Su Pan’er casually made excuses.

Zhang Dagge, however, leaned in closer, "Could it be because of what happened yesterday that you got scared?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"There’s nothing like that, I’m just a little tired, really, it’s nothing."

"That’s good then."

Zhang Dagge didn’t press her further, and took up the large sack to get busy again.

Su Pan’er watched him leave before finally raising her head to look at the towering canal boat, squinting and sizing it up.

Perhaps, it was time for a change.

After several consecutive days of doing hard labor at the dock, loading and unloading ships, Su Pan’er had grasped the patterns of these canal boats. Most of these ships belonged to the Ning Family. They frequented the dock multiple times a day, likely related to the recent autumn harvest and transportation of government grain. Furthermore, the management of the dock was chaotic beyond the official personnel; there were workers at the canals and a group of punks used for sundry tasks.

In addition, people from the Su Family, Qin Family, Lui Family, and others came and went frequently, creating quite a commotion.

She had brushed shoulders with the hands of several families multiple times, thankfully she had always presented herself in male attire and had not revealed her identity.

At night, she went in turn to investigate the Su, Qin, and Lui households. She also thoroughly searched the Qin Family’s Bamboo Leaf Qing Liquor Workshop.

The foundations of the Su Family were relatively weak and now were in the hands of several branch families, who, to Su Pan’er’s hidden outrage, seemed pleased about Su Ke’s mysterious disappearance - she almost wanted to squash these people on the spot! But in the end, she didn’t do anything and quietly retreated. As for the Lui Family, Lui Ming was not at Lui Family’s Mansion at all; Su Pan’er secretively covered the mansion but still came up empty-handed.

After completing the rounds, she found no clues. Fortunately, Su Pan’er was well-prepared and did not feel disappointed.

What troubled Su Pan’er the most, however, was the persistent attention from Zhang Dagge’s little sister!

Like right now!

As soon as Su Pan’er returned home, Zhang Mei came over proactively, her face flushed like an apple, shy yet boldly moving forward to tend to her.

"Brother, Brother Ruan Qi, you’re back!"

She approached hesitantly, busy taking the poles from their hands, "Broher Ruan Qi, I’ve prepared hot water for you. Wash your hands first then come in to eat! I’ve already prepared dinner."

Zhang Dagge said nothing, glancing at his sister before passing by her.

Su Pan’er attempted to mimic him, but Zhang Mei, obviously relentless, clung to her.

"Brother Ruan Qi, this is soap liquid I made today with soapberries; give it a try, it works really well for washing hands." Saying this, she offered the soap liquid.

Watching the woman in front of her, casting loving glances her way, the corners of Su Pan’er’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

"No need, I’ll just use the ash lye water."

This ash lye water was made by soaking leftover ash in water, and then strained to remove the residues. The remaining alkaline water could be used for washing clothes or hands.

As Su Pan’er had to apply disguise makeup to herself every day, especially her hands, to avoid giving away the paleness of her skin, it took a lot of effort.

And there Zhang Mei was, pursuing persistently, putting quite the pressure on Su Pan’er, really.

"Brother Ruan Qi, just give it a try, won’t you? My skill is really good, I won’t disappoint you."

Zhang Mei stared at Su Pan’er’s slender hands, her eyes shining.

"Thank you, but I really don’t need it!"

Su Pan’er turned her back to dodge her.

But Zhang Mei chattered on nonstop, lacking the shyness she had shown when they first met, "Brother Ruan Qi, do you know? A big incident happened recently in our Luoshan Village! It’s at the Qin Family near the foot of Deicide Mountain! Have you heard about it?"

"Hmm?"

This statement caught Su Pan’er’s attention, "What did you say? Which Qin Family?"

"Just the Qin Mansion, where His Majesty stayed temporarily before his rise to power."

Like other women of the time, Zhang Mei had a particular fondness for gossip, "You don’t know. How grand the Qin Mansion is, how luxurious it is inside! Such a large estate, and inside lives only a mother and son of the Zhou Family who help keep watch over the house. That Zhou Family, now acting as the gatekeeper for the Empress, but it seems the daughter-in-law doesn’t see it that way, even enticing men into the house at night. She’s even cooked supper for the man, and he stayed in the house for two hours before leaving..."

Su Pan’er was so surprised that her mouth fell open.

The daughter-in-law of the Zhou family?

Wait, was she talking about Xiren?

"When did this happen?"

"When else would it have been but three days ago, someone saw it with their own eyes. There’s solid evidence; I haven’t lied one bit! Many people saw it. Brother Ruan Qi, you didn’t see it, but Mrs. Zhou was so heartbroken, she cried her eyes out, declaring that if her daughter-in-law wanted to remarry, she would have to leave her three children behind..."

Zhang Mei went on talking nonstop.

But Su Pan’er stopped listening.

Three days ago? Wasn’t that the night she went to Qin Mansion looking for Xiren? She thought no one had seen her entering or exiting, but it turned out that someone had secretly witnessed the whole affair!

Upon reflection, it made sense. That night, she had entered and exited the Qin Mansion dressed as a man. If not for Xiren’s years of attentive service to her, she probably would not have been recognized.

It must be a misunderstanding because of that!

Su Pan’er quietly hid inside the toilet, contemplating that continuing this secret investigation was not going to work. It was not only slow to yield results but had also implicated others.

No! Perhaps it was time for a change of tactics.

That night, when everyone was asleep and it was dark, she shed her disguise and changed back into her night travel clothes, intending to make another trip to the Qin Mansion. But just as she was about to leave, there was a sudden noise at the door.

With a slight creak, the door was silently opened from the outside.

Su Pan’er quietly hid above on the crossbeam, watching as Zhang Mei tiptoed through the door, fumbling her way towards the bed.

She sneered to herself, leaped down from the crossbeam without a sound, and slipped away through the half-open door.

Behind her, a disappointed cry soon followed, "Where is he? No, where has Brother Ruan Qi gone? Oh no, Brother Ruan Qi has disappeared!"

But Su Pan’er did not look back and quickly left the Zhang family’s residence.

She headed straight for Qin Mansion.

Effortlessly, she scaled the high walls of the workshop, then quickly made her way towards Qin Mansion.

Qin Mansion was as silent and dark as ever.

Su Pan’er, familiar with the route, approached the main gate and with a leap, dropped into the courtyard.

But just as she landed, she immediately sensed something was off!

"Who’s there?"

She instinctively called out.

"Who, you ask? Good question!"

Along with a deep, male voice, countless torches suddenly lit up around her, and numerous shadows encircled Su Pan’er in the center, quickly closing in on her.

"Nice try, thinking you can just barge into the Qin Clan’s territory whenever you like, come and go as you please! It’s not that easy!"

As these words rang out, the crowd parted, and a figure emerged from the back.