The diplomatic delegation spent the night in the main county seat of Zhongzhou. Taking advantage of the local market, they purchased large quantities of grain and dried fodder to replenish their supplies for the next stage of the journey.
According to their route map, it would take several more days of continuous travel before they reached their next major destination—Chaozhou Province.
Located along Nantang’s eastern coastline, Chaozhou was bordered by the sea on three sides. Once the delegation arrived there, they would abandon their horse-drawn carriages and board ships to continue their voyage across international waters.
That evening, the caravan established camp at the foot of a mountain range.
Half a month had already passed since they departed the capital. The endless days of rough carriage rides and strict travel schedules had left everyone physically and mentally exhausted. As soon as the guards completed the evening patrol arrangements, most of the noble ladies, officials, and attendants retreated to their tents to rest.
Qin Man was unusually tired that night.
Based on her own assessment, the lack of proper sleep over the past several days had severely drained her energy, so she went to bed earlier than usual.
In the middle of the night, however, she was jolted awake.
A violent coughing fit seized her throat.
Thick black smoke had accumulated inside the tent, and the sharp smell instantly set off alarm bells in her mind.
Fire.
Qin Man leapt from her bed.
Su Li and Xiao Ya were still asleep nearby, but something was wrong. They were sleeping far too deeply. Even when she shouted their names, neither of them reacted.
Her heart sank.
She rushed outside.
To the east, the tents storing grain and fodder had already become a raging sea of flames.
Towering pillars of fire shot into the sky, accompanied by thick black smoke and the crackling explosions of burning supplies.
Yet what frightened her most was the silence.
Where were the night watchmen?
Why hadn’t anyone else woken up?
How could an entire camp sleep through such a massive fire?
A chilling realization flashed through her mind.
They’ve been drugged.
Without wasting another second, Qin Man ran back into the tent.
She grabbed a basin of icy wash water and dumped it directly onto Su Li and Xiao Ya.
“Su Li! Xiao Ya! Wake up! The camp is on fire!”
The freezing water finally shocked them awake.
The moment they understood what was happening, all traces of drowsiness vanished.
“Go wake everyone!” Qin Man ordered sharply. “Start with the nearby tents. Get the maids and matrons moving, then have them wake their mistresses. Hurry!”
The two maids immediately rushed out.
Qin Man’s thoughts shifted.
The entire camp had clearly been poisoned with some kind of powerful sleeping drug.
She herself had eaten the same food and drunk the same water, but thanks to her modern constitution and stronger metabolism, she had awakened before everyone else.
Entering her spatial laboratory, she quickly retrieved two antidotes capable of counteracting sedatives and toxins.
After swallowing one herself, she soaked a cloth in water, tied it over her nose and mouth, and rushed back outside.
By now, Su Li and Xiao Ya had managed to awaken several servants, who were spreading through the camp to alert the others.
Unfortunately, the late-autumn mountain wind had begun to strengthen.
The flames surged wildly, threatening to spread toward the residential tents.
Qin Man instructed Su Li’s group to focus on evacuating the Fifth Princess and the noble ladies before turning and sprinting toward Xiao Ruochen’s tent.
She remembered his past.
He had nearly died in a fire when he was young.
What if seeing such a blaze triggered old trauma?
Stopping outside his tent, she pounded against the supports.
“Grand Preceptor Xiao! Lord Xiao! There’s a fire! You need to evacuate immediately!”
No response came from inside.
Even Xiao Mu was nowhere to be seen.
Had they also been affected by the drug?
Anxiety gripped her heart.
Just as she was preparing to force her way inside—
“Miss Qin? Why are you here?”
Xiao Mu’s voice suddenly rang out behind her.
He came running from the opposite direction, clearly shocked by her presence.
“Xiao Mu!” Qin Man immediately replied. “The grain storage area is on fire! Hurry and get the Grand Preceptor out!”
Xiao Mu blinked.
“Our master woke up the moment he smelled smoke. As soon as he realized there was a fire, he went personally to organize the evacuation of the officers. I was sent to gather the elite guards and have only just returned.”
Qin Man froze.
So she had worried for nothing.
The camp had already descended into chaos.
Soldiers rushed back and forth carrying buckets of water while officers shouted orders.
Since the fire had been contained to the supply area and hadn’t reached the residential tents, its spread was gradually brought under control.
