Rushing back to Prince Zhao’s mansion, it was already lamp-lighting time. Qin Chang Ge made a show of posting the “divine talisman” on the courtyard gate of the small yard, while Xiao Baozi crouched at the gate, vividly describing to a pair of servants with flying spittle how magical that “immortal master” was and how impressive his bearing. He told them how difficult it had been for father and son to obtain this talisman, waiting from morning until afternoon. The two servants listened with clicking tongues, filled with reverence for that ghost-drawn talisman thing.

After dismissing the servants, Xiao Baozi pulled Qin Chang Ge along and told her about encountering Xiao Jue today. However, he cleverly omitted the pastry-buying episode, directly saying he was strolling the streets when he encountered Xiao Jue. His Imperial Majesty had been very kind to invite him to eat thousand-layer cake, which he had sternly refused. But faced with such enthusiastic hospitality, to avoid angering the emperor father and having his head chopped off, he had reluctantly eaten just a tiny bit, and so on and so forth.

Where would Qin Chang Ge believe his nonsensical rambling? Her attention was entirely on that Taoist priest and that conversation. After hearing it all, she carefully examined Baozi… This child, though he resembled the previous life’s Ruiyi more, certainly had some of Xiao Jue’s features. Moreover, as he grew older, he would only look more like him, and would be discovered sooner or later.

Hmm… If Xiao Jue hadn’t found her at Shanglin Nunnery, what would he think?

If he truly believed that Ruiyi and her son were both alive, and Baozi was his son, then suspecting her would be normal too. It seemed she needed to accelerate her pace of exploration in Prince Zhao’s mansion.

Taking out the paper scroll Qi Fan had given her from her bosom, she glanced at it and smiled slightly, saying, “Indeed so.”

The birth date on the household registry of Yingdu’s great scholar Meng Yanyuan was not the same day that Prince Zhao’s mansion had celebrated for him at the palace.

Although news of the Longdong magnate An Feiqing hadn’t yet returned, Qi Fan had very meticulously investigated his movements when he was in the capital that year. An Feiqing had his own separate residence in Yingdu. Qi Fan, using some unknown method, had carefully questioned the tracks of An Feiqing’s many days in the capital from An Feiqing’s family coachman. Two matters were suspicious: one was that a few days before the incident, An Feiqing had refused the carriage and gone out of the city alone; another was that on the day of the incident, An Feiqing had ordered the coachman to harness the carriage, saying he wanted to go to Tianlu Street to buy some capital gifts to leave for his family in Longdong. They set out from Nansi Street, and clearly could have taken a shortcut to Tianlu Street, but An Feiqing insisted on taking a detour through Xifu Street. During this, somehow, the carriage that had been traveling fine suddenly tilted and crashed into the stone lion guarding the gate of a nearby mansion. The gatekeeper came out cursing, and the coachman was busy apologizing and speaking nicely. He didn’t pay attention to whose mansion it was – he couldn’t read anyway, only vaguely remembering that the plaque had four characters.

Qi Fan noted at the end of his letter: Xifu Street was originally where princes and nobles congregated, with many princesses, dukes, princes, and marquises living there. A four-character plaque could rule out princess residences and prince mansions, but marquises and dukes were possible. As for which family – further investigation would be needed.

Qin Chang Ge sighed softly, “This really is intricate and complex… A marquis, then…” She slowly smiled and burned the paper scroll in the flame.

The fire tongue licked it once, and the scroll turned from white to black then to ash, drifting down leisurely into the lamp basin on the table. Qin Chang Ge clapped her hands and said to her son, “Sleep!”

In the middle of the night, wind arose. The late autumn night wind rustled against the window paper, already carrying a few hints of bleak winter intention. After Qin Chang Ge completed a full circulation of her cultivation, she slowly opened her eyes, her gaze bright as stars.

