One day ago.

Liu Mingxian’s grand funeral was held.

The entire Liu family estate was adorned in white mourning. Countless lengths of white silk ribbons hung from the grey-tiled roofs, resembling funeral couplets, stretching deep into the estate.

Outside the mourning hall, Liu Mingxian’s more than forty concubines knelt and wailed uncontrollably. They cried for an unknown duration until their tears ran dry and their voices grew hoarse.

Inside the mourning hall, Elder Liu Gun, dressed in grey robes, sat silently in a grand armchair beside the coffin, gazing at the Liu family members dressed in mourning outside. He appeared calm, as if observing a drama that had nothing to do with him.

Just then, the servant announcing arrivals outside the door stretched his voice: “Lady Jing Fei of Prince Jing’s Estate has arrived.”

A ripple of emotion finally crossed Liu Gun’s face. His gaze swept past the many prostrate mourners, across the courtyard, and towards the long, dim corridor opposite.

Jing Fei entered the mourning hall, supported by Nanny Chunrong, and immediately knelt down, sobbing, “Father.”

Several black-clad attendants slowly closed the eight vermilion-lacquered doors of the mourning hall, leading Nanny Chunrong away and leaving the father and daughter alone.

Elder Liu did not help Jing Fei up. Instead, he slowly stood, facing the coffin with his back to Jing Fei. “You are no longer a member of the Liu family. Why have you returned?”

Jing Fei shuffled forward on her knees, pleading at Elder Liu’s feet, “Father, I grew up here. I am your flesh and blood. How could I not be a Liu family member?”

Elder Liu stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the coffin in the mourning hall. “Ever since you conceived Prince Jing’s child, and a divination revealed it would be a boy, you haven’t even wished to return to the Liu family estate. Since you were determined to only be Prince Jing’s Consort and not a Liu family member, why bother coming back now?”

Jing Fei pleaded, “Father, it’s not that I didn’t want to come back. Grandfather only had Liu Mingxian in his heart. Every time I returned to the Liu family estate, he never once looked at me directly. What was the point of my coming back?”

Elder Liu said, “You siblings all grew up here. Your eldest brother went to Yuanjue Temple and completely severed ties with the mundane world. Your third sister was unfortunate and died young. Now, your second brother has also been harmed by the Eunuch Faction…”

Jing Fei remained silent.

Elder Liu gently waved his sleeve and said somberly, “Do you still remember what this room is called?”

Jing Fei hesitated, “Tongxin Hall.”

Elder Liu said, “This Tongxin Hall was built in the autumn of Houde’s twelfth year. At that time, the Liu family transported eight towering golden nanmu pillars from the South Sea. These represented the eight siblings of the Liu family then. The Liu family has an ancestral precept: ‘Siblings and kin shall not harm one another.’ I taught you this from a young age. But you have all forgotten.”

Jing Fei sobbed, “Father, I remember.”

Elder Liu asked, “You once met with the Secret Police. At that time, you said your second brother intended to conspire for the Directorate of Imperial Manufactories’ firearms. Shall I continue?”

Jing Fei’s expression changed. She turned to look for Chunrong, but then remembered that the black-clad attendants had taken Chunrong away.

Jing Fei turned back abruptly, looking at Elder Liu and stating with a hardened voice, “Father, my second brother harmed my child. He also sent someone to kill Liu Shiyu, who was my sister’s only flesh and blood. Ah, he was the one who first sought to harm me.”

Elder Liu calmly said, “The current state of the Liu family is entirely my fault for not raising you well. Go back. The Liu family is about to fall. Return to Prince Jing’s Estate and be his Consort. From today forward, our father-daughter ties are severed. This is to avoid implicating you.”

Jing Fei shuffled forward on her knees, prostrating herself at Elder Liu’s feet, sobbing, “Father, please don’t say that. I won’t go back. Do you remember? When I was little, you took me outside the estate to fly kites, you took me on spring outings, you took me to literary gatherings, you taught me zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting… When I was twelve, you joked that when I grew up, I would become a kite and fly away to someone else’s home, and I said that as long as you pulled the string, I would fly back to your side.”

Elder Liu smiled, “Now that I’ve cut off your funds, and you find that the Liu family no longer defers to you outside, you suddenly remember the good things about the Liu family, have you?”

Jing Fei’s expression gradually calmed. She released Elder Liu’s leg. “Father, your daughter knows she was wrong. This time, your daughter will follow all your instructions, without fail.”

Elder Liu returned to his armchair and sat down, sighing, “You must remember, the Liu family is not just your Liu family or my Liu family; it is the Liu family of countless Liu people. You and I, aboard this great ship of the Liu family, can only accompany it for a short leg of its journey. Generations of Liu family elites are merely the spirits that guard it. If successive Liu family heads fail to understand this, the Liu family would never have accumulated this enduring legacy.”

Jing Fei asked, “What do you intend to do this time, Father?”

Elder Liu’s expression flickered in the candlelight of the mourning hall. “Once a project begins, there’s no turning back. I intend to complete what your second brother left unfinished.”

Jing Fei trembled. “Second brother was audacious to the extreme. Why are you also going along with his recklessness, Father?”

Elder Liu sighed, “He left this mess. I must clean it up for him. There’s no turning back now. I will assign a maidservant to you. At the crucial moment, you will need to cooperate with her on one task.”

Jing Fei pressed, “What do you want me to do, Father?”

