Kill My Sins – Liu Shishi, Shawn Dou

In the first year of the Kangzhou era, the Empress ascended the throne and implemented a strategy to suppress the aristocratic families, which triggered a dispute over the rites and propriety. At that time, ruthless officials held power. The right chancellor was exposed by one of these officials, after dreaming of the rebel Prince Yu Wang Like ascending the Empress's court in the Zhanlu Hall. This incident caused an uproar in both the court and the common folk.

From then on, people feared speaking of dreams, but the medical woman Ye Ping'an took a different approach. Dressed in a plain white robe and holding a cloud-patterned red umbrella, she appeared under the rain, the umbrella’s handle adorned with a string of hollow copper bells. Others avoided her like a venomous snake, and some women even warned children that the bells could steal one’s soul. On the streets, a man from Mangou, Hu Sheng, suddenly fell into a trance.

The palace’s imperial censor, Li Jun, believed he was a traitor from Prince Yu Wang Like's faction and was about to arrest him. However, Ye Ping'an intervened, analyzing that Hu Sheng was a former soldier who had fought under General Wu in battles with Shuo Dan. Despite this, Li Jun killed Hu Sheng in the street.

Many common people blamed Ye Ping'an for Hu Sheng’s sudden trance, surrounding her medical clinic and demanding she leave the capital, threatening to burn her clinic down. Ye Ping'an remained calm and, using a few tricks and threats, scared the crowd away. Yuan Shaocheng, the Minister of Justice, had heard of the sorceress in the capital and had witnessed this scene. He sneered at Ye Ping'an, who was using witchcraft to exploit the common people’s hard-earned money.

The Longmen Competition was held at the Dragon Gate arena, where mostly low-born people from Mangou fought to please the nobles. The victors could free themselves from their low status and claim land. At the time, there were twin brothers fighting in the ring. The Eastern Censor, Zheng Yuan, and the Servant Official, Zeng Xuan, were watching from the stands.

They had bet on the white team to win, but in the end, the red team emerged victorious, making Zheng Yuan feel irritated and unlucky. Xu Qing, in charge of the Ministry of Revenue’s military fund collection, reported to Du Liang, the Deputy Minister of Revenue, that 85,000 taels had been collected and would arrive at the capital in four days, but he would report only 80,000 taels.

Zheng Yuan suffered from a strange illness that kept him awake at night, so he sent his maid, Xin’er, to invite Ye Ping'an to his residence as a guest. When it was late, Ye Ping'an demanded a full bag of payment before agreeing to visit. Ye Ping'an treated illnesses without taking the pulse or asking for symptoms, claiming she could only read dreams.

She used the bell in her hand to make Zheng Yuan briefly fall asleep and, upon reading his dream, discovered his murderous intent. She pretended not to see the face of the woman in the dream and didn’t acknowledge what was written in the letter. Zheng Yuan’s killing intent faded, and Ye Ping'an told him that the illness required long-term treatment and that he should come back later.

Yuan Shaocheng, the Minister of Justice, wanted to strike a deal with Du Liang, but Du Liang looked down on him because of his low status, speaking to him with disdain. Ye Ping'an was being chased and barely escaped with her life. She overheard two assassins mention a “lord” and realized they were sent by Zheng Yuan, so she sneaked into Zheng Yuan’s residence that night, only to find him dead.

The housekeeper entered and, upon seeing Ye Ping'an and the dead Zheng Yuan, screamed in panic. Yuan Shaocheng took charge of the case. Despite the many suspicious points, he didn’t investigate in detail and casually declared that it didn’t matter whether she signed the confession or not, as in his eyes, Ye Ping'an was already a dead person. The news of Zheng Yuan’s death spread quickly through the capital, and rumors reached the Empress’s ears.

The Empress instructed Wu Xianer, a court official, to send word to the Ministry of Justice and bring Ye Ping'an to the Zhanlu Hall. Ye Ping'an defended herself, using Yuan Shaocheng as a reference for her medical skills, but she didn’t reveal that what Yuan Shaocheng truly hated was power. Instead, she made up an excuse to deceive the Empress. The Empress gave her one day to find the true murderer and prove her innocence.

They found Zheng Yuan’s dead servant, Xiao Quan, but Xin’er was missing. Unknown to them, Xin’er’s real name was Lu Danxin. She had secretly collaborated with Ye Ping'an to plot against Du Liang, framing Ye Ping'an as the scapegoat for Zheng Yuan’s murder. Zheng Yuan had already written a letter exposing Du Liang’s embezzlement of 5,000 taels of military funds.

He entrusted the letter to Zeng Xuan, instructing him to give it to a trustworthy person if he were to die. Zeng Xuan shook off the people sent by Ye Ping'an and Lu Danxin and handed the letter to Yuan Shaocheng. Just a moment before, Yuan Shaocheng had promised to bring him to the palace the next day, but in the next second, Yuan Shaocheng killed Zeng Xuan.

Cai Lian was trailing Zeng Xuan but was shaken off on Chang Le Street. Ye Pingan knew which official residences were on Chang Le Street and deduced that Zeng Xuan must have gone to Yuan’s residence. Next, Cai Lian was instructed to keep an eye on Yuan’s house to see when Zeng Xuan would come out. The 5,000 taels of embezzled military funds from Du Liang had a distinct seal, so he would definitely melt it down and recast it.

Ye Pingan’s aunt, Gu Erniang, got a map through Lao Gui and located Du Liang’s silver-smelting factory, which was situated ten miles to the east in a mountain hollow. The silver-smelting factory was crucial evidence against Du Liang. Ye Pingan needed her aunt’s help to contact Lao Gui and arrange for people to watch the factory.

