The fragrance in the air was impossibly alluring, smelling of egg crepes and fresh seafood. These foods were unquestionably staples in the South, sparking the curiosity of every Northerner to taste these delicacies once in their life. The heavenly scent lingered in the air, and, accompanying the smoke, dispersed through the entirety of the Imperial Palace.

Food is a universal language and the tall walls of Hongtian Palace could not prevent its fragrance from penetrating into its lush courtyard. The aroma was already very faint by the time it entered Zhou Aimin’s nose, so the Little Taoist did not have much of a desire to taste the Southern delicacies.

In the dim light, Zhou Aimin walked along the stone paths where Mo Xi and Gao Shu had fought on previously. There was no haste to his movement since all the servants in Hongtian Palace had been summoned to put out the fire.

Typically, the higher ranking servants would organise some of the servants to remain and look after the residency, but none of Mo Xi’s servants had reached that authority, and the servants were all inexperienced, leaving them unable to organise themselves properly. In the end, they had all chosen to fight against the flames, since they would have the Emperor’s protection in that case.

Before long, Zhou Aimin entered Mo Xi’s sleeping quarters. Seeing the extraordinary extravagant room made of black granite from Hedong, he frowned slightly. The stone was like the night, engulfing all light in this room. How can he find the hard evidence needed?

The most obvious way is to destroy the room, but humouring that idea is simply delusional. Zhou Aimin walked forward to the side of the bed, sliding under it without much hesitation. He did not wander with his hands aimlessly but chose to rather retrieve a small ball from within his pouch. The ball seemed to slide across the high-quality granite slabs, before setting in a strange position.

A glint of joy flashed through Zhou Aimin’s eyes, outshining the darkness.

Mo Xi truly was a man living in constant fear. Whatever the key is to his secrets, he kept it so even closer than his women.

With a little force, Zhou Aimin pushed aside the board that was slightly indented from the secret mechanism hidden within. The plank slid off very easily, as though it had been through that exact motion countless times. With the timber gone, Zhou Aimin took out another ball, and allowed it to slide into the secret compartment. Receiving no response from any hidden mechanism protecting against intruders, Zhou Aimin finally reached out his arm, feeling the object with his hand.

As his palm landed, however, the mechanism made a soft ‘click’ and sunk into the ground.

Startled, Zhou Aimin quickly removed himself from the underside of the bed. Once his vision adjusted to the moonlight once more, he could see a small crack on the black walls.

Looking at the crack, Zhou Aimin made a strange expression as he walked closer to it. Pushing against the entryway, Zhou Aimin unconsciously inhaled a breath of foul air.

Behind the door was a rather wide set of stairs, rather well maintained, but age was evidently present on its surface.

Zhou Aimin followed the stairs into a chamber underground, holding a fire-piston in his hand. The faint light shore on many unrecognisable metal tools bearing a well-polished surface.

Zhou Aimin squinted, at these instruments quickly realised these devices were ones for torture and would make for a piece of powerful evidence, but since it was too cumbersome to carry, Zhou Aimin did not bother taking any as he could return after getting permission from the court.

As he walked halfway through these cruel devices, the fire-piston in his hand shore on a section of the chamber a little further away. This light, as if capable of summoning ghosts and demons, caused a collective tremor through the deeper portions of the chamber, awaking the people Mo Xi had imprisoned. These prisoners, however, were too afraid to make any clamour, leaving only soft whimpers and suppressed cries to be heard.

At this sight, Zhou Aimin maintained his calm. Walking forward, Zhou Aimin serenely looked at the first cell and brought the fire-piston closer to the wooden bars. The light brought a figure to a pretty woman with long eyebrows and very pale skin, easily able to leave behind a deep impression. Her face was full of fatigue, but certainly not malnourishment. It appears that Mo Xi’s skill has reached the degree that he can part pain without leaving scars.

Zhou Aimin asked in a soothing voice, “May I know who Lady is?”

The flame lit up Zhou Aimin’s figure as much as the woman. The Little Taoist is truly charming if looked at from a certain perspective. If one ignored masculinity, his originally typically face was prettier than even a girl's. He appeared out-of-place in the soured cell, like flowers growing in a pit of ash. Perhaps his handsome appearance gave the woman some comfort, saying with a hoarse and meek voice, “I’m Wang Zhixin (王紫心).”

