Chapter 172: She Still Minded After All

Dongfang Qi suppressed his surging emotions and returned to his usual gentle, harmless demeanor:

"I understand. My apologies; I must have had too much to drink tonight and was a bit impulsive. I hope this won't cause you any trouble."

Lin Qingyue smiled faintly: "Rest assured, I am not so easily troubled."

He actually wished she could be troubled by it, as that would at least mean he was someone special in her heart.

"Then, in the future, can we still be the same as before?"

"Naturally."

Lin Qingyue answered with a smile, though she added one final sentence: "However, you have learned just about enough of the Talisman Technique; there is no need to come to my home to study every night anymore. From now on, you only need to practice diligently on your own and master it."

After a moment of silence, Dongfang Qi slowly uttered one word: "Alright."

"That's enough, it is getting late. If you don't leave now, the palace gates will be locked. You don't need to see me off; return to the Eastern Palace early."

As she spoke, Lin Qingyue waved her hand and departed with a carefree air.

Under the moonlight, her gait was light and brisk; the events that had just occurred seemed to have no impact on her at all.

Yet Dongfang Qi knew that she still minded.

Otherwise, she would not have declined his visits.

At this moment, he felt some regret that he should not have expressed his feelings so abruptly.

Even if there was still someone else in her heart, even if that person was already dead and had become the eternal white moonlight in her mind.

But if only there were more time, a little more time, perhaps he could also walk into her heart.

In the following days, Lin Qingyue and Dongfang Qi were each occupied—one busy with cases in the Profound Mirror Division, the other busy receiving Prince Ling Zhen. The two held their own thoughts and managed their own affairs, not meeting again.

Xie Shouzheng, Hong Yao, and the others, through several days of investigation and scouting, finally identified a suspicious location.

It was the best restaurant in Jingcheng—Tianxiang Lou. Some time ago, people from the Profound Mirror Division had even dined there.

Because the restaurant needed to store food and wine, there was a large ice cellar in the backyard.

When Hong Yao and Xie Shouzheng went to Tianxiang Lou to investigate, they caught a faint, lingering scent of a corpse at the entrance of the cellar.

Profound Mirror Division.

Xie Shouzheng said to Lin Qingyue: "The problem now is that the ice cellar at Tianxiang Lou has been kept closed recently, and it is locked from the outside."

"If my nose weren't extremely sensitive, I would have barely smelled that faint, leaking odor."

"Originally, Hong Yao and I wanted to break in directly to search the ice cellar. But Hong Yao heard rustling sounds of living creatures inside, and there should be quite a lot of them."

"Just in case, I came back to bring reinforcements, while Hong Yao is keeping watch outside Tianxiang Lou."

As he spoke, Xie Shouzheng pointed to a few dozen guards.

Hearing this situation, Lin Qingyue put on her official hat: "I will go take a look as well."

Just what kind of thing was so bold as to dare steal corpses right under her nose?

Perhaps having heard their conversation, the Nether Umbrella resting on the desk in the Profound Mirror Division emitted a red glow, and the Soul-Guiding Bell chimed *ding-ding-ding-ding*, conveying the plea of a wronged soul: "My lords, please take me with you; I want to retrieve my body!"

Xie Shouzheng picked up the Nether Umbrella and said to Lin Qingyue: "There is no time to lose, let's go quickly."

Soon, the group arrived at the entrance of Tianxiang Lou and met up with Hong Yao.

Hong Yao said: "I have been watching; Tianxiang Lou has only just opened and is not yet serving customers. The ice cellar in the backyard has been in a closed state, and employees are not allowed to enter or exit at will."

Lin Qingyue said to Xie Shouzheng: "Since we are doing this officially, let's make a show of it."

Xie Shouzheng gave a look, and the guards behind him automatically split into two teams; one team surrounded Tianxiang Lou, while the other followed Xie Shouzheng and Lin Qingyue as they charged in.

Tianxiang Lou opened its doors every day at the Si hour (9:00-11:00 AM), and would only start receiving guests after the third quarter of the Si hour.

