The carriage headed straight for the East Market.

Chen Ji lifted the curtain and silently observed the desolate street. As the curtain swayed, the light and shadows in his eyes continuously flickered.

Jin Zhu sat opposite him, holding a bronze hand warmer, and said gently, “The princess is not a good liar. People with pure hearts haven’t explored human nature; their lies can’t deceive others, only themselves.”

Without turning his head, Chen Ji asked, “What are you trying to say, Lord Jin Zhu?”

Jin Zhu was silent for a moment. “The princess is well aware of her situation. She said those things because she didn’t want to implicate you. You’re a smart person; if I can see it, you certainly can too. Having witnessed so much deceit at Mount Wunian and within the Secret Service, one can’t help but sigh when encountering such a scene. But I must warn you: the general trend cannot be resisted.”

Chen Ji asked, “Lord Jin Zhu, what is the general trend?”

Jin Zhu replied, “The Emperor wants Prince Jing dead, the Chief Minister also wants Prince Jing dead. Everyone with power in the Ning Dynasty wants him dead, so he will surely die. That is the general trend.”

“Understood.” Chen Ji suddenly recalled his master’s words about the divination: Prince Jing’s mansion was doomed, a matter of heaven’s will.

Jin Zhu said earnestly, “Listen to my advice: turn around, forget them, and pretend you’ve never met them.” He continued, “When I was first sent to Mount Wunian, I had very good friends and a girl I liked. I thought I’d never forget them, but now, looking back, I can’t even recall their faces.”

Chen Ji smiled. “Don’t worry, my lord, I understand.”

Jin Zhu eyed him skeptically, finally sighing, “It’s good that you understand.”

Looking out the window, Chen Ji changed the subject. “My lord, what’s the plan after capturing Consort Yun?”

Jin Zhu thought for a moment. “Next is Bailong’s business; it has nothing to do with us. Bailong will probably quickly gather irrefutable evidence against Prince Jing’s mansion and the Luotian Sect, and then…” He looked at Chen Ji’s expression. “Then, confiscation of property and execution.”

Chen Ji said nothing more.

Jin Zhu, sitting opposite him, mused, “I wonder why Consort Yun was so alert, fleeing even before the Liu family’s uprising. Someone must have been tipping her off.”

Chen Ji calmly lowered the curtain. “My lord, we’ve arrived.” With that, he lifted the door curtain, bent down, and stepped out of the carriage.

The two residential blocks near Anle Street had been sealed off by the Jie Fan Guards, allowing no entry or exit. Secret agents were searching house by house through the narrow alleys, and all residents were brought out of their homes, lining up in the alleys to await questioning. Inside every house, every possible hiding place was thoroughly searched; even the floorboards were meticulously tapped with knife handles to check for hollow spaces.

Chen Ji looked up and saw Yun Yang in black robes, standing with folded arms on the ridge of a tavern roof, his eyes scanning the street like a hawk. Jiao Tu lay on the ridge next to Yun Yang, legs crossed, a bamboo hat, presumably taken from a Jie Fan Guard, covering her face. Her toes dangled idly, completely at ease.

Jin Zhu pursed his lips. “What a show-off!” He waved to Xi Feng and others behind the carriage. “Go in and search. Finding her will be a great merit.”

At this moment, Chen Ji’s mood slowly sank to rock bottom. He had originally thought Bailong’s claim of finding a clue about Consort Yun was just a ruse, either to draw out Han Tong, the leader of the Luotian Sect, or to expose an internal spy within the Secret Service. But he knew best that this was indeed Consort Yun’s hiding place. Given the meticulousness of the Secret Service’s search, it was only a matter of time before Consort Yun was found. What puzzled Chen Ji was the suddenness of Nanny Xitang’s betrayal—not a day earlier, not a day later, but precisely today.

He took a deep breath and led the way into the depths of the alley. “Xi Feng, you take people to search the left side, I’ll take people to search the right.” Xi Feng instinctively turned to look at Jin Zhu; both were Dove-rank secret agents, and by rank, Chen Ji was not in a position to command him. But seeing Xi Feng look his way, Jin Zhu gave a subtle nod, indicating Xi Feng should comply.

Chen Ji led over twenty secret agents, searching house by house in the alley. His gaze occasionally fell on a particular house deep in the alley, his brows furrowed. Where was Wuyun? Wuyun should have been guarding Consort Yun at this time, so why was there no sign of her? Wait, if Wuyun wasn’t here, that meant Consort Yun wasn’t here either.