In front of Du Liang, Yuan Shaocheng burned Zheng Yuan’s petition, gaining Du Liang’s trust and securing a letter from Du Liang’s adopted son, Qi Junshan, concerning the Qi Tai Dfang. As for Ye Pingan, Yuan Shaocheng believed she must be removed completely. Ye Pingan woke up from a nightmare. The calming incense Gu Erniang had prepared for her, which she had been using for years, still couldn’t cure her nightmares.

The reason Gu Erniang had allowed Ye Pingan to take such dangerous actions, despite her peaceful life in Wuxiang, was because she knew that only Ye Pingan could execute the plan to unravel the knot in her heart. The next day, Cai Lian rushed back with urgency and informed Ye Pingan that Zeng Xuan had been killed by Yuan Shaocheng.

This action was the only unforeseen factor in Yuan Shaocheng’s meticulous plan, and it meant that Ye Pingan might not be able to get the evidence in time and could end up framed and imprisoned. Qi Junshan received an order to find a frustrated scholar, Guo Yi, and cause a scene outside the Anxin Clinic to delay Ye Pingan. Qi Junshan was unguarded around the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Wu Xianer.

When Wu Xianer heard about the trouble at the Anxin Clinic, he immediately instructed Yue’er to inform the Minister of Personnel, Hai Yiping. Hai Yiping went to handle the situation, where Ye Pingan was held hostage by the irritable Guo Yi. Knowing the importance of calming the situation, Ye Pingan used reason and compassion to persuade Guo Yi, causing him to drop his weapon and cry in distress.

Afterwards, Ye Pingan even pleaded with Hai Yiping on Guo Yi’s behalf, completely impressing him with her ability to guide people’s hearts. This incident turned out to be a blessing for Ye Pingan, earning her Hai Yiping’s admiration, a combination of luck and courage. The evening gong had yet to sound six hundred times when Ye Pingan entered the palace with Guo Yi’s records. She was stopped by palace servants who claimed it was past the visiting hour.

However, Ye Pingan insisted and was allowed to meet the Emperor. Guo Yi had argued with someone the previous day over the time, and his records could prove that the night watchman had intentionally delayed the report by half an hour, which coincided with the hour of Zi. The murder of Zheng Yuan had occurred at the hour of Hai.

Ye Pingan also presented Zheng Yuan’s handwritten secret letter, which had originally been swapped with a new one made by copying. Ye Pingan knew that the Li and Wu families were at odds. Even if the Emperor received the secret letter, he might suspect that the Wu family was using the institution to trap Du Liang and would not make a hasty judgment.

Furthermore, Du Liang’s connections in the Li family were deep, and a single letter wouldn’t be enough to convict him. However, it would make the Emperor view Ye Pingan with new respect. The next step was to find a way to make the Ministry of Justice aware of the location of the silver-smelting factory, thus planting a seed of doubt in the Emperor’s mind and achieving Ye Pingan’s goal.

The silver-smelting factory was soon sealed, but the silver had already been moved. Du Liang wasn’t worried, believing it was the work of the Mei faction. Yuan Shaocheng suspected Ye Pingan was more than she appeared but hadn’t yet investigated her background, nor had he found out her aunt Gu Erniang’s lineage. At this time, a report came in that 80,000 taels of military funds had been robbed on the way to the capital, and their whereabouts were unknown.

The famous singer Ni Chang from Wanguo Xiang, along with her subordinate, Jin Fuze, staged a performance. This was partly to test Ye Pingan’s abilities and partly to find an opportunity to collaborate with her. Through Wanguo Xiang, Ni Chang could learn a lot from the young noblemen who came to seek pleasure, such as information about the Tongquan Censor case. Ye Pingan, without hesitation, agreed to collaborate with her.

The harsh official, Li Jun, was always ruthless, using torture on anyone involved in the military funds’ transport. However, Yuan Shaocheng was different. He asked the transport officer if there had been any suspicious incidents along the way. The officer mentioned that, while passing through Tongquan County, he had heard children singing a nursery rhyme. Tongquan County wasn’t far from the capital, and many years ago, a horrific arson case had taken place there.

The arsonist was the then Censor, Yu Qian. In the second year of the Zhao Feng era, Yu Qian was executed, and the people despised him. His entire family, over thirty members, was also beheaded. The transport officer asked around and learned that it was said Yu Qian’s ghost had returned after his execution and had become an evil spirit, driving the vengeful souls of the women he burned alive to haunt the mountains.

The officer and his men were filled with dread. As they traveled through the mountains around the hour of Hai, a thick fog suddenly rolled in. Soon after, ghostly shadows appeared in the mist, accompanied by terrifying laughter. The officers were scared out of their wits and fell unconscious for no reason. When they woke up, the carriage and military funds were gone.

It had only been a few hours from the moment they fainted to when they regained consciousness, so Li Jun was certain the thieves hadn't moved the funds so quickly. He immediately followed the tracks of the carriage. Lu Danxin’s residence, Ye Ping'an introduced Ni Chang to the others. They were all victims of the Censor’s case.

Lu Danxin and Cai Lian had originally found Ye Ping'an, who wore a butterfly pendant, and together they came to the capital to wait for the right moment. As for the robbery of the military funds, it had been a trap set by Ye Ping'an and her allies. However, the funds weren’t hidden in the mountains but were instead sent to the poorest area of the capital, the Mangou region.

Yuan Shaocheng, being meticulous, noticed that the tracks were faint and deduced that the thieves hadn't hidden the funds in the mountains. He kindly warned Li Jun not to waste time. Mangou was home to many people who hadn’t been elevated from low status and were looked down upon. Yuan Shaocheng was the only one who had risen from the lowest ranks and become an official.

Ye Ping'an hid the military funds in the riverbed and instructed Lu Danxin to scatter sea cucumbers in the river, which caused Li Jun and Yuan Shaocheng to bring in a boatman to search but they couldn't find the funds. Li Jun, however, refocused his attention on the mountains, while Yuan Shaocheng kept someone watching the river. Night was the best time to retrieve the funds due to the fog.

