◎ Don’t Forget Me, Miss ◎

Once Xie Heng boarded the carriage, he closed his eyes and said nothing more.

Luo Wanqing didn’t dare disturb his rest, nor did she feel like talking with him. She directly opened the property registry from the case files he had given her and began searching for the phoenix hairpin she needed.

All confiscated property would be registered by the government. Luo Wanqing flipped to the jewelry section and quickly found the “Gold-plated Phoenix Feather Hairpin with Ruby Inlay.” The buyer’s name “Fang Miao” was registered after the hairpin entry, along with his address.

He lived in the outskirts of Yangzhou, quite far away. Luo Wanqing thought about the location and was about to request permission from Xie Heng to go find him when the carriage stopped.

“Good afternoon!”

As soon as the carriage stopped, Cui Heng immediately lifted the curtain and entered. Once he was inside, Xing Ling and Zhang Yiran followed into the carriage.

Seeing Xie Heng, Xing Ling was about to bow when Xie Heng said, “No need.”

With that, Xie Heng opened his eyes and looked at Luo Wanqing: “Where did the hairpin go?”

“Oh.” Only then did Luo Wanqing realize that Xie Heng had known what she was doing. She quickly reported the suburban address. Xie Heng closed his eyes again: “Zhuque, go.”

The county office carriage wasn’t large, and with three people suddenly crowding in, it became particularly cramped. Luo Wanqing and Xing Ling sat on one side, Zhang Yiran and Cui Heng on the other, with Xie Heng sitting alone in the middle.

The atmosphere was somewhat tense for unknown reasons. Cui Heng looked left and right, then pulled an orange from his sleeve and observed Xie Heng: “Director Xie, what’s wrong with you? You look like you’re in a bad mood.”

“Give Lord Zhang the case files on Zhang Qiuzhi.”

Xie Heng ignored Cui Heng. Though he didn’t name anyone specifically, Luo Wanqing knew he was calling her.

After all, besides her, no one else here knew about the case files.

To prevent others from discovering her purpose based on the case files she retrieved, this time, Luo Wanqing had taken a pile of miscellaneous case files and account books. The Luo family case and Zhang Qiuzhi’s case were just among them.

Luo Wanqing searched through them and pulled out Zhang Qiuzhi’s case file, handing it to Zhang Yiran across from her.

Zhang Yiran was somewhat surprised that they had also taken out his father’s case file. He quickly took it and flipped through it. Xie Heng supported his forehead and said flatly, “When Fengyu Pavilion intercepted and killed Zhang Qiuzhi, they might have left some traces. If the clues break off at Luo Qushu’s end, look for them at Zhang Qiuzhi’s end.”

Luo Wanqing wasn’t clear why Xie Heng thought the clues would break off at her father’s end, but since knowing him, most of what he said had its reasoning.

Though Zhang Yiran wasn’t entirely clear about their ultimate purpose, he roughly understood that his father’s case was because Cui Qingping had sent something from the border, which was received by the Luo family’s Luo Qushu. Later, both families met with disaster, and now the Supervision Department was chasing after that item.

Zhang Yiran took the case file and said seriously: “If there’s anything unusual, I’ll inform you all.”

With that, he lowered his head and focused on reading.

The carriage fell quiet. Cui Heng looked at Xie Heng, then at Luo Wanqing, but didn’t dare say much. Finally, he could only look at Xing Ling across from him and force out a flattering smile: “Come on, Xing Ling, have an orange.”

Xing Ling coldly glanced at him and declined: “No need.”

Cui Heng instinctively wanted to share the orange with Luo Wanqing, but suddenly remembered something and quickly pulled back, stuffing the entire orange into his mouth.

The carriage traveled for half an hour before finally reaching the village where the buyer “Fang Miao” from the address lived. This village didn’t have many people and didn’t look prosperous. Following the address and asking around, Luo Wanqing reached Fang Miao’s door to find the house broken down with spider webs even covering the door, vacant for a long time.