The Biluo Divine Skill from her master’s sect was originally supreme martial arts. During this time, Qin Chang Ge had already achieved some success. Her current body was slender and light, with flexible and supple bones – excellent material for practicing lightness skills. Practicing her sect’s lightness technique “Treading on Sedge” was even more effective with half the effort. Qin Chang Ge was very satisfied – lightness skills were most important, the winning magic weapon for escaping with one’s life.

Getting off the bed and changing into dark-colored clothes with a gauze veil covering her face, Qin Chang Ge lightly glided out. In the night, her figure danced like water grass. Though it still couldn’t match her previous life’s supreme lightness skills, it should be adequate for dealing with ordinary mansion guards.

The night was deep and dark. Without a glance, Qin Chang Ge headed straight for the place where Xiao Chen had drunk wine that day. From afar, she saw bright lanterns on both sides of the long corridor, strung in rows, winding endlessly, seeming to travel toward the horizon like the Milky Way hanging upside down, with flowing light and cascading colors.

How extravagant! Qin Chang Ge stopped in her tracks, cursing silently. In the middle of the night, still lighting so many lanterns – how was one supposed to get across?

Looking toward the pavilion again, human shadows were reflected on the gauze curtains – someone was there.

That day at the pavilion banquet, Qin Chang Ge had noticed that the floor inside the pavilion and the outer corridor were not on the same level. In other words, there was something questionable beneath this pavilion. Originally, she had planned to go look at Xiao Chen’s study, but seeing this pavilion, she temporarily changed her mind.

As for why Xiao Tian had asked her that day why she had fixated on Xiao Chen, who seemed like a complete outsider, she hadn’t said explicitly. Actually, it was because she couldn’t say. Originally, Xiao Chen had been Xiao Jue’s most beloved younger brother and also the one he was least guarded against. By all rights, with his frail constitution, he shouldn’t be involved in political conspiracies. But somehow, she always felt somewhat wary of him. After the incident of the Second Prince and Prince of Chu’s rebellion conspiracy emerged, her suspicions had grown several fold stronger.

The news of the rebellion conspiracy of Prince Qin and Prince of Chu, Qin Chang Ge had initially only vaguely suspected, not yet grasping solid evidence. It was a certain night’s anonymous message that confirmed this treason case. After the two princes were killed, Qin Chang Ge immediately ordered people to investigate the origin of this letter, but each time they were about to touch the clues, the other party would be silenced. The other party’s methods of cutting off clues were clean and efficient, leaving no traces to follow.

The case of the two princes was the beginning of the first discord between the Xiao Jue couple. Qin Chang Ge didn’t regret bearing the name of killing brothers for Xiao Jue, but she absolutely wouldn’t allow herself to be used as someone’s weapon. She cast suspicious glances toward Xiao Jue’s brothers… Xiao Jue had six brothers. The eldest died early; the second and third were Prince Qin and Prince of Chu; Xiao Jue was fourth; the fifth was weak; the sixth was physically frail. There seemed nothing particularly suspicious, but as Xiao Jue’s most beloved younger brother, wouldn’t Prince Qin and Prince of Chu have thought to win over Xiao Jue for inside-outside coordination?

And Xiao Jue’s final detachment from the affair looked so natural… During that time, he had been ill.

Of course, if Xiao Jue had indeed received hints from Prince Qin and Prince of Chu, he should have explained to his elder brother Xiao Jue rather than hint to his sister-in-law Qin Chang Ge. Qin Chang Ge’s speculation didn’t seem reasonable… So if it really had been Xiao Chen’s doing, what role had he played before and after this matter? What exactly was he calculating in his heart? What were his motives and purposes? That would really be quite interesting.

Only, after three years, whether she could still gain anything from the extremely intelligent Xiao Chen who acted with meticulous precision was really a matter without certainty. But Qin Chang Ge had always felt that if she didn’t try, wouldn’t that mean having not even half a chance of success?

