The waiter's sudden shout stunned everyone in Drunk Moon Tower, and one by one they sent servants to find out what had happened.
Lu Jinshuang was full of disbelief, "No way, who goes to the latrine and falls into the pit?"
Dongxue was equally confused, "Maybe he was drunk."
Xi Qingyue smiled and nodded in agreement, "Right, he must have been so drunk he stumbled and fell in."
Lu Jinshuang didn't give it much thought—it had nothing to do with her anyway. Whoever fell into the latrine pit was none of her business.
The acrobatics on the first floor were quickly halted, after all, a life had been lost.
The manager of Drunk Moon Tower sent someone to report the case, and the local ward chief immediately reported the matter to Dongxing County Court, which governed the eastern streets of the capital.
Before long, the county's military magistrate arrived in person with his men.
Since Drunk Moon Tower often hosted royalty and nobles, he had no idea who the dead person was or whether they were connected to those high-ranking guests—so they came running.
By regulation, they should have sealed off the establishment immediately and questioned everyone inside, but as a lowly county officer, he didn't have the nerve for that. Even the prefect of the capital's metropolitan district would act based on the circumstances.
He had the ordinary guests brought to the main hall on the first floor, sent several soldiers to ask which household was missing members, and then brought in the coroner to examine the bodies.
Looking at the bodies before him, covered in filth and lying on the ground, the county officer's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Covering his nose and mouth, he issued his orders: "Clean their faces first, have the coroner examine the bodies quickly, and confirm the identities and causes of death as soon as possible."
No sooner had he spoken than the manager on the side, with an agonized expression, said, "Your Honor, just now Eunuch Gao from the Tenth Prince's side sent someone to ask—a few young gentlemen from their private room have gone missing, and the number matches exactly."
Hearing this, the Dongxing county officer broke out in a cold sweat. Anyone dining with the Tenth Prince would surely be a son of a high official—and more than one of them, at that. If mishandled, he could kiss his post goodbye.
Meanwhile, the coroner had finished determining the cause of death: the men bore no external injuries, having simply drowned after falling into the latrine pit.
With the filth wiped from their faces, their identities were also clear—the manager and waiters all recognized them, regular customers of Drunk Moon Tower. They only hadn't dared to identify them earlier by their clothing alone.
The county officer muttered to himself, "The son of the Vice Minister of Rites, the son of the Director of the Revenue Bureau, the son of the Secretary of the Military Bureau, the son of the Dali Court Assistant—all drowned in a latrine pit?"
With so many officials' family members involved, he dared not act on his own. He quickly sent someone to report the matter to the county magistrate.
But up in the private room, Lu Jinshuang wasn't about to sit around waiting for them to close the case. Carrying Xi Weilan, she walked out with Xi Qingyue.
As they reached the main hall on the first floor, they ran straight into the Tenth Prince. She didn't even acknowledge him and headed straight for the main gate.
"Seventh Imperial Sister, there's been a death here—wouldn't it be improper to just leave like this?"
Hearing his hypocritical voice, Lu Jinshuang whirled around and said, "Why stay? What do I care if they fell into the latrine?"
At those words, everyone in the hall wore strange expressions—wanting to laugh but not daring to—though in their hearts they wholeheartedly agreed.
They, too, wanted to leave directly, but after the coroner's examination, matters had to be verified by the officials. It was safer to stay until it was confirmed those people had fallen into the latrine on their own, so as not to arouse suspicion.
Lu Jinshuang paid no heed to such conventions. She glared at the Tenth Prince and said frostily, "Tenth Prince, do I look that idle? Just because someone fell into the latrine, I'm supposed to stay and wait for the investigation results? Next time you're eating shit, do I need to stand there and watch that too?"
At those words, the Tenth Prince's face turned ashen, while everyone else turned away, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
Xi Qingyue heard how Lu Jinshuang addressed the Tenth Prince, and both she and Xi Weilan took a good look at him.
