Who would come looking for her so early in the morning? Huang Zixia took three steps in two to reach Chunyu Hall, only to find Chen Niangniang standing there holding a qin.

“Lady Chen, why have you come to find me yourself?” she asked in surprise as she approached, taking the qin from her hands and placing it on the qin table.

Chen Niangniang smiled and said, “Naturally it’s because you, my qin student, lack dedication. You hardly come once every few days, so I had no choice but to come chase after you.”

“I truly apologize, Lady Chen.” Though knowing she was joking, Huang Zixia still hurried to apologize, “I’ve been busy lately, and after becoming immersed in worldly affairs, I forgot about the elegant sounds of music.”

“I’ve heard about it too. That Wang family young lady was truly ill-fated,” Chen Niangniang sighed while tuning the qin strings. “Everyone in the capital envied her, yet who knew she would die so tragically in the blink of an eye? I heard her corpse was unbearable to look at, it’s truly heartbreaking.”

In her heart, Huang Zixia thought, “Lady Chen, you don’t know that your Yi’niang’s desecrated corpse was just as painful to see as that nameless female corpse.”

Looking at Chen Niangniang’s downcast face, she had a momentary impulse to give her the piece of white jade taken from Feng Yi’niang’s body and tell her that Yi’niang was dead, to stop waiting and searching in the capital. However, looking at the white hair that had sprouted at Chen Niangniang’s temples in just these few days, she found herself unable to speak those words.

Chen Niangniang lowered her eyes and casually played half a tune. As if following her qin music, both inside and outside the room echoed with a clear resonance, creating a sense of silence in the night.

Huang Zixia sighed and said, “Lady Chen, your qin playing is truly unmatched in the world.”

“How could that be possible.” Chen Niangniang pressed her hands gently on the qin strings and slowly raised her head, saying, “When it comes to qin artistry, I’ve barely glimpsed the gateway, perhaps about the same level as Jin Nu.”

Huang Zixia asked casually, “Have you met Jin Nu recently, Lady Chen?”

“No, and that’s actually why I came to find you today,” she said with slight worry. “Yesterday I went to the Right Music Bureau in Guangzhai District to look for Jin Nu, but heard she hasn’t appeared at the bureau for many days.”

“Oh?” Huang Zixia was suddenly stunned. “Jin Nu can’t be found?” That sentence from Jin Nu had always troubled her, and she had been wanting to find an opportunity to ask her about it.

“Yes. The Music Bureau people were very helpful and had someone open her room to look. Who would have thought that all her favorite clothes and jewelry were gone, even her favorite pipa that her teacher gave her was taken away? The bureau people just stamped their feet in anger, saying she probably fell for some wastrel and eloped with him. They say since Emperor Xuanzong’s time, the bureau’s management has become increasingly lax, and in recent years such incidents aren’t rare.”

“She… disappeared too?” Huang Zixia couldn’t help but be surprised. Including Jin Nu, this was now the third person to mysteriously disappear.

Chen Niangniang said anxiously, “Yes when I couldn’t find her yesterday, I felt a bit worried. If we’re talking about eloping with someone, I don’t think there were any signs of that. She was only close with Prince Zhao before, and though I advised her several times, she just wouldn’t listen…”

“Don’t worry, Lady Chen. Tell me more details about Jin Nu’s situation, especially her movements in the days before she disappeared.” Huang Zixia quickly pulled up a chair and sat down beside her.

Chen Niangniang sighed, “I asked the bureau people carefully. They said the last time they saw her was three nights ago, almost at curfew time. She came back slightly tipsy, apparently from drinking at Cuijin Tower.”

Huang Zixia nodded, “I was there that day too. It was because of the Wang family young lady’s incident in the palace, so a group of us went to eat while discussing the case. I don’t know who invited Jin Nu, but she seemed to enjoy the lively atmosphere. She was in high spirits all evening and even helped us pack cherries — though those well-maintained hands of hers never touched the water before, she even complained when pricked by a cherry stem.”

“This child is just like that, sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. She’s a good person, just speaks unpleasantly at times,” Chen Niangniang said.

Huang Zixia asked again, “Lady Chen, you mentioned writing to Landai last time. Have you received any reply yet?”

“Why the hurry? Even if Landai received the letter and had Xuese come to the capital right away, it’s only been a few days, how could she possibly have arrived already?”

Hearing her sigh, Huang Zixia quietly inserted, “Xuese should call Landai ‘Aunt’, right?”

“Yes, Landai and Mei Wanzhi are sisters, so naturally she’s Xuese’s aunt,” Chen Niangniang nodded. “Landai ranked third among the six, first in Yangzhou soft dance. Green Waist, returning waves, spring warbler trills — they say it was unmatched in the world.”

Huang Zixia asked further, “Does Lady Chen remember if Xuese came to Yangzhou alone back then? Shouldn’t there have been another young woman with her?”

