Chapter 5 Two-Intent Soup “I am not worthy of him.”

Chapter 5: The Soup of Two Hearts "I am not worthy of him."

The night outside was deep, and the candlelight in the study flickered.

The faint scent of fruit and honey was elusive, stirring amorous thoughts.

Song Langyu leaned back slightly before reaching out to take the gilded paper. He sniffed it and frowned, "There's the scent of powder."

"And the scent of Lurui Lotus!" Wen Jiao frowned, with a look of utter disappointment.

"Where did this gilded paper come from?" Song Langyu stood up.

Wen Jiao told him truthfully, and Song Langyu's expression darkened. "I need to leave the mansion. Have Ying Liu escort you back."

That night, Song Langyu's men secretly kept watch on the Zhong family.

Everyone and every carriage that entered or left the Zhong residence had their comings and goings traced.

In just three to five days, all the places the Zhong family frequented had been thoroughly investigated.

Song Langyu took Wen Jiao to check each place, but found nothing.

Standing on the bustling street, Wen Jiao sighed in frustration, "Where exactly did Zhong Hui pick up the scent of Lurui Lotus?"

When Song Langyu didn't reply for a while, Wen Jiao looked up and saw him staring across the street.

It was a bookshop with various books displayed at the entrance. A slim woman was browsing the books, but her eyes were darting around—it was actually Zhong Hui!

Wen Jiao had an idea and suddenly waved at Zhong Hui, calling out warmly, "Sister Zhong!"

"Reckless!" Song Langyu scolded softly, warning, "Don't tip them off."

But Zhong Hui had already walked over with her maidservant. Wen Jiao beamed and stepped forward to take her hand, saying, "Sister Zhong, when you sent the poem to my cousin that day, I was also there. Do you remember me?"

Zhong Hui seemed a bit nervous, her fingers trembling slightly, and she said softly, "I remember you, little sister."

Then she curtsied to Song Langyu, "Greetings, Prince Song."

Song Langyu returned the greeting without saying much.

"Your two poems were truly evocative. My cousin and I read them over and over. She even said she would invite you to the mansion in a couple of days to fully discuss poetry."

Wen Jiao lied without hesitation, but Zhong Hui took it seriously. Her eyes lit up, and she instinctively looked up at Song Langyu.

Unfortunately, Song Langyu showed no reaction.

Wen Jiao took in every detail of Zhong Hui's expression.

Wen Jiao's features were lovely and endearing, with a warm smile and an enthusiastic manner, so she quickly grew close to Zhong Hui.

After strolling through the market for a while, Song Langyu said to Wen Jiao, "I need to go to the government office soon. Let me take you back to the mansion first."

Wen Jiao reluctantly agreed and said to Zhong Hui, "Sister Zhong, I really enjoyed chatting with you today. When my cousin sends an invitation in a couple of days, you must come!"

"I... will definitely come." Zhong Hui was not particularly striking; she was slender and looked unwell. But when she looked at Song Langyu, her eyes grew misty, adding a bit of radiance to her whole demeanor.

Wen Jiao got into the carriage, smiling warmly as she waved goodbye, and only sat back in the carriage when Zhong Hui became a tiny black dot.

Song Langyu's brows furrowed slightly. "You were so reckless. If she noticed, all our efforts would have been wasted."

Wen Jiao was displeased but responded dismissively, "You are right, cousin. I won't do it again."

Then she clamped her mouth shut and said nothing.

"Did you find any clues?"

Wen Jiao said nothing.

"Does Zhong Hui smell of Lurui Lotus?"

Wen Jiao remained silent.

Song Langyu looked up and saw her sitting upright with her body turned away, her lips tight and cheeks puffed—clearly sulking.

Although he thought Wen Jiao was reckless, he also knew she was well-intentioned, so his tone softened.

"Within a month, three officials' female relatives committed suicide. The Ministry of Justice investigated but found no clues. Clearly, the mastermind is no ordinary person. Now that we've finally traced it to Zhong Hui, we must act with even more caution."

Wen Jiao snorted lightly.

"I know you're doing this for the case, but you need to be extremely careful from now on."

