He Ping'an couldn't defend herself. However, because she was so small, when the guards raised a lantern to illuminate her face, she cleared suspicion. "The assassin who came to the mansion tonight was a man, not her." "But could she be an accomplice outside?" He Ping'an immediately cried out loudly, "I'm a doctor! A doctor!" "What are you doing here?" "A young maid in your mansion was sick and asked me to see her. I rode here on a horse and tied it outside. In just that short time, someone stole it!" The two remaining guards exchanged a glance. With stern faces, they made her lead the way, still needing to verify the truth. He Ping'an led them to where Liuer lived. The girl on the bed was still in pain. Seeing Ping'an, she urgently tried to get up and apologize. Seeing that Ping'an was being escorted, she endured the pain to speak for her. However, the two guards still had doubts. He Ping'an saw how meticulous they were and temporarily suppressed her anxiety about finding the horse, instead saying, "Since such a commotion happened tonight and the assassin still escaped right under your noses, caution isn't wrong. But if you want to determine whether she and I are assassins, there's a ready method." "People can fake it, but illness can't. Why not ask the mansion's imperial physician for a look?" "You wish!" The two guards weren't stupid. Having wasted so much time with her here, they were now somewhat irritated. They grabbed He Ping'an and started dragging her out, evidently intending to hand her over. He Ping'an: "..." In the narrow alley, she was like a tattered bag, each arm held by a man as she was dragged across the stone road. He Ping'an looked at her robe, relieved that she was still wearing Liu Dalang's old clothes. If they were any more tattered, she wouldn't need to wash them—she could just throw them directly into the stove for kindling. Leaving the narrow, dark alley, the lights of Prince Jin's Mansion illuminated a wide area at the entrance. With the assassin's appearance, the entire mansion was on high alert. The left and right senior administrators were searching inside and outside respectively. Standing outside at that moment was Senior Administrator Lin Yao. He had rushed back from outside at night. After the prince's study seal was stolen, the mansion's guards and the Ceremonial Guard had already been dispatched. It had been only a quarter of an hour since the incident, and two guards had already brought someone before him. Lin Yao looked at the somewhat familiar little figure sandwiched between them, silently listening to the guards' report. She never raised her head, as if resigned to her fate. Just like the first time he saw her. Back then, it was Lin Yousheng bullying her; now, it was Prince Jin's Mansion instead. Lin Yao thought for a moment and ordered, "Since we're checking her identity, we can't let the two maids in the alley go either. Whether they're truly sick or faking, let the imperial physician have a look. Go, summon Physician Wang." The two guards exchanged glances. Lin Yao pointed at He Ping'an. "Leave her here." On the hard stone, without support, the dusty girl prostrated. When she heard the words "imperial physician," she was startled. In her daze, she seemed to recognize the owner of the voice. By the dim reddish lamplight, seeing the familiar Senior Administrator, He Ping'an thought she was dreaming. Senior Administrator Lin Yao was still in the same attire. With the assassin incident at the mansion, he had lost his smile, and his brows and eyes exuded a chilling severity. He looked down at her from above, making her feel less than an ant. He Ping'an lowered her head in chagrin, wanting to explain herself, but when the words came out, she even stammered. "I was making a house call at night... My horse, my horse was stolen by the assassin... I'm not an assassin." "If you were an assassin, the Tatars would have already broken into Datong." Lin Yao crouched down, scrutinizing her, puzzled. "How come I run into you again?" He Ping'an looked down and counted the brick gaps, also puzzled. "Maybe it's 'think of something by day, dream of it by night'?" "What nonsense! Does this look like a dream?" Lin Yao told her to stand up and asked, "What does your horse look like?" Assassins were hard to find, but horses were easier. Hearing this, He Ping'an used every means to describe her beloved horse. After listening, Lin Yao ordered someone to bring paper and brush, telling her to draw it in detail so that a painter could copy it and distribute it for the mansion's people to search by the picture. Seeing hope of recovering her pony, He Ping'an flourished the brush. Soon, her beloved horse appeared vividly on paper. Lin Yao looked at the still-wet drawing, thought for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Can you paint?" He Ping'an smiled sheepishly. "My pony looks just like that." Although its eyes were a bit small and bulging, and its ears were large, and it had a dipped back and a big belly, it was still growing. Given time, it would become a sturdy horse. Lin Yao looked at the horse on the paper and handed it to the mansion's painter. The painter scratched his head, hesitant to speak, but seeing He Ping'an's certainty, Lin Yao ordered, "Make it exactly the same. No changes allowed." The painter sighed quietly. Deep in the night, the mansion was brightly lit with lamps, and voices were suppressed. The loss of the study seal was a minor matter, but no one knew how much confidential information had been leaked. With frequent foreign invasions after autumn, this critical moment could not be taken lightly. His Highness had ordered the assassin to be caught before dawn. To this end, Lin Yao had visited multiple government offices, and all of Datong was under curfew. In the side room, drawing papers flew out one by one. He