When Song Yan's injury got better, Jing Hong briefly told him about her plan. By now, there was no one around her that she could fully trust.
It was impossible not to feel sad when thinking about this, but since things had come to this point, being sad wouldn't help. What she should do most was to take back the Intelligence Pavilion that had been snatched away.
The Intelligence Pavilion was established by herself. Giving it away so easily was not her style.
"Okay, I got it. I'll send people to look for his whereabouts right away." Song Yan listened to Jing Hong's words. Although he didn't quite agree with this method, it was the fastest way to solve this matter.
The case of the Qin Tower had dragged on for too long. He always felt that if they didn't solve the matter soon, something even more troublesome would happen later.
He didn't really care about himself. After all, as the director of the Investigation Department, his job was full of troubles. But he didn't want to involve Ye Zhiqiu.
Jing Hong tapped the table with her hand, propping her chin with one hand and smiling with slightly curved eyes. "There's no need to go through so much trouble. Don't you forget what my profession is?"
Saying this, her beautiful eyes opened, looking at a certain place outside the window. "I've already found out where he is. It's not convenient for me to show up. I'll trouble Director Song then."
Jing Hong's voice was soft. Although she looked easy - going on the surface, there were more than a few bad ideas hidden under her smiling face.
Such a person was not easy to deal with, but as long as she wasn't an enemy, it was fine.
Song Yan nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"Then we'll just wait to meet up." Jing Hong had finished the conversation. Since Song Yan didn't seem to want to talk to her anymore, she didn't want to make herself look bad. She slowly stood up, put on her hat and was about to walk out.
But just as she took her first step, she was suddenly called out.
"Jing Hong." Song Yan's tone was calm. He called out to Jing Hong who was about to turn away. Although his tone sounded flat, one could still hear the seriousness in it.
Jing Hong looked back at Song Yan who had put down the book in his hand. She curved her lips but didn't say anything. Instead, she waited for what the other person would say next.
"Although Shen Huaian seems smart, he's actually quite stupid. If you're just using him, I hope that after this matter is over, you can stay away from him. It's best not to have any more contact. You're not on the same path."
Song Yan's voice was very soft. He looked at Jing Hong's side - face and said this seriously.
His serious expression didn't look like he was joking.
Jing Hong blinked her eyes. Her long eyelashes fluttered a few times, as if there were stars in them. She smiled and responded to Song Yan's warning.
"How do you know that I'm just using him?" After saying this, she didn't wait for the other person to say anything else and just pushed the door open and walked out.
Because Song Yan didn't want Jing Hong to get involved in this matter anymore, he intentionally sent Shen Huaian away when they were discussing the plan. Although Shen Huaian was curious, he also knew that this matter was very dangerous.
It could be seen from the last assassination attempt, but he just couldn't stop worrying about Jing Hong.
Since Song Yan didn't want him to know, he eavesdropped secretly at the door, but he could only hear a few vague words. And it seemed that they... even mentioned his name?
Just as Shen Huaian wanted to hear more, he was startled by Jing Hong who suddenly opened the door.
Jing Hong looked at Shen Huaian who was pretending that nothing had happened and curved her lips. "What are you doing, Young Master Shen?"
Shen Huaian actually felt a bit embarrassed about this question. He couldn't just say that he was eavesdropping, so he coughed to cover up his embarrassment. "I think the scenery here is nice, so I'm just taking a stroll."
This reason... was a bit far - fetched.
Even without Jing Hong saying anything, Shen Huaian knew how ridiculous the reason he had just given was. But since the words had already been said, he could only continue to make it up.
"It is really nice." Jing Hong didn't expose his clumsy reason. She smiled and simply said this to let the matter pass.
But Shen Huaian was still a bit curious. When he was eavesdropping outside the door just now, it seemed that they had mentioned his name. He was too far away to hear clearly.
This made Shen Huaian even more curious, but judging from Jing Hong's expression, it seemed that she didn't want to talk about that matter.
"If you have something to say, Young Master Shen, just say it." Jing Hong could tell that Shen Huaian must be holding back a question but was too embarrassed to ask just by looking at his hesitant look.
This hesitant look was too obvious. It was hard for Jing Hong to ignore it. Moreover, she never believed Shen Huaian's words about looking at the scenery. So she just brought it up herself.
Now Shen Huaian didn't hesitate anymore and just said directly, "Just now when I passed by, I seemed to hear you talking about me. Specifically... what were you talking about?"
When Jing Hong heard this question, she covered her lips and laughed. Looking at Shen Huaian's serious face, it seemed that this question was of great significance to him.
After she had laughed enough, she lowered her eyes and thought for a while. After building up the suspense, she finally said, "It's nothing. It's just that Director Song hinted to me that you have feelings for me."
After saying this, she didn't care about Shen Huaian's blushing face. She tossed her hair and walked out.
Shen Huaian was left alone, standing there stupidly, still digesting the huge amount of information in her words.
After this little episode, Jing Hong secretly sent a letter to Song Yan behind Shen Huaian's back, saying that they would meet outside the largest gambling house in Yuling.
When Song Yan arrived, he saw that Jing Hong had already occupied a seat in the teahouse opposite the gambling house early. She nodded slightly in Song Yan's direction, and he understood and walked up to the teahouse.
When he got there, he found that Jing Hong wasn't the only one in the teahouse.
