Two hours later.
He Hansheng finally regained consciousness. Immediately sensing his hands and legs were bound, he sprang upright.
From the corner, Shen Suining’s voice drifted over faintly: “You’ve got quite the alcohol tolerance – one bowl and you’re out cold.”
“…” He Hansheng coughed awkwardly, “I already told you, I don’t gamble and I can’t hold my liquor well.”
Shen Suining didn’t even have the energy to retort.
During the past two hours, she had tried countless methods to free herself. Now she was so exhausted she couldn’t even be bothered to speak, only wanting to lie down and catch her breath.
During their silent moment, the rooster outside began crowing.
He Hansheng cleared his throat a few times. “Then what happened to you?”
“I didn’t expect you to be such a lightweight. When you collapsed, I thought Song Sanniang had drugged you, so I fought with them. Then Song Sanniang drugged me instead.” Shen Suining recounted the events with utter despair, feeling incredibly foolish.
Whether it was misunderstanding Song Sanniang about drugging him or being caught off guard and drugged herself, every aspect made Shen Suining feel utterly stupid.
Both lost in their respective failures, they fell into another brief silence.
Shen Suining let out a long sigh and sat up from the ground. “Forget it, let’s just get out of here first.”
“You have a plan?”
“Mm,” Shen Suining shifted closer to He Hansheng. “Lie down.”
He Hansheng complied, lying down on the spot.
Shen Suining turned sideways, leaning against He Hansheng’s chest, her head nudging upward.
“You…” He Hansheng’s body stiffened, then he heard Shen Suining say: “Take the hairpin from my hair.”
He Hansheng paused, suppressing his embarrassment as he tried to locate the hairpin in Shen Suining’s hair.
Fortunately, Shen Suining was dressed as a man today, with all her hair tied up and secured with just one hairpin. He Hansheng found it easily, gripped one end with his teeth, and pulled it out.
“Good, now don’t move.” Shen Suining sat up facing He Hansheng, leaning down to reach for the hairpin in his mouth.
It was still dark outside, and with both of them blindfolded, some unavoidable contact occurred as Shen Suining searched for the hairpin. Neither spoke, their heartbeats pounding like war drums, their ears gradually turning bright red without them realizing.
After a moment, Shen Suining finally found the other end of the hairpin.
Their position was quite delicate. Suppressing all wandering thoughts, Shen Suining reminded He Hansheng: “Bite down hard.”
After speaking, she leaned down and bit the other end of the hairpin, turning her head forcefully to extract the hidden weapon concealed within.
Shen Suining sat up, twisting her head and both hands to one side, then released her lips to let the hairpin blade fall into her hand. She smoothly cut through the ropes.
By the time both were completely free, He Hansheng could see through the only small window high up that the sky outside was beginning to lighten.
Fortunately, although the window was rather high, it wasn’t locked and could barely fit one person through.
“It seems our only option is to climb out through here.” Shen Suining reinserted the hairpin blade into her hair, the redness in her ears yet to fade.
He Hansheng made an affirmative sound, looked at Shen Suining, and hesitated for a moment. “Come here.”
“What for?” Shen Suining instantly became alert, the blush instantly flooding her ears again.
He Hansheng awkwardly rubbed his nose and pointed at the window. “I’ll lift you up.”
“Then how will you get out?” Shen Suining asked. “I barely fit through this window myself—you might not be able to squeeze through.”
“I’ll send you up first. As for how I get out,” He Hansheng paused and smiled, “that depends entirely on your skill and conscience.”
“Then you’re doomed. I’m the least conscientious person there is.”
Despite her words, Shen Suining obediently approached. As He Hansheng half-squatted against the wall, she stepped on his thigh and shoulder, smoothly climbing out through the window.
Soon after, sounds came from the doorway, and the lock was quickly picked.
He Hansheng looked at Shen Suining standing against the backlight and smiled faintly.
The two successfully left the woodshed.
Dawn hadn’t fully broken, and the woodshed was in a relatively remote area, so they encountered few people along the way.
Walking one after the other, each lost in their own thoughts, the atmosphere grew awkward.
He Hansheng glanced at Shen Suining walking ahead and hesitantly began, “You…”
“If you dare breathe a word about what happened today, I’ll kill you!”
The moment He Hansheng uttered a single word, Shen Suining immediately threatened without turning her head, her ears visibly flushed crimson.
He Hansheng halted, seemingly embarrassed himself, and coughed lightly into his hand. “Then you must also keep quiet about my inability to hold liquor.”
“Such an embarrassing matter isn’t worth mentioning,” Shen Suining snorted coldly.
The awkwardness between them eased slightly.
He Hansheng asked, “What’s your next move? Going to find Song Sanniang?”
“None of your business.”
“I’m not interfering, but while you’re here, you’ll need money eventually, right?” He Hansheng reasoned logically. “Take me along, and I’ll provide funds. Isn’t that mutually beneficial?”
Shen Suining stopped walking, turned to stare directly at He Hansheng, stepped forward and snatched the money pouch from his waist. “I’ll share any information I find. Don’t follow me.”
“…” He Hansheng was speechless. This person was growing increasingly adept at robbing him.
…
Shen Suining arrived alone at Song Sanniang’s residence.
Song Sanniang had just risen and was doing her makeup. As if expecting visitors, she hadn’t kept anyone else in the room.