Chen Ji glanced at the other agents and walked straight towards the house deep in the alley. He simply pushed the door gently with his palm, and it creaked open. The latch wasn’t dropped inside. He walked in and saw the vegetable basket Consort Yun had carried yesterday sitting on the Eight Immortals table inside. And in that basket, a single sheet of paper lay diagonally.

Jiao Tu scoffed, replacing the hat over her face. Yun Yang murmured, “I’ll go take a look.” With that, he leaped down, his body landing as lightly as a paper in the air.

Yun Yang silently approached the house, then suddenly pushed the door open. “What are you doing?!”

Inside, Chen Ji was tapping the wall with his knuckles. Seeing Yun Yang push the door open, he asked in surprise, “I’m searching this house, Lord Yun Yang. Why are you here?”

Yun Yang walked around Chen Ji suspiciously for a few steps. “Why have you been searching for so long?”

Chen Ji replied helplessly, “Lord Yun Yang, all our colleagues are searching this meticulously. What’s wrong with me doing the same?”

The next moment, Yun Yang sneered, “Stand still, or I’ll take your life.” He patted down Chen Ji’s clothes, trying to see if Chen Ji was hiding anything, but after searching for a long time, he found nothing.

Chen Ji smiled. “Lord Yun Yang, there was a misunderstanding between us before, but now we are colleagues. Let’s put aside our suspicions for now and serve the Chief Minister diligently.”

Yun Yang also laughed. “Very well. You continue your search, I’ll go check other places.” He turned and walked out the door.

Inside the house, Chen Ji, and outside, Yun Yang, both dropped their smiles simultaneously.

Chen Ji quickly stepped forward and unfolded the page. His pupils suddenly contracted. The page explicitly detailed how and when Prince Jing instructed Consort Yun to collude with the Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Bureau. It stated that Prince Jing was the sole mastermind, and Consort Yun merely acted under orders!

What was going on? Did Consort Yun deliberately leave this letter? If so, was Nanny Xitang’s sudden betrayal to the Secret Service also her instruction? But why would Consort Yun do this? If this letter fell into the hands of the Secret Service, Prince Jing would lose everything, with no hope of recovery. Chen Ji stood in the room, like a statue, letting the dust in the air slowly settle on his shoulders. A moment of kindness had almost led to a grave mistake.

At that moment, from the high rooftop, Yun Yang suddenly said, “Hey, that kid Chen Ji has been alone in a house for quite a while. Could there be a problem?”

With her face hidden by the bamboo hat, Jiao Tu slowly replied, “What problem could there be? Meng Ji has tested him twice. If there was a real problem, wouldn’t Meng Ji have said something? Besides, old Jin Zhu is so cautious; he wouldn’t keep big trouble by his side.”

Yun Yang frowned. “I still feel something’s off.”

Jiao Tu took off her hat, lay flat, and looked at him sideways. “If you ask me, we should just honestly apologize to him. We’re strong fighters, and he’s good with his mind. If we could work together, wouldn’t the Chief Minister reward us with tons of cultivation resources?”

Yun Yang shot her a glance. “We’ve already made an enemy.”

Jiao Tu smiled. “It was just a few jabs at him; what kind of enmity is that? In this world, there are only eternal interests, no eternal hatred. At worst, I’ll sacrifice my looks; how could a vigorous young man like him resist my charms?”

Yun Yang firmly stated, “No!”

Jiao Tu scoffed, replacing the hat over her face. Yun Yang murmured, “I’ll go take a look.” With that, he leaped down, his body landing as lightly as a paper in the air.

Yun Yang silently approached the house, then suddenly pushed the door open. “What are you doing?!”

Inside, Chen Ji was tapping the wall with his knuckles. Seeing Yun Yang push the door open, he asked in surprise, “I’m searching this house, Lord Yun Yang. Why are you here?”

Yun Yang walked around Chen Ji suspiciously for a few steps. “Why have you been searching for so long?”

Chen Ji replied helplessly, “Lord Yun Yang, all our colleagues are searching this meticulously. What’s wrong with me doing the same?”

The next moment, Yun Yang sneered, “Stand still, or I’ll take your life.” He patted down Chen Ji’s clothes, trying to see if Chen Ji was hiding anything, but after searching for a long time, he found nothing.

