When Lin Chengyou appeared, Teng Yuyi was greatly surprised. She stood stunned for a moment before happily stepping forward to help close the windows. This man was truly reliable – he never failed to follow through on his promises. Her heart immediately felt more at ease, and she hurriedly whispered to Lin Chengyou: “That thief—”
Lin Chengyou, busy examining outside the window, placed his index finger to his lips, signaling Teng Yuyi to be silent.
Teng Yuyi nodded.
Lin Chengyou held his breath as he inspected thoroughly, ensuring no harmful mechanisms were left beneath the window. He casually sprinkled some oddly-colored powder in the window crevices. Then he turned to examine Teng Yuyi, and seeing she was unharmed, handed her the pouch he was carrying.
Teng Yuyi opened the pouch to look inside – besides talismans and medicinal powders, there was also a stack of letters.
Du Tinglan watched their actions from the side, her confusion growing deeper. It was one thing for Lin Chengyou to rush over so late, but her sister seemed completely at ease with him.
Their movements were so natural as if they found all this perfectly normal.
After closing the window, Lin Chengyou walked to the doorway, pulling the door open a crack and crouching down to examine every inch carefully. Once finished, without turning around he beckoned with his hand. Teng Yuyi hurried over to crouch down, and at Lin Chengyou’s signal, took out a talisman from the pouch to hand to him.
Du Tinglan opened her mouth to speak. The level of tacit understanding between these two reminded her of when Lin Chengyou would exorcise spirits with his two junior disciples.
When had her sister become so familiar with Lin Chengyou?
Lin Chengyou sprinkled some soul-attracting powder at the doorway, then quietly lit the talisman behind the door. Only after the talisman had burned out did he stand up to close the door properly.
In an instant, a yin wind arose outside the door and window. Lin Chengyou listened carefully for a moment, then gestured for Teng Yuyi to look at the Spirit-Sound Bell on his wrist.
Before Teng Yuyi could understand what was happening, the Spirit-Sound Bell began to ring softly, though its movement was languid, as if the surrounding yin energy wasn’t worth its full effort. This indicated spiritual entities had arrived nearby, but their magical power wasn’t particularly strong.
Lin Chengyou spoke up: “Good, I’ve summoned some minor ghosts to keep watch for us. No sound from inside the room will travel outside now. We can speak freely.”
This wasn’t exactly orthodox Daoist magic, but with female students living all along the corridor, setting up a proper barrier would require circling the entire room. No matter how quietly he moved, he couldn’t guarantee not disturbing others. After weighing the options, he had no choice but to summon some sound-absorbing minor ghosts to help stand guard.
The ghosts’ yin energy was barely perceptible – even if someone who understood Daoist arts was next door, they wouldn’t be able to detect it.
While the others in the room couldn’t follow Lin Chengyou’s reasoning, Teng Yuyi immediately turned to tell Du Tinglan and the others: “It’s fine now, we can talk.”
Though Du Tinglan was still dazed, she found it somewhat amusing how her sister acted like a little messenger. She quickly made an apologetic bow to Lin Chengyou: “We’ve troubled the Young Master.”
Teng Yuyi related everything that had happened that night to Lin Chengyou, finally pointing to the side rooms: “The Hundred Flowers Remnant mechanism in my room wasn’t disturbed at all. The thief went directly into my elder sister’s room. Young Master, come with me.”
At the entrance to the east room, Teng Yuyi stood outside, not daring to enter: “This thief was very cautious. Everything in the room appears to be in its original place. If it weren’t for the hair strand I’d left in advance of going missing, we would never have known someone had been here.”
Lin Chengyou looked around: “Do your fellow students at the academy know which rooms your sisters live in?”
“Yes. Classmates often visit each other’s rooms, and even the female officials at the academy know my elder sister lives in the east room while I live in the west room.”
So the thief had specifically targeted Du Tinglan. Lin Chengyou examined the floor, dressing table, behind the desk… then bent down to check under the couch and bed, but found nothing.
The culprit hadn’t left any harmful mechanisms, nor were there signs of malicious sorcery being used.
Finally, Lin Chengyou turned his attention to the bed curtains: “If poison needles were hidden in the bedding, it would be nearly impossible to guard against. To be safe, I need to examine your elder sister’s bedding.”
Teng Yuyi looked back at Du Tinglan, who quickly said: “Everything is for catching that villain. Young Master need not hesitate.”
