The area outside the door grew quiet for a moment. The person lowered his voice and said, “He needs to stay close and protect the Second Young Master, so he cannot get away. The Second Young Master has sent me to deliver a message.”

Ming Huashang made a sound of acknowledgment, nodded, and said, “I see. Please wait a moment — I will pack my things right away.”

Zhao Cai stared at Ming Huashang in bewilderment, not understanding what she was doing. But Ming Huashang turned around and her expression immediately darkened. She said in a low voice, “Quickly move things over and brace the door. The person outside is not here to escort us at all — he is the killer!”

There was absolutely no attendant by Ming Huazhang’s side called Ji Shi. If the person outside had truly received Ming Huazhang’s orders, how could he have made up something so impossible?

So the answer was simple: he had not been sent by Ming Huazhang. He was the killer, trying to lure her outside to use as a hostage — or even to kill her outright.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cai was so frightened that she let out a sharp cry, which Ming Huashang swiftly silenced with a hand over her mouth. The maidservants were completely stunned. It was actually Ren Yao who reacted first — without a word, she hoisted a table, carried it briskly to the doorway, and shoved it hard against the door to brace it.

With Ren Yao taking the lead, the other manservants came to their senses and rushed to drag over whatever they could find. Ren Yao planted one foot on the tabletop and pressed it hard into the floor. She rather wanted to know just what sort of person had been playing at ghosts and phantoms these past days. She quietly drew near the wooden door and peered out through the gap.

But the moment she leaned close, she saw an eye staring back. The person was also looking in through the crack!

Every hair on Ren Yao’s body stood on end. She immediately flattened herself to one side, using her back to brace the door. At almost the same instant, a blade slid through the gap — right where Ren Yao had been a moment before. Had she been even a fraction slower, she would have been struck.

The attacker did not hesitate after missing his mark. He immediately reversed the blade to flip up the door latch, then delivered a heavy kick to the door.

The person outside had terrifying strength. The impact of the kick was thunderous — the entire courtyard seemed to shake. Even with Ren Yao and several manservants bracing against it together, the door shuddered violently again and again.

The maidservants screamed in fright and scrambled over one another to retreat. Ming Huashang did not move. In an instant she had become the one standing at the front of the crowd.

Her expression was composed. She called Bao Bao over, pointed at the doorway, and said, “Bao Bao, the person outside is a bad person. If he comes in, bite him — hold nothing back!”

Her words had barely fallen when the door burst open with a tremendous crash. The manservants tumbled to the ground in a heap. A powerfully built man gripped a blade and slashed at anyone in his path. One of the manservants was crawling forward along the ground when he saw the white blade descending from above and went limp with terror, collapsing again, completely unable to react.

At that most critical instant, a flash of red suddenly cut across from the side — a silver spear tip caught the blade. Ren Yao let out a fierce battle cry, and with a sharp twist of the spear head, the red-tasseled spear shot toward the big man’s vital points like a darting dragon.

The big man met it with his sword. He was strong and powerfully built; his strikes had no particular technique — he relied entirely on brute force to hammer down, and the destructive power was formidable. But the Ren family spear style was precisely the kind that grew stronger against strength. The big man’s approach was savage and direct, but Ren Yao’s weapon was long, her speed was fast, and she more than compensated for her disadvantage in raw strength — she and the big man traded blow for blow.

Ever since coming to the Feihong Garden, Ren Yao had been frightened by dead people one day and ghosts the next, and she had not slept well in days. Today she had finally run into the one behind all these tricks. Rage had been pressing down inside her, and on top of that she had not practiced her spear in days and had long been itching to stretch her muscles. Her spear moved faster and faster, blurring into a phantom in the air — fierce and unstoppable as a gust of wind.

The brute strength the big man took such pride in was utterly useless in this moment — and his opponent was even a woman! Furious, desperate to reclaim his dignity, he grew hasty, and a gap opened in his defense. Just as the big man was about to strike with full viciousness, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his arm, as though a chunk of flesh had been torn clean away.

He turned his head and saw it was a furry beast.

Bao Bao had dropped low to the ground, all four limbs pressed flat, growling and baring its teeth in warning. Its claws were streaked with blood.

This only enraged the big man further. He raised his blade to hack the creature down — but Ren Yao seized the opening and pressed her advantage, thrusting squarely into his shoulder.

The big man’s arm had been clawed by the lynx, and now he had a fresh wound in his shoulder as well. The pain finally brought a sliver of reason back to him. He looked around the room and spotted the young Miss Ming standing in the hall, with a crowd of maidservants pressed together behind her. She watched him with a steady expression — her small face pale and composed, her eyes bright and clear — and there was almost no fear in them.