Lin Qingyue had previously hosted a banquet there, and the waiter had a deep impression of her; thinking they were coming to eat again, he hurried over to welcome them:

"Are you all here to dine again today? We have only just opened, and it will be another three quarters of an hour before we can..."

Before he could finish, a guard flashed the token of the Profound Mirror Division and shouted loudly:

"The Profound Mirror Division is here on orders to search! All employees of Tianxiang Lou, stand where you are and await investigation!"

Then, two imposing officers were seen leading dozens of subordinates through the main hall of Tianxiang Lou toward the backyard.

Where had the waiter ever seen such a display? He was scared pale and ran upstairs in a panic: "Manager, this is bad!"

Tianxiang Lou was a property of the Feng Family.

The Feng Family was a family of great Confucian scholars; the current Head of the Family was named Feng Ying, who was the Libationer of the Directorate of Education, holding a rank of the junior third grade, responsible for the highest level of education in Qi Guo.

The Feng Family had even produced an Imperial Tutor, so they held a very high status in Qi Guo.

Every student taking the imperial examinations considered it an honor to drink a pot of Zhuangyuan Wine at Tianxiang Lou.

The food and wine at Tianxiang Lou were also famous throughout Jingcheng, though unfortunately, the prices were too high for poor scholars to afford.

Feng Ying happened to be hosting a banquet at Tianxiang Lou this noon to entertain several of his most prized students.

Before he had even approached, he heard his subordinates report: "My lord, Tianxiang Lou has been surrounded by people from the Profound Mirror Division."

Nobles had always looked down upon government offices like the Profound Mirror Division that did "dirty work," and Feng Ying, who prided himself on being a great Confucian scholar of the age, usually held a disdainful attitude whenever he heard of the achievements of the Profound Mirror Division.

He never expected that today, the rabble he had always looked down upon would be so bold as to storm his Tianxiang Lou.

Lin Qingyue, Xie Shouzheng, and the others marched straight in and soon reached the entrance of the cellar in the backyard.

The entrance to the cellar had several locks on top, locked firmly.

Xie Shouzheng looked around and shouted loudly: "Where is the manager? Open the locks!"

The manager was a young man in his twenties; he pushed through the crowd and squeezed out, bowing with cupped hands as he said:

"My lords, please forgive me. The ice stored in this cellar was collected in winter and is extremely precious."

"To extend the preservation time of the ice, there are strict requirements for opening the cellar door; it cannot be opened during the day when the Yang energy is strong, nor can a large number of people enter. Otherwise, the cold air inside will leak out, causing the ice to melt, which would result in heavy losses."

"If you wish to enter the ice cellar, please come back at night, and the number of people entering must not exceed two."

Xie Shouzheng said: "Come back at night? What a joke! Since I and Deputy Envoy Lin have brought our men here, we have certainly obtained evidence and must go in to search. If we wait until night, who knows if you will have moved the things inside away?"

The manager plopped to his knees: "That absolutely cannot be done, my lord! The weather is already hot; if we don't follow the rules, all the ice inside will melt, and the Western Regions wine and Western Regions fruit frozen inside will all rot and spoil!"

Lin Qingyue said, "I can guarantee that the ice inside will not melt. If any losses occur because of this, our Profound Mirror Bureau will bear the responsibility. Of course, the premise is that your ice cellar inside is clean and does not hide the things we are looking for."

She dared to say these words because she was naturally confident. In fact, as long as a small Talisman Array was set up at the entrance, the cold air inside could be sealed.

But the shopkeeper blocked the entrance of the ice cellar and refused to agree no matter what, eventually even daring to question: "Tianxiang Lou is a property of the Feng Family and is no ordinary place. Since your Profound Mirror Bureau is being so offensive, are you not afraid of offending the Feng Family?"

Xie Shouzheng snorted coldly: "When I handle a case, I only seek justice for the victims and fear no power! Since you are unwilling to cooperate, we will do it ourselves! Men, tear the door panels down for this official!"

"Yes!"

Several bureau guards stepped out in response and were about to take action when they heard someone shout: "Who dares to make a move?"