Lin Chengyou first checked around the bed curtains, confirming no hidden weapons, then used a jade ruyi from the dressing table to lift the bed curtains and gently examine the bedding and pillows.
Watching from behind, Teng Yuyi thought to herself how close a call it had been. This morning when Bilu picked up her little doll and sniffed it, she immediately frowned: “Young Miss, were you drooling in your sleep again last night?”
Teng Yuyi knew the doll must have gotten smelly again, but she wouldn’t admit it: “You’re talking nonsense, I don’t drool in my sleep.”
Bilu secretly pouted: “It hasn’t been washed since entering the academy. Why don’t I wash this treasure today?”
Teng Yuyi didn’t want others to see her items: “Let’s wash it when we return home in a few days. Today the sun is strong – leaving it by the window to air out for a day will do.”
The doll had thus been left to air out for most of the day. Before going out to play in the afternoon, Teng Yuyi had returned to check the Hundred Flowers Remnant mechanism as usual and stuffed the doll into her bed.
The doll would look completely out of place among her elder sister’s neat bedding. If Lin Chengyou saw it, he would surely question it. He could even smell that she had taken the antidote for Hundred Flowers Remnant – he would detect the drool smell on the doll.
She couldn’t let this be blamed on her elder sister. She could already imagine how Lin Chengyou would mock her if he found out.
Soon Lin Chengyou had thoroughly examined every corner of the bed but still found nothing. He turned to exchange glances with Teng Yuyi – they were both thinking: with eyes and ears everywhere in the academy, sneaking into the room would have been quite difficult. Would someone go to all that trouble just to look around?
They both realized something at the same time – one turned to look at the dressing table, the other at the writing desk.
Lin Chengyou walked to the dressing table and picked up a jar of rouge, beginning to carefully examine the paste inside. If slow-acting poison had been secretly mixed in, it could have caused Du Tinglan to suffer disfigurement or poisoning without her even realizing it.
Teng Yuyi walked to the writing desk where there was a stack of poems her sister had written and a stack of hand-copied Buddhist sutras. Though Lin Chengyou had already checked there were no poison needles inside, he didn’t know the exact number of papers.
“Elder Sister, please check if any poems are missing?”
The three concentrated intently on examining the items in their hands, the room is so quiet a pin drop could be heard.
Soon after, Lin Chengyou tested all the rouge, flower ornaments, combs, and face powder on the dressing table but found nothing unusual. However, Du Tinglan said fearfully: “Something’s wrong – two poems are missing.”
“Since entering the academy, I copy poems every day, thirty-six pieces in total.” She looked up at Teng Yuyi and Lin Chengyou, “But now only thirty-four remain.”
Teng Yuyi asked in a hushed voice: “Are you certain?”
“I couldn’t be mistaken. The two missing pieces were ones I copied the day I entered the academy – one was ‘The Male Pheasant’ from the Bei Feng section of the Book of Songs, and the other was Luo Binwang’s ‘Ode to the Cicada’. They were at the very bottom of the stack. I would see them every day when organizing the poems, but now the bottom pieces have become two Yuefu poems instead.”
Lin Chengyou took the stack of writings and as he flipped through them, mockery appeared in his eyes. “The Male Pheasant” was already an expression of longing, and as for Luo Binwang’s “Ode to the Cicada” – while on the surface it used the cicada to satirize society, the final lines “No one believes in my nobility, who will express my heart?” could also be interpreted as subtle romantic feelings.
This person was quite clever, knowing that if they directly poisoned or harmed Du Tinglan, it would immediately alert the authorities. As soon as the Department of Justice came to investigate, they might expose their traces at any time.
Even if nothing was discovered immediately, considering Wu Geng’s incident had just occurred, if the uncle and aunt learned there was someone of malicious intent hidden among the academy’s students, they might simply abandon the idea of selecting a Crown Princess from this batch of female students.
But taking the poems was different – anything written in Du Tinglan’s hand could have countless uses.
Bilu and Hongnu had never encountered such malicious schemes and began trembling: “They must have only just stolen them – the poems must still be in that person’s possession. Shouldn’t we search the academy immediately?”
Teng Yuyi gave a cold laugh: “If we search the academy now, that villain need only swallow the poems to destroy the evidence. Besides alerting them that they’ve been discovered and making them more cautious, we couldn’t find anything.”