Even at a moment like this, the sight of her filled the big man with a surge of agitated feeling. From the very beginning, when he had been ordered to tail Chi Lan, he had noticed her.

Chi Lan was plain-looking and dull in conversation; everything she did had a clumsy, awkward quality. But this young lady was beautiful and quick-witted, and the more he observed her, the more he was astonished.

What a pity that she was the daughter of the Duke Zhenguo’s household — doted on by her father, cherished by her elder brother, surrounded by young gentlemen and ladies of equally noble birth and fine appearance. She was far beyond the reach of someone like him, a mere blade of grass.

So when he realized he had been found out, his first thought was to kill her. He had been exposed. Even if Princess Taiping might spare him, the Prince of Stability would have him killed. Since he was going to die either way, he might as well fulfill one last desire before the end — drag this high-and-mighty young noblewoman down to accompany him in death.

The moment he broke free, he came straight here. In his mind, the guards at a noble family’s residence were all trained in showy, useless moves — they would not withstand a single punch from him. He imagined walking in as if entering an empty place. But to his surprise, Ming Huashang had seen through his scheme, and another woman’s red-tasseled spear had pinned him where he stood.

In his eyes, women were either stupid and useless or beautiful and frivolous. He coveted their delicacy and beauty, yet hated them for what he called their impropriety. So the best solution, in his mind, was to kill them at the height of their beauty — that way, they could never betray him again.

He exercised what he believed was his rightful authority over them — subduing and civilizing them — and had never considered women worth taking seriously. But now he had been defeated by the very women he looked down on most?

Ren Yao’s spear was growing denser and denser with each exchange. In the blink of an eye, the big man had accumulated several more spear wounds and more gashes from the lynx’s claws. Seething with resentment, he shot a glance at Ming Huashang, then abruptly seized a manservant and hurled him at Ren Yao. Ren Yao quickly drew back her spear, and by the time she had steadied herself again, the big man had already charged out through the door.

Ren Yao let out a cold laugh, hefted her spear, and said, “Let’s see where you think you can run!”

Ren Yao charged out with fierce momentum, and Bao Bao darted outside after her in a blur. Ming Huashang was startled and quickly chased after them: “Ren Jiejie, Bao Bao — don’t go, wait for me.”

Chasing a killer was dangerous, but staying behind alone was even more dangerous. Ming Huashang understood her own capabilities perfectly well: without Ren Yao and Bao Bao, she was useless.

Ming Huashang ran out. She had expected the pursuit to require some effort, but after only a few steps she could already see the big man. She looked up at the figure ahead and her eyes lit up. “Second Elder Brother!”

Ming Huazhang stood beneath the covered walkway, gripping a long, slender, lacquered black sword. The big man swung his blade down at him, and Ming Huazhang deflected it with the scabbard. The big man pressed his weight down hard; Ming Huazhang held firm like a mountain. Then, abruptly, Ming Huazhang turned to one side to redirect the force — the big man inevitably lurched forward — and Ming Huazhang raised his leg and drove a solid kick into the big man’s flank.

The big man stumbled back several steps before catching himself. He ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, rolled his shoulder, and the expression on his face took on a numb, dangerous ferocity.

Ming Huashang’s heart clenched tight when she saw it. “Second Elder Brother, be careful!”

This criminal had spent years in the military and was well versed in close combat and tracking techniques. Now that he was cornered and fighting desperately, the thought of what he might do was almost unbearable.

Her words had not yet faded before they clashed again. The big man put everything into every move — the blade carved through the air with a rushing sound — while Ming Huazhang, from beginning to end, did not draw his sword. He used the scabbard alone to deflect, redirect, block, and strike. Steel blade and long scabbard rang against each other in an unbroken clash of metal.

Ming Huashang watched without daring to blink. The exchange between Ming Huazhang and the big man was so fast that even Ren Yao could find no opening to intervene. Then, suddenly, Ming Huazhang pressed close. He seized the big man’s wrist and wrenched it sharply downward.

The big man cried out in pain and his fingers involuntarily opened. The blade slipped from his grip and clanged to the ground. Ming Huazhang followed through and locked the big man’s joints, forcing him entirely to the ground.

The guards who had come running from behind saw their chance and surged forward, pinning the big man down firmly. Jiang Ling, who had escorted Princess Taiping over, caught sight of the figure on the ground and let out a cry of triumph: “Your Highness, look — they’ve caught him!”

The torchlight around Princess Taiping blazed bright as day. She looked down from above at the face pressed to the ground, then let out an extremely cold, contemptuous laugh. “Wretched vermin like you — daring to plot against this Princess?”