"That may be true, but cousin, you were too harsh. If you do this again, I'll drop this case!" Wen Jiao huffed. "Zhong Hui's scent of Lurui Lotus is very strong, even stronger than the scent on Wang's clothes."

"Anything else?"

"She likes you, cousin. A few days ago, she came to deliver poems to my cousin, probably just to see you. Today, it also seemed like she intentionally 'bumped into' you."

Song Langyu frowned. "Don't talk nonsense."

"I'm not talking nonsense. I observed carefully just now—she kept stealing glances at you."

Unmarried women care most about their reputation. Whether true or false, spreading such rumors would harm her reputation.

"Don't tell anyone else about this."

Wen Jiao pursed her lips and smiled mischievously, "Actually, if you want to solve the case, I have a quick and easy method. You just need to sacrifice your charm, cousin, and I guarantee Miss Zhong will tell everything she knows."

"Nonsense."

Song Langyu naturally would not sacrifice his charm. He deployed more men outside the Zhong residence and soon made a new discovery—Zhong Hui had gone to the Que Du Temple on South Mountain.

Twenty years ago, a female Daoist priest wandered to the capital and built the Que Du Temple at the foot of South Mountain in the suburbs. It was a temple dedicated to seeking marriage blessings and only allowed female visitors.

The sky was barely light, and Wen Jiao was dozing off in the carriage.

She wore a bright red cloak and two plain silver hairpins in her hair.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, the carriage jolted. Wen Jiao opened her sleepy eyes and saw two more people in the carriage—

Song Langyu and a woman.

The woman looked about twenty, with slender eyebrows and eyes, a tall figure, and dressed as a maidservant.

Song Langyu said, "She is Xue Tang. She will disguise herself as your maidservant and stay close to protect you."

Xue Tang was a wandering martial artist. Two years ago, she was framed and imprisoned. Fortunately, Song Langyu uncovered the truth and cleared her name. Now she was repaying the favor.

Wen Jiao's eyes curved into a smile, and she said sweetly, "Thank you for your trouble, Sister Xue."

Xue Tang cupped her fist crisply and said, "Rest assured, even if that Que Duo Abbey were a den of tigers and dragons, I could keep you safe."

She looked nothing like a maid—she was a female warrior in disguise.

Before leaving, Song Langyu cautioned Wen Jiao again, "Don't take any risks or act on your own. Just find out if there's any Lurui Lotus in the abbey."

"Jiaojiao understands," Wen Jiao agreed readily.

It was still early, and there were few worshippers in Que Duo Abbey. Only an elderly Daoist nun was sweeping the courtyard. When she saw visitors, she hurried over to guide them, first leading them to the front hall to offer incense and draw divination sticks.

Wen Jiao put on a sorrowful look, shook the bamboo tube, and out fell a stick—a bad omen.

She picked it up and stared at it blankly, tears streaming down. Xue Tang was stunned for a moment before reacting, urging, "Miss, don't be too sad. This fortune may not be accurate."

"How could it not be accurate? He never had any feelings for me in the first place, and now it's come true..." Wen Jiao sobbed, collapsing weakly into Xue Tang's arms, looking utterly heartbroken.

"Green hills circle round as if there were no path, then suddenly a thousand sails appear in the distance."①

A clear female voice emerged from behind the beaded curtain.

Wen Jiao looked up, eyes full of tears, and saw a Daoist nun in a silver-red gold-embroidered robe parting the curtain. Her features were cool and ethereal, a jade-handled duster in hand as she lightly swept it and greeted with palms together, "Why is the madam so distressed?"

"I have feelings for my elder cousin, but he... doesn't feel the same way," Wen Jiao sobbed, making up a story.

"Might I ask who this elder cousin is?"

"He... he is the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo, of noble birth. I am really not good enough for him..." Wen Jiao covered her face and wept.

Xue Tang watched in astonishment—this play wasn't part of the plan...

The Daoist nun's eyes narrowed slightly, but her expression became even more kind as she invited Wen Jiao to the back courtyard rooms for a private talk.

This Daoist nun was named Miao Shan, the founder of Que Duo Abbey. She was eager to probe Wen Jiao's background.

