County Magistrate Wu Zhiyuan, County Assistant Wang Yue, and County Captain Hao Jin all arrived within moments. Sun’s Inn, an ordinary county inn, had never hosted so many distinguished officials. The innkeeper’s face was swollen high with bruises from the constables’ beating. How could he dare complain? He bustled about in panic, wondering in his heart if the sun had risen from the west today—not knowing if this was fortune or disaster.

Yang Xingjian immediately consulted with Bao Zhu, and the fake father and daughter quietly coordinated their story, quickly settling on how to handle interrogation. Old Yang was so nervous his clothes were soaked through. Having been shoved around by the constables with his hair disheveled and cap askew, he looked quite bedraggled. He simply changed into the dark green official robes from his luggage, recombed his hair and straightened his appearance. He also had the innkeeper bring a fine screen to shield Bao Zhu’s figure, displaying the dignified bearing of an official’s family member, then formally opened the door to receive guests.

Wu Zhiyuan bowed respectfully and reverently received Yang Xingjian’s official appointment document, examining it word by word together with the county assistant.

Most constables were illiterate and only recognized fish tallies and fish bags. But this appointment certificate bore the Ministry of Personnel’s official seal, was written on special yellow rattan paper treated with herbs to prevent insect damage, and contained information about the official’s name, native place, and physical characteristics—everything matched perfectly.

The Xiagui County officials thought bitterly that encountering such a rare case in a hundred years and losing the military commissioner’s precious pearl wasn’t enough—now they had offended this prince’s mansion advisor who held a silver fish bag above his rank. With Lianhua Temple having become a crime scene, burning any amount of high incense to pray for better fortune would be useless.

Yesterday Wu Zhiyuan had been so terrified by Bao Lang’s casual killing that his heart and courage were shattered. Returning to the county office’s inner residence, half his face went numb, and whenever he made expressions his mouth would twist and eyes would slant. But he couldn’t worry about that now. He respectfully returned the appointment document to Yang Xingjian with both hands, first apologizing in his capacity as a subordinate official, then asking: “Where is Chief Clerk Yang traveling to? Why do you have no attendants with you?”

Yang Xingjian sighed deeply and said with annoyance: “I was taking my family to Luoyang. When passing through Xinfeng County territory we encountered bandits. The horses were startled and the cart carrying our luggage was dragged away. My attendants were all injured, so I hurried along with my daughter, thinking we’d be safer once we entered the city. Who would have thought we’d encounter such troublesome business… Alas, unlucky years and ill fortune!”

Rampant bandits and vagrant uprisings that even dared attack small official parties had become quite a troublesome phenomenon.

Wu Zhiyuan made a show of sympathy, but still asked the key question: “May I ask, Chief Clerk, how did this blue-robed slave become connected to you?”

Yang Xingjian said: “After we were attacked by bandits, this person approached us on his own, claiming to be a displaced refugee without food or clothing, wanting to sell himself into slavery. I was anxious about having no one to serve us, so I hired him to do odd jobs and lead the donkey on the road. He was quite diligent and proper along the way, nothing unusual. That’s why when he suddenly fled silently a few days ago, I was quite puzzled.”

County Captain Hao Jin’s heart stirred. Glancing at his superior’s expression, he said to Yang Xingjian: “Chief Clerk, you were tricked by thieves. This blue-robed slave must have been in league with those bandits. They first instigated people to injure your attendants and rob your luggage and horses, then he came pretending to be helpful to gain your trust before infiltrating your side to commit extortion and other illegal acts.”

Yang Xingjian feigned surprise: “Is that so? Truly hard to believe!”

Suddenly a voice came from behind the screen asking: “How do you know this blue-robed slave is the suspect in the pearl theft and murder?”

Wu Zhiyuan and the others were all startled. The voice was crisp and pleasant, like swallows singing and orioles calling—clearly a young woman speaking the official dialect of Chang’an.

When she casually interrupted their serious discussion of the case, Yang Xingjian showed no displeasure, instead introducing her in a gentle, indulgent tone: “This is my beloved daughter Yang Fangxie, most clever and intelligent.”

The young woman said: “Your making such a grand show of arresting people is official duty and beyond reproach, but my father is a court official and trusted aide of Prince Shao. You nearly beat him to death without asking the circumstances. Regarding this case, we should also be informed of the inside details.”

Hearing her stern tone with none of a young woman’s timidity, scolding them like grandsons, the Xiagui County officials felt both amazed and embarrassed. Wu Zhiyuan coughed twice and said: “Today someone sent a message by flying blade to the county office, saying the murderer and pearl thief was the blue-robed slave at Sun’s Inn.”

The young woman behind the screen said again: “With such unverifiable sources, you believed it completely? If tomorrow a flying blade message names Zhang San or Li Si, and the day after Wang Wu or Zhao Liu, will you arrest and interrogate them all one by one? No wonder the jail cells aren’t sufficient.”

