It was Zi Hour, ten past eleven.
We slipped out of the old man's house and headed for the Ninth Concubine's home.
The Ninth Concubine's home was not far from the old man's. I had asked him to take me there for a look during the day.
It was a small, two-story house with a flat roof, where the Ninth Concubine normally lived alone.
Now that the Ninth Concubine was dead, no one went there anymore.
People in the countryside were rather superstitious, especially in a situation like hers. She had lived alone, and her body was still lying in the mourning hall. No one dared approach her house for fear of running into her.
We soon reached her front door, and I suddenly realized something rather important.
I didn't have her house key!
How were we supposed to get in without a key?
Assistant He looked up and said, "Mr. Chen, the second floor is too high. We can't climb up there. What do we do?"
"I can pick locks." An Ning removed a hairpin and walked straight toward the front door.
Her lock-picking movements were very professional, exactly like the Seventh Master's.
I thought that when you lived that kind of life, you really did need to know a bit of everything. Had those two learned from the same master?
Assistant He's eyes widened at the sight, and he couldn't help asking, "Miss An Ning, you can even... pick locks? What did you used to do?"
An Ning blurted out, "I stole... stole... secretly learned it in college. I worked part-time opening locks for people."
I struggled to hold back a laugh.
I remembered that she hadn't even attended middle school.
"You're really inspiring," Assistant He said admiringly. "I worked my way through college too. It turns out