A drizzling rain fell steadily, and the sky hung low as if about to collapse.
Lu Chang had the day off from his official duties and was resting at home. Wei Zhuo personally brought a military physician to examine him and change his dressings. Ming Shu stayed home as well, not going anywhere.
Madam Zeng sat with Wei Zhuo in the main hall talking, while Ming Shu stood by the curtain leading to the inner hall, listening to what was happening inside.
“Ming Shu, what are you standing there listening for?” Madam Zeng asked, noticing her perked ears.
“Listening to see if Brother cries out in pain,” Ming Shu turned her head to reply. “Why isn’t there any sound at all?”
Wei Zhuo chuckled, “Don’t worry, this is the most skilled physician from my place. He won’t hurt your brother.”
“Uncle Wei’s people are naturally capable, but being skilled and whether Brother feels pain are two different things. The wound is on his body—how could it not hurt?” Ming Shu said dismissively, her attention still on the inner hall.
“So it’s not that he’s in pain, but that you’re worried about him?” Wei Zhuo teased.
Ming Shu whirled around, her cheeks flushing red: “Who’s worried about him?”
The curtain suddenly lifted, and Lu Chang emerged wearing a light cyan robe, his left shoulder slightly raised, with visible traces of thick bandages underneath. He had heard Ming Shu’s voice as he came out, and with a slight smile playing on his lips, he stood behind her and said, “Ming Shu, I’m fine.”
Ming Shu felt she was being teased and was about to retort when she saw the physician following behind. She turned to question him instead: “How is my brother’s wound healing?”
“The Deputy Magistrate’s wound is healing very well, Miss Lu need not worry. However, he should still be careful with his movements during this period and avoid straining his left arm,” the physician advised, handed the prescription to Ming Shu, and left with his apprentice.
Ming Shu gave the prescription to Lai An, telling him to quickly fetch and brew the medicine. She turned back to give Lu Chang additional reminders, to which Lu Chang could only nod in acknowledgment.
Wei Zhuo remarked to Madam Zeng: “These two—it’s hard to tell who’s the brother and who’s the sister.”
Madam Zeng smiled: “Thanks to Ming Shu being here, I have so many fewer worries.” As she spoke, a touch of melancholy appeared in her expression, her gaze at Ming Shu full of concern.
Wei Zhuo understood her concerns and quietly consoled her: “Madam Zeng, don’t worry. Ming Shu is blessed with good fortune. With all of you here, she will surely overcome this ordeal.”
“I hope so,” Madam Zeng sighed. After both Lu Chang and Ming Shu were attacked, Lu Chang couldn’t hide his investigation of the Jian family case from her, and she naturally heard that Wei Zhuo knew about Ming Shu’s true identity.
“Mother!” Ming Shu finished instructing Lu Chang and turned to find Madam Zeng.
Wei Zhuo changed the subject and rose to leave. Lu Chang had important matters to discuss with him, so he accompanied him out. They dismissed their attendants and talked as they walked.
“Uncle Wei, any news of Zhou Xiuqing’s whereabouts?” Lu Chang asked. Although they had captured Wu Si and the others, he hadn’t given up searching for Zhou Xiuqing.
“Not yet,” Wei Zhuo replied. Based on Lu Chang’s deductions from various signs at the kidnapping scene, Zhou Xiuqing should have been taken to Bianjing City, but this search wasn’t as successful as catching Wu Si and the others. He had deployed many men to search the capital for days, still without results.
“Could they be outside the capital?” Wei Zhuo asked.
With the Imperial Guard’s capabilities, if they couldn’t find someone in the capital, there were only two possibilities: either the person wasn’t in the capital, or they held considerable power and status. But Zhou Xiuqing was involved in a Jiangning Prefecture case—surely they couldn’t be connected to capital officials?
Lu Chang shook his head: “After the incident, the Third Prince also had people search all major roads around Bianjing. If they left the capital, there would be traces, but strangely… Zhou Xiuqing seems to have vanished completely.”
He stopped walking and cupped his hands toward Wei Zhuo: “Uncle Wei I have a theory, but without proof, I’ve been hesitant to voice it. However, Zhou Xiuqing’s matter is crucial, I…”
“Speak freely,” Wei Zhuo said.
