Pinning a Jasmine Flower at Her Temple
“I saw you that day outside Sanbao Temple.”
Liu Ruheng was stunned. She didn’t recall meeting Jiang Shaojia outside Sanbao Temple; had she met her, she certainly would have remembered her appearance.
Seeing that Liu Ruheng could not recall it for a long time, Jiang Shaojia gave a hint: “By the gardenias.”
Recalling that day, the Princess had been wearing a sky-blue dress with pearl earrings. It matched the glimpse of a sky-blue hem she had seen by the gardenias.
Liu Ruheng realized the truth, a hint of a smile appearing in her eyes. “At that time, I only caught a glimpse of Your Highness’s hem. It doesn’t count as having met.”
The fresh scent of jasmine lingered at the tip of her nose. Liu Ruheng saw the smile she had just imagined, sweet as honey.
Belatedly, the tips of her ears turned a faint red.
It was summer after all, and Liu Ruheng felt her face burning. Only after finishing the sweet, cool mung bean soup did she feel the heat recede slightly.
“Princess, I have come to see you today to discuss an important matter.”
She took the gold seal from her sachet and handed it to Jiang Shaojia.
When their fingertips brushed, Liu Ruheng felt as if Jiang Shaojia’s slightly cool fingers possessed some sort of sorcery, making her turn hot all at once.
“This is the official seal of the Left Minister. A man from the Court of Judicial Review who resigned and returned to his hometown gave it to me.”
The gold seal was only about the length of a finger joint, but it was very heavy. Feeling the heavy weight in her hand, Jiang Shaojia’s expression turned solemn. “Who was that person?”
Liu Ruheng replied, “It was Gong Fan, who was personally promoted by the former Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. A month after he was demoted, he resigned along with that official.”
After speaking, Liu Ruheng glanced at the sachet on the side and added, “Gong Fan said that this gold seal was evidence from before I entered the prison of the Court of Judicial Review. The Fifth Prince handed it to an official within the Court for temporary safekeeping, and he secretly intercepted it.”
Upon hearing this, the coldness in Jiang Shaojia’s eyes intensified. She placed the gold seal back into Liu Ruheng’s hand and said with a cold laugh, “The Left Minister gave it to you. You don’t need to give it to me; just keep it safe.”
Perhaps sensing that her words were somewhat ambiguous, Jiang Shaojia added another sentence: “If you are out and about, you can use this seal in an emergency.”
Liu Ruheng nodded but did not take it. She pushed the gold seal back, her gaze clear. “Then it is better for the Princess to keep it. I do not often go out. If something really happens, won’t the Princess be there?”
Jiang Shaojia was almost moved to laughter by her exasperation. She snatched the sachet from Liu Ruheng’s hand, stuffed the gold seal back inside, and hung it back on Liu Ruheng’s waist exactly as it had been.
“This Palace is not joking with you. This is an order.”
Liu Ruheng had no choice but to let the Princess hang the sachet back on her waist. Seeing her comply, Jiang Shaojia’s mood improved slightly.
As if remembering something, Jiang Shaojia suddenly said, “A hunt will be held in seven days. You are to go as well.”
Liu Ruheng was stunned. Wasn’t the hunt only for high-ranking officials and members of the imperial family? What did it have to do with her?
Sensing Liu Ruheng’s confusion, Jiang Shaojia explained, “You are my future Consort. The Empress suggested you come along, and incidentally, to find a suitable husband for my sister.”
A fleeting coldness flashed in her eyes, which Liu Ruheng did not notice. She was somewhat worried. “But my riding and archery are mediocre. Will I lose face for the Princess?”
Jiang Shaojia looked up at Liu Ruheng and suddenly pinned another jasmine flower at her temple. She teased with a smile, “Lord Liu’s skin is still a bit thin. Why care about such empty fame?”
That night, Liu Ruheng lay in bed for a long time, unable to sleep. She held up the gold seal, staring at it unblinkingly by the moonlight.
The gold seal was extraordinary. After parting with Jiang Shaojia, she felt as if she had taken a reassuring pill, and she was no longer as anxious as before.