“This household has fallen on hard times. They don’t look like they could afford that gold-plated phoenix feather hairpin.”

Zhang Yiran looked at the front of this house and frowned.

Cui Heng crossed his arms in front and surveyed the surroundings: “Do you even need to say that?”

As they spoke, a neighbor poked her head out, curiously staring at their group. The neighboring aunt couldn’t help saying: “Who are you people?”

“Auntie,” Luo Wanqing turned to look at the aunt who was warily staring at them, showed a friendly smile, and quickly said, “May I ask if Fang Miao, who lives here, is home?”

“He hasn’t been here for a long time.”

The aunt was somewhat impatient: “A few months ago, he went to the city once and never came home. You all should leave.”

“Doesn’t he have family?” Xing Ling found it strange. “No one’s looking for him?”

“What family would he have?” The aunt shook her head. “He’s been living here alone for six years, just making a living by hunting. Every day, he’d go into the mountains to get some wild treasures and game to sell in the city. Never seen any family at his place. Who are you people?”

“We’re from the government,” Luo Wanqing’s expression became serious. “We have some matters to ask him about. What does he look like? Any distinguishing features?”

Hearing this, the aunt immediately became nervous: “What did he do wrong?”

“Just answer when the officials ask you,” Xing Ling coldly reminded.

The aunt quickly nodded and hurriedly thought about Fang Miao’s appearance, describing: “He’s a man in his thirties, square face, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, has a scar on his face. Other than that, pretty ordinary.”

Listening to this, Luo Wanqing asked the aunt a few more questions, but she didn’t know much about Fang Miao either. Seeing they couldn’t get any more information here, Luo Wanqing bowed: “Thank you, Auntie.”

With that, Luo Wanqing led everyone in a pretense of leaving. Before they left, she glanced at Xing Ling, who then turned into a side alley and climbed into Fang Miao’s house to search around.

Luo Wanqing waited for Xing Ling at the village entrance. In just a moment, Xing Ling emerged. Luo Wanqing immediately asked: “Any clues?”

“No.” Xing Ling shook his head. “But the house was cleaned up neatly, and ordinary clothes and money are still there. Doesn’t look like he was planning to travel far.”

Not planning to travel far, yet suddenly disappearing for months – that meant he had met with an accident.

Luo Wanqing pondered this, looking at Xie Heng beside her, who seemed to have anticipated this already.

Xie Heng stood on the country path, gazing at children playing and laughing in the distance. Hearing that Luo Wanqing had asked enough questions, he offered his suggestion, raising his hand: “Let’s go back.”

“Right, right,” Cui Heng said, comforting everyone: “Let’s go back and have the government help us search. There’s always a way.”

The group spoke as they returned to the carriage. Zhang Yiran had been thinking about something the whole way. After getting back in the carriage, he thought some more, then took out Zhang Qiuzhi’s case file again. After looking at it for a while, he suddenly realized something and shouted: “To the prison!”

Everyone was startled by him. Xie Heng immediately ordered without hesitation: “To the prison.”

Zhuque, outside, cheerfully called out: “Right away!”

With that, the carriage changed direction. Luo Wanqing looked up at Zhang Yiran curiously: “What did Lord Zhang discover?”

“The deceased is wrong.”

Zhang Yiran quickly pulled out a portrait with the name “Wang Hu” written on it. Zhang Yiran stared at Luo Wanqing and said quickly: “This isn’t Uncle Wang.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing took the case file and understood at a glance. The portraits here showed all the people killed in that escort mission when Fengyu Pavilion intercepted Zhang Qiuzhi. Zhang Yiran explained: “I knew everyone on that escort mission. Uncle Wang was an escort who watched me grow up in our family. I know very well – he doesn’t look like this. He has a square face with a knife scar…”

“Fang Miao?”

Luo Wanqing immediately understood. Zhang Yiran nodded: “Exactly.”

“Then why are you going to the prison?”