Ye Ping'an needed to find a way to move the funds secretly under Yuan Shaocheng's surveillance. This wouldn't be easy, but Cai Lian believed that with Ye Ping'an's cleverness, it could be done. Wu Xianer arrived uninvited, bringing the Emperor's imperial decree, appointing Ye Ping'an as a "Palm Officer" with the authority to collaborate on cases and act as she saw fit. Ye Ping'an showed Yuan Shaocheng the official insignia and provided him with clues.

However, Yuan Shaocheng didn’t fall for the "bait-and-switch" tactic and kept a firm watch on the riverbank. Zheng Du Liang, upon learning that Ye Ping'an had become a Palm Officer, held her in higher regard but didn’t dare take action against her at this time. Instead, he sent people to monitor her, suspecting that she was backed by the Mei faction.

Hai Yiping visited his mentor, the Left Chancellor Mei Bowen, to seek advice on how to approach the case involving the military funds. Mei Bowen advised him not to rush and to wait and see how things unfolded. Yuan Shaocheng remained fixated on the river, while Ye Ping'an knew that he and Du Liang were in cahoots. She decided to use this situation to her advantage and set up a scheme to make Qi Junshan turn against Du Liang.

Qi Junshan received the news and sent people to smash the Qi Tai Dfang, where they found a bar of military funds. Gu Wenyu, a constable from the Dali Temple, was interested in a woman, and Yuan Shaocheng supported him in confessing his feelings. Soon after, Yuan Shaocheng learned that Qi Junshan had smashed the Dfang, and in a fit of rage, he rode back quickly, only to be captured by Du Liang’s men.

Du Liang ordered his subordinates to torture Yuan Shaocheng severely, determined to extract information about the whereabouts of the military funds. Du Liang had always looked down on Yuan Shaocheng because of his lowly origins. In Du Liang's eyes, crushing Yuan Shaocheng was as easy as crushing an ant.

Du Liang tried to interrogate Yuan Shaocheng about the whereabouts of the military funds but gained no useful information. Just as he was about to kill Yuan Shaocheng, Yuan Shaocheng managed to buy some time, and Du Liang gave him five days to find the funds. Before leaving, Yuan Shaocheng asked Qi Junshan where he had learned that the Qi Tai Dfang was hiding the military funds. This could help him figure out who framed him.

In the dead of night, Yuan Shaocheng, covered in injuries, was sent back to the gate of Yuan's mansion. He told his older brother, Yuan Hesheng, not to act rashly against Du Liang yet, as it wasn’t the time to sever ties completely. Lu Danxin came to inform Ye Ping'an that Yuan Shaocheng had been released. Ye Ping'an knew that Yuan Shaocheng was someone who would take revenge, so she had Lu Danxin notify Uncle Gui to return.

She feared that, for tonight, moving the military funds from the riverbed wouldn’t be possible. Yuan Hesheng’s wife, Bai Sheng, was furious when she saw Yuan Shaocheng’s injuries. She blamed him, thinking that if he hadn’t allied with Du Liang’s group, he wouldn’t have faced such a fate. She couldn’t understand why Yuan Hesheng and Yuan Shaocheng had changed so much after returning from the battlefield, now always thinking about power and influence.

Bai Sheng was angry with Yuan Hesheng, and she swore that if he ever came back injured like Yuan Shaocheng, she wouldn’t shed a single tear for him. Lu Danxin, knowing that Ye Ping'an couldn’t sleep, took her hand, just like her mother had done when she was young, to comfort her and help her fall asleep. Following Yuan Shaocheng’s instructions, Yuan Hesheng captured Qi Junshan’s subordinate, A Rong, and beat him to extract information about the Wanguo Xiang clues.

Ni Chang was being watched. She had just shaken off her pursuers when she was knocked out with a cloth and woke up to find herself face to face with Yuan Shaocheng. Ye Ping'an had been waiting for Ni Chang but instead found Yuan Shaocheng. Yuan Shaocheng casually brought up the Censor case, mentioning that both Zheng Yuan and Du Liang had been promoted from Tongquan County to the capital as officials.

He couldn’t help but speculate that these two might have been involved in the arson and abduction of women by Yu Qian, and Ye Ping'an was one of the lucky survivors. He thought Ye Ping'an might want revenge on them. Ye Ping'an neither denied nor confirmed this. Even though Yuan Shaocheng’s guesses were bold, he had no concrete evidence. However, Ye Ping'an still shared her plan with him—how she hid the military funds and intended to move them to Mangou.

She proposed they cooperate. Li Jun led a team to search the mountains, only to discover that the cave didn’t contain the military funds. Realizing they had been tricked, he became enraged. By this time, the funds had already been secretly moved through an underground passage to Mangou. Yuan Shaocheng ordered Uncle Gu to send someone to guard the entrance of the passage and watch over the military funds.

Uncle Gu understood the wide implications of this matter and advised Yuan Shaocheng to hand over the funds in a couple of days to take credit for it. However, Yuan Shaocheng had a bigger plan. Born into a lowly status, he had always been looked down upon by those in power. His father, in an attempt to escape from the low status, participated in a dragon gate competition, defeated his opponent but suffered severe injuries and soon passed away.

Yuan Shaocheng's mother also died shortly after. This hardened Yuan Shaocheng’s resolve to climb to positions of power, so that he could step on those who considered themselves nobility, and provide a better life for the people of Mangou. Through Ni Chang, Ye Ping'an learned that Wu Xianer had been secretly meeting Qi Junshan at Wanguo Xiang. Ye Ping'an sent someone to falsely relay a message to distract Qi Junshan, asking for Wu Xianer's help.

