Inside the Drunken Moon Pavilion.
Shortly after the Seventh Princess, the Tenth Prince, and the others left, people began to trickle out one after another.
The coroner's findings were already known to them, including the time of death.
Upon further inquiry, only a handful of people had been out and about at that hour—among them the Xi sisters. A few had seen them leave their private room.
But it was perfectly normal for two children who had drunk too much tea to go to the latrine, and no one would think that Xi Qingyue and her sister had shoved a bunch of spoiled brats into a cesspit.
The county magistrate had no reason to keep the people from the Drunken Moon Pavilion any longer, and there were family members of officials from the Ducal and Marquess mansions among them—he dared not detain them any further.
In no time, everyone departed from the Drunken Moon Pavilion.
Duchess An's face was grim. She had already been scolded by Duke An at home, and now she had brought her little grandson out to play only to run into this mess—her grandson was still wiping away tears in fright.
"Alright, Qian'er, stop crying. Grandmother will take you to buy something tasty."
Only at the mention of food did Song Qian stop sobbing, though his shoulders still trembled.
Many others shared their sense of misfortune, and instead of heading straight home, they went elsewhere to amuse themselves.
The incident at the Drunken Moon Pavilion spread as they left. Though everyone whispered about it and urged listeners not to pass it on, such a bizarre manner of death could hardly be kept under wraps. In the end, it became known to everyone.
Several officials who had lost sons nearly passed out from rage when they heard the news—not only because their sons were dead, but because such a shameful way of dying was now being talked about all over the streets.
The Right Vice Minister of Rites refused to believe his son had died so humiliatingly. He went straight to the Capital Prefecture, where the Eastern County Magistrate's office had already submitted all the gathered evidence.
Fang Cheng, the Prefect of the Capital, stared at the documents in his hands with utter disbelief. Several sons of court officials had all fallen into a cesspit and died—on the face of it, it sounded absurd, yet the investigation seemed to confirm exactly that.
"Prefect Fang, you must do right by me in this matter! My son died under unclear circumstances, and now on top of that, he's being slandered by those people. There's no way he could have died like that on his own—someone must have done this to him!"
Fang Cheng almost felt sorry for Lu Yuan as he watched the frantic vice minister.
But before he could even offer a word of comfort, the other colleagues came looking for him as well.
They all insisted their sons had been murdered, demanding that the Capital Prefecture investigate rigorously and restore their sons' reputations.
Fang Cheng was deeply exasperated. He simply handed the case files over. "Read for yourselves. The coroner's report is right here: no external injuries, no signs of poisoning, no traces of being knocked unconscious either. Time of death was around the shen hour's first quarter. Only a few people went out during that time, and all of them had witnesses proving they didn't head toward the latrines. They're cleared of suspicion."
After looking over the contents, Lu Yuan pointed to a line on the paper. "Prefect Fang, what about these two children? They went out as well. There's no interrogation record for them here."
He wasn't actually suspicious of Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan, but he felt indignant on his son's behalf. The boy could have died any number of ways, but no—he had to die like this. Lu Yuan would be a laughingstock in court for the rest of his life.
Fang Cheng's face darkened, and his tone carried a hint of displeasure. "They were accompanying the Seventh Princess. Are you asking me to go question them at the princess's residence, or have them dragged out of her estate? And do you honestly believe two little children could have done such a thing?"
Seeing Fang Cheng's cold expression, Lu Yuan knew that path was closed. But he still felt bitter.
After a moment, Fang Cheng gave them a piece of advice. "Take your sons home now, wash them properly, and arrange the funerals. If you leave them out any longer..."
He trailed off, but the others understood.
It was the height of summer, and the bodies were filthy. The Drunken Moon Pavilion staff had only wiped them down enough for the coroner to work. Now those corpses were still reeking, and leaving them much longer would be unthinkable.
The thought of flies swarming the bodies was enough to make them leave. They immediately went to claim their sons and take them home.
Watching them walk away, Fang Cheng shook his head with a sigh. If only they had kept a low profile like him and stayed home instead of running around, none of this would have happened. What a pity.
Inside the Star Bamboo Tower, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan sat in a spacious, elegantly appointed room, with refreshments and fruit laid out before them.
In the center up front sat several beautiful women, each with a musical instrument before them—a zither, a xiao flute, a pipa, and a dizi. These were the Star Bamboo Tower's resident musicians.
Lu Jinshuang reclined on a soft couch with her eyes closed, listening to the music. Zither and xiao duets were her favorite.
Xi Weilan couldn't understand the tunes, but she found them pleasant nonetheless. She munched on pastries while curiously watching the lovely women.
The musicians, in turn, were curious about the two children who had come in. They were even more curious about the children's relationship with the Seventh Princess.
As musicians, they had overheard discussions among the nobles while playing, so they naturally knew about the two girls buying out Wang's Pastry Shop and all the consequences that followed—especially how many court officials were caned today.
When those officials' families came to complain, they had used vicious words about the two children, practically wanting to devour them alive. But now, seeing them up close, the musicians found them rather adorable.
Xi Qingyue listened for a while before leaning against Lu Jinshuang to rest, while Xi Weilan's eyes darted around, looking at this and that, clearly fascinated by the instruments in the women's hands.
Sensing this, Xi Qingyue spoke with her eyes still closed. "Lan'er, if you want to learn, your sister can have someone teach you. But these things are all show, nothing practical. Treat them as a pastime, don't take them seriously."
Hearing this, the woman playing the zither nearly flubbed a note. This craft was how they earned their living, and now it was called "all show"? What exactly counted as practical?
Xi Weilan obediently nodded. "I know, Sister. When I learn how, I'll play for you."
Then she happily went back to eating her fruit. She too felt these instruments weren't all that useful—if playing the zither was effective, there wouldn't be so many dead bodies on the streets.
Dongxue cast a surprised glance at Xi Qingyue. How did she share the same view as the Seventh Princess? Her princess always said exactly that—what use was learning music when martial arts were far more practical?
Suddenly, a knock came at the door, accompanied by a gentle, warm female voice.
"Seventh Sister, may I come in?"
Recognizing the voice, Lu Jinshuang slowly opened her eyes which had been shut.
She looked toward the door and smiled lightly. "Elder Sister, come in."
With a soft creak, the door was pushed open, and a woman in purple entered gracefully.
A pair of tender, water-like eyes met Xi Qingyue's indifferent gaze, and the woman paused for a moment before offering a composed smile.
Then she looked at Xi Weilan, who was staring at her with wide, curious eyes.
"Elder Sister, what brings you here as well?" Lu Jinshuang was genuinely puzzled by her arrival.
The First Princess shook her head at her. "I came looking for you. Father flew into a rage at court today, and he still hasn't calmed down. You didn't show your face when you came back, but since you've appeared now, he's bound to summon you to the palace for a scolding. I'm here to warn you: if an imperial decree arrives summoning you, keep your temper in check. Let him shout a few words, admit your fault, and let it go. Don't talk back and make things harder for yourself."
Lu Jinshuang pursed her lips. "I know, I know. So one robe went missing—wearing a Daoist stole works just the same."