Lin Chengyou examined the poems once more and said mockingly: “I roughly know what this person intends to do. If Miss Teng didn’t have the habit of setting mechanisms in her room, Miss Du might have met with disaster without even knowing who harmed her.”
Du Tinglan, already beside herself with worry, quickly asked: “What exactly does this villain intend?”
Lin Chengyou sat at the round table and said to Teng Yuyi: “Give me that stack of letters.”
Teng Yuyi responded with an “Ah!” and quickly took out the stack of letters from the pouch to place before Lin Chengyou. Seeing him sit at the round table, she also pulled her elder sister to sit down.
Lin Chengyou pointed at the stack of letters: “I suspect that person plans to send Miss Du’s poems to Lu Zhao’an. The motive, naturally, is because they know the Crown Prince favors Miss Du.”
Du Tinglan shuddered.
“Using these handwritten ‘love poems’ to falsely accuse Miss Du of having relations with another man would easily reveal flaws, but Lu Zhao’an is different. Previously in Yangzhou, Miss Du did indeed have contact with Lu Zhao’an. Even though contact was later severed, Lu Zhao’an could still speak of Miss Du’s unknown preferences. Combined with these poems, it would be enough to prove Miss Du still maintains contact with him. Once this reaches the palace, even if the Crown Prince doesn’t mind, those court officials who desperately want their daughters to become Crown Princess would strongly oppose it.”
This matched Teng Yuyi’s suspicions, and she asked curiously: “Did Young Master also see the Crown Prince and my elder sister touring together that night?”
Otherwise, how would Lin Chengyou know the Crown Prince favored her sister?
Lin Chengyou smiled: “The Crown Prince told me himself. He said in a few days, once Miss Du becomes more familiar with him, he might request an imperial decree for marriage.”
Du Tinglan’s face turned red as blood. She stood up to make a deep bow, saying solemnly: “Please help me convey to His Highness the Crown Prince that Du Tinglan dare not accept his misplaced affection. Ever since that time I nearly lost my life to the tree demon after meeting Lu Zhao’an privately, my heart has been dead to such matters. I spend my days studying and copying Buddhist sutras because I have long harbored thoughts of leaving the secular world. It’s only because my younger brother cannot yet support the family, and I fear grieving my parents, that I have delayed telling them of these thoughts. Once my brother is established, I will enter the monastery to cultivate.”
Lin Chengyou was startled and turned to look at Teng Yuyi.
Teng Yuyi was also stunned: “Elder Sister, that vile beast Lu Zhao’an deliberately harmed you. Why should you punish yourself for the mistakes of such a despicable person?!”
Du Tinglan’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, but her tone remained firm: “This world is extremely harsh toward women. If anyone with ill intent uncovers this matter, it would ruin the entire Du family’s reputation. Father taught us to live with integrity – if I made a misstep, I cannot blame others.”
She then gratefully addressed Lin Chengyou: “Young Master’s word is worth its weight in gold. Since the incident occurred, you haven’t breathed a word of it. The Du family will forever remember Young Master’s great kindness and righteousness. However, while this matter can be concealed temporarily, it cannot be hidden forever. Please trouble Young Master to inform the Crown Prince early, so His Highness may seek another worthy lady. This case has far-reaching implications – even Lady Wu fell victim to this person. I worry more classmates will be harmed in the future. If the case truly involves that villain Lu Zhao’an, Young Master must not hold back on my account. If you need me as a witness, I will not refuse.”
Hongnu couldn’t help but burst into tears – her mistress had burned her bridges. Teng Yuyi’s expression had already changed. In her anger, she contemplated having someone kill Lu Zhao’an. If not for being harmed by this villain, how could her elder sister have become so disillusioned? Moreover, this wretch seemed to have harmed many people. She should have ordered his death as soon as she arrived in Chang’an.
Unexpectedly, Lin Chengyou spoke seriously: “I haven’t told others about this matter, not only because I promised to keep it secret, but also because I know everyone has moments of confusion. Miss Du was only fifteen when she met Lu Zhao’an. Even if there was a mistake, it could only be counted as ‘poor judgment in character.’ In this life, who hasn’t made mistakes? By chance, I became privy to this information, but not knowing the full story, I have no right to judge. Moreover, I believe given Miss Du’s character, she would tell the Crown Prince about this matter sooner or later. How to handle it would be up to the Crown Prince’s discretion.
