The door opened, and an old woman wearing a veiled hat walked in, carrying a black cloth.

"Same as always, blindfold us. If you want to live, don't try anything funny."

Knowing that wealthy families treated human life as worthless, the woman took the strip of cloth and, without hesitation, covered herself with it.

The woman blindfolded herself, stood up, and said, "Please rest assured, master. I left the city today to burn incense and pray for blessings. I have never been here before, nor have I seen anyone."

The old woman said coldly, "It's good that you know. If you dare to gossip, the master will give the order, and I'll crush you as easily as crushing an ant."

"clear."

The woman was startled and felt a pang of regret for coming.

If I had known this money wouldn't be easy to earn, I wouldn't have taken this business.

...

On the official road, two carriages were traveling slowly and steadily towards the city.

The people in the carriage were none other than Madam Su and Jiang Shuyue, who had stayed overnight at Qinglian Temple.

Madam Su and Jiang Shuyue rode in the same carriage.

Jiang Shuyue's mind was filled with the words Master Huiyuan had said.

Life is like a dream. Every beginning and end of a relationship has a cause and an effect. Gathering and parting are inevitable. Everything is preordained. If fate is misaligned, war will never end. The fate of this life will be repaid in this life, and the fate of the next life will be repaid in the next life.

She had originally gone with her aunt to offer incense at her mother's memorial tablet and had no intention of disturbing Master Huiyuan.

Master Huiyuan seemed to know she was coming and was waiting for her in front of the main hall.

Master Huiyuan invited her to his meditation room for tea.

After exchanging pleasantries, I told her a Zen saying that she only vaguely understood.

"Please accept my condolences, Yue'er. Your mother has already been reincarnated. If there is an afterlife, she will surely be your mother again."

When Madam Su saw Jiang Shuyue's furrowed brows, she assumed that Jiang Shuyue was grieving after paying respects to her mother.

She herself had not fully grasped what Master Huiyuan was saying, so naturally she couldn't tell her aunt about it.

Jiang Shuyue took Madam Su's hand and said gently, "Aunt is absolutely right. The deceased are gone, and the living are gone."

“You are not alone. You still have us and Sui Sui.” Madam Su squeezed Jiang Shuyue’s hand tightly.

Upon returning to the capital, Jiang Shuyue escorted Madam Su back to the Su residence before going home herself.

Back at the manor, Jiang Shuyue didn't even have time to change her clothes. She sent Qiuju and Lan'er away and slipped into her spatial dimension.

Fearing she might forget Master Huiyuan's words amidst her busy schedule, she wrote them down in charcoal notes and reviewed them several times to ensure they were correct before carefully pondering them once more.

The meaning seems simple on the surface, yet its significance remains unclear.

While Xiao Jingzhao was planning to crack down on corrupt officials, focusing on Jiangzhou, which was far from the capital, he was also preparing for the arrival of foreign powers.

The ministers were all busy with their own affairs, and the topic of the imperial concubine selection was put on hold and no one mentioned it again.

...

On the other end.

Lin Xiangzhi, who was collecting evidence in Jiangzhou, was like a frightened bird, unable to sleep soundly for several days.

For his safety, the Black and White Impermanence hid all the evidence they had gathered.

After all, the yamen runners were like madmen, constantly checking this and that in the inn.

That night, Lin Xiangzhi slept lightly for a while before waking up again.

The room was pitch black through the gauze curtains.

No, the room was pitch black, almost blocking the moonlight that was leaking in through the window.

Lin Xiangzhi rubbed his eyes.

Huh! It's so dark it looks like a ghost, but it has a human shape.

The air was filled with the smell of earth, and Lin Xiangzhi jumped out of bed with a start.

"Zhuxi, turn on the light quickly! There's a ghost in the house!"

In a panic, she grabbed the blanket and rolled into a corner of the bed.

Zhu Xi was fast asleep when she was awakened by her master's roar.

"Young Master, are you talking in your sleep?"

"Quick... quick, turn on the light! Do you think I could be talking so clearly in my sleep?"

"oh."

As soon as Zhu Xi sat up, she heard a deep voice coming from inside the room.

"Greetings, Lord Lin. I have been ordered to come and protect you. Please rest assured."

"you……"

Lin Xiangzhi lifted the gauze curtain and saw more than ten people dressed in black standing in the room.

“You guys were standing in the house in the middle of the night, covered in dirt. I thought someone’s coffin lid wasn’t closed properly.”

The lead guard's lips twitched violently, and he clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I'm so sorry to have frightened you, sir. We were traveling all night and encountered some spring rain along the way, which is why we got mud on our clothes."

"Lord Lin, please rest. I will lead my brothers to withdraw."

Before he finished speaking, dark shadows flashed past the window, and by the time Zhu Xi lit the candle, the room was empty.

"Young Master, they..." Zhu Xi was still sleepy and didn't see the people who came in clearly.

Lin Xiangzhi glanced at the window and said, "They must be the brothers of the Black and White Impermanence."

Zhu Xi: "..."

Lin Xiangzhi lay back down heavily and said to the bewildered Zhu Xi, "They're all secret guards, so we can finally get a good night's sleep."

"Young Master, they didn't say how to contact them if there's danger."

"Go to sleep, don't think so much. They're like night owls, always around us."

Lin Xiangzhi had witnessed the skills of the secret guards when he was with Xiao Jingzhao.

When needed, a high-five or a whistle, and they appear like phantoms, "whoosh," descending from the sky.

"I wonder if Black and White and Impermanence from next door have returned yet. Could they have fallen into someone's trap?" Zhu Xi looked worriedly at the neighbors next door.

"Don't worry about them. They're both very skilled. Even if they can't find anything useful, they won't be captured alive."

Lin Xiangzhi firmly believed this, yawned, turned over, and went to sleep.

At this moment, outside the wall of a secluded mansion, two dark figures sat on the branch of a large tree, quietly observing the scene inside.

After the maids and servants in the courtyard had all gone to rest, the two of them leaped from the big tree onto the wall.

The two had already scouted out the layout of the house, and once inside, they headed straight for the main study.

The two searched the study for a long time, even finding the famous paintings and calligraphy in the hidden compartment, but they couldn't find the account books or the letters of collusion with their colleagues.

Hei Bai glanced at the huge bookcase in the study and said to Wu Chang, "Guo Baoxian is no different from the other officials. This bastard is more cunning than a fox."

The two extinguished the candles in the study, opened the door, and looked out over the vast mansion.

Where can I find this?

Guo Bao had countless women in his harem. Who would he keep such an important item in?

"Go to the main house in the east courtyard."

Both Black and White Impermanence spoke in low voices.

The main house in the east courtyard was where the eldest daughter-in-law lived. When the two sneaked into the east courtyard, it was quiet and silent, and even the maids on night duty were asleep.

The two walked down the corridor to the outside of the main house, and Wu Chang took out a sleeping potion he had prepared in advance and blew it in through the window.

A moment later, guessing that the medicine had taken effect, the two pushed open the window and jumped inside.

In the bedroom of the main house, the candlelight on the lotus-shaped openwork candlestick was so faint that it was about to go out.

With the help of the dim light, the layout of the room was clearly visible.

Beside the canopy bed made of Phoebe zhennan wood, a maidservant lay slumped on the foot couch in front of the bed, her head resting on the edge of the bed.

Through the thin gauze curtains, a plump woman could be seen lying on the bed.

Black and White gave a gesture to Wuchang, and the two walked towards the dressing table and the wardrobe respectively.