Chapter Four: The Bloody Tears of the Winter Plum Chapter Twenty-Nine: First Arrival at the Ghost Manor

Zhang Huai did not know, nor could he understand, what purpose lay behind the relentless attempts on Yubing’s life. The only certainty he possessed was that he could not ask Yubing directly—this was the way she protected him. The more one knew, the greater the danger. Yet anxiety gnawed at him; he worried for Yubing’s safety, feared that these endless killings would one day leave him utterly bereft of her. That was a fate he could not bear to contemplate. Thus, he sought a breakthrough through Lord Xu, for he had observed along the way that Lord Xu must know something.

Having resolved thus, he led Lord Xu into a more secluded inner chamber.

“Speak,” Zhang Huai said as he settled into a chair, picking up a dossier and leafing through it absently.

“Your Highness, the assassin… he was after me…” Lord Xu stammered, his explanation faltering, tongue-tied and anxious.

“Utter lies!” Zhang Huai interrupted, fury rising in him. He hurled the dossier forcefully at Lord Xu, making him take a step back. The dossier, losing momentum, landed on the floor and unfurled.

“I recall that last night you and your wife slept in your own chambers. If the assassin sought you, why not go to your bedroom, where you lay asleep? Why instead venture far to Yubing’s study? Stop lying. What are you and Yubing hiding from me?”

“Your Highness!” Xu Zhong, dumbfounded, knelt with a thud, protesting his innocence. “My loyalty is as clear as the sun and moon! You, you’ve wronged me terribly!”

“If that’s so, what do you have to hide?” Zhang Huai, seeing the genuine grievance in his expression, grew even more perplexed.

“Your Highness, since you’ve guessed so much already, I shall dare to tell you a bit.”

“A bit? I want everything—speak the whole truth.”

“This…”

“Just now you claimed unwavering loyalty! What, now you wish to betray your word?”

“Yes, Your Highness! I swear to speak the truth. But what I know is limited.”

“Say what you know.”

“Yes, it began the day before you came to me regarding the Ye family case…”

Yubing was rather vexed, uncertain what Xu Zhong had told Zhang Huai the day she was wounded. Since then, he had scarcely left her side, forbidding her even to leave the courtyard under the pretext that she needed to recover. What injury requires half a month’s convalescence? Even Kaixin could come and go freely, though her wounds seemed more severe.

Glancing back at Zhang Huai, who followed closely behind, Yubing continued walking, speechless. Even the riot of blossoms in the garden failed to capture her interest. Had it not been for Kaixin’s promise to bring news of the investigation into the enigmatic suicide of the magistrate eight years ago, she might not leave her room at all, left to languish in solitude.

“Yubing, I visited the Ghost Residence…” Kaixin, the moment she entered the garden, promptly reported her findings.

“Wait! Ghost Residence? What is that?” Yubing interrupted, voicing her confusion. She’d heard of the Ghost Courtyard, but when did a Ghost Residence appear?

“It’s the mansion where the magistrate died eight years ago. People say they often see the shadow of a lady ghost drifting by—hence the haunting,” Kaixin patiently explained.

“How interesting! Three out of four cases are haunted—will the last one be haunted too?” Yubing chuckled, amused. Two places had tales of ghosts; could they be the same spirit?

“What does a ghost look like? Yubing, have you seen one?” Kaixin asked, curious at Yubing’s smile.

“If only I had!” Yubing replied, half exasperated, then changed the subject. “Enough about that. Tell me what you found at the magistrate’s residence.”

“Oh!” Kaixin, disappointed at Yubing’s evasion, continued. “You guessed right—there are indeed marks on the beam. Very fine, impossible to notice without close inspection. They weren’t made by any ordinary weapon.”

“If I’m not mistaken, the invisible weapon used to attack me in the study half a month ago must be the same one,” Yubing mused, recalling her own near escape. “That means the magistrate did not commit suicide—he was murdered! If so, certain questions become clearer.”

Yubing paused beneath a willow tree, twirling a branch in her hand, thoughts racing. “But this raises new questions: if it was murder, who was the killer?”

