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Spring rain falls gently, wisps of smoke drift among the green willows, the Jianghuai region stretches for miles like a painting, boats ferry with songs, and swallows return to Wuzhong.

In the gentle spring rain, the chill of winter has been replaced by the beauty of spring. In the vibrant courtyard, the soft sounds of chess pieces being placed and gentle, relieved laughter can be heard from time to time.

"Brother Li, it seems this game is destined to end in a draw."

Inside the pavilion, two men were playing chess. The one on the left, playing black, was a middle-aged man in his early forties. He wore a jade crown and a long robe, and had dark skin. He was intently watching the game, seemingly very absorbed. To his right was a very young man, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, dressed as a scholar, with a square scarf wrapped around his head. He had thick eyebrows, bright eyes, and a handsome, refined face. To his right, leaning against the stone table, was a red-tasseled sword, its intricate patterns suggesting that this man was not only a scholar but also skilled in martial arts and possessed the air of a noble family.

“A draw is great.” He smiled and placed a piece on the board. “If every game ended in a draw, my brother wouldn’t complain to me about a piece or two.”

The middle-aged man laughed heartily: "Others may not know, but you, Brother Li, don't know? This is my only hobby, so of course I have to be a bit serious." He paused for a moment, then asked: "His Majesty appointed you, the top scholar, to supervise the waterways of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers. Is there anything unusual about it?"

"It's just a nominal position. His Majesty is considerate of my years of wandering, and today he has given me a pretext to return home and visit my parents." The young man surnamed Li shook his head, looking somewhat dismissive.

"I'm afraid the wedding arrangements are being rushed, Brother Li," the middle-aged man said with a sly smile. "The capital is so beautiful, you must be spoiled for choice. If I'm lucky, I'd love to drink your wedding wine, the one for the top scholar."

"Of course, how could I forget you, elder brother?"

"Come on, I know you too well. If you didn't have something to do, why would you come here and patiently play chess with me? Tell me, what kind of help do you have, big brother?"

The young man paused, smiled with a crinkle in his eyes, and shook his head: "It seems I still can't hide it from you, elder brother..." He took out a slip of paper from his sleeve and handed it over: "I know that as the governor of Jianghuai, elder brother is in charge of Jianghuai affairs. My subordinate, the secretary, is well-versed in all matters of Jianghuai, so I would like to ask elder brother to help me investigate someone."

"Who?" The middle-aged man was about to take it when Young Master Li raised his hand to avoid it.

"It must be kept secret."

A serious look appeared in Young Master Li's eyes.

"Tch..." The middle-aged man snorted coldly, snatched the note, and slammed the black piece between his fingers onto the center of the chessboard with a "smack":

"I'm grateful for the kindness of you playing chess with me."

He said with great interest, raising his hand to open the note and glancing at the words on it.

All that could be seen was black ink on white paper, written in a graceful, flowing style:

"Chen Yanzhi".

He murmured the name to himself, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

Three months later, the top scholar, Inspector Li, returned to the capital to report on his duties, detailing the resettlement of people displaced by the central waterways of the Jianghuai region. Among the revelations was the secret embezzlement of disaster relief funds by officials of the Huizhou Prefecture, the Grand Canal waterways, and the Huai River waterways, who had years earlier used the opening of sluice gates in northern Anhui as a pretext for dereliction of duty. The Emperor was furious and ordered a severe crackdown, executing seventeen officials, including the Huizhou Prefecture Prefect, and dismissing over eighty others. The Chen family, previously wrongly accused of dereliction of duty in this matter, was exonerated. For Li's meritorious investigation, he was rewarded with a thousand taels of silver and promoted to the rank of Vice Censor-in-Chief (a third-rank official). This caused a sensation throughout the court and the public, with much speculation and discussion, which will not be elaborated upon here.

Six years ago, in Yangzhou, Jiangsu.

He remembered it was still March, when willows were in bloom and flowers were in full bloom.

At the age of nineteen, he had already passed the imperial examination and become a scholar. He came from a prominent and prestigious family. He was also handsome, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and renowned throughout Yangzhou. For a time, suitors flocked to his home to propose marriage.

However, he didn't want to be tied down by marriage too early. He had studied and practiced martial arts diligently for many years, all for the sake of serving his country one day. He was single-mindedly focused on making great achievements and didn't want to spend too much time on relationships.

Or perhaps, he still feels that he hasn't met the right person for whom he's willing to make such a sacrifice.

It's just that my parents have suffered.

As a family of civil officials, his parents were both people who adhered to strict etiquette. They were always reluctant to refuse their relatives and friends, and they had no way to educate their outstanding but stubborn son. In this dilemma, they could only send him out for a stroll whenever there were guests at home.

He has always believed that March is the most beautiful time in Yangzhou.

There was still a slight chill in the air, but even more so, there was the hope of spring's return. Walking along the canal embankment, surrounded by fertile fields beneath the drifting willow catkins, he saw farmers busily sowing and planting. He gently inhaled the fragrance of the fields, feeling a sweet, refreshing sensation in his lungs.

Not far away was the river post station, a place so open to both north and south that it was a gathering place for merchants. There were many trinkets that could not be found in Yangzhou city. He was unusually intrigued and walked slowly from the embankment, stepping on the soft mud, toward the small market.

Then he heard a light, cheerful sound:

"Sister, I'm going to the inn over there to buy something. Are you going to wait for me here, or come with me?"

He turned his head and saw two young men by the post road. One, dressed in a blue cloth jacket, was fanning a seated person with a fan. They looked like travelers; the young man in the blue jacket was sweating profusely. The other, whose face was obscured by the embankment, appeared to be a young woman. Her long, black hair was somewhat loose, with several buns hanging down on either side of her face, fluttering in the wind from the fan. She raised her hand to wipe her cheek with her snow-white sleeve, shaking her head as if to say to the young man that she didn't want to go.

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