In a certain residence not far from the capital, Yuan Chuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the signal sent by his subordinates. He sighed and shook his head, saying, “Exposed.”
“Sir, what has been exposed?” asked a puzzled subordinate nearby. This subordinate was probably one of Yuan Chuan’s trusted confidants, which is why he dared to ask so boldly. Yuan Chuan’s lips still curved slightly upward, but his tone was rather displeased as he said, “The Saintess has been exposed.”
The subordinate was greatly shocked. That the Saintess was in the capital was something they knew privately. Wasn’t it said that everything had been proceeding smoothly? These days Yuan Chuan had been acting according to plan, step by step, very properly. So how could the Saintess have been exposed? Not only was the subordinate shocked, but Yuan Chuan, wearing his mask so others couldn’t see his expression clearly, was the only one who knew that his own surprise upon learning the news was considerable. The Saintess had entered the capital secretly; even he hadn’t known initially. Taking Yao Niannian’s place had been a brilliant move. Everyone knew the Emperor intended to betroth Yao Niannian to Xiao Shao. If not for Jiang Ruan’s interference back then, Yao Niannian would likely be Princess Jinying now. This identity of Yao Niannian was naturally perfect, not to mention that Governor Yao was also a person of great influence in the Jin Dynasty court. In every aspect it was extremely suitable. Who could have expected that this seamless plan would now collapse, and the Saintess would actually be exposed?
With her identity exposed, especially exposed to someone like Jiang Ruan, and Jiang Ruan being most skilled at seizing opportunities, what would she do next? If she truly used this matter for confrontation, there might well be an opportunity for her to make a move. Thinking about this, Yuan Chuan couldn’t help but feel greatly alarmed. After pondering for a while, he suddenly said to his subordinate, “Go to the warehouse and find that female corpse that died some days ago. Tonight, when no one is around, find a way to throw it at the Yao family’s doorstep.”
“The Yao family’s doorstep?” Though the man was uncertain and surprised, he immediately rose to carry out the order. Yuan Chuan stood by the window, frowning tightly. The real Yao Niannian had naturally died long ago; the current Yao Niannian was merely the Saintess in disguise. The Saintess had already indicated she wanted to leave the Yao family, but if Yao Niannian suddenly disappeared, the Yao family would surely not let it rest and would definitely overturn the entire capital searching for her, which would be greatly disadvantageous to them. Now the only option was to confirm Yao Niannian’s death. Earlier, when the Saintess had him dispose of Yao Niannian’s corpse, Yuan Chuan had kept a watchful eye and only used Southern Xinjiang’s secret arts to temporarily prevent the body from decomposing. Now it could perfectly resolve this urgent crisis. Since they needed to escape from the Yao family and confirm Yao Niannian’s death, with the Yao family in chaos, they would have no mind to worry about other matters, naturally making it convenient for their other activities.
This night seemed to pass peacefully. The next day, when the doorkeeper at the Yao residence got up to inspect, he suddenly discovered a human figure hanging from a pillar at the mansion’s entrance. He was immediately frightened and cried out with an “Ah!”, this cry bringing over other servants and guards as well. They saw that in front of the Yao mansion’s entrance pillar, there was clearly a straight-hanging human figure. A rope hung from the beam above the door, with the other end looped around the corpse’s neck, and below was an overturned stool. Obviously, this person had hanged themselves. After the guards approached with lingering fear, they immediately felt a sense of ill omen and cursed one after another, “Why choose someone’s doorstep to hang oneself? Who is this person?”
One guard went around to the front of the corpse to look. This look didn’t matter much, but immediately another wailing cry rang out, this time even more piercing than before, making everyone’s hearts tighten, not knowing what exactly had happened. That guard pointed at the slightly swaying figure above with one hand, mouth agape and stammering, “Miss… Miss…”
The other guards, hearing this, were all dumbfounded.
Miss Yao of the Yao family, Yao Niannian, had hanged herself at the entrance of her own family mansion.
This matter almost swept through the entire capital that very day. After all, when it came to the Yao family in the capital, no one was unaware of them, and Miss Yao was among the outstanding young ladies of prestigious families, with quite good qualifications. Yet for some unknown reason, she couldn’t think it through and hanged herself, so there must be something suspicious about it. The Yao family brought in the capital’s most famous coroner, who examined and confirmed that the Yao family’s daughter had indeed died by hanging. This silenced everyone’s mouths, making it truly impossible to find any problems.