“Song Qingzhao once sent people to Jiangning County to inquire about my past. His people encountered Prince Yu’s men there.”
Wei Zhuo’s gaze sharpened: “You suspect Prince Yu? He’s the Emperor’s favored eldest son, and also…”
The latter half remained unspoken, but Lu Chang understood—Prince Yu was the eldest, the Third Prince was the legitimate son, and both were potential heirs to the throne.
“If it were other noble families that would be one thing, but Prince Yu…” Wei Zhuo shook his head.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t investigate, but that they shouldn’t. The Imperial Guard was the Emperor’s army, and he, as their commander, was one of the Emperor’s most trusted inner circle. Nothing was more taboo than getting involved in succession disputes. While he could help with the Jiangning robbery case, this was a critical time for choosing an heir, with the Emperor testing both princes’ abilities. Both Prince Yu and the Third Prince were in the spotlight. If he intervened now, even with purely public interests and no connection to succession matters, the Emperor’s reaction would be unpredictable.
Forming factions was already taboo for the royal family, let alone for him as the commander of the Imperial Guard controlling the capital’s defenses. One misstep would not only affect him but would also cause the Third Prince, Zhao Jingran, to fall under imperial suspicion.
Lu Chang naturally understood all this, which was why he had hesitated to voice his suspicions.
“Never mind, perhaps I’m overthinking it. Uncle Wei, please don’t dwell on it, pretend you never heard it,” Lu Chang walked away.
Asking Wei Zhuo to investigate Prince Yu was indeed too much to ask.
“Lu Chang…” Wei Zhuo suddenly called him back, seeming to make a decision, “You can’t move about the capital without protection. I’ll give you a squad of men. They’re not part of the Imperial Guard, just some troublemakers. If you can control them, they’ll be like wings to a tiger.”
“Thank you, Uncle Wei,” Lu Chang bowed in gratitude.
Past noon, the rain still hadn’t stopped.
With Lu Chang out with Wei Zhuo, Ming Shu borrowed his study, lying on his desk drawing jewelry designs.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded as Ying Xun’s colleague from the Kaifeng Prefecture came to find Ming Shu.
“Brother Ying is at Daxing Gambling House. They’ve caught Yu Lian, and he asks Miss Lu to come quickly.”
Yu Lian was Miss Peng’s son—Peng Qing’s sister’s boy.
Ming Shu threw down her brush and hurriedly followed the runner.
Daxing Gambling House was also on North Xie Street, its interior stuffy and thick with smoke. Yu Lian had been caught cheating and was being held in the gambling house, nearly having his hand cut off and ear sliced, but Ying Xun’s arrival had temporarily saved him. However, the gambling house owner wouldn’t back down, and both sides were at an impasse. Although Ying Xun was a constable, he had no authority in these underworld matters and could only barely maintain the situation.
“Officer Ying, this person violated our house rules. If you want to protect him, fine—pay the ransom. Otherwise, he won’t be stepping out of Daxing’s door today,” the gambling house owner, surnamed Qian, sat on the gambling table and sneered.
Several thugs with clubs and weapons surrounded Ying Xun and Yu Lian, while a crowd of gambling patrons formed an impenetrable wall around them.
Yu Lian knelt on the ground, crying and clutching Ying Xun’s clothes, begging for his life. Ying Xun only asked Owner Qian: “How much?”
“Not much. He just cheated and won five taels of silver. I only want him to pay back a hundred times that,” Owner Qian said.
Five hundred taels?
This was outrageous extortion.
Not only did Ying Xun not have five hundred taels, but even if he did, he couldn’t possibly pay it.
“If you can’t afford five hundred taels, Officer Ying should stay out of this business,” Owner Qian mocked.
“Owner Qian, that’s quite a demand, asking for five hundred taels just like that?” A clear, feminine voice tinged with amusement came from beyond the crowd.
The spectating gamblers suddenly stirred as two men wearing light armor and carrying swords at their waists parted the crowd on both sides, making a path for a young woman to step slowly into the gambling house.
