The moon hangs low over the mountains, its cold, white light shining on the winding river, making the lush water plants and the distant, rolling mountains appear as deep and mysterious as ever.
Rong Heng spurred his horse and galloped across the river, quickly reuniting with his men.
All the men dismounted, and the one in the lead knelt down and asked, "Young master, what should we do next?"
Rong Heng turned around, gazing at the long road he had come from, and sneered, "On my way here, Wei Qinglou shot down three arrows. I'm waiting for you here. Go and pick one up."
His subordinate nodded in agreement, mounted his horse, cracked the whip, and galloped away.
A clever subordinate came forward and took the horse from Rong Heng's hand to feed it fodder.
This horse, named Zhaoxue, was a gift from a prominent figure to Rong Heng two years ago. At the time, he was in dire need of a good horse. Zhaoxue was spirited, and it took him considerable effort to tame it. From then on, he and Zhaoxue became closely connected. Many people knew that Zhaoxue was his beloved horse, and those closer to him knew that whenever he had free time, he would personally go to the stable to feed Zhaoxue hay, and occasionally ride it a few laps in the mountains and meadows.
Thinking of this, his subordinates dared not neglect Zhaoxue and took even more careful care of her.
Before long, the man who had been sent to find the arrow returned. He took the arrow from his waist, presented it to Rong Heng with both hands, and said, "According to you, this is one of the three arrows on the ground."
Rong Heng nodded, took the arrow, and went to Zhao Xue, who was grazing.
The horse was well cared for by its owner, and its coat was smooth and shiny. Animals with a sense of intelligence recognize their owners, and when it saw Rong Heng coming over, it affectionately rubbed against his waist.
Rong Heng gently stroked the top of its head with his well-defined knuckles.
Immediately afterwards, the men feeding the horses saw that he had gripped an arrow tightly in his other hand, and they couldn't help but hold their breath and stare wide-eyed at what he was about to do.
"Pfft—"
Without hesitation or the slightest reluctance, Rong Heng resolutely grasped the arrow, raised it high, aimed at Taxue, and forcefully pierced its neck.
The sound of arrows piercing flesh reached everyone present. Then they saw the horse, in pain, buckle its front hooves and kick the person closest to it, only to be firmly held down by Rong Heng. It fell to the ground, neighing mournfully until it finally collapsed in a pool of blood, too exhausted to struggle or neigh anymore. Only when it stopped breathing did Rong Heng finally get up.
He glanced indifferently at the blood on his hands, then bent down to pull out the arrow and threw it on the ground before saying to his men standing beside him, "Drag it into the woods."
At night, wild beasts roam the mountains and forests, and the smell of blood will soon attract them to devour the dead horse. When Wei Qinglou's men arrive and see the pool of blood and blood-stained arrows on the ground, they will likely assume that the horse has been poisoned and that its body has been carried away by tigers and wolves in the forest, without arousing any suspicion.
...
As soon as it was light, Wei Qinglou opened the door and saw Shujian waiting outside.
He paused, then asked, "Is something the matter?"
Shu Jian bowed and presented a scroll, saying, "Young Master, this is what I found in Rong Heng's guest room."
Wei Qinglou glanced at him, took the scroll, and unfurled it, saying, "It's just a scroll; why the constipation-like expression?"
When the scroll was unfurled, he suddenly found himself unable to speak, and his face showed the same constipated expression as Shu Jian.
The painting depicts distant mountains appearing and disappearing in the distance, while in the foreground are elegant pavilions and a tranquil green pond. A locust tree grows beside the pond, its branches and leaves lush and its pale yellow blossoms in bloom. Beneath the tree, a woman with a radiant face, beautiful features, and locust blossoms falling from her hair.
It was Zhu Jiayu.
The painting was inscribed with the words: "Flower hairpin in the hair, wind filling the sleeves."
There is nothing wrong with this sentence itself; the problem lies in the following lines: "A clear breeze blows a new tune on the pond, as we grow old together in longing."
Wei Qinglou pursed his lips, handed the book back to Shujian, and said coldly, "Take it away and deal with it."
"What...how do we handle this?" Shu Jian was rarely dumbfounded. Others might not know what his master was thinking, but he knew a thing or two about it. After all, his master had never paid any attention to any girls before. There were so many noble ladies and famous women in Yujing, but he would never give them a second glance. Only Miss Zhu was different to him.
Although he hadn't explicitly stated it, he already treated Miss Zhu as almost his mistress. Therefore, he was genuinely perplexed about how to handle the painting.
Wei Qinglou stood with his hands behind his back: "Burn it or throw it away, it's up to you."
He thought that Rong Heng approached Zhu Jiayu only to provoke his jealousy and make him focus on their relationship, so that he would not have time to pay attention to his behind-the-scenes actions. However, he did not expect that Rong Heng actually had designs on Zhu Jiayu.
He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, he saw that Shujian had already wrapped up the scroll and was walking out. He suddenly called out to him again and said out of the blue, "Never mind."
While Shu Jian was still wondering what was going on, Wei Qinglou stepped forward, took the scroll from his hand, and put it back in the cabinet in the room.
He came out and asked Shujian, "How's the investigation going with Rong Heng's men?"
Getting down to business, Shujian said seriously, "His men, disguised as refugees, spread rumors and stirred up trouble throughout the city. They've all been arrested by our people. However, some refugees have been affected and are acting very aggressively..."
Wei Qinglou nodded: "All those captured should be secretly executed. Tell the public that they have been taken back to their hometowns. Do not reveal their true identities or purposes. How is the construction of the bridges and roads outside the city progressing?"
This was the order he issued as soon as he arrived in Songjiang.
The people of Songjiang are now besieging the city, and the mountains outside the city have collapsed, causing faults and rifts in many places. This is why most of the refugees who escaped from Songjiang were young and strong, while the elderly, women and children who were physically weak were almost unable to leave Songjiang City.
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