Her mind, spinning like the willow twig, searched for the mysteries in the case. “What weapon was used to suspend the corpse? Why did so many witnesses see nothing? How did he control the corpse to fall with the rooster’s crow? And what of the bleeding plum tree in Xiaqiu County? So many riddles remain unsolved.”

She remembered her father saying that solving a case was like unraveling a complex formation—one had to find the flaws in each segment. Arrange all the flaws in sequence, and the heart of the formation would reveal itself.

“No, I must go out—now, immediately!” She could ponder for a hundred years and it would be pointless without seeing the scene firsthand.

So, before Zhang Huai could protest, Yubing strode toward the gate.

“Wait! It’s dangerous outside. Why not let Kaixin go instead?” Zhang Huai hurried after her, trying every argument.

“And why is it not dangerous for her?” Yubing retorted, refusing to turn back. She had to get out, lest she suffocate.

“Don’t forget—the assassins are after you!” Zhang Huai reminded her as she neared the door.

“It’s been half a month; what assassin remains?” Yubing finally paused, turning to Zhang Huai with a playful laugh. “Fine, you can send someone to follow me!”

“Must you go? No negotiation?” Zhang Huai stepped to her side, staring into her eyes.

“Must go! No negotiation!” Yubing replied calmly, her gaze unwavering.

“You…” In the end, he could only compromise. “You can go, but I must accompany you!” Seeing the mischievous sparkle in her eyes, Zhang Huai quickly added, “Don’t think you can shake me off!”

“Why not just assign someone to follow me? Besides, I know martial arts, and if that’s not enough, Kaixin’s skills are not weak either.”

“Either I go with you, or you stay home.”

“All right! If you want to follow, so be it!” After all, she only intended to visit the Ghost Courtyard, nowhere else. She knew he cared, so she did not refuse further.

Kaixin had already brought the horses. Yubing hurried down the steps, mounted one swiftly, and with a tug on the reins declared, “Kaixin, let’s go!”

“Wait up!” Kaixin, bewildered by Yubing’s brisk action, mounted her own horse and chased after her.

“Hurry!” Yubing snapped the whip, urging her horse on.

“What about him?” Kaixin glanced at Zhang Huai, who was hurrying behind. “Are we just leaving him?”

“He'll manage!”

It was their first time entering this infamous residence, rumored to be terrifying. Perhaps because it was daytime, it lacked the eerie chill of the Ghost Courtyard in Xiaqiu County. Yubing dismounted and climbed the steps to the door. Though it had been the magistrate’s mansion eight years ago, it was deserted like any abandoned place—overgrown with wild vegetation, crawling with snakes, rats, and insects. All that met the eye was ruin.

Guided by Kaixin, they quickly reached the inner study—the scene of the crime eight years prior. There was the mark Kaixin had mentioned, a fine, hair-thin scratch.

Examining the familiar mark, Yubing was convinced—the murderer of the magistrate was the same assassin who had attacked her.

For she had seen identical marks on the wall of the room where she herself had been ambushed.

Who was the killer? What weapon did he use?

Could he be inside the Central Prefecture Magistrate’s office? Otherwise, how could he know that only on that day she was alone?

And how did the weapon vanish?

That night eight years ago, the study was a locked room; the door had been forced open by the magistrate’s wife.

Above all, why did the murderer kill him? Was it accidental, or a deliberate silencing? If so, what did the murderer fear he might reveal?

As Yubing pondered, a sharp sound pierced the air.

She leaned back instinctively—a dart wrapped in cloth grazed her cheek, whizzed past, and embedded itself deep in the pillar behind her.

“Yubing, are you…” Kaixin, hearing the commotion, rushed to her side, gripping her flexible sword, fully alert.

Yubing raised a hand to stop Kaixin’s questions, closed her eyes, and used her senses to scan the surroundings. Confirming no one else was present, she finally spoke, “I’m fine. Let’s see what’s on this cloth.”

Kaixin took a clean handkerchief, carefully wrapped the dart’s handle, and pulled it out, placing it in Yubing’s palm. “Yubing, be careful—it might be poisoned!”

“Don’t worry—it’s not poisonous,” Yubing said, noting the dart’s normal color and scent. Her medical expertise assured her there was no poison; the crucial detail was the cloth tied to it. She took the dart, removed the cloth, and unfolded it in her hand:

Jade Ring.