Lin Hao’s feelings toward Du Qing were extremely complicated.

On one hand, Du Qing had raised a blade against her, and during the time following her teacher, he had been the one monitoring her. Yet when her teacher died at Emperor Pingle’s hands, Du Qing had also helped her escape from that place.

She was wary of him, guarded against him, yet also hoped he would live well and have a different life like her.

However, right now Lin Hao was more troubled than anything.

Du Qing must have seen from the private room window that Chen Mu and she had entered one after the other, arousing his suspicion.

Of course, other people had also entered the tea house at that time, but who told her to have pestered the teacher and been tracked by Du Qing before? At such a sensitive meeting, encountering a familiar face and drawing attention was perfectly normal.

It wasn’t just Lin Hao who felt troubled—Du Qing did too.

Though he recovered his composure in an instant, he was still deeply annoyed at his loss of control just now.

Had his tracking skills deteriorated?

No, both times he’d encountered this situation, it was while tracking this young lady.

Taking advantage of pedestrians as cover, Du Qing’s gaze fell on that slender silhouette.

Second Miss Lin of the General’s Manor—he’d investigated her that time. She was clearly just a well-bred young lady with an ordinary upbringing. Her only peculiarity was having once been mute and suddenly gaining the ability to speak last year.

Could it be that people who had been mute were especially sensitive?

Du Qing became even more careful, following behind Lin Hao.

The previous tracking had been out of caution, but this time he truly began to suspect. A young lady appearing before the teacher and then appearing behind Chen Mu—such a coincidence was enough to arouse his vigilance.

Then, he followed Lin Hao as she browsed countless cosmetics shops and clothing stores until his legs nearly gave out.

Dragging his weary body back to his lodgings, Du Qing was utterly bewildered.

Rationally, he felt this young lady absolutely had a problem! Emotionally, he didn’t believe someone who could browse so extensively had a problem!

Lin Hao was also somewhat tired. Discovering Du Qing was no longer following, she entered a tea house not far from home and instructed Baozhu to invite the Prince Jing Heir Apparent.

Without waiting long, Qi Shuo arrived.

Glancing at Lin Hao’s flushed cheeks, Qi Shuo asked, “Did you walk a lot today?”

“I browsed quite a few places.” Lin Hao rubbed her teacup, momentarily unsure where to begin.

Qi Shuo waited patiently.

For him, even just meeting without speaking would be good.

Lin Hao took a sip of tea and began. “Today I… inadvertently overheard a very strange conversation.”

“A strange conversation?” Qi Shuo cooperatively responded, his eyes showing attentiveness.

From his understanding of A’Hao, what she’d overheard was definitely unusual.

“Yes.” Lin Hao turned the teacup in her hands and recounted, “I heard one person say they should seize an opportunity to accomplish something. Another person disagreed, saying this would cause Yuliu and Great Qi to join forces. I speculate it should be related to Yuliu’s upcoming visit.”

Qi Shuo was genuinely surprised. “Didn’t they say specifically what it was?”

“No.”

“Those two people’s identities—”

“Unclear.” Lin Hao couldn’t speak directly and repeated the conversation between the two.

Qi Shuo held the teapot, deep in thought. “‘When the master met with trouble, the common people didn’t speak up for him’—combined with their actions possibly causing Yuliu and Great Qi to join forces, this makes me think of one person: Emperor Pingle, whose fate remains unknown.”

Lin Hao was startled.

She was naturally not startled that Emperor Pingle had surfaced, but rather by Qi Shuo’s perceptiveness.

Indeed, the more calm and low-key a person was, the more meticulous their thinking.

How could such a person have feelings for her?

Catching a glimpse of that refined, handsome face, Lin Hao hastily drank a large mouthful of tea.

At such a serious moment, what was she thinking!

Qi Shuo was puzzled by Lin Hao’s action.

He took a sip of tea and savored it carefully, saying with some uncertainty, “This establishment’s tea seems to taste better than before.”

Lin Hao: “…”

“Why did you think of Emperor Pingle?” Lin Hao pulled the conversation back on track.

“Analyzing their dialogue, they’re clearly people of Great Zhou, yet when mentioning the common people, they take a superior perspective. My first reaction was the missing Emperor Pingle. However, this is just my speculation—perhaps there’s another faction.”

“Let’s assume it’s Emperor Pingle. What do you think they plan to do?” This was also Lin Hao’s purpose in seeking out Qi Shuo.

One person’s plan is limited, two people’s plans go further. The only person she trusted and was suitable for discussing this with was the Prince Jing Heir Apparent.

“They should be planning to sow discord between Yuliu and Great Zhou during Yuliu’s visit. The specific action is very difficult to guess based only on these vague words. If you want to be certain, you still need to quietly watch those two people. During their conversation, did they mention anything about their identities, or can you describe their appearances?”

Lin Hao hesitated briefly before saying, “That person who objected is the one who once tracked me.”

Qi Shuo’s eyes flickered slightly.

Then he knew very well.

“However, the key is still the other person.” Lin Hao poured Qi Shuo a cup of tea. “As for the person who tracked me, Heir Apparent, for now you shouldn’t alert them.”

Qi Shuo lowered his eyes, his clear, shallow gaze falling on the slender, fair hand holding the teapot.

Was it to avoid alerting them, or was it out of consideration for that person?

He felt it was the latter, but given that A’Hao was proactively pouring him tea, he’d treat it as the former.

“Mm.” He nodded lightly.

Lin Hao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and described Chen Mu’s appearance, sighing, “The capital is so large. Finding this person probably won’t be easy.”

“What these two discussed is significant. Even if they parted on bad terms, the possibility of them meeting again is extremely high. Watch that person who tracked you closely, and we should be able to follow the trail to find the other.”

Lin Hao wasn’t optimistic. “They seemed to have had a falling out. They may not meet again—we can only rely on luck.”

Qi Shuo smiled. “Our luck should be pretty good.”

Lin Hao was momentarily dazed by this smile. “Oh, yes, pretty good.”

Qi Shuo was silent for a moment before asking, “Where did you overhear this conversation?”

“At a tea house, purely by chance.”

Qi Shuo tactfully didn’t ask further. “Then I’ll tell you when there’s progress.”

After returning to his manor, Qi Shuo immediately instructed Xuan Yi, “Watch that person who appeared at the abandoned residence closely. Pay attention to anyone who contacts him.”

“This subordinate understands.”

Perhaps their luck had indeed arrived. After just two days, Xuan Yi made a discovery.

“Heir Apparent, that person went to a small tavern and met with a thin man. That thin man is extremely alert. This subordinate tracked him for a full day before following him to his lodgings.”

“Take me to see.”

Qi Shuo went to Chen Mu’s lodgings and discovered they were in an unremarkable residential area behind Changchun Street. There were many crowded courtyard compounds there, a jumble of people, so they didn’t particularly notice strangers.

“Focus on watching this thin man and see what he does.”

Two more days passed, and Xuan Yi came to report. “Seven or eight people are staying with the thin man. With him as their leader, during the day they seem to aimlessly wander around Jinxiu Street. Over these past few days, they’ve successively transported many things to their lodgings.”