What Li Ying wanted Yu Fuwei to do was to find Liu Jiu, the martial investigator of the Investigation Department, and have him dispatch spies to monitor the convoy transporting Guo Qinwei’s skull.

Yu Fuwei had initially assumed that with Cui Xun facing such a grave situation, the martial investigator of the Investigation Department wouldn’t follow his orders. But to his surprise, when he presented Cui Xun’s letter, Liu Jiu accepted it respectfully: “Please inform the Junior Minister that I will certainly not fail in this mission.”

Yu Fuwei was momentarily stunned. Recalling Li Ying’s words from the previous night, he couldn’t help but ask, “Does Junior Minister Cui usually treat you all well?”

Liu Jiu was visibly surprised. Yu Fuwei took out a piece of silver from his money pouch and handed it to Liu Jiu: “This is something I wish to know, and it has nothing to do with Junior Minister Cui. I also promise that I won’t tell Cui Xun what you say. Otherwise, may I die without a proper burial?”

After hearing such a grave oath, Liu Jiu finally became willing to speak. He thought about Cui Xun’s typically cold and distant demeanor and said, “Not particularly well.”

He certainly wasn’t like some officials who showed great concern and care for their subordinates.

Yu Fuwei was even more confused: “If he doesn’t treat you particularly well, why are you still willing to work for him now that he’s essentially a prisoner?”

Liu Jiu thought for a moment, then said, “The Junior Minister’s treatment of us can’t be called very good, but it’s not very bad either. At least those who work diligently receive tangible rewards. In these three years following him, our lives have improved considerably, and we can stand tall before the Dali Temple. If we had a different Junior Minister, I fear it wouldn’t be as good.”

“But his reputation…”

Liu Jiu laughed, “Mr. Yu, over these years, we at the Investigation Department have done plenty of unconscionable things. But would you dare say that those second and third-rank officials in the imperial court haven’t done unconscionable things? At their positions, who is completely innocent? Aren’t they all fighting and competing for a bit of power? When the Empress Dowager’s people lose their struggles, they take a trip to the Dali Temple. When His Majesty’s people lose their struggles, they come to our Investigation Department. Isn’t that how it is? I’ve been in the Investigation Department for ten years, and I’ve seen it all. No matter how bad the Junior Minister’s reputation is, as long as he ensures I don’t go hungry or cold, and doesn’t treat me like a slave to be summoned, scolded, and whipped at will, I’m willing to follow him.”

For a moment, Yu Fuwei didn’t know how to respond. Liu Jiu hadn’t received much education. In his eyes, the fact that Cui Xun ensured he was well-fed and clothed, treated him like a human being, and gave him appropriate rewards for his work was enough to consider Cui Xun a good superior. The other martial investigators probably thought the same.

Yu Fuwei couldn’t help feeling confused. In his previous understanding, Cui Xun was despicable, shameless, cruel, and heartless. He had assumed that people like Liu Jiu followed him only because they were intimidated by his power. But today he learned that these martial investigators were genuinely willing to work for Cui Xun. Could it be that Cui Xun was not the kind of person he had thought?

Yu Fuwei suddenly recalled Li Ying’s words: “The more I see, the more I want to speak up for him.”

He lowered his eyes, thinking perhaps he should reconsider his understanding of Cui Xun.

The spies from the Investigation Department worked around the clock, monitoring the convoy transporting Guo Qinwei day and night. They did manage to overhear some useful information. A spy heard a minor official complaining: “The Turks just gave us a random bone and said it was Guo Qinwei’s skull. We’re escorting it so carefully, but how do we know it’s not a fake skull?”

Another minor official said, “I think there’s a ninety percent chance it’s fake. I’ve seen Guo Qinwei before. He was eight chi tall and imposing. This skull looks like it belonged to someone who was six chi tall. How could it resemble Guo Qinwei at all?”

“If that’s the case, is it a fake skull?”

“Sigh, whether it’s real or fake, we just need to deliver it.”

