act19mini

Did anyone see you come here?

A bunch of people, but none of them know I was coming to see you!

You get the stuff?

Yep, in Mister's cabinet, second drawer. It said 'CLASSIFIED SCOOP, NOT FOR PRYING EYES' on it.

Perfect. Give it to me.

A-Alright...

Oh no, I can't... I can't find the letter! I must have lost it on the way!

But that's alright, I read what was inside. It said 'Three quarters past the Hour of Wei, deal at the old teahouse'.

You sneaked a look at the contents, and you lost the letter itself.

What's wrong, Hu Jun? You're crinkling your forehead up so hard. It makes you look terrifying. I don't like it.

You're sure that's what it said? The time? Three quarters past the Hour of Wei?

Yeah! I can't actually tell the time, but my memory's really good.

Hu Jun, what's wrong? Say something. Do I have to count to nine thousand again before you stop ignoring me? Okay, one, two, three, four, five...

No, stop that.

Hu Jun, Hu Jun—I really don't like you being this way. Your face looks so scary.

Xiaoshu, I trust you dearly. If everything goes smoothly, I <i>was</i> planning to get out of here with you. We could leave together.

But you're not ready yet. You haven't learned to keep secrets. That's why I can't—

What are you doing?

You can't hide it from me. Your eyes are wet, Hu Jun. You're hurting a lot, aren't you?

Mister says, when things get wet, I shouldn't jump straight to wiping them, but I can help by blowing on them. Are your eyes a little drier now?

Ah, you held my hand too tight just now! Now there's wrinkles in it.

Goodbye, Xiaoshu.

This is the direction she went, I know it. How did she lose me so fast?

She said she was meeting up at the tofu stall. That should be right—ah, there.

Far across the alley, Lin Qingyan spots the umbrella the girl was sporting.

She hurries over, intending to return the lost letter, but as she draws near it becomes obvious—

The umbrella lies forlorn on the ground, the girl unaccounted for.

Welcome, this way. Sit wherever you like.

I ask because I saw the sign hung up outside. Are you closed or not?

If a guest comes for tea, then we can hardly keep closed.

Would you like a pot of tea to start?

Duoxie.

The scent of the green tea is positively pungent. Lin Qingyan reaches a hand, but stops.

You're the server of this teahouse? Do you have time for a few questions?

Please, ask away. I'll do all I can to answer.

I see this teahouse is situated in the most bustling part of town. Why close for the evening in the middle of the afternoon?

We play it by ear, you see. Sometimes, nobody wants a drink of tea.

But what if a customer was coming here for something other than tea?

Sometimes, our guests need a shelter from the rain and a spell to rest. They're welcome inside to sit for a while, yes.

Drink tea, or don't. But if you don't take tea and you don't plan on leaving quietly, then the problems begin.

That's fair enough... You make me wonder. Did you get any troublesome customers like that today, before closing up shop?

My guests today all drank tea.

Last question...

It just caught my eye, honestly, but there's what looks like a spot of paint stuck to your lapel.

You're a teahouse waiter, not a studio painter. Where would you get paint like that on your clothes from?

And one more thing. I happened to see this color of paint today, on an umbrella.

You look awfully anxious. What's the matter?

I mean, look at the time... Didn't you close it ages ago? Your deal, I mean, three quarters past the Hour of Wei?

Brain working in overtime, Hu Jun promptly flips the table up, cutting off Lin Qingyan's line of sight to him. It's just long enough for him to scramble like mad to the upper floor.

Halt—!

H... help...

You.

You have the secret tome... So he tricked me...

Give it to me.

You asked for it, then.

Thank you, Deputy Minister Lin... I never imagined I'd run into you here.

How do you know me—wait, hold on, you're... Yun Qingping?

I've heard much about you from Zuo. It's an honor to finally meet—

But according to Zuo Le, you're missing?

Missing? Did Zuo not see the letter I left him? I really feel like I should've foreseen that...

Set that aside for now. What's going on here?

The three beside me got into a fight, I think, over some kind of treasure, and then—

Three? What do you mean three?

Lin Qingyan glances over again. There's two bandits bound up like fowl, but all that lies next to them is a pile of severed hemp rope.

Well, that's strange...

Curses—!

Lin Qingyan hurries out into the street, where a good few townsfolk are milling around to see what the commotion is.

She hears the single sharp strike. She sees someone crash through the upper floor window and fall to the road hard, right in front of the teahouse's entranceway.

She fully expects to see someone injured. Possibly even a corpse. But all that greets her eyes...

Is a pile of shattered teapot shards.