Ji Yunshu put the letter she received earlier on the table and pushed it toward Madame Jiang. On it, a few lines with the address of the restaurant could be seen, which took only half of the message. Her gaze, which had been on the letter, shifted to meet Madame Jiang’s eyes. She asked, “In the end, what do you know about it?”

However, Madame Jian presented her conditions instead, “If Teacher Ji can help me find Shuiqing’s whereabouts and solve this series of missing cases, I’ll tell you what I know.”

“You want to make a deal?”

“It looks like you catch on fast.”

‘That’s right! Madame Jiang is a calculating person, so she is unlikely to show all of her hand.’ What she did was merely whetting Ji Yunshu’s appetite, baiting her.

Seeing her hesitation, Madame Jiang continued, “I know Teacher Ji doesn’t like the capital and has no intention to meddle in the maelstrom of intrigues. As an intelligent person, don’t you want to have some achievements under your name? Are you really willing to be a golden carp in a tiny pond?”

‘A golden carp?’ She preferred to root herself into the pond. Summer has rain; Winter has snow! She faintly smiled. She reached for the wine bottle, swirled it and poured the wine into two cups, one for her, the other for Madame Jiang. Then, she spoke in a clear voice, “This humble one salutes you.” As she finished her words, she drained the cup in one gulp. She put down the cup before getting up and lightly patting her clothes. “Goodbye.” She was about to go, but Madame managed to shout in that split second, “Don’t tell me that you really don’t want the information on the Lin Capital case?”

Ji Yunshu’s footsteps halted. She cast a sidelong glance at Madame Jiang and replied back, “If you want to say, then say it. If you’re unwilling, then I won’t force you to speak.”

“You came to the capital to help Prince Rong investigate the ‘Lin Capital case’. Since you’re already here, what’s wrong with solving another case or two? As long as you help me find Shuiqing, I’ll give you all the information I have on what happened 14 years ago. I can ensure you that the information I have will help immensely with the breakthrough of the Imperial Duke case.”

“Why should I believe you?” Ji Yunshu turned around and straightforwardly stared at her. However, Madame Jiang’s cold eyes contained the confidence that she could see through people. She stepped up, closing her distance to Ji Yunshu and said, “If Teacher Ji doesn’t believe me, then it would be unlikely that you would agree to meet me in the first place after receiving my letter.”

The letter appeared to be Madame Jiang’s bait which she used to hook Ji Yunshu like a big fish. The result was self-evident, Ji Yunshu got caught hook, line and sinker. Yet, Ji Yunshu replied in contrary, “Madame Jiang, there is one thing you got right; I truly don’t like the capital. As for the disappearance case, I am unable to help you.”

After she heard the words coming from Ji Yunshu’s mouth, Madame Jiang hurriedly refuted, “When in Jinjiang, I remember how your eyes had turned red upon finding out that Ah Yu had passed away. You even went through untold dangers and difficulties and used everything you had to try proving that she had nothing to do with the murder.”

This high and resounding praise seemed somewhat too big for Ji Yunshu to bear. Originally, Madame Jiang had adopted a threatening tone to coerce Ji Yunshu to help her, but now, it had turned into an argument based on emotional reasoning.

Ji Yunshu merely smiled, yet it was one that contained bitterness. “We’re in the capital, not in Jinjiang.”

“Teacher Ji…”

“When I do something, I do not mind about the world and it isn’t my turn to care about the world. This humble one is but an insignificant painter. As for this case, it isn’t something I can involve myself with.” This is the truth. What qualification did she have? Even if she wanted to help, she didn’t have the ability.

Madame Jiang’s face showed her frustration. She lightly sighed, “Since you are this resolute with your decision, I won’t force you. However, the information I have on the Lin Capital case… I’m afraid that Teacher will not be able to hear it.”

“Do as you want.” The words lightly spilled out from her red lips while she opened the door and stepped out of the room.

Looking at her back, the question that burned within Madame Jiang finally came out, “What happened to your face?”