“Miss Du’s words tonight have indeed not disappointed me. In this world, many hypocrites put on righteous airs, but few true gentlemen willingly take responsibility for their mistakes.” Lin Chengyou expressed genuine admiration, “Miss Du is truly a person of honor.”
Teng Yuyi was suddenly dumbstruck.
Du Tinglan lowered her head in embarrassment. For Lin Chengyou to say such things showed he was even more upright and clear-minded than she had imagined.
Lin Chengyou continued: “There’s something else I need to tell Miss Du. Your ‘chance encounter’ with Lu Zhao’an in Yangzhou, as well as the subsequent exchange of poems and letters, might have all been arranged by him beforehand. I brought these letters tonight because I discovered some clues in them. Besides these, I also obtained the petition poems Lu Zhao’an had sent to Zheng Shuangyin. Upon comparison, both sets of letters showed irregularities.”
The room fell silent.
Lin Chengyou picked up one of the letters: “I’ve examined these letters no less than ten times. If there were any tricks in the letters, they would at least require cinnabar. Since I couldn’t spot any issues, I set this matter aside for some time. It wasn’t until a few days ago when I learned from Marshal Zheng that the Zheng family had indeed considered taking Lu Zhao’an as a son-in-law – this wasn’t merely hearsay – that I changed my approach. Afterward, I managed to obtain Lu Zhao’an’s first letter to Miss Zheng and compared it with the first letter Miss Du received, discovering they shared one commonality. Wuwei, bring the candlestick over.”
Teng Yuyi was startled – he called out “Wuwei” so naturally. She responded with an “Oh” and stood to move the candlestick in front of Lin Chengyou. Lin Chengyou spread out the letter and confirmed again with Du Tinglan: “Miss Du, please look, is this the first letter Lu Zhao’an wrote to you?”
Du Tinglan was already unsettled. Hearing this, she looked at the date on the letter and nodded: “That’s correct. I met Lu Zhao’an during the Qingming Festival two years ago while visiting Yinshan Temple in Yangzhou.”
At that time, Lu Zhao’an was engaging in a poetry competition with local scholars. Seeing Du Tinglan passing by with her maids, he followed and introduced himself as Du Yuzhi’s student, asking Du Tinglan to pass this letter to her father. Seeing his earnest manner, Du Tinglan had no choice but to accept the letter. However, when she looked at it on the way back, the envelope was addressed to “Miss Du.”
“I intended to discard it, but somehow, as if possessed, I opened it. Inside was an exquisitely crafted love poem.”
Lin Chengyou spread the envelope under the candlelight and then opened Zheng Shuangyin’s letter. In the lamplight, both letters showed identical small stains, like oil droplets – round and inconspicuous.
If Du Tinglan and Zheng Shuangyin hadn’t brought out both letters for comparison, no one would have noticed they bore the same stains.
“This isn’t sorcery, but a type of gu worm,” Lin Chengyou pointed at the two letters. “This stain is mucus left by the gu worm. It’s called the Love-Longing Gu, which can make people fall madly in love with someone. Twenty years ago, a woman in Chang’an used these gu worms to bewitch young masters from prominent families. The one who broke the gu was my grandmother, so when he returned to Chang’an, I presented the suspicious aspects of the letters to him. He recognized it immediately. Anyone affected by the gu will develop romantic feelings for the first name they see after being infected. Lu Zhao’an used letters to separately inflict the Love-Longing Gu on you and Zheng Shuangyin, intending to make you both fall in love with him. When he handed the gu-infected envelope to Miss Du, he wasn’t worried about you not accepting it – even if it only bewitched your maid, he could eventually use the maid to infect you.”
Teng Yuyi and Du Tinglan were dumbfounded. Bilu and Hongnu were also frightened and speechless.
Lin Chengyou continued: “Lu Zhao’an targeted Miss Du because she was the Du family’s daughter. To Lu Zhao’an, then a commoner, the Du family was an unreachable noble house. After successfully making Miss Du fall in love with him, he not only received considerable travel expenses from her but also promised to marry her in the future. After arriving in Chang’an and becoming the top scholar, after meeting officials like Marshal Zheng, he naturally looked down on Master Du’s position, so he took advantage of paying respects to his fellow disciples to deliver a letter to the Zheng family’s daughter.”
