Yun Zhao visited more and more places, and the colder her heart grew.
With the merit of the dragon bones, the officials of Linbo Prefecture had achieved remarkable political accomplishments, and Wen Changkong had also gained great fame.
However, this prosperity did not extend to the local villagers.
Aside from the sailors who risked their lives for Wen Changkong, the carpenters who repaired ships and made oars, the blacksmiths who forged nails and hull plates, and the fisherwomen who mended nets and sails were all conscripted into forced labor. Their wages were meager, and they often had to cover material costs out of their own pockets.
Yun Zhao laughed bitterly.
The annual expenditure of the Xiangyang Clan on dragon bones was astronomical.
With so much profit, it only enriched the corrupt officials and the Wen family.
She turned her gaze to Yu Fengyun, who had been aiding and abetting this injustice, intending to vent her anger. But then she noticed that although his clothes were neat, there were patches on his knees and elbows.
"Ha!" Yun Zhao poked at the patches mockingly. "What a loyal right-hand man, practically a stepson! Turns out the Wen family only gives orders, not money!"
Yu Fengyun stepped back, frowning deeply. "I've been following Uncle Wen to sea since I was a child. He's treated me well, and I don't need much money. We coastal folks don't care much about appearances; as long as we can make a living, it's enough."
Yun Zhao sneered. "If you want to be generous, don't do it at others' expense!"
After berating Yu Fengyun, she turned her attention to Yan Nantian.
Yan Nantian: "..."
He promptly admitted his mistake with a serious expression. "It was my oversight. I will rectify the governance and punish those responsible without leniency."
Yun Zhao narrowed her eyes, giving him a fake, polite smile.
He added earnestly, "But we still need to hunt the dragon whale."
Yun Zhao punched him in the arm. He pretended to be in pain, clutching his arm and smiling at her.
The man's smile was truly captivating—Wen Nuannuan bit her lip as she watched his profile, her eyes flickering with emotion.
It's so unfair, Wen Nuannuan thought. If only she had been born into the Yun family... she would have been treated with the same tenderness.
Just like how Yu Fengyun treated her.
Suddenly, she felt a cold gaze fall upon her. She looked up and saw Yu Fengyun's lips pressed tightly together, his expression half-mocking, half-self-deprecating.
He understood her.
He saw through all her thoughts.
How annoying. Sooner or later, he would become an obstacle, wouldn't he?
*
Yun Zhao walked forward along the cobblestone path.
The illusion of that stormy night kept flashing before her eyes.
"Tsk."
A small, triangular wound on the eyeball, made by an oyster knife.
"Tsk."
A slice of flesh cut from the arm, made by a kitchen knife.
"Tsk."
A wound piercing the collarbone, made by a fish-hanging hook.
...
Only the plum blossom scar was missing.
Yu Fengyun's expression was grim. "This is the last household. The man here has no past grievances or recent conflicts with Uncle Wen; in fact, they were on good terms."
Yun Zhao gave him a curious look.
She smiled. "So you've finally realized that Wen Changkong is no saint?"
Yu Fengyun said coldly, "I'm just reminding you not to be biased."
Yun Zhao: "Tsk."
The household was home to a father and son.
The father was young, only in his early twenties. Though his skin had been weathered by the sun and wind at sea, his features were still refined, with a clean and scholarly air.
He had originally been a teacher, but in these difficult times, fishermen were no longer willing to pay tuition for their children's education. With his livelihood cut off, he had switched to keeping accounts for the whaling ships.
When Wen Changkong was mentioned, the teacher sighed. "Uncle Wen has had it hard too."
A child clambered around behind him, waving his arms and shouting happily, "Whale—eagle!"
The teacher turned around, ruffled the child's hair, and said gently, "Jingsheng, go inside and sleep. Daddy needs to talk to the guests."
Upon hearing this, the child immediately stood up straight, gave a proper bow, and obediently left.
Though a bit clumsy, his manners were impeccable.
He was as cute as a little fairy, with skin like jade and snow.
"My wife died in the jaws of a dragon whale," the teacher said bluntly. "She was a fisherwoman, and even when she was seven months pregnant, she insisted on going out to fish. I couldn't stop her. That time, we set out in a hurry and didn't bring the death ginger flower. Who would have thought we'd encounter a dragon whale so close to shore?"
