Shi Ting nodded. “At the scene of the Xu family murder case.”

Yan Qing was startled, her mind filling with images of the Xu family’s gruesome massacre — over a dozen people wiped out.

First the Chen family massacre, and now the Xu family massacre — neither case had been solved, making them the two unsolved major cases on the Military Police Bureau’s records. The earlier investigation had turned up traces of military vehicles at the Xu family massacre scene, but after that, all leads had gone cold and the trail had simply vanished.

She never imagined that after so much time, Shi Ting would discover a clue connected to the Xu family in this remote little village.

“The Xu family’s estate is in Wenshan County, quite far from Jiuyang Village. Why would something connected to the Xu family turn up here — how very strange.” Yan Qing thought for a moment, her dark eyes burning with curiosity as she looked at him. “That’s right — Jiuyang Village is a newer settlement. Before it existed, there was once a very prosperous county town in that area. Perhaps the Xu family once lived on that land.”

“That’s my thinking as well,” Shi Ting said. “In the main hall of the Xu family estate, there’s a painting depicting what appears to be a folk celebration — figures, buildings, local customs, many elements interwoven together. Among them are several of this same emblem. I believe it’s a family crest, and the figures and buildings in the painting are very likely from the county town that once lay beneath what is now Jiuyang Village.”

“If that’s truly the case, then the Xu family has an inseparable connection to this Jiuyang Village.”

“The corpses in that mass grave — the time of their deaths corresponds closely with when that prosperous county town was razed to the ground. The people in that pit were very likely the residents of that county town.”

“Then let’s go up the mountain again tomorrow and see if we can uncover any more clues.”

Shi Ting made a sound of agreement. “There’s also one more matter — the background of that Daoist priest, Qianqiu.”

“But he’s already gone mad.”

“It doesn’t matter that he’s mad. If someone truly did send him here, once Qianqiu went insane, they would send someone else to take his place.” Shi Ting’s eyes deepened. “Only this time, the villagers of Jiuyang won’t be so easily manipulated.”

“So what do you plan to do?”

“Little Jin is a clever child. The task I set him before — not only did he accomplish it, he added his own ideas to it. So I’ve asked him to stay here and keep watch over every movement in this village. I’ll periodically send someone to check in with him.”

“Though he’s only a child, Little Jin is someone with real potential.”

“Yes.” Shi Ting took her hand. “Pack up. We leave tomorrow.”

The following morning, Shi Ting and Yan Qing prepared to depart from Jiuyang Village. Old Li and Little Yue were very reluctant to see them go, but they knew these two were not ordinary people who could simply stay here indefinitely.

The village sent an ox cart to see the two of them out.

This was one of the village’s few ox carts — one that had previously been monopolized by the village head’s family.

After leaving the village, there was still a long stretch of road before they could reach the dock, a journey that took a full day and night, with all the jolts and bumps one could imagine.

The cart driver sent the two of them all the way to the dock before turning back.

The two took a boat the rest of the way to Qianguan City, and from there boarded a train to Shun Cheng. The journey passed without incident — clearly whoever had sent the assassins believed they had already succeeded and had recalled all their people.

After quietly returning to Shun Cheng, Shi Ting and Yan Qing did not go back to the Shi family estate. Instead, they went to a private villa Shi Ting kept in Shun Cheng.

“So Director Shi has his own little love nest,” Yan Qing teased the moment she stepped through the courtyard gate.

Shi Ting immediately looked wronged. “Madam, please don’t be angry — this property was clearly listed in the full asset disclosure I submitted at the time. How can you call it a secret?”

When Shi Ting had handed over his entire fortune to her back then, she had only skimmed through it briefly and knew only that he had quite a few properties and investments in countless industries.

“Then I’d better have a look first — and see whether or not there’s a hidden beauty tucked away inside.”

Yan Qing made a show of inspecting every room, but in the end found nothing beyond a single steward. The place was entirely empty.

Shi Ting played along and let out a theatrical sigh of relief. “Is Madam satisfied now?”

“And this steward — who is he?”

“Steward Shao was formerly in my mother’s service. As he grew older, I arranged for him to look after this courtyard. He’s very diligent — he cleans every day without fail, which is why the place looks spotless, and the flowers and trees are all perfectly tended.”

The courtyard was not large — just an ordinary three-sectioned compound — but it had a small garden and an artificial lake, with a rather charming and picturesque quality to it.

Right now, Yan Qing was in no mood to admire scenery. All she wanted was a thorough, comfortable bath.

“Young Mistress, the water has been heated.” Steward Shao had clearly received instructions in advance and had the bathwater ready ahead of time.

Yan Qing felt as though she were about to go moldy. Throughout these past days, the best she’d managed was wiping herself down with hot water — a proper hot bath had been nothing but a distant dream.

Now, seeing the large bathing tub before her, its surface scattered with flower petals and scented oil, she only wanted to leap in immediately and soak for half the day.

