After taking off the Golden Boy Mask several streets away, Ding Songyan made a detour to the Flame Capital branches of the Hongxin Trading Company and the Tianyang Guildhall, sent off the letters he had written earlier, and made certain there were no mistakes.
Even after all that running around, it was still bright when he returned to the vicinity of Prince Kang's Residence. It was only a little past four in the afternoon.
Rather than enter the residence, he turned into Tiger Tail Alley. He was just about to step into the Cheap Wine Shop when he spotted Twelfth Madam Luo in the shade on the other side of the wine flag. At some point, she had brought out a wooden stool and sat down with her back against the wall, lazily watching passersby while crunching on a greenish apple.
"Taking it easy, shopkeeper?" Ding Songyan changed how he addressed her, adding a teasing note.
"Linqin" was what apples were called in the Classic of Mountains and Seas World.
Dressed in a green, front-fastening short jacket and a dark red horse-face skirt, Twelfth Madam Luo said with a smile:
"Business has been much quieter these past two days. At last, I have time to sit here and watch ordinary folk go about their lives."
"What have you seen?" Ding Songyan asked casually.
Twelfth Madam Luo took a bite of her apple and pointed out of the alley, her words slightly muffled:
"There was a little thief just now, dressed in brocade, pretending to bump into someone so he could pick their pocket."
"Did he manage it?" Ding Songyan stepped into the shade cast by the wine flag as well and began studying the people passing by.
Twelfth Madam Luo chuckled:
"If I spotted him, there was no way he