With that, Lu Jinshuang strode out. Xi Weilan, however, was still curiously examining the Tenth Prince—she wanted to see this heartless, ungrateful creature in the flesh.
Xi Qingyue followed behind them, but just as the Tenth Prince lifted his foot to leave, she gave a thought—and the Tenth Prince pitched forward headfirst onto the ground, the thud of his forehead hitting the floor ringing out sharp and clear throughout the hall.
Hearing the sound, Lu Jinshuang stopped again. She glanced back at the Tenth Prince, and seeing him lying motionless on the ground, she thought he was just too embarrassed to get up. She sneered and left.
The soldiers did not dare stop them—if a princess wanted to leave, no one could hold her back.
"Your Highness! Your Highness, wake up!" Eunuch Gao called out frantically, but there was no response.
When he lifted the man up, his heart sank—the Tenth Prince's forehead was bleeding profusely, looking quite alarming.
He hurriedly checked for a breath beneath his nose and only relaxed when he found the prince was still alive.
Eunuch Gao could care less about propriety at that moment. He hoisted the Tenth Prince onto his back and ran outside.
Everyone else watched in shock. Was Drunk Moon Tower cursed or something? If they hadn't believed the men fell into the latrine before, most now did—after all, if the Tenth Prince could knock himself out falling on level ground, what wasn't possible?
Back in the carriage, Lu Jinshuang smiled at Xi Qingyue and said, "How about I take you ladies to Star Bamboo Tower for some music? Drunk Moon Tower will probably be closed for a few days after this."
Xi Qingyue smiled and nodded, "Sure, whatever Jinshuang feels is best."
She was in a fine mood right now—listening to music actually didn't sound half bad. The capital's songs were surely more beautiful than what one could hear elsewhere.
Xi Weilan, however, stared at Lu Jinshuang with shining eyes, "Jinshuang, when we get back, could you teach me qinggong? I can pay for it—I have lots of banknotes!"
Lu Jinshuang blinked in surprise, then her face broke into a bright smile, "Little Lan'er, how many banknotes do you have?"
She just couldn't help teasing Xi Weilan—a little girl telling her she had plenty of banknotes sounded too funny to take seriously.
Xi Weilan pointed at Xi Qingyue and said, "They're with my big sister. I really do have banknotes, I swear!"
Xi Qingyue also smiled and nodded to Lu Jinshuang, "Mm, Lan'er has quite a lot of banknotes. If you're willing to teach her qinggong, we'll pay. We'd even go a hundred thousand taels."
At those words, even Lu Jinshuang was taken aback. Where would two children get a hundred thousand taels' worth of banknotes? As for Dongxue, she found it simply unbelievable.
Then Lu Jinshuang asked, puzzled, "Little Nine is far more skilled than me—how come she didn't teach you?"
Hearing this, Xi Weilan sighed heavily like a little adult, "Ah, Lu-gugu was busy getting chased by assassins, and we were busy hurrying along the road. Nobody had time."
Xi Qingyue felt the same regret. She'd long wanted Lu Qianning to teach them qinggong but traveling together just wasn't convenient—she couldn't very well knock everyone out and carry them along every time they needed to hurry.
If Lu Jinshuang's offer didn't work out, they could stay for a few more days and wait. Once Lu Qianning returned, she could teach them the basics of qinggong before they left the capital, and they could practice on their own from there.
Lu Jinshuang couldn't help worrying about Lu Qianning's safety upon hearing this—if she didn't even have time to teach people martial arts, then the journey must really be fraught with danger.
She gently patted Xi Weilan's head, grinning, "Alright, when we get back, I'll teach you both. No charge."
Hearing Lu Jinshuang's words, both sisters were overjoyed.
Xi Qingyue was delighted that her sister had learned qinggong, the art of light-footed movement. Given her talent, she would likely master it quickly, and soon there would be no need to carry her around—she could fly anywhere on her own. As for Xi Weilan, she was thinking that in the future, when they encountered villains skilled in qinggong, she could fly up and knock them flat without having to waste bullets by firing repeatedly.
