“Miss Mo Zi.” Ming Nian called softly from outside.
Mo Zi hadn’t slept at all. She immediately opened her eyes, got up, and walked to the desk. “Come in.”
Ming Nian pushed open the door and handed over a list—exactly what Mo Zi had instructed him to do. “Miss, you haven’t slept?”
“I squinted my eyes for a while. Thank you.” Mo Zi looked at the names on the list, most of whom were officials from the Six Ministries and the Central Secretariat who belonged to the conservative faction. She felt that although Yuan Cheng usually entertained these people diligently, now that this incident had occurred, most of them would probably turn their backs and refuse to acknowledge him. However, the appearance of Xu Jiu’s name at the very bottom allowed her to maintain some slightly positive thoughts.
Wei An came on Ming Nian’s heels, also delivering a list—this one of people who would be leaving the mansion immediately. “If Miss Mo Zi has no objections, these people can depart at once.”
Mo Zi saw that Su Lan’s mother and younger sister, as well as Physician Ji and Madam Miao were all on it, and knew Wei An had considered things thoroughly. Her heart settled. “Master Wei, can my younger sister Dou Lu also leave with this group?”
“I’m not leaving.” Dou Lu came in carrying breakfast, followed by Luo Ying and Hua Ying.
Wei An was rather helpless. “The first person I asked was Miss Dou Lu, but she absolutely refused, which is why her name isn’t on the list.”
“Dou Lu—” Mo Zi wanted to persuade her.
“Sister, I know I can’t help with any major matters, but at least let me stay a few more days. After you’ve all decided exactly what to do, it won’t be too late for me to leave then. Besides, with Luo Ying, Hua Ying, A’Hao, and A’Yue all here, how could I leave first?” Not being in the first group—Dou Lu had her own persistence.
Mo Zi sighed. “All right, but next time when I bring up having you leave, you can’t argue with me.”
Dou Lu smiled brightly. “Mm.”
“Master Wei, then I’ll trouble you.” Mo Zi returned the list to Wei An. “Be careful on the journey.”
Wei An shook his head. “Miss Mo Zi, I’m not leaving yet. These people will be led by Teng Guo and A’Ge.”
“That’s good too. Master Wei is familiar with both the mansion and the capital situation. I still need your advice.” Mo Zi spoke from her heart.
Wei An, hearing this and feeling very respected, smiled and went down to handle matters.
Luo Ying brought Mo Zi a cup for rinsing her mouth. Hua Ying handed her a face cloth at just the right warm temperature. Dou Lu placed breakfast bowls and dishes on the table. Ming Nian also found something to do for himself, tidying up the desk. At times like this, it seemed one had to keep busy to avoid being so tense.
“Has there been any word from Hua Yi’s side?” The sky wasn’t yet fully light, but calculating the time, they should have heard some news by now.
A’Hao answered from outside the door. “Not yet.”
Mo Zi frowned. Since Hua Yi said he would enter the palace, at least two hours had passed. How could there be no news at all?
Dou Lu was best at reading Mo Zi’s expressions. “Sister, don’t worry. Don’t you always say no news is good news?”
“This time it’s exactly the opposite—no news is bad news.” Probably knowing everyone would have no appetite, the kitchen had put considerable thought into this morning’s meal, which was mostly appetizing small dishes. But Mo Zi was too lazy to even extend her chopsticks, wanting to simply drink down a bowl of congee and be done with it.
“Where’s Zan Jin?” She couldn’t just wait.
“He went to Master Jiang’s mansion to deliver the letter and hasn’t returned yet either.” Luo Ying took advantage of the conversation to stuff a small steamed roll into Mo Zi’s hand. Seeing her eat it unconsciously, she quickly stuffed in another.
“Although Jiang Tao and Yang Ling live in opposite directions, it shouldn’t take two hours, should it?” Anxious, she naturally felt everything was slow.
“Going and coming back, and who knows—perhaps the two masters had something to instruct, or some countermeasure to consider, keeping Zan Jin delayed at each place for a while. Two hours isn’t that long.” Luo Ying thought on the positive side.