“Those affected by the gu become desperately attached to the one who cast it,” Lin Chengyou smiled slightly. “That’s why even knowing Lu Zhao’an had changed heart, Miss Du still risked going to the bamboo grove to meet him on the night of the Shangsi Festival. Similarly, though the Second Miss Zheng usually looked down on others, after seeing Lu Zhao’an’s poems, she developed deep feelings for him. She not only immediately began corresponding with him but also hinted to her father about taking Lu Zhao’an as a son-in-law.”
Teng Yuyi listened in shock. In her previous life, Lu Zhao’an had indeed succeeded. Half a year after her sister was strangled to death, Lu Zhao’an grandly married Zheng Shuangyin, and from there rose rapidly to become the dynasty’s youngest and most promising remonstrance official.
“But… does this Love-Longing Gu break on its own?” Teng Yuyi was puzzled. “After the tree demon incident, my elder sister feels nauseated just hearing Lu Zhao’an’s name, and from what I’ve observed, Zheng Shuangyin has also grown quite cold toward him. I remember that night when the corpse demon invaded Prince Cheng’s mansion, Lu Zhao’an and Young Master Hu Jizhen shared a talisman, but when the corpse demon came, Lu Zhao’an only thought of saving himself and locked Hu Jizhen outside. Zheng Shuangyin must have witnessed this, as she never paid attention to Lu Zhao’an afterward.”
Moreover, given Zheng Shuangyin’s character, if she truly wanted to marry Lu Zhao’an, she would never have voluntarily entered the selection for Crown Princess.
“It’s indeed difficult to break,” Lin Chengyou smiled. “Yet both Miss Du and Miss Zheng happened to break free from it. This type of gu worm is most stubborn – unless it senses its host is about to die, it would never voluntarily leave. As it happened, Miss Du encountered a tree demon with nearly demonic levels of power. That night, by the time you and Dunfu arrived, Miss Du was already unconscious. Miss Zheng was also bewitched by the corpse demon while trapped in the flower hall of Prince Cheng’s mansion that night. It’s usually very difficult to survive encounters with such evil spirits. If the host dies, the gu worm inside would die instantly as well. The gu worms, sensing grave danger, fled from their hosts in terror. With no one left to use them for curses, they became masterless creatures.”
No one in the room spoke, all too shocked for words.
Teng Yuyi gazed at the letters on the table, and an untimely thought suddenly occurred to her.
She remembered in her previous life while accompanying the Empress in worship at Dayin Temple, she had overheard Changyi and Princess Azhi discussing something.
Once when they went to Marshal Zheng’s house for a feast, they had accidentally discovered Lin Chengyou hiding in a tree.
The two curiously asked Big Brother A why he was hiding in the tree, and Lin Chengyou said he was looking for bird nests.
That was just an excuse for children.
At the time, she had found it puzzling why Lin Chengyou would hide in a tree at Marshal Zheng’s house – could he have been investigating Marshal Zheng?
Thinking about it now, could the person Lin Chengyou was investigating have been Lu Zhao’an?
That time at Caifeng Tower, Peng Yugui had confessed on her deathbed that once someone dabbled in evil arts, it would corrupt their nature. Lu Zhao’an had used evil arts and gu poison to advance his career – when faced with difficult problems in the future, he would surely resort to the same tactics again.
If done frequently enough, clever people would inevitably notice. Perhaps in her previous life, Lin Chengyou had also grown suspicious of Lu Zhao’an, and given Lin Chengyou’s nature, once he decided to investigate something, he would certainly see it through to the end.
If Lu Zhao’an’s schemes were uncovered by Lin Chengyou, he definitely wouldn’t have met a good end.
In that case, Lin Chengyou had indirectly avenged her elder sister in the previous life.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know what happened afterward.
After pondering for a while, another thought occurred to Teng Yuyi. In her previous life, after her father’s death, despite his honored position, she and Dunfu along with other servants were murdered – it would have been considered a major case. When word reached the court, the Emperor would certainly have ordered the Department of Justice to investigate thoroughly.
She wondered if Lin Chengyou had eventually taken charge of the case. If he were investigating, the truth would certainly come to light one day.
Thinking of this, her heart trembled slightly. Could it be that in her previous life, after her death, someone had avenged her, and that person was Lin Chengyou before her now?
