Chapter 167

Five days later.

“White… Knight Bai, why are you here too?”

In the narrow alley, Pei Xi looked at Bai Muqing, who was walking over from the opposite end, in surprise.

They had managed to find some clues regarding the Saintess’s assassination attempt. A group of people had been continuously publishing articles targeting Ye Zheng across newspapers and various publications. He suspected that the attempt on Ye Zheng’s life might be connected to that group.

“That question should be coming from me instead.”

The youth’s white pupils stared directly at him.

Pei Xi replied, “I came to visit the chief editor of a newspaper. That newspaper is backed by the church and has recently published many statements that are unfavorable to Ye Zheng. We suspect that what happened to Ye Zheng is related to the Pope.”

“It might be him taking this opportunity to bring Ye Zheng down.”

Bai Muqing’s expression remained unchanged, though her tone carried a faint trace of confusion. “Why are you helping Ye Zheng?”

“No matter what Ye Zheng’s father did, she’s innocent. She shouldn’t have to suffer something like this.”

Pei Xi’s voice was steady and firm, carrying the air of someone righteous and upright.

Bai Muqing’s expression turned strange. Her tone grew even more puzzled. “Do you know the name of the person in charge of the Amber Lake project?”

“Was it… Liao… Liao Yan?” Pei Xi said hesitantly.

Bai Muqing gave a faint barely visible smile. She rarely smiled, and Pei Xi did not feel any friendliness from her expression. Instead, he felt a tingling sensation on his back.

Soon, he understood that Bai Muqing seemed to be mocking him. It was difficult to imagine that someone as cold as her would speak in such a sarcastic tone.

Bai Muqing had no intention of being sarcastic or mocking him. She genuinely found Pei Xi’s way of thinking extremely strange.

He appeared concerned and indignant about the Amber Lake accident, yet he couldn’t even recall the name of the person directly responsible for it.

His words tried hard to show that he did not blame Ye Zheng because of the Amber Lake incident, yet he still kept mentioning Ye Zheng and her father in the same breath.

Ye Fanjing was guilty of dereliction of duty and was suspected of taking bribes, but the person who had actually embezzled the workers’ relocation fees and directly caused the accident seemed to have far less presence than Ye Zheng.

Bai Muqing frowned and said nothing more. She turned and walked into the alley on the right.

Never mind. At least Pei Xi had saved innocent people. She would just assume his brain didn’t work very well.

She had also come to find that newspaper’s chief editor. This newspaper had always been a loyal supporter of Saintess Ye Zheng, yet these past few days its tone had completely shifted, deliberately splashing dirty water onto Ye Zheng.

The person working behind the scenes was even willing to purchase this very newspaper just to defame Ye Zheng. Their motive was already obvious—it was to erode and ultimately dismantle Ye Zheng’s entire base of supporters.

After the assassination attempt, Ye Zheng had been recovering at home. The Ye family had recently declined all visits for security reasons, so she could only conduct the investigation on Ye Zheng’s behalf.

Bai Muqing’s steps quickened more and more. Pei Xi, following behind her, also caught up in stride. Since both of them were headed toward the same objective, Bai Muqing had no reason to stop him.

She came to a halt in front of a discreet iron door, feeling slightly surprised. From the outside, the house appeared completely ordinary, yet even this door was forged from an unusually tough special metal material. It clearly didn’t resemble the residence of an average person.

While Bai Muqing was still thinking, Pei Xi stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Bai Muqing closed her eyes. She could already “see” the person inside the house. It was a woman in her twenties or thirties, dressed in a simple long skirt, currently walking toward the entrance.

Pei Xi waited patiently for a brief moment. Just as he was about to knock again, the door suddenly swung open, revealing a face wearing a warm and friendly smile.

“You two young students, what can I do for you?”

“Hello, I’m Pei Xi, and this is Miss Bai Muqing. Would it be alright if we disturbed you for a moment? We’ve got a few questions we’d like to ask you, Chief Editor.”

“My name is Wen Xin. You can just call me Sister Wen or Aunt Wen.”

The woman standing at the doorway then invited the two young people inside without hesitation.

