The night was dark, and pairs of sharp eyes hid in the streets and alleys of Jing City of Da Yi, alert to the surrounding movements like falcons.

They were the secret guards of the spy agency the Eastern Depot and the Court of Patrol of North Town. They were ordered by the Emperor to patrol the streets on the eve of the entry of the Ying State’s envoy from the East Island day and night. It was their duty to clean up the rebels who wanted to take this opportunity to harm the court.

That night, among these hunderdors and guards from the Eastern Depot, Imperial Guards from the Court of Patrol of North Town as well as eunuchs from the Imperial Ceremony Office, more than 200 people all seemed to vanish on the same night, but their bodies weren’t found.

What was even more incredible was that on the very night, a mysterious waterwheel team of 100 people went to the eastern suburbs instead of going to the western suburbs to fetch water.

According to the gossips afterward, the contents of the wooden barrels of the water tankers were nothing but rancid blood and clothes. That night, it was actually a large-scale clean-up operation secretly carried out by the Commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot, Yue Xilou, which was intended to clean up spies hidden in the central investigation agency of the imperial court.

After that, this gossip went viral in Jing City. When it reached the ears of Emperor Huanan Xin, it was already well-known.

...

At Qinming Hall, the lights were dim.

"Wei An! Wei An!" Huanan Xin frowned tightly and shouted outside with his neck stretched.

Liang Zhen hurriedly trotted into the hall, nodded respectfully, and carefully peeked at the Emperor, "Your Majesty, I... I haven't seen him for two days." Huanan Xin groaned deeply and waved his hand, "Yue Xilou is really bold now. Before the operation started, I repeatedly warned him to block the news, but now it has caused a lot of gossip in Jing City. Even the secret drug of Imperial Court corrosion powder has been talked about by those civilians. It’s a big scandal, which hurt my reputation!"

Liang Zhen sighed and said in frustration, "You’re right, Your Majesty. Wei hasn’t come back for so long. Could it be that he was also drugged and poured into some river in the eastern suburbs?"

Huanan Xin kept his eyes wide open, clenched his fists fiercely, and said, "Yue Xilou disobeyed me. Well, I will ignore him for the time being. He wants to use this operation to clear up the spies of those officials in the Eastern Depot, and I can also turn a deaf ear to it. But if he killed someone I sent, I will absolutely kill him!"

...

At Jingyang Palace, Gu Yunxi was looking through her mother's book The Exquisite Collection of Delicacies under the lamplight when Lord Lei, the chief eunuch, approached and said a few words in her ear.

Gu Yunxi smiled coldly after hearing this and said lightly, "Huanan Xin is treacherous and suspicious, and the people closest to him will not be easily trusted by him. We did a little thing behind his back, and he became so anxious. There will be a lot of bad news. I’m sure he will be pissed off."

―

As dawn was breaking, the sedan chair was waiting early outside the Ritual Minister's Mansion.

Today, it was the day to welcome the envoy of Ying State into the embassy with a band of honor guards led by the official of the ceremonies.

At dawn, Ritual Minister Shi Shu'an walked out of his mansion in an official robe.

He was going to go to the Meridian Gate of the Palace to meet the officials from the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple and the ceremonial honor guards. Then they would go to Luyuan Garden together to pick up the envoy of Ying State and invite them to the embassy in Dongjiang Alley in Jing City.

The gate of the Ritual Minister’s Mansion was opened wide, and Shi Shu'an was surrounded by his servants. He was about to get into the sedan chair when a woman approached him.

She was about 16 years old, with a beautiful face. She looked graceful in an apricot-colored gauzy dress. She had a conch-shaped bun. In her arms, a baby boy was fast asleep.

Seeing Shi Shu'an, the woman's eyes lit up, and she whispered softly, "Master."

"You!"

Shi Shu'an was startled to see her, and his heart sank, "Why are you here?"

Shi Shu’an, who was about 30 years old, quickly held the sedan chair crossbar in his hand. His knees felt weak, and he trembled. The woman lowered her eyes and said eloquently, "I’ve not seen you for two months since the baby was born."

With that, she supported the baby with one hand and tried to reach Shi Shu'an's sleeve with the other hand. Unexpectedly, he shook her off coldly and looked disgusted, "I’ve rented a house for you to live in. Why don't you stay there? What are you doing here? Get out of here!"

The woman knelt down and cried, "Master, the landlord took back the house the day before yesterday, and you haven't given me money for a month. Even if you don't want to see me, Zhen'er is your own flesh and blood. You can't abandon him!"

There were many people on the streets right now, including small business owners, passers-by, etc. It was extremely lively now.

Many people were attracted by the noise outside the Ritual Minister’s Mansion and gathered together. At the same time, seven or eight women came running down the street. All of them were young and beautiful. They were dressed in colorful clothes and wearing heavy perfume.

They were told by a middle-aged woman to separate and stand outside the gate of the Ritual Minister’s Mansion. Someone in the crowd recognized them and shouted, "Hey, isn't this Nanny Li from Ningyun Hall?"

"Oh, it turns out that Lord Shi has a lover from the brothel." The crowd groaned.

A young woman with a baby in her arms brought a group of women from a brothel to block the gate of the Ritual Minister’s Mansion. The story behind it was self-evident. The Ritual Minister Shi Shu'an was so angry that he almost fainted. He trembled and shouted with his sleeves raised, "What are you doing? Today, I have official business, and I don't have time to waste on you. Go away if you’re sensible!"

Nanny Li looked calm. She stared at the mad man with a faint smile and instructed her girls, "Hurry up and help Jinghong up."

Two girls stepped forward, pulled up the woman who was sobbing, and comforted her softly.

Nanny Li folded her arms and frowned. She turned face to face with Shi Shu'an and raised her voice, "Well, Lord Shi, you fell in love with Jinghong, the most popular girl in our Ningyun Hall, and you swore to redeem her. It's true that you kept her, but money will always run out. Now she has given birth to your child, but she is penniless and homeless. She can’t go back to our Ningyun Hall! Today I’m bringing the girls here to find a solution for Jinghong. How are you going to settle her and your son? In front of so many people, you have to give her an answer!"

As soon as she finished it, the discussions around skyrocketed. Shi Shu'an's face immediately turned pale, and he turned his head away, frustrated but helpless. Nanny Li took advantage of the momentum and shrugged, "Also, you didn't pay her this month. In the past month, I’ve spent a total of fifty taels of silver on them for eating and drinking as well as the wet nurse. I am here today for the money. Go back to your mansion quickly and bring me the money, or I will see you in the court!"

The crowd roared again.

"Who is running wild at the gate of our mansion?" With a sharp reprimand, a few maids walked out of the gate, followed by a young woman with a slender figure and a coquettish temperament.

She was dressed splendidly with jewelry. She walked to Shi Shu'an and dragged him behind her. Nanny Li's arrogance was slightly restrained. She glanced at the arrogant young woman and asked with a disdainful smile, "Who are you?"

The woman spat in Nanny Li's face and cursed, "Who do you think you are to ask me?" Then she pointed at Jinghong with her red fingertip, "She’s just a stinky b*tch who slept with thousands of men. How dare she show up here?"