Luan Jingfu arrived with his son, carrying a funeral wreath and offerings. After the ritual was completed, Xiao Yu returned the appropriate courtesies, as was proper.Xiao Yu naturally had not forgotten that at the beginning of all this, Luan Jingfu had secretly sent word to the other escorts not to assist her. But grievances were grievances, and the ritual obligations of gift and counter-gift were their own matter. Since Luan Jingfu had come with an offering, she received it with the correct form.Luan Jingfu stood before the spirit hall and said, "Miss Xiao, life and death are beyond our control. Please do not grieve too deeply.""I am grateful for Uncle Luan's concern," Xiao Yu replied, her tone soft, her expression composed. "From the very beginning of all this, I have had much to thank Uncle Luan for, and I will remember it for the rest of my life."Luan Jingfu heard the undertone and felt a small jolt. The girl was sharp. She had said it quietly and correctly, but anyone paying

Early that morning, when the constables had been counted in for duty, Xie Lei had not appeared. Jie Daohan had thought it unusual — his nephew was by nature quiet and somewhat restrained, but over five or six years of service he had been one of the most reliably punctual men in the office. Not once late.Jie Daohan had told himself the pressure of the investigation over the past few days must have exhausted the young man into sleeping past his hour, and he had sent someone to rouse him at his house. The man came back and reported that he had knocked for a long time and received no answer. Xie Lei did not appear to be home.The unease had grown from there. By midday, with Xie Lei still absent, Jie Daohan had sent several men out to look for him at the places he frequented. No trace.After the midday meal, Jie Daohan had been sitting in a high-backed chair when he drifted briefly into sleep and dreamed.He dreamed of a tree.A strange tree — trunk and branches formed of pure black metal

At Wei Ming's call, a lean young man of about twenty stepped forward from the front of the column, dressed in white mourning clothes.Jie Daohan's eyes moved over him with the sharp, unhurried attention of a man who had been reading faces for decades."Xiao Chong!""Xiao Yun!"Name by name, Wei Ming called them out, and one by one they stepped through the city gate and waited outside.Then the coffin-bearing group was reached.Since the bearers could not leave the coffin to step forward individually, Wei Ming called the names and each bearer responded in turn from their position."Qin Yu!""Here!""Zhao Mu!""Here!""Mo Qian!""Here!"Jie Daohan was making a slow circuit of the coffin, studying each bearer's face in turn. He paused when he came to Mo Qian.The bearer was dressed in escort uniform, but Mo Qian was on the shorter side.Ruan Fengshan caught the pause and said, "He is a newly taken-on apprentice escort this year."The name Mo Qian had stirred something at the edge of Jie

"Head Constable Jie has been in this county for many years," Shen Yanliu said. "Surely you have placed at least one informant inside the Yuanshun Escort Agency?""My own people watched with their own eyes. There was only Xiao Baiyu's body inside that coffin."Jie Daohan absorbed this in silence.He had indeed placed informants inside the escort agency — but a year ago, Ruan Fengshan had rooted them out. He had tried several times since to place someone new, but Ruan Fengshan ran the agency like a sealed iron barrel. There had never been a clean opportunity.Fan Yuanhai, seated to the side, looked at Jie Daohan with open contempt. "Head Constable Jie — has Xu Ruhu's body been found?""The imperial envoy already knows. My team is on duty."Fan Yuanhai's eyes sharpened. "Now it appears that Xu Ruhu was taken from the prison by someone from inside the county government's own ranks. Does the head constable truly know nothing about that? And no involvement?"Jie Daohan was on his feet. "Wha

Mo Qian let the words settle and smiled faintly. Xie Lei had clearly been good to Yang Zhen, and Yang Zhen was grieving in the way that people do when they lose both a person and a future in one stroke.Then something moved at the back of Mo Qian's mind."Jie Daohan ran into Xu Ruhu at a brothel?""Ah, yes." Yang Zhen was already slurring slightly.Mo Qian's eyes sharpened. "Which brothel?""How many brothels are there in Xiangu County? The one in Jinmao Alley." Yang Zhen finished the sentence and slumped forward onto the table, asleep.Mo Qian sat in the quiet for a moment, drained the last of his bowl, and said softly to himself, "Jinmao Alley. The brothel. Xu Ruhu — I hope you haven't disappointed me."The street outside had gone dark, lanterns coming to life up and down the road.Mo Qian looked at Yang Zhen's sleeping face, got up, and left the yard.He intended to pay that brothel a visit tonight.The establishment in Jinmao Alley was a different kind of place from Huaying Tower.