As dawn approached, the flames finally died.
Only smoking ruins remained where the granaries had once stood.
Looking at the ashes, a delayed wave of fear swept through the delegation.
If Qin Man had not awakened when she did, everyone might have burned alive in their sleep.
Inside the Fifth Princess’s command tent, the atmosphere was grim.
Princess Mo Yueyao, Xiao Ruochen, and Mo Xuan sat around a table covered with maps.
The preliminary investigation pointed to only one conclusion.
This had been deliberate sabotage.
Someone had poisoned the camp’s water supply with a sleeping drug and then set fire to the grain stores.
Their most urgent task was to identify the traitor hiding among them.
“If Muxi hadn’t sounded the alarm, we’d all be dead by now,” Mo Yueyao said darkly.
Then she glanced at the supply reports and frowned.
“But our grain reserves have been completely destroyed. How are we supposed to feed an army through several days of wilderness?”
A guard entered the tent.
“Your Highness, Miss Qin requests an audience.”
“Let her in immediately.”
Qin Man entered and was promptly invited to sit down.
“Yueyao, I inspected the scene,” she reported. “I found traces of a highly unstable black powder among the remains of the granary. I also tested the water source and discovered an odorless, colorless sleeping drug.”
She paused.
“The drug itself isn’t lethal. It simply forces the victim into an unusually deep sleep.”
“But there’s a problem.”
“This compound must be dissolved in precisely measured boiling water before use. Anyone lacking sufficient pharmaceutical knowledge would either destroy the medicine or poison themselves during preparation.”
“In other words, the culprit is highly skilled in medicine.”
“You suspect one of the physicians?” the Princess asked.
“Not necessarily.”
Xiao Ruochen spoke for the first time.
His voice was calm and cold.
“For one person to place explosives in multiple grain tents and ignite them simultaneously would be extremely difficult.”
“This operation required cooperation.”
“We’re likely dealing with a group, not a lone individual.”
“I found something else.”
Qin Man withdrew a half-burned scrap of fabric.
“This was recovered near the origin of the explosion.”
She handed it to Mo Xuan.
“Brother Mo Xuan, you’re far more familiar with the fashions of noble ladies than the rest of us. Does this look familiar?”
Mo Xuan accepted the fabric.
But instead of examining it, he looked directly at Qin Man.
“Muxi,” he said earnestly, “I need you to know that I have no intimate relationship with any other woman.”
Qin Man blinked.
Princess Mo Yueyao burst out laughing.
“Our Muxi isn’t the jealous type,” she said. “Stop worrying about romance and examine the evidence.”
Only then did Mo Xuan reluctantly focus on the cloth.
Most of it had been burned beyond recognition.
However, a faint fragrance still lingered.
As someone who had spent years among the capital’s aristocracy, Mo Xuan was exceptionally familiar with the perfumes and cosmetics favored by noblewomen.
Sometimes he could identify a family purely from its scent.
Just then, Xiao Ruochen spoke again.
“I have an investigative strategy.”
His gaze settled on Mo Xuan, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
The smile looked perfectly polite.
It was also utterly chilling.
“It will require Prince Mo Xuan’s full cooperation.”
“Oh?” Mo Xuan replied with a smile of his own. “I’d love to hear it.”
“Lady Zhou Yi, daughter of the Governor of Zhongzhou, is among our delegation.”
Xiao Ruochen’s tone remained calm.
“Everyone knows she has admired Prince Mo Xuan for years.”
“Perhaps His Highness could employ his legendary charm and obtain some useful information from her personally.”
Mo Xuan’s smile sharpened.
“If that’s your plan, then perhaps the Grand Preceptor should investigate Lady Murong Xue.”
“After all, Chancellor Murong’s intelligence network is famously extensive.”
Seated between them, Qin Man nearly rolled her eyes.
They’re investigating an attempted mass murder and still managing to fight over territory.
The Princess immediately cut them off.
“Brother Mo Xuan, follow the lead connected to the fabric.”
“Ruochen, investigate the medical corps and examine all pharmaceutical records.”
“Move.”
Then she sighed heavily.
“As for food…”
“Our grain stores are gone.”
“For the next several days, we’ll have to survive by hunting and gathering.”
“Each commander will be responsible for feeding their own people.”
The meeting ended.
Outside, the camp was already bustling with activity as the delegation prepared to resume its journey north.