From the city entrance to the Imperial City, the damaged stone bricks along the route began to be repaired, and the frequency of sweeping and sprinkling increased. Soon the common people of the capital learned of the major event of Yuliu’s visit.

For common people who toiled day after day, this was fresh news worth discussing for a long time.

Lin Hao had no interest whatsoever in Yuliu’s visit. Her thoughts were focused on finding the owner of those eyes.

Changchun Street in spring was extraordinarily lively, with passersby coming and going dressed in brightly colored garments, the air permeated with intoxicating floral fragrance.

Lin Hao walked slowly along the street. Though she wore soft, lightweight embroidered shoes, her footsteps felt somewhat heavy.

Since her rebirth, she had continuously avoided coming here.

In her nightmare-like memories, this place was too cold, as if it were forever that snowy day when her blood spread across the snow, her frozen body remaining here eternally.

This was a place that gave her nightmares.

Yet ultimately she had to come and see.

That evening, she had encountered that person on this very street.

At the time, she thought he was a pursuer sent by Emperor Pingle’s faction, but he blocked a blade for her. In that instant, she thought he had come specifically to save her. However, after countless recollections of that moment following her rebirth, she had other speculations.

They should have merely encountered each other by chance.

He should have been injured at the time, also fleeing like her. When she fell into his embrace, she smelled a strong scent of blood—not something that could result from a fresh injury.

He very likely had already sustained serious external injuries. It was just that the situation at that moment didn’t allow her to think more deeply, and she had overlooked his stumbling steps.

Why had he been injured? Which faction could pursue and attack him on the capital’s main streets?

What puzzled her most was why he blocked the blade for her. Could it purely be that a dying person wanted to do one good deed?

Who… was he?

Lin Hao didn’t understand why, when she had never even seen his face, thinking of him made her heart feel as if wrapped in silk threads, with a fine, dense ache.

She knew that if she couldn’t find this person, it would ultimately become a knot in her heart.

Changchun Street wasn’t particularly wide, with various small shops lining both sides. Those who frequented here were mostly ordinary common people. However, passing through an alley led to a respectable, spacious main street—one of the areas the authorities had recently focused on renovating.

Lin Hao actually knew very clearly that even if she came here, she couldn’t possibly encounter that person. Yet this was, after all, the place where they had met—what if there were clues?

The bluestone road was cold, hard, and long, as if endless. As Lin Hao looked left and right, her steps suddenly halted, her entire body freezing in place as if doused with a basin of ice water.

Her instantly pale complexion startled Baozhu. “Miss, what is it?”

Lin Hao came back to herself, controlling her trembling fingertips and speaking with forced calm. “It’s nothing. Don’t speak. Follow me.”

She walked forward, appearing to casually stroll as before, but actually her peripheral vision continuously tracked one person.

It was a thin man about thirty years old. His features weren’t particularly distinctive, but combined together they gave an impression of coldness and severity.

He was the person who had orchestrated her pursuit and murder in her past life!

This was also why Lin Hao’s complexion had changed so drastically.

Encountering the person who had hunted her on this very same street—she couldn’t help but be horrified.

Yet after observing for a while, Lin Hao confirmed the other party’s presence here had nothing to do with her.

She found it somewhat amusing.

Things had long since changed. Of course this person’s appearance had nothing to do with her. What remained unchanged was that she knew his identity.

The man was someone Emperor Pingle trusted greatly, named Chen Mu. Unlike her teacher who later changed his mind about helping Emperor Pingle reclaim the throne, Chen Mu had always been Emperor Pingle’s most steadfast supporter—ruthless in methods and radical in action.

His appearance in the capital was clearly not simple.

Lin Hao watched him enter a tea house. After a moment’s hesitation, she led Baozhu inside.

The tea house had two floors. Many were drinking tea in the main hall, while that person went directly upstairs.

“Are there any private rooms available?” Lin Hao asked a server.

“Miss, you’ve come at a good time—there happens to be one room left upstairs.”

“Please show the way.”

“Miss, please come upstairs.” The server spoke warmly and climbed the stairs with quick steps.

As Lin Hao stepped onto the stairs, she saw the person glance back as he reached a private room door.

Her heart tightened, though her expression remained unchanged.

People like Chen Mu with identities that couldn’t bear scrutiny were far more alert and cautious than ordinary people. She absolutely had to be extremely careful.

Fortunately, the private room the server led Lin Hao to was right next door.

After dismissing the server with a few copper coins, Lin Hao pointed at the wall.

Baozhu understood immediately and took a pair of bamboo tubes connected by fine thread from the cloth bag she carried. “Miss, here.”

This pair of bamboo tubes connected by fine thread had proven very useful when helping Chen Yi recognize the true face of the Heir of Marquis Pingjia. Now it was time for them to serve their purpose again.

Baozhu didn’t even ask why her mistress was eavesdropping on the neighboring room’s activities. Instead, she cleverly walked to the doorway, keeping watch in case someone suddenly entered.

Lin Hao pressed one bamboo tube against the wall and held the other to her ear, listening carefully.

There were voices conversing next door—clearly someone had already been there before Chen Mu entered.

“Don’t agree? Why doesn’t he agree? If we don’t seize such a good opportunity, when will we be able to accomplish our goal?”

This voice was coldly heavy. Though her memories had grown fuzzy, Lin Hao still discerned the speaker was Chen Mu.

After a brief silence, another voice responded. “The teacher says this would cause Great Qi and Yuliu to join forces against Great Zhou.”

Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed.

It was Du Qing!

A cold laugh sounded. “So what? Has your teacher forgotten who his true master is?”

“The teacher hasn’t forgotten. But once Yuliu and Great Qi join forces, it’s the common people who will suffer.”

“When the master met with trouble, the common people didn’t speak up for him.”

Another silence, then Du Qing said, “In any case, the teacher doesn’t approve of your actions. I won’t provide any assistance.”

“Heh, without your assistance, I can’t accomplish anything?”

Next came the sound of chairs being moved.

Lin Hao quickly put away the bamboo tubes and quietly walked to the door.

The door was slightly ajar. Through the narrow gap, she saw Chen Mu walk past with quick steps.

What made Lin Hao shudder was that as Chen Mu passed, he even glanced toward this private room.

In that instant, she even thought she’d been discovered. Her heart pounded wildly several times before calming down.

After waiting a while longer without seeing Du Qing emerge, Lin Hao returned to her seat and unhurriedly drank two cups of tea and ate a piece of pastry before having Baozhu go downstairs to settle the bill.

Walking out of the tea house, Lin Hao’s peripheral vision scanned the surroundings—Chen Mu was already nowhere to be seen.

She felt somewhat regretful about not being able to follow him in time, yet knew that given his alertness, if she followed him into the tea house and then followed him out again, she would very likely be detected on the spot.

When it came to tracking, she was far less skilled than Du Qing.

Speaking of which, had Du Qing been tracking her this time?

As this thought flashed through Lin Hao’s mind with sudden inspiration, she abruptly turned around and saw Du Qing walking at a moderate distance behind her, his walking posture visibly stiffening.

In that instant, Lin Hao felt a touch of sentiment: Du Qing’s tracking skills had also deteriorated.