Reborn across lives, Qin Chang Ge had carefully considered these entanglements from her previous life that might have invited disaster. She always felt that with her understanding of Xiao Jue, with the tacit understanding and mutual knowledge they had developed supporting each other all the way through bloody battlefields to founding and building the nation, mere disagreements over political current affairs and behavioral styles shouldn’t have been reason enough for Xiao Jue to kill his wife.

But then, who knew?

Human hearts were originally the most difficult things in the world to fathom.

Lost in thoughts of past events, time seemed to pass quickly. In the distance, the lights in the pavilion finally went out, and two people walked out one after another – Xiao Jue and that woman called Yunhua.

Xiao Jue seemed to be in poor spirits, his steps somewhat unsteady. That woman, seeing this, went to support him, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, Xiao Jue stepped aside.

Her hand froze slightly in mid-air, then she drew it back. Under the lamplight, that woman smiled indifferently and slightly tilted her head, moving the lamp closer to Xiao Jue. As she walked, she seemed to casually glance back, her gaze drifting like scattered leaves, coming through wind and water, falling directly toward the dark shadows.

Qin Chang Ge remained motionless… At this moment, crouching low would more easily reveal her hidden tracks.

Yunhua looked again, but Xiao Jue had already walked far ahead. She hurriedly caught up to light his way, no longer looking back.

Qin Chang Ge crouched down, hiding in the shadows, knowing this woman was meticulous and would definitely return to investigate. Tonight, this pavilion couldn’t be examined.

Scurrying along the corridor side in a crouched position, Qin Chang Ge watched the direction Xiao Jue was walking. During the day, she had asked the servants and could see that was toward his own sleeping quarters. In other words, the study was unoccupied.

Should she go to the study instead?

But she saw Yunhua escort Xiao Jue into his sleeping quarters, then return, beckoning to a passing patrol of guards and giving them some instructions. The person bowed and left to carry out orders.

Her heart tightened, and Qin Chang Ge immediately abandoned the idea of further exploration.

Yunhua stood silently in the darkness, seemingly waiting for something. Qin Chang Ge’s martial arts were incomplete, but she knew this woman’s martial arts were not weak. She dared not move within her line of sight, nor was she impatient, lying hidden in the darkness, quietly waiting.

Yunhua stood at the garden gate, slightly tilting her head in a listening posture. However, in this silent night, except for the wind and the extremely distant one or two shrill dog barks, as well as the rustling sound of falling leaves, almost nothing could be heard.

Yet she seemed to be waiting for precisely this moment of quiet.

In the darkness, Yunhua smiled – an extremely slow, face-pasted, floating, fleeting smile that seemed both joyful and pained.

She arranged her sleeves, straightened her shoulders, and walked away with elegant bearing.

But suddenly there was the muffled sound of something falling.

It was the sound of a body hitting the ground.

Then silence again.

Yunhua, who had walked several steps, suddenly turned back, stood stunned for a moment, stamped her feet, and immediately spun around like a flying crane. Her smoke-blue dress hem bloomed like a giant magnificent flower in the night sky, or like a stream of blue light, instantly plunging into Xiao Chen’s “Guanfeng Garden.” Qin Chang Ge immediately crept forward a few steps, pressing her ear to the ground.

She faintly heard hurried footsteps in the inner courtyard, dragging sounds, the sound of moving tables and chairs… and another muffled “thud.” Qin Chang Ge was startled… why did it sound like knees hitting the ground?

After a long while, the sound of robes rustling in the wind arose.

Qin Chang Ge held her breath and looked from afar. The one who came out was indeed Yunhua, and she was carrying a bundled sheet under her arm. From its shape, it actually seemed to contain a person. Yunhua carried it lightly and skillfully, adjusting its position from time to time. A strand of lustrous, soft black hair fell from the bundle, swaying and floating in the night wind.

Yunhua exited the garden gate and suddenly turned back to look at the garden. The dim light of the wind lamp illuminated her features – a trace of desolation, a trace of joy, a trace of relief, a trace of loneliness, a trace of hesitation, a trace of helplessness… Her expression was so complex as to be indescribable.