Wu Xianer, being from the Wu family, naturally wouldn’t get involved directly, as that would fuel rumors of discord between the Wu and Li families. However, she could recommend someone to help Ye Ping'an—Hai Yiping, the Minister of Personnel. Wu Xianer asked Ye Ping'an to pass on a message to Hai Yiping’s residence. The message itself seemed innocuous, but the true purpose was to use it as an excuse to ask for Hai Yiping’s assistance.

Lu Danxin saw that Ye Ping'an’s medicine pouch was worn and old and offered to make her a new one. She asked what design Ye Ping'an would like to have embroidered on it. Since her surname was Ye, Ye Ping'an decided to have Lu Danxin embroider leaves on the pouch.

Ye Ping'an went to the Hai residence to visit Minister Hai Yiping. The gatekeeper, upon hearing that she was sent by Attendant Wu to deliver a message requesting pearl powder, immediately led her inside. Inside the residence, Ye Ping'an noticed a sorcerer performing a ritual, which piqued her curiosity. When she later met with Hai Yiping, she inquired about it. Hai Yiping explained that his younger sister, Hai Yan, had been quiet since childhood.

After a fire broke out in their residence, her behavior became even more peculiar. The matriarch believed that Hai Yan was possessed by an evil spirit and thus invited a sorcerer to the residence every month to perform exorcism rituals. Ye Ping'an volunteered to see Hai Yan, thinking she might be able to help. Meanwhile, spies reported her visit to the Hai residence to Qi Junshan, who then informed Du Liang.

Du Liang decided to target Ye Ping'an’s aunt, Gu Erniang, to exploit Ye Ping'an’s weakness. Gu Erniang, despite her skills, was outnumbered and quickly captured, but Ye Ping'an, still at the Hai residence, remained unaware. Ye Ping'an used painting as a way to connect with Hai Yan, though she was nearly misunderstood by the matriarch. Fortunately, Hai Yan unexpectedly spoke up, clearing the misunderstanding.

Ye Ping'an explained to the matriarch that Hai Yan struggled to understand normal conversations and could only engage in simple dialogues. She advised interacting with Hai Yan according to her preferences. Hai Yiping, upon learning from Ye Ping'an about Du Liang’s actions, was deeply shocked. Ye Ping'an, holding only a nominal position, stated that she was not in a position to intervene but recommended someone who could—Yuan Shaocheng, the investigator of the military funds case.

When Ye Ping'an returned to Anxin Pavilion, Lu Danxin informed her that her aunt had been captured. Lu Danxin initially wanted to seek help from Uncle Gui, but Ye Ping'an stopped her. Instead, Lu Danxin went to the Yuan residence to inform Gu Wenyu about Gu Erniang’s capture. Soon after, Du Liang’s men arrived to invite Ye Ping'an to a night banquet, claiming it was to celebrate her new official position. Meanwhile, Yuan Shaocheng visited Hai Yiping.

Aware that Yuan Shaocheng had once sided with Du Liang and was now trying to align with the Mei faction, Hai Yiping was cautious. He tested Yuan Shaocheng to see if he was trustworthy and found him to be a promising talent. Yuan Shaocheng had prepared a significant gift for Hai Yiping. When he revealed that the gift was the military funds, Hai Yiping was visibly surprised.

Shortly after, Yuan Shaocheng returned to his residence, where Gu Wenyu quickly reported to him about the situation involving Ye Ping'an and her aunt, Gu Erniang. Since it was unwise for Yuan Shaocheng to appear at Du Liang’s residence, he instructed Gu Wenyu to go to the Hai residence and find Hai Yiping. Du Liang used Gu Erniang as leverage to threaten Ye Ping'an. However, Ye Ping'an remained calm and unyielding, neither showing fear nor backing down.

Furious, Du Liang was about to draw his blade when a servant reported that an envoy from Hai Yiping had arrived, claiming that Hai Yiping needed Ye Ping'an’s medical expertise. This provided Ye Ping'an with an opportunity to safely leave for the Hai residence. By then, the curfew had begun, so for safety reasons, she followed Hai Yiping’s arrangements and stayed at the Hai residence overnight.

Unexpectedly, she discovered that Hai Yan recognized a woman with a floral mark on her arm. Ye Ping'an attempted to ask Hai Yan more about the woman, but Hai Yiping walked in and interrupted. It turned out that Hai Yiping had used Hai Yan to draw the woman with the floral mark to verify his own suspicions about Ye Ping'an’s motives against Zheng Yuan and Du Liang.

Over a decade ago, when Ye Ping'an was still known as Gu Qing, she had self-taught psychological medicine through medical books. Zheng Yuan, having heard of her ability to make people obedient, deceived her into leading women into an abandoned residence, where they were assaulted. After the incident, Ye Ping'an personally witnessed Qi Junshan waiting outside the burning residence, mercilessly shooting down the women who had managed to escape the fire. Overwhelmed by guilt, she began planning her revenge—thus setting everything that followed into motion.

Back then, Lu Danxin narrowly escaped death and encountered Imperial Censor Yu Qian, who was returning to his hometown for an inspection. She recounted her ordeal to him in full. Yu Qian was outraged and vowed to uncover the truth and seek justice for the unfortunate women. However, he never expected that behind Zheng Yuan and Du Liang, there were even more powerful forces from the capital.

These forces conspired to falsely accuse him, pinning the crimes of extorting the people and abducting women onto him. As a result, Yu Qian was sentenced to execution, and his entire family of over thirty members was wiped out. Yuan Shaocheng met with Du Liang, appearing to be a turncoat.

He claimed to have revealed the whereabouts of the military funds to Hai Yiping and further stated that Hai Yiping intended to submit only half of the funds while secretly storing the other half in his private estate. With this information, Du Liang saw an opportunity to eliminate Hai Yiping, whom he considered a thorn in his side. Du Liang found this plan brilliant.