Although no problems could be found, the entire Yao mansion was filled with wailing. Governor Yao had only gotten this daughter in middle age and had always treasured her like a precious jewel. Yet she had grown up only to meet such a tragic end – the blow he suffered could be imagined. He didn’t even want to participate in the court’s succession struggles anymore, feeling only disheartened and solely grieving for his daughter. Yao Niannian had always been gentle and proper, conducting herself generously. For her to hang herself like this, something must have happened. But after searching and investigating in circles, they could find nothing. When they questioned the mansion’s servants, Yao Niannian’s personal maid did mention that recently Yao Niannian had been somewhat strange, different from usual, occasionally appearing to have something on her mind. When everyone heard this, they were even more convinced that Yao Niannian had hanged herself because of some matter, and for a time the entire Yao mansion was even more grief-stricken.
When this news reached them, Jiang Ruan was in the study accompanying Xiao Shao with his work. While Xiao Shao looked at intelligence reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Jiang Ruan curled up in Xiao Shao’s embrace. She was actually quite tall herself, but in Xiao Shao’s arms she appeared very petite. This way, on one hand it was very warm, and on the other hand it was convenient to look at what was recorded in the intelligence reports together with Xiao Shao. Xiao Shao didn’t mind her doing this, letting her look. As Jiang Ruan read, she suddenly said, “Huh? Yao Niannian is dead?”
Though she said this, there wasn’t a trace of surprise in her tone, as if she had long anticipated this happening. Xiao Shao also showed no change in expression, only humming in acknowledgment.
“Such quick action,” Jiang Ruan praised, “Let me see… Hanged herself at the Yao mansion’s entrance. This reason is a bit too strange. Who would hang themselves at their own family’s doorstep, especially such a refined young lady? What were the Southern Xinjiang people thinking?” If it were any other woman, even if she were determined to die, she wouldn’t want everyone to see her disheveled appearance before death, especially hanging, which didn’t look very pleasant. Yao Niannian was a daughter of a prestigious family – if she really wanted to hang herself, she would choose a room with no one around. How could she so brazenly hang herself at her own family’s doorstep, letting so many people see her ugly state after death? Obviously, the Southern Xinjiang people hadn’t thought it through.
“Mm, perhaps the customs are different,” Xiao Shao said seriously, “Southern Xinjiang folk customs are open.” Seeing Jiang Ruan glaring at him, Xiao Shao changed his words: “The Yao mansion is heavily guarded, afraid of alerting them.”
“That makes sense too.” Jiang Ruan thought about it and agreed with Xiao Shao’s words. After all, the Yao mansion was the residence of a first-rank court minister. Governor Yao was also of military background, with experts like clouds in his mansion. It seemed that Yao Niannian had died long ago, and died outside the mansion. The other party, afraid that entering the mansion would cause more trouble, chose the safer approach of leaving Yao Niannian at the doorstep. Though it was somewhat crude, it was safer.
“However, being able to make even the coroner see no problems, the Southern Xinjiang people do have some methods.” Jiang Ruan pondered, “When you fought with them before, they wouldn’t have any evil magic, would they?” She still remembered Jiang Susu’s seductive arts; Southern Xinjiang people seemed skilled at these kinds of witchcraft and sorcery.
“Trivial tricks.” Xiao Shao said disdainfully, “Xia Qing is much more skilled than them.” Xia Qing was the Golden Mausoleum Divine Hand, so naturally he had methods to detoxify. “However, the Yao family has already had Yao Niannian’s body put in a coffin. Unable to see the poison, Xia Qing cannot detoxify.” Xiao Shao said. The Yao family’s precious daughter was dead, so naturally they wanted her buried as soon as possible. At this time, if Xia Qing went up to make a fuss, who knows what others would think. But medical arts required looking, listening, questioning and feeling the pulse – even coroners had to examine the body first. Unable to see Yao Niannian’s corpse, Xia Qing probably couldn’t solve the Southern Xinjiang people’s methods either.
“It’s fine,” Jiang Ruan smiled slyly, “I was prepared early on.”
Xiao Shao looked at her, seemingly not very surprised. Jiang Ruan said dissatisfiedly, “Why aren’t you surprised at all?”