Yang Xingjian beamed with pride, stroking his beard and nodding in agreement.

County Captain Hao Jin spoke up: “Miss Yang… the one who sent the flying blade message is probably from the city’s underworld. Because it’s inconvenient to report to the authorities directly, they used this method to give warning. Their intelligence comes from the martial world and may have special sources.”

The young woman behind the screen said “Oh” mockingly: “Probably, perhaps, may have… The ancients said ‘receive the ruler’s salary, serve the ruler loyally, bear the ruler’s worries’—you’re truly dependable.”

All the seated officials had ranks and plenty of years and whiskers, yet being sternly questioned by a young woman whose silhouette they could barely see, not one dared speak. Wu Zhiyuan saw the tide turning badly and exchanged glances with the county assistant. County Assistant Wang Yue, well-versed in laws and regulations, asked Yang Xingjian in a humble tone: “Since Chief Clerk Yang employed this person as a servant, did you establish a ‘market contract’?”

A market contract was an official certificate issued to buyers and sellers—buying and selling slaves required this procedure. Without proper documentation, both parties would be punished and the transaction would be invalid.

Hearing this, Yang Xingjian said angrily: “I had just been robbed by bandits and lost most of my luggage and possessions. How could I have the mind or time to handle such trivial paperwork?”

Wang Yue smiled and said: “Without a market contract, this person cannot be considered Chief Clerk’s servant. If you concealed traveling with a criminal…”

Yang Xingjian sneered: “You just want to pin this blame on this old man, don’t you! Why not search me right now to see if that stolen pearl is on my person? Come on!” He then stood up and spread his arms.

Wu Zhiyuan hastily said: “What words is the Chief Clerk speaking? Though a master bears fault for not detecting an evil servant’s crimes, one cannot say he shares the same guilt.”

Yang Xingjian said coldly: “Then what does Magistrate Wu intend?”

Wu Zhiyuan thought that in normal times, even if this blue-robed slave had killed one or two people or knocked over his ancestral tablets, he wouldn’t tear his face with the master. But with the military commissioner’s precious pearl stolen and the city locked down without any leads so far, the responsibility on his shoulders weighed ten thousand pounds. Today he had finally grasped this one clue and really didn’t dare let it go.

Yesterday Bao Lang had killed in front of him to make an example, applying pressure on local authorities to solve the case—how could he not understand? Choosing the lesser of two evils, compared to that terrifyingly chilling man, he could only offend this capital official now and take things step by step. As long as he could find the military commissioner’s precious pearl and redeem his errors, Wu Zhiyuan could certainly kowtow to Yang Xingjian in apology later.

Thinking this, Wu Zhiyuan made up his mind, gritting his teeth and saying: “This subordinate’s thought is that having Chief Clerk and his daughter staying in this small inn with no one to serve them is too much of a hardship. Since you can’t leave the city for now, why not move to the county office temporarily? This subordinate’s inner residence has many empty rooms, and my family members can also accompany Miss Yang. The conditions would be much better than here in every respect.”

Yang Xingjian was startled, raising his voice: “What? You want to place us under house arrest? How dare you!”

Wu Zhiyuan forced a smile with one corner of his mouth, saying: “This subordinate wouldn’t dare. I was just thinking that if that evil servant is still hiding in the city, he might return to harass you at any time. With only your precious daughter beside you and no protection, wouldn’t you be at anyone’s mercy? Unless… ahem, unless Chief Clerk is waiting for him to return?”

These insinuating words made Yang Xingjian’s beard tremble with rage. His mind was composing a thousand-word essay to scold him when Wu Zhiyuan had already called constables into the room, bowing and scraping with a face full of smiles as they packed up the room, moving out Yang Xingjian and his daughter’s meager remaining luggage, even leading away the donkey.

He then called for a luxuriously decorated large ox cart and assigned eight or nine robust, strong-bodied servant women to half-support, half-carry the father and daughter, “persuading” them onto the cart and escorting them in a crowd to Wu Zhiyuan’s inner residence at the county office. All provisions were supplied according to Xiagui County’s highest standards.

On the tray was a set of goose-yellow printed gauze silk dress, and in the makeup box was a bird-cluster gold hairpin, an agate pearl-drop step-shake ornament, gold and silver willow-leaf bracelets, and a scroll-pattern ring jade pendant—a box full of glittering gold. Additionally, there were rouge and powder, tea sets and writing materials, snacks and other miscellaneous items, very thoughtfully prepared.

The old woman delivering these items wore a smile, saying to Yang Xingjian and his daughter: “My master says Chief Clerk Yang was robbed by bandits on the road and the young lady lost all her clothing and jewelry. The mistress specially ordered this old slave to bring replacement garments for the young lady to make do with.”

Bao Zhu’s face showed neither pleasure nor anger, calmly glancing over everything once before turning her head away without a word.

