The horse carriage headed straight for the Eastern Market.
Lifting the carriage curtain, Chen Ji silently observed the desolate streets. As the curtain swayed, the light and shadows reflecting in his eyes flickered incessantly.
Sitting opposite him while hugging a Copper Hand Warmer, Jin Zhu said warmly, "The Commandery Princess is not someone adept at telling lies. People with pure minds and hearts have never pondered over human nature; their lies cannot deceive anyone, they can only deceive themselves."
Without turning his head, Chen Ji asked, "What is Lord Jin Zhu trying to say?"
Jin Zhu fell silent for a moment. "The Commandery Princess is very clear about her own situation; she only said those things because she didn't want to implicate you. If I can see through it, you definitely can as well. Having grown accustomed to deceit and treachery in Wunian Mountain and the Secret Spy Division, occasionally encountering this kind of scene makes one unable to help but sigh with emotion. But I must remind you: the general trend of events cannot be opposed."
Chen Ji asked, "Lord Jin Zhu, what is the general trend of events?"
Jin Zhu answered, "His Majesty wants Prince Jing dead, the Inner Chancellor also wants Prince Jing dead; the people with the most authority in the Ning Dynasty all want him dead. Therefore, he will absolutely die. This is the general trend of events."
"Mhm."
Chen Ji suddenly recalled the hexagram image his Master had mentioned: Prince Jing's Estate was doomed to face Tribulation and unable to escape; this was the will of Heaven.
Jin Zhu said earnestly, "Listen to my advice: turn around and forget them; just pretend you never met them."
He continued, "When I was first sent to Wunian Mountain, I also had very, very good friends, and a girl I liked. At the time, I thought I would never be able to forget them for my entire life, but looking back now, I can't even remember what they looked like."
Chen Ji smiled. "Rest assured, Lord, I understand."
Scrutinizing him with half belief and half doubt, Jin Zhu could ultimately only let out a sigh. "It's good that you can understand."
Looking out the window, Chen Ji changed the topic. "Lord, after capturing Consort Yun, what are the plans?"
Jin Zhu thought for a moment. "After that, it's Bai Long's matter; it has nothing to do with us. Bai Long will probably use the fastest speed possible to securely nail down the evidence of Prince Jing's Estate and the Luotian Sect's crimes, and then..."
He took a look at Chen Ji's expression. "And then, Property Confiscation and execution by beheading."
Chen Ji said no more.
Sitting opposite him, Jin Zhu sighed with emotion. "And who knows why this Consort Yun is so alert and vigilant, actually fleeing right before the Liu Family launched their uprising. Someone must definitely be tipping her off."
Chen Ji calmly and composedly dropped the carriage curtain. "Lord, we've arrived."
Having said that, he lifted the door curtain, bent down, and stepped off the carriage.
The vicinity of Anxi Street had already been entirely locked down by the Trouble-Resolving Guard; entry was forbidden, and exiting was forbidden. The secret spies were currently searching door-to-door through the small alleyways. All residents were brought out of their houses and made to stand in a row in the alleys to wait for interrogation.
In every single household, every place capable of hiding a person was completely turned upside down. Even the floorboards had to be meticulously tapped with the hilt of a saber over and over again to check for hollow spaces underneath.
Looking up, Chen Ji saw Yun Yang dressed entirely in black. With his arms crossed tightly over his chest, he stood atop the roof ridge of a wine tavern, his eyes sweeping across the streets like a falcon.
Lying on the roof ridge beside Yun Yang with her legs crossed, Jiao Tu had snatched a Bamboo Hat from the head of some unknown Trouble-Resolving Guard and covered her face with it. The tip of her foot bobbed up and down, looking incredibly leisurely and carefree.
Jin Zhu curled his lips in disdain. "Dressed like humans but acting like dogs, putting on airs!"
He waved his hand at Xi Feng and the others behind the horse carriage. "Go in and search! Whoever finds her will be credited with a massive merit!"