First, she asked about Wen Jiao's family status, age, and experiences, then some things about Song Langyu. Wen Jiao answered truthfully what she knew and said she didn't know when she didn't.

At noon, Miao Shan invited her to stay for a meal, and in the afternoon, she went on about a lot of deep Daoist teachings. Wen Jiao seemed to half-understand, but her eyes were full of trust.

As dusk fell, Wen Jiao took her leave.

"Will the abbess help her succeed?" asked the young Daoist nun who had been attending.

Miao Shan took a sip of tea and said, "It's not impossible."

"But what about that Lady Zhong?"

"I don't think she'll succeed. She's plain-looking and dull-witted. Now that we have a more suitable candidate, why wouldn't we use her?"

The young Daoist nun said, "This one is indeed quite stunning, and she lives in Duke Zhenguo's mansion. Her chances are much better than the previous one."

"Not only are her chances better, but she's also an orphan with no family or support."

Miao Shan closed her eyes, fingering her white jade beads, and murmured, "If we could get some dirty secret on her, it would be even more secure."

In the Changpu Courtyard's study, Song Langyu's face was as black as thunder: "Are you so eager to make Miao Shan suspicious that you actually said you admire me?"

Wen Jiao cursed under her breath, but when she looked up, she put on an apologetic expression: "Elder Cousin is right to scold me. Today I was truly reckless..."

She pulled a crumpled handkerchief from her sleeve and laid it before Song Langyu like a treasure: "The scent of Lurui Lotus in Miao Shan's room is extremely strong. I also found half a medicinal pellet in the incense ash—besides Lurui Lotus, it contains a lot of datura powder."

Xue Tang exclaimed in surprise, "When did you sift through the incense burner?"

"During the meal..."

Wen Jiao had been forced to learn thievery as a child—retrieving copper coins from boiling water and stones from hot coals, practicing endlessly every day. If she failed, she would go without food for an entire day. Though she hadn't practiced this skill for a long time, sneaking out a single incense pellet right under Miao Shan's nose was no big deal.

Instead of the praise she expected, Song Langyu's face was icy, and his voice already carried suppressed anger: "Utterly reckless."

Wen Jiao had anticipated his anger, but she didn't care.

The only thing she cared about was that secret letter.

Song Langyu turned his back on Wen Jiao, acting distant.

"Having you help investigate was a lapse in judgment on my part. I won't bother you with this anymore."

Wen Jiao looked up in surprise, her bright eyes filled with hurt, her voice trembling a little: "Cousin, are you going to burn the bridge after using it?"

Seeing that they were about to argue, Xue Tang quickly tugged at Wen Jiao and urged, "Lord Song is worried for your safety. Don't misunderstand him."

"Worried for my safety? Now that you don't need me anymore, you're going to kill the donkey once it's done the job!"

Ignoring Xue Tang's attempts to stop her, Wen Jiao covered her face and ran out crying.

Once she left Changpu Courtyard, Wen Jiao slowed down. There was no trace of sadness on her face.

Now that she had found Miao Shan, Song Langyu was no longer useful. It wasn't Song Langyu who was getting rid of the donkey after it finished milling—she was the one about to abandon him.

The next day, just as Wen Jiao left the house, a silk pouch was tossed into her carriage.

Inside was a note that read: "If you want a good match, come alone to Changle Lane for a meeting."

The note bore Miao Shan's personal seal at the bottom.

Wen Jiao ordered the driver to stop, saying she wanted to buy some face powder, and got off with her maid. Once inside the powder shop, she handed the maid a small piece of silver, telling her to look around on her own, then snuck out the back door.

She hailed another carriage and headed to Changle Lane.

The lane was empty, eerily silent.

"Abbess?"

Wen Jiao called out, trying to muster her courage.

The next moment, her mouth and nose were covered, and the strong smell of knockout herbs filled her lungs. Her vision went black, and she passed out completely.

Author's note:

Wen Jiao: "Cousin wants to invite Sister Zhong over for a visit." "I have feelings for Elder Cousin."

Today's lying KPI was off the charts~

① From Wang Anshi's *On the River*