As the saying goes, “The speaker has no intent, but the listener takes it to heart.” The secretary’s words struck County Magistrate Qin, who straightened up and said: “Could it be… that they truly have another residence?”

“But the headman…” Before the secretary could finish, he continued: “What the headman knows are things from after they moved to Changshi Lane. He wouldn’t know about before that. If Wu Laosan and the others moved to Changshi Lane later, then they… very likely are hiding in their former residence or other dwellings.”

Without waiting for his orders, the secretary said: “I’ll go investigate this immediately.”

After a while, the secretary hurried back and said: “My lord’s speculation is correct. Wu Laosan indeed moved to Changshi Lane later. Since this was over thirty years ago, few people know about it, and even fewer know where Wu Laosan originally lived. I’ve already sent people to check the records in our county office, hoping to find something.”

They waited until almost the second watch when a clerk from the county office came in carrying a yellowed book, saying excitedly: “My lord, we found it! Wu Laosan’s original residence was in a small alley in Guijing Village. The specific alley name is not recorded here.”

The secretary pondered: “I remember that village. It’s very old, with about half the houses empty and uninhabited. If they’re really hiding there, it would be perfect to avoid the search.”

County Magistrate Qin stood up abruptly: “Since we know this, what are we waiting for? Call up all the constables and head to Guijing Village immediately. Also, Secretary Xu, go to the Governor’s mansion at once and inform the Governor of this matter.”

“I’ll go right away.” Shortly after the secretary left, County Magistrate Qin also led the assembled constables to Guijing Village for a nighttime search.

The flickering torches and footsteps woke Wu Laosan and Yunyi who were resting in the house. The latter said in a low voice: “This is bad, they’ve found us.”

“Don’t be afraid, follow Father.” Wu Laosan crouched and moved toward the back courtyard. After pulling away a wooden board that seemed casually thrown on the ground, he somehow pressed it a few times, and the stone slab above was pulled open, revealing an opening large enough for one person to pass through. After gesturing for Yunyi to go down, he also jumped down, and before closing the stone slab, he first pulled the wooden board over to prevent anyone from discovering there was a cellar here.

Shortly after Wu Laosan and the others hid, County Magistrate Qin led the constables in. After roughly searching by torchlight, a constable reported: “My lord, there are indeed traces of habitation here, but no one is present now. They must have escaped before we arrived.”

County Magistrate Qin said coldly: “It’s also possible they’re hiding somewhere. Search this place carefully for me, and don’t overlook the surrounding areas either.”

Following his words, all the constables responded in unison, taking torches to search everywhere. The house wasn’t large and was soon searched thoroughly without finding anything. When they searched the nearby houses, Li Yuan also arrived with soldiers, but to their disappointment, they still hadn’t found any trace of the Wu family father and daughter.

Li Yuan said in a deep voice: “From now on, focus the search on Guijing Village and question every resident of this village to see if anyone has seen the Wu family pair. We must find them.” Then he asked County Magistrate Qin: “Are you certain there’s nothing here?”

“I’ve already sent people to search three times and checked myself. There’s indeed nothing here. But my lord, rest assured, they shouldn’t have escaped far. I’ve already sent people to seal off the surrounding areas, so we should have news soon.”

“I hope so.” Li Yuan waited until dawn but still hadn’t found the two, so he had to return to the mansion first. Upon entering, he saw several servants carrying a hoe heading toward the pleasure quarters and called out: “What are you doing?”

The servants bowed and said: “In response to my lord, we don’t know clearly either. Second Young Master only sent word telling us to bring the hoe to the pleasure quarters.”

Shimin, what is he planning to do? Li Yuan wondered as he hurried to the pleasure quarters with those servants. When he arrived, he saw Li Shimin directing the servants to wield hoes and dig everywhere.

Li Yuan quickly walked over and said: “Shimin, why aren’t you resting in your room?”

“Father, don’t worry. After resting for several days, I’m fine now.” Li Shimin’s face still looked somewhat pale, but his spirits seemed good. “By the way, I heard Father went out all night. Is there news of the assassin?”

“County Magistrate Qin found the Wu family’s old residence, but unfortunately the two of them escaped one step ahead and weren’t caught on the spot. They’re currently searching the area.” Saying this, Li Yuan asked: “But what about you? Why are you having these people dig for no reason?”

“The day Father rescued me, I kept wondering how Meixue could have become an assassin. Then I remembered Feng Chunxiu’s death and felt things might not be as simple as I previously thought. So I specifically sent a carrier pigeon message to elder brother. Jirong, who’s by his side, was closest to Chunxiu and might know something. Just this morning, I received elder brother’s reply.” As he spoke, he took out a thin piece of silk from his sleeve and handed it to Li Yuan. It had many words written on it. After Li Yuan unfolded and read it, he said in surprise: “Wu Meixue has long been dead?”

“That day, Feng Chunxiu suspected Wu Meixue of harboring an assassin and had an argument with her. Later, she accidentally caused Meixue to hit the back of her head on the corner of a cabinet, killing her on the spot. But when they went back later, they found Meixue alive and well in the room without even a scratch, making Feng Chunxiu think she had seen a ghost. In fact, the real Wu Meixue was already dead at that time. What we saw afterward was all the female assassin disguised as Meixue.”

Li Yuan nodded: “You had them dig here because you want to find Wu Meixue’s body?”

“Yes, given the circumstances at the time, Meixue’s body couldn’t possibly have been carried out of the mansion. The only way was to bury it on the spot, so it should be somewhere around here.” Before he finished speaking, they heard a servant’s cry of alarm. Li Shimin quickly went over and asked: “What’s wrong?”

The servant pointed with a terrified expression at a hand bone that was half-exposed, and Li Shimin’s eyes flashed with pain. He then called all the servants over and ordered them to carefully dig out the soil here, trying not to damage the bones buried inside.

Although the servants were frightened, they could only follow Li Shimin’s orders with trembling hands. After working for about an incense stick’s worth of time, they finally completely exposed the body that had rotted to white bones inside. Besides the stark white bones, there were also unrotted clothing and hair, and the clothing clearly indicated that this skeleton had been a woman in life.

Chuyi was also there and asked boldly: “Second Young Master, who is this person?”

Li Shimin painfully closed his eyes and said hoarsely: “She is the real Wu Meixue.”

Under Chuyi’s astonished gaze, he said: “You stay here and watch them remove the bones, then give her a proper burial with a gravestone. Also, remember to ask a dharma master to chant the rebirth sutra for her.”