Chapter 38: Switching Freely

The atmosphere was so eerie it was almost terrifying.

The guard, who had come to deliver the Crown Prince's message on horseback, was startled, staring at the scene before him in a complete daze.

Who was he? Where was he? What on earth was he seeing?

In the middle of a vast clearing, a young girl in filthy prisoner's clothing with disheveled hair had Zhou Shaoqing pinned to the ground, unable to move.

One of the girl's slender arms was pressed against Zhou Shaoqing's shoulder, while her other hand held a sharp, withered branch against his throat.

Hearing the sound of horse hooves, she turned her head to look at him. As her eyes shifted, a chilling smile played across her face.

Around them, hundreds of people were either sitting or standing, watching with strange expressions, holding their breath in near-total silence...

The guard hurriedly jumped off his horse, waving his hands as he rushed forward. "It's not like that, it's not like that! It's a misunderstanding! Sixth Lady, please let go. Lord Zhou must return to the capital immediately."

Xin Nian tilted her chin slightly, giving the young guard a meaningful look. "You know me? I don't believe I've ever seen you."

Meeting her innocent and radiant smile, an inexplicable chill climbed up the guard's heart.

"During the previous palace banquet, I... I had the honor... of seeing the Sixth Lady once while serving beside my master," the young guard said, trying his best to choose his words carefully, his eyes locked tightly on her hand.

A mere withered branch—yet he had the illusion that this thing could pierce Zhou Shaoqing's blood vessels and take his life at any moment.

"What is your name?" The girl's voice rose at the end, a hint of joy permeating her soft words.

"I am... Liuhuo." The guard didn't understand why his aura seemed to weaken by thirty percent just by looking at her.

"Oh." Xin Nian drew out the syllable, observing him with intense curiosity. "Is your master... the current Crown Prince?"

"Yes, yes."

"Then, do I know His Highness?"

Liuhuo felt a coldness in his heart and nodded hurriedly. "You... you probably do."

What did "probably do" mean? If they knew each other, they knew each other; if they didn't, they didn't. Adding a "probably" felt incredibly strange.

Liuhuo pointed to Lord Zhou, who was pinned beneath the girl and unable to move, and offered a forced smile. "Could the Lady please release Lord Shaoqing? I must take him back to the capital immediately to report."

"Oh, I see, I see." Xin Nian abruptly withdrew her hand and nimbly climbed off Zhou Linchuan. She even gave him a shy smile and a wink. "Sorry, Lord Shaoqing. I didn't... press too hard on you just now, did I?"

Her voice was soft and gentle, like a feather brushing past.

A smile lingered on her lips, radiating endless provocation.

The onlookers all watched her with indescribable expressions.

Too bold! They had never seen such a daring girl; today was truly an eye-opener.

Several guards from the Court of Judicial Review rushed forward to help Zhou Linchuan up, glaring at Xin Nian with indignation.

"My Lord, the two men she kicked to the ground earlier are still unconscious. It seems this girl knows martial arts, and her kicks are quite powerful!"

"No way, no way. Can't the Court of Judicial Review find a scapegoat, so you're trying to pin it on me?" Xin Nian clasped her hands over her heart, looking shocked.

"Unfortunately, everyone present can testify for me. I haven't left this group from beginning to end."

"Don't even think about framing me." The girl lifted her chin with a smile and turned to walk away.

"Lord Shaoqing, it truly was a misunderstanding. Regarding the disappearance of Princess Ju Ni from the Yunlin Villa, it has been verified to be related to the bandits roaming Heng County. The imperial court will dispatch men to Heng County to resolve it, and the Princess will surely be rescued."

Zhou Linchuan had not spoken since being helped up.

It wasn't that he didn't want to speak; it was that he was in too much pain to speak...

That damned little girl—her hands were ruthless and her heart was even darker. He had no idea what she had done to him.

Right now, he felt a stifling pain in his chest, suspecting that the brat might have broken his ribs when she pressed down on him!

"Lord Zhou?" After babbling for a while without receiving a response, Liuhuo couldn't help but glance at him.

The latter's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, his eyes staring gloomily in the direction the Sixth Lady had gone, as if he could burn a hole through her back.

Xin Nian walked back to her mother's side and began boiling water and medicine as if no one else were there, returning to her original, well-behaved appearance.

Old Mrs. Yu rubbed her eyes.

If she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes just now, she would have thought she had just had a vivid dream.

Her granddaughter, who usually loved to cry and had no will of her own, had just acted like a ferocious beast released from a cage, as if she might tear someone's chest open with sharp claws at any second.

To switch between being wild and being well-behaved so skillfully...

"Lord Zhou, should we head back as soon as possible?" Liuhuo pointed to the horses in the distance, signaling Zhou Linchuan to leave with him.

Zhou Linchuan took a breath, enduring the pain in his chest to force out a question, "Does His Highness truly believe that the fire at Yunlin Villa was the work of the Heng County bandits?"

"What else would it be?" Liuhuo gave him a cheerful look. "Does Lord Zhou think there is more to this case?"

Zhou Linchuan nodded hesitantly. "Sixteen bodies in the villa, all with their throats slit. Such clean and efficient methods look like the work of trained assassins. Are there people with such skills among those bandits?"

"The tokens of the Heng County bandits were found at the scene; didn't you see them with your own eyes, Lord Zhou? The evidence is as solid as a mountain; they cannot deny it." Liuhuo waved his hand. "Alright, whatever you have to say, say it back in the capital. Lord Zhou, please."

Zhou Linchuan still felt something was wrong. Before leaving, he cast one more glance toward Xin Nian.

The young girl was looking down, chatting with the woman beside her. When the conversation reached a happy point, her beautiful eyes curved into a smile.

How did she look like an exiled female prisoner! She looked more like a noble lady out on a sightseeing excursion with her relatives.

Zhou Linchuan left with a flourish of his sleeves, feeling sullen all the way.

The guard rode up beside him and whispered, "Does My Lord still find the exile convoy suspicious?"

"Princess Ju Ni offended many people in the capital. That exile convoy was not only accompanied by former members of the Jingzhao Prefecture, but also people from the House of Duke Xin, the House of Earl Yongkang, and the House of Marquis Enyi."

"The Princess had met with all of them before she disappeared. To vanish in a single night without any connection... I find that hard to believe."

Zhou Linchuan clutched his chest and coughed heavily. The pain in his sternum made him frown involuntarily.

Thinking of something, he asked coldly, "That woman just now, who was she?"

"My Lord, she seems to be the former Sixth Lady of the House of Duke Xin," the guard whispered. "Didn't Lord Liuhuo say he had seen her a few times at previous palace banquets?"

"Why do I have no impression of her at all?" Zhou Linchuan searched the depths of his memory but simply could not connect the person before him with the Sixth Lady of the Xin household.

How could he have no impression of such a bright, intense, violent, and lawless little girl?

Unless she had been a non-entity at those palace banquets!

"My Lord, regarding what that girl said about the omens of an earthquake and celestial changes... could it be true?"

"Otherwise, how could a perfectly fine imperial villa be reduced to ashes?"

"Nonsense and gibberish." Zhou Linchuan thought it over, yet found that what Liuhuo said was not without reason.

Perhaps it really was just the bandits burning and looting; perhaps he had simply overthought it...