Zhou Ye noticed that something was off about his mood.
He understood that something must have happened between Yun Shen and Feng Chenyi in the past.
He did not probe further into their relationship, saying only to Yun Shen, "If you feel we cannot use Young Master Feng, I won't make that move."
Yun Shen's eyes flickered. He could sense the consideration in Zhou Ye's words.
He drained his cup of wine and shook his head. "What I mean is, Feng Chenyi is straightforward and upright. He's the perfect person to handle this."
Fifteen years ago, Yun Shen and Feng Chenyi had been close friends who shared everything.
When the Zhang Family met with disaster, Feng Chenyi had still been young, yet he had knelt before Grand Preceptor Feng for three days and nights, insisting that he did not believe the Zhang Family had done such a thing and asking the grand preceptor to demand an explanation from His Majesty.
But how could he have known that the situation was hopeless from the start? Even with all his efforts, Grand Preceptor Feng had only managed to prevent the entire Zhang Family from being executed.
Yun Shen had been young then too. He had felt wronged and been filled with resentment.
He had even held it against the Feng Family for failing to save his parents' lives.
On the day he was exiled, Feng Chenyi had come to see him off, only for Yun Shen to curse him out and sever their friendship by cutting off a piece of his robe, saying they would have nothing more to do with each other for the rest of their lives.
Later, after he grew up and became the master of Chongming House, he came to understand the twists and turns of the world and just how deep and filthy the waters of the capital's court ran.
When he thought back on the matter, he felt guilty toward Feng Chenyi.
Thus, even after he came to the capital's Jade Fragrance House and became Young Master Yunshen, hearing news of Feng Chenyi at every turn, he never again sought him out.
He only hoped that Feng Chenyi believed he had died on the road into exile.
But now that he was plotting with Zhou Ye, he would have to rely on the Feng Family's strength.
So he would not stop Zhou Ye.
Having received his affirmation, Zhou Ye did not press him further about Feng Chenyi.
He only said, "In that case, Young Master Yunshen, I'll borrow your writing materials."
He then picked up a brush and briefly described what had happened to Bai Qingyu. When he spotted the melon seeds on the table, he raised a brow and slipped two into the letter.
Afterward, he asked Yun Shen, "Young Master Yun, do you have a bow and arrows here?"
Yun Shen waved a hand. "Brother Zhou, what a question. My Jade Fragrance House is a place where guests come to enjoy themselves. Why would there be weapons here?"
"You don't trust me, Young Master Yun?"
"..." Yun Shen held his gaze for two seconds before finally giving in. He rose, walked to a cabinet at the back, and turned a vase three times to the right. The next moment,
the entire wall suddenly opened down the middle.
Behind it was a packed array of sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, and forks. Hidden weapons and poisons were there in every variety, more than enough to equip a twenty-person team of assassins.
Zhou Ye, who had only been testing him, stared in surprise.
"Young Master Yun, I suspect you don't just want to overturn the verdict. You want to kill the current emperor outright."
A sharp glint flashed in Yun Shen's eyes. "If I weren't trying to clear the Zhang Family's name, how could he possibly still be alive?"
Zhou Ye was glad he was not Yun Shen's enemy. He stepped forward, took a bow and arrows, wrapped them in a long cloth, and slung them across his back.
He opened the window of the Wangyue private room, gripped the frame with one hand, and smiled at Yun Shen. "I'm going to deliver a letter. I'll be back shortly. Sorry to trouble you to cover for me here, Young Master Yun."
Yun Shen waved. Zhou Ye stepped onto the window frame with one foot, concealed himself in the shadows, and used his lightness skill to leap onto the roof of Jade Fragrance House.
Yun Shen, who remained in the room, walked to the table where the guqin stood. He placed a hand on its strings and cleared his throat. When he spoke, he sounded just like Zhou Ye.
He said to Zhou Da outside the door, "Zhou Da, go back and tell Mother I won't be returning to the residence tonight. I'll stay here with Young Master Yun."
In front of the guests beside him, Zhou Da answered the person in the room with a yes.
Yun Shen spoke again in Zhou Ye's voice:
"Young Master Yun, how about playing Spring Snow for me this time?"
After saying that, Yun Shen returned to his own voice.
"Very well, I'll play Spring Snow."
As Zhou Ye leaped across the rooftops, he asked the little system what Yun Shen had done.
After hearing the answer, he could not stop smiling.
I had no idea he was so skilled at imitating voices.
He gave me an alibi in just a few words.
When I get the chance, I'll have to learn from him. That way, after this body dies and I'm reborn, I can make sure people I know won't recognize me.