She secretly glanced at Lin Chengyou, but unfortunately could not confirm this. Moreover, by this reasoning, the person who became Crown Princess in her previous life might not have been the black-robed killer, because if Lin Chengyou had discovered who the murderer was, that person could never have become Crown Princess.
Unfortunately, in that long dream, she only knew that the Crown Prince finally married three years later, but couldn’t learn who the Crown Princess was from the eunuchs. Not only that, but she had also heard the news of Lin Chengyou being assassinated with poisoned arrows.
Suddenly hearing sobbing beside her, she turned to see her elder sister crying bitterly while Hongnu silently wiped away tears.
Teng Yuyi felt an inexplicable ache in her heart and quickly embraced her elder sister. Her sister had carried too heavy a burden for this matter – putting on a brave face to keep their parents and siblings from worrying while being deeply unhappy. To protect the Du family’s reputation, she had even contemplated becoming a nun. Thinking back to her previous life, it was because of Lu Zhao’an’s bewitchment that her sister went to the bamboo grove – perhaps she had accidentally witnessed Lu Zhao’an meeting with his mysterious patron, leading to her being strangled in the forest.
Her hatred made her teeth itch. After a moment of silence, she looked up to ask Lin Chengyou: “With the gu worm traces on these two letters, can we arrest Lu Zhao’an now?”
Lin Chengyou glanced at the still-sobbing Du Tinglan: “This matter requires someone to testify against Lu Zhao’an in person. Since Miss Zheng and Miss Du were both victims of the gu poison, before taking action, we need to discuss this with you first—”
Du Tinglan had already expressed her stance earlier, and now knowing the truth, she naturally harbored deep hatred for Lu Zhao’an. She quickly wiped her tears and said: “If you need my testimony, Young Master need only say the word. I won’t hesitate.”
Lin Chengyou thought for a moment and said to Teng Yuyi: “Have these two maids leave.”
It wasn’t that he distrusted the maids – if they were problematic, they would have already warned the culprit not to spy on the room. But the culprit was too cunning. To prevent accidental slips of the tongue, the fewer people who knew about what came next, the better.
Hongnu and Bilu quietly withdrew, closing the door behind them.
Only then did Lin Chengyou speak again: “Lu Zhao’an is alone and powerless. He couldn’t have manipulated someone like Huo Songlin to take the blame by himself. There must be a powerful patron behind him. Unfortunately, Huo Songlin is quite stubborn. After several days in prison, he still insists that he alone harmed Hu Jizhen, Lady Wu, and the others. I was still pondering how to draw out the person behind it all when tonight’s events finally gave me a clue.”
Teng Yuyi raised her head: “Is it because my mechanism caught evidence of that person’s intrusion?”
Lin Chengyou smiled, seeing her beaming face. Guessing she was relieved now that Lu Zhao’an’s use of gu worms had been discovered, he nodded solemnly: “Indeed. Tonight’s crucial discovery was entirely thanks to Miss Teng.”
Teng Yuyi said proudly: “The Crown Prince and my sister had just finished their outing, and tonight someone stole my sister’s poems. If Lu Zhao’an wanted to harm my cousin, he’d had countless opportunities before. Besides, Young Master must have had people watching Lu Zhao’an day and night recently. Lu Zhao’an couldn’t be in two places at once – he couldn’t have come to the academy to go through my sister’s things. So there must be a true culprit hidden in the academy, and this person is targeting the Crown Princess candidates.”
Lin Chengyou: “Lady Wu’s case has too many suspicious points. She had no prior connection to Huo Songlin – she couldn’t possibly have acted under his instructions to frame Deng Weili. Huo Songlin that night was merely a puppet; the real perpetrator was someone else. I always thought it must have been someone Lady Wu trusted deeply, as I found it hard to believe that any noble lady would have dealings with evil arts. Tonight’s events prove the true culprit is one of Lady Wu’s classmates.”
Du Tinglan was puzzled: “The academy is full of young ladies from noble families. How could any of them become involved with evil arts—”
“Have you forgotten about the Bright Moon Wanderer? While alive, she had been impersonating Master Jingchen at the Yuzheng Daoist Convent. The convent regularly held poetry gatherings and flower-viewing parties. I heard Chang’an’s noble ladies often visited in groups – it wouldn’t have been difficult to become acquainted with Master Jingchen.”
Teng Yuyi fell into deep thought. Indeed, the Bright Moon Wanderer knew evil arts and could use silver threads.
