Xi Qingyue frowned slightly as she watched the arrival of Liu Zhu, the magistrate of Liucheng County, and his party. She had no favorable impression of government officials; most of the ones she had encountered along the way had been rotten to the core.
Liu Zhu had heard about the Xi sisters long ago. After all, they had stayed in Yongfu City for quite some time, and Liucheng, being so close by, had been the first to learn of them.
When Liu Zhu heard that someone had been assassinated here, only to be instantly killed in return, curiosity got the better of him, and he personally brought people over to investigate. He had never expected that the targets of the assassination would be these two Yamas.
His heart jolted. If only he had known, he would have found an excuse to stay away.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead in fright, he hurried forward, bowed, and asked with concern, “This humble official is Liu Zhu, magistrate of Liucheng County. I pay my respects to Your Highness! Are you unharmed, Your Highness?”
Xi Qingyue glanced at him and replied coolly, “Unharmed? We were attacked the moment we arrived in Liucheng. The security in your county is nothing to boast about. Since you’re here, you can deal with these assassins. Find out whether they have any accomplices.”
She already knew that the assassins were from Guangling Pavilion. Sooner or later, she would find their hideout.
Liu Zhu quickly nodded. “Yes, Your Highness. This humble official will do everything in his power to find their accomplices.”
After saying this, he glanced at Xi Qingyue and cautiously asked, “May I ask whether Your Highness already has somewhere to stay? You could stay at my residence. Although it is somewhat small, it is clean and tidy enough, and you would be safer there.”
Xi Qingyue shook her head decisively. “No need. We already have somewhere to stay. Everywhere is safe for me.”
At the end of her sentence, the corners of her lips curled into a cold smile.
She would not let off a single person who dared to come after her. She was staying on a ship at the bustling docks, where people came and went. The more assassins they sent, the more she would kill.
Liu Zhu was somewhat surprised by her decision. He had assumed that Xi Qingyue would move into the county office and then drive him, the county magistrate, out of his own residence. It seemed the rumors about her were inaccurate after all.
He did not dare to oppose her decision, but he was still uneasy about her safety. Only after learning where she was staying did he order his men to take the three corpses back to the county office.
On the way back, he immediately issued a series of orders.
He had an artist draw portraits of the dead men, then sent people out with the portraits to investigate when the three had entered Liucheng, where they had stayed, and whom they had interacted with.
Xi Qingyue’s guards went with them as well. They were afraid that the county office might not handle the matter properly. Since their own princess had been assassinated, they had to investigate alongside the county magistrate’s men.
Once everyone had left, Xi Qingyue also told Mu Jin to have the dozen or so people she had summoned disperse. Only the five of them remained to continue strolling around.
Xi Weilan had her arms around Lu Jinshuang’s neck as she gazed curiously at the shops on both sides of the street. She had already forgotten about what had happened earlier.
Lu Jinshuang did not find carrying her tiring at all. From time to time, she pointed toward the clothing and jewelry shops and asked whether Xi Weilan wanted to go inside and buy something.
“Sister Jinshuang, Sister and I already have lots of beautiful clothes, more than we can ever wear. There’s no need to buy more. Consort Qin gave us lots of jewelry, and we even picked up some ourselves. We shouldn’t waste our silver. Let’s just buy food.”
Xi Weilan considered herself very thrifty. She wanted neither clothes nor jewelry—only food and drinks.
Lu Jinshuang pressed her lips together and smiled. The sisters clearly lacked nothing to eat either. They loved food, but apparently had little interest in dressing up.
She did not point this out, merely smiling and nodding. “All right, we’ll only buy food. Later, I’ll have Mu Jin and the others visit the nearby shops and buy a little from each one to try. If anything tastes good, we’ll order more and have it delivered to the ship.”
Xi Qingyue’s eyes lit up when she heard this. “That’s a good idea, Sister Jinshuang. Mu Jin, call Nan Yun and the others back. Give them some silver later and have them visit the restaurants and food shops throughout the city to sample everything. If they find anything delicious, have more of it sent to the ship. Then we can simply enjoy ourselves without all the trouble.”
She thought this arrangement was rather convenient. She had no shortage of money, so there was nothing wrong with having her people sample the food at the restaurants. They would not be staying in Liucheng for long—three to five days at most.
Tasting everything herself would certainly be enjoyable, but many places would have nothing worthwhile, and it would waste too much time. It was better to have her people sample the food first and only eat the delicious dishes themselves.
Mu Jin smiled and once again raised her fingers to her lips and whistled. Before long, the dozen or so people who had not yet returned to the ship came back to their side.
When Nan Yun arrived with the others, she looked puzzled. She had only just left when she was summoned back. Could it be that the princess had been assassinated again? If nothing had happened, there would be no reason to call on people like them.
But after carefully surveying the surroundings, she saw no signs of another attack. She respectfully asked Xi Qingyue, “Your Highness, do you have some instructions for us?”
Xi Qingyue smiled faintly. “Yes. I have an important task for you.”
As she spoke, she took a stack of banknotes from her sleeve and handed them over. “Take these. Go to every restaurant and food shop in the city and sample their dishes. If you find a restaurant or dish that tastes good, order three hundred portions and have them delivered to the ship.”
Nan Yun stared at her in astonishment. They were being sent out to eat? This was practically a dream assignment.
She happily accepted the banknotes. “Rest assured, Your Highness. We’ll search every street and alley in Liucheng. We’ll have everything delicious prepared in large quantities and sent to the ship.”
Xi Qingyue nodded with a smile. “All right, go on. Take care of yourselves, and don’t eat until you burst.”
She was worried that these people would take the assignment too seriously and end up eating themselves to death.
Nan Yun and the others left happily. It was the simplest order they had ever received—eat and drink, and that was all.
Lu Jinshuang stood to the side, utterly dumbfounded. She had merely suggested sending people to sample the food at nearby shops, but Xi Qingyue had sent more than a dozen people to eat their way across the entire city.
She really was rich. Even in the capital, it would be difficult to find someone as extravagant as her.
Half an hour later, Xi Qingyue received a report from her guards.
“Your Highness, the three people from Guangling Pavilion entered the city three days ago. They have been staying at Fortune Inn in the eastern part of the city. Every morning, they leave very early, and every night, they return very late. No one knows exactly whom they have met, but judging from what happened today, they likely came to the area around the docks and hid there.”
Xi Qingyue was fairly satisfied with the county magistrate’s efficiency. Learning all this in such a short time was already quite impressive, and the result did not surprise her.
For three martial artists, concealing their movements was fairly simple. It seemed they had come here in advance and waited for her arrival.
She thought for a moment. Aside from the local influential families and Prince Kang, there was also the Governor of Xinzhou.
She had killed Duan Pu and the others, while Duan Pu’s younger sister was the Governor of Xinzhou’s concubine. If she was favored, she could persuade the governor to send people after her. Even if she was not particularly favored, she could still use her status and money to hire assassins.
She really did have quite a few enemies.
Xi Qingyue sighed. “Sigh, I have so many enemies that I don’t even know who’s trying to kill me. What a nuisance.”
Hearing this, Xi Weilan quickly chimed in, “Sister, didn’t you say that children shouldn’t sigh so much? Why are you sighing too?”
Lu Jinshuang burst out laughing. These two little adults were truly amusing. If it were anyone else, having enemies everywhere would have driven them to despair long ago, wouldn’t it?
