Had the plan failed?

Just as the fish in Spring Fragrance Garden took the bait, Ren Ye was in the Princess Consort's bedchamber.

Once again, he emerged with a hand braced against the wall, drenched in a cold sweat.

Wearing a pair of pink underpants, Ren Ye was exhausted, but his professional dedication remained undiminished. "M-my beloved consort, was my performance today better than yesterday?"

Behind the bed curtains, the Princess Consort's graceful figure was faintly visible. Her voice was cool. "...Nothing special."

Hah, a whole hour still wasn't enough? You're one greedy woman.

Ren Ye grumbled inwardly, then shamelessly asked for something in return. "When I returned to my bedchamber yesterday, my head was swimming and my body felt weak. Might you have some miraculous medicine to spare...? I could restore my strength and better satisfy you."

"No." The Princess Consort refused flatly.

Fuck, you just want a free ride? An hour every day, no supplements, no money, and after squeezing me dry, all you have to say is 'nothing special'?

Even those border scam compounds aren't as heartless as you!

After a brief silence, the Princess Consort reminded him, "The Way of Yin and Yang can give birth to all things. With us sharing a chamber and the formation supporting us, this is mutually beneficial. If you carefully sense the mysteries of Yin and Yang Qi, you, too, will gain a great deal."

Enough. Stop selling me empty promises.

Ren Ye was practical. Having his Heavenly Pardon Qi drained like this was clearly a terrible deal. He needed to keep looking for ways to wheedle something out of her.

Bang, bang...!

Just then, Lian'er's voice rang out from outside the hall. "Your Highness, I have urgent news...!"

Ren Ye paused at her words, then immediately took his leave of the Princess Consort and hurried away.

After he left, the Princess Consort summoned her maid Xue'er, wrote out a lengthy Pill Recipe, and personally instructed her, "Follow this Pill Recipe and refine it yourself here in the hall. Once the pills are ready, deliver them to Prince Huai."

Xue'er looked puzzled. "Is His Highness ill?"

"One blessed with heavenly pardon is entangled in karma. I simply do not wish to become inextricably bound to him." With that indifferent remark, the Princess Consort walked barefoot toward the side hall.

A quarter of an hour later, in a side room in Tranquil Heart Hall.

Blood ran down Er Leng's left arm. When Ren Ye entered, he said guiltily, "I failed in my duties. Please punish me, Your Highness."

On the way over, Lian'er had already given Ren Ye a brief account. He knew tonight's "fishing plan" had not been entirely successful.

"What happened? Tell me everything." Ren Ye's tone was not reproachful, but his expression was anxious.

Tonight's fishing plan was uncomplicated, but meticulously designed. Only three people truly knew about it: Ren Ye, Lian'er, and Er Leng.

That morning, after Er Leng and Lian'er finished distributing the gold, silver, and valuables, Ren Ye began laying a trap to lure out the "traitor."

After last night's gu poisoning attempt, the mastermind would undoubtedly have learned that the plan had failed and become wary. They were unlikely to act rashly again anytime soon.

The plan therefore had to revolve around the traitor hidden among his bedchamber staff.

First, he had Lian'er watch all the maids and eunuchs in his bedchamber to ensure none left during the day. Then he had the two of them feed different information to different servants. It had to be subtle and discreet, making the recipients feel they had discovered something themselves. Only then would it seem genuine.

Moreover, all this "accidentally" leaked information was different. Some saw Lian'er tidying the bedchamber in Tranquil Heart Hall; others saw Er Leng secretly visiting the Dowager Princess Consort's bedchamber and even delivering the evening meal prepared by the kitchens there...

In short, servants watching from different perspectives saw different things.

That was what prompted the Young Eunuch to risk meeting Liu Ling'er.

Indeed, the method had worked. Believing he had uncovered important intelligence, the Young Eunuch successfully drew Liu Ling'er out for a meeting in Spring Fragrance Garden...

Unfortunately, Er Leng had failed to capture her!

Candlelight flickered inside the room.

Er Leng described his encounter in detail. "I followed the Young Eunuch to Spring Fragrance Garden. Before long, the culprit appeared. She was a woman dressed in a black robe, with a black cloth covering her face, so I couldn't make out her features. But she was extremely sharp. After exchanging just a couple of sentences with the Young Eunuch, she killed him...!"

"She instantly realized she'd been exposed?" Ren Ye asked with a frown.

"Yes." Er Leng nodded. "I fought her, but I hadn't expected her movement skills to be so extraordinary, or her mastery of hidden weapons so refined. If we'd exchanged more than ten moves, she would certainly have been no match for me. But she was determined to escape, and I couldn't stop her...!"

"So you fought her, failed to capture her, and got wounded by her hidden weapon instead?" Ren Ye asked, craning his neck.

"That is more or less what happened...!"

"Fuck!" Ren Ye nearly lost it. "Didn't you say you were invincible against anyone below an immortal, and could trade your life for anyone above one?! Where's that ability of yours? Where's your fast blade?! Cut her down!"

"What Your Highness doesn't know is that the female bandit's movement skills are peerless. Across all of Great Qian, fewer than ten people could surpass her...!"

"Enough, enough. Stop talking her up." Ren Ye waved impatiently. "Just admit you're useless. I'd have been better off going myself."

Er Leng looked guilty at that and meekly agreed, "I am incompetent. Please punish me, Your Highness."

"Forget it. I'll think of another way." Rubbing his chin, Ren Ye paced around the room, his mind racing.