Luo Wanqing didn’t understand. Zhang Yiran thought and said: “Just now I saw someone who looked very much like Wang Hu in the prison.”

Hearing this, everyone was stunned. Cui Heng gasped and exclaimed: “What kind of luck is this? Quick,” Cui Heng urged Zhuque outside, “run faster, we’re in a hurry to catch someone!”

The carriage was much faster than on the way there, racing toward the prison. As soon as they got out, Zhang Yiran rushed straight inside. Luo Wanqing and the others followed behind, watching Zhang Yiran hurry to the cell where Xing Ling had initially been held.

He scanned around, and his gaze fell on a man in the corner of the cell. His expression became stern as he immediately had the jailer come forward, saying coldly: “Open the door!”

The jailer didn’t dare disobey and quickly opened the door for Zhang Yiran.

As soon as the door opened, Zhang Yiran rushed in and reached out to grab the man.

However, that man quickly covered his head and frantically kowtowed: “Spare me, my lord!”

Zhang Yiran ignored him and struggled with him for a long time, urgently saying: “Let go, let me see your face!”

“My lord, spare this commoner, spare this commoner!”

“Let go!”

Though Zhang Yiran was a civil official, years of travel and work had made him not weak – he could handle ordinary people.

However, this man kept covering his face no matter how Zhang Yiran pulled, clearly having some martial arts foundation.

Seeing this, Luo Wanqing simply stepped forward, placed her foot on the man’s knees, grabbed his hair, and directly pulled him up.

The man cried out in pain and raised his head. The moment his face was revealed, Zhang Yiran was stunned and couldn’t help exclaiming: “Uncle Wang?”

The man stared blankly at Zhang Yiran, as if unable to believe his eyes.

Zhang Yiran quickly said: “Uncle Wang, it’s me, it’s Yiran!”

The man didn’t dare speak, looking at him with both wariness and fear.

Xie Heng’s expression was calm as he ordered the jailer beside him: “Remove the shackles, we’re taking him with us.”

“No!”

Wang Hu suddenly reacted, crying out in terror: “I won’t go! I want to stay here!”

“Uncle Wang!” Zhang Yiran urgently said, “Tell me what grievances you have. I’m an official now, you don’t need to be afraid…”

“I won’t…”

“This is Zhang Qiuzhi’s son.”

Xie Heng suddenly spoke, and everyone fell silent. As if he knew everything, he stared at Wang Hu and said calmly: “Will you remain silent to the end, or will you speak up and at least listen to what he has to say? I’ll handle everything – what are you afraid of?”

“You…” Wang Hu looked at Xie Heng with suspicion and uncertainty, couldn’t help asking: “Who are you?”

“Supervision Department, Xie Heng.”

When this name was announced, Wang Hu instantly held his breath.

Xie Heng looked at him calmly and only asked: “Will you come or not?”

No one dared speak. Wang Hu stared at Xie Heng, and after a long while, gritted his teeth and said: “I’ll come.”

Hearing this, everyone present sighed in relief. Luo Wanqing quickly had people escort Wang Hu out.

Everyone followed the jailers and others outside. Luo Wanqing walked at the back with Xie Heng, but after just a few steps, she suddenly realized something and stopped abruptly.

Xie Heng noticed the person behind him hadn’t moved and coldly turned back, following Luo Wanqing’s gaze toward the nearby prison cell.

In an instant, overwhelming instances of “Jiang Shaoyan” rushed toward them, crashing into Xie Heng’s vision. Xie Heng’s pupils contracted as he stood silently in place with Luo Wanqing.

Luo Wanqing stared blankly at those characters. After all this time, those writings still hadn’t faded.

This room seemed to have housed only her, so all the traces she had left back then were completely preserved here.

The entire wall was covered with Jiang Shaoyan’s name – from the neat ones in the center to the nearly collapsed ones at the edges, from those carved deeply into the wall stroke by stroke to those hastily scratched on the surface, some names even stained with blood. Each name represented that moment’s state of mind, and in this instant, like icy hands reaching out from hell, they pulled her back into that lava.

