Dressed As a Consort in Ancient Times - Chapter 64
Watching the people from the Command Office inspecting the area, Gu Yun lowered her voice and shared her guess.
However, Fang Zhan shook his head. “That’s unlikely. If it were simply due to the hot and dry weather causing the fires, then this rice shop wouldn’t have caught fire last night…”
After all, there had been a heavy rain yesterday evening, making the summer heat slightly cooler. Under such conditions, spontaneous combustion was almost impossible.
Therefore, it was very likely that this was an act of arson. The only question was, who would have the audacity to commit such reckless acts within the imperial city?
This was the first major case Gu Yun had encountered since taking office.
She observed outside for a while before preparing to enter and take a closer look.
Fang Zhan quickly followed after, stepping into the main hall and glancing around before beckoning to a few Command Office officers. “Have you discovered anything?”
Recognizing Fang Zhan and the man beside him as Gu Yun, the leader of the officers stepped forward. “Reporting to my lord, the burned areas here are relatively intact. Our team discovered fire-starting sticks and fire oil in a corner of the wall, confirming that this was an act of arson. However, we have no leads yet on who the perpetrator might be.”
Now that it was confirmed as arson, the next step was to carefully examine the finer details.
“This area is surrounded by shops. Did anyone see or hear anything unusual last night?” Fang Zhan continued asking.
The officer nodded. “Normally, shops have night guards in their backyards, but it so happened that last night, the worker responsible for guarding this rice shop had family matters to attend to, so no one was on duty.”
Without keeping them in suspense, he added, “However, the shop next door did have someone staying overnight. According to that worker, in the latter half of the night, when he got up to use the latrine, he seemed to hear some movement from this side.”
“But he was half-asleep and thought it was just rats or something similar, so he didn’t pay attention. It wasn’t until the fire grew and he smelled the thick smoke that he hurriedly got up to check.”
“Because the fire was discovered early and it had rained the night before, this rice shop was not completely burned to the ground.”
After listening to these details, Gu Yun raised a hand to touch her chin, pondering for a moment before looking at the officer in charge. “Where is the owner of this rice shop? Has he been questioned?”
Anyone who would take the risk of setting fire to a rice shop likely had some sort of grudge against it.
That meant they needed to carefully question the owner to see if he had offended anyone.
“I have already asked him.” The officer, understanding Gu Yun’s intent, promptly relayed the results of his questioning. “This rice shop has a great reputation in the area. Both the owner and the workers are known for their good temperament and have no known grudges with anyone. In fact, because they are kind to others, when the fire broke out last night, the surrounding neighbors all stepped in to help extinguish it…”
That was rather strange.
Since there were no enemies, the theory of revenge arson could be set aside for now.
They would have to look for clues from other angles.
“Search carefully again. Don’t miss any corners.” The investigation of this location was nearly complete, so Gu Yun planned to check the next burned shop.
As they left the rice shop, Fang Zhan furrowed his brows. “No personal grudges, and it’s not just one shop that caught fire. This is probably more complicated than it seems.”
Gu Yun didn’t respond. She was still contemplating the details she had noticed after using her mental energy.
As an alpha, she was highly sensitive to different scents.
When she released her mental energy earlier, she detected a very strange scent at one particular spot—one that was not commonly found in the capital.
And based on what the officer said, that location happened to be where the fire first started.
Gu Yun couldn’t draw any conclusions just yet. She decided to check the other fire sites to see if they also carried the same unusual scent.
About half an hour later, the two of them arrived in the western district.
As before, Gu Yun released her mental energy to inspect the area carefully, and sure enough, she detected some strange scents again.
With this confirmation, she led Fang Zhan to yet another burned shop.
—
After spending the entire afternoon going from site to site, the sky had gradually darkened.
At the final burned shop, Fang Zhan saw Gu Yun deep in thought and asked in confusion, “Did you discover something?”
After an entire afternoon, all they had confirmed was that the fires were deliberate, but there were no leads on who the arsonist was.
Yet judging from Gu Yun’s expression, it seemed like he had found something?
Gu Yun lifted her eyes and shook her head at him. “No, I was just wondering if all of this might actually be a coincidence.”
She didn’t tell Fang Zhan about the details she had noticed and simply brushed it off. Then, she prepared to head home.
“We’ll discuss it again tomorrow when Ma Yintong comes to report the situation. It’s getting late today, so let’s head back for now.”
The lanterns hanging on both sides of the street had already been lit, and the number of pedestrians had dwindled. It was indeed getting quite late.
Fang Zhan dusted off his sleeve and cupped his hands toward Gu Yun. “Alright, then I’ll take my leave.”
After bidding Gu Yun farewell, he turned and disappeared into the flow of passersby, vanishing from sight in no time.
Gu Yun stood there watching for a moment before withdrawing her gaze and turning to head back to the Princess’s residence.
—
When she arrived home, she didn’t see Jiang Libai in the room. After asking around, she learned that she was still with the wet nurse, coaxing Xingxing.
She instructed Qin’er to reheat the meal left for her, planning to visit the Princess and the little princess before eating.
Leaving her inner chamber, she made her way to Yu Meng Courtyard.
She gestured to the little maid waiting at the door, then pushed it open and entered.
Jiang Libai was pacing back and forth, cradling Xingxing in her arms, gently soothing her, yet soft cries still came from the swaddled baby.
“What’s wrong with Xingxing?” Gu Yun quickly stepped forward.
