Just as Ning Wanwan was about to give up, her gaze fell on the two jade hairpins in Miyue’s bun – jade cicada pins with spread wings. Remembering Lumen Pavilion’s emblem of a cicada above the moon palace, she formed a subtle hypothesis.
“Proprietress Miyue, please wait.”
Miyue stopped but didn’t turn around. Ning Wanwan decided to take another chance. She retrieved the white jade gold-sprinkled cicada that Si Zhan had given her and asked, “Might this item persuade you to help me find Gui Wudu’s whereabouts?”
Miyue replied, “Don’t look at me with that kind of gaze.”
“I can confidently tell you that even if I were to use the ten most severe tortures on the Zhu Lian Bi He siblings, I couldn’t force half a word out of them.”
“Then who did?” Si Zhan asked, surprised.
Mi Yue smiled mysteriously and replied, “Last night, Princess Yun Xiang came to Lü Ming Pavilion to find me.”
Si Zhan’s hand holding the document trembled, his voice revealing urgency: “What did she want with my sister?”
Seeing his nervous expression, Mi Yue understood her guess was correct. She continued, “Princess Yun Xiang first used the Cicada on Moon Palace seal to meet me, then asked me to help her find someone.”
The Cicada on Moon Palace seal was an intelligence symbol of Lü Ming Pavilion, known only to its members. Although it operated in the pleasure quarters of Bian Du city, its true purpose was to facilitate intelligence transmission among the sisters embedded within the officials. The real Lü Ming Pavilion was hidden outside the city, potentially unknown even to the sisters in the web.
Si Zhan expressed his surprise: “She already knows?”
Mi Yue frowned and asked, “Didn’t you tell her?”
Si Zhan shook his head, saying, “Never.”
“But she has the Lü Ming Pavilion Golden Cicada Token,” Mi Yue replied.
“I sent the Golden Cicada Token, but I never revealed its purpose,” Si Zhan clarified.
Mi Yue remarked, “You gave her the token that commands the entire Lü Ming Pavilion intelligence network. You really like her.”
Thinking of Ning Wan Wan, Si Zhan’s lips lifted. He nodded and admitted, “Yes, I really like her.”
“But don’t forget, she is the Crown Prince’s fiancée,” Mi Yue cautioned.
