Several years of assassination experience gave Qun Qing the instinct to sense danger and flee immediately.

Running straight to safety, retreating with the crowd, only then did she dare look back. She heard the leading mansion guard’s voice shake the wind: “Prince Yan’s mansion is seizing people, purging traitors! Everyone halt!”

Prince Yan’s mansion? Qun Qing couldn’t help glancing at those people.

She remembered now.

That familiar circular embroidered pattern—the design was water-pattern silver dragon. The dragon was a water dragon, a symbol the Emperor bestowed on Prince Yan to suppress Li Huan’s fiery temperament. Prince Yan’s clothing and mansion decorations could all use the silver dragon as ornamentation.

Having the silver dragon on their waist belts meant these people were Prince Yan’s mansion guards.

Could the noble person she’d seen sitting in that black carriage when she arrived be Prince Yan Li Huan himself?

No, that wasn’t right.

Li Huan and Lu Huating had always been on good terms. How could he possibly be so stern, arresting him in the street like this?

Had there been internal strife at Prince Yan’s mansion?

Hadn’t Prince Yan’s mansion always been very united?

They’d already started fighting over there. Qun Qing pulled the child back another step. Those people swung their clubs desperately. Both Juan Su and Kuang Su drew their short swords but were still forced to retreat step by step.

Juan Su jumped onto the sugarcane vendor’s stall, grabbed two sugarcanes with his reverse grip, using them as long staffs to fend off those servants. For a moment, stalls toppled and juice splattered everywhere.

The West Market hadn’t seen such fierce combat in a long time. All business stopped in shock.

Still, two fists couldn’t defeat four hands. In a flash, Juan Su and Kuang Su had taken several blows. Everyone closed in on Lu Huating. The leader drew a gleaming long blade and pressed toward them.

The three men’s clothes were soon stained red. Qun Qing could see those people meant to kill. Her feelings were very complicated.

“Elder sister, there’s another box of pastries.” The child pointed at the pastries between the black-clothed men’s feet that had nearly been trampled several times.

“Can’t retrieve it now.” Qun Qing held him tight, fearing they’d suffer collateral damage.

Just at that moment, on that now-empty official road, a chubby young boy walked along humming a song.

Around the boy’s neck hung a bone whistle strung on red cord. His dao robe dragged at his feet, and he carried several medicine packages in his hands. If it were someone else, they would have dodged long ago, but he was somewhat slow, standing in the road looking left and right, then raising his arm to wave at the crowd.

Others discussed among themselves. Qun Qing looked closely and recognized an acquaintance.

It was Little Song, the medicine attendant beside Fang Xie. Fang Xie must have sent him to chase after her and deliver something.

Little Song was anxious to come over but noticed the fighting people beside him. He shrank his neck, not daring to pass by them, and actually froze roadside. Qun Qing quickly gestured: “Go back, wait for me under the bridge.”

But Little Song looked at her, then at those people. After hesitating a moment, he actually closed his eyes and, carrying two medicine packages, shuffled toward her in a mad dash.

That group of mansion guards had already gone mad with bloodlust. One person moved at the sound of wind, flying up with a kick that sent Little Song tumbling backward! With a “thud,” medicine packages scattered across the ground.

The pebble in Qun Qing’s hand flew out simultaneously, clanging against the eaves before striking that mansion guard’s neck, forcing him back several steps, covering his neck: “I’m bleeding!”

The mansion guards immediately gathered: “Someone threw a hidden weapon! Watch out for more tricks!”

“Aiyou, what wickedness!” Women all around pitied that innocent child, but no one dared come forward to help.

Qun Qing had already crossed through the crowd to lift Little Song up.

Little Song had taken a kick but wasn’t seriously hurt, only hurting enough that tears covered his face and his clothes were torn. His character was always stubborn. Angrily, he stuffed the medicine packages into Qun Qing’s arms and ran back with lifted legs.

“You stop right there!” The black-clothed servant hit in the neck gave chase with lifted legs, but someone grabbed his arm.

Qun Qing said: “Just a child. Sir, don’t make things difficult for him.”

The next moment, she was shoved backward with a reverse push, landing on her bottom on the ground, her palm scraped by gravel.

The staff-wielding old man beside her finally said angrily: “What kind of people are you? Even bullying weak women!”

“Isn’t that right? Prince Yan’s mansion people are so tyrannical they even disregard the Emperor’s laws?”

