behind her. She closed her eyes.

Light rain began falling around them. Soon, she gripped her sword and quietly thought about Zheng Biyue’s words just now.

Li Guiyu had known her father’s identity from the beginning. He had always stayed by her father’s side for that thing.

And her father, according to what she had seen in the Fengyu Pavilion’s Dark Pavilion, had originally been a death warrior of the Wang clan and simultaneously a Cui clan retainer. Later, he became the last person Cui Qingping trusted, returned to the Eastern Capital, brought his family south to Yangzhou, and then obtained the thing Cui Qingping had given him.

Connecting this further, Zhang Jiuran’s father, Zhang Qiuzhi, had been entrusted by Cui Qingping’s shadow guards to transport something from the border to Jiangnan, and the Fengyu Pavilion had killed Zhang Qiuzhi for this.

Cui Heng, as a surviving member of the Cui clan, should also be investigating this thing. So his coming today wasn’t, as he jokingly said, for her, but for this thing.

And there was Xie Heng…

Luo Wanqing felt everything seemed to slowly intersect, all people and events seeming to be arranged by fate, slowly entangling together.

She couldn’t help but reach out her hand, feeling the summer rain falling heavily into her palm.

It hurt a little.

She remembered that gentle young man in Jiangnan. In the five years she was with him, she had never been caught in a single drop of rain.

He was always prepared, would bring an umbrella. If he hadn’t brought one, he would have found shelter from the rain. If he couldn’t find any, he would use his clothes to shield her.

It turned out such meticulous tenderness could also be feigned.

But what did she have to complain about?

As Zheng Biyue had said, he was a liar, but she had never truly cared either.

No one in this world cared about him, and she had never truly cared either. If she had cared, how could she not have seen his pain in five years by his side?

Jiang Shaoyan.

Luo Wanqing closed her eyes, feeling this was a scar carved on her heart, at the very tip of her heart, aching faintly on rainy days.

She waited with her eyes closed for a long time before finally hearing the sound of a door opening behind her.

Luo Wanqing turned around and saw Cui Heng just opening the door.

The two looked at each other quietly. After a moment, Cui Heng acted as if nothing had happened, taking out a white silk handkerchief from his sleeve, calmly wiping his fingers, then looking up at Luo Wanqing with a slight smile: “Done. She’s asleep. Let’s go.”

Luo Wanqing turned to walk inside, but Cui Heng suddenly grabbed her arm.

He looked up at her, saying firmly: “Don’t go in.”

Author’s Note:

[Mini Theater]

Luo Wanqing & Cui Heng & Xing Ling: “Having secret meetings every day, secretly gossiping about the boss/colleagues”

Cui Heng: “It’s not good to gossip behind people’s backs, is it?”

Luo Wanqing: “It’s fine, the Division Chief doesn’t know.”

Cui Heng: “Why do you think I’m reminding you?”

Luo Wanqing: “Because you’re a good person?”

Cui Heng: “Because I heard it.”

Luo Wanqing: “Oh, if you heard it, you heard it.”

Cui Heng: “What I mean is, I heard it.”