Master Mu Shan also seemed to realize his loss of composure but didn’t know how to cover it up, and could only hastily ask, “What… what is this object?”

Huang Zixia quickly asked, “Has the Master seen this item before?”

Master Mu Shan hesitated, knowing his previous reaction had already given him away, and could only say, “Yes, this belonged to Magistrate Qi, I have seen it before.”

“Ah? So the Master knows of this item?” Zhou Ziqin hurriedly said, “This is evidence we found in this case. When Magistrate Qi was alive, he said that items of the deceased might be unclean and told us to find you to purify it with your spiritual powers. We came today mainly for this matter.”

Master Mu Shan looked at him, then at the bracelet, seeming to want to speak but holding back.

Huang Zixia asked, “Master, can you purify this item?”

Master Mu Shan shook his head and said, “This item… is inauspicious. Purification would be useless. Better to bury it in Madam Huang’s tomb to bring closure.”

While Zhou Ziqin remained oblivious, Huang Zixia slowly asked, “So, Master knew all along this belonged to Huang Zixia? Was it Magistrate Qi who told you?”

Master Mu Shan hesitated and said, “Just now Constable Zhou mentioned it was related to this case…”

“I was talking about the suicide pact case at Songhua Lane, and Magistrate Qi bought this bracelet – we’re still puzzled about this…” Zhou Ziqin asked confusedly, “How does the Master know this bracelet belonged to Huang Zixia? Could the Huang family case be connected to this bracelet?”

“This…” Master Mu Shan was suddenly tongue-tied, unable to speak.

Huang Zixia said seriously, “Though the Master is a Buddhist, for the sake of our investigation, please tell us the truth and help clear our doubts. Otherwise, we might misunderstand the circumstances and implicate the Master in this matter.”

Master Mu Shan’s drooping eyebrows sagged even lower, his face full of worry: “Yes… this old monk has taken vows not to speak falsely. Please ask your questions.”

Huang Zixia first asked, “When did the Master see this bracelet? And how did you know it was connected to the Huang family?”

“It was early this year when Yu Xuan attempted suicide. When I visited Magistrate Qi’s residence, Yu Xuan saw this bracelet and reacted quite intensely. Magistrate Qi told me it was an old item from the Huang residence, that Yu Xuan had given it to Miss Huang, so whenever he saw it now, he would recall the past and become emotionally unstable.”

“Then, how did Magistrate Qi ultimately handle this bracelet?”

“That I don’t know… I also don’t know how the bracelet came into young Constable Zhou’s possession, or how it’s connected to the Songhua Lane case.” Master Mu Shan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he examined the bracelet thoughtfully, “I only remember it because of its unique design…”

Before he could finish speaking, there was suddenly a “bang” from the back hall doorway. The three immediately turned to look. Yu Xuan stood there, the teapot and cups he had been holding now shattered on the floor. Steam still rose from the hot tea spilled on the ground, but he stood motionless, staring fixedly at the bracelet, his face as pale as death.

Huang Zixia slowly stood up.

Zhou Ziqin, not understanding, picked up the bracelet and looked at it, then at Yu Xuan, asking, “Brother Yu, are you looking at this?”

Yu Xuan’s lips moved slightly but made no sound. As if finally waking from a daze, he crouched down like someone just waking from a dream and hurriedly began cleaning up the broken pieces.

Huang Zixia walked to his side, crouched down to help him clean up the broken porcelain, and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

“Suddenly, a bit dizzy,” he said, keeping his head lowered, only his long thick eyelashes trembling uncontrollably, like dragonfly wings in the wind.

Huang Zixia slowly turned her head, her gaze sliding from the bracelet in Zhou Ziqin’s hand to rest on Master Mu Shan.

He lowered his head, silently reciting Buddhist scriptures, his aged and withered face showing only a glimmer of sharpness remaining in his eyes that revealed no emotion.