“Prince Yan’s mansion is conducting business. What’s it to you? If you want to keep your tongues, don’t talk too much!” A leader-looking person threatened with his blade, frightening everyone into retreating several more steps.

Qun Qing sat on the ground without moving. From the corner of her eye, she saw Little Song had run out of sight, then slowly straightened her veil.

Her hasty action just now had nearly exposed her. This group came with ill intent—who knew what they planned? But as long as they were subordinates of the powerful, they couldn’t kill or injure ordinary citizens in Chang’an. Otherwise, the case would go to the Court of Judicial Review and no one could escape.

What she needed to do was play an ordinary watching woman, at most endure a few scoldings and beatings to let the other side vent their anger, then escape.

Sure enough, she was grabbed by the collar again and dragged up like a sack, feet leaving the ground.

Qun Qing released all her body’s strength, making her form look utterly weak.

“Why still covering your face?” That mansion guard looked her over twice, saying with ill intent: “Let me see your face. If you’re pretty, let me kiss you once. If you’re unfortunately ugly, I’ll give you two slaps. What do you think?”

With that, he actually moved to lift Qun Qing’s veil.

His hand hadn’t yet touched the white gauze when a hurried voice cut in from behind: “Kuang Su, you go protect the young lady and leave!”

Lu Huating’s voice wasn’t loud, but hearing it was exceptionally clear. All of Qun Qing’s blood rushed to her head.

What did he say?

You go, protect, the young lady, leave.

The worry, protection, and concern in his words were clear, making even Qun Qing daze for a moment, as if she were someone very important to him. Then Kuang Su, head covered in blood, did a hawk’s somersault, swooping down from the air and kicking the face of the guard holding her.

How could Qun Qing keep pretending? She kicked away the nearest guard and ran with lifted legs.

“This woman is with that man surnamed Lu—don’t let her fool you! Chase!”

“She’s the one who threw the hidden weapon earlier! Don’t let her escape to report!”

Qun Qing closed her eyes.

While running madly, she mentally slaughtered Lu Huating a hundred times. He did it on purpose…

This fight originally had nothing to do with her, yet he insisted on dragging her into the water, trying to force her to act and draw some pursuers to her.

Forced to desperation, how could Qun Qing hide her skills? The three remaining pebbles in her sleeve were all shot. Whatever she touched became a weapon.

But meeting several tall, robust warriors, she was at a disadvantage in strength. She could only kick people away for a distance but couldn’t knock them down—she alone couldn’t support the situation.

The pursuers behind were like ghosts, grabbing her floating skirt ribbons and veil, pulling her backward and down. Then someone flew onto her body, shielding her from the falling attacks.

Qun Qing lay on the ground, the smell of iron rust enveloping her. Kuang Su protected her body. Close guards beat Kuang Su’s head with clubs. Kuang Su’s eyes were blood red, protecting her without letting go. Seeing her look up, he looked at her with childlike eyes, kindly comforting: “Changshi said, I, die first. You, fine.”

Qun Qing coldly counted. When the tenth blow came, she suddenly drew the blade from Kuang Su’s waist. The blade carried force, piercing through that person’s chest.

That mansion guard fell straight down. Blood from Kuang Su’s head flowed down his temples—he was almost unconscious.

Qun Qing pushed him away and glanced at Lu Huating. With Kuang Su diverted away, Lu Huating was thrown into a toppled stall. A fierce light flashed in the opponent’s hand, revealing a silver-bright short blade, the tip pointing down. Lu Huating could only grip the blade with his hand, both sides contending.

In combat, one cannot fall. Once down, death is near.

Qun Qing’s vision was a blank whiteness, many voices seeming to sound in her ears. She tried to weigh things calmly, but the distant situation had already spiraled out of control.

This group of black-clothed mansion guards was even more vicious than street thugs, smashing and overturning several stalls, as if they didn’t see those vendors rolling on the ground, constantly pleading.

Veins bulged on Qun Qing’s neck. She pressed her lips together again and again, then suddenly called out loudly: “Blow the bone whistles!”

Her voice was shrill, carrying extremely far. Responding to her were even sharper whistle sounds, one after another.

The child who’d bought pastries for her, along with some women, took the bone whistles hanging around their necks and put them to their lips to blow.

Those whistle sounds were like wails, like signal arrows piercing clouds, splitting the sky.