Ming Huazhang did not like being jostled, and once Princess Taiping’s guards swarmed in, he stepped aside and cleanly withdrew. This was not the moment for questioning the prisoner. Ming Huazhang advised, “Your Highness, first search his quarters. Securing the evidence is the priority.”

“Quite right,” said Ming Huashang, who had drifted to Ming Huazhang’s side without quite realizing it. “Unless I’m mistaken, the eyes of Chi Lan, Wei Zi, and Lian Xin — all three — are still hidden in his room.”

Jiang Ling made a face of undisguised revulsion. “Ugh, what nonsense are you talking? What would he want with dead people’s eyes? Evidence that obvious would have been destroyed long ago.”

“No.” Ming Huashang tucked herself behind Ming Huazhang, appearing gentle and soft and perfectly compliant, yet the words she spoke were completely assured. “He will have kept them as keepsakes — to revisit later. In all likelihood, those three pairs of eyes will have been stored together with women’s garments. When searching the room, I would ask that you pay particular attention to boxes and drawers. Whatever you find will look entirely out of place with the rest of the room’s furnishings.”

Jiang Ling thought Ming Huashang was spouting nonsense. “You have never been to his room. What, do you have divine sight? How could you possibly know where he would put them?”

Ming Huazhang suddenly spoke. His voice was clear and cool as a stream — crisp and clean, refined yet carrying force. “Do as she says.”

Since the Feihong Banquet began, not a single night at the mountain villa had been peaceful. Everyone had already fallen into sleep when, yet again, the night filled with firelight and running footsteps, until finally voices were raised in shouts.

Everyone was jolted awake. Prince Wei reclined on his bed, his lapels loosely parted, a beauty without a stitch of clothing tucked in his arms. His expression was displeased. “What is going on out there?”

His attendant knelt on the floor at the foot of the bed, eyes fixed on the floor tiles, not daring to look up even slightly. The night was bitterly cold, yet beads of sweat as large as beans had broken out on the attendant’s forehead. “Your Highness Prince Wei, something terrible has happened. It appears Princess Taiping has caught the killer.”

Prince Wei had only just roused himself from his comfortable reverie and had not quite caught up. “What killer?”

“The household slave who serves Prince Ding.”

Prince Wei’s still-drowsy mind snapped instantly awake. All trace of lingering warmth vanished from his eyes. He shoved the beauty in his arms aside. “Where is Prince Ding?”

By the time Prince Ding and Prince Wei arrived at the main hall, the room was already full of people. A powerfully built man in a coarse blue cloth garment was bound and kneeling in the center of the hall, with the items searched from his room strewn to one side.

There were women’s garments — red, in various styles — and most horrifying of all, six eyeballs crammed into a brocade box.

Prince Ding swept the scene with a single glance and then looked away, his expression unhurried as he walked toward Princess Taiping. “Your Highness, what has happened?”

Princess Taiping saw Prince Ding and Prince Wei approaching, and her expression shifted to something between a smile and not a smile. “Nothing much — only that a brazen and wicked slave has been caught. He killed three of this Princess’s maidservants, and even had the audacity to reach toward those close to this Princess. Thanks to this Princess’s vigilance, he has now been caught with the evidence on his person. Prince Ding, Prince Wei — in your view, how should such a treacherous, ungrateful wretch be punished?”

Prince Wei’s expression did not change. Rather than answering, he asked, “The strange occurrences recently — were all of those his doing?”

“Indeed.” Princess Taiping said, “Now that the rivers run clear and the sun and moon shine bright together, with the divine power of the Son of Heaven illuminating all beneath heaven, what ghosts or monsters could there possibly be? Clearly it was this villain working deception, invoking the name of serpents and demons to harm others under the guise of the supernatural.”

Princess Taiping’s eyes were fixed squarely on them, her lips curved in something that was mockery but not quite — her words laden with hidden meaning. Prince Wei knew that this stratagem had failed. He felt considerable vexation in his heart, but outwardly he maintained his customary ease and superiority, and said with perfect indifference, “So it was him causing mischief. Now that the chief culprit has been caught, deal with him accordingly.”

“The internal affairs of this Princess’s household I will naturally handle myself — Prince Wei need not trouble himself.” Princess Taiping turned her gaze to Prince Ding, and the expression in her eyes was difficult to read. “Prince Ding, this is your guard. I will handle the matter — you will not object, I trust?”

Prince Ding smiled with his characteristic refined elegance. “Naturally not. He has disturbed Your Highness. Whatever punishment is given, it will not be excessive.”

