"What?"
"Besides Liu Chengze, there was another key witness in the case of the Spirit Vein Bureau's treason. The Snow Empress's gaze deepened in the sunset. "The former director of the Spirit Vein Bureau, my master, Lu Qingya. After his arrest, he was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison for half a year and eventually died there. The official explanation was 'suicide out of fear of punishment,' but I know he was poisoned. If we can't find the draft of his testimony from back then, Meng Qi's crime can at most be 'framing,' not 'murder.' More than three hundred lives, plus my master's—this debt must be settled clearly, and we cannot allow Meng Qi any room for acquittal."
Yin Wujou was silent for a moment. "Where might Director Lu's written testimony be?"
Snow Empress turned to look at him, the light of the sunset reflecting on her face. In her eyes, which were usually as cold as frost, there was now an emotion that Yin Wujou had never seen before. It was like expectation, or like the hesitation of being close to home.
"The old site of the prison," she said. "Ten years ago, in the cell where Lu Qingya was imprisoned, there was a loose brick on the floor. He hid the draft of his testimony under that brick. Only I knew about this. Before he died, he asked a jailer to deliver a message to me, only six words: 'There's a book under the brick, take it.'"
"Then let's go find it."
Snow Empress shook her head. "The former site of the Heavenly Prison is now the Imperial Guard's training ground. Getting in isn't difficult, but finding that brick underground requires waiting until the night training session is over and the soldiers have dispersed. And," she paused, "I remember the brick's location very clearly. But it's been ten years; the training ground might have been renovated, and the ground might have been repaved. If the brick has been dug up..."
"Then let's find the person who dug the brick," Yin Wujou said. "As long as someone moved that brick, they'll leave traces. Follow the traces, and we'll eventually find evidence."
Snow Empress stared at him for a long time, so long that Yin Wujou thought she was about to say something important. But in the end, she only slightly curved the corners of her mouth, a curve more pronounced than ever before. "Let's go. Let's go back and eat first. You've been full since that bowl of porridge this morning, aren't you hungry?"
Yin Wujou's stomach rumbled at just the right moment. He scratched his head awkwardly. Snow Empress had already turned and walked towards the city, her white robes tinged with a faint gold in the evening glow. Yin Wujou quickly followed, and the two walked side by side on the yellow dirt road in the west of the city. Behind them was the Xuan Abyss Workshop, which was gradually sinking into the twilight, and the withered grass outside the workshop that was being swept up by the evening wind.
Night fell. In the safe house in the east of the city, Yin Wujou bought two bowls of wontons from the alley entrance. Snow Empress sat at the table, using a thin copper wire to adjust the wick of the lamp, making the tiny flame a little brighter. The two ate their wontons in silence, neither mentioning tomorrow. After finishing, Yin Wujou took the initiative to clear away the bowls and chopsticks, boiled a kettle of water and placed it on the table, before returning to the inner room to lie down.
This time he fell asleep quickly; the exhaustion of the past few days caused him to sink into darkness almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Snow Empress sat in the outer room, listening to his even breathing, and took the copper bell from her sleeve, placing it in her palm. The Southern Frontier runes on the inside of the bell glowed Youyou under the lamplight. She stroked the rough engravings, recalling what Mu Canglan had said when he gave her the bell, "A protective bell from the Southern Frontier. Ring it, and all fellow disciples within a hundred miles will hear it. But someone like you probably won't need it; just keep it as a keepsake."
She shook it gently. The copper bell emitted a very soft and short hum, almost inaudible in the quiet night. Snow Empress brought the bell to her ear and closed her eyes as the lingering sound filled the air.
The next morning, Pei Jichuan's messenger reported that Cao Jing'an had attempted to leave the city through the south water gate the previous night but was intercepted by the Imperial Guard and was now imprisoned in the Court of Judicial Review jail. Meanwhile, after Meng Qi's residence was besieged by the Imperial Guard for three days, Meng Qi himself submitted a "self-statement" this morning, admitting his "responsibility for negligence" but denying all the "framing" accusations.
"Oversight?" Mu Canglan paused as he wiped wine jars behind the counter at the tavern upon hearing the news. "That old fox Meng Qi, even now he still wants to absolve himself of any responsibility?"
Yin Wujou sat outside the counter, munching on a sesame seed cake, and mumbled, " Vice Minister Pei said that Cao Jing'an is very stubborn and refuses to confess anything. But he found a map of the ventilation shafts of Warehouse A on Cao Jing'an, as well as a draft of instructions written by Meng Qi himself, the one that ordered Puppet Armor to 'eliminate all living things in Warehouse A.' The chain of evidence is now closed, and Meng Qi can't deny it."
Mu Canglan put down the wine jar and wiped his hands. "Now it all depends on Lu Qingya's draft testimony. If we find it, Meng Qi will surely die; if we don't, Meng Qi will at most be convicted of 'negligence' and 'framing,' exiled three thousand miles away, and might be able to return in a few years if there's a general amnesty."
Yin Wujou stuffed the last bite of the sesame seed cake into his mouth, stood up, and clapped the sesame seeds off his hands. "So tonight we're going to the old site of the Heavenly Prison. Snow Empress said she remembers the location of that brick."
Mu Canglan pulled a key from under the counter and tossed it to him. "There are two fine horses in the stables in the back of the tavern. You can ride them after dark. The old site of the Heavenly Prison is in the Imperial Guard's drill ground in the north of the city. Climb over the back wall, and the old prison cells are on the ground under the third flagpole on the east side. I went there once before, and I still remember it a little."
Yin Wujou took the keys and was about to leave when Mu Canglan called him back. "Kid." The old drunkard leaned against the counter, his dusty coat open at the collar, revealing a faded old undergarment. "The Snow Empress may seem cold, but she's more sentimental than anyone else. The Spirit Vein Bureau's affairs have weighed on her for ten years; don't let her bear it all alone."
Yin Wujou gripped the key in his hand and nodded.
That night, the two rode out of the city and circled around to the outer wall of the Imperial Guard's drill ground in the north of the city. The drill ground covered a vast area, and during the day, the shouts of soldiers training could be heard three streets away, but now it was so quiet that only the chirping of insects could be heard. Snow Empress dismounted, tied the reins to an old elm tree outside the wall, and looked up at the top of the wall. The wall was about two zhang high, and the top of the wall was inlaid with broken porcelain pieces, but there was a gap on the east side that had collapsed halfway, which had been washed away by the rain a while ago and had not yet been repaired.
The two climbed over the gap and entered. The training ground was empty, the moonlight making the ground appear white. Snow Empress walked towards the east side based on her memory, her eyes searching the ground. The training ground was covered with yellow soil and fine sand, flat and firm, showing no signs of renovation. She counted her steps and walked to the third flagpole on the east side, squatted down, and tapped the ground with her fingers.
The sound was solid. She frowned and tapped in a different spot, but it was still solid. Yin Wujou followed behind her and squatted down to help her search. The two of them tapped the ground within a ten-foot square around the flagpole, but there was no hollow echo.
"Could I have misremembered?" Yin Wujou asked in a low voice.
Snow Empress shook her head. "No. Lu Qingya said 'there's a book under the brick,' and that brick is under the cell floor. The cells in the Heavenly Prison are paved with blue bricks, and the training ground is filled with yellow earth and sand, but the blue brick should still be underneath." She stood up and glanced across the entire training ground.