The captured bandits numbered over four hundred in total. What to do with them, how to settle the matter — this was not only a headache for the local government but a burden for the imperial court as well.

Unable to decide on her own, Yun Xi sent word back to the capital.

The place was not far from Jinling, and within three days a reply came back, instructing Yun Xi to return to the palace first to report on her mission.

She therefore temporarily left the bandits in the outskirts, guarded by her soldiers, and set out for Jinling herself, taking only a small escort and traveling light.

That day, as Yun Xi approached the relay station on the outskirts of the city, she noticed an additional checkpoint had been set up. Passersby moved with hurried, anxious steps. Where previously only the Patrol Bureau and troops of the Capital Office had kept watch here, today there was an additional contingent of imperial guards.

One of the guards recognized her, addressed her as “Commandant Yun,” and waved her straight through.

Suspicious, Yun Xi was about to send someone to inquire what had happened, when she glanced up and saw, at the city gate, Fang Fulan approaching with Zhao Wu and several others, calling out, “A’Ting.”

Yun Xi asked, startled, “Sister-in-law, why are you here?”

Before Fang Fulan could answer, the maid Mingcui said with a smile, “Ever since young mistress received word that the eldest young miss was returning to the capital, she’s come to the city gate every single day, waiting. She’s finally gotten to see you back.”

Yun Xi said, “Sister-in-law’s health isn’t good — why didn’t any of you stop her?”

Fang Fulan smiled. “Don’t blame them. In all these years, you’ve never been away from home this long. Whenever other generals return from campaign, their families come to welcome them home — it wouldn’t do to leave you standing alone.”

Emperor Zhaoyuan, mindful of Yun Xi’s hard labor in suppressing the unrest, had specially granted her a day of rest before reporting back to the palace. So Yun Xi dismounted at the city gate, dismissed her subordinates, and rode with Fang Fulan in the carriage.

This carriage was one she had bought for the household before leaving the capital, worried that Fang Fulan would have difficulty getting around Jinling alone, using the rewards from her promotion.

The lantern hanging in front of the carriage no longer bore the characters “Loyalty and Valor,” but simply the single character “Yun.”

Sitting in the carriage, Yun Xi lifted the curtain to look outside. Jinling bustled as lively as ever, yet even within the city, imperial guards could be seen along the streets.

“Sister-in-law, in the month or so I’ve been away, has something happened in the capital? Why are the men of the Palace Front Guard patrolling the city now?”

Fang Fulan glanced at Yun Xi but didn’t answer right away. After a moment, she asked gently, “Was suppressing the unrest in the outskirts difficult for you?”

“Manageable,” Yun Xi said. “Those bandits weren’t much of a threat. The trouble earlier was mostly stirred up by the drifting rebels egging them on. After the Mid-Autumn incident, most of the drifters scattered, so the task turned out easier than I expected.”

Fang Fulan nodded, smiling. “That’s good to hear.” Then she added, “You’ve been away toiling for a full month — don’t worry about anything else. Rest well at home today, regain your strength. Tomorrow you’ll need to report back to the palace.”

Yun Xi said nothing to this.

In truth, her mind was still preoccupied with Cheng Chang.

She had thought that after the third young master went to probe Luo Shu at the Ministry of Justice’s prison, he would send her word. But over the past month, there had been no news from him at all.

When they’d parted at the Manjushri Shrine, Cheng Chang had told her to set her mind at ease about him and focus on suppressing the unrest. But Yun Xi worried that the “noble one” behind everything was ruthless, and that Cheng Chang, carrying every burden alone, might slip up if he wasn’t careful. She might not be as clever as him, but she was willing to face danger alongside him regardless.

Well then — now that she’d been promoted to commandant, moving between government offices had become easier. If the third young master wasn’t going to trouble her, she’d simply go to the Censorate herself today and ask.

With this in mind, Yun Xi said, “I won’t rest. After lunch, I have somewhere to go.”

Fang Fulan glanced at her again, seeming about to say something, then stopped herself.

When they reached the Marquis’s residence, Zangzang, not having seen Yun Xi in over a month, greeted her with tremendous enthusiasm. It had grown noticeably bigger, and leapt straight for her legs — Yun Xi, caught off guard, actually stumbled back a step from the impact.

Lunch had already been prepared. After all the household had endured together over the years, everyone lived without much formality, like one family. Today, with Yun Xi’s return, Uncle Bai, A’Ling, and a few other servants all sat at the same table.

Partway through the meal, Fang Fulan set down her chopsticks and asked Yun Xi, “A’Ting, you said you’re going out this afternoon — where to?”