She was seventeen or eighteen years old, smiling, beautiful, and pleasant to look at—not the type of person one would expect to see in such a place.
Owner Qian was about to speak when he noticed four more people following behind her, a total of six guards protecting her in the center. All six wore light armor and carried long swords—in Bianjing city, those who could openly carry swords were no ordinary people. Owner Qian immediately stood up from the table, carefully appraising Ming Shu, and cupped his hands in greeting: “This young lady is…?”
In this business, one needed both to maintain order and to know people. Bianjing was full of powerful figures, and offending the wrong person could bring disaster. Owner Qian naturally needed to determine if this was someone he could afford to offend.
“Never mind who I am. I just want to ask Owner Qian one straight question: what will it take for me to take this person away?” Ming Shu only glanced at Ying Xun before raising her small face toward Owner Qian, a businesslike smile still on her lips.
That smile, combined with her guards, gave Owner Qian pause but having stated his terms, he couldn’t back down easily. As he was about to speak after studying her, Ming Shu added: “Owner Qian, why don’t we step aside to talk?”
Owner Qian considered for a moment and made a “please” gesture, inviting her to the inner hall to talk. Ying Xun called out anxiously: “Miss Lu!”
Ming Shu shook her head at him, gesturing for him to be quiet, then followed Owner Qian inside. After barely half a cup of tea time, the inner hall’s curtain lifted, and the two emerged, chatting amicably and exchanging courteous gestures. Upon reaching the main hall, Ming Shu threw down a paper and said to Yu Lian: “Sign it.”
Yu Lian looked down to see it was a promissory note for five hundred taels. He was about to jump up but was firmly held down by Owner Qian’s men.
“I’ll pay the money for you, and you’ll owe it to me. Sign it and come with me,” Ming Shu said.
Yu Lian tried to struggle, but Owner Qian gave his men a look, and they immediately pressed Yu Lian down to press his fingerprint on the note, then handed it to Ming Shu. Only then did Ming Shu smile and cup her hands to Owner Qian: “Thank you, Owner Qian. I’ll take my leave now.”
Owner Qian waved for his men to step back and returned her gesture: “Safe journey, young miss. No need to see you out.”
Ying Xun pulled Yu Lian up from the ground and, bewildered, followed Ming Shu out of the gambling house.
As soon as they stepped out the door, Ming Shu clutched her chest and took a deep breath of fresh air—the smoke inside had nearly suffocated her.
“Did you pay five hundred taels?” Ying Xun pushed Yu Lian toward Qiu Ming and quietly asked Ming Shu.
Ming Shu spread her hands: “Do I look like someone who carries five hundred taels around?”
“Then you…”
Ming Shu held up two fingers, saying: “Twenty taels. Gave him twenty taels, and in exchange, had Owner Qian do me a favor by writing up a promissory note for him to sign.”
“…” Ying Xun wanted to ask how she managed that.
Ming Shu had simply judged others by herself. Businesspeople generally avoid offending others needlessly. She was fortunate that upon hearing it was a gambling house, she had brought Qiu Ming and the others along. Borrowing their imposing presence to first intimidate Owner Qian, then negotiating privately and giving him a way to save face, he naturally became amenable. Of course, Ming Shu still had to pay a price—twenty taels wasn’t a small sum, it was all she had on her day.
This money, she intended to get back.
“Let’s go interrogate Yu Lian,” Ming Shu flicked the promissory note, not bothering to explain more to Ying Xun.
The group took Yu Lian to a nearby secluded spot. Ming Shu sat on a stone stool under a tree, coldly watching Yu Lian. Yu Lian dropped to his knees, repeatedly kowtowing: “Young miss, spare me, young miss, spare me…”
“Five hundred taels—how do you plan to repay me?” Ming Shu asked.
“Young miss, even if you kill me, I can’t repay such a sum. You’re like Guanyin Bodhisattva reborn, please spare this worthless one!” Yu Lian wept.
“Whether I spare you depends on your performance. I have some questions for you, and if you answer well, I’ll consider letting you off. Ming Shu stroked the promissory note as she spoke.
Yu Lian nodded frantically: “I’ll answer, I’ll answer anything young miss asks.”
