The new day brought new challenges. After having the longevity porridge for breakfast, Bao Lang actually sent personal soldiers to invite Miss Fangxie to go horseback riding and spring outing.

Having just had a fierce confrontation last night, today he acted as if nothing had happened and made such an outrageous request. Yang Xingjian was simply incredulous when he heard this, standing stunned for a long time before coming to his senses and exploding in rage: “I have never seen such a shameless person with such wolfish ambitions!!!”

Wu Zhiyuan had originally been making casual conversation, but upon hearing this, his face was also full of embarrassment as he said with a bitter smile: “The man is unmarried and the woman is unwed. Special Envoy Bao Lang is talented and handsome with a bright future. The Registrar need not be so enraged…”

Yang Xingjian cursed him by name: “Wu Zhiyuan, your conscience has been eaten by dogs! You also have an unmarried daughter – why don’t you have your own daughter accompany that heaven-cursed warrior!”

Wu Zhiyuan laughed dryly: “I would like to, but the Special Envoy wouldn’t look favorably upon her. The Registrar is from the Hongnong Yang clan, a prestigious family, naturally different from us humble households.”

Bao Zhu also found it inexplicable. Taking the tea bowl from a maidservant to rinse her mouth, she asked the personal soldier: “The city is sealed – where would we go for a spring outing?”

The personal soldier answered nervously: “It’s said that a household in the west of the city has filed a report, and the victim believes it was committed by the pearl-stealing criminal.”

Yang Xingjian gasped in shock, his eyes widening: “Did I hear correctly? Going to a crime scene for a spring outing?!”

Bao Zhu was startled, her thoughts turning as she murmured quietly: “This is actually interesting.”

Yang Xingjian carefully observed the princess’s expression and was quite surprised to see that despite this offense, she wasn’t angry. Yesterday after being frightened by Bao Lang’s display of the human head, she had cried from anger on the way back. Yet after just one night, she ate what she should eat and drank what she should drink, with vigorous appetite and very stable emotions.

Bao Zhu set down her tea cup and said to the personal soldier: “Tell him to prepare the horses properly. I need to groom myself. Let me say this upfront – since he’s actively inviting me to ride out, I won’t touch inferior or mediocre horses.” She then got up to go upstairs to change clothes.

Yang Xingjian was shocked and nearly knelt before her in anxiety, desperately trying to dissuade her: “This blatant… blatant rudeness is absolutely unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable! Moreover, that crime scene must be bloody and filthy – not a place for Fang… Fangxie to go!”

Bao Zhu said: “Anywhere is better than being confined in this cage. Besides, if this case isn’t solved, he won’t let either of us go. Better to resolve it quickly.”

Yang Xingjian was as anxious as ants on a hot pot. With outsiders all around, he couldn’t openly ask her intentions. He wanted to say more, but Bao Zhu had already turned and left.

Bao Zhu thought that since she had confirmed Wei Xun was innocent, she might as well try to solve the case first, help him clear his name, and free herself from this prison to settle this chaotic situation. Bao Lang repeatedly troubled her, probably just because he was eager to solve the case – otherwise, as an envoy who lost the treasure, Cui Keyong wouldn’t forgive him.

Though she extremely didn’t want Bao Lang to succeed in presenting the pearl, in the direction of finding stolen goods and solving the murder case, their interests were temporarily aligned. This being so, she figured he wouldn’t dare do anything improper to her in public.

Having decided on her strategy, Bao Zhu dressed in the jewelry and gown given by Wu Zhiyuan’s wife, adorning herself properly, and gracefully walked out of the Reflection Study.

Bao Lang indeed stood waiting for her at the entrance to the inner residence with two horses. One was a large black horse, tall with long legs, robust and full-bodied – a fine Turkic breed. Even standing in place, it kept pacing restlessly, snorting with a proud demeanor.

Seeing her arrive, Bao Lang said courteously: “I heard Miss Fangxie requires a good horse. Coming from Xuzhou without advance preparation, I can only offer my own mount. However, this Teller Li has only recently arrived in the Central Plains and has quite a fierce temperament – probably unsuitable for a lady like you to ride. For safety’s sake, please ride this gentle mare instead.”

