Chapter 8

Ning Yingcai decided to search Siluo’s room with me for clues.

While I was wondering how to conceal our movements, she led me down a secluded palace path and climbed into a dry well.

I was astonished. “There’s a secret passage in the Long Alley?”

“There wasn’t. There is now.” Clutching her chest in anguish, Ning Yingcai said, “I just bought it from the shop. It cost every point I earned scrubbing chamber pots.

“Little princess, you’ll have to pay me back with interest.”

The other end of the passage emerged beneath a water vat in the servants’ courtyard.

Fortunately, during the day, the maids were all busy at their duties. No one would return here.

The lock still hung securely on Siluo’s door. I took the little knife from my waist and sliced through it as easily as the day before.

Ning Yingcai cradled the knife in admiration. “A four-star item—the Gentleman’s Knife! After you break in, the lock restores itself without a trace. A burglar’s dream. Where did you get it, Your Highness?”

I remembered a series of unsolved thefts in the capital. Doors and windows had been securely locked, yet the household wealth had vanished. Even the most famous constables couldn’t solve them. So the mysterious master thief had been this little knife all along.

And by a strange twist of fate, it had found its way into my hands.

Ning Yingcai’s gaze was eager and excited. My own feelings were more complicated.

How much bloodshed in this world could be laid at the feet of these “players”?

The moment we entered Siluo’s room, we felt the stillness in the air.

Ning Yingcai searched around without finding anything useful. Disappointment had barely appeared on her face before she briskly produced a hammer.

“Smash it!”

“What?” Before I could react, she swung. A small dent appeared in the white wall.

“Solid wall?…” Before I could respond, she hammered another dozen blows. The wall was riddled with holes, but revealed no secrets.

She abandoned the wall and turned to the table. Amid the crashing, I suddenly spoke.

“Wait. This sounds hollow.”

In the rare silence, I tapped the wooden headboard again with my knuckles.

Ning Yingcai drew a deep breath and struck hard.

The outer layer of wood broke, revealing a dark compartment.

I reached inside at once, heedless of the splinters scraping my arm until it bled.

At the very back, I managed to touch a soft, frayed edge. With a start, I caught it between two fingers and drew it out.