Elder Liu said faintly, “Do not ask what you are not meant to ask. You will know when the time comes.”

Jing Fei struggled for a long time, then shuffled on her knees before Elder Liu. “Father, I am willing to help you, but after it’s done…”

Elder Liu’s eyes were deep. He gently stroked Jing Fei’s cheek. “Now, I only have you, my daughter, by my side. In the future, this world, and this Liu family, will be yours and your children’s. This time, the Liu family has been forced by your second brother to place a heavy wager.”

Jing Fei slowly stood up, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and said calmly, “I should still be able to bear children for the Prince. But the Prince also has another son, Zhu Yunxi. Father, I need a promise.”

Elder Liu smiled, “Now that’s my Liu family child. What’s the point of crying? You won’t need to worry about Zhu Yunxi for much longer. Perhaps in a few days, you will receive news. Consort Yun colluded with your second brother; her child will also be removed, to appease you.”

A faint smile touched Jing Fei’s lips.

At this moment, Elder Liu changed the subject. “Tell me about that young apprentice from Taiping Medical Clinic—the one you promised two thousand taels of silver to for your second brother’s life—Chen Ji!”

Jing Fei was momentarily startled. “Why are you asking about him, Father?”

Elder Liu did not reply.

Jing Fei thought for a moment. “He’s quick-witted. It was he who discovered that the cup my second brother gave me was problematic. Later, I tried to frame him, but somehow he saw through it. I even lost an Eastern Pearl you gave me.”

Elder Liu slowly said, “Later, you sent people to various pawnshops to look for that Eastern Pearl. What was the result?”

Jing Fei shook her head. “I didn’t find the Eastern Pearl. It should still be with him.”

Elder Liu chuckled, “This young man certainly has composure. So, he didn’t exchange the Eastern Pearl for money. It seems he must be the one who ruined the Liu family’s plans. Who would have thought that such a person would simply be a medical apprentice… Attendants!”

Several black-clad attendants opened the eight vermilion-lacquered doors. Elder Liu said to Jing Fei, “You may return now.”

Jing Fei hesitated for a moment, then finally stood up to leave. “Your daughter takes her leave.”

Once outside the Liu family estate, Chunrong approached the carriage to help her, but Jing Fei raised her hand and slapped Chunrong hard. “You traitor!”

Chunrong bowed her head, sheepish, not daring to utter a sound.

Inside the mourning hall, Elder Liu remained seated in his armchair, his expression cold as he instructed a black-clad attendant, “Tell Mister Feng that before this old man’s seventh day after death, he is to bring back Chen Ji and the Golden Pig’s heads to be buried with me.”

“Grand-Elder, what about the heir and the princess!?”

“Bring them back alive.”

At this very moment, Chen Ji walked along the cinder road of the small town. On both sides of the road, sounds of drunken gambling, soliciting courtesans, and dice rolling filled the air. No one paid him any attention. However, he suddenly realized that when buying or selling things in this small town, people used wooden tallies instead of copper coins or silver. Without these tallies, even silver was useless. This arrangement made it impossible for outsiders to transact business within the town. Chen Ji stood silently observing in front of the medical clinic. He had originally intended to openly buy medicine for Bai Li, but now he had silver yet couldn’t spend it. He could only wait until the clinic closed to steal.

Just then, a procession of people and horses entered from outside the town. Leading them was a middle-aged man in a blue robe, followed by dozens of stern-faced black-clad attendants on horseback. On both sides of the road, the soldiers immediately quieted down upon seeing this group. They stood respectfully, hands by their sides. “Mister Feng.”

“Good evening, Mister Feng.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then turned and followed behind this group.

Mister Feng rode straight ahead to a tavern, where a group of soldiers were drinking. Mister Feng simply pointed, and immediately a black-clad attendant dismounted, dragged a soldier out of the tavern by his hair. The other soldiers rose to their feet at the sight, but dared not speak their anger.

Mister Feng, still on horseback, said casually, “Deputy General Li, look at the time. Do you still have the mood to drink?”

Deputy General Li scrambled to his feet. “Reporting, Mister Feng, the search party has already gone out. There’s no news yet.”

Mister Feng smiled, “I am not satisfied with that answer.”

As his words fell, the black-clad attendant drew his saber and swung, and Deputy General Li’s head rolled to the ground.

Mister Feng pointed to another soldier in the tavern. “From now on, you will be in charge here. And stop drinking for now. Seal off the entire military town. Search every household. Arrest any suspicious individuals.”

The soldier hesitated, “Mister Feng, our military town is heavily guarded…”

Mister Feng smiled again, “We searched outside all day and found no one. If he’s not outside, then he must be inside. Why have I got someone else? Someone who only spouts nonsense. Get me someone else to speak with.”

The next moment, the black-clad attendant rushed forward, swinging his saber, and another head rolled to the ground. Blood splattered, turning the entire tavern crimson.

A soldier wiped blood from his face, then suddenly smashed his wine bowl to the ground and knelt on the ceramic shards. “Mister Feng, this subordinate is willing to bear this important responsibility. Before the appointed time, I will turn the military town upside down. If the person is not found, I will present my head to you.”

Mister Feng looked interested in this man, throwing a stack of white paper portraits onto his face. “Very good. I like ambitious people, and the Old Master also likes ambitious people. Go do your work. The person in the portrait is to be killed on sight, no questions asked.”

The soldier took the portrait and unfolded it. It clearly showed a slender young man.

End of Chapter.