Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

The meeting with the "Provincial Governor of Western Sichuan" was held in the elegant room of Qingmingxuan – Tingtao Pavilion.

Tangyuan pushed the wooden wheelchair across the stone slabs and stopped at the entrance of Tingtao Pavilion.

Pushing open the door, Liu Zhiwei rolled into the room. Tangyuan didn't follow her in; instead, she quietly closed the door from the outside.

The charcoal fire crackled and sparked.

Liu Zhiwei calmly took in the entire environment of Tingtao Pavilion.

A rosewood table was placed in the center of the private room, and behind the table was a rosewood landscape screen inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

A man in his forties to fifties, dressed in a blue brocade robe, sat in front of a screen, his face refined and his demeanor elegant.

Living conditions change one's body, and nurturing one's spirit changes one's temperament; such a person is extraordinary.

The private room was furnished with bamboo mats at both ends, and behind each mat stood a tall and upright guard whose face was obscured by the shadows of the bamboo mats.

Just as Liu Zhiwei was sizing up the "Provincial Governor of Western Sichuan," Qin Ji, standing by the bamboo mat, was also sizing her up.

A young girl in her prime, dressed in a simple blue dress with a purse at her waist, had skin as white as snow, which made her eyes appear dark and calm, as if she could see through the world at a glance.

Her physical limitations and pale, frail appearance only added to her otherworldly charm.

He looked like someone who was extremely intelligent but was harmed, who suffered divine retribution for trying to divine the secrets of heaven, and who was deficient in five things and three things.

With this presentation, it's obvious they're making a living off a charlatan; no wonder they were fooled by his ingredients.

Qin Ji calmly withdrew his gaze.

Liu Zhiwei bowed slightly to the middle-aged man, "Lord Bian, please forgive me for not being able to rise and bow to you."

Mooncake glanced down at the person by the bamboo mat out of the corner of her eye, then subtly looked away, raised her hand, and smiled gently, "No need for formalities."

Mooncake picked up the purple clay teapot, calmly poured tea, and said, "I heard the young lady wants to see me?"

Liu Zhiwei straightened up and placed her fair hands on her knees, appearing neither humble nor arrogant in front of the "high-ranking official." "My brother went missing a few days ago. I consulted the oracle and found that he had some entanglement with you, sir. Perhaps he went to your residence as a guest and forgot to inform your family."

The phrases "visiting guests" and "forgot to inform" are polite.

This demonstrated both the certainty of their inextricable connection with the Sichuan Provincial Governor and the maintenance of a facade of "peace" to avoid offending anyone.

"Is it really divination?" Mooncake's gaze suddenly sharpened, piercing Liu Zhiwei's face.

After a long while, facing the calm and composed young woman, he withdrew his gaze, placed the purple clay teapot back on the stove, and slowly pushed a cup of tea in front of Liu Zhiwei. "Without any evidence, just a divination, you come before me demanding someone. Isn't that a bit presumptuous?"

"If I'm wrong, why would you be sitting here, sir?" Liu Zhiwei picked up the teacup, her fair fingers even more lustrous than the porcelain cup, a gentle smile on her pale face. "Wasn't Sister Tangyuan entrusted by you, sir, to take care of me in place of my brother?"

"Since you can predict the future, why don't you calculate what trouble your brother has gotten himself into?" Mooncake paused slightly, a meaningful look in her eyes. "Why don't you calculate whether your brother can... return home alive?"

The girl's pupils trembled slightly, but that momentary lapse in concentration was quickly concealed by her lowered eyes and the fluid movements of her tea-drinking. She regained her composure, appearing calm and unmoved.

She opened the abacus at her waist and placed the counting rods one by one in front of the "Provincial Governor of Western Sichuan". "Divergence brings misfortune, but water can resolve the calamity; though the arrows and bows are drawn, they will eventually transform into a marriage."

"The elder brother's encounter with a benefactor is a sign of turning adversity into opportunity and escaping death."

She looked into the eyes of the "Provincial Governor of Western Sichuan," speaking slowly and reciting divination inscriptions, but it seemed more like she was trying to confirm something with the person opposite her.

Being stared at by Liu Zhiwei like that almost made Yuebing feel that it was a bit unkind of her to scare a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl.

But there was still a pair of eyes watching from the bamboo curtain, so Yuebing didn't dare to make a decision on her own.

He picked up a counting rod and said, "Discord and misfortune will follow; improper actions will surely bring calamity. Do you know what your brother has done wrong?"

Liu Zhiwei's eyes were clear, as if she could see through the secrets of heaven. "It's related to the widely circulated rumor about the loss of the Sichuan-West defense map."

Mooncake's eyes sharpened. She gripped the counting rods in her hand and sized up the frail young woman before her. "How did you, a weak woman who never leaves the house, know this?"

Seeing the slight tension in the nostrils of the "Provincial Governor of Western Sichuan," Liu Zhiwei calmly took a sip of tea and slowly said, "It was calculated."

The girl was clever; she seized upon the slightest change in his body language and expression, and immediately tried to turn the tide and take control of the conversation.

Mooncake did not act as the little girl wished, but instead used offense as defense. "Have you figured out that he climbed over the city wall at night, became a pawn for the foreign spies, stole the defense map, and committed countless crimes? He wouldn't be enough to die a hundred times over."

"Impossible." The girl said firmly, a hint of anger flashing in her usually calm eyes.

"My brother may not be perfect in character, and he may do things in unconventional and unorthodox ways, but he is by no means a traitor without any bottom line."

Seemingly realizing she had lost her composure, which didn't fit the image of someone who "peeks into the secrets of heaven," a hint of annoyance flashed in her eyes. She slowly rearranged the counting rods, raising her hand from left to right across the newly arranged rods, and then adopted a "master swindler" posture, saying, "If my brother is truly a traitor seeking personal gain, and the evidence is conclusive, this divination should indicate that he will be struck by lightning, and that his defiance and rebellion will ultimately bring divine retribution, rather than a miraculous escape."

Liu Zhiwei picked up a counting rod and gently stroked it. "Besides, if what you say is true, how can I, a family member of a heinous criminal, sit here peacefully without being implicated and imprisoned?"

"Why would the master specifically send Tangyuan to take care of me?"

Looking at the composed young woman before him, Mooncake asked with interest, "So what else did you figure out?"

Liu Zhiwei had been waiting for this question.

She suddenly turned her wheelchair around and bowed slightly towards the bamboo mat. "It turns out that the one who truly makes the decisions here is not you, but this young master."

She slowly raised her head, looking at the figure beside the bamboo mat, a shrewd, "Isn't that right?" smile playing on her lips.

...

The second update is here.

The requirements have been met! There will be two updates tomorrow, and the event will continue!

Have you all been eating well lately? (Please compliment me!)

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