At this moment, Chen Ji's mood slowly sank to the bottom of the valley.
He originally thought Bai Long's claim of finding clues regarding Consort Yun was merely a smokescreen—either to bait out the Luotian Sect Master, Han Tong, or to bait out the traitor within the Secret Spy Division.
Yet only he knew best: this place was indeed Consort Yun's hiding spot. Given the meticulous thoroughness of the Secret Spy Division's search, Consort Yun being dragged out was only a matter of time.
But what Chen Ji found bizarre was how incredibly abrupt Senior Maid Xi Tang's betrayal was. Furthermore, given how hyper-vigilant and cautious a person Consort Yun was, how could she possibly have told Xi Tang her hiding location? Someone was manipulating Xi Tang from behind the scenes!
Was it Bai Long? No, that's not right. If the Secret Spy Division had always known Consort Yun's hiding spot, there would be absolutely no need for them to take this unnecessary extra step.
Then if it wasn't the Secret Spy Division, who else could possibly know Consort Yun's hiding place?
Taking a deep breath, he took the lead and walked deep into the alleyway. "Xi Feng, lead your men and search the left side. I will lead men to search the right side."
Leading over twenty secret spies into the alleyway, Chen Ji searched door-to-door. Occasionally, he would cast a glance toward a certain household deep within the alleyway, his brows locked tightly together.
Where was Wu Yun?
By all rights, Wu Yun should currently be responsible for keeping an eye on Consort Yun. Why was there absolutely no trace of Wu Yun?
Wait a minute. Since Wu Yun was not here, that indicated Consort Yun was also not here.
Chen Ji cast a glance at the other secret spies, then walked directly toward that household deep within the alleyway. He merely gave the door a light push with his palm, and with a creak, the door opened.
The door latch inside had not been dropped.
Walking inside to take a look, he saw the vegetable basket Consort Yun had carried yesterday resting on the Eight-Immortals table inside the room. And within that vegetable basket, a single sheet of paper was actually resting diagonally.
Chen Ji quickly stepped forward and unfolded that sheet of paper. His pupils sharply contracted. The paper actually detailed the entirety of when, where, and how Prince Jing had instructed Consort Yun to collude with the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Division. Ultimately, the mastermind behind everything had always been Prince Jing, and Consort Yun was merely acting on orders!
What was going on?
Did Consort Yun intentionally leave this letter behind? If so, then Senior Maid Xi Tang's abrupt whistle-blowing to the Secret Spy Division was instructed by Consort Yun!
But why would Consort Yun do this? If this letter fell into the hands of the Secret Spy Division, Prince Jing's entire board would be completely lost, without the slightest room for reversal.
Exactly how massive was the hatred and animosity between Consort Yun and Prince Jing to make Consort Yun do this?
Standing inside the room like a statue, Chen Ji allowed the floating dust in the air to slowly settle upon his shoulders.
A moment of Benevolence had nearly completely forged a catastrophic error.
Right at this very moment, high up on the roof ridge, Yun Yang suddenly spoke: "Hey, that kid Chen Ji abruptly entered a household all by himself and has been in there for quite a long time. Could there be a problem?"
With her face covered beneath the Bamboo Hat, Jiao Tu said slowly and methodically, "What problem could there be? Meng Ji has already tested him twice. If there was truly a problem, wouldn't Meng Ji have said so?"
Yun Yang frowned. "I still feel something isn't right."
Taking off her Bamboo Hat, Jiao Tu lay flat, casting a sidelong glance at him. "If you ask me, we should just honestly and frankly admit our faults and apologize to him. We can fight, and he can use his brain. If we can work together, wouldn't the Lord Inner Chancellor bestow massive amounts of Cultivation Resources upon us?"
Yun Yang cast a glance at her. "The enmity has already been established."