It seemed the black-robed killer from her previous life might truly have been a classmate who had contact with the Bright Moon Wanderer.
She particularly remembered that in her previous life, when the black-robed person was killing her and Dunfu, she had desperately said: “I know what you want. That thing is currently hidden at an estate in the southern part of the city.”
But that person hadn’t even bothered to ask what it was, instead directly taking her and Dunfu’s lives. She had thought the black-robed killer had already found the letter in the study, but thinking about it now, the killer hadn’t even confirmed this with their subordinates before killing – they had no interest in the Teng family’s secrets. That night was purely for murder.
But she had never made enemies before, and considering recent events, she guessed she had been targeted possibly because the Crown Prince frequently sent people to check on her after her father’s death.
Who could it be?
She remembered that initially, there were three names on the Crown Princess candidate list: besides herself, there were Wu Qi and Deng Weili. None of their current classmates at the academy had been on that list, but the list might not be definitive – if the Crown Prince didn’t marry until three years later, there must have been changes.
Speaking of their current classmates, one person could be eliminated first. In her previous life, Li Huaigu’s father held a low position, and after being renamed “Li Huaisan” by Lin Chengyou at Dayin Temple, once word got out, Li Huaigu couldn’t hope to compete for Crown Princess – she couldn’t even marry into any of Chang’an’s noble families.
She heard that not long after that incident, Li Guangyuan and Lady Li had shamefully left Chang’an with their daughter.
Considering the black-robed killer might have wanted to become Crown Princess, the incident in her previous life should have had nothing to do with the Li family. Even if the Li family killed her, Li Huaigu wouldn’t have been chosen, and once discovered, they would have faced the execution of their entire clan.
Teng Yuyi considered carefully and said: “If this person just wants to become Crown Princess, they might not be Lu Zhao’an’s patron. This vicious classmate might have just happened to come into contact with evil arts, or knows the patron. The patron, fearing these three cases would be traced back to them, simply found a scapegoat in Huo Songlin and pinned all three cases on him alone.”
This analysis aligned perfectly with Lin Chengyou’s suspicions.
Because the motives for the three murder cases weren’t consistent.
Hu Jizhen’s case was very likely Lu Zhao’an’s doing, possibly to “silence” him.
The later cases of Li Ying’er and Lady Wu were caused by this person at the academy, motivated by their desire to become Crown Princess.
Targeting Lady Wu alone would have made the motive too obvious, so that person first harmed an innocent victim, thus smoothly fabricating the false culprit Huo Songlin with his story of “taking souls to save his daughter.”
Lin Chengyou lowered his eyes in thought for a moment, then smiled: “Want to catch this person?”
Teng Yuyi: “Of course.”
“That person never expected you had set a hair trap in the room. They think they acted without leaving a trace, and in a few days will make their move with the poems. Why not use this to set a trap, catching both Lu Zhao’an and this person from the academy in one net? If successful, we might even be able to expose the patron behind them. However… this trap requires the cooperation of three people. You, Miss Du, and the Crown Prince.”
Du Tinglan was startled, but Teng Yuyi immediately said without hesitation: “Tell us what you need us to do, Young Master.”
Remembering the feeling of sinking in ice-cold water in her previous life, she wanted to eat their flesh and sleep in their skin. With the culprit about to be caught, her heart couldn’t stop trembling.
“In a few days, your uncle will go hunting outside the city, and the capital’s nobles will accompany him. At that time, I’ll have your aunt issue an order for those at the academy—”
After hearing Lin Chengyou’s plan, Teng Yuyi remained silent for a long while. This man was brilliantly clever, able to devise such a perfect trap in such a short time.
She shook her head.
“Getting soft?” Lin Chengyou asked puzzled. “Teng Yuyi, since when did you become so hesitant?”
Teng Yuyi sighed: “I mean it’s not vicious enough. Is there an even more vicious method?”
Du Tinglan, still processing her complex emotions about uncovering Lu Zhao’an’s true nature, was startled by these words. She looked up at her sister, then at Lin Chengyou – was this how these two usually spoke? She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she held her sister’s hand and shook her head slightly at her. It was fine to talk, but there was no need for such murderous looks.
Lin Chengyou, however, seemed well acquainted with Teng Yuyi’s murderous expressions. Not only did he not find it strange, but he broke into a smile as if to say, this was the real Teng Yuyi.
“Tell me, what do you want to do?”