Minister Zhao inwardly groaned.

He had clearly washed his beard several times—how could it still smell fragrant?

The old minister kept his expression unchanged. “Madam must have smelled wrong. How could a beard be fragrant?”

“Exactly, how could a beard be fragrant?” Minister Zhao’s wife leaned closer, raising an eyebrow. “Did you go to a restaurant, my lord?”

Minister Zhao quickly said, “Someone treated me!”

“Whether someone treated you or not doesn’t matter. Tell me which street this restaurant is on and what it’s called.”

The fragrance was so strong—clearly the restaurant’s food must be exceptional.

“It’s on Qingxing Street, called You Jian Tavern.”

“You Jian Tavern?”

Minister Zhao nodded. “Though the name is rather straightforward, the food and wine are truly delicious. Oh, and this tavern is run by the Grand Commander Luo’s precious daughter.”

“That Miss Luo?” The minister’s wife’s voice suddenly rose sharply.

Minister Zhao hastily soothed her. “Look at this big beard of mine—Miss Luo has nothing to fear from me.”

The minister’s wife looked at her old man and nodded.

That was true enough.

However, she had originally wanted to go try it, but since the tavern was run by Miss Luo, she’d let it go.

“Let’s sleep.” The minister’s wife abandoned the thought and lay back down.

But the fragrance continued drilling into her nose.

The minister’s wife opened her eyes and patted the person beside her pillow.

“What is it now?” Minister Zhao sighed.

Full of food and wine, couldn’t he get a proper night’s sleep?

“If you go again, my lord, bring some food home.”

She didn’t want to go herself, but she could have her husband bring some back to try.

Minister Zhao’s heart surged with excitement.

Was this good fortune? He’d been prepared to spend his private savings, and now this unexpected blessing!

“If Madam wishes to eat, I’ll make another trip tomorrow.” Minister Zhao cleared his throat lightly. “It’s just that the food and wine are rather expensive—”

“Expensive things are expensive for a reason. Take more silver with you tomorrow, my lord.”

“Alright.” Minister Zhao responded with full vigor.

The next day.

Grand Commander Luo asked his servants, “Has Miss gone out?”

“Miss is at the training grounds.”

Grand Commander Luo thought about it—that made sense.

Sheng’er’s tavern supposedly only opened for evening business, so naturally she didn’t need to leave too early.

Grand Commander Luo walked toward the training grounds.

Luo Sheng was practicing archery.

One bow, one arrow.

After she had drawn and shot countless times, she naturally invested her complete focus.

The feathered arrow struck the bullseye.

“Excellent archery!” Grand Commander Luo applauded.

Luo Sheng spun around sharply, drawing her bowstring taut and aiming directly at Grand Commander Luo.

Grand Commander Luo froze, then smiled and walked over, quite naturally ruffling Luo Sheng’s hair. “Sheng’er, you’ve practiced archery until you’re confused.”

Luo Sheng’s hand gripping the drawn bow trembled imperceptibly. She put away the bow and arrow.

“Father’s sudden applause startled me.”

Grand Commander Luo laughed. “In the manor, does Sheng’er still worry about villains?”

Luo Sheng’s tone was calm. “I encountered bandits on the road to the capital, and since then I can’t help but feel nervous.”

Upon hearing this, Grand Commander Luo felt deeply distressed and comforted her. “Don’t worry, Sheng’er. I’ve already sent your fifth brother to suppress the bandits. A few days ago your fifth brother returned to report—he said the bandit troubles along the route have been resolved.”

A thread of emotion stirred in Luo Sheng’s heart.

This emotion wasn’t for her, but for Miss Luo.

Miss Luo had a father who cherished her to his bones.

Since that was the case—

She thought for a moment, then took something from her pouch and placed it in Grand Commander Luo’s palm. “Has Father ever seen this object?”

Grand Commander Luo looked closely—it was a peach wood axe no longer than three inches.

“Has Father seen it before?”

Grand Commander Luo shook his head. “This type of pendant is quite common. To determine if it’s special, one would need to see if the pattern on the peach wood axe has any particular significance.”