Jiao Tu said with a beaming smile, "It was merely stabbing him a few times; what kind of enmity is that considered? In this world, there are only eternal interests; there is no eternal hatred. At worst, I'll just sacrifice my physical allure a bit. How could a young, strong, strapping, and vigorous young man like him possibly withstand my seduction?"
Yun Yang said with absolute, resolute decisiveness, "No!"
Jiao Tu let out a 'Tch' sound and placed the Bamboo Hat back over her face.
Yun Yang said softly, "I'm going down to take a look."
Having said that, he leaped downward, his body lightly floating to the ground like a sheet of paper dancing in the wind.
Soundlessly, Yun Yang arrived in front of the doors of that household. Then, he abruptly pushed the door open. "What are you doing?!"
Inside the room, Chen Ji was currently using his knuckles to tap against the walls. Seeing Yun Yang push the door open and enter, he said in surprise, "I am searching this household, ah. Why has Lord Yun Yang come down?"
Filled with suspicion, Yun Yang circled Chen Ji a few times. "Why have you been searching for so long?"
Chen Ji said helplessly, "Lord Yun Yang, all our colleagues have searched with such meticulous detail. Is there a problem with me doing the same?"
In the next moment, Yun Yang sneered coldly. "Stand absolutely still, otherwise I'll take your life."
He patted Chen Ji's clothes from top to bottom, intending to see if Chen Ji had hidden any items. However, after searching for quite a while, he found absolutely nothing.
Chen Ji smiled. "Lord Yun Yang, there were misunderstandings between us previously, but everyone is now a colleague. Temporarily lay down your suspicions and properly handle matters for the Lord Inner Chancellor, ba."
Yun Yang also began to laugh. "Like this, truly excellent. You continue searching; I will go take a look elsewhere."
He turned and walked out, exiting the doors.
Chen Ji inside the room, and Yun Yang outside the room, simultaneously restrained their smiles.
...
The winter sky darkened exceptionally early. With their heads bowed, the pedestrians rushed home with hurried expressions.
Cursing and swearing, Jin Zhu led Chen Ji into a noodle stall. Sitting down next to the Eight-Immortals table, he rubbed his freezing, ice-cold hands together. "Is Bai Long reliable or not? It's so cold, and so many people searched for an entire day without even seeing Consort Yun's shadow. It's clearly a fake clue."
Pulling out chopsticks, Chen Ji asked the shopkeeper for hot water to rinse them. "Lord, ease your anger and remain calm. Right now, finding Consort Yun has already become the task of absolute top priority. Even if it's a fake clue, it must still be verified one by one."
Once the shopkeeper brought over the steaming, piping hot beef noodles, Jin Zhu dumped all the beef into Chen Ji's bowl. "Hurry up and eat. Once you finish eating, go home and rest. Who knows what kind of demonic moths that Bai Long will stir up tomorrow."
Chen Ji gave an affirming 'Mhm' sound.
At this moment, Jin Zhu paused his noodle-eating movements. Looking up to cast a sweeping glance at him, he warned abruptly, "Absolutely do not harbor wicked intentions or crooked thoughts. Remember the words I told you. Forget what you ought to forget; this is fate."
"Fate?"
Jin Zhu smiled. "All things are ordained by fate; not a single speck is left to human agency."
Chen Ji looked down at the beef in the bowl before him. "Lord Jin Zhu, if you could live your life over again, would you choose to act as a good person or a wicked person?"
Jin Zhu thought for a moment. "A wicked person."
Chen Ji was bewildered. "Why?"
Jin Zhu laughed broadly, relaxed and at ease. "The thing I want to accomplish the most cannot be done by a good person. Hurry up and eat."
Chen Ji gave an affirming 'Mhm' sound. Lowering his head, he finished the bowl of beef noodles in just a few massive bites. "Lord, I am heading back; you should also head back to rest early."
"Ah? You ate so fast?!" Shocked, Jin Zhu looked up, precisely catching sight of Chen Ji already standing up and walking into the dark night all by himself.
...
