Chapter 75: Spicy Pot (Part 1)
Those who know me say my heart is troubled; those who don't know me wonder what I seek.
— "Book of Songs: Millet Sorrows"
When Leng Yue left the capital, she never imagined that while the trees were still tinged with yellow upon her departure, she would return to find heavy snow swirling through the air.
Over these three months away from the capital, there were many things Leng Yue hadn't anticipated.
First and foremost, she never expected Prince An would simply have her idling at the Suzhou Prefectural Office without assigning any tasks for three whole months. Bored beyond measure, she ended up helping the Suzhou Prefect catch some petty thieves, earning such gratitude from the ordinarily mediocre official that he treated her like a revered bodhisattva day in and day out.
Then came the sudden passing of the long-ailing Emperor.
And after news of the Emperor's demise reached Suzhou, while anxiously awaiting Prince An's summons to return to the capital, the official dispatch she received instead ordered her to Liangzhou.
Once again, Prince An gave no explanation for sending her to Liangzhou, only instructing her to depart immediately. Following orders, Leng Yue promptly headed north.
Normally, officials stationed outside the capital weren't permitted to return casually during the period between an emperor's death and the new emperor's ascension. But after three months without seeing that person, how could Leng Yue possibly pass by her own home without entering?
Thus, upon reaching the capital's outskirts and seeing the city gates heavily guarded, Leng Yue still approached.
The guards were soldiers she'd never seen before, stopping her horse from a distance with faces sterner than the city walls themselves.
"Identify yourself!"
Dismounting, Leng Yue produced her Criminal Department badge from her robes. "Chief of the Criminal Department's Constable Unit."
The squad leader who came to question her frowned sharply, scrutinizing Leng Yue from head to toe.
During the national mourning period, Leng Yue had unusually donned official attire beneath a dark cloak. After long travels, strands of her tightly-bound hair had come loose, framing her fair cheeks flushed with pink. Standing in the whirling snow with sword in one hand and badge in the other, she cut a particularly striking figure.
There was only one woman in the court who wore this uniform.
"You are... Leng Yue, Chief Constable Leng?"
"Yes."
The squad leader neither granted nor denied her entry, instead turning with a furrowed brow to enter the city gate. Shortly after, a woman in full armor emerged from within.
Taller than Leng Yue, the woman's fuller figure was tightly encased in golden armor. With a red-tasseled longsword in hand, she strode proudly through the heavy snow, her commanding presence instantly reducing the entire guard squad to mere stone pillars.
Leng Yue watched blankly as the woman approached with an impassive expression before finally finding her voice.
"...Second Sister?"
Her second sister Leng Yan had originally been Captain of the Crown Prince Manor guards. Now that the Crown Prince was poised to become the Emperor, Leng Yan's authority had naturally expanded considerably.
Brushing fine snow from her eyebrows, Leng Yan glanced at Leng Yue's much thinner attire without any intention of inviting her own sister into the city for warmth. Instead, she asked coldly in an official tone, "What are you doing here?"Leng Yan had been giving her the cold shoulder for quite some time now. Ever since the day Leng Yue started staring blankly at Jing Yi, Leng Yan had lost all patience with her hopeless younger sister. So when faced with Leng Yan's unapologetically stern expression, Leng Yue calmly waved the token in her hand and declared matter-of-factly, "Just finished my assignment, reporting back."
"Did Prince An order your return?"
Leng Yan's Inner Cultivation far surpassed hers, and coupled with her imposing uniform, the question made one feel even more guilty. Leng Yue gently pursed her lips, which had turned slightly blue from the cold wind, and pulled out the official dispatch Prince An had sent to Suzhou. Steeling herself, she shook it twice in front of Leng Yan.
Leng Yan glanced at the envelope. "Open it."
Leng Yue froze, staring blankly at Leng Yan, who showed no intention of letting her off easily.
Over the years, Leng Yan had never given her trouble regarding official matters and had even secretly smoothed the way for her many times. Inspecting Prince An's official dispatch at the city gates—this was a first.
"Second Sister..."
Before Leng Yue could say more, Leng Yan insisted relentlessly, "Open it."
Gritting her teeth slightly, Leng Yue looked at Leng Yan's icy, unyielding face and finally had no choice but to tell the truth. "His Highness ordered me to Liangzhou..."
"Taking the western route from Jizhou is shorter than cutting through the capital," Leng Yan replied, as if completely missing Leng Yue's plea for leniency. She pointed toward the main road and said indifferently, "It's snowing heavily. Take the main road—it's smoother."
With that, Leng Yan turned to leave for the city gate.
"Second Sister..."
Without looking back, Leng Yan added, "Every guard at the city gate these days is more skilled than you. Don't even think about scaling the walls."
"Second Sister, has something happened in the capital?"
Leng Yan's steps faltered slightly in surprise, stumbling almost imperceptibly. In that brief moment, Leng Yue had already caught up to her, gripping her arm tightly.
Leng Yan tried to pull her arm back twice but failed. She could only shoot Leng Yue a fierce glare. "Obviously. If nothing had happened in the capital, why would you be dressed like this... Go do what you need to do and stop causing trouble here."
"There's something else."
"What is it?"
Leng Yue didn't know what it was, but after all her time working in the authorities, she had developed a basic intuition. The most likely reason Leng Yan was stopping her from entering the city, disregarding Prince An's authority, was that something was happening behind these walls—and it was undoubtedly related to her.
Leng Yan wasn't incapable of letting her in; she simply didn't want to.