But there was still one thing in her heart she couldn’t let go of. The dismemberment murder case was still occurring at the same frequency. Over the past month, Liu Ruheng had been searching in secret, but had found nothing.
Before those officials disappeared, they had all burned incense. Liu Ruheng had investigated and found that the incense burned in the incense burners of several officials had mysteriously vanished.
Furthermore, the newly widowed wives had not stepped out of their houses for a long time.
She felt somewhat helpless.
Another half-month was about to pass. If the murderer still had designs, they would likely take action tonight.
Liu Ruheng’s gaze was heavy. She felt that if she stood by and did nothing now, she would have a guilty conscience.
However, Vice Minister Lu had a significant prejudice against her, so she couldn’t openly go to ask questions, which meant she lacked many sources of information.
And when the murderer killed, the wealth of those officials did not decrease, showing that it was not a murder for money.
When she had previously flipped through the case files, Liu Ruheng also noticed that these victimized officials were mostly from well-to-do families, but their official reputations were average and their achievements mediocre—barely belonging to the category of having neither merit nor fault.
Moreover, the way the victims died was mostly the same, with the only exception being the Palace Censor of that day.
His death was the most bizarre, appearing like a malicious provocation by the murderer toward the Court of Judicial Review.
Liu Ruheng sighed softly and put away the gold seal.
She made up her mind. After disguising herself, she stealthily went out through the back door. Her disguise this time was the same as the last—that of a sickly scholar.
If she had a chance to discover the true culprit but chose to play deaf and mute, she feared she would also have a guilty conscience in the future.
Liu Ruheng’s heart was heavy, simply because the place she was going today was the residence of Cheng Xuehai.
She hadn’t been clear on it originally, but only discovered it a few days ago when she heard other officials chatting.
Half a year ago, Cheng Xuehai had also encountered a thief in his storehouse. However, the amount was small and not many things were lost, so he did not report it to the authorities; only a few colleagues knew.
Now that Liu Ruheng had been demoted, she had coincidentally returned to her former place, where others had much more contact with Cheng Xuehai and understood him more deeply.
But after arriving at Cheng Xuehai’s residence, Liu Ruheng faced a difficulty.
She was but a weak scholar and could not perform feats like flying over walls as those in the martial world did. She could only barely manage to climb a low, old wall like the one at the Left Minister’s residence with a Herculean effort.
Cheng Xuehai was in his prime, and having recently been promoted, he was even more high-spirited. He had added many servants to his household, which was not comparable to the sparsely populated Left Minister’s residence.
In addition, although Liu Ruheng had disguised herself, those familiar with her would be able to see through her disguise at a glance.
Wanting to sneak into his residence was truly difficult. She could only crouch in front of his main gate and hope for some luck to find some clues.
Although Liu Ruheng’s relationship with Cheng Xuehai was not harmonious, he had, after all, sincerely taught her for a time. Liu Ruheng felt she could not stand by and watch Cheng Xuehai die.
Not far from Cheng Xuehai’s residence, Liu Ruheng held a wine pot in her left hand and a short knife in her right. Disguised as a drunkard, she staggered into a small alley separated from his house by only a single wall.
“Ah!”
A short, sharp cry interrupted Liu Ruheng’s steps. She grew alert and tightened her grip on the short knife.
By the moonlight, Liu Ruheng could barely see a dark shadow in the corner ahead, blending in with the cluttered objects. The person who had made the sound just now was a woman; her voice seemed to have a hoarseness from not having spoken for a long time.
She did not dare to underestimate the opponent before her.
Liu Ruheng made no sound. Under the cover of the moonlight, her figure was likewise hidden.
The person ahead said nothing. Liu Ruheng felt that her silhouette seemed to be trembling, which raised suspicions in her heart.
As she slowly walked forward, the dark shadow suddenly hurled all the surrounding clutter at Liu Ruheng.
Liu Ruheng instinctively dodged, but felt the person’s figure was familiar. She paused, and before the person could flee, she spoke tentatively: “Xiao Qing?”
the person’s frantic steps came to a sudden halt. She turned back in terror to look at Liu Ruheng, her voice hoarse as she said in surprise: “Lord Liu?”
