Song Lan was in a fever pitch of excitement.

"Rope! We'll need rope, My Star... oh and your camera stand."

He pulled his head out of the closet he was digging through. "Your camera takes video, doesn't it?"

Xiao Xingchen shook his head in bemusement. "Yes, it takes video. A'Lan? What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting ready to go swimming. We're going to find out what's in the river today." Song Lan suddenly froze."What if it's a body?"

His face looked like a frightened five-year old - all eyes and round mouth.

Xiao Xingchen smiled at his tall, muscled lover's reaction. "I don't think she's strong enough to move a corpse much less get them any distance out into the river. Her gaze is landing about ten feet or so from the bank."

"Well, unless she had an accomplice which is entirely possible." He scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"I think we should tell Nie Huaisang what we suspect. He may want to have the police do this for evidence purposes."

"Where's the fun in that?" Song Lan looked sulky.

Xiao Xingchen gave in and laughed. "Gods you're adorable!"

" We want to catch her and we want a solid evidence chain, right?" He was coaxing his pouty lover at this point.

"Yes..." was the depressed answer.

"Okay, so we let the police do it but we'll go show them the spot then watch and take pictures while we eat ice cream. Okay?"

"Ice cream?" Sing Lan perked up a bit.

"Absolutely. Now get out of your swimsuit and put on some jeans and a decent shirt. Okay?" he was still coaxing.

"Okay but my way would have been much more fun." Sing Lan said still somewhat downcast at handing his idea over to the police.

"Definitely, love." Xiao Xingchen agreed with a grin.
-----

Nie Huaisang was still gloating over the pictures his brother was sending him. The 'mattress stash' was a treasure trove of evidence. Wen Chao was going to shit bricks** when he found out. Which made Nie Huaisang start laughing all over again.

Yu Bin smiled sleepily and nodded off again. The pills Lan Xichen had given him for pain had made him drowsy. He didn't entirely like the sensation but he didn't miss the mounting pain in his hand and arm either. He had been dozing off and on all morning.

Wei Ying was no different. He struggled to stay awake though. Wen Chao haunted his dreams like a foul odor - hard to eradicate once it had established itself.

Lan Wangji had held his hand and soothed him when he did jerk awake panting on the verge of panic. Cupping his face and pulling Wei Ying's attention on to himself, the detective had soothed and comforted,  supported and consoled. He did notice Wei Ying was sleeping longer and deeper before he would wake gasping. The reassurances were helping. He took it as a good sign. Slowly, Wei Ying would get over the trauma inflicted on him. He was a patient man. He would be by Wei Ying's side every step of the way.

Between Wei Ying's nightmares, Lan Wangji was napping though careful not to lean on his cheek in the process. The minute Lan Xichen had seen his brother's cheek, he had called for a kit and cleaned then bandaged it. Lan Wangji thought it was a lot of effort for a scrape but his brother and Wei Ying had been adamant.  A remnant of his 'wild man' grin flitted across his face. Even his brother had been impressed.

A'Yuan was watching the Disney Channel with his uncle, Jin Zixuan. They had hit it off well and were enjoying themselves. Both were dozing from time to time.

Jiang Yanli had joined in and was dividing her time between watching the movie and watching the boys. She had been shaking when she got off the phone with Feng Mingjing. Disowning her mother was a necessity but it also brought home that she and her brothers were orphans now. For some reason, that hit her hard. Her husband had held her as she pulled herself back together. No tears. Just an ache in her heart for the woman Yu Ziyuan could have been and wasn't.

The room was quiet and calm. Comfortable on the whole.

When Nie Huaisang's phone notified him of a text, he had assumed it was the next batch of evidence photos to relish. It wasn't from his brother though. It was from Xiao Xingchen. His fan started wafting. Xiao Xingchen wanted him to call?

A soft stroke on A'Bin's hand and he quietly left the room.

Once in the hallway, he walked slightly away from the guards and called.

