Master Mingxin walked quickly into the room and scanned it, his gaze landing on the table leg propped up by a brick.
He squatted down to look for a moment, his brows furrowed tightly.
Du Qing walked in, dragging the petty thief.
"Someone has been here," Master Mingxin said in a low voice.
Du Qing threw the thief onto the ground, lifted the table leg to pull out the brick, and probed his finger into the hollow section of the leg.
It was empty inside.
"Sir, the letters are gone."
Master Mingxin glanced at the thief on the floor. "Wake him up."
Du Qing took a medicine bottle from his robes, opened it, dug out a fingerful of ointment, and smeared it under the thief's nose.
A short while later, the thief slowly opened his eyes.
Seeing Du Qing’s cold, icy face, the thief scrambled up in a panic.
Du Qing reached out and pressed him back to the ground, a cold dagger pressed against his throat.
"Who are you?"
The thief was somewhat dazed. "B-big brother, spare me! I was just trying to steal a chicken!"
Why bring out a knife?
"Stealing a chicken?"
The thief raised both hands, trembling. "Big brother, I didn't even succeed. I hadn't even spotted the coop when my backside suddenly felt a sharp pain—"
He suddenly remembered, reaching back to touch his rear, and felt sticky blood.
The thief rolled his eyes back, about to faint.
Du Qing pushed the dagger forward slightly, and the thief was too scared to faint anymore.
"Tell me about the situation when you came in."
Sweat covered the thief's forehead. "I was passing through the alley and noticed the door to this house was ajar, so... so I wanted to come in and take a look. I didn't expect that after only two steps, I wouldn't know anything else..."
"What time was it when you arrived?"
The thief thought for a moment. "Around the beginning of the Shen hour (3:00 PM)."
"Anything else?"
"No." The thief shook his head.
"Think again," Du Qing reminded him coldly.
"There really isn't anything else. Big brother, just let me go, I’ll never dare to do it again—"
Before he could finish, the thief’s head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.
"Sir, we should leave quickly." Du Qing wiped the blood off his dagger onto the thief's clothes, his expression unchanged.
Master Mingxin moved to the side to avoid the blood spreading on the floor. "No need to rush. Pack up properly before we go."
Du Qing didn't ask again and immediately began to clean up.
Master Mingxin looked at the thief's corpse and sighed imperceptibly.
Although the thief’s crime did not warrant death, he could not be left alive to talk.
Du Qing walked to the base of the wall, picked up a hoe, and began digging a pit under the osmanthus tree. By the time Master Mingxin had packed the items he needed to take, the thief was already resting eternally beneath the osmanthus tree. Even the bloodstains on the ground had been washed away, waiting only for the wind to blow and the sun to shine, for time to quietly erase the traces in the small courtyard.
In a short span of time, Master Mingxin had changed his place of residence once again.
"Sir, let me escort you out of the capital. Your trail has been exposed; staying in the capital is too dangerous."
Master Mingxin shook his head. "I cannot leave the capital now."
Du Qing was anxious. "Those letters were stolen, which means they know your identity. The next step will surely be to your detriment!"
"If it were the people of Emperor Tai'an, there would be a net waiting for us when we returned, not just a petty chicken thief." Master Mingxin stroked his beard, looking puzzled. "The matter is strange; that person seemed to come only for the letters."
"But your hiding spot was so concealed, and there were traps on the path to the room. How did that person know?"
Master Mingxin looked up at the starry sky and sighed. "There is always someone better. Regardless, this person certainly knows my identity. The letters were stolen shortly after we moved; the oversight likely occurred during the move."
Du Qing lowered his head and cupped his hands. "It was my negligence."
"I cannot blame you; the move was too sudden and rushed, so oversights were inevitable."
Du Qing’s expression turned fierce. "If it weren't for those thugs causing trouble, we wouldn't have had to move. And that little girl who kept pestering you for fortune-telling—"
Master Mingxin’s heart stirred. "Du Qing, go and keep an eye on that little girl."
He had been in the capital for several months, and if there was anyone he had encountered who could be called special, it was that little girl.
The second Miss Lin of the General's Mansion.
Du Qing was stunned. "Sir, you suspect it has something to do with that little girl?"
"Whether it does or not is hard to say, but let's observe first."
Rationally speaking, a young girl could not possibly be involved in these matters, but logic was not everything.
Watching more could never hurt.
As for the connection with Qin Yuanchuan, it would have to be interrupted for a while.
In the dead of night, Lin Hao leaned against her bed, carefully reading the several letters by the lamplight, a smile curling her lips.
Acting at this time was indeed perfect. Qin Yuanchuan had expressed his longing for his former master almost explicitly, yet he had not yet grasped the teacher's whereabouts.
With this "beating the grass to startle the snake," she believed the teacher would not contact Qin Yuanchuan for a short time.
The only thing that worried Lin Hao slightly was that the teacher was suspicious and might eventually notice her.
But there was no help for that; she was willing to pay this price.
The next step was to present these letters to the Emperor.
Doing so would not be easy; at the very least, she could not implicate the General's Mansion. Lin Hao planned to use the hand of Cheng Maoming, the Commander of the Jinlin Guard, to accomplish this.
In her previous life, when she returned to the capital, she saw Cheng Maoming being beheaded at the vegetable market. At that time, Cheng Maoming’s face was ashen, but he was filled with endless regret.
He regretted that although he had offended the Crown Prince's tutor, Qin Yuanchuan, years ago, he had been too wary of the Crown Prince to act, resulting in his execution that day.
A man like Cheng Maoming was accustomed to leaving no future troubles. If she presented evidence to convict Qin Yuanchuan, he would surely be tempted.
Early the next morning, Lin Hao went out.
She walked from the East Street to the West Alley, browsing through cosmetic shops, clothing stores, spice shops, and jewelry pavilions. She drank flower tea, watched street performances, and finally bought two pounds of braised beef, returning home happily.
When Du Qing returned to see Master Mingxin, it was already dark.
Seeing his sallow complexion, Master Mingxin was somewhat surprised.
Those skilled in tracking were usually composed; he rarely saw Du Qing like this.
"How was today?"
Hearing Master Mingxin ask this, Du Qing’s expression twisted for a moment.
He listed all the places Lin Hao had been, his face darkening. "I never knew a little girl could shop so much."
Although Master Mingxin knew astronomy and geography, he didn't know much about teenage girls. He deliberated, "Women are probably like that. Continue tomorrow."
The next day at dark, Du Qing returned, his tone carrying a grit-toothed frustration he didn't notice himself. "She visited even more places today than yesterday, and even ate roast chicken at a tavern before going home!"
What kind of girl was this? No wonder she had the energy and thick skin to pester a master for fortune-telling.
Facing Du Qing’s faintly pleading gaze, Master Mingxin hardened his heart. "Continue tomorrow."
Five days passed in a row. Du Qing had visibly lost weight. He discussed with Master Mingxin, "Sir, why don't I just kill that girl?"
He really couldn't endure these days any longer.
"She was with several friends eating roast duck today and even mentioned you."
"What did she say?"
"She said it was a pity she couldn't find you at the bridge head anymore, and that she planned to wander around, hoping to run into you by chance. She said she’d bring them all to find you for marriage readings when she does."
Master Mingxin was silent for a moment, then said, "Enough. No need to watch her tomorrow."