Shen Suining walked behind Song Sanniang and asked bluntly, “Did you hide Sheng Qingge?”
“Hall Master Shen, you lost the bet fair and square. Since you’ve lost, you can no longer meddle in these troubled waters.” Song Sanniang traced her eyebrows in the bronze mirror. Without her mask, a large gray birthmark covering nearly half her face was visible around her right eye.
“Do you think I’m here to kill her?”
“Matters of Shuyu Villa have nothing to do with Thousand Springs Quarter, and Song Sanniang won’t interfere.”
Seeing Song Sanniang’s tight-lipped response, Shen Suining clenched her fists and sighed. “I just want to ease my parents’ minds, Sanniang.”
Song Sanniang paused her movements.
“Shuyu Villa was built up by my mother’s own hands. She devoted half her life to it, but now her strength is failing. I only want to find Sheng Qingge and learn the truth, to give her peace of mind.” Shen Suining played the emotional card, though every word she spoke was genuine.
Song Sanniang felt compassion stir. After all, when Thousand Springs Quarter was first established, they had received kindness from Shuyu Villa. Even though the former villa master, Shuyu Madam, had now retired, she couldn’t entirely disregard their past ties.
After a moment of contemplation, Song Sanniang turned to Shen Suining. “I won’t let you meet her. All I can tell you is that if you withdraw now and retreat completely, the matter concerning Sheng Qingge will absolutely not involve Shuyu Villa. You can go back and relay this to your mother.”
“So it really is someone from the imperial court who wants to kill Sheng Qingge?”
“Stop asking,” Song Sanniang stood up. “Knowing too much won’t do any good for you or your parents. Just remember, whether Sheng Qingge survives this ordeal or not has nothing to do with what you’re worried about. As long as Shuyu Villa stays out of this, your parents can rest easy.”
…
Shen Suining arrived at the Spring Breeze Pavilion where she had arranged to meet He Hansheng.
Her waist token bore a pattern of apricot blossoms and a vermilion bird, granting her access only to the South Garden, Central Garden, and Spring Breeze Pavilion. The Central Garden was too crowded, while the Spring Breeze Pavilion was relatively quieter, so they had chosen to meet there.
When Shen Suining found He Hansheng, he had also changed to a wooden waist token. Having bathed and changed clothes, he was now sitting by the window, idly plucking the strings of an ancient zither in the room.
“Let me ask you something,” Shen Suining closed the door behind her. “You came from the north, right?”
“Indeed.” There was no need to hide this—anyone could guess from his accent.
“Then have you heard of Princess Biyue?”
He Hansheng’s fingers paused on the strings as he looked at Shen Suining, seeming to guess something. “She’s already dead. Two months ago, she had a dispute with her consort in the princess’ residence… both she and her unborn child perished.”
Shen Suining was stunned. She only knew that Sheng Qingge had been involved with Princess Biyue’s consort, but hadn’t known the princess had died two months ago.
“So Sheng Qingge really brought this disaster upon herself by getting entangled in the capital’s conflicts,” Shen Suining confirmed her suspicion, simultaneously grateful for her mother’s caution at the time.
“However,” Shen Suining sat opposite He Hansheng, leaning her hands on the table, “since you came from the north and your target is Sheng Qingge… you wouldn’t happen to be sent by the imperial court, would you?”
“Is that important?”
Caught off guard by his counterquestion, Shen Suining thought carefully for a moment before musing to herself: “True. Even if you really were sent by the court, at most we just have temporary mutual benefits. There’s no substantial connection beyond that.”
With this thought, Shen Suining completely relaxed, leaning back by the window with a long exhale.
Seeing this, He Hansheng couldn’t help asking: “What? Is your mission completed?”
“Not telling you,” Shen Suining thought cheerfully. This time there hadn’t been much fighting—just some wandering around having fun while getting things done. Aside from the cold weather, it hadn’t been too difficult.
He Hansheng could see she was already in a relaxed state but didn’t call her out on it, merely asking: “What about Sheng Qingge…”
Shen Suining turned to look at him. He Hansheng smiled slightly: “You took my money. Shouldn’t you tell me something to make it fair?”
“Well then, should I return the money to you?”
He Hansheng’s face darkened with clear displeasure.
Shen Suining burst into laughter.
Propping her chin in her hands, she said: “First tell me—in your entire mission, how important would you say Sheng Qingge is?”
“Why do you want to know that?”
“Only by knowing her importance can I properly assess your chances of success based on what I know,” Shen Suining argued reasonably. “Of course, if it’s inconvenient for you to say, forget it. All I can tell you is that with Song Sanniang and Qianchun Quarter involved, it won’t be easy for you to see Sheng Qingge.”
He Hansheng fell into deep thought.
If he couldn’t meet Sheng Qingge, he would be unable to locate the missing consort’s whereabouts, making it difficult to uncover the truth behind Princess Biyue’s death.
“Is there… any other way to meet her?” He Hansheng inquired humbly.
“There is,” Shen Suining replied without hesitation, “unless you can persuade Song Sanniang.”
“How does one persuade her?”
“Well… with someone like Sanniang, using conventional persuasion methods would certainly be useless. But if you can make her concede defeat at the gambling table, you might succeed.”
He Hansheng: “…”
“Alright, I’ve told you all I can,” Shen Suining stood up and cupped his hands in a martial arts salute according to jianghu customs. “If fate allows, we’ll meet again. Farewell.”
Author’s Note: