Unlike Southern Chu, the capital city in May was quite cold at night, so Su Wan chose a secluded little tavern.

Butler Li kept talking about his two months' salary. Su Wan wanted to get information about Bai Zhiyi from Butler Li, but she couldn't get any results. So she decided to treat Butler Li to drinks, since it didn't cost much anyway.

After a few drinks, Butler Li's face turned red and he started talking more, gradually turning his attention to Bai Zhiyi.

Judging from his tone, Bai Zhiyi was the culprit behind the downfall of the Duke's Mansion.

"If you ask me, Miss was simply bewitched," he said, slamming his hand on the table with drunken eyes, making the wine glasses on it jump. "The master and madam might not have noticed, but I saw it all clearly. But I didn't dare say anything back then..."

Su Wan sat opposite him, steadyed the swaying wine glass, picked up the wine pot and refilled his glass, and asked, "How did you figure that out?"

"Miss fell into the pond that night. Master and Madam were not home. The maids called for me," said Steward Li, picking up his wine cup. "It took half an hour to rescue her. Miss was lucky to survive. But she was like a different person. She said she wanted to get the jade pendant as soon as possible and left the manor the next day."

"What was the date?" Su Wan asked.

"August 9th." After saying that, Butler Li tilted his head back and drank the wine. "Ah, it's been a long time since I've had a drink."

Su Wan rested her chin on her hands, lost in thought. Her wedding day was August 12th, while Bai Zhiyi fell into the water on August 9th, three days earlier than her transmigration. No wonder Madam Yang immediately pressed her about the jade pendant; Bai Zhiyi must have sent her to ask.

It seems Bai Zhiyi understood the importance of the Resurrection Pendant, which is why she immediately sought it out from Madam Yang. However, the contradiction lies in the fact that Bai Zhiyi, having always been the eldest daughter of the Duke's mansion, shouldn't know anything about the Resurrection Pendant.

She subconsciously touched the resurrection pendant on her chest. How did Bai Zhiyi know this?

It seems not impossible that consciousness can be carried through time and space by life forces. But this was beyond her comprehension, and she couldn't figure it out for the time being, so she put it aside and decided to ask Zhang Ying when she saw her.

“Brother Su, I think you’re a good man,” said Butler Li. “You’re so strapped for cash yourself, yet you still treated me to drinks. What a good man.”

Su Wan smiled and said, "You're too kind. It didn't cost more than a few dozen coins in total, and I didn't even buy any snacks to go with the wine."

Butler Li shook his head and said, "No, no, if you were rich, it wouldn't matter. You're poor... yet you still invited me for drinks, I admire you very much. I'm planning to give you something nice."

After he finished speaking, he took out a tightly wrapped cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to Su Wan: "This is for Brother Su, hiccup..."

Su Wan noticed that the cloth bag was flat, very carefully wrapped, and tied with rope. Curious, she took it and asked, "What's this?"

“This is a treasure I bought,” Butler Li said in a low voice, his breath reeking of alcohol. “Don’t speak loudly, or someone else might hear and snatch it away.”

Su Wan glanced at the counter. It was late at night, and the waiters were all fast asleep, slumped over their tables. Only she and Steward Li remained in the entire tavern. Steward Li was probably drunk.

She untied the rope and peeled back the layers of cloth to reveal a piece of paper with the words "Su Wan" written on it. The handwriting was quite neat, resembling a girl's. To be honest, it was much better than her own handwriting.

She looked up at Butler Li: "Is this just a name?"

Butler Li said, "A name? This is the signature of a goddess, it has the power to ward off evil spirits, and ghosts and monsters cannot get close to it. I bought it for two thousand taels of silver... that was all my savings."

“I can’t accept it,” Su Wan hurriedly wrapped it up and stuffed it back to Butler Li. “Besides, it’s a fake signature.”

Butler Li said, "Nonsense, this is the goddess's signature. I've checked it with others."

“I know the goddess, her signature isn’t like this,” Su Wan advised. “You’ve been fooled.”

"You... don't try to fool me," Butler Li snatched the cloth bag back and stuffed it into his arms. "The goddess can bless me with wealth, I must keep this signature carefully..."

Su Wan was both angry and amused, and said, "You're spending all your money on autographs instead of eating?"

Butler Li swayed as he said, "I can skip the wine, and I can skip the food..."

Su Wan felt helpless. Butler Li had never seen her in person, and even if she told him she was Su Wan, he might not believe her. If he did believe her, it would be even worse; Butler Li would definitely make a scene and attract onlookers, which would only delay her from doing her job.

No normal person could survive that long after falling into the water. Now that we've confirmed that Bai Zhiyi was resurrected by the life-giving factor, the next step is to find her.

She stood up and said, "I have to go now."

Steward Li was already quite drunk and had fallen asleep on the table. She left the money for the drinks on the counter and left the tavern.

It was late at night, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets. Anyone still wandering around at this hour was either a drunkard or a playboy seeking pleasure.

She walked towards the city gate, wondering what to do next.

The Duke and Duchess Bai haven't returned, nor has Bai Zhiyi. They must still be on their way, which will be a real hassle to find.

The city gates had long been closed. The two soldiers guarding the gates, one tall and one short, saw her walking straight toward the gate and called out, "Young man, are you going out of the city?"

Su Wan then realized what was happening and said, "I'm sorry, I was thinking about something and I didn't realize I had wandered over here."

The short soldier chuckled, "It's so late, why aren't you home? Why are you still wandering around outside? Did you lose a bet?"

The tall soldier said, "He doesn't look like a gambler at all. He's a pretty decent kid. He's probably just arguing with his parents."

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