Рeoрlе in drеаms сouldn't understand hеr. Тhey stаred at hеr with widе, frightеnеd еуes: "Thе General lived his whole lifе оn the rightеous раth..."
"Sо his lifе will definitеlу bе рrаised аnd sung about," she lаughеd, tying оn the maid's hair ribbоn, her eуes red. "Вut I dоn't nееd thаt. Sinсе I was little, hе аlwaуs sсоlded mе for bеing imрropеr. Nоw that hе's gone, I'll be еven less prореr."
"Onlу killing can reрау killing, onlу blооd саn sоothе blоod. Dоn't yоu dare tаlk to mе аbоut righteоusnеss, rерutation, forgivеness, or vindication! Тhe old man is gоne, and I wаnt their еntirе familу dead, wiped out, with no descendants left!"
Guan Qingyue was exactly this kind of unrestrained person, who refused to submit to etiquette or discipline. With her exceptional martial skills, she could easily escape family punishments after the age of twelve, roaming heaven and earth freely. Only Guan Canghai could make her behave for a moment.
Such a person, when she took a liking to someone, would disguise herself and stay by their side. If she couldn't marry the one she loved, she'd sleep with them to fulfill her desire. If someone hit her once, she'd hit them back ten times. If someone gave her a piece of pastry, she'd return ten.
Such a person, as a woman, laughed proudly amidst thousands of soldiers and horses, fighting on the battlefield, using blood to stop the spears.
Such a person. Swift in vengeance, daring in love and hate, a fiery steed clad in armor, carefree as the wind.
Such a person was now a lowly prostitute, buried in the mud.
"What's your name?" someone asked her in a daze.
She grinned and said, "My name is Guan Fengyue. Flamboyant Street, Dream Return Pavilion, Guan Fengyue."
...
The sounds of clashing weapons and galloping horses echoed in the dream. Someone on a warhorse seized the enemy general's head and turned back, seeing among thousands of helmets, a smile as brilliant as the sun.
That smile was beautiful—not a man's, but a woman's. Suddenly, it seemed as if red silk flew out from within the armor, tangling passionately in the intense light, dazzling the eyes.
His body stiffened, and Yin Gezhi woke up.
What a strange dream. How could red silk fly out from armor?
Rubbing his forehead, he felt he must have been poisoned by Feng Yue lately, leading to these bizarre dreams.
"Master." Seeing him awake, Guan Zhi handed over a pearwood box with a guilty expression. "This thing has come again."
Hmm? Looking at the box, then at his expression, Yin Gezhi frowned. "Didn't catch them?"
"We just arrived at the General's Mansion and weren't fully prepared, so..."
Waving his sleeve to stop him from continuing, Yin Gezhi stood up and opened the box.
Inside was a waist token and a letter. He read the letter first, narrowing his eyes. Then he examined the waist token.
They actually knew he was investigating Wang Han and sent these things right to his doorstep? Yin Gezhi let out a cold laugh. "How impressive."
"Master, what should we do?" Guan Zhi felt a chill down his spine. "Could this be a trap?"
Standing up to burn the letter, Yin Gezhi held the waist token and asked expressionlessly, "How many people do you have for relaying orders?"
"Five."
"Good. I'll give you five commands to distribute to them. Remember, give them separately. Note down which command went to which person."
"Yes."
Trying to play tricks in front of him? Then let's play properly.
After washing up and having breakfast, Yin Gezhi went out and happened to run into Yi Zhangzhu."Brother Yin, are you up?" Yi Zhangzhu smiled at him and said, "Today I'm going to the mountains to set out tea for passing travelers. Would you like to come along?"
If an ordinary person made such a request, Yin Gezhi would think they were crazy. Travelers on the road—wouldn't they bring their own water? Couldn't they drink from the rivers? What was the point of setting out tea for them?
However, since it was Yi Zhangzhu who proposed this radiantly compassionate idea, he nodded and agreed, "Let's go."
Yi Zhangzhu's reputation as a bodhisattva was well-known in Shadowless City. In summer, she distributed cool tea; in winter, she handed out cotton quilts. On One Grain Street, there was always a relief shed set up by the General's Mansion. Though it was uncertain whether all those supplies reached those truly in need, having such a heart was exceptionally kind—completely different from those flashy, pleasure-seeking courtesans in the brothels who earned money only for their own enjoyment.
The lowly courtesan inexplicably felt a chill down her spine. She looked around, then lowered her head again to continue feasting on her delicacies.
"If only every wealthy household in Shadowless City could donate a little silver," Yi Zhangzhu said as she climbed the mountain. "It's not sustainable for the General's Mansion alone to provide relief for refugees. But every time I go to other mansions to persuade them, even if they agree to donate, they don't look very willing."
"Brother Yin, don't you think people's hearts can be so cold sometimes? They have enough to eat and wear, yet they're unwilling to let others have the same."
Yin Gezhi pursed his lips, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Yi Zhangzhu continued on her own, "Sometimes I wish I could be a little more selfish, so Father wouldn't always scold me for wasting money. But when I see myself dressed in fine clothes and think of all the people starving in the world, my heart aches."
As if touched by emotion, Yi Zhangzhu suddenly began to cry. She crouched on the mountain path, weeping sorrowfully.
Yin Gezhi looked down at her and was momentarily stunned.
Yi Zhangzhu cried beautifully, like pear blossoms bathed in rain. Tears fell like strings of pearls, and as she wiped her nose with a handkerchief, not a trace of snot was visible.
