“Haha!” Miao Yun let out a loud laugh as if she had heard something amusing. “Zhong Li, everyone says you are intelligent, but I truly doubt it. With such a dull mind, how did you find the Beitian Nunnery? I suspect you were just getting lucky.”
As she spoke, she took something from her embrace and presented it in her hand.
Zhong Li glanced at it under the candlelight. It was the bead she had dropped along the way to send a message to Lin Jin.
“See?” Miao Yun’s lips curved into a smile, her fingertip tilting.
The beads scattered across the floor, making crisp sounds as they bounced.
“Zhong Li, what other tricks do you have?” Miao Yun asked, looking at the beads rolling to her feet.
Zhong Li’s lips tightened, and she remained silent.
“At your wit’s end?” Miao Yun burst into laughter again. “I don’t mind telling you, this dark and dreary room is your tomb. You already carry the suspicion of being involved with the Cha Te grass. Later, when they find your body here, I’ll do some manipulation, bribe a few witnesses.
Tell me, won’t this crime be solidified for you?”
Zhong Li heard this and said with feigned understanding, “You’ve truly killed two birds with one stone.”
“Indeed!” Miao Yun said smugly. “It’s just a shame for you, carrying the blame and leaving a foul reputation for eternity!”
With that, Miao Yun twirled the dagger in her hand and lunged at Zhong Li.
Zhong Li was prepared and dodged, engaging Miao Yun in a struggle.
Miao Yun was quite capable, and with her familiarity with the surroundings, after four exchanges, she began to gain the upper hand.
Zhong Li was not afraid of Miao Yun’s moves, but because Wang Mei’s child was still in the room, she had to dodge with every move. As a result, she started to fall back step by step.
“Your life!” Miao Yun shouted excitedly.
As Zhong Li maneuvered, she happened to reach the connection between the inner and outer rooms. The moment Miao Yun’s dagger lunged, she flashed out of the room.
Miao Yun was furious and stomped her foot, following closely behind.
The outer room was larger, allowing Zhong Li to maneuver freely. With the open space, Miao Yun had no place to hide, and soon, in their struggle, Zhong Li took the lead.
As the silver light flashed, Zhong Li’s dissection knife was about to pierce Miao Yun’s eye.
A voice echoed in the room.
“Stop!”
Zhong Li looked back and saw Miao Hui, who had returned at some unknown time, holding Wang Mei’s child in one arm and a wooden hairpin pointed directly at the child’s neck.
“What are you doing?” Zhong Li reacted swiftly, pulling Miao Yun back to prevent her escape and holding her dissection knife firmly against Miao Yun’s neck.
Miao Hui said, “Zhong Li, let her go, or I’ll kill this child.”
As her words fell, the child woke up and let out a heart-wrenching cry.
Miao Hui frowned and looked at the child with confusion, asking Miao Yun, “Didn’t you give him the medicine?”
Miao Yun closed her eyes, not speaking, her meaning clear.
Miao Hui, enraged, looked at the child in her arms and scolded, “Be quiet, do you hear me? If you cry like this, people outside will hear!”
The child did not understand Miao Hui’s words. The more she yelled, the louder the child’s cries became.
“Be quiet! Be quiet!” Miao Hui grew more and more exasperated, her patience snapped, and she raised her dagger, preparing to strike.
“No!” Zhong Li cried out, applying force to her dissection knife.
Miao Yun, before she could react, felt a heat on her neck, and blood gushed out like a spring. She fell straight to the ground.
Zhong Li, with all her might, lunged towards Miao Hui. However, her speed could not match Miao Hui’s. Just as the blade was about to pierce the child’s heart, a whistling sound cut through the air, and an arrow pierced Miao Hui’s body, embedding itself in the screen.
Miao Hui fell to the ground, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Zhong Li scooped up the still-crying child into her arms and then looked towards where the arrow had come from.
A person holding a crossbow emerged from the darkness. It was none other than Lin Jin.
At the same time, a heart-wrenching cry from outside entered the room. Wang Mei, wearing only her inner garment, stumbled in. Seeing that Zhong Li’s child was safe, she frantically took the child and held them, comforting them.
“Miss Zhong, are you alright?” Lin Jin walked to Zhong Li’s side and pulled her up from the ground.
Zhong Li waved her hand. “Fortunately, you arrived in time. Otherwise, this child would be gone too.”
Lin Jin knew what she meant and felt a pang of pain remembering the innocent Zhong Wu You.
“Miss Zhong is intelligent. You left information for Miss Wang, who then notified us. Afterwards, you placed the golden cicada at the entrance of the Buddhist hall. Without that, we would never have arrived here so quickly.”
Zhong Li smiled and waved her hand.
Miao Yun and Miao Hui had been in the Beitian Nunnery for so long without being exposed, they must have had their own plans. Zhong Li knew it wouldn’t be easy to deceive them, and she was even prepared for her identity to be exposed. Therefore, she did everything overtly and covertly.
She let Miao Yun discover her sending messages, and she also made Miao Yun believe that she had foiled her plan. Later, she used Wang Mei and her fondness for the child to place the cold flame and the waist token inside Wang Mei’s undergarment, which she would wear when going out. If Wang Mei was anxious about her child, she would surely ignore her own weakened state and try to follow Zhong Li.
At that point, Wang Mei would find the waist token and the cold flame, realize Zhong Li was from Dali Temple, and understand what needed to be done.
Afterward, Zhong Li placed the golden cicada and its familiar scent in a fixed location. A single insect in the courtyard would not attract attention and could guide Lin Jin.
The reason she didn’t bring the golden cicada into the Buddhist hall was simple: the incense inside would interfere with the cicada’s ability to distinguish scents.
Zhong Li understood a principle: to defeat someone, you must first build them up. Miao Yun, upon discovering the beads she placed in plain sight, would overlook other things. While Miao Yun was arrogantly believing she had everything under control and her plans were perfectly executed,
Lin Jin would be her most fatal blow.
The plan unfolded as Zhong Li had envisioned: the mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole is behind.
Miao Yun and Miao Hui’s whereabouts were exposed, and those behind them were caught completely off guard.
Lan Heng, following the clues left by Lin Jin, led the Dali Temple personnel smoothly into the Beitian Nunnery. In just half a day, everyone in the Beitian Nunnery was under Dali Temple’s control.
Zhong Li ate something and rested briefly before changing into clean clothes and reappearing at the scene.
“Why did you come in? I’m here!” Lan Heng, along with several trusted Dali Temple confidantes, was searching the secret rooms of the Beitian Nunnery for all the incriminating evidence.
Zhong Li smiled at him and said, “The main culprits of the case are dead. Now, evidence is the most important thing. I’m worried something might be overlooked.”
As she spoke, she suddenly realized something and quickly explained, “Lord Lan, it’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that I…”
“I know you are worried about the Heir Apparent and want to gather all the evidence to rescue him quickly,” Lan Heng interrupted her.
Zhong Li smiled with relief, unsure how to respond.
Lan Heng sighed. He knew that Zhong Li was always more polite than intimate with him.
Since he wouldn’t force it, he took an oil lamp from a subordinate and walked to a door. “This place hasn’t been searched yet. Let’s go in and take a look together.”
Zhong Li raised her eyes to look at the door in front of Lan Heng. She knew it was the same tightly shut door she had encountered when following Miao Hui inside.