"Nie Huaisang, thank you for calling." Xiao Xingchen said.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing but we have an idea and we need your help if we're right."

"Okay, what's the idea?" Nie Huaisang was curious now.

"We've been looking into Madame Yu's background trying to find a connection between her and the park. We don't think there is one."

"Then why is she going to the park?"

"We think she did something at the park. What it is we don't know but she always stands by a small tree and looks at the water. We reviewed the pictures. She's looking at approximately the same place in the water every time. There's no scanning. No gazing at other places on the river. It is one spot she's staring at. We think she put something into the river. Why she felt she had to go back there so often to stare at the spot, we have no idea but we want to check on it."

"What do you need from me?"

"A police diver and forensic crew. If we're right, there's evidence down there. We don't want anything to be damaged or lost that may be important. Otherwise, Song Lan is gungho** to go swimming and find it himself. He was the one that put this together."

Nie Huaisang couldn't help but laugh. "Well, we can't risk Song Lan. Let me make some calls and I'll get back to you."

"Thank you, Inspector. We will await your call." A click and Nie Huaisang was waving his fan, deep in thought.

Their idea had validity. None of them had been able to find any connection between Madame Bitch and the park but if she had disposed of something there, her steady midnight visits made at least a little sense. He would need to contact the department divers. The need for divers didn't arise often but there were a few that were on call.

Requesting a diver was over stepping his bounds but it was totally within Nie Mingjue's duties. He smiled.

He called his brother.

"Di-di! You won't believe what's in the ledger! Payments to judges, politicians, business men - you name the arena and that fucker had an in. And  wait until you see the names!!" Nie Mingjue's enthusiasm bubbled over even through the phone.

"Send me pictures, Ge-ge! I got a favor to ask though."

"What would that be?"

It took a few minutes to fill his brother in on the details.

"I'm going to call Jiang Cheng and add him to our call. He'll be passing the case over to you soon any way but the request needs to come from him."

"Got it. Add him in."

A few moments later, Jiang Cheng's voice was heard.

"Wei?" There were road noises in the background.

"It's Nie Huaisang. I've got - " He was interrupted.

"Is everyone okay?" Jiang Cheng's voice was anxious.

"Yes, yes, everyone's fine."

His sigh of relief was easily heard.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. Everyone is okay. Nie Mingjue is also on the line. Remember, the report from the private eyes about Yu Ziyuan going to the park?" Nie Huaisang said.

There was an affirmative grunt.

"Song Lan thinks the connection between her and the park may be something she did there."

"Did what?" Jiang Cheng's voice was wary.

"Possibly, she dumped something in the river. You can request a diver as you pass everything over to Nie Mingjue. Sound reasonable?"

"Yes. I'll call the department secretary and get that started. Acceptable, Nie Mingjue?"

"Yes. If it gets to my secretary today, I should be able to have divers out tomorrow." Nie Mingjue responded.

"I'll call as soon as we're done." He paused. "Is my family okay, Nie Huaisang?"

"Your sister recieved a call from Feng Mingjing on behalf of Yu Ziyuan. She asked him to put the phone on speaker then told him her family was her two younger brothers, her nephew and her husband. She didn't have a mother. She was strong when she did it. Wei Ying has woken several times with nightmares about Wen Chao but he calms quickly for Lan Wangji. There is something special between them I think, Jiang Cheng. And A'Yuan has made a real friend with Jin Zixuan. He's watching movies with his Aunt and Uncle. Full report. They are honestly fine."

"Thank you. It's been a long day and I worry."

"Understandable, my friend. Are you almost done?"

"No, on my way to the house. Liu Tingyu said there's something I need to see." His voice was tired.

"What is it?" Nie Mingjue asked.

"I have no idea but after I spend some time there dealing with whatever the hell she's done, I'm going to bed for a few hours. I'll be back tonight."

"Sounds good." Nie Huaisang said.

"I'll call my secretary so he's expecting the paperwork and can get right on it." Nie Mingjue added.