With that in mind, she shed her nearly rank-smelling clothes in a few swift movements, first rinsed herself off with extra water, and then stepped into the tub.

Warm currents enveloped her from all sides, wrapping her in comfort.

Just as Yan Qing was contentedly soaking with her eyes closed, she suddenly felt the water level rise considerably. She opened her eyes and found someone rushing in with great urgency.

Yan Qing: “……”

The moment he climbed in, the water level immediately surged, and the narrow tub suddenly felt rather crowded.

Yan Qing stared at him steadily, blinking involuntarily. Before she could say a word, the other person spoke first: “I’ve been wanting a bath for so long. I feel like I’ve been starting to stink.”

Yan Qing: “……”

Was there really only one bathing tub in this entire estate?

Did he not feel this was a little crowded?

Seeing her staring at him, the person curved his lips into a smile. “Does Madam find this objectionable?”

“I do,” Yan Qing replied, rolling her eyes at him.

Shi Ting leaned in with a dramatically wounded expression, like a child who had lost his candy.

The moment he put on that pitiful look, Yan Qing’s heart softened — even though she knew perfectly well he was performing.

But his grasp of her psychology was impeccable; he knew precisely which expression would make her yield.

Yan Qing was both exasperated and amused. She couldn’t help giving him a kick underwater — but the resistance of the water blunted the force considerably, and he easily caught her ankle in his hand, using the momentum to pull himself right beside her.

Breath warm against breath at close range, her face flushed red. Yan Qing couldn’t help but close her eyes.

After a moment, the person before her seemed not to move at all. She cautiously opened her eyes and found him watching her with a look of mischievous amusement.

Yan Qing realized she had been tricked. She immediately raised her fist to strike — but the blow never landed, caught by his grip around her wrist.

Her wrist was pressed against the edge of the tub, and his kisses fell over her, dense and unhurried.

Yan Qing lost track of how long they spent in the tub. By the time they emerged, the water had gone nearly cold.

Yan Qing was genuinely exhausted — the moment she touched the soft mattress, she fell fast asleep. Shi Ting tucked the blanket around her, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and when he rose again, his eyes had turned cold and merciless.

~

Shi Ting came to the front hall, where someone was already waiting.

Upon seeing him, the man immediately dropped to one knee, his voice heavy with remorse. “Your subordinate has failed you.”

“Get up.” Shi Ting walked to the window and gazed at the scene outside. The garden was planted with many peonies, now competing in brilliant bloom at their finest.

This man was Liu Yin, captain of the Marshal’s personal guard, ordinarily responsible for the security of the Marshal and the Marshal’s estate.

Everyone believed he was the Marshal’s man — but in truth, he was Shi Ting’s sworn retainer.

To avoid drawing attention, Shi Ting rarely met with Liu Yin alone.

“This trip I made to Dagu Mountain — besides the Marshal, who else knew about it?” To find out who had sent the assassins, one had to trace the matter back to its source.

This journey to Dagu Mountain appeared on the surface to be a bandit-suppression operation, but was in fact aimed at stripping away one of Meng Xiangyang’s key supports. A matter this confidential — the Marshal naturally wanted as few people as possible to know. Any breach at any point could reach Meng Xiangyang’s ears, and Meng Xiangyang might very well strike back.

“On the day the Marshal discussed and finalized the plan with the Seventh Young Master, only Secretary Li knew.”

Secretary Li?

Secretary Li had once been the Marshal’s adjutant and head of the guard. Now that Liu Yin had become captain of the guard, Secretary Li had been promoted to the Marshal’s chief secretary.

The Marshal trusted Secretary Li completely — after all, he was someone who had stood by his side to protect him, someone who allowed him to sleep soundly at night. And so for certain confidential matters, the Marshal never thought to keep things from Secretary Li.

In that moment, Shi Ting clearly understood something.

When Secretary Li was promoted, he had placed Liu Yin as guard captain — the position closest to the Marshal — and he needed to have his own eyes there.

But he had not anticipated that the other side had gone directly to Secretary Li. In terms of trust, the Marshal naturally placed greater faith in Secretary Li than in Liu Yin.

So then — who exactly had won over Secretary Li? Was it Shi Qian, or Shi Guang?

“Seventh Young Master, what do we do now?”

Outside the window, the peonies blazed red as a flame, countless bees busying themselves among the blossoms.

His long fingers drummed lightly against the window frame, his gaze deep and distant, unfocused.

“Put out word that I was ambushed and fell into the river while traveling on assignment, and am now missing.”

Liu Yin immediately understood Shi Ting’s meaning and bowed. “Your subordinate understands. I’ll make arrangements at once.”

After Liu Yin departed, a cold smile crept across Shi Ting’s lips.

Just who is pulling the strings from behind the scenes — a simple test will reveal everything.