Yan Tongshu asked sharply, “Are all copies of The Spring Flower Plume and Song of the Wind printed on paper like this?”
The shop assistant nodded. “Yes. Although these two are classic plays, they aren’t exactly considered refined literature, so not many people buy them. After reading them, most people simply set them aside. There are plenty of secondhand copies too, so the prices are even lower. To save on costs, all the bookshops use paper like this.”
But Feng Feng’s two copies were different.
The paper inside was of excellent quality—smooth, thick, and sturdy.
Yan Tongshu’s brow twitched.
The two playbooks Feng Feng possessed had been specially made. They had never been bought from a shop.
Just as Yan Tongshu was deep in thought, Xie Li returned with the osmanthus cakes. “Lord Yan, I’ve bought them.”
“Oh.” Yan Tongshu came back to herself and tucked the two books into her robe, then had Pearl pay for them.
She looked at Xie Li. “Let’s go back together.”
Yan Tongshu invited Xie Li into her carriage.
His voice was muffled. “All right.”
On the way, Jinbao had only just driven the carriage a short distance when the snow stopped.
Xie Li lifted the curtain and looked up at the sky. “It came suddenly, and stopped just as suddenly.”
Yan Tongshu was still thinking about Feng Feng and replied absentmindedly, “Yes.”
Xie Li pressed his lips together. “Lord Yan, can you find the murderer?”
“I’ll do everything I can.”
Xie Li’s gaze deepened. “Lord Yan, you must catch the murderer. Anyone who killed the princess deserves to die.”
Hmm?
Yan Tongshu looked at Xie Li in surprise.
His words were filled with intense hatred and disgust.
She asked instinctively, “Did you know that the princess had someone she loved?”
Xie Li fell silent.
Yan Tongshu understood.
He knew.
He knew that Princess Xing’an loved him.
That was only natural. Feelings could not be hidden. Anyone caught up in them would sense it to some degree.
“Actually, I was very surprised after the princess died.” Perhaps Xie Li wanted to change the subject. His voice was bitter as he continued, “I thought your emperor would certainly try to conceal anything that might be detrimental to your country, making it more difficult to capture the murderer. But he didn’t.”
Yan Tongshu thought of Qin Yi, and the corners of her lips lifted involuntarily. “He did handle that very well.”
Xie Li lowered his eyes and stared at the osmanthus cakes in his hands. “It wasn’t just me. I could tell that many people in the delegation were surprised and confused as well. But I’ve heard about your story, Lord Yan. When I heard the news, I was surprised, yet at the same time, I felt that it was exactly what I would have expected. Lord Yan, I envy you. I envy the relationship between you and your ruler, and I envy your country.”
He raised his head. His eyes held emotions so profound and complicated that no one could decipher them.
“A country like that will grow stronger and more prosperous. Peace negotiations are the right choice. But my country is torn apart from within. The Divine God Sect is split between the Old Doctrine and the New Doctrine; the Southern and Northern Prefectures oppose each other. The left and right chancellors, Empress Dowager Xiao, and King Liao all govern according to their own interests, scheming against one another…”
Xie Li’s voice overflowed with sorrow and disappointment. “That is precisely why we should seek peace even more. Once the peace talks are concluded, we can put the government in order and return to the right path. Then we can grow stronger and more prosperous, just like your country, and allow the people to live and work in peace. I hate war, and I hate Xiao Jing.”
“The Northern Prefecture’s Grand Marshal, King Liao’s sworn younger brother, Xiao Jing?” Yan Tongshu asked in surprise.
Xie Li nodded. “He’s formidable and highly capable in battle, but he’s bloodthirsty and bellicose. He is a God of War, worthy of admiration, but at the same time, he has allowed his troops to massacre entire cities and has pursued war at the expense of everything else. I dislike war, so I dislike him as well.”
Yan Tongshu’s brows furrowed deeply.
She could not shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong with Xie Li’s emotions.
There was a powerful strain of self-destruction in everything he said.
Yan Tongshu tried to comfort him. “Xie Li, don’t let your thoughts run away with you. Right now, the most important thing is finding the murderer.”
Xie Li was silent for a moment before saying, “I’m not overthinking things.”
His tone made it clear that he was doing exactly that.
Yan Tongshu felt uneasy, but she had no idea how to persuade him.