After that glance, she leaped into flight, rushing toward the darkness outside the garden.

Qin Chang Ge dared not pursue her. Only after she had been gone for a long time did she slowly retreat during the guards’ shift change.

With great difficulty returning to her own courtyard, facing her son’s sleeping face, she pondered silently.

Yunhua’s complex expression, the black hair exposed from the bundle, that silent and helpless waiting – all seemed to vaguely tell her certain secrets related to Xiao Chen that were untouchable. She seemed to have inadvertently, in the darkness, touched the outline of some enormous entity, but because the other party was too massive, what was revealed was only the tip of the iceberg. She couldn’t know its full form.

Heh… No matter, after all, I’ve touched you.

For the next several days, Qin Chang Ge found no opportunity to infiltrate Zuixin Pavilion. Yunhua seemed to have grown wary and strengthened the garden’s guards. Qin Chang Ge dared not act rashly. During the day when she had nothing to do, she would wander around, discovering that Prince Zhao’s mansion had changed a great deal during the years she was away. Meanwhile, she sent Xiao Baozi out to build connections… Children, after all – who would guard against a child?

And who could guard against a child who looked very innocent but was actually quite cunning, and within that cunning still retained some genuine innocence, especially when he looked at you with his dark crystal-like big eyes so earnestly?

“Prince Zhao is sick again? Yunhua is his attendant concubine?” Qin Chang Ge ate the pastries that Agent Xiao had contributed. These were what Agent Xiao had obtained from the cook auntie using his invincible charm, at the cost of praising her as young and beautiful… The auntie was already forty-seven this year, with a stout build and half-gray hair.

“Who told you that?” Qin Chang Ge looked at Agent Xiao with distrust.

Agent Xiao, whose personal abilities had been greatly insulted, was very angry and pulled over the pastry dish, “I won’t give you any more… I heard it from Uncle Wen.”

“Wen Zhengting?” Qin Chang Ge patted her son’s head while smilingly pulling the dish back, “He’s actually willing to talk to you? You’re quite capable!”

“Of course,” Xiao Baozi immediately beamed, completely failing to notice what small tricks his bad mother had pulled.

“What about the task I gave you? Did you do it?”

“Small matter!” Xiao Baozi was triumphant, “That thing you gave me, I took advantage of when the kitchen auntie wasn’t paying attention and mixed a handful into the dough she was kneading. The guards’ midnight snack made tonight will definitely be delicious.”

Stuffing a piece of pastry into her son’s mouth, Qin Chang Ge was unstinting with her praise: “The Yangtze River’s back waves push the front waves, and the front waves die on the beach!”

His mouth bulging full, Xiao Baozi was still curious: “What… is… the Yangtze…”

“A big river similar to Xia River,” Qin Chang Ge deflected, “Go quickly and play with your nine-link puzzle. If I can’t see you take it apart by tomorrow morning, breakfast will be mine.”

Rolling his eyes, Xiao Baozi obediently sat to one side. After playing for a while, he immediately became drowsy, nodding like a pecking chicken.

Qin Chang Ge carried her son to bed and settled him in. After waiting a while, she stuck her head out the window and made a low bird call – one long, two short.

Immediately, wind sounds responded, and a Phoenix Alliance expert hidden in the shadows entered through the window.

During the day, Qin Chang Ge had gone to the coffin shop and arranged a time for Phoenix Alliance to send their most skilled subordinate in lightness skills and adaptability to take Xiao Rong away.

“Any abnormalities?” Qin Chang Ge’s voice was extremely low.

Shaking his head, the black-clothed man’s expression was steady. He was an old hand who had followed Qin Chang Ge and had been in Phoenix Alliance since its founding, always efficient in his work. Qin Chang Ge was very confident in him.

