Yu Jingming shook his head. “He didn’t lie to me; he didn’t hire me to kill anyone, nor did he need me to steal anything, but he wanted me to go to the Eastern Palace.

At that time, I hadn’t encountered any formidable opponents for a long time and was quite arrogant.

I really wanted to go to the Eastern Palace and compare my lightness skills with the inner palace guards.

So I followed him to the capital and stayed in an inconspicuous courtyard.

He told me to stay there and wait for his signal to act. Being a country bumpkin, I was naturally eager to explore the capital.

My lightness skills were unmatched, so it was easy for me to sneak out without being noticed by his men.

I would go out for a walk every day. After about twenty days, he finally sent me a signal, instructing me to enter the Eastern Palace immediately.”

“You had never been to the Eastern Palace before. Did you just wander around aimlessly after entering?”

“No, he had shown me a map of the Eastern Palace beforehand and specified a route for me to follow.

The palace buildings and roads were all neatly arranged, so I followed the map and walked along the designated route.

I roamed around half of the Eastern Palace without anyone noticing. I was feeling very pleased with myself, but just as I was getting complacent, someone started following me.

Only then did I realize that not everyone in the Eastern Palace was incompetent.

I immediately used my skills to escape, and although that person was formidable, their lightness skills were no match for mine. I managed to escape the Eastern Palace.”

“Since you successfully escaped from the Eastern Palace, why didn’t you leave the capital immediately?” Rongrong questioned.

Yu Jingming gave a bitter smile and continued without answering Rongrong’s question, “I left the Eastern Palace and ran back to the courtyard where I was hiding.

However, as soon as I rushed into the courtyard, someone attacked me with hidden weapons.

I was caught between a rock and a hard place, with enemies in front and behind.

Fortunately, the person who had chased me from the Eastern Palace arrived and used a sleeve arrow to kill the ambusher.

I then took the opportunity to flee the courtyard.

Luckily, I had been wandering around the city often and was somewhat familiar with it. I ran to the city gate, only to find it had been locked down, and no one was allowed in or out.”

A sleeve arrow?

Rongrong immediately thought of the sleeve arrow Feicui had thrown at Yu Jingming earlier.

Was it Feicui who had chased Yu Jingming from the Eastern Palace?

“Earlier, when I was drinking at a tavern, I met a local thug. I immediately went to his place and promised to give him ten taels of silver a day and a hundred taels after the job was done if he let me hide at his place.

Being a greedy man, he agreed right away. He continued his daily routine and helped me gather information about the city’s lockdown.

I hid at his place for over two months until the lockdown was lifted. He then found me a job with a carting company, and I managed to leave the capital by following their cart.”

“Where did you go after that?”

“Naturally, I wanted to return to my old hideout, but after the attack at the courtyard, I became cautious and didn’t return immediately.

Instead, I asked someone to gather information.

Sure enough, I found out that shortly after I left, my hideout at Taihu was raided, and everyone there was killed. Not a single survivor was left,” Yu Jingming’s eyes filled with murderous intent. “The enemy was more ruthless than I had imagined and had already planned to eliminate me completely.”

“So you returned to the capital?”

Yu Jingming nodded. “The other side was able to kill dozens of people at Taihu Lake without hesitation, showing how powerful they are. Only in the capital would they be more cautious. So, I slowly made my way back to the capital and continued working at that carriage shop to keep a low profile. That’s when I met Mei Ningxiang.”

After listening to Yu Jingming, Rongrong stayed silent for a moment to sort through everything and noticed some suspicious points.

“They really only told you to just take a walk around the Eastern Palace and do nothing else?”

“That’s right, it was that simple. But the Crown Prince didn’t believe me, and neither do you.” Yu Jingming’s tone was full of sarcasm.

“I don’t disbelieve you. But to convince the Crown Prince, I need to ask these questions. Have you already told the people in the Eastern Palace everything you just told me?”

Yu Jingming responded with a grunt, “That’s my nature—if I say something, it’s the truth.”

His personality reminded Rongrong of someone else.

Rongrong asked, “You don’t know who approached you, but do you really have no impression of him?”

Yu Jingming shook his head. “He was just an ordinary man, dressed in ordinary clothes. Not handsome, not ugly. They planned everything so carefully that they wouldn’t let me know who they were.”

“But how did they find you? Didn’t you say you were just making small trouble at Taihu Lake, nothing big? If they could give you a map of the Eastern Palace, they must be powerful, not just some ordinary people from the martial arts world. How could they know about you from far away at Taihu Lake?”

