For a moment, Mingyi thought it was over—Ji Bozhai had discovered her, and she would surely be trapped in his Nether Domain and subjected to brutal interrogation.
Yet, after waiting a while, Ji Bozhai made no move. Instead, he merely regarded the poorly concealed panic on her face with curiosity. "What are you afraid of?"
"This servant... this servant naturally fears there might be villains in the estate," she offered weakly.
"The only villain in this estate is you—"
Mingyi's hair stood on end. "M-my lord, what do you mean?"
He paused, then finished with a faint smirk, "—the one who brought them in, no?"
Her heart clenched, then pounded violently. Pressing a hand to her chest, she let out a strained laugh. "What do you mean, 'brought them in'?"
"Just now, in the ruins of the storeroom, I detected a trace of Essence Power," Ji Bozhai said slowly. "An unfamiliar one. So I had Buxiu investigate all the newcomers in the estate. We caught someone—a man who clearly wields Essence Power yet pretended to be an ordinary servant in my household."
He wasn’t talking about her.
Her tightly clenched chest loosened slightly as she took a few steadying breaths. "What... what does that have to do with this servant?"
"Last time, you claimed to have seen a thief in the estate and insisted on hiring more guards," Ji Bozhai murmured, brushing his fingers along her cheek. "That man slipped in during that time. Wouldn’t you say you brought him in?"
She inhaled sharply, tugging at his sleeve. "How can you blame this servant for that? This servant came with you from the inner courtyard and knows nothing of outsiders."
He knew that, of course. He had only meant to tease her. But her reaction was far more entertaining than expected—guilty, as if she truly were hiding something from him.
Ji Bozhai studied her. "If you didn’t know him, why would you send him to burn the storeroom?"
Mingyi lowered her gaze. In truth, she never entrusted such simple tasks to others—if she wanted something set ablaze, she’d do it herself.
But since he asked, she played along. "This servant had no idea he wielded Essence Power. I only thought of a foolish plan—to have him light the fire."
Ji Bozhai fell silent, his dark eyes glinting as he watched her. The weight of his gaze made her waver, and she sighed dramatically. "My lord prefers gentle, delicate women. Why must you interrogate this servant so?"
"I do prefer gentle, delicate women," he admitted. "But I should at least know what my bedmate is thinking."
Mingyi tilted her head, her bright phoenix eyes fixed on him as if weighing her options. Then, with a resigned exhale, her shoulders relaxed. "Fine. This servant relies on you for survival, after all. I suppose there’s no harm in sharing these little thoughts."
Ji Bozhai didn’t believe she’d actually confess, yet her expression was disarmingly sincere. Her phoenix eyes lifted to meet his, unblinking. "When I received that Mulan Qing-colored gown, I couldn’t help but wonder—though my lord is a romantic, you’re still a Fighter at heart. How could your taste align so perfectly with a woman’s preferences? Unless... it was a leftover from another lady, passed on to me."
"So after the banquet, I asked Granny Xun where the fabric came from. She said it was a fine gift from Gong Wang. I remembered that. So when I heard the Hall of Judgment had come knocking, my first thought was to burn the crates in the storeroom—lest they uncover anything.""The task was assigned to that person, but as for how he carried it out, this humble servant knows nothing at all."
Mingyi spoke each word deliberately, then sighed softly: "I've lived a hard life since childhood, so naturally I've learned to be cautious in all matters, keeping many thoughts to myself. Afraid my lord might disapprove, I hesitated to speak plainly."
As she spoke, her eyes blinked repeatedly as she studied him, her expression cautious yet tinged with fragility.
Ji Bozhai listened in silence for a moment, finding her explanation somewhat plausible.
He turned to ask Buxiu standing outside the door: "Have you investigated that person called Twenty-Seven thoroughly?"
Buxiu stood half-turned at the doorway, answering respectfully: "The investigation is complete. He's a Fighter who fled from Sunspire City, hiding his identity just to earn a living. He bears no grudge against my lord."
Someone capable of condensing Essence Power into flames—such strength was truly formidable. Yet he was willing to remain a household servant?
Ji Bozhai found it hard to believe, but having such a person in his residence wasn't necessarily bad.
"Keep a closer eye on him."
"Yes."
Mingyi kept her eyes downcast, thinking to herself: better the monk die than the temple collapse. Twenty-Seven was thick-skinned anyway; it wouldn't hurt for him to suffer a bit.
"Besides him, there was another who infiltrated around the same time," Ji Bozhai continued. "It was this person who led Zhang Tai out of the residence, enabling him to expose Xu Lan's lies."
Mingyi looked astonished: "Is my lord's procurement system so unreliable?"
Though it was precisely because of this unreliability that Twenty-Seven had managed to sneak in and help her pass messages, surely not just anyone could infiltrate so easily.
Observing her genuinely perplexed and slightly annoyed reaction, Ji Bozhai's expression relaxed slightly as he said indifferently: "At the time, you urgently needed people, so procurement had to randomly select a few from the servant market. Who knew someone had planned so far ahead?"
"Was that person captured?"
"No. After leading Zhang Tai out, he disappeared without a trace. It was only through reports from other servants sharing his quarters that Buxiu became aware of him."
Mingyi pondered briefly: "Merely leading Zhang Tai to expose Xu Lan without any other malicious intent—this seems less like framing my lord and more like investigating a case..."
She trailed off mid-sentence.
Ji Bozhai glanced sideways: "Why stop?"
"My lord's discernment is peerless. What place has this humble servant to display her meager skills before an expert?" She grinned foolishly, trying to brush it off.
He reached out, turning her face toward him, half-lidded eyes scrutinizing her: "Foolish women have their uses, but since you're clever, don't play dumb with me."
Her cheeks smarting from his grip, Mingyi muttered: "Clever people don't live long."
"Liars live even shorter lives."
"..." So either way, she wouldn't live long.
Breaking free from his hold, Mingyi pouted: "This servant meant to say that the Hall of Judgment might have suspected my lord long ago, hence sending someone into the residence."
Ji Bozhai considered briefly before shaking his head: "Adjudicator Zhao is advanced in years and long past his prime. His subordinates are still wet behind the ears—none could devise such schemes."
He suspected internal affairs more than the Hall of Judgment.
But no matter. The Prince Ping case ultimately didn't implicate him, and that person had already left the Ji residence. They just needed to be more cautious going forward.
Straightening Mingyi's posture, Ji Bozhai said: "For the next half month, I'll remain at Flower Full Tower to dispel their final doubts. You stay here and continue your grand performance. When the show ends, your reward will appear by your pillow."Mingyi finally showed a genuine smile. "Thank you, my lord."
Ji Bozhai stood up, took a step, then paused again. With slight stiffness, he added, "Qingli is bland and uninteresting. I didn't touch her."
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