The mansion guards didn’t know what was happening. Somewhat panicked, they stopped and looked around.

Then they discovered that those previously submissive common people seemed to have changed in an instant:

The common people on the second floor glared at them with pairs of eyes cold as icicles. That proprietress of Lingxin Shop, face iron-blue, poured a bucket of water down from the second floor onto them. The water dragon cascaded down as drum sounds boomed from all sides.

It turned out that at every corner railing on the West Market’s second floor, a cowhide drum was placed. The drum sounds spread from near to far, as if transmitting messages.

Those people obviously hadn’t anticipated this formation. They looked at each other, inevitably tense, gathering into a small circle.

Then, from upper floors on all sides and both ends of the official road, countless men ran down—some were shop assistants, some diners. Some held clothes poles, some raised mops, all with eyes full of hatred.

Leading them was a white-bearded elder. He glared with furious eyes and said loudly: “Last year the Emperor promulgated new laws—within Chang’an city, officials shall not disturb the people. Only one year has passed, and what does Prince Yan want to do again? Back then, you told us to open our gates in surrender—we opened them, yet Prince Yan’s troops still trampled the people of two wards. Prince Yan first broke faith with the people. Don’t blame the people for rising up in resistance!”

From that time on, the inner city spontaneously agreed to have women and children wear bone whistles. Using bone whistles as signals, if similar incidents occurred again, they would unite to resist.

“Elder, we… we were only purging internal affairs, never intended to harm anyone…” That black-clothed leader obviously didn’t know the circumstances. Shocked by the angry expressions of people on all sides, panic showed on his face.

“Intended or not, do you think we have no eyes? You handle your own business but dare ‘accidentally’ touch our wives and children—we dare fight you to the death!” After the elder finished speaking, a hundred voices answered as one.

That leading mansion guard blew a whistle. Seeing the situation was bad, he sounded the retreat. The black-clothed men scattered like vermin as countless vegetable leaves, eggs, and straw were hurled at them.

The West Market’s common people cursed and discussed in place for a while, then slowly dispersed hand in hand.

“Changshi.” Juan Su was badly shaken.

Lu Huating had just caught the blade barehanded. Blood drops fell through the air in succession like coral beads, frightening Juan Su into lowering his head to confess fault: “This subordinate failed in his duty!”

But Lu Huating was expressionless, as if that hand weren’t his own. He casually tossed the piece of clothing he’d torn from the opponent to Juan Su.

“Pulled the waist belt off.” Joy appeared on Juan Su’s face. He quickly tucked away the belt, then craned his neck: “Fortunately the Changshi retained evidence. How is your hand? If it’s injured, His Highness won’t spare me!”

But Lu Huating used his other hand to turn Juan Su’s bruised and swollen face to examine it. Confirming he only had surface injuries, he pushed him away: “Go record which shops were damaged.”

He single-handedly tore open his sleeve and wrapped it around his hand several times. Having fought wars and encountered mountain bandits over these years, he’d seen much—this was nothing.

Dark red blood seeped from the gauze. He watched quietly for a while.

Had Meng Guanlou been this crazy in his previous life?

While thinking this, another blood-covered wolf-like person ran back before him, holding a tuberose flower in his hand, gesturing to Lu Huating: “I protected, that lady, to river, she picked, this flower, then, gone!”

Lu Huating stared at the flower for a long time, saying incredulously: “What’s wrong with you? Snatching pastries, and now even snatching a flower someone picked.”

“Didn’t snatch!” Kuang Su forcefully stomped his foot, nearly breaking the ground, before Lu Huating finally understood—following Qun Qing to the riverside, he’d just learned from her and picked one too.

“Come here.” Lu Huating beckoned. He took a handkerchief and wiped the blood clean from Kuang Su’s head. Carefully examining the wound and seeing it didn’t reach bone, he had him press the handkerchief himself, saying with a forced smile: “That’s not called ‘gone.’ You lost her. She deliberately shook you off. Since she had the mood to pick flowers, you didn’t need to keep following. To follow further would be an affront.”

Kuang Su seemed to understand yet not understand. After hesitating a while, he squeezed out a sentence: “But, my fish tally, with her.”

Lu Huating took a breath.

Lingfu Temple’s incense offerings were flourishing, with people coming and going.

Reportedly, Qun Qing had last entered through this gate, twisted her body, and disappeared among the devout men and women in the main hall.