Bao Zhu completely ignored what Bao Lang said. She carefully examined the black horse’s posture and demeanor, extended both hands, and gently spoke a few words to it in Turkic. Teller Li was immediately stunned. Bao Zhu continued calling to it in her native language. The black horse hesitated for a moment, lowered its head to sniff, then moved between Bao Zhu’s hands, allowing her to stroke it voluntarily.

After chatting softly with Teller Li for a while, Bao Zhu looked up and said to Bao Lang: “It doesn’t have a bad temper – it’s just lonely because it can’t understand what others are saying. There’s no wild horse I can’t tame. You should ride that gentle mare instead.”

Though shocked inwardly, Bao Lang showed no expression on his face, smiling as he offered some praise, then elegantly extended one hand, inviting Bao Zhu to use his assistance in mounting.

Bao Zhu looked right through him, brushed past, and nimbly mounted the horse. Her skirt bloomed like a peony, then fell perfectly on both sides of the horse’s mudguards – clearly an expert rider. She put on her veiled hat, wrapped her hands in long sleeves, exposing not an inch of skin – exactly the dignified manner of a noble family’s daughter traveling.

Bao Lang was left with his hand extended, and could only smile helplessly as he went to mount the mare that was a full chi shorter.

The two rode out side by side, followed by eight of Bao Lang’s personal soldiers and eight Xiagui County bailiffs. The procession was quiet and orderly, with all followers regarding Bao Lang with the fear of lions, tigers, snakes, and scorpions. Though Bao Zhu didn’t know what he had done in the past, she could sense this person’s rule over subordinates was definitely not merciful or kind.

Looking at this Teller Li, though its saddle and bridle were gorgeous and elaborate and its mane carefully braided into colorful plaits, there were many whip marks on its neck. One could imagine what kind of life the horse had under Bao Lang’s control.

Riding all the way to the household in the west of the city that had filed the report, they saw aged buildings with rooftops damaged in many places, too poor to repair, covered with thatch. The courtyard had only two rooms – the most ordinary commoner household. Bao Zhu noticed this house was close against the city wall, and this section of wall happened to have a damaged gap, half a zhang shorter than other places.

Seeing her looking up at that gap in the city wall, Bao Lang praised: “Miss Fangxie has good eyesight, noticing the key point so quickly.”

Bao Zhu didn’t answer and shook her head.

The victim was an ugly middle-aged man who knelt at the doorway, kowtowed several times to Bao Lang, and stated his case: “Please seek justice for this commoner. My wife was stolen by the treasure-stealing thief, along with thirty strings of good money from my house.”

Upon hearing this, Bao Zhu thought to herself that there was no death – just a theft case.

The accompanying bailiff questioned: “How do you know it was the treasure-stealing thief who stole your wife?”

The middle-aged man said: “My wife went missing after the city was sealed. That night I heard someone stepping on my house’s roof and jumping onto the gap in the city wall to escape. Only someone who stole treasure from the Buddhist pagoda would have such ability!”

The surrounding neighbors discussed among themselves, and someone in the crowd suddenly shouted: “His wife’s nickname is Stone Half – what thief would steal her!”

Bao Lang immediately ordered someone to pull out the person making remarks and make him kneel to explain.

That person thought he was just joking in the crowd and didn’t expect to be caught on the spot. Trembling with fear, he said: “This commoner wasn’t lying. Cheng Laoer’s wife is less than five chi tall and weighs one and a half shi. Her whole person is like a short, squat stone drum, hence the nickname Stone Half.”

Hearing his description, Bao Zhu suddenly giggled. Bao Lang looked back at her in surprise and asked: “Why does Miss Fangxie laugh?”

Bao Zhu said with suppressed laughter: “It’s nothing much, just thinking of that little thief carrying a woman weighing one and a half shi plus two hundred jin of copper coins over the wall – the scene is truly very amusing.”

Even with a gap in the city wall, it was still three zhang high. No matter what kind of expert, they couldn’t carry such heavy things up there. A moment’s thought revealed this was a lie.

