Cui Xun and Li Ying temporarily buried Jiang Liang’s body next to Wan Xiang to prevent wild dogs from gnawing on it. By the time they finished the burial, dawn was breaking. Cui Xun used a dagger to carve a piece of wood and inserted it in front of Jiang Liang’s grave as a marker for his future relocation. Only then did he rise, untying the horse’s reins from the tree. Li Ying was still gazing absently at Jiang Liang and Wan Xiang’s graves. Cui Xun led the horse, his thin lips pressed into a line. He said flatly, “Are you coming back or not?”
Hearing this, Li Ying turned her head. Cui Xun continued, “If you want to go find Yu Fuwei, I won’t stop you.”
Li Ying was slightly taken aback. It seemed he was still angry. Li Ying couldn’t help but sigh softly. She walked to the horse, and Cui Xun said nothing more. He merely supported her waist, helping her onto the horse before mounting himself. With a flick of his whip, the Kangju horse shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, galloping toward the Cui residence.
After returning to the Cui residence, Cui Xun took the voodoo doll and moved to the Investigation Office. He hadn’t returned to the Cui residence for several days. At the Investigation Office, his temper grew increasingly gloomy, and his mood became unpredictable. All the guards were on tenterhooks, afraid of offending him in any way, and they all kept their distance. However, when they needed to report something to him, they had no choice but to steel themselves and face him.
Inside the Investigation Office, beyond the entrance gate, past the interrogation hall, and behind a screen, was the secondary hall where the Deputy Chief of the Investigation Office worked. Cui Xun sat upright at a green sandalwood desk, flipping through a bamboo scroll. On the desk lay the voodoo doll with silver needles. A guard from the Investigation Office hurried in: “Deputy Chief, we recently arrested and interrogated several of Shen Que’s confidants. One called Qiu Liu couldn’t withstand the torture and revealed some information.”
He respectfully handed over the confession. Cui Xun flipped through it: “He said that Shen Que’s secret chamber indeed harbored something strange?”
The guard nodded: “Qiu Liu said that he was once ordered by Shen Que to deliver food to the secret chamber. While delivering the food, he heard cat sounds. Though he keeps cats at home, the cat sounds from the secret chamber made his hair stand on end, and he didn’t dare to listen further, quickly fleeing.”
Cui Xun continued reading the confession, and the guard added, “Qiu Liu also confessed that Shen Que greatly trusted an old Daoist in his mansion named Xuancheng. Xuancheng often caught many large rats and sent them to the secret chamber, acting very suspiciously. He believed that these rats were being fed to the cat ghost.”
Cui Xun pondered silently. The guard said, “Deputy Chief, I believe this confession is enough to report to the Empress Dowager and His Majesty to determine Shen Que’s guilt.”
But Cui Xun slowly shook his head: “It’s not enough.”
The guard immediately looked confused. Cui Xun said, “When striking a snake, you must kill it with one blow. Otherwise, it will bite back. Liu Jiu, take the other guards, and even if you have to search every corner of Chang’an, find Xuancheng for me.”
Liu Jiu was truly miserable. With Cui Xun staying at the Investigation Office these past days, focusing all his energy on the cat ghost case, the guards were already running themselves ragged. Now, Cui Xun was ordering them to find this old Daoist Xuancheng, which meant several more days without proper rest. But Liu Jiu dared not contradict Cui Xun and could only accept the task with a bitter face.
In Shen Que’s mansion, a different kind of anxiety prevailed. Several of Shen Que’s confidants had been arrested and interrogated by the Investigation Office. Few could withstand the eighty-one types of severe torture employed there. Shen Que knew that before long, Cui Xun would find concrete evidence of his harboring the cat ghost. By then, whether he would live or die was unpredictable.
With his life hanging by a thread, Shen Que spent his days in a drunken stupor. After all, whether he faced the situation or not, death awaited him either way. Should he beg Cui Xun for mercy? No, he would rather die than plead with Cui Xun.
With Shen Que constantly drunk, the servants attending him were truly unfortunate, either being whipped or scolded. On this day, he smashed a glass wine vessel and glanced askance at the servants cleaning up the shards. In his drunkenness, he said, “Are you all secretly hoping that Cui Xun will soon catch Xuancheng? Are you hoping for my early demise?”
The servants kowtowed, trembling like sieves: “We wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t dare? Hmph, I know you all think I deserve to die. But let me tell you, even if Cui Xun catches Xuancheng, I won’t die,” Shen Que drank a cup of Shaochun wine, slurring his words. “She owes my mother. She won’t kill me.”
The servants exchanged glances. The “she” the general referred to must be the Empress Dowager. If the general had committed any other offense, perhaps the Empress Dowager would protect him. But now, the general was plotting to harm the Empress Dowager. How could she spare him?
If the Empress Dowager was truly that softhearted, then how did the general’s sister and mother die?
But even though they didn’t believe a word of it in their hearts, they dared not show it on their faces. They could only kneel on the ground, heads bowed, hoping Shen Que would dismiss them soon.
Shen Que drank several more cups of Shaochun wine. His eyes grew bleary. Suddenly, he slammed the table and said through gritted teeth, “It’s all Pei Guanyue’s fault! If he hadn’t been so cautious, looking before and after, Cui Xun would have died three years ago. How could he be throwing his weight around with me today?”
