The Constables

There was no suspicion in her words, only intense curiosity.

She kept feeling that this kindred spirit before her seemed more interested in medicine.

Lu Changfeng returned to his senses and met her teasing with an easy smile. "It was merely a coincidence. Since I noticed the signs, I could hardly turn a blind eye. Would you care to hear my advice about your condition?"

Luo Qingge grew serious. "Please, go ahead."

Lu Changfeng considered for a moment. "Your illness is both easy and difficult to treat. I have a prescription called the Heart-Clearing Lung-Moistening Drink. It may ease your melancholy somewhat and nourish your heart and lungs, helping you sleep more soundly and soothing your throat. But..." His tone shifted. "It treats the symptoms, not the root. The root of your illness still lies in an ox chewing peonies."

Luo Qingge's eyes dimmed slightly. This was precisely the hidden ache in her heart.

She gently stroked the strings, a trace of loneliness creeping unmistakably into her voice. "You make it sound so easy. But what musician in this world doesn't hope to find a kindred spirit through lofty mountains and flowing waters? If delicacies painstakingly prepared can only ever be fed to people with dulled palates, how can the cook's heart keep burning with passion?"

"I understand."

Lu Changfeng nodded. Taking up paper and brush to write the prescription, he said, "There's nothing wrong with hoping for someone who understands. But you can't hang all the joy of playing on whether such a person exists. It's like-"

He paused, then found a vivid comparison. "You can't doubt the quality of a masterpiece just because some stray dog pisses on it, much less get so angry you lose your appetite, can you?"

"Pfft-"

His crude yet precise analogy made Luo Qingge laugh despite herself. She hurriedly covered her lips with her sleeve, but some of the gloom had already faded from her dancing eyes.

Lu Changfeng continued, "Your music is first and foremost for your own ears, your cultivation for your own benefit. The moment you play the first note, you've already accomplished the most important act of expression. If someone understands, that's an unexpected delight. If no one does, that's the normal outcome."

Luo Qingge froze. His words were like a key. She suddenly realized that, viewed from another angle, the thing she had clung to all this time was utterly unnecessary.

"So..."

Lu Changfeng pushed the finished prescription toward her and smiled. "The true medicinal catalyst for your illness comes down to two phrases: 'None of your damn business. None of my damn business.' If an ox insists on chewing peonies, what does that have to do with the peonies? A peony need only bloom and give off its own fragrance. After all-"

A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes. "Oxen were never worthy of appreciating peonies in the first place."

Luo Qingge was utterly stunned.

Then clear, melodious laughter spilled from her throat. Unlike her earlier polite smiles, this was genuine laughter, born of amusement and a sudden clearing of the heart.

She laughed for quite a while before stopping. Her eyes shimmered with moisture as she looked at Lu Changfeng with unprecedented curiosity and interest. "Your words truly are... a fresh approach."

She tilted her head slightly, as though reassessing the man before her, and a hint of slyness entered her voice. "Then what about you? You wrote verses that could shatter stone and startle the heavens. Do you truly not care whether anyone understands them? Can you really do as you say and remain utterly indifferent to an ox chewing peonies?"

She had expected an impassioned speech about integrity or lofty solitude.

But Lu Changfeng merely answered calmly, "Whatever I do, I do because I feel like it! Everyone else can think whatever they please. Of course, if circumstances leave me no choice, there's nothing to be done. When you're beneath someone else's eaves, you have to bow your head."

There was no pretension of lofty purity, no affected humility, only a detachment that came from the heart.

Luo Qingge listened quietly, even more shaken than she had been upon hearing his poem.

She suddenly understood. This man's world followed its own boundaries and laws. He neither needed nor cared about anyone else's approval.

Only after a long silence did she sigh softly. "You live with such... clarity."

Her words held seven parts admiration and three parts yearning that even she had not recognized.

Luo Qingge studied the prescription, then rose gracefully and curtsied again. "Thank you for the prescription. I am deeply grateful." Her lovely eyes shifted toward him. "I have yet to ask your name."

"I am..."

Lu Changfeng had intended to give a false name, but on second thought, there was no need. He had no feud with the Heavenly Music Sect, and this Zither Immortal's playing was exquisite. He might return for entertainment in the future. Being cagey would only cheapen the encounter, so he answered plainly, "Lu Changfeng."

"What did you say your name was?"

A cool voice suddenly cut in, breaking the harmonious atmosphere inside the Cloud-Deep Pavilion.

The beaded curtain rattled as Yan Mingxiao pushed through the door. Her gaze, like twin bolts of cold lightning, instantly fixed on Lu Changfeng. The scrutiny in it had intensified far more than tenfold!

Lu Changfeng raised an eyebrow at her, his voice perfectly level. "I change neither my given name nor my surname. What is it, miss... do you have something to say?"

Several possibilities flashed through his mind. Was she connected to Wu Sansi, or to Medicine King Valley? He could rule out the Great Vehicle Sect first. After such a major incident, they surely would not dare show their faces. Besides, an heir of the Heavenly Music Sect would not openly associate with them.

As for the remaining possibilities, the Wu family were a pack of arrogant, domineering good-for-nothings. Luo Qingge probably thought little of them. That left Medicine King Valley.

Lu Changfeng sneered inwardly, not caring in the slightest. Couldn't comprehend the inheritance yourselves, so now you want to snatch it ready-made?

Sun Huaijin probably doesn't even dare accept letters from strangers anymore...

He leisurely sipped his wine, utterly unbothered.

Beside him, Luo Qingge was startled.

She keenly sensed the drastic change in Yan Mingxiao's attitude-the vigilance and pressure of a hunter locking onto prey.