Ye Ping'an knew all too well that Du Liang was insatiably greedy and would undoubtedly fall into the trap, but the final outcome was still uncertain. Meanwhile, Yuan Hesheng drank alone at Manggou all night. Yuan Shaocheng went looking for him, only to discover that Yuan Hesheng had learned from Uncle Gu that Yuan Shaocheng was using the military funds to plot something significant, yet he had kept Yuan Hesheng in the dark.

Feeling disappointed, Yuan Hesheng believed his younger brother didn’t trust him. Yuan Shaocheng explained that he had kept it from him because he didn’t want him to get involved in such dangerous matters. He then revealed that the strategist guiding him through the military funds case was Ye Ping'an. Late at night, Yuan Shaocheng visited Ye Ping'an’s humble residence. She instructed him not to act against Du Liang just yet—she needed to extract more information from him first.

Both of them shared the same determination—no matter how powerful the forces behind their enemies were, they would not back down. Ni Chang arranged for Scholar Jin to steal the account books from Qi Junshan’s gambling house. The records showed that many people had used gambling losses as a cover to bribe Du Liang.

Additionally, Scholar Jin discovered that the trusted subordinates who had followed Du Liang and Zheng Yuan from Tongquan County to the capital had all died one after another. It was not hard to deduce that these people had been silenced for knowing too much. After confirming that military funds were indeed hidden in Hai Yiping’s private estate, Du Liang led a group of officers to storm the place that very night. At the time, Hai Yiping was leisurely drinking tea.

Minister of Justice Zhang Quan rushed in anxiously to inform him of the situation, but Hai Yiping remained exceptionally calm. He stated that regardless of whether there was bloodshed or fighting tonight, it had nothing to do with the two of them. However, he needed Zhang Quan to deliver a message to the ruthless enforcer, Li Jun.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shaocheng and Yuan Hesheng had already mobilized the people of Manggou, ready to show how those whom the nobles called "sewer rats" could devour a tiger. Taking advantage of Du Liang’s absence from his residence, Yuan Hesheng and the warriors of Manggou sneaked into Du Liang’s backyard, setting a fire to distract his household. Then, they secretly transferred the military funds into Du Liang’s residence. Before long, Du Liang realized he had found nothing at Hai Yiping’s estate.

Just then, a servant rushed in to report that his residence was on fire. Du Liang hurried back, only to discover that the fire was merely a diversion. The backyard was now filled with military funds. It was only then that he realized Yuan Shaocheng had outmaneuvered him—but it was too late. Ye Ping'an appeared before him, using her bell to disrupt his mind, making him see the vengeful spirits of those he had wronged.

He immediately went mad, screaming in terror, yet his viciousness did not wane. Yuan Shaocheng led his men to surround Du Liang’s residence, giving Ye Ping'an enough time to interrogate Du Liang. However, before she could extract the name of the mastermind behind the Imperial Censor case, Li Jun arrived swiftly after receiving the report and killed Du Liang. Ye Ping'an was unable to get the answer she sought, but she pretended that she already knew.

Li Jun then arrested Ye Ping'an on charges of smuggling military funds. As she looked at Yuan Shaocheng, she recalled his words from before. Perhaps, she realized, he had outmaneuvered her as well.

Ye Ping'an was imprisoned, but it wasn't in the Dali Temple prison; instead, she was taken away by the ruthless enforcer Li Jun. Lu Danxin suspected that Yuan Shaocheng was behind this, as Ye Ping'an had previously set him up to be tortured by Du Liang, leaving him with a grudge. Cai Lian wanted to rescue Ye Ping'an, but Lu Danxin advised her not to act impulsively.

In fact, Ye Ping'an’s imprisonment was not the result of Yuan Shaocheng’s betrayal; it was orchestrated by Hai Yiping, who had notified Li Jun. Earlier, Hai Yiping had warned Yuan Shaocheng about who to help and who to avoid. Yuan Shaocheng knew this in his heart, so he hesitated whether to rescue Ye Ping'an. Since he hesitated, Hai Yiping decided to leave it to fate.

Yuan Shaocheng's subordinate, Cheng Hui, had been bribed by Hai Yiping and reported the events of the night. Hai Yiping ordered him to poison Ye Ping'an. Not trusting the situation, Hai Yiping also sent people to keep an eye on Cheng Hui to ensure that he would complete the task and eliminate Ye Ping'an. Behind Hai Yiping, there was a masked figure.

They saw Ye Ping'an as no ordinary person, especially since she kept pursuing the Imperial Censor case, so they decided to remove her. In the prison, Li Jun subjected Ye Ping'an to brutal torture. Ye Ping'an understood Li Jun's nature well. Born from humble beginnings, Li Jun despised the high-ranking officials and enjoyed seeing them fall from grace. When dealing with criminals, Li Jun took pleasure in torturing them, but once they died, he lost interest.

To buy herself time, Ye Ping'an decided to appeal to his tastes. Barely alive, she suggested a new method of torment, which thrilled Li Jun. He ordered his men to fetch fish in the middle of the night. Lu Danxin overheard that Li Jun's men were going out to buy fish and quickly deduced that Ye Ping'an was sending them a message about the black market. So, she disguised herself as a fish vendor at the market in advance.

Meanwhile, Cheng Hui infiltrated the prison to kill Ye Ping'an. However, instead of killing her, he trusted her words and rushed to the black market to look for the so-called list. Li Jun realized that someone was attempting to kill Ye Ping'an, and she cleverly told him about the list, playing on his desire to expose the powerful officials behind the scenes. She guided Li Jun, a vicious dog, to bite the right people.

