After finishing dinner, Nan Shiying still felt a bit drowsy and leaned back lazily on the couch, eating fruit.
Xuan Yi came to report. The hidden guards had found the vendor who sold peace lanterns, but when they found him, he had already hanged himself.
The constables from the Capital Prefecture quickly concluded after examining the scene: suicide!
The coroner didn't even conduct a thorough examination. However, the deceased had no relatives or friends, and no one to arrange his burial, so the constables from the Capital Prefecture sent the body to the Yi Zhuang (a place for unclaimed corpses).
The hidden guards secretly checked and confirmed that the man had indeed committed suicide.
The person was dead?
And it was suicide?
The other party was truly impeccable.
"Did the deceased have contact with any suspicious people or join any suspicious organizations during this period?" Nan Shiying asked.
"Still investigating!"
There were no issues with the deceased's identity. Counting back three generations, they were all law-abiding citizens. It was just a life full of misfortune. He lost his mother at a young age, his wife in middle age, and had no children.
The common folk were gossipy and said behind his back that he was a lone star who brought misfortune to his parents and was shunned by relatives within three degrees of kinship. The relationship with his neighbors was also strained, which was why he could only be taken to the Yi Zhuang after death.
Such a person was actually the easiest to bribe, and sometimes it didn't even require bribery. Just a little bit of kindness shown would make them willing to give their lives.
The matter was like a tangled mess, and the other party's actions were difficult to fathom.
If the intention was merely to cause chaos, why was there no follow-up action after the patrol camp and Ministry of War were mobilized? Compared to the meticulous and complex preparations beforehand, it was anticlimactic.
"I understand."
Nan Shiying put down the grapes in her hand, feeling they tasted bland.
After Xuan Yi withdrew, she beckoned to Ji Jinmo: "Stretch out your wrist."
Ji Jinmo extended his wrist, and Nan Shiying placed her fingers on his pulse. Ever since the old man had drawn a portion of the restless Gu worms in Jinmo's body into her own body, the Gu worms in Jinmo's body had entered a dormant state, which was even more effective than drinking Serpent Shadow's blood.
It's just that old man... If the Gu King in the old man's body develops completely, perhaps he can completely draw out the Gu worms in Jinmo's body.
Damn it.
If she had known earlier, she would have spared Gong Zi Xun's life.
Since the Gu worms in Jinmo's body were not offspring of the mother worm in Yin Si Lan's body, perhaps it was the Wan Ku Lou (Ten Thousand Caves Pavilion)?
"What's wrong?"
Ji Jinmo rubbed away the frown on Nan Shiying's brow. He knew his own body well. Although he had experienced the violent resurgence of the Gu worms in his body after being affected by the You Lian (幽莲 - Nether Lotus), the situation had long stabilized, and it hadn't recurred in the past few days. Ying'er's worry was definitely not due to his current physical condition.
"I'm thinking about Wan Ku Lou."
"You think the Gu worms in my body are related to Wan Ku Lou?"
Nan Shiying nodded: "Yes."
"Wan Ku Lou will also participate in the Martial Arts Convention, right?"
Ji Jinmo grunted. He clasped Nan Shiying's hand in return: "I've been thinking, the Martial Arts Convention..."
"I want to go."
Nan Shiying didn't let Ji Jinmo finish his sentence.
She wanted to see if the mountains, rivers, forests, and lakes had remained the same over the past three hundred years, or if they had undergone drastic changes. She wanted to see Da Yuan, or rather, to see the world that had confined her before she ascended the throne, if it was still the same world.
"I understand."
Ji Jinmo saw the determination and yearning in her eyes. He felt heartache for her fatigue from traveling, but perhaps, deep in his heart, there was also some apprehension, a fear that once she tasted the wind of freedom, she would no longer wish to return to the windless courtyard.
Even though he knew she wouldn't.
Even though he knew she had willingly given up the free wind, willingly stayed confined within the windless walls with him.
Nan Shiying smiled, raising her hand to touch Ji Jinmo's head. She always unintentionally displayed a doting demeanor. Her physical age was less than his, but her mental age was far greater. Even though he was the powerful Regent, the living Yama whom everyone avoided, in Nan Shiying's eyes at this moment, he was just a worried, nervous, and adorable person who wanted to offer her everything, yet feared she wouldn't like it.
Ji Jinmo caught her hand and pulled her into his embrace, burying his head in her neck, inhaling her scent deeply.
...
The next day, Nan Shiying slept until noon again.
Old Du examined Nan Shiying and found no problems with her body.
"Young people should know moderation!"
Old Du dismissively pushed her hand away, picked up his teacup, poured himself a cup of tea, and smacked his lips teasingly.
Nan Shiying's face stiffened. She felt something was amiss. When she had just ascended the throne, she was busy with state affairs and could only sleep for two hours a day, yet she was still energetic. Now, even though she was tired, after sleeping for four or five hours, she had slept for another two hours during the day, and still felt tired and drowsy upon waking. This was abnormal for her.
However, she couldn't figure out what poison or illness in the world could escape the old man's diagnosis.
Seeing her frown again, Old Du put down his teacup and sighed leisurely.
His disciple was good in every way, except that she was too deep in thought and worried too much. Although she anticipated things in advance, it was also easy to damage her heart and veins. However, after interacting with her for so long, Old Du had come to understand that this habit was already ingrained in her bones and could not be persuaded by mere words. But in his entire life, the only ones he cared about were Gou Zi (狗子 - a nickname, likely referring to a pet or a close junior) and her. Since the habit could not be changed, he could only prepare more tonifying and strengthening medicines.
Nan Shiying suppressed the doubts in her heart and picked up a piece of pastry. Then she remembered that she hadn't seen Xiao Man and Gou Zi for the past two days. She thought that after the incident that night, one of them would come to find her. However, she had been groggy for the past two days and hadn't remembered them.
Nan Shiying asked Lü Wan if they had come to find her.
Lü Wan shook her head: "No."
She had seen them these past two days, but they always seemed to be in a hurry, and she didn't know what they were busy with.
Hearing that they hadn't come to find her, Nan Shiying stroked her chin and turned to ask Old Du: "Old man, are you forcing Gou Zi to study?"
"If I force him, will he obediently study?" Old Du clicked his tongue. If he were so diligent, why couldn't he memorize a single medical book?
That made sense.
Nan Shiying nodded in agreement.
"Lü Wan, go find Xiao Man and the other two. If they have nothing to do now, call them to Xin Yuan Ge, and also notify the small kitchen to cook more dishes."
Although the incident that night was a close call, Nan Shiying felt it was necessary to show concern. Xiao Man and Gou Zi had experienced life and death. Perhaps such a scene was not enough to scare them, but Ya Dan was just an ordinary child. Nan Shiying didn't know if Ya Dan felt inferior or out of place in their interactions. All Nan Shiying could do was to prevent her from feeling excluded.
Therefore, she called the three of them.