Utter silence followed YQ's proclamation. The middle official seemed stunned, as did the prisoner. Suddenly, the young lady stood up and walked over to the group. A genuine smile broke through her previously stony countenance as she greeted them formally.

"Honored guests, welcome to our city" she said, "I apologize we did not know you had arrived. Since my father is not here, I, YuZhen (Yu as in jade and Zhen as in truth) as his daughter greet you and bid you welcome. We did receive notice of your coming, but we had expected you a week ago. I am very sorry for the lack of a proper reception. Please, I must insist that you come home with me and stay in the manor."

EK nodded: "Thank you very much for your welcome and your kind offer. The rain had delayed us, but we'd be honored to come stay with you."

By this point, the crowd had broken into whispers about the great deeds of the two Ge Ge's (princesses); it seems stories have traveled even this far South. One brave soul even cried out: "Huan Zhu Ge Ge! Zi Wei Ge Ge! May you both live a thousand years!" His cry caused the whole assembly to break into cheers.

Unfortunately, the cheering of the crowd also caused the middle official to snap out of his stupor. He wanted to deny the status of the travelers, but with the golden medallion in XYZ's hand, he knew he couldn't. So, he bowed stiffly to them and said: "Welcome to our humble city. Thank you for gracing us with your presence. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that this prisoner is due for execution for his crimes. Huan Zhu Ge Ge, I'm sorry to have alarmed you…"

XYZ stared at him angrily: "Oh really? I heard his crimes…but did he have a trial? Was there a formal investigation?"

The middle official hesitated, causing YuZhen to speak up: "Thank you, Huan Zhu Ge Ge, for your concern. I do not recall this man ever having a thorough questioning."

XYZ replied: "Well, then, no point in executing him, is there? Why don't you let him go?"

ZiWei also spoke up: "XYZ is right, I'm sure he's got family who would like him to go back home. YuZhen, why don't we have him cleaned up and looked at by a physician before letting him leave?"

YuZhen nodded agreeably.

While the middle official secretly seethed, he had no choice but to say: "I will be sure to look into this miscarriage of justice. Thank you Huan Zhu Ge Ge for bringing this to my attention."

XYZ scoffed at him haughtily but said: "Yes, be sure to do that."

Qing-er spoke up now and said: "YuZhen, it's wonderful to meet you. I think we should probably come home with you now before we cause a riot in your city."

XiaoJian and Er Tai, meanwhile, had brought the prisoner over to the group and were supporting him.

YuZhen laughed and nodded. She turned to her attendant and they started to leave. The middle official quickly had some guards follow them for protection. As they passed, the crowd cheered even heartier.

At Wang's

The travelers were shown into a formal sitting room and served tea.

YuZhen spoke up: "I've sent servants to gather your stuff from your Inn. After lunch, I will show you to your rooms. Ever since we received the notice that you might be passing through on your journey, I've had a part of the estate set aside for you folks. I know of your deep and abiding friendship, so I've made sure that the rooms are close to each other."

ZiWei thanks her and said; "YuZhen, thank you for taking such good care of us. Since our arrival, we've heard some … troubling … stories about your city…"

YuZhen sighed, "I won't lie to you. Things here are not as they seem. You might have noticed that I spoke quickly at the beheading this morning. If I hadn't, I'm sure Official Li would have tried to refute your claims."

Sai Ya: "Official Li? Who's that?"

YuZhen: "Oh…he was the official in the middle. He was my father's advisor, but I don't trust him…He's banned from this house actually, I thank the heavens that I still have that authority."

Er Tai: "But what about your father? To be honest, I have to say that we haven't heard very favorable things about him."

YuZhen replied sadly: "My poor father. He hasn't been the same since my mother passed. He has always been a good father and a good official…but he's been sick and I'm afraid others have been taking advantage of the situation."

XiaoJian: "Taking advantage?"

YuZhen nodded: "Yes. Because of his sickness, he's retreated from public life, allowing Official Li to take over his active duties. He still makes the key decisions, but only based on Official Li's recommendations and reports. And since I have no brothers, there's not much I can do to help."