"Good. I'm almost there so I need to let you go. Keep me in the loop." Jiang Cheng told them.

"You got it." Nie Mingjue assured.

"Good luck, my friend."

"Thanks. I think I'll need it." Jiang Cheng hung up.

A quick call to the secretary to get the paperwork started. He asked for a rush. By the end of the day if at all possible.

By the time he had it all arranged, he could see the mass of police cars outside of his home. His stomach rolled over.

He was suddenly desperately grateful his father wasn't seeing these events.

"I'm sorry, Father." he whispered.

Getting out of the car, he walked through the open gates he had entered a thousand times. He nodded to his personnel as he continued into the house.

"Where is Liu Tingyu?" he asked.

"Butler's office, sir. Interviewing staff." was the quick reply.

A muttered 'Thank you' and he was headed to Chang Bingwen's office. On the way he passed the formal dining room filled with his mo- Yu Ziyuan's staff. He nodded to them no differently than when having dinner with his family. They looked stunned at his appearance.

He continued on to the office where he found Liu Tingyu interviewing Chef.

"Y-young Master..." he stuttered.

"Inspector, please, Chef. I am here in an official capacity." Jiang Cheng said in a firm tone.

"My apologies, Youn- I-I mean Inspector." The Chef was definitely unsettled to see Jiang Cheng so obviously comfortable with the events going on.

"No reason for apologies. I'll wait until the interview is over, officer." Jiang Cheng said. "Call me when you are done."

"Yes, Inspector " Liu Tingyu replied. "We won't be long. The Chef was sharing his honey cookie recipe. He says they are your favorite."

"Yes, they are. Absolutely delicious." A brief smile and he left the room.

'Normalcy observed.' he thought.

His feet took him to his old bedroom. Some of his childhood toys and books were still on the shelves. He sat down on the bed and absorbed the silence for a moment.

"How the hell did it all come to this?" he wondered.

Without thinking, he stretched out on the bed and was sound asleep in moments.
-----

A slim figure flipped himself over the wall, landing softly in the shadows. He waited for any outcry but there was nothing. With a professional eye, he scanned the area. All clear.

He stood and casually walked away from Madame Yu's property.

After having seen Jiang Cheng stroll through the gates, he knew not only was the stupid bitch caught but was apparently caught by the son she had been positive would turn a blind eye on her behalf.

Fai Duyi dialed his phone.

"Wei?"

"She's been arrested, sir. I heard the cops talking about it. Her house is being searched as we speak by the son who was going to protect her. She's a dead end."

"Agreed. Anything that could lead to us? Were you made**?"

"No, I wasn't but they have my picture. I didn't find anything that would lead to you or the organization, sir."

"Good. Doesn't matter about the picture. You'll be transferred to another branch of our operations. Thailand perhaps." The voice was pondering the choices. "Return and we'll discuss it."

"Immediately. Thank you, sir."

A click and the Boss had hung up.

Thailand? He could handle Thailand. Sunshine, warm weather, great food and easy pickings.

He smiled as he walked away.
~♡~♡~♡~

For ManuAndhale, Paint-me-Blackand AuliaSutejo who are sick. Grab some sleep, lots of tea, read a bit and feel better. ❤️😘🥰❤️

For CynthiaBorrego as a reminder sometimes you just gotta give it up and sleep. ❤️😴😊❤️

And for BozBozo who's had 14 days of rain, flooding and soggy. Stay dry as you can and hang in there! ❤️💋🥰❤️

This chapter's title, Woven,  is a reference to how interconnected events are at this point.

'Shitting bricks' is American slang for being very upset, agitated and/or angry about something. For example: Bob was shitting bricks over his car being wrecked.

'Gungho' is being enthusiastic.

'Being made' in this context means did they figure out who you really are? Used by both cops and criminals who are undercover.

I hope everyone is well and happy.

Eat more chocolate!

❤️🍫🫖❤️