CHAPTER 121 — THE SEARCH THAT COULD UNDO HER
Mu Shaoyi stood before her, shoulders taut with tension, his expression a mixture of embarrassment, worry, and something faintly apologetic. The lantern light cast long shadows across the courtyard, making the moment feel strangely intimate.
"But don't worry," he said at last, voice low and earnest. "I won't threaten you with the annulment anymore. If you don't like me, I can't force you. The Mu family can't force you."
Tang Ke Xin blinked.
She had not expected him to say that.
He must have mistaken her silence for fear — fear that he might use the jade pendant to bind her again, to corner her into the engagement she had already rejected. The thought made her sigh inwardly.
"That day at the teahouse," he continued, "I spoke rashly. I shouldn't have said those things."
Tang Ke Xin said nothing.
Her mind was already racing ahead — to the jade pendant, to the trouble she had created, to the trouble that might yet come.
"Didn't you want to find the jade pendant you lost?" she asked quietly.
If she had had any other choice, she would never have stolen it. And now, with two jade pendants hidden in her room, the problem had only grown more complicated.
Mu Shaoyi's expression tightened. "Of course I want to find it. I've tried everything. I even went to the Suo Yan Sect for help."
Tang Ke Xin's breath caught.
The Suo Yan Sect.
Her expression shifted before she could stop it.
She had heard of them — everyone had. A shadowy organisation that could find anything, anyone, anywhere. If they accepted a commission, the result was guaranteed. And they never revealed their clients.
If Mu Shaoyi had hired them…
They would have found her.
They would have found the pendant.
And they would have kept his identity secret.
Her stomach tightened.
"I finally managed to contact them," Mu Shaoyi continued, "but the Suo Yan Sect refused the commission."
Tang Ke Xin stared at him. "Refused?"
The Suo Yan Sect refused nothing — not if the price was right.
Mu Shaoyi nodded miserably. "Not only did they refuse, they also hinted to the other sects not to accept the job. I've tried everything. If my father discovers the pendant is missing, he'll break my legs."
Tang Ke Xin exhaled slowly.
So the Suo Yan Sect had refused him.
Why?
Because they already knew she had the pendant?
Because someone else had intervened?
Because the matter was too sensitive?
Or… because the Suo Yan Sect was involved in the pendant's disappearance in the first place?
Her mind spun.
"Then I'll go back and look for it," she said at last. "I didn't find it last time, but perhaps I missed something."
Mu Shaoyi's face drained of colour. "Yours is missing too?"
His voice trembled. His legs trembled. Even his breath trembled.
He looked as though the sky had fallen.
Tang Ke Xin felt a pang of guilt.
She had caused this.
"I'll look again," she said gently. "Perhaps it's still there."
Mu Shaoyi swallowed hard. "Xin Xin… don't lie to me. You must find it. If you don't, I'll go in with you right now and search myself."
Tang Ke Xin's eyes widened.
"No," she said quickly. "Go back first. I'll think of a way. Even if it's truly lost, I'll find a solution."
Mu Shaoyi hesitated. "Are you still blaming me? Is that why you won't let me help?"
Tang Ke Xin shook her head. "You're overthinking. Go back and wait for my news."
Before he could speak again, she slipped past him and entered the Prime Minister's Estate.
Mu Shaoyi remained where he stood, staring after her.
He had never realised how beautiful she had become — not merely in appearance, but in spirit. She was sharp, brave, quick-witted, and dazzling in a way that made it impossible to look away.
And he had lost her.
He knew it now.
Some chances, once missed, never returned.
---
"Miss, you're back! Why did you take so long?"
Dong'er stood waiting in the courtyard, hands clasped behind her back, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips.
"The young miss was actually slower than Dong'er walking back on foot. Did His Highness take you somewhere else?"
Tang Ke Xin blinked. "I was in the carriage the entire time."
Dong'er raised a brow. "Then why did you arrive so late? Even walking would have been faster."
Tang Ke Xin paused.
She had been reading the entire way and hadn't noticed the time. But now that Dong'er mentioned it…
The carriage had moved unusually slowly.
Painfully slowly.
There was only one explanation.
The driver — the known attendant — had deliberately slowed the carriage.
And Ye Lan Jue… had allowed it.
Tang Ke Xin rubbed her forehead.
Didn't he claim to be busy?
Yet he had time to circle the streets like a bored nobleman?
Or… had he been avoiding someone?
Or watching someone?
Or protecting her?
She could not tell.
"Dong'er," she said suddenly, "do you know how to contact the Suo Yan Sect?"
Dong'er froze.
"Suo Yan Sect? Miss, why would you want to contact them?"
Tang Ke Xin hesitated. "Mu Shaoyi came to find me. He lost his jade pendant and wants mine to report to his father. But the pendant is with us, and I can't take it out right now."
Dong'er's mouth twitched. "Miss… even if we could find the Suo Yan Sect, they wouldn't accept such a small commission. And even if they did, we couldn't afford them."
She shook her head. "Miss, Dong'er will take her leave."
Tang Ke Xin watched her walk away, lips curling faintly.
Dong'er was getting bolder.
---
The next morning, a palace summons arrived.
Tang Ke Xin had barely stepped through the palace gates when a familiar voice called out.
"Xinxin!"
Ye Lan Chen ran toward her, beaming.
Tang Ke Xin smiled despite herself. "Good morning, Your Highness."
They walked together toward Kunning Palace.
"By the way," she asked casually, "do you know how to find the Suo Yan Sect?"
Ye Lan Chen blinked. "The Suo Yan Sect? I've heard of them, but I don't know how to find them. They're very mysterious. Even their sect master's identity is unknown."
Tang Ke Xin sighed inwardly.
Dong'er had said the same.
The Suo Yan Sect was powerful, elusive, and impossible to locate unless they wished to be found.
But the more impossible they were to find, the more she wanted to find them.
"What do you need them for?"
The voice came from behind them — calm, deep, and threaded with a quiet intensity.
Tang Ke Xin stiffened.
Ye Lan Jue approached with unhurried steps, his gaze fixed on her. His expression was composed, but something flickered in the depths of his eyes — something sharp, something knowing, something that made her pulse quicken.
He had heard.
Of course he had.
And now…
He wanted answers. Again!