The two stared at each other for a long while. Only after Liu Ruheng kicked away the clutter blocking the path did she say with a complicated heart: “I thought you couldn’t speak?”
Xiao Qing was somewhat embarrassed. She bowed to Liu Ruheng, her voice tinged with apology: “I suffered some trauma in the past, so I can’t make a sound when there are many people. It was not my intention to hide it from you, My Lord.”
This…
Liu Ruheng had nothing to say. Everyone had their own secrets, and it was not her place to pry into the reasons. So she cleared her throat and changed the subject.
“Why did you come today?”
According to Liu Ruheng’s observations, the relationship between Cheng Xuehai and Xiao Qing was not close on ordinary days; last time, Cheng Xuehai had even mocked Xiao Qing’s identity as a woman working as a coroner behind her back.
Xiao Qing toyed with the corner of her clothes, her eyes lowered so that no one could see her expression. She said softly, “Lord Cheng once helped me. I want to repay the favor.”
Reasonable and grounded; there was no way to refute it. Liu Ruheng’s brow furrowed slightly as she asked again: “How did you know that Lord Cheng would be harmed by a thief today?”
Xiao Qing was taken aback and clearly became nervous. She moved a few steps toward Liu Ruheng and said worriedly: “There will be a thief today? Then we must hurry to warn Lord Cheng.”
Liu Ruheng stopped Xiao Qing, her expression solemn. “It is not yet certain if the murderer will come. If we rush forward, it will be alarmist, and we might also alert the enemy.”
Xiao Qing’s steps stopped, and she returned to her hiding place from before.
The night was long. Apart from the few words they had just spoken, Liu Ruheng and Xiao Qing had no further exchange. The two only tacitly kept a close watch on the direction of the residence.
Midnight was approaching, and the surroundings became even more silent, with only occasional crowing of roosters and barking of dogs, along with the intermittent chirping of cicadas.
Liu Ruheng was getting a bit sleepy.
Ring-ring.
A crisp sound of a bell rang out. Liu Ruheng was suddenly wide awake. She searched for the source of the sound, but no one was in sight.
Liu Ruheng became even more alert. She drew the short knife and hid it in her sleeve.
With a “creak,” the corner door of the Cheng residence was pushed open. Liu Ruheng instinctively gripped the short knife, staring unblinkingly at that door.
A middle-aged man wearing only his inner robes slowly walked out. This person was none other than Cheng Xuehai.
Liu Ruheng was stunned. The bell rang again, sounding exceptionally eerie in the dead silence of the night.
Cheng Xuehai’s steps were steady as he slowly walked outward.
Seeing him walking further and further away, Liu Ruheng moved quickly to stop him. Cheng Xuehai’s appearance was somewhat terrifying; his eyes were wide and bulging, the whites of his eyes densely covered with bloodshot veins, faintly showing a grayish-pale hue.
Seeing someone blocking the way, the bell ringing became hurried.
Cheng Xuehai shoved the Liu Ruheng in front of him aside and continued to walk forward slowly. Seeing this, Xiao Qing hurriedly cooperated with Liu Ruheng to stop him together.
Before the two could breathe a sigh of relief, Liu Ruheng felt a chill on her back. She dodged violently.
A sharp blade sliced through her hair crown.
“Who are you!”
Liu Ruheng stood up quickly, shielding Cheng Xuehai and Xiao Qing.
The person who had just tried to kill her was masked; she could only barely tell it was a woman.
The woman sneered and lunged straight toward Xiao Qing and Cheng Xuehai. Liu Ruheng threw the wine bottle she used for her disguise at the person, but it was sliced in half.
The bell rang again. Liu Ruheng’s brow furrowed, and she thought to herself that things were bad; they were not alone.
Liu Ruheng felt a bit faint-hearted. She stepped forward again to block the woman, revealing the short knife.
She was not skilled in martial arts. Although she had learned some of the Six Gentlemanly Arts, she was essentially still a weak scholar.
Seeing Liu Ruheng take out the knife, the woman finally spoke the first words of the night. Her voice was muffled, and the only visible part of her eyes flashed with a hint of bloodlust.
“Stubborn and foolish.”