Chen Ji smiled. “Lord Yun Yang, there was a misunderstanding between us before, but now we are colleagues. Let’s put aside our suspicions for now and serve the Chief Minister diligently.”

Yun Yang also laughed. “Very well. You continue your search, I’ll go check other places.” He turned and walked out the door.

Inside the house, Chen Ji, and outside, Yun Yang, both dropped their smiles simultaneously.

Winter days grew dark exceptionally early. Pedestrians hurried home, heads bowed.

Jin Zhu grumbled as he led Chen Ji into a noodle shop. Sitting beside an Eight Immortals table, he rubbed his cold hands. “Is Bailong reliable or not? It’s so cold, and so many people have searched all day without a trace of Consort Yun. It’s clearly a false lead.”

Chen Ji took out his chopsticks and asked the shopkeeper for hot water to rinse them. “My lord, please calm down. Finding Consort Yun is the top priority now. Even a false lead must be verified.”

When the shopkeeper brought steaming hot beef noodles, Jin Zhu put all the beef into Chen Ji’s bowl. “Eat quickly. Go home and rest after you’re done. Who knows what trouble Bailong will stir up tomorrow.”

Chen Ji nodded.

At that moment, Jin Zhu paused his eating and looked up at him, abruptly saying, “Don’t entertain any twisted thoughts. Remember what I told you. Forget what needs to be forgotten. This is fate.”

“Fate,” Jin Zhu smiled. “Everything is fate; nothing is up to man.”

Chen Ji looked at the beef in his bowl. “Lord Jin Zhu, if you could live again, would you choose to be a good person or a bad person?”

Jin Zhu thought for a moment. “A bad person.”

Chen Ji was puzzled. “Why?”

Jin Zhu laughed freely. “The thing I want to do most, a good person cannot achieve. Hurry and eat.”

Chen Ji nodded, quickly finished the beef noodles, and stood up. “My lord, I’m heading back. You should go back and rest early too.”

“What? Eating so fast!” Jin Zhu looked up in astonishment, just as Chen Ji stood up and walked out into the dark night alone.

Outside, a cold wind blew, and Chen Ji felt as though even his exhaled breath would instantly freeze. His stomach felt a little full; the page he had swallowed earlier could not be digested. He tightened his collar, lowered his head against the cold wind, and walked into the distance.

After an unknown amount of time, he arrived at a dark alley and softly said, “Nine Heavens Responding to the Origin, Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerate?”

The next moment, Wuyun meowed from the shadows of the alley, signaling him to follow.

Chen Ji stood at the alley entrance, seeming to hesitate, seemingly conflicted, but ultimately followed, stopping before a dilapidated wooden door. He raised his hand and gently knocked with his knuckles. “Madam, please open the door.”

The wooden door was suddenly pulled open. Consort Yun, dressed simply like a neighborhood woman, had eyes filled with coldness. “How did you find me here? Why are you haunting me?! If your Military Intelligence Bureau is so omnipotent, why was it annihilated by the eunuch faction?”

Chen Ji looked directly at Consort Yun. “Madam, in Luocheng now, there’s no one I can’t find. Hiding is useless. I came tonight because I have many questions for you… Let’s talk inside.”

Consort Yun silently stepped aside, then closed the door tightly.

Chen Ji stood in the small courtyard, his back to Consort Yun, and slowly began to speak. “Madam, do you hate the Prince?”

Consort Yun’s expression was calm. “Hate him for what?”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, “Hate him for neglecting you for so many years. I secretly hid the anonymous letter you left in Minzhong Alley.”

Consort Yun’s expression changed. “You hid it? What concern is it of yours? Why meddle in this?”

Chen Ji softly said, “Do you know that if your letter were found by the Secret Service, Prince Jing, the Crown Prince, and the Princess would surely die? The Prince actually knew the Princess wasn’t his biological daughter; the look on his face that day when he met Han Tong indicated he knew all this. You didn’t need to harm his life because of this.”

Consort Yun was silent for a long time, then sneered. “He knows, of course he knows! Because he never touched me once after marrying me into the palace!” Chen Ji was stunned. He had been trying to trick Consort Yun, but he never expected the truth he uncovered to be this.