Ming Shu first inquired about his parents, and after confirming he was Miss Peng’s son born after her release from prison, she continued: “Your father died early, you don’t work honestly, spending your days drinking and gambling. Your mother is a spirit medium whose earnings barely cover daily necessities. Where does your spending money come from?”
Ying Xun had already investigated the Peng family’s financial situation these past few days and reported to Ming Shu. The Peng household relied solely on Miss Peng’s fraudulent spiritual practices for income and should have been living quite frugally. Yet somehow this mother and son had been living comfortably these past few years, wanting neither clothes nor food, with Yu Lian even having extra money for drinking and gambling—this was strange.
“It’s… it’s my mother’s sister-in-law… she helps us out with money from time to time. All our money comes from her, she sends us several taels every few days,” Yu Lian said.
“Is this sister-in-law the Madam Cai who lives in West Ji’er Lane?”
“Yes, yes, that’s her,” Yu Lian nodded quickly.
“From what I know, though she’s your mother’s sister-in-law, she remarried long ago. Why would she keep helping you repeatedly?”
“Maybe… maybe because they’re close…” Yu Lian lowered his head, his gaze flickering.
“Close? Giving money for over ten years?” Ming Shu shook the promissory note. “Yu Lian, do you think I haven’t looked into what kind of business they used to do?”
Trading in human lives for profit, losing all conscience for some silver, ruining families—how could someone like that unconditionally support their in-laws?
“If you don’t answer truthfully, I can send this promissory note to Owner Qian anytime. Then we’ll see if you’d rather lose an arm or an ear…”
“I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!” Yu Lian hurriedly shouted. “It’s my mother… my mother has leverage over Aunt Cai, forcing her to give us money all these years. But I don’t know exactly what the leverage is, my mother never told me…” He glanced at Ming Shu’s expression and bit his lip before continuing, “I only overheard bits when they argued a few times. It seems to be about something from over ten years ago, related to Aunt Cai’s birth daughter. That’s all I know.”
Ming Shu exchanged glances with Ying Xun, who suggested: “Strike while the iron is hot—why not summon Miss Peng now for questioning?”
“Good,” Ming Shu nodded.
Miss Peng nearly fainted when she heard her son had been caught by the gambling house. He was her only son, whom she counted on for support in her old age—how could she bear to see him maimed? She rushed to the gambling house only to learn Yu Lian had been taken away. As she wandered North Xie Street like a headless fly looking for her son, Ying Xun’s group found her and brought her before Ming Shu.
Ming Shu still sat waiting under the tree, with Yu Lian held nearby. Seeing Miss Peng approach, he called out: “Mother, save me!”
Miss Peng broke into a cold sweat hearing his voice, stumbling forward and nearly falling flat on her face.
“You… you villains, release my son at once, or I’ll report you to the authorities!”
Ying Xun pulled out his official badge, flashing it before her eyes: “Go ahead, I am Constable Ying Xun of the Kaifeng Prefecture.”
“You… you… Officials colluding with criminals to bully innocent people! Help! Someone help!” Miss Peng wiped her sweat and started shouting.
Ming Shu glanced sideways at Yu Lian: “Tell your mother to be quiet.”
Yu Lian looked at the promissory note in her hand and had to comply: “Mother, be quiet! Stop shouting! I’ll lose my life if you don’t!”
Miss Peng’s voice cut off abruptly. She dropped to her knees, about to kowtow and beg, but Ming Shu coldly spoke before she could: “No need to beg. I just want to know what leverage you have over your sister-in-law that makes her willing to support you?”
“My sister-in-law…” Miss Peng hesitated, finally realizing what Ming Shu meant. She quickly glanced at Yu Lian, sweating more profusely, and said, “My sister-in-law helps me only because she was married to my brother. What leverage could there be?”
It was getting late, and Ming Shu was growing impatient. She dispensed with further pleasantries and said: “Your son has already confessed that Madam Cai sends you money repeatedly because you have leverage over her, related to her birth daughter. I just want the truth now. Tell me honestly, and you can safely take your son away. But if you lie even once, you can collect your son from Daxing Gambling House.”