In truth, he did not really blame Er Leng. This Star Gate contained supernatural elements; even his own Imperial Brush could copy any skill. That meant... plenty of events were beyond human control.

Exceptionally good movement skills... Does she have some important item?

Ren Ye judged that the woman was very likely another player. According to his memories, Er Leng ranked among the strongest fighters in the prince's estate, and his defining strength was his fast blade. Yet the Female Bandit had escaped him unscathed, having previously kept her abilities hidden. That fit the profile of a player perfectly. With ten Hidden Pawns, it made sense for them to possess a few special tricks.

"Oh, Your Highness!" Just then, Er Leng suddenly spoke up. "I also discovered an important clue."

"What?" Ren Ye turned to ask.

"I grew up in the Southern Border. My homeland has lush vegetation and produces many unusual medicinal herbs." Er Leng slowly rose. "Before coming to the estate, I always went into the mountains with my second uncle to gather herbs, so I am very sensitive to scents. That woman had a very distinctive scent. I smelled it when I accompanied Your Highness to Liyuan Garden, though I never knew where it came from...!"

"Liyuan Garden?"

"Yes." Er Leng nodded solemnly. "I remember that scent. Even if she hid among a hundred people, I could easily pick her out!"

Ren Ye's eyes were full of suspicion. "Are you bullshitting me again?!"

"What is this 'bullshit'? Why would I give it to you?!"

"I mean, can you really identify that woman by her scent?" Ren Ye asked, frowning.

"I would never dare deceive Your Highness!" Er Leng bowed.

"And you're absolutely certain you smelled it in Liyuan Garden?"

"Absolutely!"

"...!" Delight flashed in Ren Ye's eyes. He paced around the room once, then lowered his head and muttered, "In other words, she doesn't know how sensitive you are to scents, so she doesn't know you have a way to find her?"

"Your Highness is truly brilliant...!" After thinking it over for a long while, Er Leng expressed his wholehearted admiration.

"Stop sucking up. Enough." Ren Ye waved a hand, his eyes bright. Turning to Er Leng, he asked, "If you encounter her again, can you beat her?!"

"I will defeat her."

"Good. I'll trust you one more time." With his hands behind his back, Ren Ye ordered, "Go to Liyuan Garden shortly and tell the eunuch in charge that I've been feeling restless lately and want a group of singing girls to entertain me. Gather all the women there under the pretext of personally selecting them for me. If you find her, don't make a fuss. Just pick a few women at random and include her among them."

"What if she resists on the spot?" Er Leng asked cautiously.

"Then beat her ass, but try to keep her alive."

Er Leng nodded immediately. "As you command. I'll go now."

With that, he turned to leave.

After considering it again, Ren Ye suddenly called out, "No, no. Forget tonight. Go tomorrow, after the midnight watch begins."

"Why?" Er Leng was puzzled. "If I go now, she should be unprepared."

Naturally, Ren Ye would not tell Er Leng that he wanted to manipulate the timing. More than half his allotted time in this Star Gate had already passed. By the morning after tomorrow, his seventy-two-hour entry period would be over, and that was a rule he could exploit...

"Tomorrow it is," Ren Ye instructed quietly. "Have Lian'er treat your wound. I'll think through what we should do tomorrow."

With that, Ren Ye left.

Lian'er looked at Er Leng with disappointment, pouting as she complained, "You spend all day calling yourself an expert, yet you couldn't even handle this little task for His Highness...!"

Then she picked up the medicine chest and called reluctantly, "Let me see the wound on your arm."

In the flickering lamplight, a trace of irritation passed through Er Leng's eyes. He replied indifferently, "No need for the trouble. I'll treat it myself."

Huh?

Since when had this blockhead changed his ways? He used to try everything he could to get me alone, hoping something unmentionable might happen along the way...

Hmph. His Highness probably scolded him so badly he can't hold his head up...

Lian'er slammed the medicine chest onto the table and left without another word.

Tonight's failed fishing operation left Ren Ye deeply anxious, with no desire to sleep.

After spending a while in Tranquil Heart Hall, he could not resist going to Spring Fragrance Garden to inspect the situation.

It was undoubtedly risky. If the woman he suspected was a player returned, their encounter could only end in a fight to the death.

But as a veteran criminal investigator, he always felt something was missing if he did not inspect the crime scene himself.

Ren Ye brought only Lian'er. As they followed the dark path, he was tense, ready at any moment to activate the Imperial Brush's Replication Special Ability.

Dead leaves fell, branches swayed in the wind, and Spring Fragrance Garden lay silent...

Soon, the two reached the "crime scene." Standing in the shadows, Ren Ye saw numerous broken branches nearby, cracks in the stone paving, and signs of impacts. The fight between the two must indeed have been fierce.

Moving farther ahead, Ren Ye suddenly noticed two large pools of blood on the ground.

One had spread widely, staining the ground for several meters around it crimson in a chaotic pattern. Presumably, this was what the Young Eunuch had left behind after his throat was slit.

When a sharp blade punctured the carotid artery, blood sprayed out. A person's instinctive reaction was to cover the wound, so the scattered blood droplets on the ground were normal. The traces left when Er Leng carried away the body were also obvious. He had seen scenes like this many times in the real world.

Ren Ye walked another dozen steps, slowly crouched, and examined the second pool of blood.

This pool had a remarkably neat outline. It had not spread at all, and it covered only a small area...

Huh?

Something's not right...

Ren Ye immediately frowned, lifted his head, and looked into the distance again.