“So Father hasn’t noticed anyone wearing this object either?”

“Why does Sheng’er ask about this?”

Luo Sheng handed the bow and arrow to Hong Dou and said in a grave voice, “On the road to the capital, I not only encountered bandits—I also encountered an assassination attempt.”

“What?” Grand Commander Luo’s expression changed drastically. He looked again at the peach wood axe in his hand. “Then this is—”

“I found it on one of the people who tried to kill me.”

Grand Commander Luo’s expression was extremely ugly. “Why didn’t you tell me after you came back!”

Luo Sheng lowered her eyes. “When I returned to the manor, I heard that Father had been stabbed and gravely injured, at death’s door. Connecting it to what happened on the road, I didn’t dare say a word, only hoping Father would recover quickly.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me after I recovered?”

Common bandits and assassination—these were completely different matters.

Luo Sheng looked up at Grand Commander Luo, her expression embarrassed. “After Father recovered, I… I simply forgot, and only just now remembered.”

She wasn’t without thoughts of using Grand Commander Luo’s power to investigate who had tried to assassinate Miss Luo, but after waking she had none of Miss Luo’s memories. All her judgments about Grand Commander Luo came from what people around her said.

She couldn’t just listen to what others said—she needed to use her own eyes and heart to judge.

Now she could be certain that Grand Commander Luo’s love for his daughter was genuine.

Grand Commander Luo first froze, then laughed.

Forgetting just like that—this was indeed Sheng’er’s way.

Grand Commander Luo put away the peach wood axe and patted Luo Sheng. “Leave this matter to me to investigate. Don’t take it to heart anymore, Sheng’er.”

Luo Sheng nodded, then suddenly asked, “Father, have you offended many people?”

As the Commander of the Brocade Guard, with so much blood on his hands, did he truly feel no guilt in the depths of night?

But Grand Commander Luo laughed. “Sheng’er needn’t worry about such things. As Commander of the Brocade Guard, I’m not afraid of offending people.”

If one feared offending people, how could one serve as Commander of the Brocade Guard?

Grand Commander Luo returned to his study and sat in silence for a long while before ordering someone to summon Pingli and Yun Dong.

Pingli and Yun Dong arrived one after the other.

“Fifth Master, the Grand Commander asks you to enter first.”

Yun Dong nodded slightly to Pingli and walked into the study.

“What matter does adoptive father have for this child?”

“Investigate this and see what you can find out.” Grand Commander Luo handed over the peach wood axe.

Yun Dong glanced at it, showed no particular reaction as he put it away, and responded affirmatively.

“Investigate secretly—don’t let anyone know.” After giving this instruction, Grand Commander Luo signaled for Yun Dong to leave and for Pingli to enter.

Pingli passed Yun Dong at the doorway, smiled, and walked into the study.

“Pingli, you’ve never left the capital before, have you?”

Pingli froze.

Unlike the other adopted sons, he had always remained in the capital to assist his adoptive father in managing the Brocade Guard.

Why was his adoptive father suddenly asking about this?

“There’s an extremely important matter. I’ve thought it over repeatedly and don’t feel comfortable entrusting it to anyone else, so I want to give it to you to handle.”

“Please instruct me, adoptive father.”

Grand Commander Luo stretched slightly and said lightly, “Make a trip to Jinsha and bring Chen’er back.”

Pingli’s head snapped up toward Grand Commander Luo, making no attempt to hide his shock.

Grand Commander Luo assumed a stern expression. “You are the adopted son I value most, which is why I’m entrusting this task to you. If anything happens to Chen’er—”

Pingli’s heart trembled as he quickly said, “Then this child will bring his own head to you!”

Grand Commander Luo’s expression relaxed. “You may go.”

After the study door closed, Grand Commander Luo took out a letter from the drawer.

He had received Chen’er’s letter many days ago.

In the letter, Chen’er said his health had improved and he wanted to come home.

Originally he wouldn’t have agreed, but now he’d changed his mind.