A Budding Heart

Half an hour later.

Sun Shaozong reined in his horse at the Crossroad, his face as cold and stern as a stone carving. His robust frame was as imposing and upright as an iron tower, drawing the gazes of passersby. In contrast, the 'handsome' Ruan Rong was temporarily ignored.

Ruan Rong wasn't jealous. Her watery eyes darted back and forth over Sun Shaozong, displaying even more curiosity than the others.

Although Sun Shaozong was used to being scrutinized when handling cases, he still felt uneasy under her gaze. After a long while, he couldn't help but sigh and casually teased, "I know I'm in good shape now, but you don't have to stare so intently, do you?"

"Bah~ Who wants to look at you!"

Ruan Rong's fair face flushed crimson as she spat in feigned anger, turning her head away. However, she quickly succumbed to her curiosity, turning back and whispering, "Brother Sun, if you can't catch the assassins, will you really be buried with that Ambassador Niu?"

She had originally thought that the embassy guards wanted to avenge Niu Yongxin, which was why they were so determined to investigate the case—until she heard Feng Xin embellish the story of how Sun Shaozong led the team out of the embassy. Only then did she realize that he was actually trying to secure a way out for everyone.

She was both worried about Sun Shaozong and admired his composure and courage in the face of danger. Unconsciously, she felt closer to him, and thus changed her address from 'Captain Sun' to 'Brother Sun'.

Sun Shaozong smiled slightly, but didn't answer.

Regardless of what others thought, he certainly wouldn't obediently accept his fate.

"Why should you?!"

Although Ruan Rong didn't get an answer, she still spoke up indignantly, "Ambassador Niu was killed at my house, not in the embassy! Besides, Brother Sun, you've been working hard to track down the assassins. Even if you don't deserve credit, you should at least be recognized for your efforts, right?"

Sun Shaozong smiled noncommittally, following her lead, "Hopefully, our Da Zhou's emperor thinks the same way you do."

That being said, Sun Shaozong knew in his heart that 'extenuating circumstances' were often followed by 'unforgivable crime'—if he couldn't achieve enough merit, those high-ranking officials in the court wouldn't grant him, a mere captain, an exception.

On the other hand, the ordinary guards might have a chance to survive.

Ruan Rong was about to say something more when she saw a horse galloping from the northwest. From afar, the rider excitedly shouted, "Sir, sir! We found the fruit peels, we found the fruit peels!"

Found them?!

Sun Shaozong felt a huge weight lift from his heart. He couldn't help but laugh out loud three times before urging his horse forward.

The pedestrians on the road looked at him with the eyes of someone caring for an idiot, obviously not understanding what was so exhilarating about 'finding fruit peels'.

Meanwhile, Sun Shaozong and Ruan Rong hurried to the Dump in the northwest. They saw that the garbage inside the wooden fence had been rummaged through, and a large pile of Bai Mei fruit shells had been placed in the most conspicuous spot.

Judging by the number of shells, they hadn't come to the wrong place.

So Sun Shaozong nimbly dismounted and asked the guard next to the Dump, "Can you determine who threw these peels away?"

The leading guard nervously clasped his fist and said, "Reporting to sir, we've already asked the nearby residents, but this Dump is too remote, and no one has seen who threw the fruit peels."

After a pause, he added, "We also inquired and found out that the residents of the five or six alleys on the two nearby streets usually come here to dispose of their waste."

Ruan Rong counted on her fingers and exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Two streets, five or six alleys, wouldn't that be hundreds of households? How long will it take to find them?!"

The guard also smiled wryly, "Taking more time is secondary. I'm just afraid that searching door to door will alert the assassins. Once they split up and flee, it will be difficult to find them again! Besides, we don't know what the assassins look like. Even if we find them, we might not recognize them..."

The more he spoke, the more discouraged he became. The surrounding guards also became dispirited—they had finally found a clue, but in the end, it was all for naught. It was really disheartening.

"Don't worry, they can't escape!"

Sun Shaozong grinned confidently, then decisively ordered, "Jia Renlu, you guys go find Feng Xin and the others first, then check which families in the vicinity have large houses with three or more courtyards—a small place can't hide a dozen assassins!"

Seeing that Sun Shaozong was still full of confidence, and thinking about his amazing performance along the way, the guards rekindled their hope and quickly obeyed the order, splitting up to find Feng Xin and the others.

After the guards left, Sun Shaozong turned his gaze to Ruan Rong, looked her up and down, and suddenly bowed, saying, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Miss Rong to help out then."

"There's a chance for me to take action?!"

Ruan Rong's beautiful eyes lit up when she heard this, and she rubbed her hands together, shouting, "Tell me, tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"This..."

Sun Shaozong suddenly grinned lewdly, pointing to the navy blue servant clothes she was wearing, and said, "Take off your clothes first."

Seeing Ruan Rong's expression change drastically, he said seriously, "Then change into women's attire."

Only then did Ruan Rong realize that he was teasing her, and she couldn't help but blush, scolding him half shyly and half angrily, "Tch~ you lecher!"

——separator line——

A quarter of an hour later.

"My lord!"

Feng Xin pointed to the row of grand mansions diagonally opposite, and said, "The wealthy families in the vicinity are concentrated on this street, and there are five courtyards with more than three entrances!"

After a pause, he scratched his head in embarrassment, "If we search at the same time, we definitely won't have enough manpower, but if we search one by one, we're afraid of alarming the assassins."

"Don't worry, I'm prepared."

Sun Shaozong smiled mysteriously.

Feng Xin was about to ask for details when he saw a horse galloping from the corner of the street, and sitting upright on the horse was a tall, beautiful young woman!

She had picturesque eyebrows and snow-like skin, and her long hair was simply draped behind her head. Although she was only wrapped in a sky-blue coarse cloth skirt, she didn't look shabby. Instead, she gave people a sense of 'lotus emerging from clear water, naturally unadorned'.

In addition, the woman's galloping horse added a bit of heroic spirit. As soon as she appeared, she attracted everyone's attention. When the horse ran to the front, and the woman dismounted nimbly, Feng Xin suddenly exclaimed 'ah', pointing at her and shouting, "You... you, you, you are Miss Rong?!"

"Miss Rong is what you call her?"

Ruan Rong glared at Feng Xin proudly, carrying a small rattan basket and walked to Sun Shaozong, raised her hand to stroke her hair, and asked with some shyness, "Brother Sun, is this look of mine still presentable?"

More than presentable, at least eight out of ten men would be fascinated!

Especially when he got closer, Sun Shaozong realized that the beautiful hair she had been hiding in her hat was actually naturally wine-red, which added a bit of exoticism.

Of course, what was even more eye-catching was the deep gully faintly revealed under her fair collarbone - this temporarily borrowed dress seemed to be a little too loose.

Amitabha!

Do not look at what is unseemly!

Sun Shaozong silently recited the 'Heart Cleansing Mantra' a few times before barely pulling his eyeballs out of the gully, and smiled nonchalantly, "It is presentable, but now I'm worried that you won't attract the assassins, but instead attract the perverts."

"Tch~ I think you're the pervert!"

Ruan Rong stomped her foot angrily, but there wasn't much anger on her face, instead revealing some shy joy.

Sun Shaozong also smiled, but immediately put on a solemn expression, and said seriously, "Leave two brothers to guard the horses, and the others listen to my orders. If anything unexpected happens, remember to protect Miss Rong first!"

Hearing this, the joy on Ruan Rong's face became even stronger.