Immediately, the calm in Zhou Aimin’s heart was disturbed. Wang Zhixin? Wasn’t that Mo Xi’s first wife who died from tuberculosis ten years ago?

In the end, such actions seemed to align with Mo Xi’s nature, so Zhou Aimin was not shocked. He promptly asked, “Lady Wang, who are the other people in the cells?”

“His concubines and servants,” Wang Zhixin’s voice somehow managed to become even lower, as though she was afraid Mo Xi would hear her voice.

Zhou Aimin looked at Wang Zhixin meaningfully, pondering deeply before saying something Wang Zhixin probably did not want to hear.

“I know you want to get out right now… but I have to pile as much evidence against Mo Xi as possible.”

Wang Zhixin lowered her head, hiding her eyes drooped without any strength or hope.

Zhou Aimin quickly added, “I promise you that I will be able to meet the Emperor next morning. After that, I will help you return to your ancestral home.”

Wang Zhixin remained silent for a long time, before suddenly raising her head woodenly. She said with some difficulty, “I trust sir’s judgement… but I plead you to take a single person out.”

“I can do that,” Zhou Aimin looked at her and said.

“At the last cell is the most recent girl he has confined to the chambers. I beg sir to rescue her in case Mo Xi returns to torment us again.” Wang Zhixin bit her lips as she continued, “People like me have already grown used to his techniques, but the girl hasn’t. I don’t want her soul to be tainted by him.”

Zhou Aimin nodded very seriously, his eyes purer than snow.

Wang Zhixin was relieved and joyful after receiving confirmation from Zhou Aimin. She thanked him tiredly, before shutting her eyes and returning to sleep.

---

Zhou Aimin watched Wang Zhixin enter slumber and sighed with admiration. Despite learning that she would likely be rescued tomorrow, which could evidently cause a degree of excitement Wang Zhixin was still able to fall asleep so quickly and peacefully.

The fire-piston in his hand was soon extinguished, forcing Zhou Aimin to replace it with a second one. He shook his head and thought that it was impossible for him to speak with all of the captives here, even if Gao Shu could distract Mo Xi indefinitely. As he walked to the end of the chamber, his gaze was caught by a small table made of hong mu (紅木).

The table was unimportant. No matter what precious material it was made of, Zhou Aimin had seen better. The true object that attracted Zhou Aimin’s eyes was a small key, and a set of matching scent pouches.

Wrapping his hand with a handkerchief, Zhou Aimin had a content smile as he took the key.

Moments later, he appeared before the cell holding the girl Wang Zhixin requested him to rescue.

The girl was asleep, but a permanent frown was present on her dainty and immature face. The girl was wearing a servant uniform that was still colourful, suggesting that she was recently hired by the Imperial Palace.

Zhou Aimin soon laughed at himself, realising that it was only natural she was new to the palace. If Mo Xi would ‘disappear’ his concubines so frequently that none lasted over six months, the servants would certainly be even worse. He unlocked the cell holding the girl and walked next to her.

Perhaps sensing his presence, the girl immediately woke up, her face ashen with fear. Her life wasn’t worth much more than a dog’s, and she had found on the bed earlier many strands of hair. She knew that her fate would be different from the others in the cell, who are high ranking servants or concubines. She would be lucky if she died with a complete body.

Thus, when she finally sensed the presence of another next to her, she instinctively began to weep.

“You’re safe now,” Zhou Aimin comforted with composure.

She had spent the entire night wondering what would occur to her once Mo Xi entered, conjuring endless scenarios for her own death. How could these simple words alleviate the emotions she had suppressed? Rather, the sense of relief seemed to be what finally opened the flood gate, causing her to bawl to an even greater degree.

Zhou Aimin gazed at her and smiled bitterly. He was more familiar with Yang’er outbursts compared to the wailing of the girl before him. Still, he calmly attended the girl until her emotions finally subsided.

At long last, Zhou Aimin could finally speak. He stared at her still swollen eyes and said, “I shall bring Lady out.”

“Hic… thank you… hic.”

Zhou Aimin passed the girl a handkerchief. “We can speak of this later. Please follow me.”

The girl nodded with difficulty, wiping her face in the process. She silently followed Zhou Aimin as he left the cell, suppressing her hiccups as she walked.

Perhaps her attention was too focused on trailing Zhou Aimin, or that her eyes were too swollen from the crying, she did not notice that after Zhou Aimin passed the table, one of the two scent pouches had disappeared.