With the little system guiding him, Zhou Ye soon found the Patrol Camp's offices.
The Patrol Camp was similar to a modern security department.
As its commander, Feng Chenyi was equivalent to the head of that department.
Whenever trouble broke out in the city, the Patrol Camp had to make the arrests.
The prisoners were then handed over to the Ministry of Justice for processing.
Zhou Ye could not have chosen anyone better to arrest Zhao Hai.
At that moment, Feng Chenyi was sitting in his office, organizing the cases from recent days and checking for anything he might have overlooked.
Crouched in a tree outside the window, Zhou Ye pierced the letter with an arrow, then used a dagger to cut off its head and tail. That way, even if someone examined the arrow closely, they would not trace it back to Yun Shen.
He then nocked the arrow and drew the bow, narrowing his phoenix eyes as he concentrated all his strength at a single point.
He abruptly released the string. The arrow shot through the wide-open window of Feng Chenyi's study and buried itself two inches into a table leg!
"Who?!" Feng Chenyi rose and drew his sword in less than half a second.
He turned and looked straight in Zhou Ye's direction.
Zhou Ye marveled inwardly at his instincts and immediately flew away.
Feng Chenyi was about to give chase when he looked down and noticed a letter pierced by the arrow.
He unfolded it and read it.
His expression changed slightly.
He immediately sheathed his sword, gripped the hilt, and strode outside.
As soon as he was out the door, he shouted, "Third, fourth, fifth, and sixth squads, come with me to the Bai Residence on Yong'an Road!"
Deputy Commander Nan Yu caught up to him and asked, "Commander Feng, what are we going to do? Why are we taking so many people?"
Feng Chenyi had a heroic appearance, and his brows were full of chill.
Standing in the darkness, he looked like a sharp sword, as though he might whistle from its sheath at any moment and cut down every evil in his path.
He gave Nan Yu just two words in reply: "Make an arrest!"
In the Bai Residence, Lord Bai and his wife, Lady Liang, looked haggard, their eyes red.
Lord Bai in particular was trembling with anger. He asked Zhao Junze, "Commander Zhao, if it were your eldest son who had died today, could you still say such a thing?!"
Zhao Junze stood in the hall, the Imperial Guards behind him nearly filling the Bai Residence's inner courtyard. "Five thousand taels of gold is the greatest show of sincerity our Zhao Family can offer. Please take a step back, Lord Bai. It would be best for everyone."
"How could my son's life be measured in money?!" Lord Bai pointed at Zhao Hai, who was kneeling on the ground. "All I want is to report this to the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty, and have His Majesty grant my son justice!"
Seeing that he would not yield, Zhao Junze shouted, "Must my son be buried with yours before you'll let this go, Lord Bai?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Imperial Guards accompanying him drew their blades two inches from their sheaths. The ringing made everyone in the Bai Family shrink back.
But though Bai Yanting was only a civil official, he had a strong backbone.
He looked at Zhao Hai kneeling on the ground.
There was not the slightest trace of remorse on the young man's face. Instead, his eyes were full of impatience, as though taking a human life was no different to him than crushing an ant.
For a moment, Bai Yanting's grief deepened.
He practically shouted:
"Yes!"
"I want a murderer to pay with his life!"
"My Bai Family has produced upright officials for generations, and my son always conducted himself honorably. He never did anything to wrong heaven, earth, or his fellow people. Today, he was brutally murdered. If I, his father, cannot get justice for him, how will I have the face to meet him in the underworld after I die?!"
"You!" Zhao Junze had not expected to encounter someone so unyielding.
For a moment, killing intent surfaced in his eyes. "It seems you've only just arrived in the capital, Lord Bai, and don't yet know the Zhao Family's methods."
"If you insist on having your way and making my son pay with his life, you'll have made an enemy of the Zhao Family. From then on, the official careers of everyone in your Bai Family, and their very lives, will be in grave danger!"
Bai Yanting's expression changed repeatedly when he heard this.
He looked again at his wife and mother nearby, and at his young children.
A host of emotions churned in his eyes.
His jaw tightened, his teeth nearly grinding together.
He was not afraid to stand against the Zhao Family, but what about his family?
Just as he was torn by the struggle within, a clamor suddenly came from outside.
Immediately afterward, the main gate of the Bai Residence was forced open from the outside.
The man at the front was handsome, clad in soft armor with a long saber at his waist. His eagle-like eyes fixed sharply on Zhao Junze.
He called out in a ringing voice, "The Patrol Camp is here to make an arrest! Where is the criminal Zhao Hai?!"