Outside the doors, as a blast of chilling wind blew past, Chen Ji felt as if even the white mist from his exhalations would instantly freeze into solid ice.
His stomach felt a bit bloated. The page of paper he had swallowed down his throat earlier simply could not be digested in his stomach. Tightening his collar, he lowered his head and walked into the distance, braving the chilling winds.
An unknown amount of time later, he arrived in front of a dark alleyway and muttered softly, "Nine Heavens Origin-Responding Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerate?"
In the next moment, Wu Yun meowed from the shadows inside the alleyway, signaling him to follow.
Standing at the alleyway entrance, Chen Ji seemed to hesitate, seemed to conflict with himself, but ultimately he still followed, stopping in front of a dilapidated, battered wooden door.
Raising his hand, he used his knuckles to lightly knock on the door. "Madam, open the door."
The wooden door was abruptly pulled wide open. Dressed in the plain, simple attire of an ordinary neighborhood married woman, Consort Yun's eyes were completely filled with chilling, bone-piercing malicious intent. "How did you find this place? Why do your lingering ghosts refuse to disperse?! Since your Military Intelligence Division is so powerful and possesses such immense Divine Abilities, why were you still completely suppressed, exterminated, and uprooted by the Eunuch Faction?!"
Lifting his head, Chen Ji stared directly at Consort Yun. "Madam, right now within this Luo City, there is not a single person I cannot completely dig out; your hiding is useless. I came tonight because I have many questions I wish to ask you... it's still best we go inside to speak."
Consort Yun silently stepped to the side, then pulled the door tight behind them.
Standing in the tiny courtyard with his back to Consort Yun, Chen Ji slowly opened his mouth to speak. "Does Madam hate the Prince?"
Consort Yun's expression was calm. "Hate him for what?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Hate him for treating you coldly and giving you the cold shoulder every single day for years... That whistle-blowing letter you left in Minzhong Alley, I secretly hid it."
Consort Yun's expression changed. "You hid it? What does this matter have to do with you; why must you meddle in others' affairs?"
Chen Ji said softly, "Do you know that if the Secret Spy Division finds that letter, Prince Jing, the Prince Heir, and the Commandery Princess will absolutely die without a shred of doubt? Actually, the Prince knew the Commandery Princess was not his biological daughter. That day, when he saw Han Tong, the expression on his face indicated he already knew everything. You entirely had no need to claim his life over this."
Consort Yun remained silent for a long time, then began to sneer coldly. "He knew; of course he knew! That's because from the moment he married me and brought me into the princely estate, he never touched me a single time!"
Chen Ji was stunned. He had originally been bluffing to bait the truth out of Consort Yun, but he never expected the truth he baited out to actually be this.
Walking into the room, Consort Yun sat down fully upright. She coldly stared at Chen Ji. "I birthed Bai Li originally to anger him, but I never expected him to not be angry in the slightest, instead treating Bai Li exactly as if she were his own flesh and blood. The most terrifying gaze in this world is not being looked down upon, but rather someone absolutely refusing to even look at you from the very beginning."
Chen Ji remained silent, absolutely speechless.
Consort Yun said coldly, "Over these years, the commoners have always said Prince Jing is a good Prince. Yet how could they possibly know that the good Prince in their mouths is nothing more than Emperor Ning's loyal, utterly faithful thug and hatchet man. Back then, he only married me for the sake of the Luotian Sect acting behind me. Now that he is going to die, he actually wants to drag the Liu Family and the Luotian Sect into the tomb together with him! On what basis?!"
Chen Ji asked softly, "Is the Prince going to die?"
Covering her mouth, Consort Yun began to laugh. "It appears you also merely know a tiny bit of superficial surface details. Three years ago, the Feather-Generating Pill your Master brought from the Capital City was precisely the one the Yellow Mountain Daoist Court gifted to Emperor Ning. Now that the three-year duration has concluded, he is immediately going to die."