Before long, the carriage arrived outside the Kaifeng Prefecture office. Jinbao’s voice came from outside. “Young Master, we’re here.”
Pearl got out first, followed by Yan Tongshu and Xie Li.
Princess Xing’an’s corpse was of the utmost importance. Even the guards and constables assigned to watch over it worked in groups of five, rotating shifts. It was impossible for anyone to see the princess’s body alone.
Naturally, Xie Li was no exception.
Zhang Jiu had gone to investigate the case, so Yan Tongshu had someone summon Li Fulin to accompany Xie Li.
Xie Li placed the osmanthus cakes on the table beside the autopsy bed. Then his knees buckled, and he fell to the floor in front of Princess Xing’an, sobbing uncontrollably.
He had been suppressing his emotions for far too long.
Xie Li said nothing. He only wept for a long time before leaving in silence.
Yan Tongshu sighed, unable to determine whether Xie Li had truly loved Princess Xing’an.
If he had loved her, then why had he colluded with King Liao and Empress Dowager Xiao to deceive the princess into a political marriage?
If he had not loved her, then why was he now devastated by her death?
She shook her head and returned to her office.
Pearl and Jinbao had already found the things Feng Feng had left behind.
Two letters and two playbooks.
Yan Tongshu took out the copies she had bought and compared them. As expected, both the quality and thickness of the paper in Feng Feng’s books were far superior to those in the versions circulating on the market.
She opened Feng Feng’s copy of The Spring Flower Plume.
The books had been specially commissioned. Either there was something wrong with their contents, or there was a secret hidden in the paper.
Yan Tongshu compared the pages one by one, but found nothing unusual in the text.
That meant the secret had to be in the paper.
She rubbed each page between her fingers. At last, after crumpling one of them, Yan Tongshu discovered that although it was the same thickness as the others, the middle section did not adhere properly when wrinkled.
Books were currently printed and bound in butterfly binding.
They had no modern page numbers.
However, the center margin bore markings indicating the volume, section, and part.
The Spring Flower Plume had eight lines per half-page, with twenty-one characters per line.
She counted carefully. The special page was exactly the tenth page.
Using the half-page as the unit, nineteen did not divide evenly, but twenty aligned perfectly.
Thirty-one did not, either. What about thirty-two?
The Spring Flower Plume aligned at sixteen.
Song of the Wind aligned perfectly as well.
Yan Tongshu carefully examined those two pages, feeling them repeatedly. Then she had Jinbao bring her a pair of scissors.
When the scissors arrived, Yan Tongshu cut the tenth page in half and peeled it apart. Inside, she found half of a deposit note. The same was true of the page in Song of the Wind.
Two thin sheets had been combined into a single page to conceal something.
The pages had been specially made: the edges of each sheet were thick while the middle was thin. Two such sheets had been joined together, with the note hidden between them. That way, every page remained the same thickness, making the flaw extremely difficult to detect.
How cautious.
When the two halves of the deposit note were joined, they formed a complete note.
Yan Tongshu immediately took Pearl and Jinbao to the address written on it.
It was a pawnshop—and also a deposit house.
People could either pawn items or store them there.
Yan Tongshu passed the deposit note through the pawnshop’s tall counter.
The counter was so high that she could not see inside, and the shopkeeper could not see outside.
From within came the voice of an old man. “Deposit number.”
A deposit number?
Was it something like the number of a modern safe-deposit box?
Yan Tongshu tried, “One-nine-three-one?”
The shopkeeper replied, “No such number.”
Yan Tongshu said, “Three-one-one-nine.”
This time, there was no response from inside. After a while, the shopkeeper handed a box over the counter.
“Thank you. Your overdue fee is one tael and three mace.”
Pearl paid for it.
Yan Tongshu came out carrying the box.
The box was fitted with a mechanism and locked shut. It had no opening on any side, as though it could only be opened by some special method.
Yan Tongshu simply took it back to Kaifeng Prefecture and split it open with an ax.
It was wood, not iron. Only a fool would waste time trying to decipher the mechanism.
Before long, the wooden box lay in pieces.
Inside was a token inlaid with gold and jade, along with a letter.
Yan Tongshu opened the letter, and her brows rose high.
The letter had been written by someone to a certain person in the Northern Liao Privy Council. All the names were written as code names, so there was no way to determine exactly who they were.