Yun Zhao listened intently.
"That dragon whale was over forty zhang long, fierce and strong," the teacher said, lowering his eyes and clasping his hands. "After Uncle Wen hunted it down, they found my wife's body in its mouth."
Yu Fengyun sighed. "My condolences."
The teacher shook his head, indicating he was fine. "Before she died, my wife gave birth prematurely. The child was wedged between the whale's teeth and miraculously survived... thanks to the blessings of the heavens."
Yun Zhao understood. "No wonder your child is named Jingsheng."
"Yes, that's where the name comes from," the teacher nodded. "Raising the child alone was difficult, so Uncle Wen took me in to keep accounts on his ship. When we went out to sea, I could leave Jingsheng in the care of... Sister-in-law Qiu."
Yun Zhao immediately realized. "Sister-in-law Qiu!"
"That's right," the teacher said. "I'm very grateful."
Yun Zhao nodded and looked around.
The teacher's home was simple, but even though he no longer taught, it still had a scholarly atmosphere.
She saw a bookshelf, a desk, bamboo chairs, coarse paper, and pungent, low-quality ink.
Curious, Yun Zhao stepped forward and picked up a paperweight from the desk.
It was a heavy piece of marble, smooth on one end and carved with a plum blossom on the other.
She had found it.
She asked the teacher, "This must be very important to you, right?"
He was momentarily taken aback, then his eyes softened. "My late wife gave it to me. She carved it herself back then."
Yun Zhao pursed her lips and, after a moment, slowly placed it back on the paper.
"I have no more questions," she said, clasping her hands and smiling as she turned around. "Let's go."
*
"It seems my stepfather's affair with a prostitute can't be hidden anymore," Wen Nuannuan said, biting her lip and wringing her hands with a bitter smile. "Our lives aren't actually good. My mother is from out of town, and she's beautiful, so she's endured so much humiliation, both inside and outside the family. She could only swallow her pain in silence."
Yun Zhao glanced at her. The girl was delicate, pure, and pale—exactly the type to evoke a protective instinct.
She then glanced at Yu Fengyun, whose eyes were flickering with heartache—clearly wanting to comfort her but hesitating.
Yun Zhao: "Tsk."
What a pair of schemers.
"Our detective seems to have it all figured out," Yan Nantian teased with a smile. "Care to share?"
Yun Zhao clasped her hands behind her back, tilted her head, and smiled at him.
"It's the work of a demon!" she declared confidently. "Wasn't that already the conclusion?"
Their eyes met.
After a moment, Yan Nantian sighed softly, hinting, "But a demon can't confess the whereabouts of the missing people."
She retorted, "If it's not a demon, does that mean you can resort to torture for a confession?"
He smiled and lowered his eyelashes slightly, tacitly agreeing.
Yun Zhao sneered, giving him a haughty look, and said word by word, "I say it's a demon."
She left him behind and strode forward.
After a while, she turned back angrily. "Lead the way!"
*
"Ah Zhao." "Ah Zhao?" "Ah Zhao..."
Yun Zhao sat on a round, curved-leg zitan stool, spinning herself around to face away from Yan Nantian, ignoring him.
He persisted for a quarter of an hour before finally relenting.
"...Ah Zhao is right. It was a demon. That's what I think too."
Yun Zhao gazed out the window, swaying slightly.
She was still not satisfied.
Yan Nantian sighed. "It's the corruption of the officialdom and the greed of people that gave birth to this demon."
She turned back and glared at him. "I'm not trying to protect anyone!"
Yan Nantian: "I know."
She fell silent for a moment. "Look at these people."
He only needed half a sentence to understand her. "They're all honest, simple folks. None of them could have orchestrated this."
Yun Zhao nodded in satisfaction.
"They're just seeking justice for their grievances and revenge for their losses," he said. "The real mastermind is hiding behind the scenes. If we force a confession, we might get something, but it's hard to say—they might not even know they're being used. It could easily alert the culprit—do you have any suspects?"
Yun Zhao didn't hesitate. "Of course, it's Wen's mother!"
