The late-night snack was eaten rather slowly. By the time the dishes were cold, Lu Wan came in to clear the table.
Bai Zhi retrieved a new quilt from the closet and placed it alongside the one Nan Shiying usually used, nodding with satisfaction.
Xiao Huan and Lan Er brought in freshly brewed tea. It was late, so they prepared a less potent brew, opting for osmanthus tea. Not knowing if His Highness and Her Highness would be talking late into the night, they also prepared some nuts.
Lu Wan asked, "Your Highness, Your Majesty, shall I bring the bathing tub..."
Under Nan Shiying's gaze, Lu Wan slowly retracted her words. Moving the tub into the room was quite troublesome. The manor had hot springs, so why not... Lu Wan pondered, then asked again, "Or, would Your Majesty like to take a bath in the hot springs?"
Nan Shiying: "..."
She felt Lu Wan was too talented to be her personal maid; she should be a madam at the Huancai Pavilion.
Seeing Nan Shiying's face darkening, Ji Jinmo got up with a smile. "Go and take a bath. I'll return to the study. If you want to reclaim the shops, wait until we're reconciling accounts and check the accuracy of the ledger."
Ji Jinmo's movement of getting up made Nan Shiying slightly stunned. She hadn't expected him to linger so long, only to tease her.
She used the word "tease" for now; if she used other words, she might not be able to suppress her anger and strike out with all her might.
Nan Shiying's startled expression made Ji Jinmo beam. It was at these moments that she seemed infinitely closer to being an ordinary girl. Ji Jinmo, at some unknown point, had become infatuated with the very things he used to disdain.
"What, you want me to stay?" Ji Jinmo's usually cold face showed a rare hint of ambiguity. He was already exceptionally handsome, and his usual cold demeanor gave him a "celibate" aura. It was precisely because he seemed so unapproachable that he gave off the impression of a high mountain flower, beautiful but untouchable, like a snow orchid blooming on a mountain peak, or white bamboo growing in extreme cold. But now, under the added atmosphere, a trace of a rakish young master's charm suddenly emanated from him. Just looking into his spring-water eyes was enough to make one fall.
Lu Wan and the other maids almost bit off their tongues. Shi San, holding the food box, loosened his grip, and the box clanged onto the ground, startling Nan Shiying from her daze.
Nan Shiying shook her head, feeling that the scene just now was incredibly perilous. If the sound had come any later, she would have nodded in agreement.
"Get lost quickly!"
Nan Shiying told Ji Jinmo to get lost.
Let alone the manor, but the entire Linyuan, even the Great Li, the Lou Kingdom, and spreading across the entire world, no one dared to utter the word "get lost" to Ji Jinmo. Only Nan Shiying said it righteously and without burden.
Lu Wan and the others were all stunned.
Ji Jinmo didn't say anything, turning and leaving Xin Yuan Pavilion. Shi San followed behind, thinking his master was clearly henpecked.
After Ji Jinmo left, Lu Wan and the others finally caught their breath, their legs so weak they could barely stand.
"Your Majesty, how could you..." How could you tell His Highness to get lost?
Nan Shiying slowly took a sip of tea and asked her, "How could I what? How could I let him roll? It's light of me to tell him to get lost!"
Nan Shiying glared at Lu Wan as if annoyed and got up. "Aren't we going to take a bath? Let's go!"
Lu Wan sighed in resignation.
...
Of the assassins from Xiliang, only three remained alive.
They were the three incapacitated by Xiaoman's poison. As for Lin Yuyin, the assassins, realizing they could not escape, all bit their tongues and committed suicide.
Ji Hong did not harshly reprimand Lin Yuyin. He merely ordered the Xiliang assassins to be locked up in the imperial prison, heavily guarded.
The reason for not interrogating them immediately was that Ji Hong wanted to see if he could use them to lure out more people. However, it seemed the remnants of Xiliang had chosen self-preservation.
The next day, Feng Luan appeared at the imperial prison.
She first went to check on Yin Silan's condition. She was recovering quite well, with her vital signs stabilizing. However, Wei Yuan, who was guarding her, had dark circles under his eyes so large he could audition for a giant panda. If he didn't rest soon, he'd die before Yin Silan.
Nan Shiying couldn't tend to him, so she told him to find trustworthy people to guard her.
After checking on Yin Silan, she made her way to the assassins.
Nan Shiying squatted on the ground, looking at the three men, and sighed softly. She was practically number one in forced confessions.
The matter was progressing so smoothly that Nan Shiying felt a strange sense of familiarity resurface. This smoothness wasn't pleasing; instead, it made her feel like she was being fobbed off with rubbish.
Especially the person they named, this wasn't short-term survival; this was clearly a secondary use!
Nan Shiying took the confession and went to the imperial study.
Of course, she entered through the secret passage.
She spread the confession on Ji Hong's dragon desk for him to see, a mocking cold smile on her face. It wasn't a smile directed at Ji Hong, but at the confession itself.
Ji Hong glanced at her, then his gaze fell upon the confession, his expression gradually turning grim.
"Insolent wretches!" It was unclear if he was cursing the person named by the assassins or the assassins themselves.
"How dare he?"
Hearing the latter half, Nan Shiying understood. He was cursing that person.
"Does Your Majesty believe it?" Nan Shiying was skeptical.
Hearing this, Ji Hong looked up at her again. "Imperial Aunt means, they provided a false confession?"
Nan Shiying had gradually grown accustomed to the detestable title. She shook her head. "The people are definitely problematic, but the question is, is he truly all they know? In other words, why him?"
"There are many Xiliang remnants in Linyuan, so how could it be such a coincidence that the person they named is currently imprisoned?"
"Although they resisted a bit, they gave me the feeling that they had already colluded to do this. This feeling is subtle, more like intuition."
A woman's damned sixth sense?
Ji Hong didn't voice the question.
"I think Xiliang wants to use one person to put an end to the entire matter."
This was a sure-win, no-loss deal.
Ji Hong pursed his lips, feeling that such speculation wouldn't help. He said, "It's a bother, Imperial Aunt, but would you accompany me to interrogate Zhao Wuyan again?"
Nan Shiying knew this would happen and nodded helplessly.
However, as the two of them arrived at the imperial prison, they heard some bad news.
Zhao Wuyan was dead!
He had bitten his tongue and committed suicide!