Luo Wanqing stared blankly at those names when a calm, puzzled voice came from beside her: “What is this?”

This voice suddenly awakened Luo Wanqing. She calmed down somewhat, forcing herself to lower her head and respond as calmly as possible: “This subordinate carved these names when bored during my time in prison.”

“Bored?”

Xie Heng quietly looked at the names above, his expression unreadable, only asking: “Someone who queued to buy osmanthus cakes for you, who went to the East Sea to get agarwood for the incense shop to make your favorite thread incense, who was there every day when you turned around – when you wrote his name here, it was only because you were bored?”

Luo Wanqing didn’t dare speak. She hadn’t expected Xie Heng to notice so much. Every shop she had introduced to him, he could tell what shadows of Jiang Shaoyan they carried.

This was their five years, five years that no one could transcend.

For the first time, these five years appeared before them in such concrete form. Those names of Jiang Shaoyan covering the wall seemed carved into her bones and flesh, in her blood, flowing with her blood and saturating every inch of her with love and hate.

Making her so clearly remember once again where she came from.

Liu Xiniang, rising from Yangzhou prison with a disfigured face, severed tendons, and reshaped bones, born for Li Guiyu, coming for Li Guiyu.

She didn’t dare think further, forcing herself to remain calm, lowering her eyes as she stood before Xie Heng.

Xie Heng looked at her silently, seeming to want to say something, but after a long while, he finally only sighed softly and turned: “Let’s go.”

Luo Wanqing followed Xie Heng as he stepped away. Before walking far, she couldn’t help looking back once more.

Jiang Shaoyan.

Xie Heng noticed her looking back and lowered his eyes to urge, “Walk faster.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing collected herself and quickly caught up with Xie Heng, following him as they hurried out of the prison.

The group brought Wang Hu back to Xie Heng’s residence. The steward first took Wang Hu to wash up. After he finished, Xie Heng had Zhang Yiran speak with Wang Hu alone while everyone else waited outside.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Yiran opened the door and smiled: “Alright, Uncle Wang is willing to talk.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing immediately brought people inside. Looking up, she saw Wang Hu sitting at the table, looking somewhat weary.

He was covered in wounds, clearly having endured torture. Seeing everyone enter, Wang Hu immediately stood up respectfully: “My lords.”

“Sit and talk.” Xie Heng gestured, and everyone found their respective positions.

Xie Heng sat at the highest position on the side, Xing Ling prepared ink and brush to sit aside for recording, Zhang Yiran and Cui Heng sat on either side, leaving Luo Wanqing and Wang Hu at the round table facing each other. Luo Wanqing thought for a moment, poured tea for Wang Hu, and said gently: “Uncle Wang, please start from six years ago, from that escort mission.”

Hearing this, Wang Hu thought, then said: “Six years ago, the boss’s eldest daughter fell ill, and the boss was short of money, so he returned to his old profession. Because he needed money, we took any job. That time, we helped a wealthy merchant transport some goods from Yangzhou to the northwest. When we reached the northwest, fighting broke out at the front. We didn’t want to stay long, so we planned to leave after delivering the goods. But that night, several black-clothed men came to the inn, found the boss, and said they had a job for us to take back to Yangzhou. At first, none of us wanted to take it – it felt wrong. But after the boss spoke with them privately for a while, he came back and told us he was taking this job, but it was dangerous, and those who wanted to leave could leave.”

“So at that time, he knew what he was transporting?”

Luo Wanqing understood, then asked: “What kind of box was it?”

“I never saw it – it was always wrapped in black cloth.” Wang Hu recalled, “But I held it once. It felt like iron, about the size of two palms, very heavy. Usually, the boss would hold it in his arms while sleeping – no one could touch it. At that time, the boss let us leave, but we were all brothers who’d been through life and death together – no one wanted to leave. So we kept escorting it back. Everything was fine along the way until we reached the outskirts of Yangzhou, when suddenly many assassins appeared.”