While Princess Taiping, Prince Ding, and Prince Wei were engaged in this exchange, five young people had already returned to the courtyard. The killer had been caught, but the mountain villa looked set to remain in a state of upheaval for the rest of the night. Ming Huazhang and Ming Huashang did not move to other quarters — they decided to spend one more night making do in Jiang Ling’s courtyard.

Ming Huashang yawned. Only now did she feel a wave of exhaustion washing over her from all directions. “So tired.”

“Me too.” Ren Yao’s eyes were darkened all the way underneath, and she spoke with unmistakable gritted-teeth satisfaction. “Filthy wretch. I can finally get a decent night’s sleep.”

Ming Huashang nodded with deep and heartfelt agreement. Ming Huazhang turned his head and glanced at Ren Yao, his expression taking on a hint of displeasure.

Ren Yao had grown up as a boy and had a mouth full of coarse language. She could say whatever she liked herself — but how could she use that sort of talk in front of Ming Huashang?

Of the five, it was probably only Jiang Ling who still had his mind on the case. He was lively and full of energy, his curiosity brimming. “Second Miss Ming — how did you know those six eyeballs hadn’t been discarded? And how did you guess where they were kept? Don’t tell me you went to the killer’s room beforehand?”

Ming Huashang raised a hand to cover her lips, let out a delicate yawn, and said, “So tired. Second Elder Brother, Xie Elder Brother — I’m going to sleep.”

Ming Huazhang nodded. Xie Jichuan smiled warmly. “Good dreams, Second Younger Sister.”

“Hey, don’t go to sleep yet — tell me first!” Ming Huashang and Ren Yao departed without a shred of mercy. Jiang Ling turned to Ming Huazhang with an eager expression. “Ming Second Brother, how did you know—”

Ming Huazhang walked straight toward his own room as though he had heard nothing at all — not even a flicker of acknowledgment. Jiang Ling could only turn to Xie Jichuan. “Brother Xie, surely you’re not rushing off to sleep as well? I have good wine set aside — let us warm it and talk!”

Xie Jichuan smoothly removed Jiang Ling’s hand from his arm, his face a picture of regret. “My family keeps strict rules — wine is not permitted. I am afraid I must decline Young Heir Jiang’s kind offer. My apologies.”

That said, Xie Jichuan did not give Jiang Ling a single chance to reply before turning and walking away. Jiang Ling called after them several times, but still could only stand and watch as all four of them left — not one of them stayed.

Jiang Ling sighed and made his way back to his own room in disappointed resignation. “Looks like I’ll have to drink alone.”

He pushed open the door, and found his room had been thoroughly ransacked by an unknown number of visitors — everything was in complete disarray, and several pieces of furniture were even missing.

Jiang Ling stood there, stunned to his core. He had never in his life lived in such a mess of a room. As far as he was concerned, sleeping here was simply out of the question. But all the other rooms were occupied, so it seemed he would have to find the Princess’s household manager and ask to be assigned a different room.

Jiang Ling stepped out and had gone a couple of paces when he suddenly felt something was not quite right. “Wait — isn’t this my own courtyard?”

·

The first year of Shengli, the seventeenth day of the first month.

Contact with the people down the mountain was finally established today. The Empress summoned the Imperial Guards to come to Mount Mang and clear the snow from the road. The great families of Luoyang also sent helpers. With everyone working together, a path was finally dug through by dusk. Regrettably it was already late, so we cannot set out today. Second Elder Brother has told me to pack my things tonight and leave at first light tomorrow.

When Second Elder Brother returned from outside, his expression seemed off. He sent me away and held a quiet private conversation with Xie Elder Brother. They thought I couldn’t hear, but actually I’ve already guessed — the avalanche was not natural.

But what does it matter? Tomorrow I can go home. I can eat hot, freshly made pastries, and roasted venison — crisp on the outside and tender inside — and the noodle soup from the Tang Shi Ji on the east side of the city!

Ren Jiejie has somehow never eaten at Tang Shi Ji. I have already made a pact with her: once we return to Luoyang, we will go together to the east side of the city for shrimp and velvet antler noodle soup. What a pity that Bao Bao cannot come with me. If only Jiang Ling could be made to pay for its keep, and I could raise Bao Bao myself.

Written by Ming Huashang, on the night of the seventeenth day of the first month, at the Feihong Mountain Villa on Mount Mang.

Addendum: The name “Feihong” truly is an unlucky one. Word has it that Princess Taiping has already been considering renaming the garden.

Further addendum: The killer fell suddenly ill and died in the woodshed of the mountain villa. The specific cause of illness is unknown.

— End of the First Case: “A Feast in Wind and Snow.”