Judging from the contents, the writer held a position of great power in the empire, while the recipient in the Northern Liao Privy Council was clearly no less influential.
The recipient informed the writer that the Southern Court of Liao had persuaded the King of Liao to negotiate peace.
The writer’s reply addressed that message. He proposed that the new faction of the Celestial God Sect stir up public outrage and obstruct the peace talks. He also enclosed a token, saying that with it, the recipient could collect enough money and provisions at their usual meeting place. In return, he asked the Northern Liao to send troops to the border and help him resolve his immediate crisis.
Feng Feng had died on the second day of the second month.
He had enjoyed the company of men and had hired three male entertainers to attend him. He must have been afraid that these lowly male entertainers, as he regarded them, would steal from him or cause some other trouble. That was why he had hidden the items away, intending to retrieve them from the pawnshop after he had had his fill of pleasure, then return to the Northern Liao and report back.
Although he was dead and the items had disappeared, the collusion between the two sides would not simply stop.
The Northern Liao Privy Council wanted money, while the man on this side needed his problems solved.
Both parties would take the initiative to send someone to make contact again.
The letter described the situation as an immediate crisis and requested that the Northern Liao send troops to the border.
The problem must have been a serious one. Yet after the second month, everything had remained calm and peaceful. Perhaps the crisis had already been resolved.
So… had anything major happened along the border between the two countries on the second day of the second month?
What could have been serious enough to require the Northern Liao Privy Council to send troops to the border?
Yan Tongshu’s gaze sharpened.
The frontier army!
There were more than a hundred thousand troops stationed along the border. The Emperor and Prince Ming had long stood in opposition to each other, and the Emperor had always intended to reorganize the frontier forces and bring the military authority held by Prince Ming’s faction back under the central government.
The moment Yan Tongshu thought of this, she summoned Li Fulin and questioned him.
Sure enough, after the second day of the second month, the Emperor had begun a series of transfers in the third month. Later, the Northern Liao had suddenly launched an attack after the beginning of spring, and the reorganization of the frontier army had consequently been abandoned.
Now that the two countries were negotiating peace, once the talks succeeded and the border stabilized, Prince Ming would no longer have any excuse to obstruct the reorganization of the frontier forces.
Unless he rebelled outright.
That meant the letter written under a code name had very likely been written by Prince Ming to someone in a high position within the Northern Liao Privy Council.
Back when Ning Yuan and Wang Quan'an had embezzled tax silver, the investigation had revealed that half of the money had been converted into grain, medicine, and other supplies. Yet no one had been able to trace where those supplies had gone.
They had probably been taken by Prince Ming and used to communicate with and support the enemy.
After more than a decade of war, Empress Dowager Xiao and her son, the King of Liao—who had never seen eye to eye—had finally reached a consensus and agreed to negotiate peace.
The official in the Northern Liao Privy Council who had taken money and supplies from Prince Ming and secretly cooperated with him likely harbored treasonous ambitions as well. He was evidently determined to sabotage the peace talks.
Yan Tongshu put away the letter and token. She was just about to enter the palace and present them to the Emperor when Qin Yi walked in.
Seeing Yan Tongshu staring at him wide-eyed and motionless, Qin Yi smiled.
“What is it? Absence makes the heart grow fonder. It’s only been a short while, and you already miss me?”
The corner of Yan Tongshu’s mouth twitched.
Just what kind of nonsense had Pei Jin’an been teaching him?
Liangyu, oh Liangyu. You certainly had eclectic tastes in private.
Yan Tongshu beckoned Qin Yi over. Once he came closer, she handed him the letter and token and briefly explained, “They were left behind by the Northern Liao spy in the last dismemberment case.”
Qin Yi took them and read through the letter. His entire face darkened like ink.
So Prince Ming had truly gone this far.
After the previous attempt to reorganize the frontier army had been abandoned, Qin Yi had already begun to suspect him. But back when the late Emperor was alive, Prince Ming, like Sikong Tangjin, had rendered great service and remained loyal to the throne.
That was why Qin Yi had still held on to a sliver of hope, defining Prince Ming only as a power-hungry schemer who sought to build a faction and cling to authority.
Now it seemed that Prince Ming had truly disappointed both him and the late Emperor.
Qin Yi said, “For now, do not let this become public.”
Yan Tongshu nodded in agreement.
Although they now had both the letter and the token, the signature was a false name, and everything else was merely speculation. They had no concrete evidence.
