In the morning, a guard from the princely residence came to report that Emperor Zhaoyuan, upon hearing of Chai Ping’s death, had urgently summoned Prince Cong, Cheng Chang, and the Three Judicial Offices to an audience following the morning court session.
Seeing the hour growing late, Cheng Chang gave a few instructions to his subordinates and headed to the palace.
Yun Xi, being a military officer, didn’t need to attend court sessions every day. She hadn’t slept at all the night before and had originally planned to rest at Wangshan Retreat for half a day before leaving. But before noon, her personal guard came looking for her.
This guard, named Cui Yu, had been personally promoted by Yun Xi the year she’d been made a colonel. He had a clean background and usually helped Yun Xi handle important matters.
Seeing him arrive, Yun Xi knew he must have news about the matter she’d had him investigate earlier. She said her farewells to Steward Lin of Wangshan Retreat and rode off with Cui Yu toward the Marquis of Zhongyong’s mansion.
On the way, Cui Yu said, “Reporting to the General, I’ve looked into the days the Young Madam went to Hechun Hall for treatment. Aside from the eve of the fourth day of the second month, when the palace’s defense map went missing, nothing significant happened on any of the other days.”
Hearing this, Yun Xi relaxed slightly. “Did you look into Hechun Hall itself?”
“I did. The shop originally belonged to a tea merchant and was transferred to Physician Xue about seven or eight years ago. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing suspicious about it.”
Yun Xi nodded. “Good, that’s good.”
“But there’s one thing that struck me as odd,” Cui Yu said hesitantly. “The days the Young Madam goes to the pharmacy for treatment are usually arranged in advance—when she goes, when she returns, it’s generally quite regular and predictable. But yesterday morning, Physician Xue of Hechun Hall suddenly sent word saying she needed to return to her hometown for a few days, and asked the Young Madam to come in for acupuncture.”
“Changing the date on short notice wouldn’t normally be strange in itself, but wasn’t it yesterday that something happened to Lord Chai? I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but my men noticed that Prince Ling was rushing back to the palace from around the Qinhuai area in the south of the city, and not long after Prince Ling returned to the palace, the Young Madam also returned to the Marquis’s mansion.”
Cui Yu continued, “General, should… should I have someone look into whether the Young Madam has any connection to Prince Ling?”
Hearing this, Yun Xi fell silent for a moment.
If Fang Furan really did have ties to Prince Ling, then the two of them must have known each other even before Fang Furan entered the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household.
And at that time, Yun Xi herself had only just recently returned to Jinling from the northern frontier.
Yun Xi remembered that when disaster struck the Fang household, it had coincided with the Empress’s death. She had gone to the palace that day to pay respects to the Empress, and had come across Fang Furan throwing herself into the lake—that was how she’d pulled the newly ruined, family-shattered Fang Furan out of the water.
“General.” Cui Yu, seeing Yun Xi lost in thought, called out to her. “Should I look into it?”
Yun Xi said, “Look into it.” She thought for a moment. “Also look into whether there was anything suspicious about the raid on the Fang household back then.”
“Yes.” Cui Yu, glancing at Yun Xi and noticing her downcast expression, couldn’t help advising her, “General, there’s no need to worry too much. Right now this is all just this subordinate’s speculation, without any solid evidence. The Young Madam might not be an informant for the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household at all.”
Yun Xi nodded. “I know.”
Having said this, she spurred her horse on urgently and headed toward the Marquis of Zhongyong’s mansion.
Yun Xi had barely waited half a quarter-hour in the main hall when Fang Furan came out to meet her.
“A’Ting.” Fang Furan seemed a little surprised. “Why are you back so early? Didn’t you say you’d be at the Western Hills camp these past two days?”
Yun Xi turned to look at Fang Furan and smiled. “Sister-in-law, I heard you went to Hechun Hall for treatment yesterday. Are you unwell?”
Fang Furan was startled for a moment at the sight of Yun Xi.
She looked as usual—dressed in vermilion, her thick black hair tied back in a ponytail, her eyes as bright and clear as ever—but for some reason, her expression seemed unusually cold and sharp.
There was a small cut on her lip, faintly bloodied, which at a glance looked rather striking. A finely made dark vermilion scarf covered her neck—Fang Furan remembered that Yun Xi hadn’t been wearing a scarf when she’d left the mansion the day before.
She could roughly guess who Yun Xi had gone to see the night before.
Fang Furan smiled as well. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”
Looking at Fang Furan, Yun Xi suddenly said, “Sister-in-law, have I mentioned to you before? There’s an informant inside the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household.”
Fang Furan was startled. “An informant?”
“Some time ago, there was a certain ‘noble person’ in the palace who tried to assassinate the Third Young Master several times. This ‘noble person’ has an informant inside our household.”
Fang Furan looked somewhat surprised. “There’s such a thing?”
“There is.” Yun Xi didn’t elaborate further.
Fang Furan took the teapot from the side table, poured a cup, and handed it to her, asking, “The household isn’t what it used to be—so many servants and attendants now. Have you found out who this informant is?” After a pause, she added, “Did the Third Young Master tell you this?”
Yun Xi didn’t answer that question.
