Song Tangxue took a deep breath, suppressing the myriad emotions surging in her heart.
Seeing this identical result, Uncle Kui felt uneasy, fearing it was another trap. He warned, "Since the person is already dead, let's leave this dangerous place first, lest we be ambushed again."
Song Tangxue lowered her head and looked at the dead body on the ground by the moonlight. When she looked up, she saw a large red lantern hanging under the corridor. It was peculiar in shape: "This is a lantern from Wanhuozhai in the capital."
The lanterns were not lit, and Song Tangxue hadn't noticed this anomaly until now. Looking around, she saw that all the lanterns around her were made by Wanhuozhai.
Wanhuozhai specially made lanterns for the high-ranking officials and nobles in Kyoto, and each lantern had a special symbol on its bottom.
Although Qingxian is not far from Kyoto, it would certainly not have been transported here unless someone from Kyoto had spent a lot of money.
Upon hearing this, Uncle Kui was startled. Could all of this be related to the people in Kyoto?
"Let's go in and take a look." We'll find out what it's really like once we take it out for a spin. Hesitating all the time will definitely not yield any results.
Song Tangxue took the lead and entered the main house in the courtyard: "The house is quite big. Let's split up and see if there's anything unusual. We need to be quick."
There's no need to waste time on the dead; the dead can't speak.
Song Tangxue coldly stepped over the body. The house was silent. The three of them split up and quietly entered the house.
After searching several houses, we still found nothing. Just like the houses in the alley, there was no trace of gunpowder.
This is the most unusual thing. A place where people live shouldn't be this clean, especially since the owners of this house have just moved out. Is this soldier related to this family?
Or perhaps this rogue soldier has no connection with saltpeter, and it's just a smokescreen put out by higher-ups.
Song Tangxue casually picked up a teacup from the table and, by the moonlight, saw the whole picture clearly.
The celadon teacup was clear and bright, without a single impurity. I spun the teacup around in my palm. This kind of material was not something that ordinary people could afford, much less something that a rough and uncouth soldier would have.
Most importantly, it's dust-free and was recently used.
A complete tea set was laid out on the table. Song Tangxue had an idea and walked to the bed to touch the bedding. It was silky smooth to the touch and embroidered with delicate mandarin duck patterns.
The utensils commonly used in this room are not for ordinary people, and most of them come from famous shops in Kyoto.
The people living here are not soldiers or thugs at all, or rather, there have never been any soldiers or thugs from beginning to end.
Instead, he was a pampered Kyoto resident, so he was well-informed. He received the news when someone was investigating, set a trap to leave Kyoto, and was able to get the government troops to stop him.
One thing leads to another. Song Tangxue pulled back the quilt and found a groove in the bed. Somewhat surprised, Song Tangxue reached in and took out the things inside.
The token felt warm and smooth to the touch, a pure black piece. Under the moonlight, the words "Dark Moon" were clearly visible. Song Tangxue's fingers traced the raised patterns on the token, landing on the word "Dark" as she murmured, "Dark Moon, Dark Sixteen..."
After thinking for a moment, Song Tangxue hid the token close to her body.
The three met in the front yard. Song Tangxue concealed the matter of the token and asked them, "Did you get anything?"
Uncle Kui shook his head, and Dark Sixteen's eyes flashed: "The furnishings here are all very expensive."
Song Tangxue sighed, "Let's go out first."
Looking at Dark Sixteen, he casually asked, "You're Sixteen? Then you have quite a few people. Do you have any tokens to show your status?"
An Sixteen paused for a moment, his expression hidden by the mask: "No, our master doesn't have the habit of carving tokens. Everyone who needs to know him knows him."
Those they shouldn't know are not their responsibility.
Song Tangxue smiled but didn't reply.
The three of them then moved along the corner of the wall, concealing themselves as they went outside, climbed over the wall, and landed on the silent street.
As his feet touched the ground, Uncle Kui breathed a sigh of relief: "It's late, let's go back to the inn."
A cold wind swept across the ground, swirling up a few leaves; the night was desolate.
"Whoosh—"
A sharp whooshing sound came hurtling through the air. Song Tangxue's ears twitched, and she looked up at the willow tree across the street. A cold glint greeted her.
The Dark Sixteen sword flew out from the side, quickly deflecting the arrow, which was then knocked off course and fell to the ground.
Seeing that his attack had missed, the man in black on the willow tree used the tree's height to leap over the wall behind him and disappear into another street.
Dark Sixteen sheathed his sword, his brows furrowing as he stared at the disappearing figure of the man in black. He then turned to chase after him.
"No need to chase them," Song Tangxue said in a deep voice, stopping An Shiliu and Uncle Kui.
"I'm afraid this person deliberately lured us in. It seems our investigation in this house has been discovered." Song Tangxue looked up at the moon, its light as clear as water, illuminating her eyes.
“If we rush back to the inn now, we could easily run into danger, and there is no one in the inn to protect us.”
A cool breeze blew, and Song Tangxue looked at the buildings in the distance: "Let's go to the county government office."
The yamen runners on night duty were drowsy, the county government gates were tightly closed, and the moonlight shone on the doorway, casting crooked shadows.
Song Tangxue, who had come all the way, raised her hand and knocked on the door. The yamen runners were startled awake. They pushed each other and mumbled a few words before finally falling silent.
"Bang bang bang..."
Uncle Kui pulled the ring on the door and knocked on the heavy door.
The bailiffs, thoroughly annoyed, yawned as they opened the door: "What are you knocking for? We're in a hurry... Your Highness, Princess!"
Upon opening the door, he was greeted by a token symbolizing the Crown Prince pointing directly at his forehead, with the enormous character "显" (Xian) immediately catching his eye.
This was given to her by the Emperor when he bestowed the marriage upon her; it was considered a royal symbol.
The yamen runners were startled awake. They swallowed hard as they looked at Song Tangxue, whose face was ashen, at the door, and hurriedly welcomed the group in.
County Magistrate Lu Xian was woken from his sleep and hurriedly dressed to see Song Tangxue, where he performed the proper courtesies.
Lu Xian wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked tentatively with a fawning smile, "Your Highness, is there anything you need for my visit so late at night? Just say the word, and I will do my best to handle it perfectly."
Song Tangxue put down her teacup: "Lord Lu, since you call me Crown Princess, you should know what you should ask and what you shouldn't ask."
Looking coldly at the middle-aged man who was covered in cold sweat, Song Tangxue pondered a way to deal with him. Now that her life was saved, she needed to think of a way to dispel Lu Xian's suspicions.
Lu Xian forced a smile: "Yes, yes, yes, it was I who overstepped my bounds."
How could this put people at ease? The county magistrate was a minor official, and his record wasn't exactly clean. He was worried that the Crown Princess was there to investigate these matters, and if that happened, he would be in deep trouble.
Lu Xian's legs trembled slightly as he stood respectfully beside Song Tangxue and personally poured her tea.
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