After drinking a cup of tea, Master Mu Shan rose to take his leave.

Yu Xuan, Huang Zixia, and Zhou Ziqin saw him at the door before returning to their seats. In the late summer heat, even the small pond in the courtyard couldn’t provide much coolness. With the hot tea’s steam rising, Huang Zixia felt her undergarments completely soaked with sweat.

Yu Xuan handed her a fan, which she quickly took and began using. While Zhou Ziqin was saying “A calm mind brings natural coolness,” he discovered there were no extra fans and could only wipe his sweat with a miserable expression. He wiped away some sweat and looked pitifully at Huang Zixia, asking, “Chonggu, can I borrow the fan for a moment?”

Huang Zixia shook her head and said, “You know I’m wearing a facial disguise – if it gets wet with sweat, that would be terrible.”

Zhou Ziqin pouted and said, “I find it strange – even the Duke no longer uses disguise, so why do you, as just a minor eunuch in his service, still need to disguise yourself?”

Huang Zixia covered her face with the fan and said quietly, “There are people here who know me.”

“So what if they know you? Isn’t meeting old friends in a foreign place a good thing…” Zhou Ziqin suddenly seemed to realize something and quickly asked, “Chonggu, tell me the truth, did you borrow money from someone in Shu Prefecture and are afraid of debt collectors coming after you?”

Huang Zixia was already used to his wild imaginings and just continued fanning herself without responding.

Zhou Ziqin immediately became dejected and grabbed her hand, saying, “Come on, come on, if you ask me nicely, I’ll help you pay off the debt, how about that?”

Huang Zixia shook off his hand and said, “It’s too much, you can’t afford it.”

Zhou Ziqin stared in disbelief: “No way, no wonder you sold yourself into servitude… Looks like we’ll have to rely on the Duke to pay it off for you.”

Huang Zixia lowered her head while fanning herself, casually playing along: “Yes, I’ve decided to rely on him for life.”

Yu Xuan silently glanced at her, his hand unconsciously tightening around his cup, tendons showing. But ultimately, he said nothing, only pouring them another cup of tea.

Huang Zixia picked up the tea Yu Xuan had poured and looked up at him, asking, “Master Mu Shan has been at Guangdu Temple for many years, how come I’d never heard of him before?”

Yu Xuan said softly, “Weren’t you the most skeptical of gods and Buddha? I remember when my adoptive mother would go to the temple near the prefecture office on the first and fifteenth of each month to burn incense, you never wanted to go, let alone to temples on Mount Mingyue outside the city.”

Huang Zixia nodded and said, “But with Master Mu Shan’s illustrious reputation, I should have heard of him.”

“Master Mu Shan had been traveling around before settling at Guangdu Temple last year. He only became famous after the incident with Fan Yuanlong, Military Governor Fan’s son – by then you had already left Chengdu Prefecture.”

Zhou Ziqin, listening beside them, suddenly had a revelation: “I… I know now!”

Huang Zixia turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow slightly: “What do you know?”

“Chonggu, so you… so you are…” he pointed at her, his mouth and eyes both perfectly round.

Huang Zixia thought he had discovered her identity and was slightly surprised: “I am?”

“You can’t fool me! My intuition is especially sharp!” Zhou Ziqin said seriously, enunciating each word, “I’ve discovered the truth! So you, Yang Chonggu, this debt you can’t repay – it’s what you owe to Yu Xuan!”

Huang Zixia held her head, sighing helplessly, and said, “Ziqin, you are indeed very perceptive.”

Whether she owed Yu Xuan or Yu Xuan owed her – both seemed to make sense. From this perspective, Zhou Ziqin was right.

Zhou Ziqin looked at her proudly, patting his chest: “See? I understand everything, my calculations are flawless!”

Huang Zixia involuntarily covered the lower half of her face with the fan and laughed.

Meanwhile, Yu Xuan silently gazed at the blue lotus in the pond, completely still and silent.