Pei Xi stepped into the neat and orderly room and only belatedly realized that the woman’s reaction was somewhat unusual.

It wasn’t that he was being arrogant, but he did have a certain level of recognition in the Lower District. Yet this Chief Editor Wen didn’t seem to recognize his face at all. Even after he introduced himself, she still showed no particular reaction.

Pei Xi immediately grew vigilant. He only took a very symbolic, cautious sip of the tea she had handed him, not daring to relax even slightly.

On the other hand, Bai Muqing drank nearly half a cup without much hesitation. After she finished, she asked directly, “Who instructed you to attack Ye Zheng?”

Wen Xin’s movements paused for a brief moment. Her gaze slowly swept across the two youths, and she raised her eyebrows ever so slightly in a restrained, subtle reaction. “Attack? You’ve misunderstood. I would never do something like that.”

Bai Muqing instinctively assumed the woman in front of her was trying to wriggle out of it. She was just about to present the evidence she had prepared when Wen Xin spoke again.

“These past few days, I’ve received a large number of complaint letters, and even some death threats. Many people believe we’ve been bought off and are deliberately smearing the Saintess. On top of that, with the recent assassination attempt on the Saintess, public emotions have become extremely intense and agitated.”

When Wen Xin mentioned “death threats,” she spoke as if they had nothing to do with her at all, still smiling in a light, almost cheerful manner.

“Your concern for the Saintess is truly admirable, but… who exactly would be able to easily harm Saintess Ye Zheng?”

The atmosphere fell completely silent for a brief moment. Pei Xi tightened his grip on his teacup. Under the woman’s calm, tolerant, and slightly helpless gaze, his eyes widened as he suddenly realized something.

Bai Muqing stood up abruptly. She had already figured it out in that instant — both this newspaper and the chief editor named Wen Xin had actually been Ye Zheng’s people from the very beginning.

It was Ye Zheng who had intentionally stirred up the negative public opinion against herself!

If that were the case, then the assassination attempt was highly likely arranged by her as well…

Bai Muqing’s expression turned slightly darker. She didn’t even bother giving a polite farewell and walked straight toward the door. However, she soon heard the sound of a key turning in the front door. The door was pushed open, and another young woman stepped inside the house.

“Wen Xin, the Saintess wants to… Who are you?”

The young woman’s excited voice suddenly cut off as she unexpectedly bumped into a stranger already inside the house.

“Zhuo Ya, what did you say the Saintess wants to do?”

Zhuo Ya glanced at the two youths who had suddenly appeared in the room. She steadied herself a little, though her voice still carried an uncontrollable sense of excitement.

“In three days, the Saintess will publicly deliver a sermon at the Sieg Square in the Lower District!”

Wen Xin didn’t look surprised at all. She simply nodded with a faint smile. “Looks like there’ll be a new article to publish.”

✧✧✧✧✧

Three days later, on a Friday in the empire, this day was destined to be remembered.

Pope Wen Jian had been accused of being the murderer in a homicide case from fifteen years ago and was issued a summons by the Upper District court. The chief adjudicator of the Ability Tribunal, due to negligence of duty and old cases from his time as a judge, would also face an internal trial by the Ability Tribunal on this very day.

However, the most anticipated event was Saintess Ye Zheng publicly preaching at the Sieg Square in the Lower District.

At first, many people had dragged Saintess Ye Zheng into the controversy because of her father Ye Fanjing’s misconduct.

But after the assassination attempt on Ye Zheng, many people were jolted back to clarity. After that shocking incident, the most innocent one — the Saintess herself — had paid the price. Did that really make sense?

Setting aside the recent disputes, Saintess Ye Zheng was the only God’s Chosen in the empire’s five-hundred-year history to be acknowledged by both the Divine Sword and the Divine Blood. The monster purge at Amber Lake had only deepened people’s fear of what was to come. They needed justice, and they also needed a guiding light.

Thus, Ye Zheng chose to preach publicly on this day.

Two maids carefully lifted a magnificent crown inlaid with pearls and gemstones and placed it onto her head. A flowing white veil partially concealed her long black hair. Ye Zheng raised the sleeve embroidered with golden threads and gently touched her reflection in the mirror.