Handing her son to him, Qin Chang Ge said, “Take Rong Rong back, go through the rear courtyard, and be sure to guarantee his safety.” After a pause, she added, “Send a few people with the best lightness skills. When necessary, have them appear at various places in the mansion to disguise my movements and prevent Prince Zhao’s mansion from noticing me.”

The man agreed, bowed silently, and flew out the window carrying Xiao Rong.

Qin Chang Ge returned and sat down, took a book and leafed through it, quietly waiting until deep night. Calculating the time and changing clothes, she didn’t plan to waste more time here. Tonight the guards would collectively have diarrhea, so defenses would necessarily be loose. As for tomorrow, perhaps someone would suspect, but she would already be gone.

To be safe, she sent the mission-completed Rong Rong away first. Alone by herself, things would be easier to handle no matter what.

However, as soon as she went out, Qin Chang Ge sensed something was wrong.

Prince Zhao’s mansion’s guards had indeed decreased, with people constantly holding their bellies and running to the latrines, but there were also some unfamiliar faces – dressed ordinarily but with sharp expressions, looking more elite than Prince Zhao’s mansion guards.

Just reaching near the long corridor, she was almost discovered. A fierce shout: “Who’s there!”

Following the voice, a wild boar shot out from the flower bushes and tree shadows like an arrow, disappearing into the darkness. Someone chuckled softly: “Old Pan, don’t be so nervous and suspicious, it’s nothing…”

The footsteps walked away. After confronting the wild boar for quite a while and finally successfully irritating it away with a centipede, Qin Chang Ge breathed a sigh of relief, cursing silently. If only eldest senior brother were here; if only back then she hadn’t disliked mystical studies and had learned master’s supernatural methods, then now even if she swaggered past them, no one would know.

Qin Chang Ge was someone who greatly disliked theories of fate and mystical studies. Regarding exploring the mysteries of heaven and earth, secrets of longevity, trajectories of destiny, fortune and misfortune – she avoided all forms of astrology, divination, yin-yang, feng shui, alchemy, and talismans. She believed that while destiny was fixed, human effort was what mattered. Having one’s entire life broadly determined before birth, seeming to have every step within the unfathomable and mysterious calculations of high masters, unable to struggle free from the predetermined trajectory no matter how one fought… was really a terrifying thing.

Of course, this current regret was just a momentary thought. Qin Chang Ge immediately cast this notion aside. She carefully observed and discovered that the area around Xiao Chen’s sleeping quarters was especially heavily guarded, as was his study. The pavilion area seemed normal, so she headed straight for the long corridor, picking up pebbles from the ground along the way, specifically choosing smooth, white, and bright ones to tuck into her bosom.

Though called normal, there were still unfamiliar guards on duty. It seemed tonight the entire mansion was under strict alert. Qin Chang Ge frowned, vaguely understanding the reason.

In the deep night, cold wind howled, and tree shadows swayed, connecting in chaotic continuity into a mass of black demonic shadows. The black-clothed figure moved lightly and skillfully through them without any hindrance. During the day, Qin Chang Ge had roughly surveyed the terrain. This path was hidden behind a grove of dense trees. Behind the trees was a low wall. People walking here often had the illusion that the path had ended, but actually there was another world behind the wall. Taking this nearly abandoned path to reach Zuixin Pavilion seemed like a detour but was actually the safest route.

While hurrying along, Qin Chang Ge shook her head and sighed, thinking of how she once had supreme martial arts and could kill gods and demons alike. Even when exploring the former Yuan imperial palace at night, she wore dashing white clothes. How could she be like now, all black and sneaking around so cautiously? Without good martial arts, it was truly difficult to walk the martial world.

The unmaintained small path was full of fallen leaves – dry and crisp, making clear sounds when stepped on. Qin Chang Ge carefully avoided them. A thread of blue-white moonlight shone on her boot tips, creating a faint gray color.

Qin Chang Ge’s body suddenly stiffened.