Huang Zixia turned back to see his profile, that otherworldly cold side view, every curve so beautiful and familiar.

Something welled up quietly in her heart, and she lowered her eyes, calling softly to him: “Yu Xuan…”

He paused for a moment before turning to look at her.

Huang Zixia asked again, “Master Mu Shan said he’s leaving tomorrow – do you know where he’s going?”

Yu Xuan said, “To Chang’an.”

Huang Zixia unconsciously leaned forward and asked him softly, “What is he going there for?”

“An old friend is troubled in spirit, and he’s going to offer guidance.”

“For Master Mu Shan to make such a long journey at his age, this old friend must not be an ordinary person.”

Yu Xuan listened to her words and nodded silently, saying, “I’m not interested in who he’s going to see, so I didn’t ask. If you need to know, I can inquire when I see him off tomorrow.”

“Mm, thank you for the trouble.” Huang Zixia said, holding her teacup while turning to Zhou Ziqin, “We came today actually for the Qi Teng case. But I feel there’s nothing more to say about this case unless Ziqin has questions?”

“Of course I do!” Zhou Ziqin very seriously took out a small notebook from his chest, then opened it and asked questions one by one, “First, we found Zhong Hui’s calligraphy at Qi Teng’s home – is it the same one you saw at Wen Yang’s house?”

Yu Xuan took the album he brought and glanced at it, nodding and saying, “It is.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, when I said it was fake, Wen Yang made it as if to tear it up but ultimately kept it. Look -” his finger pointed to a small tear, “This mark is still here.”

Zhou Ziqin nodded, making a check mark after that item, then looked at the second item and asked, “What kind of person was Huang Zixia? Please describe her in detail?”

Huang Zixia felt her eyelid twitch and involuntarily covered her cheek as if she had a toothache.

Yu Xuan, already distracted in thought, was startled by this sudden question and asked in confusion: “What?”

“Well… I heard that when you lived at the prefecture office, you were very close to Huang Zixia, and had a very good relationship… so I wanted to learn more about Huang Zixia from you, because…” Zhou Ziqin embarrassedly scratched his ear, stammering, “Because I greatly admire Huang Zixia.”

Huang Zixia wordlessly turned her face away and stood up to go look at the water lilies by the pond. Yu Xuan’s gaze followed her continuously. He watched her silhouette before the water lilies and slowly responded to Zhou Ziqin’s words: “She… looks somewhat similar to Master Yang.”

Zhou Ziqin nodded: “Yes, they’re both amazing at solving cases, equally matched!”

Yu Xuan didn’t know how to continue, pressed his lips together, and said no more.

Zhou Ziqin’s eyes were watery as he looked at him expectantly, practically wagging an imaginary tail.

Huang Zixia crouched by the pond, reaching out to touch the half-open water lily blossoms. The blue-green flowers and her white hand touched gently, their colors blending in the sunlight, momentarily blurring his vision until he could not see clearly.

She turned back to look at him, seeing his gaze upon her, and let go of the water lily, standing up to say, “Since Ziqin has no more questions, we should head back now.”

Zhou Ziqin pouted, looking at her reluctantly: “Chonggu, the tea is fragrant and the flowers are lovely here – wouldn’t it be nice to stay a while longer?”

Huang Zixia shook her head and said, “I need to go back first.”

Zhou Ziqin had to stand up unwillingly, saying, “Chonggu, sitting at the yamen is so dull…”

Yu Xuan stood up, and when he reached the water lily pond, he finally stopped and called out softly: “Master Yang…”

Huang Zixia turned back to look at him, quietly waiting for his next words.

However, Yu Xuan remained silent. He just looked at her quietly for a very long time before finally managing a difficult smile and saying, “Let me see you out.”

Huang Zixia gazed at him silently, looking at this beautiful man who had illuminated her girlhood. Suppressing the slight tremor in her heart, she also smiled at him: “No need, farewell for now.”