“Madam is so clever, you must have a way to deal with it.” Xiao Shao said helplessly, “I can only retire after success.”
He was getting more and more smooth with sweet talk. Jiang Ruan glared at him and said, “Though we can’t let him fall into the net, the Southern Xinjiang people didn’t come unprepared either, so this matter can’t possibly end so simply. However, there’s no such thing in this world as scheming against others and then just walking away. That Miss Yao was a love rival after all, and I quite liked her. At the very least, I should avenge her. This time, at minimum we should give the Southern Xinjiang people some trouble. Since Miss Yao was made to die so miserably by them, why not let them be miserable too.”
Xiao Shao: “…”
Though Jiang Ruan spoke in high-minded terms, anyone saying something like “quite liked Yao Niannian and wants to help her get revenge” was really quite embarrassing. Everyone knew Jiang Ruan had a cold temperament – though she appeared gentle on the surface, she was actually quite indifferent to most things, and wasn’t a soft-hearted saint. Doing this was nothing more than venting her own displeasure. Seeing Xiao Shao’s speechless expression, Jiang Ruan threatened, “You don’t agree?”
“…I wouldn’t dare.” Xiao Shao answered.
…
Yao Niannian’s death caused an uproar in the capital. Originally a refined and intelligent young lady of a great family, no one knew what she had encountered, but she had hanged herself at her own family’s doorstep – this was already something that attracted speculation, making everyone suspect there were hidden circumstances. The common people discussed it and came up with many possibilities, but this matter wasn’t over yet. On the second day after Yao Niannian’s body was put in the coffin, shocking news broke in the capital: Miss Yao had indeed hanged herself, but she had been forced to do so, and the one who forced Miss Yao to death was Southern Xinjiang people – Southern Xinjiang people had infiltrated the capital!
This shocking news, no one knew where it started, but it spread more and more fiercely, actually reaching the point of reaching the Emperor’s ears. And this shocking news was different from previous rumors that were full of holes and had no beginning or end – it actually described in detail the process of Yao Niannian being threatened. It turned out that those Southern Xinjiang people had grasped the Yao family’s weakness and wanted Yao Niannian to find ways to change the entire Yao family’s political stance, to work inside and outside with the Southern Xinjiang people, becoming Southern Xinjiang’s inside agents in the Great Jin Dynasty court. But Miss Yao had a loyal and fierce character, and fearing that the Southern Xinjiang people would put her Yao mansion in a precarious position, she gritted her teeth and actually hanged herself to preserve the Yao mansion.
When such rumors emerged, the entire capital was in an uproar. The people all knew about the war between Southern Xinjiang people and the Great Jin Dynasty many years ago. And back then the Jin Dynasty had destroyed the Southern Xinjiang kingdom; the Southern Xinjiang people’s ambitions were undying, so it was indeed possible they would make a comeback. And that Miss Yao had chosen suicide in the most tragic way at her mansion’s entrance for this reason now made sense.
Governor Yao was furious in his heart. The pent-up resentment from his daughter’s death finally had a place to vent. Previously, Yao Niannian had died for unknown reasons. Though Governor Yao was heartbroken, he also blamed Yao Niannian for not explaining her difficulties to her family. Now that this rumor came out, Yao Niannian became a loyal and fierce woman who wanted to preserve her own mansion while being unwilling to collaborate with the enemy and betray the country. Governor Yao’s last trace of displeasure toward Yao Niannian completely disappeared, replaced by endless guilt, hating his own incompetence and being heartbroken by Yao Niannian’s sacrifice. The original thought of retiring from court and spending his later years in peace suddenly reversed. Now Governor Yao had only one thought: to make those who forced Yao Niannian to death pay blood for blood!
Governor Yao had some influence in the capital. He immediately had his subordinates contact the Capital Magistrate’s office to supplement manpower, then requested an imperial edict from the Emperor to seal off the entire capital and conduct house-to-house searches for suspicious persons, determined to root out the Southern Xinjiang person who had harmed Yao Niannian, vowing not to rest until then. For a time, soldiers questioning people daily on the capital’s streets made it quite lively, actually improving the capital’s public security considerably. What the Yao family did wasn’t limited to this. Governor Yao somehow got news that the Southern Xinjiang people also wanted a hand in the current succession struggle, and the emperor they had in mind was undoubtedly Xuan Li. Perhaps the Southern Xinjiang people entering the capital was exactly Xuan Li’s scheme.
