"Master, something went wrong regarding the matter on Bitter Forest Street."
Xiao Cheng knelt on one knee, his bangs soaked with sweat and clinging to his taut brow bone.
Zhou Yun'an's hand holding the chess piece hovered in mid-air, the white jade chess piece gleaming coldly at his fingertips.
The black and white pieces are intertwined on the chessboard, and this is the most intense moment of the battle.
He tilted his head slightly, but his gaze never left the chessboard.
"What happened?"
The black jade chessboard emitted a crisp sound, which was particularly jarring in the quiet room.
Xiao Cheng's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice hoarse: "It was Lu Jingze's concubine. This morning, she took her away with the Prince's guards."
"Wang Xiuxiu?" Zhou Yun'an suddenly looked up.
His slender fingers hovered in mid-air, the white jade chess piece reflecting the morning light, now showing a hint of blood.
Xiao Cheng was taken aback, not expecting his master to be able to call out the concubine's name so readily.
"Yes, it's that concubine of the Prince's mansion named Wang Xiuxiu," he added cautiously, "She's said to be extremely favored by Prince Jing and his wife."
Zhou Yun'an's lips curled into a faint, cold smile as he rubbed the chess pieces between his fingers.
"Can you find out what the matter is?"
"Your subordinate is incompetent," Xiao Cheng said, his forehead touching the ground, his voice growing increasingly low. "We only managed to find that Wang Xiuxiu had sent a carriage towards the West Market. Our men followed them to Yongxingfang, where they were scattered by a patrol battalion."
The ambush on Kulin Street has been set up, and all that's needed is for Prince Jing's son to pass by so that an "accident" can be created.
Unexpectedly, Wang Xiuxiu took the person away ahead of time and went to the West Market, which was completely unexpected.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yun'an did not get angry. Instead, he chuckled softly, his laughter carrying a hint of mockery.
"West Market? It's actually West Market!"
Xiao Cheng was startled by his master's reaction. He mustered his courage and looked up, only to see Zhou Yun'an had already gotten up and walked to the window. Sunlight streamed through the window frame, casting dappled shadows on his handsome profile.
"Master, what is this...?"
"Do you know what this West Market is?" Zhou Yun'an asked, his back to Xiao Cheng, his gaze fixed on the distant West Market, where wisps of smoke rose from chimneys and the sounds of people could be faintly heard.
Xiao Cheng hesitated and said, "It's mostly a gathering place for ordinary people, a melting pot of all sorts of people, I don't know what's so special about it."
Zhou Yun'an sneered, his fingers unconsciously brushing against the window frame, but his cuff was unexpectedly snagged by a sharp thorn.
He stared at the torn cuff, his eyes filled with gloom.
"The royal family is the most hypocritical; on the one hand, they indulge in extravagance and debauchery, while on the other hand, they demand that their descendants 'understand the hardships of the common people.'"
As he turned, half his face was hidden in shadow, and his voice carried a chilling sarcasm: "Every year on this day, the royal family members go to the countryside to make a show—pulling up a few weeds and gathering some dry branches, and that's how they claim to know the hardships of the common people."
Xiao Cheng suddenly remembered that last autumn equinox, he had seen the carriages of various mansions in the suburbs. Those young men in brocade robes had indeed pretended to work in the fields for a while. At the time, he secretly sneered, but he never expected it was for this reason.
"But this..." he still didn't understand, "What does this have to do with Wang Xiuxiu? And why did she leave with her people beforehand?"
Zhou Yun'an walked back to the table, his fingertips tracing an unfinished chess game on the board: "If one truly wants to understand the people's sentiments..."
He suddenly pressed a black piece heavily onto the chessboard, the piece striking the board with a crisp sound.
"The West Market is a melting pot of all sorts of people, far more authentic than those artificial fields in the suburbs."
"You mean! Wang Xiuxiu actually took Prince Jing's heir to the West Market to observe the people's conditions?"
Even Xiao Cheng couldn't believe it when he heard this. Their carefully planned scheme had been ruined by the accidental mishap of this concubine of the Prince's mansion.
Zhou Yun'an pulled out a dagger as thin as a cicada's wing from his sleeve and gently lifted the edge of the thread to cut it off.
"The West Market is a haven for the poor. If you want to truly understand the people's plight, wandering around the West Market is far more useful than going to the outskirts to pull weeds and gather branches."
He gently blew away the silken threads between his fingers, then turned his gaze to Xiao Cheng: "The West Market is crowded and chaotic; it's not a good place to make a move. Inform General Han to postpone the operation."
"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Xiao Cheng was about to get up, but Zhou Yun'an stopped him by raising his hand.
"Wait." As Zhou Yun'an turned around, a thin crack suddenly appeared on the black piece of the chessboard, but he ignored it.
"Since she wants to act out a play about understanding the people's plight," he said softly, yet it sent a chill down Xiao Cheng's spine, "then let's give her a real... performance of the people's suffering."
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