As Wang Hu spoke, even after six years, his eyes still reddened.

“These assassins were highly skilled. I was stabbed in the chest, but fortunately, my heart is positioned more to the left than normal people’s, so that stab didn’t kill me. When I woke up, I was surrounded by my brothers’ corpses. I crawled trying to escape, and that’s when I happened to see someone take that box from inside a tree trunk.”

“Who was he?” Luo Wanqing frowned, finally understanding how her father had obtained the item when Zhang Qiuzhi died on the outskirts of Yangzhou.

So Zhang Qiuzhi had hidden the item in a tree trunk before dying, the assassins hadn’t found it, and it was later retrieved by someone else.

“How did he know the item was hidden in the tree trunk?”

“Because he was one of those assassins.”

Wang Hu explained, surprising everyone.

Wang Hu smiled, seeming to understand their confusion, and explained: “I wanted to run when I saw him, but I was too badly injured to move. I had already resigned myself to death, but after he took the item, he saved me. Then he told me that if I wanted to live, I would have to live as another person named Fang Miao from then on, work for him, and never return. I wanted to live, so I agreed. He sent my wife and children to Liufeng Island, and I stayed outside to do work. Every year, when Liufeng Island opened, I would go back to see them.”

“Then that gold-plated phoenix feather ruby hairpin was bought by you on his orders?”

Luo Wanqing guessed. Wang Hu nodded: “Correct. At the beginning of this year, Luo Qushu died in prison, and the Luo family was exiled. When the Luo family property was being sold, he suddenly found me, gave me a large sum of money, and told me to buy back that hairpin at any cost.”

“Where is the hairpin?”

“I gave it to him.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

Wang Hu shook his head and thought: “I’ve been locked in prison since March and haven’t seen him since.”

“Why were you in prison?”

Xie Heng asked flatly, as if he already knew something.

Wang Hu’s expression became stern: “In March, not long after I bought the hairpin, I was captured by a group of people. They forced me to tell them who I gave the phoenix hairpin to. I said I gambled it away. They tortured me for a long time, then suddenly threw me into prison recently.”

“You only entered prison recently?!”

Luo Wanqing was surprised: “When exactly?”

“The ninth day of the seventh month.”

When Wang Hu spoke, Luo Wanqing was stunned.

The ninth day of the seventh month – this was the day she departed from the Eastern Capital.

This meant that when she left the Eastern Capital, someone had already arranged for Wang Hu to wait for her here.

Who?

As this thought flashed through her mind, the wall full of “Jiang Shaoyan” from the prison seemed to be a silent answer, instantly appearing before her eyes.

She seemed to return to that prison corridor, staring blankly back at that person sitting upright in the prison cell, with the wall full of Jiang Shaoyan’s names behind him. Like in the past, dressed in black, wearing a long sword, sitting properly, raising his head toward her with a gentle smile.

“Miss.”

At this moment, that wall full of characters seemed like a silent warning and reminder.

He was her swamp, spending his entire life trying to drag her down into the mire.

He would never allow her to escape. He would always accompany her.

Don’t forget me.

Miss.

Author’s Note:

[Mini Theater] Luo Wanqing: “Young Master, this shop has delicious food, that shop has nice-smelling incense, this tofu pudding is amazing…” Background voices: “Oh my, this girl looks like Doctor Luo. Back then, Young Master Jiang also…” What Xie Heng heard: “Young Master, this shop is where Jiang Shaoyan and I ate together, that shop is where Jiang Shaoyan specially got spices for me blah blah blah, this tofu pudding I made for Jiang Shaoyan…” Xie Heng: “My brain must have been kicked by a donkey to come to Jiang Shaoyan’s old territory to compete with him. I’m not staying in Jiangnan anymore, I’m going to lose it, I’m leaving!!!”