Let go

At the second watch of the night, the watchman would ring his gong and call out as he walked through the empty streets.

In a deserted alley, Zhong Linlan walked into the shadows under the wall, bathed in the dim moonlight.

Some people had already hidden under the wall, whispering under the sound of the gong.

"I didn't expect that becoming an official would be even more troublesome than before." The man spoke with a roguish tone, "Coming to the city to see you now has to be done like a clandestine affair."

Zhong Linlan chuckled and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Brother Cang. I'll treat you to drinks another day."

"Let's talk about it another time," Brother Cang stammered. "I have to tell you, she hasn't been back to your old house."

Zhong Linlan said lightly, "It's alright, there's no need to wait anymore, and no need to look for me anymore."

After a moment of silence, Cang Ge clicked his tongue and chuckled, "So you've finally come to your senses, or you've found a new lover?"

"Let's count them all."

"What do you mean by 'all count'?" Sensing the displeasure in his voice, Brother Cang's tone turned cold as well. "Given up?"

Zhong Linlan said slowly, "I can't quite remember what she looked like back then."

"It's better to forget about her. Although I think that girl is a paper tiger, she looks fierce but will cower if you scare her, and she can't possibly be the leader of any bandits, since she's a fugitive suspect, there's no point in keeping her in mind."

"Jiang Likun truly hates her. For five years, he not only hasn't given up searching for her, but he also tries to get his hands on and torture anyone who resembles her. Luckily, that girl is quite beautiful, and there aren't many who look like her. Besides..."

As Cang Ge spoke, he hesitated.

"What else?"

"I'm not sure either. There's another group of people who, I don't know if they have a grudge against Jiang Likun, have ruined Jiang Likun's plans a few times. They also seem to be secretly looking for that girl, and they're more generous than us. They're very secretive, and they've only recently left some traces."

"Are they from Weizhou City?"

"may be."

After a rustling sound of silver notes being rubbed together, Zhong Linlan said, "Please confirm their origins, Brother Cang."

There was another rustling sound, and Cang Ge chuckled, "Even if you didn't give me these, I would still help you, but now that you've given them, I have no reason to refuse."

As the watchman's gong faded into the distance, the two quietly parted ways.

As dawn broke, the Lu family mansion, as usual, welcomed the new day in an orderly manner, but inside Ningxiang Residence, everyone was in a flurry of activity.

A group of maids lifted the curtains and opened the windows, tidied the pillows and mats, carried basins and water, swept and lit incense. What usually took them 25 minutes was now done in 15 minutes.

Mu Qing sat in front of the dressing table, and just as she finished dressing, she saw Ning Gu call Shi Yu outside the door to give her a lecture.

"Why did you oversleep again? You're completely unconscious. I called you for ages and you didn't respond."

Shiyu lowered her head and shrank back, saying timidly, "I was probably tired from going out yesterday."

Ning Gu glared at her, "You were the only one who went out yesterday, and you're the only one who got tired?"

Mu Qing quickly stepped forward to comfort her: "Aunt Ning, don't scold her, I'm also fast asleep."

After going to bed last night, she thought about many things that happened during the day, and there were many things she couldn't understand. In the middle of the night, she got up again and lit half a stick of sleeping incense.

Shiyu, who was keeping watch in the inner room, fell into a deep sleep along with her due to the incense. It wasn't until the morning that Ninggu had someone pry open the door from the outside to wake them up.

Knowing that Shiyu was innocent, Mu Qing felt guilty and pleaded for her forgiveness.

Ning Gu took a breath and said earnestly, "Miss, there is a difference between master and servant. A maid should do what a maid should do. If you spoil her, she will only lose her sense of propriety and sooner or later she will take advantage of you and bully her master."

"I won't." Shiyu raised her tearful eyes. "I am grateful for Miss's promotion. Moreover, Miss is kind-hearted and the most generous person in the world. I only ask to serve you for a long time and I would never dare to have any bad intentions."

She was originally not qualified enough, too young, not clever and had no talent, so she could only work as a cleaning maid. After arriving at Ningxiang Residence and giving her name, she won the favor of the young lady and became her personal maid.

However, there were many things that Miss didn't understand, and neither did she. So the Third Madam sent Ning Gu to provide guidance and to manage the people at Ningxiang Residence.

Seeing Shiyu's earnest tone, Ninggu glanced inadvertently at the warm pavilion. Zixiao, who had been designated as her personal maid, was standing silently at the door. The words she had spoken to her when she came to see her last night were still ringing in her ears.

"Shiyu has spoken privately with the young prince's guards more than once..."

Such improper conduct, which suggests illicit relations, means that such a person should not remain by the young lady's side to serve her personally.

Ning Gu had originally intended to demote Shi Yu by taking advantage of her mistake, but now she hesitated. If Shi Yu was truly grateful and familiar with the people around the young prince, it would actually be of some benefit to her when she married into the prince's mansion with her mistress.

Thinking this through, Ning Gu gave a brief warning and said no more.

Mu Qing felt relieved and thought to herself that she must never use that sleeping incense too often in the future.

After paying his respects to Old Madam Meng, Mu Qing went to visit the Third Madam, who had caught a cold. Seeing that she was much better, he chatted with her for half a day. After returning to the courtyard, he began reading "A Thousand Poems" again.

In a few days, it will be the day of her wedding. She has learned all the etiquette she needs to learn. Whenever she has free time, she reads, and the more she reads, the better she feels about books.