Entering the hall doors and seeing the jade body of Guanyin Bodhisattva, Lu Huating first bowed with respectful expression.

His collar was already torn and damaged, the black hair at his nape scattered down. Yet his face still had red lips and white teeth. If not for the blood staining his entire body, he truly had some Wei-Jin romantic elegance, causing the ladies coming to offer incense to frequently turn their heads to watch.

Legend said he’d been a Buddhist disciple for a time. Juan Su and the other dared not be negligent and quickly bowed as well.

Below the Guanyin statue was a merit box. Outside the box was piled a heap of things—all lost items from worshippers, like women’s dropped bracelets and hair ornaments. Every so often, someone turned to search.

Lu Huating swept a glance and saw a somewhat wilted tuberose flower quietly placed among them.

This flower was almost identical to the one Kuang Su brought back, cushioned on a plain white silk handkerchief, like a beautiful silent riddle.

“Everyone loses jewelry—who would come searching for a flower?” Juan Su hissed while wiping his wounds. “It’s not even a silk flower.”

Lu Huating paused, then suddenly bent to pick up that silk handkerchief. Beneath it was revealed Kuang Su’s fish tally and two gold pearls.

Juan Su was dumbfounded, also feeling a deep sense of being slighted: “No, how could she just—just—casually leave things in a temple like this? Why doesn’t she want the gold pearls either?”

Lu Huating tossed the fish tally into Kuang Su’s arms: “Your skills are inferior, yet you talk so much.”

Isn’t returning them quite normal?

She’d taken away two boxes of pastries.

This woman calculated everything clearly, unwilling to owe him even the slightest bit. A Nan Chu spy was probably terrified that he would actually go to the palace to search for her whereabouts.

Thinking this, Lu Huating tossed those two gold pearls along with all the gold pearls in his sleeve into the merit box, making cheerful clinking sounds.

“Today, if not for that young lady, we truly couldn’t have escaped. Just don’t know what her background is—what if she’s a high-ranking palace official?” Juan Su bowed to the Bodhisattva statue. “The Changshi isn’t afraid of offending people—hasn’t our Prince Yan’s mansion offended enough people already?”

Lu Huating sat on the threshold, his long legs with nowhere to rest: “How’s the statistics on damaged shops? You’d better worry about Prince Yan’s mansion’s reputation first.”

“Those fundamentally weren’t our Prince Yan’s mansion people! Acting like this, is there any law left?” Juan Su was furious.

“Who can prove it?” Lu Huating said.

“Kuang Su and I were both present… we shouted, just that the other side had overwhelming numbers.” Juan Su angrily threw the waist belt to the ground. They were all Prince Yan’s mansion people—what value did their testimony have?

“The common people have their own eyes and ears. Will they believe what you say or what they saw themselves?” Lu Huating picked up that mansion-emblem-embroidered waist belt and brushed the dust from it. “So then, that young lady being palace people—isn’t that a good thing? If I hadn’t dragged her into the water, who would testify for us in the future?”

Juan Su’s mouth fell open. After a long while, he said: “But Changshi, how did you know she still had tricks up her sleeve? What if, like us, she also had nothing?”

“I didn’t know.” Lu Huating looked toward the evening clouds outside the door, answering with unclear meaning. “If she didn’t have any… didn’t have any, then that would be unfortunate.”

Originally, he’d only thought: such an important piece—the spies lurking in Chang’an city couldn’t possibly watch her meet danger without coming to rescue her. Spies always had spies’ methods. Then they’d pull out a string of spies, saving the trouble of slow investigation.

What a pity. He hadn’t expected she would escape using this method.

Though she lived in the palace quarters, she knew so clearly about the bone whistles—clearly she understood the common people exceptionally well… and had considerable feeling for them.

Lu Huating thought, Princess Bao’an’s female attendant should have grown up in Chang’an city, shouldn’t she? Chang’an city, splendid as brocade flowers.

Unlike him, born beside desolate mountains and wild waters, which was why he had such a cold, hard heart.

Juan Su saw Lu Huating holding the silk handkerchief the veiled lady left behind, not knowing what he was thinking, and wanted to help him put it away. As soon as he reached out, Lu Huating suddenly gripped the handkerchief tightly, making him grasp at air.

That soft, icy sensation contracted, like grasping a piece of cloud. Lu Huating tucked the handkerchief into his own sleeve: “Let’s go.”