The spy took note and, during the night while the guards were asleep, secretly opened the wooden box to look. It was just as the minor official had said—the skull was too small in size.

So, this was likely not Guo Qinwei’s skull.

When Li Ying relayed the spy’s report to Cui Xun and handed him a drawing of the dimensions made by the spy, Cui Xun could tell at a glance that this was not his former general’s skull.

Li Ying said, “I guess Pei Guanyue and Khagan Sutai have reached some sort of agreement, so Sutai casually provided a fake skull. After all, Pei Guanyue will later substitute it with a head cut by the iron-framed bow. If the skull were real, it would be more troublesome.”

Cui Xun nodded. While Pei Guanyue could certainly deceive others, Cui Xun could also use Pei Guanyue’s deception to deliver a fatal blow against him. However, if they could find General Guo’s real skull as part of this counterattack, their chances of success would be even greater.

Li Ying couldn’t help asking, “Cui Xun, where do you think General Guo’s skull is?”

Cui Xun shook his head, his eyes filled with gloom: “I don’t know.”

If he had known, he would never have allowed his former general’s remains to be lost in a foreign land.

Li Ying noticed his gloom and consoled him: “It’s alright. As long as we can obtain evidence of Pei Guanyue’s deception, we can still win.”

Cui Xun responded with a soft “mm.” Seeing that he still appeared dejected, Li Ying said, “Cui Xun, I have something to show you.”

Cui Xun finally looked up: “What is it?”

Li Ying took out a square lacquered box. She opened it to reveal a plate of pristine white pastries inside. “That day, we didn’t get to eat the preserved fruit cakes from Fumantang, and I felt quite disappointed. So I gave Yu Fuwei some money and asked him to buy them for us.”

She took the plate of preserved fruit cakes from the lacquered box and pushed it in front of Cui Xun. “Would you like to try one?”

Cui Xun couldn’t help but pick up a piece, causing the chains on his wrists to make a jingling sound. He lowered his eyes and said, “I should have been the one to buy these preserved fruit cakes for you.”

“Wasn’t it because of the sudden incident?” Li Ying smiled. “You were already planning to enjoy them with me. Whether I bought them or you bought them, what’s the difference? What matters is that the person sharing them with me hasn’t changed.”

Cui Xun didn’t answer, but silently took a bite of the preserved fruit cake. Although it tasted sweet with a burst of fruit fragrance, he felt a trace of guilt in his heart. She had done so much for him, yet he couldn’t even buy her a box of preserved fruit cakes.

To him, the cake tasted like wax. Li Ying seemed to perceive his thoughts and said, “Cui Xun, do you feel guilty?”

Cui Xun was momentarily taken aback. After a while, he lowered his head and said, “I just feel that you persuaded Yu Fuwei for me and tried your best to save me, yet I can’t even buy you a box of preserved fruit cakes. I have let you down.”

As he spoke, he kept his head down, his dark eyelashes concealing his eyelids, deliberately hiding the hint of frustration in his eyes. Li Ying stared at his fluttering eyelashes and sighed inwardly. Why did this man always like to take responsibility for things that weren’t his fault? Last time, when Shen Que destroyed Ah’man’s innocence, he felt it was his fault and drank himself into a stupor. This time, being unable to buy preserved fruit cakes, he again felt it was his fault and couldn’t even swallow a piece of cake. He seemed heartless, but toward those he cared about, he carried too much emotion and responsibility. This wasn’t good for him.

Li Ying’s gaze shifted to the palm leaf lining the bottom of the lacquered box. She said, “Cui Xun, do you feel you’ve let me down?”

Cui Xun nodded slightly. Li Ying said, “Alright, since I bought preserved fruit cakes for you, you should do something for me in return, to make up for it.”

Cui Xun looked up: “What is it?”

Li Ying took out the palm leaf from the lacquered box: “Could you make me a grasshopper out of this leaf?”

Cui Xun stared at the leaf spread out in her smooth palm and was stunned for a moment: “I… don’t know how to make leaf grasshoppers.”

