Meeting her gaze, Feng Li suddenly laughed: “Do you really think the Eldest Young Master went to Hedong? Actually, the Eldest Young Master has long suspected you. He never left at all—he remained secretly in Honghua Prefecture, waiting for you to reveal yourself!”

“Nonsense, Li Jiancheng he…” Yunyi had only spoken a few words when Feng Li suddenly looked behind her with delight: “Eldest Young Master, she really is that female assassin! Quickly capture her!”

Yunyi instinctively turned around, only to find nothing behind her—not a single person was there. Terrible, she had actually been outmaneuvered by Feng Li! Before this thought could finish forming, her chest had already received a heavy palm strike, while another hand seized her with great force, turning the blade toward herself!

If Feng Li had harbored even a trace of hesitation about eliminating Yunyi before, now he was completely resolved. Of course, if he could capture her alive, that would be even better! Who would have thought—the Eldest Young Master had originally feared she might bewitch Second Young Master, so he sent him to assassinate her. But it turned out this woman was actually the female assassin who had escaped earlier.

It was strange though—they had previously thoroughly checked everyone in the mansion, including the possibility of disguise. How had she managed to escape?

Yunyi’s strength was ultimately insufficient. Under Feng Li’s force, the blade was only an inch away from her neck. Feng Li said coldly: “If you surrender now, you might still live!”

“Live? You should worry about yourself instead!” Having said this, Yunyi suddenly bent backward like a boneless serpent, using her feet to kick heavily at Feng Li’s jaw. Caught off guard, he staggered back several steps. Before he could react, he felt a chill in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw that the blade that had originally belonged to him was now inserted in his stomach, with warm crimson blood slowly dripping down the blade.

Yunyi expressionlessly withdrew the bloodied steel blade and struck at him again. Feng Li, severely injured, dared not fight hard. Covering his abdominal wound, he ran rapidly. Yunyi naturally wouldn’t let him escape and pursued closely. Though Feng Li was wounded, with his life at stake, he used all his remaining strength to flee, leaving a trail of blood drops in the empty streets and alleys.

As blood continued to drip, Feng Li felt his body growing colder and colder, his vision gradually blurring. The situation was extremely disadvantageous. Worse still, he suddenly discovered he had nowhere left to flee—stretching before him was a river several zhang wide, the largest river in the prefecture: the Qingshui River.

Damn, how did he end up here! As Feng Li stopped, Yunyi also caught up. She pointed her blade at him and said coldly: “It’s time to end this!”

Feng Li gasped for breath and said weakly: “Even if you kill me, you won’t escape. The Eldest Young Master will definitely discover your conspiracy and tear you to pieces!”

“Is that so? Too bad you won’t live to see any of that!” Yunyi sneered and said nothing more, instead advancing step by step. Seeing himself trapped with no way out, Feng Li steeled his heart and gritted his teeth: “Even if I die, I absolutely won’t die by your hand!” Having said this, he actually leaped into the river. The water was very turbulent, and with the sky being dark, Feng Li’s figure quickly disappeared from sight.

Feng Li had already been severely wounded, and now jumping into such turbulent waters, it could be said he was certainly doomed. But Yunyi remained uneasy and waited by the riverbank until dawn. Only after seeing that Feng Li never surfaced did she throw the steel blade into the river and leave.

As soon as Yunyi returned to the mansion, without bothering to return to the music workshop, she hurriedly went to Jingji Pavilion. Wu Laosan’s matter was now the most urgent concern.

By coincidence, Li Shimin was just about to go out. Seeing her approach, he stopped and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Yunyi quickly related Wu Laosan’s situation, concluding: “Father says he’s definitely already fifty years old, and Uncle Fang next door also says he should be fifty. But for some unknown reason, the household registration records show him as one year younger—according to what’s recorded there, he’s only forty-nine. This way, Father falls under this conscription. At his advanced age, how can he bear such heavy labor? So I’ve come especially to find Second Young Master—is there any solution?”

Li Shimin had been troubled by the conscription matter these past days. He was unwilling to see the people of his prefecture suffer the pain of separation… or even permanent farewell from their loved ones, yet he had no choice but to comply, because… this was an order from that person in Luoyang, which no one could disobey. But he hadn’t expected that even Wu Laosan would be among those conscripted. After pondering for a moment, he said: “If Uncle Wu really is under fifty, then conscription is inevitable. This matter… even I have no solution.”

Yunyi said urgently: “But Father remembers very clearly—he’s definitely past fifty. It’s the household registration that recorded it wrong.”

After having someone prepare a cup of tea for Yunyi, Li Shimin said: “I understand what you mean, but empty words carry no weight. The people’s ages have always been determined by the household registration records. If a young child were recorded as middle-aged, that might be worth discussing, but now it’s only a difference of one year… there’s simply no way to distinguish. Without evidence, they won’t believe it.”

His words made Yunyi’s heart sink: “So there’s truly no solution?”

Li Shimin thought for a moment: “Don’t worry yet. I was planning to go to the county office today anyway. Come with me and let’s take another careful look at the household registration records.”

“Yes, thank you, Second Young Master.” Yunyi said gratefully, then hurried to the county office with Li Shimin. Since the court issued the conscription order, both the prefecture and county offices had been frantically busy. Some people, trying to evade conscription, resorted to all kinds of false claims, so the county office staff had to go door to door checking population numbers. If they found anyone lying, they would arrest them and bring them back to the county office.

County Magistrate Qin wasn’t in, so Li Shimin went directly to find the registrar in charge of household records and asked for the register. The registrar here was a man in his forties named Lu Sheng, whom Yunyi had met during her previous visit.

Lu Sheng turned to Wu Laosan’s page and handed it to Li Shimin: “Second Young Master, please look—it clearly shows forty-nine years old. Wu Laosan must not want to be conscripted, so he deliberately understated his age by one year.”

Li Shimin examined it carefully. The line recording Wu Laosan’s information showed no traces of alteration, though the ink color appeared somewhat fresh. He touched the writing, then inconspicuously brought his hand to his nose and sniffed lightly: “Is the person who recorded this register still around?”

Lu Sheng shook his head: “This was over thirty years ago. The registrar from that time is long gone.”

Li Shimin nodded: “Go and bring the other household registration records.”

Lu Sheng was puzzled: “Second Young Master, Wu Laosan’s information is only recorded in this one register. There are no records of him in the others.”

“I know. Just go and bring them.” Seeing Li Shimin insist, Lu Sheng had no choice but to bring out the other registers. After Li Shimin examined them one by one, he performed the same action with his other hand as before, then said: “Why is the ink color in these several registers much lighter than in the original one?”