Ji Yunshu’s hands stilled on the door. Her gaze continued to fix in front of her while her mouth pulled into a serene but almost indifferent smile. She replied, “The common people say that a face would change eight times during a life, becoming different every time. My appearance has changed, what is so strange about it?”

Bam!

The door closed, leaving Madame Jiang who was turning red from anger. She didn’t expected Ji Yunshu to refuse her so bluntly. Her left hand clenched into a fist which she hammered the table lightly. Then, she took the letter left behind by Ji Yunshu. On it, it could be read: If you want to know about the “Lin Capital Case”, meet me at restaurant Heng Ping. Undersigned, Madame Jiang.

Under Madame Jiang’s fingers, the letter slowly crumpled into a ball which she ferociously threw to the floor. “Teacher Ji, you should have believed me.”

……….

As Ji Yunshu went downstairs, she collided with two people who were hurrying up. Fortunately, she grabbed onto the wooden railing in time. Otherwise, she would’ve been in a pitiful state.

“Do you know how to walk? Where did you put your eyes?!” The person, who she collided into, burst into anger.

Ji Yunshu glanced at him. ‘It’s that golden fish’s poop.’ She didn’t want to respond to him. She lowered her gaze and left without a word, but her shoulder was suddenly grabbed by Li Shiyan.

“Hey! Are you mute? You bump into someone and want to leave like that?”

“Let go.”

“Oh! So, you’re not mute, huh? Want me to let go? You bump into me, but didn’t even apologize and still want to leave?”

‘Are you trying to swindle someone by demanding compensation from just bumping into each other?’ Ji Yunshu turned around. Her gloomy eyes glint with a cold light. “If I remember well, aren’t you the one who bumped into me?”

“I…” Li Shiyan couldn’t reply back. He observed the person in front of him and felt like those eyes were somewhat familiar. The anger inside him dissipated in an instant.

Ji Yunshu reached up to Li Shiyan’s hand, which was still holding onto her shoulder, and overthrew it. She was prepared to leave, but Li Shiyan tried to grab her again with his evil claws. However, his hand had yet to reach Ji Yunshu’s shoulder when it was met with the attack of a whip instead. Li Shiyan promptly avoided the attack. If he didn’t, his arm would’ve suffered a big lash with blood flowing out.

“What kind of shameless bastard are you? You clearly were the one who bumped into someone first, but you still don’t want to let the other go. Truly a scoundrel!”

With a glance, he saw a woman in blue holding a red whip. Her hair was black like ink. Half of it was tied up while the rest fell in a cascade over her back. Her delicate face was very pretty. She was adorned with plum blossoms. She was like a budding lotus floating on the water. She had small lips and a straight nose. Combined with big eyes full of life, her appearance truly matched her personality. Truly a beautiful and vibrant young woman!

There was naivete in her eyes, but it didn’t hide the arrogance within her. She lightly lifted her chin and stepped forward.

Li Shiyan was utterly discomfited. She was the first woman to actually dare to whip him. “Who are you?” He reproved.

“Me?” The woman pointed her slender finger towards herself. The corner of her mouth curled into an arrogant yet spoiled smile.

Li Shiyan was also an arrogant and spoiled young man. This time, he met one of his kind. He snorted while taking two steps forward. He attentively observed the whip in the woman’s hand and said, “Yes I’m asking you.”

The woman wound the whip in her hand before arrogantly raising her chin. “I’m afraid that when I tell you my name, you will be so frightened that you will kneel on the ground and call me Great Aunt!”

“Shameless boasting!” Li Shiyan was extremely disdainful.

The woman’s mood turned bad. She pointed at him. “What did you say?!”

“I said who do you think you are to make me call you great aunt? Do you know who I am?”

“As if I care who you are! You actually dare to look down on me? I’ll whip you until you cry!”

Li Shiyan was prepared to catch her whip, but too bad, someone caught the woman’s hand just as she was halfway towards whipping Li Shiyan.

重声而斥：“景萱，不准胡闹。”

Soon after, she looked up and saw Jing Rong’s stern face. She could clearly see the impatience and disappointment in his expression as he reprimanded, “Jing Xuan, you’re not allowed to act willfully.”

‘Jing Xuan?’