Hai Yiping learned that Cheng Hui had failed to kill Ye Ping'an, so he arranged for Cheng Hui’s execution to silence him. When Li Jun arrived, he found Cheng Hui already dead, and the copper axis was empty. Li Jun realized he had been tricked and rushed back to the prison, intending to kill Ye Ping'an. However, Wu Xianer arrived just in time with an imperial decree from the Empress, saving Ye Ping'an.

It turned out that Ye Ping'an had anticipated this and had previously obtained a life-saving talisman from the Empress, which led to her rescue. Soon after, Yuan Shaocheng was rewarded for recovering the military funds and was promoted to the position of Chief of the Dali Temple. Three months earlier, the Empress had secretly ordered Yuan Shaocheng to start an investigation with Du Liang and trace the powerful figures behind him.

Yuan Shaocheng’s first step was to fake the death of Zeng Xuan to gain Du Liang’s trust and secretly discover the extent of his embezzlement. As for the rise in salt prices, Yuan Shaocheng couldn’t find evidence that Du Liang was involved, but he suspected someone was using Du Liang to manipulate the salt tax. The Empress granted him permission to quietly investigate the Ministry of Revenue’s salt tax. Yuan Shaocheng had not offered any help to Ye Ping'an.

Though he felt guilty, Ye Ping'an, being clever, understood his reasons. If she were in his shoes, she would have made the same choice. Furthermore, Ye Ping'an knew that Yuan Shaocheng was not satisfied with his current rank; he truly desired the position of left or right prime minister, with power over everyone except the Emperor. Yuan Shaocheng thought she held no grudges against him and agreed to help her change her medicine.

However, to his surprise, Ye Ping'an bit him in revenge. Yuan Shaocheng didn’t mind at all. Before Yuan Shaocheng could begin his investigation of the Ministry of Revenue, a fire broke out in the Ministry's accounting room. The Empress used this as a reason to issue an imperial decree to dismiss and investigate the Minister of Revenue, Zhang Xianlang, and scrutinize the Ministry’s staff to find out who was behind the chaos.

With the position of Minister of Revenue vacant, Hai Yiping recommended Xue Zhongshan, the Governor of Jiangzhou, to take over the post, but Li Mu Yuan, the Vice Minister, thought Xue Zhongshan’s character was lacking. Ultimately, the Empress decided to promote the Governor of Youzhou, who had been successful in his duties, to Minister of Revenue, while Xue Zhongshan, who had achievements, was promoted to Deputy Minister of Revenue. During her recuperation, Ye Ping'an kept wondering who had plotted her imprisonment.

It wasn’t necessarily the Li family, as Lu Danxin had suspected. Hai Yiping seemed to be a likely candidate, but Ye Ping'an could only guess without solid evidence. Ye Ping'an’s trembling hands had not improved, and Lu Danxin worried whether she had developed a heart condition. Ye Ping'an nonchalantly said no. Yuan Shaocheng was promoted to Chief of the Dali Temple, with the authority to review the case files. Ye Ping'an began to plot how to use him.

Yuan Shaocheng sealed off Longmen Field, and the Empress quickly received a memorial accusing Yuan Shaocheng. Longmen Field had been constructed under the decree of Emperor Wen, but now it had become a place where human life was treated carelessly. Yuan Shaocheng reserved Longmen Field for the next day and boldly invited the Empress to visit. The Empress agreed.

The high-ranking officials had always strongly opposed the closure of Longmen Field, but this time things went smoothly, and Yuan Shaocheng feared something might go wrong. News of the haunting in Yanqing Alley quickly spread, and skulls were hung along Liutiao Lane. The ominous rumors about Yanqing Alley reached the palace, and the aristocratic elders petitioned the Empress to avoid visiting Longmen Field.

Ye Ping'an proactively sought out Yuan Shaocheng and offered to invite the Empress to Longmen Field, but on the condition that Yuan Shaocheng would let her view the case files. They reached an agreement. Before the rumors of the haunting could subside, Ye Ping'an staged an incident where the night watchmen found auspicious items in Yanqing Alley, presenting them to the Empress. The Empress immediately realized that Ye Ping'an had used the auspicious items to block the ominous rumors.

She casually changed into her regular clothes and agreed to go to Longmen Field with Ye Ping'an. At Longmen Field, the Empress’s visit went unnoticed, and as usual, the contestants were terrified by the brutal match. To please the nobles, they even used iron fist rings. Previously, the matches were bare-handed. Yuan Shaocheng confronted Wang Guanshi, asking why the rules were being broken.

Wang Guanshi responded that Longmen Field had no rules, and the only rule was that the nobles should enjoy themselves with their money. Despite the masked faces, the Empress could still recognize the old men who took pleasure in human life. When the contestants fought, spilling blood and breaking bones, the old men grew even more excited, until one of the contestants died. Only then did the match come to an end.

Hai Yiping told the masked figure that although they hadn’t killed Ye Ping'an, her life could still be useful. Gu Wenyu mustered the courage to confess his feelings to Cai Lian, inviting her to meet him at Qinglong Bridge that evening. Gu Wenyu anxiously waited on the bridge, even buying a lantern, but Cai Lian never showed up.

Cai Lian had been eagerly preparing, ready to wear a hairpin, but when she saw her arm wrapped in cloth, her face immediately turned cold. The seven-leaf flower brand on her arm was a painful memory she could never speak of. If she decided to accept Gu Wenyu, how could she explain the brand on her arm to him?

Before Yuan Shaocheng could begin investigating the Ministry of Revenue, a fire broke out in the Ministry’s accounting room. The Empress used this as an excuse to issue a decree removing Minister of Revenue Zhang Xianlang from office and to investigate the entire Ministry staff, to find out who was behind the chaos. With the position of Minister of Revenue now vacant, Hai Yiping recommended Xue Zhongshan, the Governor of Jiangzhou, to take over.