Without proof, revealing the matter prematurely would only alert the enemy and give Prince Ming time to destroy the evidence.
After finishing their discussion, the two of them sat side by side and worked as they had in the past.
Near noon, Zhang Jiu hurriedly knocked on the door and entered.
“Lord Yan, Your Majesty.” Zhang Jiu knelt to salute.
Qin Yi told him to rise. Once Zhang Jiu was on his feet, he said, “Lord Yan, we have made a discovery.”
Yan Tongshu put down her brush.
There was an urgency in Zhang Jiu’s voice. “After the men from the prefectural office brought back the two chests from Princess Xing’an’s wardrobe and examined them, they found nothing unusual in the sachet containing her scented powder. However, after repeated tests, they discovered that the white powder left in the second chest was slaked lime.”
“Slaked lime?”
Yan Tongshu was astonished.
Why would there be slaked lime in Princess Xing’an’s wardrobe?
Was it being used to prevent slipping?
“At the same time,” Zhang Jiu continued, “there was something strange about the snow outside the windowsill. Once the snow melted, I collected some of the residue and dried it. It also left behind a white powder. After various comparisons, we confirmed that it was slaked lime as well.”
So, was this slaked lime connected to Princess Xing’an’s death?
When Princess Xing’an died, the door to the room had not been shut. Yet the room had effectively been completely sealed.
There had been guards stationed outside the door, and the windows had been tightly closed.
How could anyone have killed a person silently in such a confined space?
Yan Tongshu went back over the clues. At present, the greatest suspect was still Qin Yunduan.
He alone had had the time to kill Princess Xing’an. He was also the only one skilled in shadow puppetry. With the missing sheets of paper, he could have quickly cut out a figure resembling Princess Xing’an, then used threads of cotton from the right angle to create the illusion that she was still alive inside the room even after he had left. That would have allowed him to make his escape.
He had suffocated Princess Xing’an by pressing a pillow over her face, then cut off her head and forged the document in order to frame an extremist follower of the Celestial God Sect.
The logic was sound, but it still failed to explain how Qin Yunduan, a man without the strength to truss a chicken, could have sliced through someone’s neck so cleanly.
Yan Tongshu asked, “Have you gotten a clear account of Qin Yunduan’s recent movements?”
Zhang Jiu handed over the report on Qin Yunduan’s recent whereabouts.
Yan Tongshu opened it.
There was nothing unusual. Qin Yunduan rose every day at the hour of the Dragon, went out for a stroll, then went to a teahouse for a bowl of tea. He would meet Princess Xing’an for meals, take her shopping and sightseeing, and escort her back to the Duting Post Station before sunset.
Occasionally, he visited a shadow-puppet shop, though he only browsed and never bought anything.
He had moved into the Duting Post Station just over two days ago. He would rise at the hour of the Dragon, pay his respects to the princess, go out, stroll around, drink tea, and return. Then he would pay his respects to the princess again before going out with her. When they came back, both their expressions would be unpleasant. The two of them had probably found the forced “matchmaking” equally unbearable and could no longer maintain even a superficial show of civility.
At night, he would pay his respects to the princess once more before returning to his room to sleep.
If Qin Yunduan had killed her, there was no explanation for the clean cut on her neck.
But if Qin Yunduan had not killed her…
The culprit had framed Qin Yunduan so meticulously that they had even gone to the trouble of using shadow puppetry techniques. So why leave such a glaring flaw that would let Qin Yunduan walk free?
The killer could have easily used less force when severing Princess Xing'an's head, leaving the cut rough and jagged. Wouldn't that have made the whole setup far more convincing?
Yan Tongshu jolted sharply to her feet.
The real intention of the culprit was never to kill Princess Xing'an, nor was it to target Qin Yunduan.
It was to sabotage the peace talks.
Only if no murderer could be identified, and the people of the Wu Dynasty remained the prime suspects with no way to close the case, would the Liao side be unable to swallow their anger, and the peace negotiations would be completely and utterly derailed.
Which meant this flaw was left there on purpose.
But what gave the culprit the confidence that even with this obvious flaw, Qin Yunduan would not be pushed out as the scapegoat to close the case?
That the case would not be pinned entirely on some extremist fanatic from the Divine Cult?
If she had not been the one assigned to hear this case, if any other official had taken her place...