Yun Xi thought about it and, seeing no reason to hide it, said, “The Censorate.”

Fang Fulan was silent for a moment, then said, “You’ve only just returned. Whatever it is that has you so eager to rush out, can’t it wait a little while? Why not stay home and talk with your sister-in-law today?”

Yun Xi was taken aback. Fang Fulan was normally the most understanding person — whatever Yun Xi wanted to do, she never interfered. What was different about today?

She wanted to ask Fang Fulan directly, but with the household servants at the table, she worried that pressing the matter carelessly might embarrass Fang Fulan, so she gave a vague, noncommittal reply.

Not until lunch had finished and everyone had withdrawn did Yun Xi ask, “Sister-in-law, are you hiding something from me?”

In truth, she’d sensed something was off from the moment she’d arrived back in Jinling.

Whatever she asked, whatever she brought up, Fang Fulan kept dodging and changing the subject.

She’d asked what had happened in the capital — no answer. She’d said she wanted to go to the Censorate — Fang Fulan tried to stop her.

Over these years, Yun Xi and Fang Fulan had relied on each other so completely that each understood the other’s thoughts better than anyone. Fang Fulan surely knew exactly why Yun Xi wanted to go to the Censorate.

With this thought, a sudden idea struck Yun Xi, and she went rigid. “Could it be… could it be that something’s happened to the third young master?”

The hall was quiet in the afternoon stillness. Fang Fulan sat in silence, not answering.

Seeing her reaction, Yun Xi already understood, on some level — yet still couldn’t bring herself to believe it. Her hand at her side clenched suddenly, then released just as suddenly. After a long moment, she asked, carefully, “He… what happened to him?”

Fang Fulan raised her eyes to look at Yun Xi, and seeing her brows knit tightly, her eyes brimming with worry, couldn’t help but call out, “A’Ting…”

She wanted to tell her to stop asking, but she knew Yun Xi’s temperament — if she didn’t get an answer, she wouldn’t let it go.

“The third young master… he’s disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Yun Xi said, stunned. “How could he disappear?”

“During the Chushu festival, the imperial clansmen went to Baiyun Temple to pray and offer sacrifice to heaven. It was there that the third young master went missing.”

“How could that be? A rite of heaven-worship is a major ceremony — Baiyun Mountain would have been thick with imperial guards. Besides, the third young master, as the future heir to Prince Cong’s household, would certainly have had guards with him wherever he went. How could he simply vanish? How is that even possible?”

“A’Ting, don’t panic yet,” Fang Fulan said, hearing the urgency in Yun Xi’s voice. “What I know is only secondhand — the truth of it is hard to say. At Baiyun Temple, the third young master did indeed have guards with him. But those four guards were all later found dead. The imperial guards in the mountain, along with the reinforcements sent by the court, searched Baiyun Mountain for a full seven days and found no trace of the third young master at all. Some are still searching Baiyun Mountain; others have been sent further out beyond the city. That’s also why you’re seeing imperial guards in Jinling.”

When Yun Xi heard that all four guards accompanying Cheng Chang had died, the color drained from her face at once.

By the time Fang Fulan finished speaking, there was not a trace of color left in her cheeks at all.

After a long while, she opened her mouth. “But — but…”

But what?

But on the day they parted, he had promised her he would take care of himself.

But that day at the Manjushri Shrine, she had gotten him a safety talisman.

Everyone said the Manjushri Shrine wasn’t the best place for a safety talisman — if only she’d known, she wouldn’t have gotten it there. Even if it meant more trouble, she should have gone to Baiyun Temple, or even Mingyin Temple, without waiting for the imperial decree.

But… on her whole journey back to the capital, she’d still been looking forward to seeing him again.

She liked him very much. She’d never asked for anything — only hoped to see him occasionally, to know he was safe. That was enough.

Seeing Yun Xi in this state of utter devastation, Fang Fulan couldn’t help but call out again, “A’Ting…”

At that moment, Zhao Wu entered the room and announced, “Young mistress, eldest young miss — two attendants from Prince Cong’s household have heard that the eldest young miss has returned and are requesting an audience outside.”

Fang Fulan glanced at Yun Xi, and before she could respond, Yun Xi seemed to suddenly snap back to herself and said, firm and decisive, “Let them in! Bring them in at once.”

The visitors were Zhang Dahu and Sun Haiping.