The moonlight reflected on the ground was painted mottled by the reflected objects. The long ones were tree shadows, the square ones were wall foundations, the slender line was herself. Then, what was that slightly undulating dark shadow behind the long tree shadow?

Her innate alertness and sensitive perception suddenly filled Qin Chang Ge with a shuddering feeling, as if fierce beasts and hawks were gloomily staring at her back. That feeling of death’s breath approaching caused her skin to instantly develop a layer of fine tremors.

Carefully sniffing, the air faintly carried a trace of cold, metallic smell like raw iron.

On the ground, that protruding shadow moved extremely slightly.

Qin Chang Ge’s gaze flashed.

Without thinking, without looking back, she used all her strength to dive diagonally forward!

“Whoosh!”

The wind sound came swift as lightning, like the pure gold hand of a god, tearing through darkness, splitting the ferocious texture of night, brushing past a streak of red blood light, aimed straight at her back!

“Thud!”

A blue-feathered black-shafted iron-fitted heavy arrow brushed past and stuck into the ground beside her ankle. The arrow shaft pressed tightly against her night-walking boot’s edge, with several strands of black cloth threads that had been scraped off gently swaying on the blue feathers.

What precise archery, what powerful speed!

If it were an ordinary night intruder, the natural reaction after being alerted would be to look back. In just that moment of looking back, there would be no more time to escape.

Only Qin Chang Ge, someone who had emerged from mountains of knives and seas of blood in her previous life, long experienced in battle, naturally had the most accurate response.

The opponent’s sure-kill arrow missed its mark and seemed slightly surprised, the arm moving slightly.

Qin Chang Ge suddenly twisted around and lunged backward!

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!” Three arrows fired in succession, in chain-arrow style, with the rear arrow chasing the front one, drawing deep blue bright arcs in the air as they swept past where Qin Chang Ge had just been standing. The archer calculated precisely, figuring that no matter how the opponent lunged forward, even if they escaped the first arrow, they couldn’t escape the second, and would certainly die under the third.

Who could have known Qin Chang Ge was cunning enough to foresee even this, advancing by retreating, going against common sense with this move.

Now the archer was truly surprised, and even more surprised that Qin Chang Ge, who had lunged backward, suddenly disappeared while she was watching the arrows’ landing points.

Moonlight like thin gauze lightly covered the quiet small path. The surrounding deep trees were silent, leaves layered upon layers. In the autumn-winter weather, even insect chirping was unheard – quiet as a dead place.

Looking around in a circle, finding no place to hide at all, the archer softly exclaimed in surprise.

Where had this person hidden?

In the trees? Impossible. That was just the blink of an eye – she absolutely didn’t believe anyone could climb a tree in the instant of her blink without her knowing.

The archer lightly furrowed her brows and stepped out from behind the trees. Moonlight fell on her face – clean and beautiful, with eyebrows slightly angled upward like a man’s, tall figure, walking with a strange, beautiful rhythm.

Prince Zhao’s attendant concubine, Yunhua.

In the quiet night, tree leaves broke one by one with fine cracking sounds.

Yunhua’s feet stepped on the tree leaves, and the strangely-shaped bow in her hand cast a sharp, beautiful black silhouette on the ground, interweaving with the slanting tree shadows.

She seemed to rely on her superior skills and courage, not concealing her tracks at all, but her eyes glittering brilliantly in the darkness slightly revealed her extreme alertness.

You… where are you?

Her gaze suddenly brightened.

Ahead, under a tree of medium thickness, there was a low wall half a person’s height.

The corner of her mouth pulled into a cold smile… She had thought this person was so crafty and extraordinary, but turned out to be just this much.

Her finger pulled, and the long bow spun expertly in her palm, instantly held ready. Yunhua slowly took arrows from the quiver behind her back, nocking three arrows together, her bow-holding posture cold and murderous.

She said coldly, “Come out… otherwise, I’ll kill you.”