Damn it, they had even calculated her into the whole scheme.
They were certain that she, the overly upright Magistrate Yan, would never allow a case to be closed with loose ends and unproven claims.
Yan Tongshu clenched her fists tight.
What an incredibly well-laid, thorough trap.
That damned killer, that despicable piece of trash!
Yan Tongshu got to her feet and brought Zhang Jiu along with her to Qin Yunduan's room.
Qin Yunduan was in the middle of eating tangyuan, and he set down his spoon in a daze.
This young man who used to be nothing but cheerful and silly all day long now looked like nothing more than a walking, hollow corpse.
Yan Tongshu sat down beside him. "Qin Yunduan, think very carefully again. Every time you met Princess Xing'an, especially the very last time, apart from what you have already told me before, was there anything out of the ordinary, anything strange at all?"
Something special, something strange?
Qin Yunduan pressed his dark, bluish lips together and strained his mind to recall.
After a long while, he shook his head, repeating the same words over and over. "There was nothing strange at all. The two of us were forced to meet every single day, to go out strolling and sightseeing together, and we were both miserable. That night, Princess Xing'an had already told me she was planning to leave. My father also sent letters pressing me nonstop, saying that the manor had already prepared everything for the wedding, asking me to find out what Princess Xing'an liked, and how our time getting along was going. I was afraid I'd disappoint my father, and I was so upset myself that I never wrote back. He sent three letters every single day. I couldn't take it anymore. He kept pushing me, pushing me nonstop..."
Yan Tongshu asked, "Are you absolutely sure you never saw the princess light incense?"
There was no reason for the killer to light incense, and even if the killer had done so, it would have been shortly after Princess Xing'an was already dead.
The killer would never linger at the crime scene for long after committing the murder, that would only raise their risk of being caught. The time the incense was lit could not have been far off from the time of death, and the livor mortis, the condition of the corpse, did not lie. That meant Princess Xing'an was definitely still alive at the sixth quarter of the Xu hour, around half past eight in the evening, and that was when she lit the incense.
At half past eight, Princess Xing'an was with Qin Yunduan, but Qin Yunduan said he never saw her light any incense.
Qin Yunduan had left at the start of the Xu hour, which was nine o'clock at night.
For that entire half hour, the two of them had been together in that room, and there was no one else present.
If Qin Yunduan really, truly did not see Princess Xing'an light the incense...
Then who, or what, lit it?
"No, no, I didn't see it," Qin Yunduan kept shaking his head. "We were forced to meet every day. I was so miserable, and she was so miserable too. We were both being driven completely out of our minds..."
Qin Yunduan kept repeating those words, over and over. He had already gone through such a horrific ordeal, and then been locked up alone in that room. He was terrified that people would think he was the murderer, terrified that he would be put to death. He'd been lost in wild, disturbing thoughts day and night, his nerves so frayed he could barely sleep, and he was almost at the breaking point.
Seeing him in such a state, Yan Tongshu was genuinely worried that one day he might be so overcome with despair that he would take his own life.
Yan Tongshu walked out of the room and stood outside the door.
She pressed her lips together, looking straight ahead. "Zhang Jiu, go and confirm something for me."
Without Yan Tongshu needing to explain further, Zhang Jiu bowed. "Understood. This subordinate will go immediately to ask Chancellor Yelu to confirm whether the Liao side has already decided that no matter whether Princess Xing'an agrees or not, they will arrange for her to marry the Qin heir."
Yan Tongshu nodded.
Prince Wuyang's absolute certainty that Princess Xing'an would marry Qin Yunduan was not just some random, unfounded overconfidence.
The decision to have Qin Yunduan stay at the Duting Post Station was made jointly by Prince Wuyang and Chancellor Yelu.
So it was very likely that that unshakable confidence had come straight from Chancellor Yelu himself.
Zhang Jiu had barely left when Li Fulin came over. "Magistrate Yan, the Qin heir's grandmother has arrived. Her eyes are red from crying, she looks terribly anxious, and she cannot wait to see her grandson."
Yan Tongshu said, "Bring her in."
Li Fulin replied, "Yes, sir."
Moments later, Li Fulin led the way, with two maids supporting the elderly matriarch as they walked over. The old woman was sweating slightly, her face etched with the lines of a long life. "My Duan'er, my poor good boy! How could that beast of a father hide all this from me?"