This was the same attire she had worn when she was crowned Saintess at the age of fourteen.

　　The clothes had been altered slightly to be a bit larger. The dress itself had been refashioned and repurposed into a coat. After all, when she was fourteen, she had only been around 1.7 meters tall. Now she had grown to 1.75 meters, so there was simply no way she could still fit into those old clothes anymore.

The crown and the accessories, however, remained exactly the same. Even though she had clearly grown taller and stronger over the years, she still found them extremely heavy, just as she had at fourteen.

Ye Zheng gently shook her heavy head, causing the maid standing beside her to secretly smile. The elderly head maid let out a soft sigh filled with emotion, “It’s already been almost four years. The day you were crowned feels like it was just yesterday when I was helping you with your hair and makeup.”

The younger maid was not one for sentimental moments. She grinned brightly and said, “Miss is the Saintess, so she won’t get married anyway. As long as you stay as the head maid of the Ye family, you’ll always have the chance to take care of our Saintess every single day.”

“I won’t get married, and I also won’t stay in the Ye family forever either.”

The young maid looked a little confused. “Then where will you go?”

Ye Zheng stood up slowly. She asked in return, “If the Ye family no longer existed, where would you go?”

The elderly head maid’s expression shifted slightly. The young maid, on the other hand, thought carefully for a moment before answering hesitantly, “Find another job as a maid? Or… perhaps get married under my parents’ arrangement?”

Ye Zheng blinked at her and said gently, “If you’ve nowhere to go, come find me at that time.”

Wearing her extravagant formal attire, Ye Zheng descended the stairs. Everyone who passed by showed expressions filled with amazement and admiration. Only Shu Wan’s expression changed the instant she saw her.

She stepped forward and grabbed Ye Zheng’s hand, asking in a low, urgent voice, “Zhengzheng, today isn’t a good day to dress like this…”

Those people had already questioned her because of her noble background. If she appeared in the lower district dressed so magnificently, it would likely spark controversy once again.

“It’s fine, Mother. I’ve my own arrangements.”

Ye Zheng comforted her. Her gaze fell on the large, lustrous pearl earrings adorning Shu Wan’s ears, and she reached out to gently touch them.

She suddenly asked, “Mom, do you like these earrings? And this big house?”

Shu Wan froze for a moment, then gave a tired smile. “I used to like them a lot. Now that you mention it, I’d almost forgotten I was even wearing them.”

When she first put them on, the faint tug at her earlobes had felt uncomfortable. But over time, she had grown so accustomed to them that they seemed to have become part of her. Whether she wore them or not no longer seemed to make any difference at all.

Shu Wan removed the pearl earrings. With her earlobes suddenly feeling lighter, she realized in that instant that these ornaments did not actually become any lighter just because they had been worn for a long time.

“Alright… I don’t like them anymore.”

The moment Shu Wan voiced her true feelings, it was as if a heavy ornament had also been lifted from her heart. A sense of relief washed over her, and she suddenly understood what Ye Zheng intended to do.

Shu Wan’s fingertips gently brushed across Ye Zheng’s face. This face was no longer childish. She remembered how, at fourteen, Ye Zheng had put on this outfit and privately complained that she looked like a large vase inlaid with gold and jade.

What had she said to her back then? Something like, “You look very beautiful,” “Just endure it,” and “Mother, Father, and your younger brother are all proud of you.”

The current Ye Zheng could wear this lavish outfit with imposing grandeur, looking more majestic than any noble from the upper district. Yet she was not putting it on to conquer or command it—

She was putting it on to tear it all apart.

“Go and break free from all of this, Ye Zheng. This world is waiting for you.”

A rare seriousness surfaced on Ye Zheng’s face. Her round, bright black eyes looked at her mother with unwavering sincerity. After a brief pause, she lifted her mother’s hand and pressed a respectful kiss to the back of it.

“I’m heading out.”

Her tone was light and almost cheerful as she turned around and walked away.

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Today I took a fifteen-hour high-speed train ride back to my hometown. I ended up typing this chapter little by little on my phone while I was on the train…