Born into an aristocratic family, his hands had written characters, played the qin, held knives, and drawn bows, but they had never made leaf grasshoppers.

Li Ying seemed to have discovered something novel and suddenly giggled: “So you don’t know how to make leaf grasshoppers.”

A faint blush appeared on Cui Xun’s pale cheeks: “Does the Princess know how?”

Li Ying nodded: “My mother taught me.”

The Empress Dowager, who came from common origins, naturally knew how to make such trinkets. When Li Ying was young, she often made leaf grasshoppers to play with her, and over time, Li Ying learned how to make them too. Li Ying said to Cui Xun, “Shall I teach you?”

Li Ying sat beside Cui Xun. She folded the palm leaf in half, her deft fingers dancing between the leaves. The grasshopper’s body and antennae were quickly completed. In no time, a lifelike green grasshopper appeared before them. Li Ying handed the leaf grasshopper to Cui Xun and asked, “Did you learn how?”

Cui Xun took it and examined it carefully. With his typically good memory, Li Ying’s steps had already flashed through his mind. He nodded and said, “I believe I’ve learned it.”

Although he had learned, being his first attempt, he was considerably slower than Li Ying. Li Ying watched with great patience as he wrapped the left side of the leaf around the leaf stem, forming a half-knot to create the grasshopper’s body. When making the second half-knot, he made a mistake. He should have made the half-knot on the right side of the stem, not the left. Li Ying couldn’t help but reach out to touch the stem: “Not the left side, the right side.”

As she reached out to touch the stem, Cui Xun was just about to wrap the left side of the leaf around it. Their fingertips inadvertently touched. Li Ying’s body temperature was considerably lower than most people’s, but compared to Cui Xun’s, it could be described as warm. Cui Xun felt a soft, warm sensation through his fingertips, while Li Ying felt a cool, cold sensation through hers. Both were startled, then looked up, each seeing their reflection in the other’s eyes. In the moment their gazes met, the warm and cool sensations transformed into a very small tingling feeling, and in their hearts arose a subtle stirring. Cui Xun was the first to come to his senses. He withdrew his fingers from the leaf stem and lowered his head, saying, “I made a mistake.”

Only then did Li Ying react. Her heart was beating rather fast, and her delicate white fingertips were covered with a faint rosy hue. She hurriedly pulled at her sleeves, hiding her hands within their generous folds. She didn’t dare raise her head and instead said softly, “Then, would you like me to make it again?”

Cui Xun also didn’t raise his head: “No need.”

He carefully recalled the steps Li Ying had shown him earlier, then continued making the leaf grasshopper. After a while, he completed it.

He held the grasshopper by its wings and handed it to Li Ying: “For you.”

Li Ying still didn’t dare raise her head, nor did she dare expose her fingers from within her sleeves, fearing that Cui Xun would see even her fingertips were flushed. The shackles on Cui Xun’s wrists were so heavy that holding the grasshopper made his arms ache. Li Ying suddenly said, “Hmm? Is there someone coming outside?”

Cui Xun couldn’t help but look toward the window screen. Li Ying took advantage of his distraction to quickly take the leaf grasshopper from his hand. By the time Cui Xun turned back, she had already grasped the grasshopper and stealthily withdrawn her fingers back into her sleeves.

She coughed and said, “I was mistaken. There’s no one.”

Before Cui Xun could respond, she said, “I’m a bit tired, so I’ll return to my room now.”

With that, she quickly rose and walked toward the door. But she didn’t realize that the tips of her ears were also red.

All of this was observed by Cui Xun. He slightly lowered his eyes, his fingertips still retaining the warmth of her touch.

It seemed… they had crossed a boundary.

Li Ying practically flew back to her room. Leaning against the closed door, she felt her heart beating faster and faster. She had vaguely suspected that she harbored a secret affection for Cui Xun, but the moment just now seemed to confirm her suspicion.

So, did she really… toward Cui Xun…

As she was pondering this, she failed to notice that on her desk lay a curved dagger with a golden sheath.