Without drawing attention, she shifted half a step, subtly positioning herself between them. "Mingxiao, Young Master Lu is my guest," she said softly. Her gentle tone nevertheless carried a note of protection.

Yan Mingxiao ignored Luo Qingge's hint. She stepped forward and stared hard at Lu Changfeng, no longer concealing the pressure of a Xiantian expert. "I wouldn't presume to offer advice. Are you the newly appointed Director of Medicine at the Princess's Residence? The 'Lu Changfeng' who treated Young Master Xue a few days ago?"

Lu Changfeng admitted it openly. "And if I am?"

"Good."

Yan Mingxiao's eyes were sharp as blades as she enunciated each word. "Then I would like to ask where you were around noon on the twelfth day of the third month, Mr. Lu."

Noon on the twelfth day of the third month was precisely when Imperial Physician Director Zhang Shouzhuo had suddenly died of poisoning at the Imperial Medical Bureau!

Lu Changfeng understood at once. So that was what this was about. His expression betrayed nothing; instead, a hint of mockery appeared. "What, have the rules in Chang'an City changed? Must officials now report every detail of their movements to a young lady... who hasn't even introduced herself?"

Without proof of official authority, what the hell are you prattling on about? Why should I answer everything you ask?

Yan Mingxiao's gaze sharpened. She realized he would not be easy to handle.

She snorted coldly. "I am Yan Mingxiao of the Chang'an Constables! Will you answer my question now, Mr. Lu?"

"The Constables?"

Lu Changfeng displayed just the right touch of "surprise." "So you're Miss Yan. Forgive my discourtesy. However, as far as I know, before the Constables may lawfully question someone, they must either catch the culprit with the incriminating evidence or possess an arrest warrant issued by the county commandant. May I ask whether you are questioning me in an official capacity, or merely... chatting as Miss Luo's friend?"

His gaze swept meaningfully over Yan Mingxiao's empty hands, and he added leisurely, "If this is official business, please produce your certificate of appointment and arrest warrant. I will naturally cooperate. If you're here as a friend... my apologies, but my private affairs are not yours to inquire into!"

Even if you have proof of your office, I'm still not interested in wasting my time on you!

His words were well-reasoned and struck straight at the heart of the matter, immediately putting Yan Mingxiao in an awkward position.

She did indeed lack solid evidence, and had certainly not obtained an arrest or interrogation warrant for an official of the Princess's Residence. Her sudden challenge had mostly been an instinctive probe.

She had suspected Lu Changfeng that day, but Sun Huaijin had diverted her attention.

Now several days had passed, and Sun Huaijin had plainly been scared witless by that poison. He was probably not the perpetrator. Suspicion of Lu Changfeng had therefore risen sharply, especially after he had displayed such poetic talent... he possessed exceptional attainments in both medicine and letters.

Perhaps this man really could concoct a fifth-rank deadly poison in such a short time...

She had meant to launch a sudden challenge and catch him off guard. Ordinary criminals inevitably panicked when their identities and movements were exposed.

She had not expected Lu Changfeng to remain perfectly composed, much less seize a loophole and counterattack in an instant, leaving her somewhat on the defensive.

"Mr. Lu, you certainly have a silver tongue!"

Yan Mingxiao suppressed her anger, her voice growing colder still. "Since you invoke laws and regulations with every breath, we shall follow them! Zhang Shouzhuo died suddenly at the Imperial Medical Bureau, and the Capital Prefecture's Constables are assisting in the investigation. Anyone who had a grievance against the deceased, or whose movements around the time of his death are questionable, is subject to routine questioning! As Director of Medicine at the Princess's Residence, you had a prior grievance against Physician Zhang, and your whereabouts at the crucial time remain unclear. What is improper about my questioning you according to procedure?"

She spoke with righteous conviction, attempting to reclaim the legal high ground.

Lu Changfeng merely chuckled, his laughter openly mocking. "According to procedure? Miss Yan, you seem to have misremembered. What I said was that my affairs were not yours to inquire into. When did I ever admit that my whereabouts were unclear?"

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze suddenly sharpening. "Zhang Shouzhuo purged those who opposed him within the Imperial Medical Bureau. Despite his poor medical skills, he embezzled funds and amassed wealth. His vile deeds were plain for all to see! If there aren't a hundred people in Chang'an who bore him a grudge, there are at least eighty! Why have you singled me out? Is it because I'm newly arrived, of little standing, and supposedly have no backing, so you think you can question and manipulate me at will without any warrant?"

He refused to take up the subject of his whereabouts. Instead, he exposed Zhang Shouzhuo's sordid character and pointedly challenged whether Yan Mingxiao tailored her investigations to a person's status, picking only the softest persimmons to squeeze.

The implication could not have been clearer: I am the Director of Medicine personally selected by Princess Taiping. Have you asked Her Highness before trying to haul me in? Without solid evidence or formal documents, you want to act against someone from the Princess's Residence on suspicion alone? Dream on!

Do you really think all that favor I earned was for nothing?

"You..."

Yan Mingxiao was momentarily speechless. Frustration surged in her chest, yet she could find no words to refute him.

Watching Lu Changfeng's unhurried composure, as though he sat securely on a fishing platform, she felt as if her carefully prepared offensive had struck a mass of insubstantial cotton, leaving her nowhere to apply force.

Deep in his eyes, there was even a faint, elusive hint of mockery, plainly saying: You're the one who brought up the rules. Now that I'm following them, what are you going to do?

His needle-proof, watertight precision and arrogance left her feeling even more stifled than outright defiance would have!

What a Lu Changfeng!

Yan Mingxiao clenched her teeth. The more he evaded her, the more suspicious he became. He definitely had something to do with Zhang Shouzhuo's death!