Governor Yao had originally trained troops in the coastal areas. Though he had been worn down considerably by his years in officialdom, the fighting spirit in his nature hadn’t been completely ground away. Yao Niannian’s death gave him a major blow. Originally Xuan Li had also tried to recruit him, but Governor Yao was a smart man who had always been observing and maintaining neutrality. Now hearing that Xuan Li might be connected to the Southern Xinjiang people, he actually came to hate Xuan Li as well. That very night he had someone find a way to send a message to Xuan Pei in the palace, expressing that the Yao family stood on the Thirteenth Prince’s side.
The capital was quite lively, and these days Xiao Shao was actually more idle, having nothing to do but read books and drink tea with Jiang Ruan. When Jin San reported this news, the corners of Jiang Ruan’s eyes revealed unstoppable smiles.
The news about Southern Xinjiang people forcing Yao Niannian to hang herself was spread by her. The Embroidered Uniform Guard could collect intelligence, so naturally they could also create intelligence. Finding some people to intentionally guide these rumors could naturally achieve considerable effects. However, Jin San, who came to report, was somewhat puzzled: “How did Governor Yao believe it so easily? Even the backup plans we prepared weren’t used. Could it really be that he was so confused by Miss Yao’s death?” Achieving their goal so smoothly really made Jin San somewhat frustrated.
“You really think he was confused because he was heartbroken over Yao Niannian’s death?” Jiang Ruan asked back. Jin San looked puzzled and confused as he looked toward Jiang Ruan. Xiao Shao silently drank tea on the side, not preparing to interrupt. Jiang Ruan shook her head: “Governor Yao is naturally heartbroken, but he’s a smart man. Originally Yao Niannian’s death was so suspicious that it inevitably caused rumors in the capital. Now that a new explanation has emerged, elevating Yao Niannian to the status of an extraordinary woman who acted for country and family, it’s good for both the Yao mansion and himself. Even if this news were false, Governor Yao would make it true.”
Between a woman who chose to hang herself for unknown reasons and a woman who was forced to hang herself by enemies for the sake of country and family, obviously the latter was more valuable. Jin San was stunned and said, “I see. I didn’t expect that Governor Yao, who loves his daughter so much, would still use her in the end. It seems this affection isn’t so genuine after all.”
“That’s not it.” Jiang Ruan smiled slightly, “For Yao Niannian, gaining a good reputation after death is the last thing Governor Yao can fight for her now, so Governor Yao’s approach isn’t wrong – he’s also thinking of Yao Niannian. He’s just more clear-headed, that’s all.” After Jiang Ruan finished speaking, she looked toward Xiao Shao, who was being a wooden post on the side: “However, the relationship between Southern Xinjiang and Xuan Li – you’re the one who spread that, right?”
She had only had people spread the cause of Yao Niannian’s death, but hadn’t had people spread the relationship between Xuan Li and the Southern Xinjiang people. Yet now the Yao family had already expressed to Xuan Pei that they stood on his side, and when Xuan Pei wrote, his tone also showed some surprise. Thinking it over, Jiang Ruan could only think that Xiao Shao had done this. Such a thing that killed two birds with one stone, only he could pull it off.
Xiao Shao looked at her and asked puzzledly, “Did I say something wrong?”
Jiang Ruan: “…”
Indeed he hadn’t said anything wrong, because the Southern Xinjiang people colluding with Xuan Li was fact. Xiao Shao had only stated the facts – it couldn’t even be called fanning the flames. But saying it at this crucial moment, why did it seem so strange? Why did it feel so… shameless? Jiang Ruan fell silent. She hadn’t felt this way before, but now the more she understood Xiao Shao, the more she saw that aside from when he was decisively and ruthlessly destroying opponents like a whirlwind, sometimes the decisions he made never let any opportunity slip by. Before opponents were destroyed by him, they had to have every last drop of oil squeezed out of them.
Seeing her silence, Xiao Shao said, “The Yao family now has a blood feud with Xuan Li. Xuan Pei and Xuan Li will have a battle sooner or later. The Yao family carries considerable weight in His Majesty’s heart. Winning over the Yao family is not only beneficial in itself, but will also help with His Majesty’s attitude.”
