Du Qing confirmed he had not misheard, but his expression grew even more wooden.
He could go out... did that mean they were letting him go?
As he thought this, a faint click sounded, and the shackles that had bound him for many days were unlocked.
A breeze blew through the open door, but despite regaining his freedom, he did not move.
"Please." The young Jinlin Guard's face was written with confusion, wondering if this man thought the Jinlin Guard's food was so good that he didn't want to leave.
Du Qing took a silent breath and strode out of the Jinlin Guard headquarters.
The night was as dark as ink, and the orange halos emitted by the lanterns hanging under the eaves blurred the desolate long street. Du Qing stood at the street corner, momentarily unsure of where to go, until someone passing by in a hurry cast a curious glance his way. As if waking from a dream, he began to run in one direction.
The next day, the weather was bright and sunny, and Qi Shuo arranged to meet Lin Hao.
"I've already told Cheng Maoming about letting Du Qing go," Qi Shuo said, handing over a small box.
"What is this?" Lin Hao opened it directly and was somewhat surprised to see a stack of banknotes inside. "This much? Could it be dividends from the eatery?"
Had that little eatery with the consistently slim profit margins actually become successful?
After a moment of eerie silence, Qi Shuo explained nonchalantly, "The reward money for capturing Chen Mu."
Hearing this, Lin Hao's heart felt inexplicably settled.
Good, good—it still couldn't compare to her fragrance-free lotion shop.
She rested one hand casually on the open box, a soft smile hanging on the corners of her mouth. "Sent by Grand Commandant Cheng? It's quite a lot."
"Yes, it's all yours," Qi Shuo said naturally.
As a daughter of the General's manor, Lin Hao never worried about money. Even during the time she bought a house and helped beggars and finally tasted the feeling of tight finances, she would not place too much importance on wealth. However, this did not stop her from feeling happy after hearing Qi Shuo's words.
The young girl's eyes curved into crescents. "Then I'll keep it."
Seeing her accept it without hesitation, the corners of Qi Shuo's lips curled slightly. "Are you busy today?"
"Not busy. There are no new products at the lotion shop for now, and those girls have gradually sorted things out. As for the house, A-Xing is managing it, so I don't need to worry." Lin Hao said she wasn't busy, but in truth, she wasn't idle at home.
She was embroidering her dowry.
She wasn't particularly skilled at it, but she was passable. For things like the wedding dress, she had hired the best embroiderers for meticulous work, but she could manage simple things like pillowcases to satisfy wedding customs.
If the Lin clan knew her daughter's thoughts, they would probably die of laughter.
With A-Hao's lazy habit of embroidering a few stitches a day, she wasn't even as hardworking as her mother—who had been a bandit since childhood—when preparing her own dowry.
Qi Shuo could not imagine the scene of Lin Hao seriously embroidering. Hearing that she was free, he said, "Today I will accompany Cheng Maoming to the guest house. Do you want to come and see?"
Lin Hao became interested. "Did something happen at the guest house?"
"A Yuli maid has disappeared."
Lin Hao couldn't help but frown. "Does that mean there's trouble?"
Like Qi Shuo, she did not want the stable life she had finally obtained to be disrupted again. Furthermore, because of her experience staying by Master Mingxin's side in her previous life, she saw more clearly that if Emperor Pingle reclaimed the throne, it would by no means be a blessing for the state or the people.
"It depends on whether the person can be found in time."
"I'll go with you."
Thus, the eagerly waiting Grand Commandant Cheng was greeted by the Heir of Prince Jing and his betrothed wife.
The moment he saw Lin Hao, Cheng Maoming's mood became complicated.
Every time he saw the Second Miss Lin, he felt that a son like the Heir of Prince Jing was unnecessary.
Who brings their betrothed wife along to handle such serious official business!
"Grand Commandant, can we leave now?" Seeing Cheng Maoming spacing out, Qi Shuo spoke to remind him.
"Oh, please, Heir." Cheng Maoming sighed deeply in his heart.
No one is perfect; perhaps being infatuated with his wife was the Heir of Prince Jing's only flaw.
The group soon arrived at the guest house.
The Yuli envoy was making a scene: "We are visiting envoys, not suspects! What is the meaning of searching us over and over and not letting us leave?"
The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies was frazzled while trying to appease him. Catching sight of Cheng Maoming's arrival, he hurriedly sought help: "Grand Commandant Cheng, you've finally come."
Before Cheng Maoming could speak, the Yuli envoy vented his anger on him: "Lord Cheng, it was your subordinates who blocked us from leaving, wasn't it? I shall ask your Emperor if your country intends to place us under house arrest!"
Cheng Maoming smiled politely. "If the envoy wishes to see our Majesty, he may request an audience at any time. You cannot pin the crime of house-arresting honored guests on me, Lord Cheng."
"Then what is going on?" The Yuli envoy pointed to the guards stationed outside.
"This is protection," Cheng Maoming lied with a straight face. "Yesterday, a maid from your country disappeared and has yet to be found. I feared that heartless villains were lurking outside, so I stationed guards at the door to prevent the honored guests from being targeted upon leaving, and carefully searched the interior of the guest house to prevent villains from hiding within and harming the honored guests..."
As he spoke, he put on a aggrieved expression. "I did all this for the sake of the honored guests!"
Listening to these lies, the Yuli envoy only wanted to sneer. "I want to see your Emperor."
"Then please go. Take more people to ensure your safety." Cheng Maoming acted as if he were entirely considering the other party's well-being.
Whether they went to see the Emperor or wandered the streets, the people he feared were never those who walked openly out the front door.
The Yuli envoy snorted and strode outward. Sure enough, no one stopped him, but after a few steps, he returned.
"Is the envoy no longer going to see our Majesty?"
"I haven't asked Lord Cheng yet—has the missing maid been found? Surely she hasn't met the same fate as our poor princess?" The Yuli envoy found an impeccable excuse to stay.
He knew better than anyone why the Yuli maid had disappeared; his greatest fear was that these people would find her.
Cheng Maoming's expression turned serious. "Not yet, which is why I have come to continue the investigation."
"Then Lord Cheng must find her as quickly as possible."
As the two exchanged verbal jabs, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies greeted Qi Shuo, while secretly wondering why the Heir of Prince Jing had come along with Cheng Maoming.
As for Lin Hao, who stood quietly beside Qi Shuo, she was momentarily overlooked because of her male attire.
The Yuli envoy finally shifted his attention to Qi Shuo. "This is the Heir of Prince Jing?"
Qi Shuo looked over and nodded slightly.
Interest immediately sparked in the Yuli envoy's eyes. "I heard that the suspect who murdered our princess was drawn by the Heir after hearing descriptions. Is this true?"
"Yes." Qi Shuo was concise, his expression calm.
"Then the Heir's presence today is—" The Yuli envoy looked at the youth with jade-like skin, and a sense of disdain inevitably arose in his heart.
What business does a royal scion who holds a paintbrush have with this commotion?
Before Qi Shuo could speak, Cheng Maoming took over the conversation. "The Heir was invited by me. The envoy surely knows the appearance of the missing maid; let our Heir draw her to make the search easier."
*Our Heir?*
The Yuli envoy didn't notice anything amiss, but the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies gave Cheng Maoming a strange look.