As for Zhong Linlan, she has decided to avoid her as much as possible, and simply won't go to Lu Fei's place either.

The next day, Lu Tongxue came to Ningxiang Residence and said that Lu Fei had changed his mind for some reason and was praising Imperial Censor Zhong. However, she did not want to agree and argued with him, which ended in a quarrel.

"What a child!" Lu Tongxue said indignantly, puffing out her cheeks. "Not long ago, he was glaring at Imperial Censor Zhong and saying all sorts of bad things about him, but today he's calling him Brother Zhong. Doesn't he feel ashamed?"

Mu Qing leaned against the table and looked at her, thinking to herself, "You're just a kid. I used to have a crush on you, but now you can't even stand a few nice words."

"I was thinking that we shared similar ideas and might be able to talk things through, but who knew he would change his mind so quickly." Lu Tongxue felt upset and had to get it off her chest. "He must have been bribed. That Imperial Censor Zhong is really willing to spend money. I heard from the people below that he sent Xiao Fei several boxes of gifts. He really knows how to win people's hearts."

Mu Qing thought that Zhong Linlan must have returned the portrait to Lu Fei. But Lu Fei used to hate him and even went so far as to frame him. Yet he was able to make Lu Fei change his attitude so quickly. His method of winning people's hearts must be extraordinary.

Seeing Mu Qing nod, Lu Tongxue felt quite comforted.

She pulled Mu Qing aside and said, "Sister Qing, I used to be like you. Because there was a man staying in the mansion, I was too embarrassed to even leave the courtyard. Fortunately, he finally moved out, so it will be much easier for us sisters to see each other in the future."

"He moved away?"

Mu Qing could hardly believe it. She still felt lingering fear when she recalled their meeting that night and what he said to her at the temple fair.

Lu Tongxue nodded in agreement: "They moved out yesterday evening. I was relieved when I heard that."

Mu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. Now that he had moved away, he must have changed his mind and was willing to let her go.

The two chatted for a few more minutes, enjoying a relaxed and pleasant conversation.

Lu Tongxue smiled sweetly, her eyes sparkling with intelligence. "Sister Qing, have you received the coming-of-age ceremony invitation from the Prefect's family?"

The prefect's daughter was to reach the age of marriage in three days, and a coming-of-age ceremony was to be held at the mansion, inviting female guests to attend. However, the prefect's wife had just given birth and was still in confinement, and the daughter to be married was not her biological child, making the relationship somewhat complicated.

Mu Qing nodded with a troubled expression, "I've already prepared gifts, but your third aunt isn't fully recovered yet, and I don't really want to go out..."

Lu Tongxue frowned and pleaded, "Sister Qing, please take me with you. I have no other sisters in Weizhou besides you. In a few days, you will also get married. What will I do then?"

"Once your third aunt is fully recovered, she will take you to meet people."

“But the coming-of-age ceremony only happens once. If I get to know people later, it will be difficult to explain why I didn’t attend. I’m already seventeen this year, and I don’t have that much time to make friends as a young lady of the Lu family. It would be such a pity to miss an opportunity.”

Lu Tongxue was so anxious she was about to cry, and Mu Qing couldn't refuse, so she had to agree.

Fortunately, the Third Madam's health improved day by day, and she was full of energy when it was time to go out.

The prefect and his family lived in the back garden of the prefect's yamen, which was only a few walls away from the place where the court hearing was held. When Mu Qing thought of this, he didn't even dare to breathe loudly when he entered the room.

Upon entering the inner courtyard, everyone walks on foot; in the inner courtyard, there is naturally no need for veils or hats.

The Third Madam, with her hair styled in a peony-like updo and her flowing cloud-like shawl draped over her shoulders, walked between Mu Qing and Lu Tongxue. Mu Qing wore an autumn-colored brocade dress with gold cloud patterns, while Lu Tongxue wore a crimson dress adorned with butterflies and flowers. Both were dressed in magnificent and beautiful attire. They walked on the orderly stone-paved road, with high walls stretching on both sides. Ahead, the prefect's maids led the way.

They arrived early and saw no other guests along the way. It wasn't until they crossed the Nine-Bend Bridge and reached the pavilion on the water that they suddenly saw a maid leading a man toward them.

There was no time to avoid her, nor was there any need to avoid her. The person who came in, dressed in simple clothes, was none other than Zhong Linlan, who had recently moved out of the Lu residence.

Zhong Linlan had been getting along well with Prefect Liu recently because of his work on the case. He was going out of the city to investigate clues and would not be able to return for several days. He informed Prefect Liu in advance of the important matter and also sent him a congratulatory gift. However, it was not unexpected that he would encounter Madam Lu's third wife here.

He remained calm and respectfully bowed, saying, "Teacher's wife."

The third wife asked gently, "You seem to be in such a hurry; is it for official business again?"

Zhong Linlan nodded in agreement, "Your teacher's wife looks very well; she must be in good health."

The Third Madam smiled and remarked, "As you get older, even a small ailment can be quite serious. You young people should also take care of your health amidst your busy schedules."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Third Madam asked him to go ahead with his attendants, and Mu Qing and the others made way for him.

After offering a few words of thanks, Zhong Linlan hurried past as if in a rush.

He walked so fast that he almost stirred up a gust of wind. Mu Qing glanced up and saw him give her a fleeting, cold, indifferent look, as if he didn't know her at all.

Mu Qing couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart. She thought that as long as he stopped dwelling on the past, she would be safe, which wasn't so bad.