Leng Yue's hand trembled slightly as she held Leng Yan's arm, but her gaze remained as firm as midwinter ice. "Let me into the city. Give me the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and I'll tell you what's going on."
Stared down by those phoenix eyes identical to her own, Leng Yan found herself unable to utter any of the harsh words she had prepared before stepping out of the city gate.
In a real fight, Leng Yue was no match for her. But when it came to investigating clues and gathering evidence, the matters at the capital's gates these days—Leng Yue could unravel them completely in the time it took to eat a steamed bun, let alone drink a cup of tea.
Leng Yan sighed silently. "Follow me."
Instead of leading Leng Yue into the city, Leng Yan walked a short distance in the opposite direction and stopped in front of a small roadside tavern, waving to the vendor warming wine.During these days, Leng Yan had been lingering near the city gate. When she felt cold, she would warm herself with a bowl of wine at this stall. The stall owner had already memorized this armored woman carrying a sword and warmly called out "Officer" as soon as he saw her. But when he noticed Leng Yue following behind Leng Yan, he froze for a moment before exclaiming, "Oh, isn't this..."
Before the stall owner could finish his sentence, Leng Yan shot him a fierce glare. The man immediately shrank back and forced an obsequious smile. "Um... ten coins per bowl, two bowls?"
Leng Yue stared at the stall owner's stiffly smiling face for a long moment before choosing a relatively intact broken stool to sit on. She tightened her cloak and curled in on herself. "One bowl. I'll have hot water."
"Right away, right away!"
Only after the stall owner had served the hot wine and hot water, and Leng Yue had cradled the bowl of hot water in her hands while Leng Yan downed the entire bowl of wine in continuous gulps, did Leng Yan pull out an envelope from her clothing. She slapped it onto the table in front of Leng Yue with such force that the table groaned in protest.
The envelope was sealed with paste. Whatever was inside produced a dull "clang" when it hit the wooden surface.
Two neatly written regular script characters were clearly visible on the envelope:
Divorce Letter.
Even if these characters were reduced to ashes, Leng Yue would recognize them at a glance as being written by Jing Yi's hand.
Leng Yue's body, wrapped in her cloak, suddenly stiffened. The bowl in her hands trembled, causing the water to slosh and nearly spill.
Hugging the water bowl, Leng Yue stared blankly at the two characters that appeared increasingly glaring in the heavy snowfall. After a long moment, she mechanically set down the bowl, reached out to pick up the envelope, and tore it open. In her haste, the single item inside immediately rolled out, bounced on the table, and landed squarely on her lap.
A small silver bracelet that only a child could wear.
The somewhat outdated-style girls' silver bracelet had been woven into a man's accessory with high-quality silk thread. Judging by the wear on the silk threads, this small silver bracelet had been worn as an accessory at that man's waist for many years.
Leng Yue didn't know how many men in the world would use a girl's silver bracelet as a personal ornament, but this man who had divorced her did exactly that. And he had worn it for over ten years, nearly risking his life for this bracelet...
Now this cold silver bracelet lay quietly on her lap, its chill penetrating through the thin official clothing into her flesh and bones, as if freezing her mind along with it. She couldn't even feel the basic sorrow anymore.
Before marrying Jing Yi, she had imagined this day countless times. After marrying him, such imaginings became increasingly rare. Before she left the capital for Suzhou, she had completely banished such thoughts from her mind. Heaven only knew why this day had to come at such a time...
Watching Leng Yue staring red-eyed at the silver bracelet on her lap, Leng Yan felt a pang of heartache. Her voice involuntarily softened. "The capital is in complete chaos right now... You should go to Liangzhou first to handle your duties. Don't delay Prince An's important matters. When things calm down in the capital in a few days, I'll go with you to settle accounts with that bastard."
Leng Yue stared at the silver bracelet for another long moment before pressing her thin lips together. She grabbed the silver bracelet along with the envelope and tucked them into her clothing. When she looked up, she didn't cry, make a scene, or overturn the table. Instead, she asked in the same emotionless tone she typically used when questioning witnesses for clues, "Does His Highness know about this matter?"Leng Yan furrowed her brow, glanced sideways at the vendor tending the warmed wine, and sighed softly. "You know that scoundrel's vile habits—he delivered the divorce letter to me and then vanished into the pleasure quarters to indulge himself. By now, the whole capital knows about it..."
Leng Yue listened quietly, not only refraining from slamming the table and leaping up but even curling the corners of her lips into a faint smile. "If that's the case, the prince sending me to Liangzhou is no different from you blocking me from entering the city... Attend to your own affairs. I'll settle the score with him myself."
Leng Yan froze in disbelief, staring at Leng Yue as if she'd seen a ghost. For a long moment, she scrutinized Leng Yue but found nothing amiss. Finally, she thumped her bowl on the table and hardened her expression again.
"Are you trying to pick a fight with me here?"
"No." Leng Yue replied indifferently, rising with her sword in hand and meeting Leng Yan's sharp, blade-like gaze without flinching. "But if I must fight you to enter the city, then so be it."
Leng Yue didn't know how much of their conversation the vendor had overheard, but her declaration of "so be it" was undoubtedly heard clearly—otherwise, the vendor wouldn't have trembled so violently, splashing all the heated water into the stove and extinguishing every last ember in the hearth.
Amid the vendor's frantic efforts to clean up the stove, Leng Yan sighed swiftly and softly, "Get lost and wait somewhere secluded... I'll bring you into the city after dark."
By the time the vendor finished tidying the mess and looked up, the two who had just agreed to fight were gone without a trace.
The payment for the wine lay beside the table. The vendor counted it—three portions.
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