"Anyone who cries will have snot. Some girls want to look pitifully beautiful, so they wipe it away."
Somehow, Feng Yue's words echoed in his mind. Yin Gezhi raised an eyebrow and suddenly smiled.
It was a genuine smile—the contours of his face softened, his lips curved into an exceptionally pleasing arc, and his eyes sparkled. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves overhead, casting dappled, enchanting patterns.
Yi Zhangzhu stared in astonishment, her mouth agape as she looked up, momentarily forgetting to cry.
"You..."
Snapping back to reality, the smile vanished instantly from his face. Yin Gezhi turned and continued up the mountain. "If we want to descend before dark, we should hurry."
"...Alright."
So Yin Gezhi could actually smile? It took Yi Zhangzhu a long while to remember to ask, "What were you laughing at?"
She was crying so pitifully—any man should have comforted her properly. Yet he laughed? Even if his smile was beautiful, that wasn't right. How could he do such a thing?
To her surprise, the man ahead replied expressionlessly, with utmost seriousness, "You must be seeing things. When did I ever smile?"
Shaken by his earnest tone, Yi Zhangzhu lowered her head and began to seriously wonder if she had indeed imagined it.
After delivering the cool tea in the mountains and returning to the General's Mansion, Guan Zhi approached and reported in a low voice, "The orders have been issued."
"Mm," Yin Gezhi acknowledged, then turned to Yi Zhangzhu. "I've just received some news. Could we speak privately?"Seeing Guan Zhi's mysterious demeanor, Yi Zhangzhu was quite curious and followed Yin Gezhi into the guest room.
"What did you find?"
Reaching out to open the box on the table and taking out the waist token to examine, Yin Gezhi said, "Is this something from your mansion?"
Glancing at his hand, Yi Zhangzhu was startled: "Steward Wang's waist token? How did it end up with you?"
"Just now, Guan Zhi said that the owner of an inn discovered some items from the General's Mansion, so they were all placed in this box and sent over." Lying without batting an eye, Yin Gezhi continued, "Perhaps the thieves found it cumbersome to carry while fleeing and wanted to discard it. It ended up being picked up by someone at the inn from a pile of miscellaneous items."
After examining the waist token twice and opening the pearwood box on the table, Yi Zhangzhu's expression changed upon seeing the map of the General's Mansion. She gasped sharply: "This!"
So that was it! She had wondered how the thieves could have entered the heavily guarded General's Mansion. It turned out there was an inside accomplice! With this waist token, anyone could infiltrate the mansion and lie in wait. Once night fell, they could follow the secret passage map to the study and steal items, ensuring a clean escape!
What a fine Steward Wang!
"I'm going to settle the score with him!" Slapping the table, she stood up to leave, but a figure suddenly flashed before her.
Reaching out to press against the door, Yin Gezhi frowned and looked down at her: "Don't act impulsively just yet. Steward Wang has served the mansion loyally for many years and has earned the general's deep trust. We must first find out why he betrayed the General's Mansion before passing judgment. Otherwise, how will you explain it to the general when he returns?"
Women tend to be more impulsive. Hearing his words, Yi Zhangzhu calmed down and thought for a moment: "What do you think we should do, Brother Yin?"
"We must find out why he did this," Yin Gezhi said. "Has Steward Wang ever expressed dissatisfaction with any part of the mansion?"
At this question, Yi Zhangzhu truly couldn't answer. She opened the door and called over a servant, asking quietly, "Where is Steward Wang?"
The servant bowed and replied, "He should be at his residence, but it seems he had an argument with his wife. The clothes we just delivered were sent back."
"Hmm?" Yi Zhangzhu raised an eyebrow. "Why would he return the General's Mansion's clothes after arguing with his wife?"
"This servant doesn't know either. Madam Li seemed in a bad mood. When I said the clothes were newly made, she retorted that Steward Wang already has clothes to wear, so why should he wear the General's Mansion's clothes?"
As he spoke, he shook his head in confusion: "This servant truly doesn't know if they were arguing or not."
How strange, Yin Gezhi tilted his head and said, "If you really want to know, why not have your maid ask the people at Steward Wang's residence?"
A great idea! Yi Zhangzhu immediately followed through.
Whether by divine assistance or sheer luck, extracting information went surprisingly smoothly. The maid soon returned to report, whispering the reason for Madam Li's tantrum.
"Absurd!" Yi Zhangzhu said angrily. "Father kept him in the mansion because he trusted him and didn't feel comfortable entrusting certain matters to others. And he, in turn, cares about status and betrays Father for it? What did they offer him? Gold and silver, or a promise of an official position?"
Yin Gezhi sighed: "This matter requires further investigation. It's best to wait until we uncover the mastermind behind it before passing judgment."No matter who was helping behind the scenes, the matter had progressed to this point, and it was only natural. The next day, Yin Gezhi found a large amount of unexplained wealth in Wang Han's residence and promptly sent the bewildered Wang Han to prison.
"The evidence is solid, I won't let him go!" Yi Zhangzhu trembled with anger. "Such a treacherous scoundrel—the fewer of them in the General's Mansion, the better!"
Indeed, he was a treacherous scoundrel. Yin Gezhi stood nearby, his eyes dark and gloomy.
Wang Han had once served as a deputy general under Guan Canghai. Later, his identity as a spy was exposed, and he defected directly to the Wu Kingdom, turning around to kill dozens of Wei Kingdom soldiers. In subsequent battles, he repeatedly made contributions for the Wu Kingdom.
He was a man of Wei, yet he willingly became a dog of Wu.
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