Jiang Ruan was stunned for a moment before understanding what Xiao Shao meant. She said, “You’re doing this all for Pei’er.”
“Not for him, but because of you.” Xiao Shao corrected her.
Jiang Ruan was speechless for a moment. Thinking that Jin San was still here, following Xiao Shao’s words would likely lead to some embarrassing situation, so she changed the subject: “Alright, now Xuan Li has lost the Yao family. As for his allies, those Southern Xinjiang people should now be frantically fleeing in the capital. They should also experience this feeling of being hunted like rats crossing the street. Governor Yao received an imperial edict this time, and the Capital Magistrate doesn’t dare treat it lightly either. With the entire city under strict guard, in such a tight situation, the Southern Xinjiang people must be feeling quite uncomfortable right now.” Jiang Ruan smiled slightly, “Just thinking about it is pleasant.”
…
As Jiang Ruan said, these days the capital was conducting almost house-to-house searches, not letting go of even the slightest suspicious point. This way, the Southern Xinjiang people scattered and hiding in the capital almost all felt unprecedented pressure. They had always been in the dark while others were in the light, but this time when it was their turn to be in the light while others were in the dark, they actually felt at a loss for the first time. Thinking about it, they became resentful again – that Yao family was really too arrogant, so brazenly blocking people. But they forgot that they themselves were spies from another country.
In that hidden mansion in the capital, there was now another person beside Yuan Chuan. This was a young woman who didn’t look very old, with a pair of ethereal and brilliant eyes and snow-white skin. She wore only a crimson gauze dress, and even in these early spring days that were still cold, she didn’t seem to feel the chill. She wore a piece of red gauze of the same color over her face, revealing only the upper half of her face. Even so, one could see she was an absolute beauty. Such beauty came from her ethereal temperament, as if she didn’t partake of mortal sustenance at all.
“Saintess, we lost two more people – the officers caught them.” Yuan Chuan said in a low voice.
“Follow them on the road. If they can’t commit suicide, find a way to kill them.” This woman’s voice was also pleasant, as ethereal as her eyes, but the words she spoke made one shudder. This group were all death warriors. In such house-to-house searches, it was inevitable that some would be caught. Those who could commit suicide were fine, but if they were disarmed of weapons and poison and couldn’t commit suicide, they naturally had to find ways to dispose of them.
“This can’t continue like this.” Yuan Chuan said. Every day there were new losses. These people were their very precious resources – spies lurking in the capital to gather intelligence. Usually they hid among the crowd appearing no different, but once searches began, they had no way to prove their identities and would quickly be caught with flaws exposed. The Capital Magistrate was determined this time and there was no possibility of any slipping through the net. If this continued, the spies would be caught almost completely. When the spies were nearly all caught, in the capital of the Great Jin Dynasty, they would be like the blind and deaf, forever in a passive position.
“Do you think I don’t want to?” the woman said coldly. “Acting rashly will only expose you and me as well.”
“This time Yuan Chuan was careless,” Yuan Chuan said. “I didn’t expect Jiang Ruan to strike so ruthlessly, actually utilizing even this.” He hadn’t expected her methods to be so crude, directly calling for them to be beaten like rats crossing the street.
“It’s not your fault.” After the woman was silent for a while, she said, “Find a way to tell Xuan Li.”
Finding Xuan Li to escape trouble seemed to be the best option at present. There should also be Xuan Li’s people in the Capital Magistrate’s office. They couldn’t save people one by one, but at least they could help them escape their current predicament. Running around like headless flies was truly too shameful.
However, Yuan Chuan and his group didn’t expect that Xuan Li was also unable to take care of himself at this moment. In the Eighth Prince’s mansion, Xuan Li looked at the letter in his hand. His smiling mouth corner also stiffened, then his face became iron blue. His voice was neither light nor heavy, but contained deep anger as he said, “How could the Yao family turn to Xuan Pei? What is going on here!”
The subordinates and advisors all dared not make a sound. At this moment, another person hurriedly came in from outside and handed Xuan Li a letter. No one knew what the letter contained, but after Xuan Li hurriedly read it, his expression changed several times. Suddenly he laughed coldly and tore the letter to pieces: “So that’s how it is!”
“Then Your Highness, shall we send people…” the messenger guard said.
“No need!” Xuan Li said through gritted teeth.