“Mother, save me! Just tell them! Don’t let them send me back to Daxing Gambling House!” Yu Lian cried out in fear.
“I… I don’t… what birth daughter? I don’t know!” Miss Peng, rattled by Yu Lian’s cries, could only look between her son and Ming Shu, then at the threatening figures standing around.
“I’ll ask you one thing: where is Madam Cai’s birth daughter? Did you switch the babies?” Ming Shu stood up, taking one step toward Miss Peng with each word until she stood before her and demanded, “Speak!”
“I didn’t, it wasn’t me, I didn’t do it!” Miss Peng bit her lip and clutched her head, shaking it. “It was sister-in-law! Sister-in-law did it!”
“What did she do?” Ying Xun finally pulled Ming Shu back and asked coldly.
Miss Peng collapsed to the ground, clutching her clothes: “It happened seventeen years ago. Back then, we were helping my brother with his unspeakable business. One day he brought back a month-old baby girl—we didn’t know then she was from an official’s family. Because of issues with the buyer, we couldn’t send her away immediately. At that time, my sister-in-law had just given birth to a daughter too, only half a month apart, so she took care of both babies.”
She swallowed and continued recalling: “Coincidentally, officials were investigating heavily those months. Sister-in-law sensed trouble and feared discovery, so she quietly got rid of the children we were hiding, some abandoned, some sold off—that baby girl was among them. But shortly after, the authorities indeed found us. When they came, the sister-in-law, seeing everything exposed and wanting to secure a future for her daughter, lied to the family when they came to claim their child. She claimed her daughter was their kidnapped baby and forced me to keep quiet about it. Later, her daughter was indeed taken back by that family. Over ten years have passed, and while her daughter lives in luxury, my son and I suffer in poverty. That’s why I confronted her. She fears I’ll reveal the truth, so that’s why…”
“What about the abandoned baby girl? Where did she go?” Ming Shu rubbed her temples and asked.
“I don’t know. Sister-in-law did all this—she never told us where she abandoned the baby girl,” Miss Peng wept. “That’s all I know, I’ve told you everything. Please spare my son.”
Ming Shu pondered for a moment, then nodded to Qiu Ming and the others, who released Yu Lian. Freed, he ran to Miss Peng’s side and said to Ming Shu: “Young miss, we’ve told you everything you wanted to know. Please let us go.”
“You may leave,” Ming Shu waved her hand, dismissing them.
Yu Lian approached again with a fawning expression, asking about the promissory note: “Then this note…”
Ming Shu quickly pulled back her hand, with Ying Xun stepped between them.
“That I can’t give you. I only promised not to give it to Owner Qian—I never said I’d return it to you. Want it back? Bring me twenty taels of silver first, then we’ll talk.” Ming Shu patted Ying Xun’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go back.”
After a few steps, she turned back: “If you want the note back, ask your aunt about where that baby girl went, and I’ll return it to you!”
Learning of Madam Cai’s baby switch from Miss Peng left Ming Shu feeling heavy-hearted.
Setting aside Liu Wan’er’s identity, at least there was a seventy percent chance that the current Third Miss Lu, Lu Ruishan, was an impostor. This complicates matters significantly. Ming Shu had met Third Miss Lu’s mother, Madam Feng, and could see how much she loved this daughter. Seventeen years of mother-daughter bonds—and now to tell Madam Feng that Third Miss Lu was the daughter of the kidnapper who had taken her birth daughter…
Just thinking about it made Ming Shu uncomfortable.
“Don’t overthink it. Right now we only know Lu Ruishan’s identity is questionable, but that doesn’t prove Liu Wan’er is the Lu family’s flesh and blood. We still need to question the wet nurse and get Madam Cai to reveal where the baby girl went before we can confirm everything,” Ying Xun, understanding her dilemma, explained gravely.
“I’m fine,” Ming Shu nodded, quickly setting the matter aside for now. She glanced at the sky and suddenly slapped her forehead, “Oh no, it’s dark!”
This late—Lu Chang would surely be angry again.
Hurrying as fast as she could, she finally reached the Wei mansion.
She hoped Lu Chang wouldn’t be too harsh.