"Teacher Ye?" When Song Yan got to the teahouse, he saw Ye Zhiqiu sitting opposite Jing Hong. When he heard this, Ye Zhiqiu was still sipping the tea in his hand, looking as if he wasn't surprised at all.
Jing Hong propped her chin with one hand. She thought Song Yan's expression was a bit funny. She waved her hand gently and joked, "I said, Director Song, you've known Teacher Ye for half a year. Why are you still so formal with your address?"
Song Yan didn't know how to respond to her joke for a moment. It seemed that once he encountered something related to Ye Zhiqiu, he would become extremely stupid.
"What do you think, Teacher Ye? Always calling you 'Teacher' might make others think that we are all your students." Jing Hong loved to stir up trouble. Seeing Song Yan standing there stupidly, she turned the topic to Ye Zhiqiu.
Ye Zhiqiu's expression remained calm. In response to Jing Hong's words, he slowly put down the teacup in his hand. Looking in Song Yan's direction, he said, "The Pavilion Master is right. There's no need to be so formal in the future. Just call me by my name."
?!
Song Yan was completely stunned when he heard this answer. For a moment, he even suspected that the person in front of him wasn't Ye Zhiqiu, because... he didn't seem like the kind of person who would say such a thing.
Jing Hong, who had successfully played the match - maker, took a sip of tea and remained humble.
"By the way, Ye... Zhiqiu, why did you come to this teahouse?" Song Yan was about to call him Teacher Ye as usual, but then remembered what had just been said and changed his address.
Jing Hong tapped the table and tilted her head. "I happened to meet him on my way here. I thought it was fate, so I invited him to come together."
"You know very well..." Song Yan got angry when he heard this. He only said half of the sentence and then stopped. He glanced in Ye Zhiqiu's direction and didn't say the second half of the sentence.
Even if he didn't say it, Jing Hong knew what he meant. After all, she was the pavilion master of the Intelligence Pavilion, and she knew what had happened between them.
She stood up and walked to Song Yan's side. She leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words. "Sometimes, the safest place is right in front of you."
Song Yan frowned, but in the end, he didn't say anything more.
"Okay, stop chatting. Our target has appeared." Jing Hong walked to the side of the teahouse and looked down at the entrance of the gambling house from a high position. Looking at the young man in a blue shirt walking out, her eyes narrowed.
At this moment, she was like a venomous snake spitting out its forked tongue, staring at its prey and waiting for the opportunity to move.
Song Yan went to an alley below the teahouse. He leaned against the wall and waited for the man to pass by. The man seemed to be in a great mood because he had won some money, so he had let down his guard.
When he walked into the middle of the alley, he was stopped by Song Yan. Song Yan placed his long sword across the man's neck and just stared at him coldly without saying a word.
"I... I have no grudge against you. You... you can't kill someone in the street!" The man was extremely frightened by the sudden sword. He immediately stood still on the spot, and even dropped the money bag in his hand.
Although he was scared, he still pretended to be calm and tried to make the other person calm down.
Song Yan didn't respond to his words at all. The hand holding the long sword remained unchanged.
Just then, there came a sound of footsteps from the corner of the alley. Jing Hong walked in front of him with a smile on her face and a low voice. "Oh, what a coincidence, Young Master Yu. I didn't expect to meet you here. How have you been with A Liu recently?"
"It's you!" When Zhen Yu saw Jing Hong's face, his expression instantly turned into horror. Looking at the person standing in front of him intact, his voice even trembled a bit. "You... you're actually not dead!"
Jing Hong took a few steps forward. The sound of her dress rubbing against the ground was especially clear in this quiet alley. She just smiled, with her eyes curved.
"Yes, you're disappointed, Young Master Yu. I'm still alive and well."
"What... what do you want to do! Are you going to kill me?" Zhen Yu's voice trembled uncontrollably, and a drop of cold sweat rolled down his fair face.
Jing Hong never liked such a pretty - boy. He just relied on being able to recite a few poems and having a good appearance to deceive A Liu and make her lose her mind.
She didn't like him before, and now she found him even more annoying.
"I just want to say hello to A Liu. Why are you so scared, Young Master Yu?" Jing Hong's expression remained unchanged. She looked at Zhen Yu's face and said this word by word.
Although she was smiling, Zhen Yu still felt the kind of fear as if he had been targeted by a venomous snake.
He was most afraid of death. Seeing this, he quickly begged for mercy. "I had nothing to do with what happened last time. It was all A Liu's idea. I tried to persuade her, but she just wouldn't listen to me. Pavilion Master, please spare me. I'm innocent..."
"Okay, I know. But I've told you from the beginning that I'm here to say hello to A Liu. You don't need to be so nervous. It'll only take a moment." Jing Hong said this with a smiling face, in a leisurely tone. As she said this, she took out a short dagger from her waist.
"No... no..." Seeing this, Zhen Yu was so scared that he wanted to run back, but Song Yan's long sword was right in front of his neck. As long as he moved even a little bit, he would immediately lose his life.
Jing Hong didn't hesitate at all. She neatly stabbed the short dagger in her hand in Zhen Yu's direction. The splashing blood landed on her dress.
She didn't care. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood on her fingertips. "Okay, send this to A Liu."
Jing Hong threw the blood - stained handkerchief and then smilingly handed the thing in her hand to the servant. The servant immediately nodded and quickly left.
Jing Hong watched the back of the servant leaving and slightly narrowed her eyes.
This chaotic drama was finally coming to an end.