Yu Jingming stayed silent.

Rongrong felt she had hit on something. “You know why they came to find you, don’t you?”

Yu Jingming remained silent.

Rongrong spoke seriously, “Sister Mei’s life is in your hands. You’ve lived together for two or three years, so you must know she loves money, pretty clothes, and good food and drink.

She spent all those years in the palace, hoping to leave and live a good life. But she met you, and all those good things together don’t compare to you. Can’t you both live together happily?”

There was still only silence.

After waiting for a while, Rongrong stood up and began to walk out.

“Wait,” Yu Jingming called out.

Rongrong stopped, waiting for him to speak.

“I’ll answer your questions, but you have to promise me that you’ll return Mei Ningxiang safely today.”

“Sister Mei is stubborn by nature. I may not be able to persuade her.”

Yu Jingming smiled. “She always called me a stubborn old rock. If you can convince me, persuading her to leave should be no problem.”

Rongrong thought for a moment, agreed, and walked over to the stone steps. “He’s willing to talk now, you can come over.”

Liuli didn’t expect Rongrong to successfully persuade Yu Jingming.

She was overjoyed and said, “Thank you, young lady.”

“I’m taking Mei Ningxiang with me. If you’re worried, you can send someone to ask the Crown Prince.”

“No need for such trouble. The prince has already given us orders. Whether to release him or not is up to you.” In fact, the Crown Prince even said that if Rongrong decided to release Yu Jingming, she could do so at her discretion.

Liuli didn’t quite understand.

The Crown Prince had been determined to investigate Miss Jingrong’s death for years, swearing to bring the culprit to justice.

Even though Yu Jingming wasn’t the one who did it, how could the Crown Prince so easily decide to let him go and leave the decision to Rongrong?

Could it be that a new love could really replace an old one?

Of course, these thoughts only flashed through Liuli’s mind.

She had always respected her master and did what she was told without asking questions.

“Miss.” Liuli handed the lantern to Rongrong.

Rongrong glanced back at Yu Jingming before taking the lantern and walking up the stone steps.

Feicui and Mei Ningxiang were waiting in the flower room.

Seeing Rongrong come out, they hurriedly surrounded her.

“Did he, did he agree?” Mei Ningxiang asked nervously.

Rongrong nodded.

Mei Ningxiang was relieved and immediately grabbed Rongrong’s hand. “Rongrong, since he’s willing to cooperate, can the Crown Prince spare his life?”

“As long as he tells the truth, and it’s useful to the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince will spare his life.”

Hearing this, Mei Ningxiang suddenly knelt down in front of Rongrong.

“Thank you, sister, for saving my life.”

“Sister Mei, please get up,” Rongrong quickly helped her up. “I’ll do my best, but I may not be able to save you both.”

“No, you’re the one the Crown Prince cares about the most. If you want to save him, you will be able to.”

Rongrong blushed and changed the subject. “I’ve already arranged with Brother Yu to send you back today.”

“No, I won’t leave unless Yu Jingming leaves. I won’t leave the Eastern Palace alone.”

“I’ve promised Brother Yu to send you away today. If you insist on staying, things might change again.”

“But…” Mei Ningxiang was still unwilling.

“Sister, you’ve been missing for so long. Many people have left the embroidery workshop. Only Qiu Yue and a few others are still there. If you don’t return, they might leave the capital too.”

Hearing Rongrong mention Qiu Yue and the others, Mei Ningxiang became sad.

The embroidery workshop was under her management.

When she went missing, it must have fallen apart.

“Don’t worry, sister. As long as Brother Yu didn’t lie to me, I’ll do my best to save him.”

“I trust you,” Mei Ningxiang said, lowering her eyes and thinking for a moment.

She sighed, “Alright, I’ve always hoped he could live. Rongrong, if he… if he really dies, please bring his body back to me.”

Rongrong felt sad hearing her words and nodded in agreement.

“Feicui, please arrange for someone to escort Sister Mei back to Huaihua Alley.”

Since the failed attempt to kill Yu Jingming in the dungeon, Feicui’s face had been pale.

Hearing Rongrong’s instructions, she nodded and led Mei Ningxiang out of the garden, handing her over to the guards outside.

Rongrong turned around and looked towards the dungeon steps, worried that Yu Jingming might still refuse to confess and cause more trouble.

While she was lost in thought, Feicui’s voice came from behind, “Miss.”

“Has Sister Mei left?”

Feicui didn’t answer Rongrong’s question. Instead, she knelt down, “Miss, please don’t spare that villain in the dungeon!”