Seeing Gu Yun return, Jiang Libai stopped in her tracks, her brows tightly knitted. “Ever since dinner, Xingxing has been crying and fussing nonstop, no matter how I try to soothe her.”
The poor little thing in her arms was sobbing so sorrowfully, with tears spilling out like little pearls, one after another, as if they cost nothing. Both Jiang Libai and Gu Yun felt their hearts ache.
Gu Yun reached out, gently touching Xingxing’s little face, intending to wipe away those tiny pearls of tears.
As soon as her fingertips brushed against her, Xingxing seemed to turn her head, her teary eyes shifting toward Gu Yun’s direction.
Hearing her cries soften a little, Jiang Libai quickly placed her into Gu Yun’s arms. “She might be missing you. Try comforting her.”
The little one was almost three months old now and was getting quite heavy to hold.
Gu Yun patted her small bottom, her voice soft and soothing. “Little baby, don’t be sad. Mama… Daddy is back… no more crying, okay?”
Strangely enough, as soon as she was in Gu Yun’s arms, Xingxing, who had been wailing moments ago, gradually quieted down. Her round eyes stared unblinkingly at Gu Yun, as if she truly recognized her.
“She’s really clingy to you.” Jiang Libai, watching from the side, felt a little jealous when Gu Yun managed to calm Xingxing so quickly.
But seeing that the baby had finally stopped crying, curiosity took over.
“This afternoon after you left, she was already a little listless. When I held her during dinner, she started crying… Could she really have been missing you?”
But could a few-month-old baby truly understand what it meant to miss someone?
Gu Yun lowered her head to look—Xingxing was already grasping at her clothes, her little head burrowing into her embrace.
Hearing what the Seventh Princess had just said, a thought suddenly popped into Gu Yun’s mind.
“She probably really can’t bear to be apart from me,” she murmured, slowly releasing a bit of her pheromones.
But Xingxing didn’t react much, making Gu Yun doubt whether she had been wrong.
Could it be that Xingxing wasn’t familiar with her pheromone scent?
Yet, from her behavior, she clearly seemed to like Gu Yun’s scent.
Gu Yun was a little puzzled.
But as long as Xingxing was comforted, the reason could be explored later.
The baby seemed to have cried herself out, her eyelids already drooping shut.
Jiang Libai shot Gu Yun a look, and Gu Yun understood immediately. She continued patting Xingxing’s small bottom as she walked toward the little bed to lay her down.
Xingxing, who quickly fell asleep, was gently placed onto the soft little bed. Gu Yun stared at her tender, delicate face for a moment. Seeing no sign of her waking, she slowly withdrew her hand.
Jiang Libai took the opportunity to pull up the small blanket and carefully covered Xingxing with it.
Both of them instinctively lowered their breathing and slowly stood up.
After softly giving a few instructions to the wet nurse, Jiang Libai took Gu Yun’s hand and left together.
Outside the courtyard, the bright moon hung high, and a gentle breeze blew.
Seeing their intertwined shadows cast onto the ground, Jiang Libai tightened her grip on Gu Yun’s hand.
“Tired today?”
Gu Yun shook her head. “Not really.” Her stamina was quite good, and an entire afternoon’s work hadn’t left her feeling exhausted.
It was Fang Zhan’s constant chatter in her ear that made her want to shut off her hearing.
Jiang Libai, knowing Gu Yun’s exceptional energy, didn’t worry about whether she was tired.
“You went all around the capital today. Any findings?” she asked, getting to the point.
Hearing this, Gu Yun turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. “You really have informants, don’t you? How do you know everything I’ve been up to?”
Jiang Libai hadn’t expected her focus to be on that.
She was momentarily speechless. “You were swaggering through the streets, openly inspecting everything. Even if I didn’t ask my informants, just from the gossip circulating among the people, I’d still hear about it…”
“The little servant, Xiao Chi, who delivered the vegetables, can’t keep his mouth shut. When he came before dinner, he let slip a few words to Mu Jiang, saying he saw you inspecting the burned-down shop…”
At this, she pinched the flesh between Gu Yun’s thumb and forefinger, giving a soft hum. “So even without informants, I can still know what you’re doing.”
The girl was full of pride, her slightly pouting lips looking soft and rosy, as if they were just begging to be kissed.
Gu Yun’s peripheral vision caught sight of Chunxi following a short distance behind them, so she reined in the impulse to steal a kiss.
“Yes, whatever the Princess wants to know, she will know. I will never keep anything from the Princess.”
Jiang Libai grinned. “I have informants, so you wouldn’t be able to hide anything from me anyway.”
Happily returning to their room, Jiang Libai removed her outer robe and began washing up. “So, after investigating with Fang Zhan, that ‘golden lump’ from the Fang family, did you find nothing?”
“Not exactly.” Gu Yun took the towel Jiang Libai had used to wipe her hands and placed it into the water. Then, puzzled, she asked, “‘Golden lump’? You mean Fang Zhan?”
Jiang Libai lifted her skirt slightly, waiting for Gu Yun to wash her feet. “Yes.”
“He’s the only direct descendant of the Fang family now. They guard him like a precious gem—doesn’t that make him a ‘golden lump’?”
Gu Yun had never known about this before.
Seeing her interest, Jiang Libai casually shared what she knew as they chatted. “Their family never takes concubines, so their bloodline has always been thin. He used to have a younger sister, but she was married off six years ago and later passed away. Now, Fang Zhan is the only heir left in the Fang family.”
For this novel one Kofi is two extra chapters. Ko-fi link: ko-fi.com/mitake55760
