The princely estate was silent as the grave. The five-story Jade Resonance Tower stood like a lighthouse in the Capital City, golden lamplight shining through its windows.
Outside the study on the top floor, the Empress Dowager stood by the terrace railing in a dark red house dress, holding a telescope presented as tribute from below and gazing toward distant Paulownia Street. The night breeze lifted her skirt, offering fleeting glimpses of her fair calves.
The study was brightly lit. Dongfang Liren sat behind a broad desk with several stacks of case files before her, writing and sketching in a small notebook.
Dongfang Liren had been born the second princess, a golden branch and jade leaf, and she enjoyed martial arts. But martial pursuits and criminal investigations were two different things. She had never had the opportunity to investigate cases herself, nor had she studied such things before.
But today on Zhuji Street, Lord Tangtang had displayed his brilliance before everyone, truly stunning her.
Her martial aptitude was already just a tiny bit inferior, and now she could not even get a word in when it came to her own duties. How was she supposed to establish authority before her subordinates in the future?
Thus, after returning from Zhuji Street, Dongfang Liren had buried herself in old case files here, studying their lessons so that the next time she encountered such a situation, Ye Jingtang would not take her for a dimwitted prince again.
While she was studying intently, the Empress Dowager handed the telescope to Hongyu and walked listlessly into the room.
"Li Ren, has that subordinate of yours, what's his name, returned?"
Dongfang Liren continued writing in her notebook without looking up.
"Who?"
"That young gentleman surnamed Ye. Didn't you say last time that I should learn to