Chen Ji experienced a flash of sudden realization. No wonder Prince Jing didn't even cast a single glance at the Feather-Generating Pill Consort Jing brought back; it was simply because the other party had already eaten one, and eating a second one would be entirely useless.
So Prince Jing was truly going to die... But what about the Prince Heir and Bai Li?
Consort Yun said slowly and methodically, "Over so many years, my only wish has always been to birth a male child. Because only by doing so would the Luotian Sect gain a true foothold to establish themselves and settle their lives upon. I have done so many things for him—dispatching the Luotian Sect for him, raising provisions and fodder for him, gathering military funds for him. Yet even though he is clearly about to die, he simply refuses to give me this single opportunity."
Chen Ji asked, "So you deliberately withheld the information that there was an ambush at the Golden Workshop in Red Clothe Lane from the Prince Heir and the Commandery Princess, deceiving them into going to throw their lives away and exterminate Prince Jing's heirs?"
Consort Yun scrutinized him in astonishment. "No wonder Zhu Yunxi and Bai Li remained safe and sound; it turns out you were throwing wrenches in the works."
Chen Ji was entirely confused. "But Bai Li is your own daughter, ah. Exactly what crime has Bai Li committed?!"
Standing up, Consort Yun shouted hysterically, "And what crime have I committed?!"
Looking at Consort Yun, Chen Ji said softly, "Madam, I was previously always hesitating over what kind of person I should become. Once, I asked my Master, and my Master said one's heart can be hot, but one's blood must be cold. I went to ask Mister Wang, and Mister said I must act based on my own conscience; otherwise, a piece of my heart would go missing."
Chen Ji said, "Throughout today, I've been constantly thinking about the words they told me. Both teachers' words contain reason and principles. However, Lord Jin Zhu's words contain even more reason. The matters he needs to accomplish cannot be done by a good person; he can only act as a wicked person. And I am exactly the same."
He continued, "Prince Jing is not a good person; he has sacrificed so many people for the sake of his schemes. But the Commandery Princess shouldn't serve as a funeral sacrifice for you all. At the exact moment she shut her doors today, I was thinking: she must absolutely survive."
Consort Yun frowned. "You wish to kill me? I have already written down your identity as a Jing Dynasty traitorous thief. Should you kill me, someone will naturally deliver that page of paper to the Secret Spy Division."
"Madam won't be able to deliver it anymore."
As he spoke, Wu Yun leapt onto Chen Ji's shoulder, holding a page of paper in its mouth. The moment it loosened its grip, the page of paper drifted down into Chen Ji's hand.
Walking further into the room, right in front of Consort Yun's eyes, Chen Ji placed that page of paper over the candle flame. "Was Madam talking about this page?"
Consort Yun watched as that page of paper little by little burned away into ashes. The firelight illuminated her face, and then gradually dimmed.
She abruptly looked up at Chen Ji. "I am Bai Li's birth mother. If you kill me, how will you face her in the future?! Even if she doesn't know, every single day hereafter, whenever you see her face, you will remember that you were the very one who killed her mother with your own hands!"
Chen Ji opened his hand, allowing the page of paper to turn into flying ash and scatter away. The firelight in his eyes also little by little extinguished. "I know, but as long as she can stay alive, it's fine."
Having said that, he pulled a Short Blade from his sleeve. "I apologize, Madam."
A moment later, pushing the door open, Chen Ji stepped out, walking step by step out of the dim, gloomy alleyway.
Wu Yun leaped into his arms, tilting its head up to look at him. "Are you alright?"
Chen Ji walked toward the direction of Anxi Street. He stopped dead in his tracks, turning his head to look behind him.
The Eastern Market, which should have been Brightly Lit, was currently a stretch of pitch-black darkness. The long, long street paved with grey flagstones extended out toward the ends of the world, resembling a path of no return stretching completely down into the abyss.
"Wu Yun."
"Mhm?"
"It seems I won't be able to become a good person anymore."
(End of this chapter)