However, Li Mu Yuan, the Vice Minister, believed that Xue Zhongshan had poor moral character. In the end, the Empress decided to appoint the Governor of Youzhou, who had done a good job governing, to the position of Minister of Revenue, while Xue Zhongshan, who had achievements, was promoted to Deputy Minister of Revenue. During her recovery, Ye Ping'an kept wondering who had caused her to be imprisoned. It wasn’t necessarily the Li family, as Lu Danxin had suspected.

Hai Yiping seemed a bit suspicious, but Ye Ping'an could only guess, as there was no solid evidence. Ye Ping'an’s trembling hands had not improved, and Lu Danxin worried whether she had developed a heart condition. Ye Ping'an casually claimed that she didn’t. Yuan Shaocheng had been promoted to Chief of the Dali Temple, granting him the power to review the case files. Ye Ping'an decided to take advantage of this.

Yuan Shaocheng sealed off Longmen Field, and the Empress quickly received a memorial accusing him. Longmen Field had been constructed under Emperor Wen’s direct order, but now it had become a place where human lives were treated carelessly. Yuan Shaocheng reserved Longmen Field for the next day and boldly invited the Empress to visit. The Empress agreed. The high-ranking officials had always strongly opposed the closure of Longmen Field, but this time things went smoothly.

Yuan Shaocheng couldn’t help but feel uneasy, fearing something might go wrong. Rumors about hauntings in Yanqing Alley spread quickly, and skulls were hung in Liutiao Lane. The ominous rumors from Yanqing Alley reached the palace, and the stubborn aristocrats petitioned the Empress to avoid going to Longmen Field. Ye Ping'an took the initiative to approach Yuan Shaocheng and offered to invite the Empress to Longmen Field, on the condition that he would let her access the case files.

They made a deal. Before the rumors about the haunting could subside, Ye Ping'an cleverly had the night watchmen discover auspicious items in Yanqing Alley, which they presented to the Empress. The Empress immediately realized that Ye Ping'an had used the auspicious items to block the ominous rumors. She decided to change into her regular clothes and went to Longmen Field with Ye Ping'an. When the Empress arrived at Longmen Field, her visit went unnoticed.

As usual, the contestants were terrified, and to please the nobles, iron fist rings were used. Previously, the matches were bare-handed. Yuan Shaocheng confronted Wang Guanshi, asking why the rules had been broken. Wang Guanshi responded that Longmen Field had no real rules; as long as it made the nobles happy and allowed them to spend money, that was the only rule. Even though the old men wore masks, the Empress could still recognize them.

As the contestants fought, their blood spilled, and the old men grew more excited. The match only ended when one contestant died. Hai Yiping spoke to the masked figure, saying that although they had failed to kill Ye Ping'an, her life could still be useful. Gu Wenyu gathered his courage to confess his feelings to Cai Lian, asking her to meet him that evening at Qinglong Bridge.

He anxiously waited on the bridge, holding a lantern, but Cai Lian was nowhere to be seen. Cai Lian had been eagerly preparing, excited to put a hairpin in her hair. However, when she saw the cloth wrapped around her arm, her face instantly grew cold. The seven-leaf flower brand on her arm was the deepest pain she could never speak of. If she decided to accept Gu Wenyu, how could she explain the brand on her arm to him?

General Wu Ankang of the Left Wei Guard had been stationed at the border for many years. Upon his return to the capital, the Empress rewarded him with silver and a golden cudgel. Yuan Shaocheng presented a memorial, requesting the Empress to seal Longmen Field, which caused strong opposition from many conservative officials. Left Guard General Xu Guangping courageously supported Yuan Shaocheng, and the two sides got into a heated argument.

The Empress asked Left Chancellor Mei Bowen for his opinion on the matter, to which Mei Bowen replied that it was up to the Empress to decide. The Empress then asked if anyone else opposed the sealing of Longmen Field. Several senior officials stood up in opposition. The Empress immediately ordered the servants to bring a steel cage and commanded the two ministers to fight inside. The one who won would be granted the position of Right Chancellor.

At this, everyone quickly understood the Empress’ intentions, and in unison, they all begged her to calm down. Yesterday, Cui Yi, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, had also been at Longmen Field. The Empress decided to make an example of him first. Wu Xianer passed on the Empress’ orders, strictly prohibiting anyone from forcing or coercing lower-class citizens to fight.

Yuan Shaocheng then asked the Empress to allow lower-class citizens from two or more generations to compete with their literary skills, writing and testing with pens, to select those worthy of leaving the lower classes. Li Mu Yuan, the Vice Minister, was the first to oppose this suggestion, and Mei Bowen also felt this proposal was excessive. The Empress agreed with their reasoning and decided that Yuan Shaocheng should not pursue this matter further.

Wu Ankang, however, had a good idea and suggested that those skilled in martial arts could be brought to Longmen Field to compete, using this as a way to select talented individuals. His suggestion aligned with the Empress’ previous idea of using martial tests to find talent, so she issued an imperial decree to establish martial selection at Longmen Field.

Ye Ping'an noticed that Cai Lian seemed troubled, and Cai Lian confided in her that Gu Wenyu had confessed his feelings for her. However, due to her own experiences, Cai Lian didn’t know how to respond. People place great importance on a woman’s chastity, but Ni Chang had never heard anyone mention the chastity of men, which greatly angered her.

Ye Ping'an advised Cai Lian to make a choice, whether to accept or refuse, but to give Gu Wenyu a clear answer. The eldest daughter of Duke Shuo had come of marriageable age, and an envoy would soon be sent to the capital. The Empress intended for the Prince to marry her.

Although there was no precedent for a Prince’s marriage to be arranged in this way, the Empress’ ascension to the throne had already broken tradition, as had her promotion of female officials. Wu Ankang and Wu Xianer were siblings, and their father, King Kangping, understood that the Empress intended to wait for Wu Ankang’s return before announcing the royal marriage to keep the Wu family in check.