Cheng Chang had never mentioned a single word to her about Fang Furan or the Fang family’s affairs.
But just because the Third Young Master didn’t want to burden her with worry didn’t mean she could simply turn a blind eye.
Yun Xi took the tea but didn’t drink it. “Third Young Master may have been reckless in the past, but these past two years he’s done no harm to anyone. I don’t know who keeps trying to take his life, but if anyone in the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household is helping that person, harming the Third Young Master for no reason, I don’t care what excuse they might have—if I find out, I will show no mercy.”
As Yun Xi said this, her tone was resolute, yet her expression remained calm.
Watching her, Fang Furan didn’t quite know what to feel. Perhaps it was from having been through the battlefield and the chaos of war—ever since A’Ting had returned from Lingnan, she’d become steady, composed, unhurried.
Only that stubborn, single-minded nature of hers hadn’t changed at all.
Fang Furan said gently, “You’re right. It shouldn’t be tolerated.”
Having said what she needed to say, and thinking of A’Jiu, who’d returned from Yangzhou and had been kept confined to the mansion these past couple of days, Yun Xi was about to head to the back courtyard to have a word with her, when Zhao Wu suddenly came in to report, “Miss, someone’s here from the Bureau of Military Affairs. They say Lord Tian of the Ministry of Justice has found a lead on the missing defense map and would like you to come to the Ministry of Justice.”
Earlier, when the Ministry of War’s defense map had gone missing, Tian Ze of the Ministry of Justice had been in charge of investigating the case, while Yun Xi, in the Guangxi Bureau of the Bureau of Military Affairs, was responsible for catching the thief.
Now that Tian Ze was looking for her, it likely meant he’d found a lead on the culprit.
Hearing this, Yun Xi nodded, set down the tea in her hand, and told Zhao Wu, “Prepare a horse.” She headed straight for the mansion gate.
The servants quickly prepared a horse, and moments later, the neighing of a fine steed sounded from outside the mansion, the sound of hoofbeats gradually fading into the distance.
Fang Furan sat in the main hall, looking at the untouched cup of tea on the side table. After a long while, she stood up, gathered the cup and teapot onto a tray, and took them to the back courtyard to wash.
It was past noon. A’Jiu was leaning against the covered walkway in the back courtyard, sunning herself.
Seeing Fang Furan approaching alone, she pulled a piece of dried grass from her mouth and asked, puzzled, “Sister-in-law, why are you doing chores yourself?”
Fang Furan smiled gently. “These are A’Ting’s cup and teapot. I had nothing else to do, so I thought I’d wash them for her.”
A’Jiu asked, “Did A’Ting just get back?”
“She did,” Fang Furan said. “But there’s urgent business at the palace, so she’s already left again.”
A’Jiu said “Oh,” and leaned back against the walkway, resting her head on her arm.
Having stolen the blood letter left by Steward Li before his death, A’Jiu had been uneasy with guilt these past few days, obediently staying put at the mansion just as Yun Xi had told her.
Seeing A’Jiu drowsy against the walkway, Fang Furan called out, “A’Jiu.”
She walked over and took something out of her pouch. “This is for you.”
A’Jiu glanced at it—a lake-blue sachet. She didn’t take it, smiling instead. “Why is Sister-in-law suddenly giving me something?”
Fang Furan said gently, “I was sorting through some of Yun Luo’s belongings the other day and found two sachets he used to carry often. My health isn’t good, so I never use scented sachets myself. I thought I’d give one to you and one to A’Ting.”
A’Jiu was startled. “Is this… something of Yun Luo’s?”
“Not exactly,” Fang Furan said with a smile. “I added some fresh patchouli inside—it’s good for clearing the eyes and refreshing the mind. Since you’re in the military, it should do you some good to wear it.”
A’Jiu looked more closely at the sachet. Sure enough, the emblem on the front was the northern grassland goshawk that Yun Luo had always loved most.
Something stirred in her heart, and she took the sachet. “Thank you, then, Sister-in-law.”
Fang Furan said gently, “A’Ting has been working herself to exhaustion lately. She only just got back from the Western Hills camp this morning, and no sooner had she sat down than word came from the palace that they might have found the bandits, and she rushed off to the government office again without even a moment’s rest. I’m stuck at home most of the time and can’t always be there to look after her, so I have to trouble you to help out more.”
Hearing this, A’Jiu paused slightly. “Word came from the palace that they’ve found the bandits?”
Fang Furan nodded slightly. “It seems so. A’Ting left as soon as she got the message—I didn’t hear the details.”
A’Jiu fastened the sachet to her belt and thought for a moment before suddenly asking, “Sister-in-law, do you know when A’Ting will be back today?”
“A’Ting doesn’t often rest at the mansion. Today’s official duties are heavy—if she comes back at all, it’ll be very late,” Fang Furan said, then asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” A’Jiu said, then broke into a grin. “I just remembered it’s been a while since I visited Old Zhong. I thought I’d go see him.”
With that, she picked up the sword lying beside her and said to Fang Furan, “Well, Sister-in-law, I’m heading out. If A’Ting comes back, tell her I’ve gone to see Old Zhong.”