“Up till now we haven’t been surrounded so tightly that not even water can leak through. One can guess the Emperor isn’t the type who hears someone mentioned rebellion and doesn’t ask any questions. Luo Ying, after you finish eating, help me make a trip to Hongyu and have Wei Qing come see me.” Mo Zi didn’t eat a second flower roll, putting it back on the plate.
“With both Zan Jin and Ding Gou gone, if I leave the mansion too, you’ll have no one at your side. What if we need to leave immediately—” Luo Ying hesitated somewhat.
“How could it be that fast? With no news from Yuan Cheng’s side, even if His Majesty sends soldiers to ransack the house, I won’t leave. Go on. I guarantee that when you return, not a single one of us will be missing. Besides, there are still A’Hao and A’Yue.” Mo Zi was anxious about Yuan Cheng’s situation on one hand while steadying her own resolve on the other.
“Those two girls’ martial skills—sufficient for fighting to the death, insufficient for fleeing for their lives.” So they could only be considered two lives that could be thrown away for Mo Zi at any time, belonging to dangerous, urgent, and dire critical moments.
“There’s still Xiao Yi. Although you can’t see her, she’s definitely somewhere on a tree or some rooftop enjoying the cool air and sleeping.” Xiao Yi was now following her senior brothers. Those several Yi were all at Yuan Mansion, so naturally Xiao Yi was there too.
“All right, I’ll go and come right back.” Not waiting to finish eating, Luo Ying hurried off.
“Sister, why is everyone preparing to leave? You said before that the Great Zhou Emperor is an enlightened ruler. Master Yuan didn’t commit assassination, so he has no crime. With no crime, naturally he’ll be safe and sound.” Dou Lu slowly peeled an eggshell.
“The current Emperor is an enlightened ruler, but wasn’t the late Emperor also brilliant and mighty? Yet he still misjudged the Yuan family, causing over a hundred innocent people to lose their lives. Rebellion, assassination, treason—these are what emperors fear most, and they’re also good opportunities for officials who don’t get along on ordinary days to take advantage and frame others. As long as someone is determined to crush another to death, once such crimes are exposed, it’s difficult to escape. I still have some confidence in His Majesty, but as for those waiting to kick someone when they’re down, I find it very difficult to predict what they’ll do. Yuan Cheng seems to think the same way, otherwise he wouldn’t have hinted for me to pack things up.” Solid evidence could be fabricated. One person saying Yuan Cheng rebelled—Yuan Cheng could refute it. Ten people, a hundred people saying rebellion—nothing Yuan Cheng said would be useful. Thinking of this, Mo Zi was rarely pessimistic. “We’ll have to leave sooner or later anyway. Just consider it Heaven’s will.”
Dou Lu said no more.
The bowls and dishes were taken away. Hua Ying accompanied Dou Lu back to the courtyard. Ming Nian also really couldn’t stay put, saying he wanted to go out for a stroll and incidentally gather information. Only A’Hao and A’Yue remained guarding the door.
Mo Zi had A’Yue fetch her toolbox. The pressure on her heart was too heavy—she wanted to borrow the focus of concentration to make time pass faster. Truthfully, at this point, she didn’t have much interest in what secret was hidden in the other earring.
Though the pressure was great, there wasn’t half a trace of panic in her hands. Gradually, as she had anticipated, she temporarily forgot everything around her, wholly concentrating until heaven and earth were silent.
Crack—the outer shell filed open. Looking inside, she was startled. Unlike the golden sphere in her pair of earrings, this was a small cube, made of jade, evening-glow red. Five of the six faces were smooth, while one face had eight characters finely carved—revealing another branch of her and Dou Lu’s relatives.
Beloved wife Evening Lotus, daughter of Wang Yang.
Wang Yang? That布衣 Prime Minister who held first-rank office! The Wang family? That prestigious noble house that had produced an Empress, a prospective Crown Princess, and the excellent Miss Wang the Tenth! Then she and Dou Lu were nieces of Empress Wang, and cousins of the prospective Crown Princess and Miss Wang the Tenth. Mo Zi sighed, having to admit that her father had good taste, and her mother had good taste too—eloping truly had its reasons. She had considered Dou Lu, and the Min family members she’d met were quite good, so she had acknowledged them. But looking at this trajectory of the Wang family—women becoming empresses and consorts, men becoming officials—she instinctively felt she couldn’t get close to them.