At the mansion gate, she hastily bid farewell to Ying Xun. Just as she was about to enter, the sound of hoofbeats came from afar—coincidentally, Lu Chang was also returning late, and they met at the entrance.
Ming Shu blinked and obediently called out: “Brother.”
Lu Chang had come by horseback today, stopping several steps away from her. Wrapped in the darkness of night, Ming Shu couldn’t see his features.
“You…” Lu Chang started to say something but suddenly stopped, changing course, “Go in first, I need to discuss something with Ying Xun.”
He let Ming Shu off without questioning her at all.
Ming Shu breathed a huge sigh of relief, said “All alright” and quickly entered the mansion. After a few steps, something felt increasingly wrong—letting her off so easily wasn’t Lu Chang’s style. He hadn’t even dismounted, as if deliberately keeping his distance from her…
Ming Shu’s steps gradually slowed, then stopped, and finally, she turned back and ran toward the main gate.
At the gate, Ying Xun was already helping Lu Chang down from horseback.
“Sir, what happened…” he asked while supporting him.
Lu Chang shook his head: “Thank you, I’m fine.”
Ying Xun didn’t press further, helping him slowly walk into the mansion. Lu Chang said: “Don’t mention this to Ming Shu.”
Before Ying Xun could respond, a voice came from the doorway.
“Don’t mention what to me?”
Lu Chang looked up to see Ming Shu leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, fixing him with an unfriendly gaze.
How the tables had turned—before, Ming Shu had always feared Lu Chang, but now it was Lu Chang’s turn to feel guilty.
Ming Shu approached, studying Lu Chang, her gaze first falling on his left shoulder—the wound that had been rebandaged just that morning had reopened, blood seeping through his clothes.
Then she looked at his face—his handsome features marred by a split lip and a bruise on his right eye.
Her anger began to rise.
“Ming Shu, I’m fine, these are just superficial wounds,” Lu Chang, knowing her temper, immediately explained.
His cautious tone was a rare show of weakness from him.
“Were you attacked?” Ming Shu asked coldly.
“No, just encountered some troublemakers and had a bit of a scuffle,” Lu Chang noticed her staring at his mouth and unconsciously touched his split lip, rubbing off some blood.
“So… you… got… into… a… fight?” Ming Shu smiled. “You got into a fight while your arrow wound hasn’t healed? Lu Chang, are you tired of living?”
Ying Xun wanted to smooth things over for Lu Chang, but seeing him about to be scolded to death, he wisely kept quiet.
Better not to interfere in matters between these siblings.
After helping Ming Shu get Lu Chang to his room, Ying Xun promptly took his leave. Lai An was sent to fetch a physician, leaving Ming Shu alone with Lu Chang.
Lu Chang sat on the chaise by the window, watching Ming Shu’s furious expression, and could only let her scold him.
Ming Shu berated him while pouring water and wringing out a cloth: “Lu Chang, let me tell you, I don’t care what you do outside, but you better come back to me in one piece. You’re always lecturing me, controlling me, but what about you? Even if it’s Uncle Wei’s intention, did he tell you to fight? To fight while injured? Would you lose a piece of flesh by waiting a few days?”
He didn’t hide anything from her, explaining Wei Zhuo’s intentions. It wasn’t that Wei Zhuo had told him to fight while injured, but troublemakers weren’t easy to subdue, and sometimes men needed to use force. Plus, being eager to investigate the Jian family case and truly short on manpower, he hadn’t thought too much about it.
Fighting three skilled opponents at once—these minor injuries were quite light.
“Ming Shu, I know I was wrong. It won’t happen again,” Lu Chang’s attitude was perfect, neither arguing nor defending, just like Ming Shu herself would do.
Ming Shu had come to sit beside him, using a corner of the damp cloth to clean his split lip.
They faced each other, their breaths mingling, their features reflected in each other’s eyes.
Ming Shu gave a cold laugh, not falling for Lu Chang’s act.
After cleaning the dirt from his lip wound, she leaned close to his ear and whispered: “Lu Chang, have I ever told you that I don’t like ugly men, men with scarred faces?”
“…” Lu Chang’s breathing suddenly deepened, and he lost his voice.
This threat was quite serious.