When Yu Sui returned to the Royal Palace, Nangong Ming had not yet set out, and Qin Shan had not returned to the palace either. She avoided every patrol of imperial guards and made it back to Chaoyue Palace without a hitch.
Wu Huaiwei and Tang Qing had not returned, either.
The hall was empty. After steadying her breathing, she looked toward the Starwatch Hall. Queque would probably be frightened by what had happened tonight for a while.
Following Qin Shan's instructions, Zhongli Que stayed put by herself in Valley Wind Tower. The smell of blood and the charred stench of something burned lingered in her nostrils. She steadied herself against the window frame and felt the cool night breeze blow in, gradually lowering her body temperature and clearing her head.
She had already made up her mind: if Qin Shan failed to catch the person who had broken into Starwatch Hall that night, and the Emperor later learned that she had secretly studied the Nine Schools Techniques, she would bear the consequences herself and die rather than implicate the Zhongli Clan.
When Qin Shan returned, footsteps sounded in the corridor. Zhongli Que recognized them as his and did not panic.
After entering the room, he saw the girl crouched beneath the window, her face somewhat pale. She was probably frightened.
Qin Shan paused, then said to Zhongli Que, "It's all right now."
"Did you catch them?" Zhongli Que asked.
"No." Qin Shan answered honestly.
Zhongli Que tightened her grip on her sleeve, an inexplicable sense of disappointment rising in her heart. She had thought Qin Shan wouldn't fail.
She hadn't expected the intruder at Starwatch Hall to be even more skilled.
"Something else happened tonight." Qin Shan told Zhongli Que about Nangong Grandmother's murder in the night raid.
Zhongli