Ping'an stood at the bottom of the steps for a long time, her legs and feet somewhat numb. She looked at the pageboy distributing the pony drawings and whispered, "Do you have any carrots here?" The boy carrying a stack of papers seemed to roll his eyes and ignored her. He Ping'an smiled awkwardly, feeling snubbed, and frequently glanced at the mansion gate. Since Liu Dalang had brought the horse back, she had been the one taking care of it. To lose it tonight—it would be a lie to say she wasn't sad. She sat on the steps, hiding in the shadows. Servants came and went, as if no one noticed her. She thought of leaving, but as she stood up, someone in the distance seemed to be waving at her. He Ping'an looked into the distance. The person seemed to blame her for being stupid, for not understanding his meaning after so long, and even stamped his foot. He Ping'an walked over slowly. The servants in the side room didn't even glance at her. She breathed a sigh of relief and trotted all the way to the pageboy. It was the one who had rolled his eyes earlier. His drawings had been distributed, and there was a basket of carrots at his feet. He said impatiently, "Is this enough?" He Ping'an was surprised, not expecting him to have taken it to heart. The pageboy continued to fetch more drawings. He Ping'an walked with him and thanked him repeatedly. No one knew her horse better than she did. Besides, her pony Luobo was very intelligent. Afraid it might be caught again, the girl looked around and finally headed for the mansion's Guard Office. Tonight, everyone—especially the two offices of Guards and Ceremonial Guard—was frantically busy. If they couldn't find the assassin by dawn, they would surely be punished. At such a critical juncture, an inconspicuous girl brought back by the Senior Administrator claimed she could find her horse. With the mindset of trying everything, the guard leader took her along. The assassin's trail eventually disappeared in the west of the city. The two guards who had caught her earlier now rode horses, accompanying them. On the empty streets, soldiers were searching house by house. Seeing He Ping'an looking around aimlessly without any action, a guard named Zhang Qing couldn't help but ask, "Can you really find your horse?" He Ping'an looked at the messy shacks and low bungalows before her. Pulling out a carrot, though her heart was anxious, her face was perfectly calm. "I will definitely find it." Zhang Qing clearly didn't believe her. But admiring her courage, he gave a rare smile. "If you don't find your horse tonight, and we don't find the assassin, we'll be punished together tomorrow. On the road to the Yellow Springs, I'll recognize you as my sister." The group entered an alley from another direction. He Ping'an called Luobo's name as she walked to the end, but there was no reaction around. Zhang Qing followed behind her, looking around. The farther they went, the brighter the firelight seemed. Two teams met at the corner. The leader was from the same squad as Zhang Qing. "The front has been searched thoroughly. No suspicious assassin..." Before he finished, a neigh suddenly burst out from behind a courtyard wall not far away. * In a pigsty. The pony, with its legs tied, nudged aside the sow in front. Perhaps hearing the familiar call or catching the scent of its owner, it struggled even more fiercely. The back door was quickly opened. A slender girl swung a knife. At the critical moment, a scream also came from outside the wall. The pony twisted around in the cramped space, its big belly replacing its neck in line of the blade. With a thud— The pony's neigh turned more miserable. Outside came the clatter of armor. Several people swiftly climbed over the wall. "Over here!" Firelight soon illuminated that dark corner. Everyone in the house, along with the nearby ten households, were surrounded. Men, women, old, and young all knelt for interrogation. In the pigsty, Zhang Qing cut the ropes. Freed, the pony collapsed in the wet manure heap, gasping, blood streaming from a hole in its belly. Pain and grief welled in He Ping'an's heart. Together with a few guards, she carried it out. Taking off her outer garment, she wiped the filth near the wound. Zhang Qing let out a long breath, looked at He Ping'an, and comforted her. "My brother has gone to report to the mansion. This is tonight's great hero. When the veterinary from the mansion arrives, it definitely won't die." He Ping'an stroked Luobo and smiled bitterly. "Let's hope so." The original residents of the house were now taken out for interrogation. Under the bright light, a group of people looked ashen. Senior Administrator Lin Yao had arrived. After a night of busy work, the young man's eyes were cold and grim. Although these people tried hard to exonerate themselves, how could they escape suspicion when the horse was on their premises? The woman prostrate on the ground trembled. Children wailed loudly. Amid swirling smoke, the scene was chaotic. Zhang Qing and several guards carried out the injured horse. He Ping'an wiped her tears. A few carrots accidentally fell from her basket. He Ping'an didn't bother to pick them up, but the pony started neighing again. The rolling carrot finally stopped at a woman's feet. He Ping'an glanced at Lin Yao and, seeing he wasn't paying attention to her, crawled over quietly. The thin woman curled up on the ground, her black hair disheveled. He Ping'an felt her way to her feet. Through the coarse cloth, she vaguely sensed an object wedged between the woman's legs. He Ping'an picked up the carrot. Through the tangled strands of hair, she accidentally met the woman's dark eyes. A cold gleam flashed, too fast for anyone to react. A knife drawn from under her skirt was pressed against He Ping'an's neck.
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