Little Chu was startled, knowing he had touched the youth and found him dirty. He immediately led his subordinate eunuchs to take everyone away. Soon after, he personally brought in a basin of water and gently closed the door from outside.

Lian Yu wiped the water droplets from his hands, threw the cloth aside, reached into his robes, and took out the jade flute he had kept close to his body all these days.

Crooked lines of tiny characters were carved on the flute body.

“May I be the southwest wind, forever entering your embrace.”

Li Huaisu, what are you doing now?

It’s been several years—you’ve long forgotten who I am, haven’t you?

I’ve changed my appearance.

But that day at the inn, I recognized you at first sight.

After not seeing you for years, you’ve grown up considerably.

Back then, in that remote mountain village, we were both travelers, yet so many things happened.

Sleeping together daily, you lied and said your name was Handsome Man, and gave me the tasteless broken name Stone.

I didn’t know your surname or given name, and you didn’t know I was hiding my true identity.

If I hadn’t accidentally seen you bathing years ago, holding you like today, I would definitely think you were a woman.

You look more feminine, your Adam’s apple isn’t obvious, only your voice is slightly hoarse, and your behavior is bold and unrestrained, more like a boy.

Unless one is naturally male or has deliberately imitated from childhood, it’s impossible to be so convincing.

How could someone with such a personality be willing to do such things?

And how could a girl so casually stay with men all the time!

After you left without saying goodbye that year, I originally wanted to find you.

But what would I do if I found you? If you were a woman, I would bring you into the palace… but you’re an unrestrained young man who drills into deep mountains seeking beautiful jade.

So be it.

From then on, each of us had our own place under the sun and moon.

Who knew that when I personally left the palace to carry out executions, assassins with ulterior motives attacked me on the return journey, and you saved me at that inn.

I originally intended to give you a reward, have you collect it at the Murong residence, then release you again.

But you offended my sister.

Time after time—is it coincidence or fate bringing you to my side?

You said you yearned for freedom and equality, so before the examination I had Qinglong send you a few encouraging words, still intending to let you go.

If you couldn’t comprehend them, so be it.

But you were so stubborn, speaking of serving country and people, kneeling at my feet.

I’ve tried—beautiful youths won’t do, ordinary kids won’t do either.

None of them are you.

I released you three times, but you refused to leave. Then don’t blame me.

I’ve wanted to bite you for a long time.

You deserve it!

Now for Suzhen.

When she burst into the residence covering her mouth, she startled all five young men.

She ran straight into her room and locked the door.

Lying by the dressing table’s bronze mirror, she looked left and right at her slightly swollen mouth.

The more she thought about it, the more bitter and angry she became, wanting to bite that shameless Lian Yu hard. Thinking about it, she suddenly realized this wasn’t just something she should do with Zhaoting—it was also her first kiss, just gone like that. Remembering the whole Mochou case from beginning to end, she couldn’t help but feel grief surge up and cried loudly into her quilt.

She didn’t cry for long before sitting up to think about things.

Actually, before returning to the residence, she had pondered Lian Yu’s words and returned to the Chief Justice Yamen once.

Asking the yamen’s head constable, she learned the corpses had been claimed by the original yamen according to regulations and returned to the deceased’s families.

At this point, the several coroners she had invited had already departed. She was immediately anxious. After brief consideration, she had the head constable immediately lead runners to separately pursue and recall the four coroners, while she herself led a group to the Capital Prefecture Yamen.

Reaching He Sai’s place, He Sai was slightly shocked, seeming not to expect her to come looking, then rolled his eyes and said blandly, “Oh, Minister Li, the girls from Guixiang Courtyard have claimed them, preparing for burial.”

She immediately rushed to Guixiang Courtyard.

Arriving and asking, the girls from Guixiang Courtyard said they had indeed claimed the bodies, but the accompanying coroner said the corpses looked strange, fearing they might have contracted plague from all the handling over these days, so they had been… cremated in the back courtyard.

Though Suzhen knew it must be He Sai’s doing, when she ran to the back courtyard and saw the blazing flames, with Coroner Wang rising from his bow with that sinister, mocking smile, she was almost crushed.

Even if the corpses had problems, even if it was a substitution, switched during the court presentation, now they had been burned to ash along with all secrets.

Everything was over.

Truly over.

Without evidence, there could never be another appeal.

In court, though she had made one clever move, everything still couldn’t escape Quan Feitong’s calculations.

That call of “Elder Brother Mu” wasn’t wasted—this man who had taken control of half the court before even reaching thirty-one was not to be trifled with.

She had lost.

This round was completely lost!

She suddenly realized that Lian Yu had seen through it all in court and could have stopped it, demanding re-examination or other measures, but he hadn’t.

Lian Yu had kept his word and didn’t use underhanded methods to stop her, but he knew early on that Quan Feitong would never let her succeed.

Yan Da was right—she was still green.

After the palace examination, in just this short time, so many things had happened.

She climbed onto the bed, touching her lips and lying like a corpse, for a moment not knowing which matter to mourn best.

She thought she should let go and start working on the Feng family’s case.

Since the Feng family wasn’t assassinated, the Ministry of Justice should have sentencing records. She needed to check the vermillion annotations on that file—whose hand they came from, the former emperor’s or Lian Yu’s?

Who was the execution supervisor?

But how could she transfer this Ministry of Justice record to the Chief Justice Yamen for review without arousing suspicion?

She still wanted to do something about Mochou’s case—not because she couldn’t accept being defeated by Quan Feitong, but because human lives were at stake!

Her mouth and nose still seemed filled with Lian Yu’s scent, that faint osmanthus fragrance—

As she was crying out in distress, someone kicked open her door.

Southwest Wind verse: From Cao Zhi’s “Seven Sorrows Poem”