After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

Lazy Garden, located in the southeast corner of the capital.

This is one of Rong Jing's villas, a quiet retreat amidst the hustle and bustle, surrounded by noble families, understated yet dignified.

At this moment, Rong Jing was leaning against the balustrade under the eaves.

One leg was bent and resting on the railing, while the other dangled in the air, idly swinging, his posture casual, like a spineless spoiled young master.

A wire birdcage hung in front of him.

The kingfisher in the cage tilted its head, its black bean-like eyes darting around, and it was babbling away.

"Young master, you are so handsome! Young master, you are so handsome!"

Rong Jing ignored it.

Seeing that no one responded, the parrot moved closer to the cage and tried again.

"Give me the money! Give me the money!"

Rong Jing remained motionless, his slender fingers idly twirling the white jade thumb ring. His gaze lingered on the bare branches of the old plum tree in the courtyard, lost in thought.

He bought the bird last month when he was hanging out with a bunch of rich young masters in the East Market. The old man selling the bird patted his chest and guaranteed that it would say auspicious things.

After a month of raising him, he was corrupted by some gossipy servant in the mansion, and now he only uses vulgar and offensive language.

Rong Jing was too lazy to care about it anyway.

Until the parrot suddenly raised its voice by an octave and shouted out a newly learned word in an extremely cheerful tone.

"You heartless little brat!"

Rong Jing paused, his hand that was turning the ring.

These were the words he muttered to himself when he thought of Shen Jingque.

I never expected that this eavesdropper would learn it.

"You heartless little brat~ You heartless little brat~"

The parrot shook its head and swayed, its last note drawn out in a long, melodious voice, and proudly flapped its wings twice.

Rong Jing's temple throbbed twice, and he flicked it on the head with his finger inside the cage.

"Try saying it again!"

The parrot shrank its neck, stared at him with its black bean eyes, and remained silent for a couple of breaths.

Then, in an even louder voice than before, he repeated clearly and distinctly, "Try saying it again!"

Rong Jing: "..."

He pulled his fingers back from the cage bars and thought carefully about whether it would be more satisfying to steam or braise the bird.

Just as I was arguing with the parrot, the roof tiles above me made a soft clattering sound.

A figure climbed over the courtyard wall and landed on the veranda.

Rong Jing lifted his eyelids and clicked his tongue in disdain: "Can't you just use the door? Why do you have to climb over the wall?"

Wenren Du chuckled, patted the dust off his shoulders, and said, "It's quick to climb over the wall. The old gatekeeper at Lazy Garden is always a handful. He interrogates me for ages every time. It's better to just climb over the wall than to spend so much time explaining."

Before he could finish speaking, his gaze swept over the parrot in the cage, which was tilting its head and looking at him, and he forced a smile.

"Young Master, are you arguing with the bird?"

"You heartless little brat!"

The parrot delivered the finishing blow at the opportune moment.

Wenren Du's shoulders twitched twice, and he gritted his teeth to keep from laughing out loud.

Rong Jing pulled his leg off the railing, his expression turning serious. His previous casual demeanor vanished, replaced by the sharpness of someone in a superior position.

Where are they?

Wenren Du's smile faded, and he took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and placed it on the small table next to Rong Jing.

"They intercepted him. The hunter was being led by two assassins towards the moat in the east of the city. He was wearing a straw raincoat as a cover, so it was clear they were going to drown him to silence him."

He waved his hand, causing his bushy beard to tremble, and his tone carried a hint of smugness.

"I personally led three people to rob it. Those two assassins were pretty skilled; they went toe-to-toe with me for seven or eight moves. However, they were a bit too heavy-handed when they were finishing off the thief, and I accidentally killed one of them."

Rong Jing nodded, not asking any further questions about this detail.

"Did the hunter confess?"

Wenren Du chuckled, his tone full of disdain.

"They say he's a famous sharpshooter on that mountain, but he's as cowardly as a mouse. He wets his pants at the sight of torture instruments, crying and begging for mercy. They say a scholar-looking man found him, gave him a hundred taels of silver, and told him to squat in the woods on Pear Blossom Slope and shoot when the target appears."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of drawing paper from his pocket and unfolded it in front of Rong Jing.

"I had an artist paint a portrait based on his description. Take a look, young master."

Rong Jing glanced down at the face on the paper. The face had clear features and a short beard, giving him the appearance of a refined and scholarly advisor.

"Fu Yibai".

Wenren Du nodded. "The Third Prince's top strategist, a scholar who passed the imperial examination, is now working as a staff member. He does all the dirty work for the Third Prince. I wonder if the classics he studied were printed backwards."

Rong Jing put the drawing paper back on the small table, picked up the silver ingot with his fingertips, turned it over, and revealed the inscription engraved on the bottom.

"Official silver?"

"Yes," Wenren Du said, shrugging his shoulders, looking speechless.

"Even the silver passes through a single hand; it's taken directly from the treasury and used immediately. The inscription indicates the year of casting and batch number, so it's easy to trace which treasury it belongs to."

He scratched the back of his head, his expression a mixture of amusement and speechlessness.

"Young Master, I really don't know whether to praise this Mr. Fu for his courage or call him a fool. I've been in the underworld for so many years, and this is the first time I've ever seen someone kill someone to cover up their crime and then pay for it with government silver."

Rong Jing twirled the silver ingot between his fingers twice and chuckled.

"He's not an incompetent fool; he's just too confident. He thinks that once the hunter is dead, nothing can be found out, so he's too lazy to bother with the investigation."

"In addition, he didn't expect that we would once again outmaneuver him."

As for Xiao Jingchen behind him...

Now Rong Jing is increasingly convinced that all of Xiao Jingchen's shrewdness lies in his mouth.

He's a master at deceiving young girls, and assassinating them is child's play for him.

He simply couldn't understand why the star chart had once predicted that the fate of the Great Yong Dynasty lay with him.

Could it be that he was not skilled enough and made a mistake in his deduction?

Wenren Du leaned closer and probed in a low voice.

"Master, how do you plan to use this leverage? Last time, you took a huge chunk of flesh from him regarding the Yunzhou black iron mine incident. Now you've caught him red-handed. Tsk, he's probably going to vomit blood."

Rong Jing leaned against a pillar in the corridor, playing with his thumb ring, his gaze lazily falling on the plum branches in the courtyard.

"What else does Xiao Jingchen have that's worth me knocking on?"

Wenren Du was taken aback for a moment, "So you mean...?"

"Don't chase a dog into a dead end. If it gets cornered and bites me, I'll have to spend energy dealing with it, which is a real hassle."

"So this evidence was obtained for nothing?" Wenren Du felt it was a pity.

Rong Jing's lips curved slightly, his smile carrying an indescribable meaning.

"Who said it's free? It's more worthwhile to keep this and exchange it for some benefits with Little Sparrow."

Wenren Du was stunned.

Seeing his master's incomprehensible smile, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Spring has finally arrived, it's kind of scary.

Rong Jing probably sensed something, and turned to look at him with a chilling gaze.

Are you making things up about me in your mind?

Wenren Du shook his head vigorously, took three steps back, and clasped his hands in a salute.

"No, Your Highness. I take my leave. Young Master, please rest well!"

After saying that, he climbed over the wall without looking back, his movements even more nimble than when he came.

The faint, cheerful chirping of a parrot came from behind: "You little ingrate~"

Wenren Du squatted on the wall and glanced back.

In the afternoon sunlight, Rong Jing leaned against a pillar, his face bearing an inscrutable smile as he looked up in a daze.

He pulled his head back and quietly jumped off the wall, shaking his head as he walked.

Ugh... I can't bear to look.