When Jinlin Guard Commander Cheng Maoming entered the palace, he had a premonition he would be scolded, and sure enough, he was met with the Emperor’s cold expression.

“Have you heard about the abduction of Miss Lin during the spring outing?”

The commotion from the General’s Manor and Prince Jing’s Manor searching for her was significant, so naturally the Jinlin Guard had reported the unusual activity. Cheng Maoming quickly said, “This subject has heard something about it.”

Emperor Tai’an snorted coldly, “Incidents have continued incessantly this past year, yet solutions remain elusive. Commander Cheng, you truly disappoint me.”

Cheng Maoming immediately knelt to acknowledge his fault, understanding in his heart that His Majesty was dissatisfied that Daoist Mingxin remained at large.

But he truly had done his utmost—it was just that Daoist Mingxin was too cunning, too skilled at hiding.

“The criminals who abducted Miss Lin shall be personally interrogated by you. You must investigate this matter thoroughly.”

“This subject receives your decree.”

After Cheng Maoming withdrew, Emperor Tai’an asked Prince Wei, “The two young ladies from the General’s Manor escaped through their own efforts?”

“Yes, not only did they escape, they also subdued two criminals.”

Emperor Tai’an’s gaze grew deep, as if recalling something, the corner of his mouth bearing a smile with little warmth, “After all, they are tiger daughters from a military family. As long as they are unharmed, that’s good. Liu Chuan, send some gifts to the General’s Manor to help calm the young ladies’ nerves.”

This meant he would not pursue the matter of Lin Chan’s abduction.

Prince Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He couldn’t say he particularly liked Miss Lin, but he had no special interest in any other young lady either, and he certainly didn’t want to go through the motions of selecting a consort again.

After leaving the palace, Cheng Maoming went straight to the Shuntian Prefecture yamen, where the two criminals were being interrogated.

This was already the second day since the incident occurred, and Cheng Shu had come to the Shuntian Prefecture again to inquire about progress.

The official actually in charge of this case was a magistrate surnamed Zhu, whose attitude was quite courteous, though the progress was disappointing, “Both men refuse to speak, so we haven’t found any leads yet.”

“They won’t speak?” Cheng Shu frowned, “Are you not using torture?”

Magistrate Zhu’s mouth twitched.

This fellow wasn’t even from the Jinlin Guard background, yet he spoke so fluently about “using torture.”

“We’ve employed all the appropriate methods, it’s just that these two have very hard mouths.”

“Then the torture hasn’t been applied properly. If it were applied properly, would there be any mouth that couldn’t be pried open?” Cheng Shu was quite dissatisfied.

Cheng Maoming, who was approaching, heard these words and couldn’t help but give Cheng Shu a few extra glances, thinking to himself that this young man had potential.

“Magistrate Zhu, have someone fetch those two criminals and hand them over to Chief Commander Cheng to take away.” The Shuntian Prefect who had accompanied Cheng Maoming spoke.

Magistrate Zhu went to the prison to retrieve the prisoners.

Cheng Shu greeted the Shuntian Prefect and Cheng Maoming.

“This is Cheng Shu, the adoptive grandson of the General’s Manor’s Old Madam.” The Shuntian Prefect introduced Cheng Shu’s identity to Cheng Maoming.

Cheng Maoming smiled, “We’ve met before. Young Master Cheng serves at the Imperial Palace, correct?”

Whether because of what he’d just heard, or because they shared the same surname, Cheng Maoming had quite a favorable impression of this young man with sword-like brows and starry eyes.

“This humble one is a guard at the Imperial Palace.” Facing the intimidating Jinlin Guard Commander, though Cheng Shu restrained his casual manner, he showed no timidity, “Are those two criminals being transferred to the Jinlin Guard for interrogation?”

“That’s correct.” Cheng Maoming patted Cheng Shu’s shoulder, “Young Master Cheng can rest assured, what the Jinlin Guard fears least is hard mouths.”

“Many thanks, Commander Cheng!” Cheng Shu clasped his fists.

As he was leaving, the Shuntian Prefect looked deeply at Cheng Shu, thinking how truly remarkable it was that this young man with an awkward status had actually caught Commander Cheng’s eye.

Cheng Shu personally watched as the two criminals were taken away by the Jinlin Guard, then walked back with his head down, only to be stopped on the road.

