The next morning, the guys met with LDR while the girls sorted the presents they had bought. After everyone was set, the girls met in QE's room.

SY: "How many more days are we staying?"

XYZ: "Yes, how many? As happy as I am to spend time with XGZ, I do want to meet ge's (older brother's) godparents."

ZW sighed: "I don't know. Haven't you heard? The whole city knows who we are now. It'll be hard to leave."

QE admitted softly: "I'm kind of nervous about meeting XJ's godparents."

XYZ: "Nervous? Really? Why?"

QE shrugged: "I don't know. I just am."

SY: "I miss my little one." She sighed.

XYZ: "Don't be so sad! Hey, SY, why don't we practice our wu-gong (martial arts)?"

ZW: "Yes, SY, it'll cheer you up."

SY nodded and exited with XYZ.

QE approached ZW: "ZW, you know about XJ's family, right?"

ZW was alarmed: "Well…"

QE was quick to reassure her: "It's alright. He told me"

XYZ breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh I'm glad! It's nice for him to have someone in whom to confide."

QE nodded: "So am I. We actually discussed his father's case. From what I've read about his father, it seemed odd that HS would order the whole family's death. I was thinking that there is something more to the story. Do you think EK and ET would be willing to look into the archives?"

ZW was surprised: "Hmm…I've never thought about the story beyond what XJ said. But you're right; things happened so long ago, it could very well have been lost in time. I'm sure EK and ET won't mind looking. And maybe we can find out some things too? You know how the court likes to gossip, surely someone will remember something. We will just have to approach things delicately."

QE nodded, "Maybe under the guise of a history project for XYZ? Or maybe even SY? We will have to think on this some more. I also thought about asking his godparents for more detail. We have the advantage of looking at everything through an objective lens. What if his family had fallen victim to some sinister plot? (She gasped as a new thought came to her) What if it wasn't HS who ordered the deaths?"

ZW also gasped: "Oh! I never considered that. But now that I think about it, it could very well be true. After all, HAM forgave us last year and gave strict orders that none of us were to be harmed but rather brought back to BeiJing alive. Unfortunately, Huang Hou Niang Niang (the Empress) gave different orders so we thought HAM was determined to kill us… Qing-er, just what have you read about the Fang family?"

QE shook her head: "Not much, really. Just that he did very well on the national exams and Huang Shang much admired him for both his abilities with the sword and with the xiao (flute). I'm actually surprised that HS didn't thought of Fang Da Ye when he met XJ… I think HS and Fang Zhi Hang met in Hangzhou during one of HS's secret inspection tours. The same one during which he met your mom in Jinan actually."

ZW blinked: "Strange, how all these events are connected. Qing-er, do you think it would be safe to ask HAM about Fang Zhi Hang?"

QE thought for a moment: "I don't know… I think that's a conversation XJ will have to have with HS. Why don't we do some digging to see if we can't find some more information before we do anything drastic? I think it's better to have clear evidence before we plan any future actions."

ZW nodded: "The important thing is to keep this from XYZ and YQ. At least, until we know more. I hate to keep secrets, but as things stand now, we can't afford to ruin their happiness."

QE agreed: "Alright, so let's plan on asking XJ's godparents and digging through some history when we get back."

ZW: "Alright. I'll discuss it with EK as well. Oh, and Qing-er? How are things going with XJ?"

QE blushed: "Well, I know I'm important to him and the fact that he's bringing me to meet his godparents really says a lot. But, ZW, I'm really nervous…what if they don't like me? What if they reject me for being related to HS?"

ZW replied: "Have you talked to XJ about your worries?"

QE shook her head: "No…I don't want to worry him."

ZW: "Qing-er, a relationship works both way. You console him when he worries and he is your rock when you have insecurities."

QE sighed: "I know. And I know he's the one. It's just that the future seems so far away right now."

ZW: "You're like a sister to me, so I'll be honest. It seems that XJ committed himself to you when he told you about his family. Yes, even though I've known him for a long time, he's still a mystery to me. With you, though, he seems more willing open up. I really think you two are destined."

QE: "Really?"

ZW nodded: "So, don't worry. We have a plan. Let's see what our investigation reveals."