Wu Ankang could naturally see that the Empress wanted to balance the power of the Wu family by having him give up his military command. King Kangping therefore advised him to obediently hand over his military power and return to the capital to seek a new post, though Wu Ankang would need time to adjust to life in the capital after being in the army for so long.

Yuan Shaocheng successfully entered the case files vault to review the documents on the Inspector case, but the clerk informed him that the relevant files had been taken by Hai Yiping several years ago and had yet to be returned. Yuan Shaocheng did not tell Ye Ping'an that the files had been taken by Hai Yiping; he just didn’t want her to disrupt his plans.

However, Ye Ping'an had her own ways of investigating and learned that the clerk who had previously overseen the case files vault had been dismissed by Hai Yiping. Ye Ping'an then went to Hai Yiping’s residence, hoping to extract information about the seven-leaf flower brand from Hai Yan, but was unsuccessful.

Hai Yiping deliberately sent his mother to inform Ye Ping'an that the Inspector case files had been destroyed in a fire, in an attempt to dispel Ye Ping'an's suspicions about him. Furthermore, Hai Yiping instructed his subordinates to begin casting a wide net. Ni Chang, having overheard something from the poet Sun Xizheng, shared the information with Lu Danxin and Ye Ping'an.

Just as Hai Yiping’s mother had said, Hai Yiping had been close friends with Yu Qian, and after Yu Qian fell from grace, Hai Yiping had spoken up for him. Wu Xianer rented the Wan Guo Xiang restaurant and used it to connect Ye Ping'an and Wu Ankang. Yuan Shaocheng came uninvited and was surprised to find that he already knew Wu Ankang. Ye Ping'an inadvertently noticed that the dancer Li Ge also had a seven-leaf flower brand on her arm. This led her to fall into the trap that Hai Yiping had specially set for her.

Upon learning that Li Ge had the same seven-leaf flower brand on her arm as Cai Lian, Ni Chang was greatly surprised. Li Ge had only recently arrived at Wan Guo Xiang, and Ni Chang didn’t know much about her except that she had been sold to the establishment by her family. Ye Ping'an took the initiative to approach Li Ge, attempting to understand her thoughts.

She guessed what was on Li Ge's mind and asked who had branded her arm with the mark. Li Ge refused to answer, only stating that the person was of a high status. Wu Youjing knew that Wu Xianer had always resented her mother for abandoning her and going to the mountains to practice Daoism. However, he still hoped that Wu Xianer would visit her long-lost mother in the mountains one day.

In front of her father, Wu Xianer pretended to be strong and indifferent, but whenever she remembered the scene of her mother leaving resolutely, she couldn’t help but cry. The next day, Gu Wenyu waited again on Qinglong Bridge for Cai Lian. This time, Cai Lian showed up, but she rejected his confession. Although Cai Lian didn’t speak about it, Gu Wenyu knew that she was worried because of the Inspector case.

He then shared his own background and experiences with her. Gu Wenyu respected Cai Lian’s decision, and no matter what she chose in the future, he just wanted to stay by her side. Faced with Gu Wenyu’s deep affection, Cai Lian was at a loss for words. Ye Ping'an learned from Guo Yi that the owner of the small cloth shop, Cai Yun, hadn’t paid the workers their wages.

She went to investigate and found out that Cai Yun was being squeezed out by Jiu He Da Bu Fang, who claimed that his cloth shop’s products were substandard. Cai Yun had spent money trying to smooth things over, but it had been to no avail, and he was even struggling to pay for his own meals. The people behind Jiu He Da Bu Fang were the richest merchant in the capital, Li Zongxu, a royal family relative.

The workers didn’t believe it because Li Zongxu was known to be a good man. He was even hosting a charity banquet for the poor the next day. After understanding the situation, Ye Ping'an assured Cai Yun that she had a way to solve it, but it would require Cai Yun to endure some hardship. Bai Sheng found out she was pregnant and wanted to persuade Yuan Hesheng to live a quiet life in the countryside, but Yuan Hesheng was hesitant.

He couldn’t bring himself to leave Yuan Shaocheng. Wu Ankang invited Yuan Shaocheng to a match at Longmen Field. After a few rounds, the two cleared up their misunderstandings and realized that neither of them had lost their true intentions. Yuan Shaocheng suggested canceling the Longmen match, but this was misunderstood by the people of Mangou, most of whom believed that Yuan Shaocheng was blocking their only chance to rise from the lower class and become respectable citizens.

Yuan Shaocheng had no choice but to bear the blame silently. On the night of the charity banquet, Ye Ping'an went to join the festivities. She saw Cai Yun crying and complaining about being beaten by the manager of Jiu He Da Bu Fang. Li Zongxu, who cared greatly about his reputation, immediately promised to pay the workers their wages and even gave them an extra ten coins each.

Ye Ping'an smiled to herself, knowing this was the plan she had suggested to Cai Yun and the workers. Wu Ankang was also at the banquet. He had intended to ask Xu Qing, the head of the Ministry of Revenue's Financial Department, about the battle at Jin Yuan, but decided against it since it wasn’t the right time.

Wu Ankang suspected that Ye Ping'an had come up with the idea for the workers, and he felt that meeting someone like her during his return to the capital was a fortunate turn of events. At Cai Yun’s home, an elderly man with a mental illness had been specially brought to Ye Ping'an for treatment. However, Ye Ping'an realized that the man’s condition was severe, and she could only treat him bit by bit.

She promised to come regularly to help him. Finally, Li Ge came to Ye Ping'an to clear her heart. It was then that Ye Ping'an learned the truth—Li Ge’s seven-leaf flower brand had been branded by none other than Li Zongxu, the royal family relative and so-called great benefactor, who had hosted the charity banquet the previous night.