Bao Lang also laughed: “This shows the man’s report is absurd and groundless.”

Someone else in the crowd shouted: “Cheng Laoer owes me two strings of cash and hasn’t repaid it for over a year. His family actually has thirty strings of ready money – why is he dragging his feet not repaying my money?!”

Continuously exposed by neighbors, the middle-aged man who filed the report was sweating profusely, stammering: “But my wife really is missing. The city gates have been sealed for many days, and we have no other relatives in Xiagui – where could she have gone?”

Bao Lang didn’t want to deal with such trivial matters as adultery among commoners. Now that the main forces for solving cases were all entangled in these cases while the pearl theft and murder case had no progress, these troublesome people were simply stumbling blocks. His face darkened as he ordered the bailiff beside him: “Spreading alarmist rumors and fabricating lies – beat him one hundred strokes and close the case.”

Upon hearing this, Bao Zhu was immediately shocked. One hundred strokes was considered severe punishment under the law – even if it didn’t kill, it would certainly cause severe injury and disability. Just for false reporting, he casually decided someone’s fate.

So she dismounted from Teller Li, pretending innocence: “I’ve never seen a commoner’s house and want to take a look inside.”

Not wanting to go against her wishes, Bao Lang also dismounted.

These two rooms were not only cramped but also crude and filthy. For a moment, Bao Zhu couldn’t figure out where these people could sleep. Bao Lang kicked aside the junk, barely clearing a place for her to stand. Through the house was a small back courtyard against the city wall, no more than three zhang around, overgrown with weeds, with only an old stone mill placed on the ground. If there really was a lightness skill expert who stepped on this house’s roof to jump to the gap in the city wall, it did seem plausible.

Bao Zhu strolled around this small back courtyard and saw some fresh loose soil scattered among the weeds. But the soil in the entire courtyard was dry and hard, without the kind of excavation traces Wei Xun had mentioned. She was somewhat puzzled. Since there were no signs of digging, where did that fresh loose soil come from?

The bailiffs brought in the victim and two neighbors. Hearing he would receive one hundred strokes, the victim was already so frightened his pants were wet, trembling and quietly saying nonsense like “don’t want the wife anymore, just spare him.”

Bao Zhu asked the two neighbors: “He says that night he heard someone step on the roof and jump onto the city wall. Did you all hear it?”

One said he slept deeply and heard nothing, while the other said he indeed heard an extremely muffled thud from this courtyard, but couldn’t tell if it was the sound of someone stepping on the roof. Two bailiffs climbed ladders to check the roof – the victim’s rooftop already had many damaged areas, so they couldn’t tell if anyone had stepped on it.

The entire house and courtyard had a stench of years without cleaning. After standing for a while, Bao Zhu couldn’t bear it and turned to leave. Suddenly she noticed an inconspicuous new chip on the old stone mill and stopped moving.

She touched that chip – it had some soil stuck to it. So she said to the bailiffs and personal soldiers Bao Lang had brought: “Pull down this stone mill and let me see what’s underneath.”

Though she was just a young woman, her words carried a certain authority. The bailiffs looked at Bao Lang’s expression, and seeing he had no objection, they followed her order, found a hemp rope, and pulled down the stone mill, which made a muffled thud.

The victim fell to his knees with a thump, crying: “My wife must have taken the family money and run off with her lover. I felt ashamed and lied to frame the thieves… This commoner is willing to admit the crime of false reporting!”

The soil under the stone mill was moist and fresh. If it was due to being buried and pressed, that would make sense, but Bao Zhu had excellent eyesight and saw grass with roots mixed in the soil. Grass shouldn’t grow in such a place with no sunlight and heavy objects pressing down, let alone in that direction – it looked like soil dug up and then refilled with wild grass mixed in.

She looked back at the victim who had just admitted to lying. He was shaking like chaff, his face already turned wax yellow.

Bao Zhu sighed and said to the bailiffs: “Dig down from here and see. If I’m not mistaken, his missing wife wasn’t kidnapped by thieves or eloped – she’s buried under this stone mill.”