Lin Zhiyue arranged the surveillance of Su Qing'er with great caution.
Cen Xi'er was responsible for the early morning, Jiang Yuezhan for the afternoon, Xiao Yuan watched during the evening, and Lin Zhiyue herself took the night shift.
Over the first two days of observation, Su Qing'er's daily routine showed no abnormalities—she woke early to do her makeup, had breakfast, went to the Empress's palace to pay her respects, walked in the imperial garden, returned to her palace to review palace affairs, went to the Buddhist hall to chant scriptures in the evening, and retired early after nightfall.
The palace maids serving her were always the same few people. She had not met with anyone in secret, nor had she sent anything out of the palace.
She seemed like nothing more than a law-abiding Noble Consort who had spent fifteen years in the deep palace, leaving no leverage for anyone to grasp.
Lin Zhiyue was in no hurry.
On the morning of the third day, she went to Qi Yan's room and shared her observations from the past two days.
Qi Yan leaned back in his chair and listened. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and set it down before speaking. “Resentful energy does not cling to someone out of thin air. Since Su Qing'er carries Su Jinyu's resentful energy, she must have an object in her possession—one that originally belonged to Su Jinyu and has been kept by Su Qing'er for a long time after her death. The vengeful spirit uses that object to seep its resentment into her flesh.”
Lin Zhiyue did not ask further questions. She turned and left Qi Yan's room, standing under the corridor for a moment before walking along the veranda toward Su Qing'er's bedchambers.
She slowed her pace, not intentionally drawing close, and first slapped an Aura-Concealing Talisman onto herself.
A cultivator's five senses were far sharper than those of ordinary people. Her gaze slowly swept across the window lattices of the Noble Consort's main bedchamber, drifted over the corridor railings, and fell one by one on the items the palace maids carried as they entered and exited—combs, cosmetic boxes, tea sets, and incense burners.
Any one of them could be it.
Lin Zhiyue returned to the side courtyard and sat by the stone table to reorganize her next steps.
Minister Su was now staying behind closed doors, claiming illness to the outside world. In reality, he had been completely terrified by her display that night and did not dare make a move.
Lin Zhiyue had warned him not to tip off Su Qing'er, fearing he might alert the target. Minister Su was likely terrified; he had not stepped out of his house for days, and even turned away his usual close colleagues who came to visit.
But things were different now. She wanted Minister Su to tell Su Qing'er everything she had discovered that night, in exact detail.
The more panicked Su Qing'er became, the more likely she would seek them out herself. When that happened, whether they wanted to coax information out of her or interrogate her directly, the initiative would be in their hands.
She went inside and wrote a brief letter, the gist of which was to order Minister Su to truthfully inform Su Qing'er of what happened that night. If he failed to comply, the next encounter would not be as simple as a mere interrogation.
After folding the letter, she called Jiang Yuezhan over early the next morning and handed it to him. “Junior Brother, go deliver a letter to Minister Su's manor. Don't linger; leave as soon as it is delivered. If Minister Su asks you anything, just say you don't know.”
Jiang Yuezhan took the letter without asking questions. He simply nodded, tucked the letter into his sleeve, and turned to leave the courtyard.
His figure receded along the palace path in the morning light, his steps steady and efficient. He quickly rounded the corner of the veranda and vanished from sight.
Lin Zhiyue stood at the courtyard gate for a moment before turning back inside, sitting by the table to wait for news.
She estimated the time. A round trip would take about an hour. The sunlight outside shone onto the desk, spreading a small patch of warm light over the corners of the papers.
She set her brush down and leaned against the back of her chair, her eyes fixed on the doorway, waiting for the sound of Jiang Yuezhan's footsteps from outside the courtyard wall.
Jiang Yuezhan returned in the afternoon.
He entered the courtyard, nodded to Lin Zhiyue, and said the letter had been delivered into Minister Su's hands. Minister Su's expression had shifted several times as he opened and read it. In the end, he clutched the letter, fell silent for a long while, and only uttered, “Understood.”
Jiang Yuezhan had not lingered, returning immediately after the delivery.
Hearing this, Lin Zhiyue did not say much. She simply thanked him for his hard work and returned to her room to wait.
She waited the entire afternoon.
Outside the window, the sun shifted from its zenith to the west. Twilight seeped in inch by inch through the gaps in the window lattices, dyeing the light in the room from bright white to warm yellow, and finally into a dim dusk.
Lin Zhiyue was not anxious. As long as Minister Su delivered the message, Su Qing'er would definitely be unable to sit still tonight and would come seeking them of her own accord.
After night fell, the lamps in the side courtyard were not lit.
Lin Zhiyue had Cen Xi'er, Chu Zhixun, Xiao Yuan, and Jiang Yuezhan gather in her room beforehand. Qi Yan sat by the window, a sheathed sword resting horizontally across his knees, his entire figure melting into the shadow cast by the window frame, making him almost impossible to see clearly.
The group sat together in the room. Not even tea had been brewed on the table, as if they had long been prepared to wait for someone to push open the door.
About half an hour passed before extremely faint footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.
First came an almost imperceptible rustle of fabric, and then the door was gently pushed open.
A figure draped in a black cloak slipped inside. A personal maid followed behind her but did not enter, closing the door for her from the outside.
Su Qing'er stood inside the door. She looked up and scanned the room, freezing in place as if nailed to the spot.
She had originally thought only Lin Zhiyue would be in the room. But now, she saw Qi Yan sitting by the window, Chu Zhixun standing by the table, Cen Xi'er leaning against the wall, and Xiao Yuan and Jiang Yuezhan sitting by the door. Multiple pairs of eyes landed on her at once. No lamp illuminated their faces, yet the presence of those silhouettes in the darkness was clearer than any firelight.
Her knees went weak, and she knelt almost instinctively, the hem of her black cloak spreading into a pool of shadow on the floor. Her fingertips trembled slightly as they pressed against the ground, and when her voice squeezed out of her throat, it carried an intensely suppressed tremor. “Immortal...”
She did not know what to say. Every pair of eyes belonging to the people before her was watching her in silence.
She felt that from the moment she stepped through this door, all the secrets she had hidden for over a decade had already been exposed, like a hand of cards being laid out on the table one by one.
The room fell silent for a moment. Then, Lin Zhiyue's voice drifted over from the table. Her tone was not loud, yet it sounded exceptionally clear in the night. “It is good that you came. Since you are here, tell us everything you know—that is, if you still want to live.”
Su Qing'er knelt on the ground, her eyelashes fluttering.
She remained silent for a long time. Finally, she raised her hand to touch the outline of the jade bracelet beneath her sleeve—the bracelet looked quite old.
Her fingertip slowly traced the groove on the inner side of the bracelet. She paused for a brief moment at the indentation before letting her hand drop.
The wick flickered in the oil lamp, causing the shadows throughout the room to sway.
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