The old woman found this strange. This young woman was dressed as unmarried, wearing the most ordinary cloth Hu-style clothing with only a jade comb in her hair, yet her casual sitting posture carried an air more noble than the household’s mistress.

The old woman had received orders from her mistress to probe for information under the guise of small talk, asking whether the girl was betrothed and which family her future husband was from. But just standing before her, she swallowed these idle words and naturally fell silent. She thought Chang’an women’s bearing and demeanor were truly different—not to mention appearance, but at the same age, Magistrate Wu’s daughter was still like a timid rabbit.

Yang Xingjian and his daughter were forcibly “persuaded” by a group of servant women to temporarily stay at the county office’s inner residence. Nominally they were guests, but actually they were under house arrest. The father and daughter were arranged to live in a two-story small building titled “Reflection Study”—the implication was obvious: they were asked to reflect on their negligence in allowing their servant to commit evil acts, and see if they could assist in capturing the blue-robed slave to resolve the case.

Having failed to protect his charge, Yang Xingjian was dejected and unhappy. Before Bao Zhu could object, he repeatedly scolded away the several servants who came to deliver things.

Bao Zhu said slowly: “The dress is for me, the jewelry is to bribe you.”

How could Yang Xingjian not understand? Putting himself in Wu Zhiyuan’s position, he could understand his difficult situation—not wanting to offend either the military commissioner or Yang Xingjian, even sending a box of gold and silver jewelry hoping to smooth over his anger.

“Having us stay in ‘Reflection Study’ is truly a slap in the face. Wu Zhiyuan probably doesn’t have the guts for this. If he had such courage, he shouldn’t be sending these things over to make amends after the fact. Could our being brought to the county office be at the behest of Military Commissioner Cui Keren’s people?”

But Bao Zhu was thinking of other matters. Two days ago that elderly man Liu Mao, who claimed to be the local underworld boss, had visited requesting Wei Xun return the stolen treasure so they could clear their suspicions and continue living. Now with the case still unsolved, it seemed they couldn’t wait any longer and had directly reported Wei Xun to the authorities by flying blade message, leading to today’s ups and downs.

Whether or not that pearl was stolen by Wei Xun, he was definitely taking the blame.

After long deliberation, Yang Xingjian said quite uncomfortably: “Prin… Fang, Fangxie, you should still put on these dresses and jewelry.”

Bao Zhu was interrupted from her thoughts and startled: “What?”

Yang Xingjian lowered his voice and whispered: “When water is too clear, there are no fish. We’re now isolated and helpless. Accepting these bribes will put Wu Zhiyuan at ease. If Cui Keren’s people want to make trouble, we can still secretly win over Wu. Otherwise, we’d be standing against all of them. Besides, holding high and stepping low is human nature—the more nobly you’re dressed, the less they’ll dare act rashly.”

Enlightened by this deep-scheming advisor’s guidance, Bao Zhu immediately understood and said no more, going upstairs to change clothes. The magistrate’s wife had sent two maids to serve her, and Bao Zhu had them style her hair. Having traveled with only Wei Xun and his junior brother—two men who knew nothing about women’s affairs—and being unable to style hair buns herself, she could almost be considered disheveled.

When her braid was undone, Bao Zhu’s treasured and proud four-foot-long hair cascaded down like a Milky Way waterfall. With a shake of her head, it gleamed smooth and lustrous like black cloud brocade. Both maids exclaimed they had never seen such beautiful hair. She instructed them to style it in the fashionable palace style for young women—double spirals that couldn’t use up all her hair, so they added another pair of coiled buns at the back of her head.

“Miss, you smell so lovely—what fragrance is this?”

“Are double spirals and double buns popular in Chang’an now? Ah, without such abundant hair, you’d need to add lots of false hair to achieve this style.”

“Your complexion is so good, you can skip the rouge, and don’t need much powder either—truly ‘cosmetics would soil your natural color.'”

“Should the diagonal red be painted as a new moon or two streaks…”

Yang Xingjian sat downstairs drinking tea while repeatedly pondering how to help the princess escape this troublesome predicament. The women’s chattering discussions upstairs drifted down intermittently. Somehow he felt momentarily dazed, suddenly thinking of his own biological daughter—the real Yang Fangxie on the household register.

When they used to go out together, he would wait like this for her to dress up. Women’s adornment was complex—styling hair, applying powder, drawing eyebrows, changing clothes—an hour would pass in an instant. Waiting and waiting for her to emerge, he would always impatiently urge her repeatedly. She didn’t have the princess’s noble bearing, but was equally bright and lovely, quick-witted and articulate…

Now that child lay cold in the ground. No matter how long he sat here waiting patiently, he would never again see that moment when she emerged to show herself. The sound of ornaments grows distant—where is the person? The soul returns on moonlit nights remembering home. Hearing this young woman’s chattering as she dressed, Yang Xingjian’s eyes blurred with tears, a searing heat surging in his chest that was hard to bear. His throat felt blocked and sluggish—he couldn’t even swallow a mouthful of tea.