“Heir?” Seeing Qi Shuo alone, Cheng Shu asked offhandedly, “Are you heading out?”

Qi Shuo smiled, “I was actually planning to go to the yamen to inquire about the progress, but unexpectedly I ran into Young Master Cheng.”

Hearing this, Cheng Shu sighed, “I went to ask, but there’s been no progress at all. However, just now they were taken away by the Jinlin Guard.”

“The Jinlin Guard has taken over?” Qi Shuo pointed to a nearby teahouse, “If Young Master Cheng isn’t busy, shall we talk at the teahouse?”

“Alright!” Cheng Shu agreed without hesitation, clearly feeling considerably closer due to Prince Jing’s Manor’s actions yesterday.

The two sat down in the teahouse, and Qi Shuo picked up the teapot to pour Cheng Shu a cup of tea.

Cheng Shu quickly thanked him, his opinion of Qi Shuo changing again.

Though the General’s Manor and Prince Jing’s Manor were close neighbors, he rarely interacted with this Heir. Born noble and sickly—shouldn’t such a person be treated like a porcelain doll? He didn’t have that kind of patience for being so careful.

Now it seemed that whatever else might be said of the Heir of Prince Jing, at least in his manner with others he lacked the arrogance of imperial descendants.

“Yesterday Young Master Cheng said that the larger of the criminals looked familiar?” After chatting for a bit about the Jinlin Guard taking the prisoners, Qi Shuo turned to the main topic.

Cheng Shu was startled, “Ah, right, he did seem somewhat familiar, but I thought about it later and figured it might just be because the man has a common-looking face.”

“Though that’s possible, he is after all a criminal who abducted Miss Lin. Young Master Cheng, think more carefully, lest we miss a clue.”

“I really can’t remember.” Cheng Shu looked helpless, “My memory is fairly good—if I’d seen him before, I should have some impression.”

“Perhaps it was just a fleeting encounter that left a trace of familiarity. Where does Young Master Cheng usually go, and whom do you interact with?”

“When I’m not on duty, I often drink with friends, so the people I encounter are somewhat mixed.” Cheng Shu scratched his head, “If I could see that bastard again, I might be able to recall something.”

Qi Shuo stood up, “Then let’s go see him again.”

Cheng Shu blinked, “Now?”

Was the Heir of Prince Jing always this decisive?

He also stood up, somewhat uncertain, “The Jinlin Guard just took them away—I don’t know if we’ll be able to see them.”

“We are the aggrieved party. It’s only natural to follow the progress.”

Cheng Shu nodded, then felt something wasn’t quite right.

We?

He hadn’t expected the Heir of Prince Jing to be so enthusiastic as to treat the General’s Manor’s affairs as his own.

Cheng Shu’s heart warmed, and he secretly decided to befriend this person.

As they walked out of the teahouse, the enthusiastic young man Qi Shuo finally couldn’t resist asking, “Miss Lin and the others are well, I hope?”

Cheng Shu didn’t think much of it and replied, “A physician examined them. They’re fine, just need to rest well.”

“That’s good.” Qi Shuo thought of Lin Hao’s abraded palms, lowering his eyes to conceal his surging emotions.

Cheng Shu was unaware of Qi Shuo’s thoughts and said casually, “It’s just that A’Hao suffered some superficial injuries, which made my aunt curse at those two bastards for ages.”

“Superficial injuries?” Qi Shuo casually probed, “Yesterday I inadvertently noticed Second Miss’s right hand was wrapped in white cloth—was her hand injured?”

Cheng Shu’s face showed anger, “And how! There were also bruises from the struggle—”

Realizing such matters weren’t appropriate to discuss with an outside man, Cheng Shu stopped himself in time, but noticed Qi Shuo’s expression seemed off.

“Heir?”

Qi Shuo slowly curved the corners of his lips, reining in his exposed emotions, “The Prince’s Manor has a secret medicinal salve from the palace that’s very effective for superficial injuries. I’ll have my younger sister send a couple boxes to Second Miss later.”

“Many thanks, Heir.”

“Young Master Cheng is too kind.” Qi Shuo unconsciously glanced in the direction of the General’s Manor, his lips pressed tightly together.

He was growing somewhat impatient.