Yan Nantian chuckled. "Ah Zhao..."
She raised her chin. "What?"
If he dared to say she was biased and fixated on Wen's mother, she would immediately throw the stool in his face.
"You really are..." He pondered for a moment, then joked, "Consistent? Unwavering?"
Yun Zhao: "..."
She smiled. "Should I change?"
"Don't," he said, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
Yun Zhao stared out the window for a while, lost in thought.
She wondered what Wen Changkong had done to make even the teacher, who owed him gratitude, turn against him.
Clearly, the teacher felt no guilt about what he had done.
As she pondered, a hand landed on her shoulder.
Yan Nantian’s hands were calloused, but his fingers were surprisingly flexible—all five of them could bend backward. Of course, he usually didn’t let her try; he’d get genuinely upset if she did.
He pinched her lightly.
It was his way of signaling that he had something to say.
Yun Zhao turned her head, tilting it up to look at him.
“Yu Fengyun’s martial skills are exceptional,” he said calmly.
Yun Zhao blinked in confusion. “Huh?”
If her instincts were correct, Yan Nantian was about to bring up something awkward.
Why was it about Yu Fengyun?
He gazed into her eyes and spoke slowly, “Last night, Yu Fengyun slipped past the guards and sneaked into Wen Nuannuan’s chamber in the middle of the night.”
Yun Zhao’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Oh?!”
Now this was something she couldn’t ignore.
“What did they do?” she asked eagerly.
Yan Nantian shot her an exasperated look. “...What do you think they did?”
Yun Zhao’s mind involuntarily echoed Sister-in-law Qiu’s voice—*“At night, he’d tie me up and…”*
Cough, cough!
He flicked her forehead. “Stop thinking indecent thoughts.”
Yun Zhao pouted. “Yes, yes, you’re the picture of propriety!”
To her surprise, he lowered his gaze and chuckled softly, a faint blush coloring his features. “Indecent thoughts should wait until after the wedding.”
The candle flame flickered on the table, its crackling sound crisp and clear.
He cleared his throat, regaining his composure.
Both of them instinctively turned their heads away, looking in opposite directions.
“We set sail tomorrow. I shouldn’t be troubling you with this tonight,” he said, “but I didn’t want any misunderstandings to linger.”
Yun Zhao eyed him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
“Yu Fengyun is skilled enough to evade all the guards, but he couldn’t escape Eunuch Shunde’s notice,” Yan Nantian’s voice turned cold. “Eunuch Shunde didn’t raise an alarm. Instead, he came to me and laid out the situation.”
“Huh?”
His grip on her shoulder tightened slightly.
He continued, his tone icy, “Wen Nuannuan once privately confessed her feelings for me to my father. My father agreed that if we find the true dragon at the Loulan Sea Market, he would appoint her as my concubine.”
He quickly held Yun Zhao down, preventing her from jumping up in anger.
“Don’t get worked up yet. Let me finish,” he said firmly. “This was never a sure thing. Eunuch Shunde only brought it up because he discovered their ‘private meeting’ and was afraid that exposing it would damage my reputation. So, he came to me first and revealed the agreement.”
Yun Zhao let out a cold laugh.
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So your future concubine was meeting another man at night, and they asked you how to handle it? What did you say?”
Yan Nantian lowered his eyes. “I told them to let it be.”
Yun Zhao nodded. “Sounds like you.”
“But, Zhao’er,” he said, “you can’t let others bully me like this.”
Yun Zhao laughed in exasperation. “...I’m letting others bully you?”
He raised an eyebrow and nodded shamelessly.
“If you doubt me and get angry with me, you’re siding with them against me,” he said. “Zhao’er, as the crown prince, defiance is my greatest taboo. If I dare to disobey an imperial decree today, who’s to say I won’t attempt a coup tomorrow?”
“So?” Yun Zhao suppressed her irritation.
“There are things I can’t do alone. I need your help again,” he said, his handsome face wearing a pitiful smile that tugged at her heart. He lowered his voice, whispering cold yet tender words into her ear.
“If we do find the dragon, I’ll lure Eunuch Shunde away from Wen Nuannuan.”
“Zhao’er, help me kill her, alright?”
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