The more he thought about it, the more enraged he became, wishing he could tear Cui Xun to pieces. But now Cui Xun held the knife, and he was the fish on the chopping block. He couldn’t tear Cui Xun to pieces, but Cui Xun could tear him to pieces.
Shen Que hurled his golden cup at the wall. The cup rolled on the ground, and the fragrant wine spilled everywhere. Shen Que suddenly remembered the pipa player whose face he had forcibly held as he poured Shaochun wine down her throat.
What was her name? Sheng Ah’man? The sister of Sheng Yunting from the Imperial Army.
Shen Que suddenly smiled maliciously. Cui Xun was a fourth-rank Deputy Chief of the Investigation Office; he couldn’t touch him. But Sheng Ah’man was just a lowly musician. According to the Great Zhou law, slaves and servants were considered the same as livestock. Even if he mistreated her, no one would care.
Since Cui Xun wouldn’t rest until he was dead, before his death, he wanted to make Cui Xun suffer too.
With Cui Xun absent from his residence for several days, Li Ying also felt quite bored. She didn’t understand what Cui Xun was angry about. If he was upset about her leaving the residence without permission, seven or eight days had passed, and his anger should have subsided by now. But she saw no sign of Cui Xun’s anger abating, which was truly frustrating.
Under the crabapple tree, the fledgling sparrow she had saved had learned to fly and was now hopping about on the ground, happily pecking at food. Li Ying crouched down to watch the sparrow forage. She crossed her hands over her knees. She usually loved watching such scenes of spring vitality, but after watching for a while, her clear, lake-like eyes remained filled with confusion. She murmured to the sparrow, “What do you think Cui Xun is thinking? Why is he still angry with me?”
The sparrow, of course, would not answer. Li Ying sighed, “Never mind, you wouldn’t know.”
It wasn’t clear whether she was referring to the sparrow or herself.
As she was about to stand up, suddenly a pebble landed in front of her.
Li Ying looked up to see Yu Fuwei perched on the wall, signaling to her.
Yu Fuwei was signaling her to come out, but why didn’t he come in? Li Ying was puzzled but still passed through the wall to the outside of the Cui residence.
Outside the Cui residence was deserted. Yu Fuwei, seeing her emerge, jumped down from the wall and smiled, “Cui Xun won’t let the mute servants let me in, so I had to resort to this method.”
Li Ying said, “Cui Xun won’t let you in? Is he angry that you tore down the talismans and took me out of the residence?”
“Perhaps. The fact that he hasn’t killed me is already a miracle.”
Li Ying sighed, “Although we acted on our initiative, the outcome was good. I wasn’t harmed, and the cat ghost has been eliminated. Even if he’s angry, he shouldn’t be angry for so long.”
Yu Fuwei shrugged, “Who knows?” He paused, then added, “The Princess told me not to say unpleasant things, so I won’t.”
Li Ying felt awkward and didn’t want to continue this topic either, so she asked, “Mr. Yu, why did you come looking for me today?”
Yu Fuwei smiled, “Actually, there’s no particular reason. I just wanted to see the Princess.”
His words were so direct that Li Ying was taken aback. Seeing her expression, Yu Fuwei said, “Didn’t the Princess say we are friends? It’s very ordinary for friends to meet and talk, isn’t it?”
After his explanation, Li Ying relaxed and nodded, “Yes, it’s quite ordinary.”
The two sat on the stone steps of the Cui residence, chatting casually. Yu Fuwei enthusiastically offered to take Li Ying to various neighborhoods in Chang’an for entertainment, but Li Ying hesitantly shook her head, “I’d like to sit here. I don’t want to go elsewhere.”
Yu Fuwei asked, “Why?”
This was Li Ying’s concern, and she didn’t particularly want to tell Yu Fuwei. She stammered, and Yu Fuwei gave a bitter smile, “You’re not waiting here for Cui Xun to return, are you?”
Li Ying gave him a surprised look, then lowered her head, saying nothing. Yu Fuwei knew he had guessed correctly. He said somewhat angrily, “I truly don’t understand…”
To continue would be to speak ill of Cui Xun again. Yu Fuwei remembered his promise to Li Ying not to badmouth Cui Xun in front of her. He promptly closed his mouth and let out a long sigh, “If the Princess wishes to sit here, then let’s sit. I’ll sit with the Princess.”
Li Ying smiled. She said, “By the way, Mr. Yu, could I ask you for a favor?”
“Please speak, Princess.”
“Cui Xun has gone to investigate the cat ghost case and hasn’t returned to the residence for dozens of days. I don’t know how the investigation is progressing. Since you have many sources of information, could you keep me updated on the news?”
After hearing this, Yu Fuwei just smiled bitterly, “Could I possibly say no?”
“Mr. Yu…”
“Rest assured, Princess, I will.” Yu Fuwei sat with Li Ying on the stone steps. “Just as the Princess cares for Cui Xun, I also wish to care for the Princess, because the Princess is the most kind-hearted person I have ever met. I am willing to help the Princess.”
Li Ying felt somewhat embarrassed by his praise. She lowered her head and said, “Then thank you, Mr. Yu.”
As she lowered her head, she didn’t see the affection and admiration in Yu Fuwei’s eyes as he looked at her. After a moment, Yu Fuwei turned his head and smiled slightly, “No need for such formality.”