Song Jue emerged together with Song Chuyi. Plum blossoms cascaded from the branches like falling snow in the wind, scattering across the ground in a carpet of petals. Yet neither of them spared even a glance, walking directly past the expanse of rosy clouds.
“Yuan Jin shows no abnormalities whatsoever.” Song Jue repeated to Song Chuyi in person what he had previously investigated. “Even Zhang Tianshi and the Celestial Master’s wife both say that Yuan Jin is an extremely honest child. His father is Zhang Tianshi’s junior disciple, and he’s a son born to his parents in their old age. He’s been quite doted upon since childhood—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been placed at the Grand Prince’s side. For someone like this, who has grown up alongside His Highness the Grand Prince since childhood, to claim he’s a spy seems rather illogical.”
Many things in this world couldn’t be deduced by whether they seemed logical or not. A mole wouldn’t write on his own face that he was a mole, that he was a spy. And the absence of any movement—just as she had thought before—this mole had managed to keep a low profile without showing any signs until the very end in her previous life, which proved his exceptional skill.
Seeing her lower her head without speaking, Song Jue thought for a moment before saying, “Shall I interrogate Qing Luo and Han Yan again? I also feel that what they said seems somewhat incomplete and not entirely truthful.”
“No need for further interrogation.” Song Chuyi shook her head decisively. “I don’t care whether they told the truth or not. Release them.”
This time even Song Jue was stunned. He looked up at Song Chuyi’s eyes with some confusion, thinking he must have misheard. There was a mole at Zhou Weizhao’s side, and Qing Luo and Han Yan were people who had directly contacted the mole—and now she was saying to just release them?
He frowned deeply in bewilderment, raising his hand out of habit to give Song Chuyi a chestnut knock, but ultimately withdrew it and instead lightly flicked her forehead. “What devious scheme are you plotting now?”
When it concerned Zhou Weizhao, Song Chuyi would absolutely never let the matter rest easily. She must have thought of some other plan.
Song Chuyi smiled with an air of inscrutability, raising her hand to protect her forehead as she looked at Song Jue with the wariness of a rabbit. “Stop constantly flicking my forehead, or else—”
Though this was his most beloved little sister, when she played coy like this, she was just as irritating as before, making one’s teeth itch. Song Jue snorted without good humor, though his face showed a hint of amusement. “Or else what?!”
Life was already exhausting enough, and the road ahead of them was covered with thorns. If their mindset couldn’t be somewhat more relaxed, there would truly be no way to get through the days. Who would want to spend every day on edge without a moment’s peace? No person could withstand that.
“Or else I’ll charge you with a crime—the crime of gross disrespect.” Seeing Song Jue glare at her without good humor, Song Chuyi couldn’t help but laugh as well. Then she looked at Song Jue and said, “Let’s cast a long line to catch a big fish. If what they told me is all lies, even beating them to death won’t make them tell the truth. Conversely, if they truly still aren’t willing to tell me the truth, it means they still harbor resentment toward me in their hearts, still wish for my downfall. In that case, they will surely make another move.”
Song Jue understood. He clasped his hands behind his back, stopped walking, and looked at Song Chuyi. “You mean to put on a show?”
Make them believe they’ve truly obtained their freedom. But while it sounded simple, actually doing it seemed somewhat difficult.
After all, Qing Luo and Han Yan weren’t fools. Earl Changning’s estate was heavily guarded—where could they escape so easily just because they wanted to?
Song Chuyi had spent many years with Song Jue and knew what he was thinking at this moment. Before he could speak, she said, “Then don’t make them escape on their own. Send someone to rescue them. Let them escape with good reason.”
Another gust of wind blew past, making the cloak on Song Jue’s body flutter loudly. He thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
That night, a fire broke out at the residence where Grand Princess Consort Song Chuyi had lived before her marriage, alarming the Metropolitan Infantry Division and the neighbors on both sides. Next door, Minister Lin sent people over repeatedly to inquire about what exactly had happened.
The entire Song household was thrown into chaos, with shouts of alarm everywhere.
The roaring flames reflected on the lake surface, staining half the water red. Both being people trained in martial arts, Qing Luo and Han Yan were extremely alert and had already sprung from their beds almost the instant the fire broke out.
“What’s happening?!” The two exchanged glances and both rushed out the door without hesitation.
The searing heat of the fire gave them headaches. Wave after wave of heat surged forward, nearly scorching their hair. The two stared dumbfounded at the servants fleeing in panic everywhere and the guards and household servants busy evacuating people, momentarily at a loss.
They didn’t know how long they had been standing there. People kept running back and forth constantly. On the corridor, someone bumped into Qing Luo. Qing Luo had been watching intently as everyone either fled for their lives or fought the fire. Being bumped like this, she staggered before steadying herself, nearly stepping into empty air and falling down the steps. Before she could react, someone grabbed her arm hard again.
She raised her eyes to look. The person wore the most ordinary clothing typically worn by the young servants of Earl Changning’s estate. He kept his head lowered as if afraid of being discovered, and asked in a suppressed voice, “You didn’t confess anything, did you?”
Han Yan reacted faster than Qing Luo. Joy appeared in her eyes. She glanced around, pulled Qing Luo to duck behind a pillar, her voice somewhat excited. “No, no! We didn’t!”
Qing Luo looked at her in surprise, only to be overwhelmed by her even louder voice. “We didn’t say anything, rest assured!”
“Good that you didn’t say anything.” The person kept his brows lowered and eyes downcast, still carrying a huge wooden bucket in his hand. He spoke extremely rapidly. “Then leave quickly. This fire burns suspiciously. With the manpower of Earl Changning’s estate, it will soon be extinguished and they’ll investigate thoroughly.”
So he really had come to rescue them! Han Yan breathed a sigh of relief, a smile returning to her face. “But how can we leave?”
“You used to be Dao soldiers—don’t you even know how to disguise yourselves?” The person rebuked them in a low voice. “Why set the fire? Isn’t it because fires create a big commotion and easily cause chaos? Right now, many of the servants living on the back street have come in to fight the fire. Can’t you just dress as men like you did when you came down from the mountain?!”
So he even knew how they had disguised themselves when descending from Longhu Mountain—he truly was one of their own.
Both Qing Luo and Han Yan breathed sighs of relief. Outside, even more people had already poured in to fight the fire. Only then did they discover that their bodies were soaked with sweat—from being baked by the fire.
“Go quickly! If you delay any longer, I’m afraid it will be too late.” The person urged them in a low voice. “Don’t rush to flee to the mountain. The Song family are all cunning foxes—they’ll definitely search the mountain.”
Not return to Longhu Mountain? Then where should they go?
Before they could ask, voices outside had already begun calling out for Fourth Young Master and First Young Master one after another.
Song Yan and Song Jue had indeed immediately sensed something was wrong. Qing Luo and Han Yan’s hearts pounded violently. They turned to look, but that person had already quickly slipped away with his water bucket, blending into the crowd.
He was afraid of being discovered.
Their hearts in their throats, they swiftly raised their hands to cover their faces. They soon spotted two young servants drawing water. Without any hesitation, they struck them unconscious, stripped off their clothing and put it on themselves, then hurriedly wound up their hair into topknots.
For the convenience of following Zhou Weizhao, they had deliberately studied all this before. Now doing it again, their movements were smooth and seamless, completed in one fluid motion. When they raised their heads again, they already had the appearance of docile young male servants with lowered brows and obedient expressions.