Consort Yun walked into the room and sat down. She gazed coldly at Chen Ji. “I gave birth to Baili to anger him, but I never expected him not to be angry at all; instead, he treated Baili as his own. The most terrifying gaze in this world is not contempt; it’s when he never even bothers to look at you.”

Chen Ji remained silent.

Consort Yun said coldly, “For all these years, the common people have said Prince Jing is a good prince. How could they know that the ‘good prince’ in their mouths is merely the Ning Emperor’s loyal thug? He married me back then for the Luotian Sect behind me. Now that he’s about to die, he wants to drag the Liu family and the Luotian Sect into the grave with him. Why should he?”

Chen Ji softly asked, “Is the Prince going to die?”

Consort Yun covered her mouth and laughed. “It seems you only know bits and pieces. Three years ago, Grand Eunuch Feng brought the Life Plume Pill from the capital—the one the Yellow Mountain Daoist Court gifted to the Ning Emperor. Now the three-year period is up, and he’s about to die.”

Chen Ji suddenly understood. No wonder Prince Jing didn’t even look at the Life Plume Pill Consort Jing brought back; it was because he had already consumed one, and another would be useless. So Prince Jing was truly going to die… But what about the Crown Prince and Baili?

Consort Yun calmly said, “For all these years, I’ve had only one wish: to bear a son. I’ve done so much for him—mobilized the Luotian Sect for him, raised provisions for him, procured military funds for him—yet even when he’s about to die, he won’t give me this chance.”

Chen Ji asked, “So you deliberately didn’t inform the Crown Prince and Princess about the ambush at the Golden Workshop in Hongyi Alley, tricking them into going to their deaths, thus cutting off Prince Jing’s lineage?”

Consort Yun eyed him in surprise. “No wonder Zhu Yunxi and Baili were unharmed. So you were interfering.”

Chen Ji was puzzled. “But Baili is your daughter.”

Consort Yun chuckled. “The Prince only had Baili in his eyes, and now even Han Tong only has Baili in his eyes. But their retribution has come. The Prince believed the Ning Emperor would spare his descendants, but he didn’t realize that the Ning Emperor intended to root them out from the very beginning.”

“What wrong has Baili committed?”

Consort Yun stood up and shrieked, “What wrong have *I* committed?”

Chen Ji looked at Consort Yun and softly said, “Madam, I’ve always been hesitant about what kind of person I want to be. I asked my master, and my master said one’s heart can be warm, but one’s blood must be cold. I asked Mr. Wang, and he said to act with conscience, or a part of your heart will be missing.”

Chen Ji continued, “Today, I’ve been thinking about what they said. Both teachers had valid points. But Lord Jin Zhu’s words resonated more: the things he wants to do, a good person cannot accomplish, only a bad person can. And I am the same.” He went on, “Prince Jing is not a good person, sacrificing so many for his schemes. But the Princess should not be buried with you all. The moment she closed that door today, I thought: I must let her live.”

Consort Yun frowned. “You want to kill me? I have already written down your identity as a Jing Dynasty traitor. If you kill me, someone will naturally send that page to the Secret Service.”

“I’m afraid it won’t be sent.” As he spoke, Wuyun, carrying a page in its mouth, jumped onto Chen Ji’s shoulder. When it released its hold, the page fell into Chen Ji’s hand.

Chen Ji walked into the room and, in front of Consort Yun, placed the page over the candlelight. “Is Madam referring to this page?”

Consort Yun watched the page slowly burn, the firelight illuminating her face, then gradually dimming. She suddenly looked up at Chen Ji. “I am Baili’s birth mother. If you kill me, how will you face her in the future? Even if she doesn’t know, every day afterward, as long as you see her face, you will remember that you personally killed her mother!”

Chen Ji released his hand, letting the page burn to ashes and scatter. The firelight in his eyes also flickered out bit by bit. “I know. As long as she lives, that’s enough.” With that, he drew a short dagger from his sleeve. “I’m sorry, Madam.”

A moment later, Chen Ji pushed the door open and walked out, step by step, from the dim alley.

Wuyun jumped into his arms, looking up at him. “Are you alright?”

Chen Ji walked towards Anxi Street. He stopped and turned back, looking behind him. The East Market, which should have been brightly lit, was now completely dark. The long bluestone street stretched to the end of the world, like a road of no return extending into an abyss.

“Wuyun.”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t think I can be a good person anymore.”