XiaoJian looked thoughtful before he asked, "YuZhen, what is the nature of your father's sickness?"

YuZhen looked startled: "Nature? Why, I think it's stemmed from heartache. Though lately he hasn't been able to leave his bed lately and always complains of being tired. He misses her a lot, I can tell."

XiaoJian persisted: "What did the physician say?"

YuZhen replied: "That's funny really. The physician said that with time, my father's illness should pass, that it was the initial shock of losing my mother that made my father so ill. But that as time went on, he should improve, especially if he made sure to maintain his normal activities. My father had always been an active man, it shouldn't have been a problem. In the early days, he would often take me riding with him out in the countryside while he visited the common people. I always appreciated that he trusted my judgment, even though I'm a girl. He seemed to be getting better but then one day he had a sudden relapse. I tried to get the physician from before, but I was told that he had left town to visit a relative up north."

By now, Er Kang had caught onto XiaoJian's thought process. He asked: "And who told you that?"

YuZhen blinked: "Why, Official Li."

Er Kang looked concerned as Yongqi and ErTai realized his suspicions.

ErTai asked: "Yuzhen, did Official Li recommend a new physician?"

YuZhen nodded: "Well, yes. And the physician gave a tonic for my father, saying it would help him regain his strength. I felt uneasy about it at the time, but for a brief while my father did get better…until one day, he collapsed in his office and vomited. He certainly scared our entire household. The physician came and prescribed a new tonic, but it doesn't seem to be helping…"

Yongqi considered everything she shared with them and said: "Xiao Jian, Er Kang…are you suspecting…(he hesitated before saying)…poison?"

The girls all gasped and traded concerned looks while YuZhen looked shocked and unsettled.

YuZhen: "Poison?"

XiaoJian nodded: "It would have to be a slow acting one. I think when your father vomited, his body was trying to rid itself of the poison, so then the perpetrators had to try a new one."

YuZhen shook her head: "By why? What could possibly be gained? With my father dead, surely the news would travel to the Imperial Court and a new official would be picked and sent here to take his place."

Qing-er said carefully, "But what if it's enough poison just to keep your father sick, but not kill him. If he's alive, then he's still the official. But if he's sick…" She trailed off uncertainly.

SaiYa continued for her: "But if he's sick…then someone else can do things in his name still, especially if they had always been a trusted official…"

YuZhen: "Are you saying…Official Li is poisoning my father? But how? He's not allowed on the grounds!"

ZiWei spoke up: "Yes, about that…why did you ban him from the grounds?"

For the first time, YuZhen looked angry: "That monster! I caught him trying to force my mother's old personal maid. She's actually my age and we were raised together so that even though I'm technically her mistress, we've more like sisters. So when I saw what he was doing…well, added to my stress regarding my father's condition, I lost my temper and banned him from the property."

ZiWei nodded: "YuZhen, I understand. I would have done the same in your place. If anyone had tried to harm JinSuo like that…"

ErKang took her hand in his and she smiled gratefully at him.

Xiao Yan Zi, who had been quiet this whole time, spoke up. Surprisingly, she spoke in a thoughtful voice and not a loud outburst like everyone would have expected. "YuZhen, what happened to her? And what did you tell your father?"

YuZhen sighed: "She's still here and I keep her by my side. In fact, you saw her earlier at outside the prison. I sent her to help the prisoner get settled while I spoke with you. As for my father…I didn't want to alarm him and make his condition worse. So I just said that it didn't seem proper for any man to enter the property while he was sick and I was left defenseless. My father's a kind man, but he's also old fashioned. He allows me many freedoms at home, especially when it comes to speaking my mind, but when it comes to my virtue…"

Xizo Yan Zi nodded and asked bluntly: "YuZhen…Do you think Official Li is capable of poisoning your father?"

AN: sorry this update took so long! My school life seems to have caught up with me. Also sorry for the cliff-hanger…I usually hate cliff-hangers, but this seemed like a good place to stop.