“Miss, whatever you need me to do, just give the order. As long as I can help you, I’m not afraid of anything,” Hua Ping said, seeing Lin Shu’s grave expression. She gritted her teeth as if making some firm resolution.
Witnessing such unwavering loyalty, Lin Shu felt a warm current flow through her heart.
“Good.” Lin Shu didn’t waste words and went straight to the point. “I need you to leave the estate and go to Huichun Pharmacy in the southern part of the city.”
She pressed several banknotes and a small piece of broken silver into Hua Ping’s hand.
“Change into some inconspicuous old clothes and leave through the side gate. When you reach Huichun Pharmacy, don’t look for a physician—find a young apprentice named Cen Yi.”
Hua Ping listened attentively, committing every word to memory.
“Once you find him, give him this banknote,” Lin Shu lowered her voice, speaking rapidly. “Tell him Lin Wan’er has already failed in her scheme. If he wants Lin Wan’er to live, he must hand over all the correspondence between them for you to destroy.”
“Remember, you must obtain those letters. Human witnesses cannot be trusted.”
She didn’t dare gamble on whether the system would interfere again with an insignificant medicine apprentice.
Only written evidence in black and white could be truly reliable.
“If he refuses, hint to him that this matter has already drawn the attention of Jing An Marquis Estate. Young Master Xiao is conducting a thorough investigation, and when it traces back to him, he’ll be an accomplice in the attempted murder of a court-appointed lady—a crime punishable by death.”
Hua Ping’s face paled slightly. Though she didn’t understand why her young mistress was so certain, she still nodded firmly. “I’ve memorized everything, miss.”
“Go now, be quick and careful in all things.” Lin Shu patted the back of her hand.
“Yes, miss.”
Hua Ping carefully concealed the banknotes against her body, quickly changed clothes, and hurried away with her head bowed.
The room fell silent once more.
Lin Shu sat by the window, watching the gradually darkening sky outside, her heart lifting with tension.
…
In Qing Feng Courtyard, a cleaning maid knelt on the ground, reporting everything she had just witnessed to Lin Wan’er.
“Second Miss, I saw with my own eyes that wench Hua Ping change into old clothes and sneak out through the side gate, heading in the direction of Huichun Pharmacy!”
Lin Wan’er was sitting at her dressing table, slowly applying Kou Dan to her nails.
Hearing this, her hand paused slightly. She raised her eyes—the delicate face reflected in the mirror showed no trace of fragility now, only an icy, sinister expression.
Hua Ping? That maid serving Lin Shu?
Huichun Pharmacy?
Going to Huichun Pharmacy at this critical moment—could she have discovered something?
“Hah.” Lin Wan’er let out a cold laugh. What could she possibly accomplish even if she went to Huichun Pharmacy!
“Cui Huan, send two people to follow her. Tell them to make it clean—leave no traces. If Hua Ping brings anything back, make sure to bring it to me.”
“Yes, I’ll go arrange it immediately.” The head maid Cui Huan stepped forward to receive the order, then retreated silently.
Lin Wan’er looked at her own pitifully beautiful face in the mirror, curling her lips in satisfaction.
So what if you have demonic tricks?
Once the person is dead and the evidence is gone, let’s see how you’ll fight me!
…
Time passed minute by minute. Outside, the sky shifted from dusk to complete darkness.
It had been too long—Hua Ping had been gone for far too long.
The journey from the Prime Minister’s residence to the southern city shouldn’t take this much time.
Something’s wrong!
The moment this thought emerged, Lin Shu abruptly stood up.
She couldn’t wait any longer!
Lin Shu walked to the door and cracked it open a sliver. Outside, two guards tasked with keeping watch stood idly by, bored out of their minds.
They were Xiao Che’s men. Forcing her way out was absolutely impossible.
Lin Shu took a deep breath and slowly concentrated her mental energy.
Facing the guard who stood closer, she uttered a low command in a voice only she could hear: “Your stomach hurts badly. You need to go to the latrine.”
The guard’s body stiffened abruptly, his brows instantly knitting into a tight frown.
Clutching his stomach, his face contorted in pain as he muttered to his companion, “Can’t hold it in anymore—my stomach’s acting up. I’ll be right back. Keep a close watch.”
With that, he scurried away, legs clamped together.
Only one guard remained.
Lin Shu repeated the trick on the remaining guard.
“You’re so sleepy. Go behind the rockery and take a nap.”
The guard let out a huge yawn, his eyelids growing heavy as an irresistible wave of drowsiness washed over him.
He shook his head, struggling for a few seconds, but ultimately couldn’t resist. Stumbling dazedly to the rockery at the corner of the courtyard, he found a nook to lean against and actually began to doze off.
Success!
Lin Shu’s heart leaped with joy. She immediately slipped out of the courtyard, skillfully avoiding the patrolling servants, and sneaked out of the Chancellor’s residence through the same side gate Hua Ping had used earlier.
The night wind was chilly, sending a shiver through her.
She paid it no mind, identified the direction, and, lifting the hem of her skirt, dashed toward the southern part of the city.
The way to Huichun Pharmacy wasn’t hard to find.
But the closer she got, the stronger the unease in her heart grew.
“Help!”
Finally, in a secluded narrow alley, she heard a woman’s desperate cry.
It was Hua Ping!
Lin Shu’s heart sank like a stone. She rushed over without a second thought.
Deep in the alley, two men clad in black and masked were closing in on Hua Ping.
Hua Ping was backed into a corner, clutching something tightly to her chest, her face a mask of terror and despair.
“Hand it over, and we’ll leave your body intact!” one of the men rasped harshly.
“N-no! I’d rather die than give it to you!” Hua Ping sobbed, her voice filled with unyielding defiance.
“You’re asking for death!”
The man’s patience ran out. Raising the long blade in his hand, he swung it down viciously toward Hua Ping’s head.
“Stop!”
Lin Shu’s eyes widened in fury. Without thinking, she mustered all her strength and directed a hysterical command at the vendors packing up their stalls at the alley’s entrance and a few wandering drunks.
“Grab them!”
“They’re murderers!”
“Save that girl!”
“Hurry, go!!”
Her piercing voice, imbued with an undeniable magic, instantly pierced through everyone’s eardrums.
The vendors, who had initially minded their own business, suddenly had vacant looks in their eyes, which were quickly replaced by an inexplicable rage and sense of justice.
“Murder!”
“In broad daylight, they dare to kill on the streets!”
“Brothers, charge!”
The drunks, as if injected with adrenaline, wobblingly snatched up nearby stools and carrying poles, howling as they surged forward.
The two well-trained assassins were instantly bewildered by this mob of ordinary people who seemed to have no regard for their own lives.
They tried to strike lethally, but there were too many of them, and each one fought with fearless desperation. For every one they knocked down, two more lunged at them.
“What’s going on?”
“Have these commoners gone mad?”
The leading man was both shocked and furious. Seeing the situation had spiraled out of control, he knew that if they lingered any longer and alerted the patrolling officers, none of them would escape.
“Retreat!”
He made a swift decision, shot Lin Shu a fierce glare, and with his subordinates, shoved through the crowd, fleeing the scene in disarray.
Amid the chaos, Lin Shu rushed to Hua Ping’s side, steadying her trembling form.
“Hua Ping, are you alright?”
“Y-Young Miss, hurry and go!” Seeing her, Hua Ping’s tightly wound nerves finally relaxed, and her entire body went limp.