“Miss Qiu Shuang, you cannot enter.” Suddenly, A’Hao’s urgent shout came from outside the study.
Swords clashed against swords, clanging in combat.
“Don’t overestimate yourselves. This young lady has no intention of taking your two lives—I merely wish to see the person inside. Quickly step aside.” Qiu Shuang called out delicately.
Mo Zi put away the jade cube, opened the door and said, “A’Hao, A’Yue, stop. The visitor is a guest.”
Even working together, A’Hao and A’Yue couldn’t stop Qiu Shuang’s sword. But they had sworn loyalty to Mo Zi and feared Qiu Shuang would harm their mistress, so they fought desperately with their lives. For a moment they couldn’t stop.
Qiu Shuang gave a light shout. With one hand she created five sword flowers, knocking A’Yue’s weapon away. Amid silvery sword energy, she pointed directly at A’Hao’s face and smiled coldly.
“Miss Qiu Shuang, please show mercy. If you want to see me, I’ll come out to receive you. There’s really no need to hurt people.” Mo Zi said again.
Qiu Shuang looked over, her dark eyebrows raised high. “Although these two’s martial skills originate from my Nanhua Sword Sect, they were too eager for quick results and completely practiced killing moves, yet lack true inner energy—similar in form but not in spirit. And they still wanted to block me?”
“I’ve long heard that Miss Qiu Shuang has extremely high talent, exquisite swordsmanship, and is one of the top experts of the Nanhua Sword Sect. Naturally A’Hao and A’Yue cannot compare with you, Miss. Thank you for not taking them seriously.” Mo Zi stepped aside to the doorway. “Miss Qiu Shuang, please come in to talk.”
A’Yue hurriedly called out, “Miss!”
Mo Zi smiled at her and A’Hao. “It’s fine. I think with Miss Qiu Shuang being so polite about wanting to enter through the door, she probably doesn’t intend to make trouble for me.”
Qiu Shuang snorted and walked into the study. “These two were trained by Master Hua over seven or eight years, yet now they’re devoted to you heart and soul. I know you’re not ordinary. But even being this clever, I’m afraid you can’t guess my purpose in coming.”
“Could it be you’ve come because of Aunt Jiao?” Who says I can’t guess? “Jiao Niang is a disciple of the Nanhua Sword Sect. If the Emperor seriously investigates her bold assassination attempt, your sword sect will also face catastrophic disaster. Has Miss Qiu Shuang come to distance herself from this?”
In an instant, the proud Miss Qiu Shuang’s face turned red. She stubbornly said, “Distance ourselves? Master Hua’s assassination was her own reckless action. It had nothing to do with the Nanhua Sword Sect to begin with. Why would we need to distance ourselves?”
“Then I guessed wrong. I apologize. May I ask Miss Qiu Shuang, what exactly is your business here?” Being a bit more humble, asking first should be acceptable, right?
Seeing Mo Zi so generously admit her error, Qiu Shuang was also straightforward. “Forget it. If this continues, it makes me seem petty. That’s right—I wanted to come make this matter clear: the Nanhua Sword Sect absolutely did not participate. These past days, although I’ve been following Master Hua, she told me nothing. I didn’t even know those people in that village were assassins she had raised. It wasn’t until this morning when she asked to borrow my Child-Mother Swords and I curiously followed her into the city that I saw her actually attempt to assassinate His Majesty.”
“I believe what Miss Qiu Shuang says. However—” Mo Zi was somewhat puzzled. “Running here to tell me this is of no use. I’m neither the Emperor nor someone who helps the Emperor catch assassins. Moreover, Yuan Cheng has been implicated by Jiao Niang.”
“Doesn’t the Emperor favor and trust you greatly? When you enter the palace to plead Yuan Cheng’s case, you can help me speak a word as well.” Qiu Shuang was a woman of the martial world who didn’t understand the complexities of the imperial family and court. Aside from her affected reserve, her true self underneath was quite adorably straightforward.
Therefore, hearing this, Mo Zi couldn’t help but laugh outright.