Yan Tongshu had been a little worried earlier that the Qin family matriarch might have a temper similar to Prince Wuyang's, that she would storm in demanding answers and make Qin Yunduan even more withdrawn, to the point that he might end up taking his own life in his room.
Now, seeing how deeply this old woman loved her grandson, Yan Tongshu felt completely relieved.
Li Fulin and Yan Tongshu stood inside the room with two guards, while the two maids waited outside the door.
The old matriarch called out "My Duan'er!" as she rushed inside. The moment she laid eyes on Qin Yunduan, tears started streaming down her face, and she pulled him tight into a hug. "My Duan'er, let Grandma get a good look at you. Look at how thin you've gotten! That father of yours, he makes Grandma so angry. He has no idea how to care for his own son."
"Look at you." She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the smudges of dirt from Qin Yunduan's face. "How did you get all dusty and grimy? Grandma's heart is breaking for you."
Qin Yunduan wrapped his arms around his grandmother and began to wail loudly.
Yan Tongshu felt so moved by the scene.
This was how it should be.
Not like that tight-lipped blockhead Prince Wuyang, who could drive anyone up the wall just with his stubborn silence. She could not even begin to imagine how Princess Consort Wuyang had put up with him all those years.
The old matriarch and Qin Yunduan held each other and cried for a long time before they finally pulled apart. The old woman quickly spoke again. "Duan'er, Grandma brought you new clothes, new bedding, and all your favorite pastries, roast goose, and roasted chicken. All of them have already been taken to be inspected by the Kaifeng Prefecture officers, and they'll be brought to you shortly. You must make sure to eat them all, don't ever go cold or hungry. As soon as this case is cleared up, Grandma will come and bring you right home. If anything about this place you're staying in is not to your liking, you tell Grandma, and Grandma will make sure everything is arranged just the way you want it."
"Grandma," Qin Yunduan wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. "Grandma, you are the only one who truly loves me."
"You are my good grandchild. If Grandma doesn't dote on you, who else would?" The old matriarch pulled Qin Yunduan into another tight embrace. "Good boy, Grandma watched you grow up. I know exactly what kind of person you are. You might not be the best at your studies, but you are a kind, open-hearted child. Grandma believes in you. As long as you are wrongfully accused, Grandma promises no one will ever get away with framing you, no one will ever hurt you!"
The old woman's words were firm and resolute, ringing with unshakable authority, every bit the demeanor of a respected, headstrong matriarch of a great clan.
A short while later, all the food the matriarch had brought was cleared for delivery. She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, took out all the pastries, roast goose, and roasted chicken for Qin Yunduan to eat, and then proceeded to make his bed for him.
Qin Yunduan sniffled and stopped the old lady, "Grandma, I'll make the bed myself later."
"When did you ever learn to do that?" the Qin family matriarch insisted stubbornly.
Qin Yunduan mumbled in a muffled voice, "I know how."
The Qin family matriarch still would not budge, "No you don't. Let Grandma do it for you."
Qin Yunduan had no choice but to sit down and eat.
Before long, the bed was made, and Qin Yunduan had almost finished his meal. His previously depressed state had visibly lightened, and his energy and spirit had returned. Yan Tongshu finally no longer had to worry that he would harm himself.
It could be said that the Qin family matriarch's arrival had saved Qin Yunduan.
Thinking of this, Yan Tongshu silently heaped another round of scorn on Prince Wuyang in her heart.
That night, Yan Tongshu and Qin Yi hid behind a rockery.
Meng Zheng quietly deployed the Divine Guard troops.
She glanced at Qin Yi and said helplessly, "What are you doing here?"
An emperor sneaking around the Duting Post Station with her and Meng Zheng like a common thief -- what a scandal that would be!
Qin Yi replied calmly, "I'm curious."
As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Yan Tongshu and smiled, "I'm curious about every little thing you do."
Yan Tongshu was left speechless. She did not want to admit that she still fell for this line every now and then, so she secretly made a note to get back at Pei Jin'an later in her mind.
After a while, all preparations were complete, and Meng Zheng also came to hide behind the rockery.
Yan Tongshu, Qin Yi, and Meng Zheng waited quietly together.
Deep in the dead of night, Yongsheng, an official from the diplomatic mission, came out of the building to relieve himself, with his servant holding a lantern to light the way ahead of him.