The two of them had come today seeking Yun Xi’s help, and so, unlike their usual brash manner, they spoke with unaccustomed respect. “After eldest young miss Yun left, the young prince, while investigating the Yao household’s second young miss’s case, went to the Ministry of Justice’s prison to question the fourth young miss Luo. Afterward, the young prince returned to the residence and told us that the fourth young miss Luo had said the old Marquis of Loyalty and Valor’s case seemed to have been a miscarriage of justice, and told us to look into it.”

“When this humble one made inquiries, we learned that after the old Marquis died, someone at court had accused him of recklessly pursuing merit, and His Majesty had secretly brought several men back from the frontier for questioning. Two of them are currently being held at Qingfeng Court, Baiyun Temple.”

“The young prince was about to go with the clansmen to Baiyun Temple for the heaven-worship rite when he heard of this, and said he would help you look into the old Marquis’s case, eldest young miss. Who could have known — who could have known that it was precisely because of this case that the young prince came to harm…”

“Because of… my father’s case?” Yun Xi said, stunned.

“Yes,” Sun Haiping said. “The young prince went to pray and offer sacrifice to heaven — we attendants weren’t qualified to accompany him. The prince originally provided him with a full complement of guards. But Qingfeng Court is remote, its defenses lax, and the dense forest all around makes it easy to hide people. Two of the guards were killed in that very area. The young prince of the Prince of Nan’an’s household also said that the last time he saw the young prince, the young prince mentioned he had business at Qingfeng Court — likely meaning to find and question the witnesses in the old Marquis’s case, for your sake, eldest young miss.”

Yun Xi couldn’t help but stumble back a step.

At first her heart had been consumed with worry and urgency. But now, after hearing Sun Haiping finish, that burning anxiety had faded, replaced by a kind of numb bewilderment — as if someone were slowly carving a hole in her heart with a fine needle, with nothing to fill it back in.

A howling wind seemed to pass straight through her chest, carrying with it a bitter chill that heralded snow and frost.

Only now, belatedly, did Yun Xi taste a trace of true anguish — and that trace, like poison, needed only a single drop to spread and burn through every bone in her body.

“Princess Consort Cong has fallen gravely ill since hearing the news, and hasn’t recovered. A few days ago, Prince Cong returned from Baiyun Temple and fell ill as well, and is now only barely managing to keep pursuing the leads. The imperial guards are still searching the outskirts and around Baiyun Temple, but this one thinks… to them, this is ultimately just a duty to be carried out. They may not be putting their whole heart into it.”

“The young prince rarely associates closely with others. These past six months, you, eldest young miss, are the only one he’s grown close to. This disaster that’s befallen him — half of it is on your account too. Now that you’ve been made commandant and have troops under your command, we beg you — could you bring your men, bring us along, and go search for the young prince once more? We believe, eldest young miss, that you would search with far more heart than those imperial guards in the palace.”

Hearing this, Yun Xi nodded. “Alright.”

She didn’t mention that most of the troops Xuan Zhi had assigned her remained in the outskirts guarding the captured bandits, and that she herself was, for now, essentially a commandant in name only.

She had toiled in the outskirts for a full month, without even a moment’s rest, without even time to pack her things. She merely adjusted the dagger tucked at her waist and, without a word, made to leave the residence.

“A’Ting.” Seeing Yun Xi in this state, utterly lost to herself, Fang Fulan couldn’t help but call out to her. “Where are you going?”

“To find the third young master,” Yun Xi said.

“Where would you even look for him?” Fang Fulan said.

She knew these words would cut like a blade, but she still felt she had to say them, to warn Yun Xi. “The imperial guards have already combed through the entirety of Baiyun Mountain several times over. If he could be found, he would have been found by now. All four guards accompanying the third young master died, and he himself has no martial skill to speak of — I fear the outlook is grim. It’s been nearly ten days since he went missing. If not for the fact that he’s a scion of the imperial clan, favored by His Majesty and the Grand Empress Dowager, I fear…”

I fear Prince Cong’s household would already be preparing for a funeral.

Fang Fulan stepped closer to Yun Xi and took her hand, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear. “A’Ting, your sister-in-law knows how much this pains you. But things have already come to this — whatever you do now will be in vain. Listen to your sister-in-law, just this once. Treat it as though you’d never met this person at all, and slowly let him go. Can you do that?”

Yun Xi looked at Fang Fulan, her eyes gradually welling with tears. After a long moment, she lowered her gaze and said hoarsely, “No.”

She pulled her hand free. “If he’s alive, I’ll find him. If he’s dead, I’ll find his body. As long as I haven’t found the third young master, there’s still hope he’s alive. I’m going to find him. If not in one day, then ten. If not in ten days, then ten months. If not in ten months, then ten years. I… will find him.”