Chen Niangniang made an “ah” sound and said, “Now that you mention it, I do remember. At the time, Xuese came together with Little Shi. They say Little Shi’s parents died in the war, and she became sworn sisters with Xuese in Xuzhou. They promised to stay together in life and death, so they came together.”

Huang Zixia nodded silently. Though her thoughts were verified, she didn’t know exactly how this helped with the case. She only vaguely felt that it must be an important thread she had yet to fully grasp.

A case was like a great tree — what people saw above the soil was always just a small part. Below, there were enormous intertwined roots, but unless they were dug up, one would never know the true shape of what lay buried underneath.

Speaking of Xuese and Little Shi, Chen Niangniang seemed to recall something. She stared blankly at a lone tree outside the window for a while, then suddenly tears began to roll down her face.

Huang Zixia quickly patted her shoulder gently and said softly, “Lady Chen, don’t be too sad.”

“How can I not be sad… I know Yi’niang definitely won’t return,” she said dazedly as large tears rolled from her eyes. “Last night I dreamed of Yi’niang again. She floated before me, her body transparent like colored glass. She said to me, ‘Niang’niang, years of beauty, flowing scenery easily withers, hereafter only you will suffer alone in this world…’ When I woke up, I only saw bamboo shadows blown by the wind outside the window, and in my heart, her words from the dream kept echoing back and forth. I know she’s no longer in this world…”

Huang Zixia felt great pain in her heart. She pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve to help Chen Niangniang wipe her tears, but unexpectedly, a small object wrapped in paper slipped out with the handkerchief. That small paper package seemed to have grown eyes as it rolled in front of Chen Niangniang. Chen Niangniang took the handkerchief Huang Zixia handed her and raised her hand to press against her eyes, her elbow pressing right on that small package.

In her confusion, she couldn’t even feel something pressing against her hand.

Huang Zixia hesitated for a moment, feeling there was no point in hiding it anymore, so she pulled the small package from under her hand and held it before her, saying, “Lady Chen, open this.”

Chen Niangniang covered her eyes, her throat hoarse: “What is it?”

Huang Zixia didn’t speak, just looked at her.

Chen Niangniang hesitated, slowly raising her hand to unwrap the white paper.

Inside was revealed a crystal-clear flawless white jade. Though only the size of a fingernail, it appeared all the more exquisite and lovely.

Chen Niangniang’s hand began to tremble violently. She grabbed the piece of jade and held it against the light, looking at the character “Nian” carved on it.

That character “Nian” in the sunlight streaming through the window shifted with flowing radiance, golden light flickering faintly, piercing deep into their eyes.

In that instant, Chen Niangniang’s eyes closed. She closed them so tightly, her gaze so desperate, as if her eyes had been blinded by this character at this moment, never to see anything in this world again.

After a long, long time.

Chen Niangniang finally asked in a trembling voice, “Where… where was this found?”

“Among a group of Youzhou refugees who died from the plague, there was a body of a woman around forty years old. Unlike the others, she died from poison. But when we found her, her corpse had already been burned, leaving only this piece of jade.” She didn’t mention that they had found it in Feng Yi’niang’s abdomen, fearing it would be too shocking for Chen Niangniang.

“More than twenty years ago, Yi’niang and I were still young girls. At that time we had no fame, and our skills weren’t outstanding either, so we saved money for a very long time before finally buying two pieces of mutton-fat jade. We had ‘Yi’ and ‘Nian’ carved on them respectively and gave them to each other. Back then we said, ‘Forever shall we be together, supporting each other for life…'” Chen Niangniang clutched the jade tightly, but at this point, she broke down in tears.

Huang Zixia sat quietly beside her, watching the light streaming through the door fall in threads upon Chen Niangniang’s face. The white hair at her temples and the fine wrinkles on her face now appeared so obvious — she was no longer the still-beautiful matron they had met the previous month.

“Who, who killed Yi’niang?” Chen Niangniang finally asked slowly.

Huang Zixia took a deep breath, then shook her head and said, “We don’t know yet. But I think this matter must be related to the Wang family young lady’s disappearance case.”

“The Wang family young lady?”

Huang Zixia said, “The Princess Kui that the capital has been buzzing about recently, does Lady Chen know of her?”

Chen Niangniang held the jade piece, nodding numbly.

“I’ve confirmed that the daughter of an old friend that Yi’niang was entrusted to escort was Wang family’s Wang Ruo. I had seen Yi’niang once by Wang Ruo’s side and already knew about this, but I didn’t tell you then because I feared it would upset you.”

Chen Niangniang said dazedly, “But now, I hear Wang Ruo is dead too…”

“Yes, I suspect Yi’niang’s death is related to Wang Ruo’s death. But the truth hasn’t come to light yet, and I have no leads.”

“Can the truth be uncovered?” Chen Niangniang murmured in a daze.

Huang Zixia said, “At least, I’ll do my utmost.”