Not long after returning that evening, Tie Ci received an invitation from the Xiao family’s head, arranging to welcome them at Qianqiu Pavilion in the main residence at noon the next day.
Along with this came another piece of news: the several people who had been captured were interrogated by Fourth Master, who determined they were political enemies of Assistant Minister Xiao attempting to assassinate Miss Xiao. They had now been beaten and sent to the county court with broken legs, and would naturally face proper justice later. To express condolences for the unwarranted disaster suffered by Tie Ci and her group, the Xiao family sent a large batch of gifts to calm their nerves.
Tie Ci exchanged pleasantries with the messenger and accepted the gifts. When Gu Xiaoxiao heard she had returned, he came to see her and immediately noticed her club-like hand, exclaiming in shock: “Who injured you!”
Tie Ci said it was nothing, then apologetically said: “I originally bought you something at the market today, but after the fighting, I lost everything.”
Gu Xiaoxiao said: “I’m not a child anymore—why would you need to buy me things to coax me? Today while you were out, I went to the River Administration Office. There’s an accountant there recruiting apprentices. I applied and they selected me.”
Tie Ci was quite surprised, staring at him. Gu Xiaoxiao pursed his lips and said: “Why are you looking at me like that? I don’t like dealing with people, but haven’t we been getting by through dealing with people all this way? Earlier Feiyu had some words with me—though not pleasant to hear, they made sense. I can’t always hide behind you for protection, and I can’t drag you down. The Xiao family’s dam has problems, yet they promise to repair it. The River Administration Office assists in undertaking dam repair tasks. If I infiltrate early, I can see how much water there is in their accounts.”
Warmth rose in Tie Ci’s heart as she smiled and said: “The reasoning is correct, but don’t push yourself too hard. I was also planning to find an opportunity to mention to the Xiao family that I wanted to gain experience at the River Administration Office. Being recommended by the Xiao family would better allow penetration of their inner circle. Whether it’s the river dam or local fishing taxes, everything needs thorough investigation. Why not wait for us to go together instead of going ahead alone?”
“You said eggs shouldn’t be put in one basket. I’ll enter the River Administration Office by different means—if anything goes wrong, we can support each other.” Gu Xiaoxiao touched her sleeve with his fingertips. “Don’t worry.”
Tie Ci watched him turn and walk back unhurriedly. The youth had grown much taller recently, his shoulders broad.
How wonderful—everyone was growing.
When she turned back, she saw Xiao Wen approaching alone, her eyes red as if she’d been crying. Upon seeing Tie Ci, she forced a smile, holding a purse in her hand, saying she felt an instant connection with Miss Feiyu and wanted to give her a purse while asking for advice on needlework.
What did Feiyu know about needlework? Tie Ci didn’t expose this but naturally stepped aside, watching Xiao Wen slowly walk along the covered corridor. She forcibly suppressed her urge to follow and observe.
She waited a while longer in the courtyard when a bird call sounded and someone dropped down from the treetops, whispering: “The Second Branch smashed more porcelain, and apparently that whole family has been confined by Fourth Master.”
Tie Ci nodded and said: “When you have nothing to do, go cause trouble and stir them up, but remember—don’t leave traces, and your safety comes first.”
“Yes.” The Nine Guards subordinate said: “Commander Xiahou had this subordinate tell Your Highness that the court has been relatively stable recently. However, Empress Dowager Xiao has lost her temper several times—once three months ago, once recently—and even made things difficult for His Majesty. But due to He Zi’s arrival in the capital, His Majesty gained unprecedented support from civil officials. There’s also another matter—the Western Rong royal family seems to have some movement recently, not border-related but internal royal affairs. What exactly it is remains heavily classified, and the court’s spies haven’t discovered it yet. Commander Xiahou says Your Highness should pay attention.”
Tie Ci nodded. The Nine Guards subordinate continued: “Commander Xiahou also said that person in Sheng County was assassinated last month. The assassin wasn’t caught, and they now suspect the assassin came from a tributary state, unclear whether southern or northern. The commander wants Your Highness to be especially careful.”
Tie Ci nodded.
A fake Crown Princess had been placed in Sheng County to confuse the enemy. Originally, after she revealed her whereabouts in Haiyou, this fake Crown Princess should have been withdrawn, but unexpectedly she was assassinated.
“Southern tributary” meant Yannan. Yannan was also far from imperial authority and had multiple ethnic groups living together, requiring local autonomy that the court could barely control. Compared to Liaodong, Yannan appeared much more submissive on the surface, but in essence was practically an independent tributary. The Prince of Yannan had recently died, and before his death he established a female heir, but she hadn’t formally inherited the throne yet. Reportedly there was strong internal opposition in Yannan. If the female heir wanted powerful support, she might possibly assassinate her to curry favor with the Xiao family. But this seemed unnecessarily roundabout.
So the northern Liaodong was more likely, but timing-wise, Murong Duan in Liaodong only recently learned she was the Crown Princess, while the assassination occurred last month when she hadn’t yet revealed her identity at the academy. Who in Liaodong wanted to kill her so early? It seemed she had no grievances with anyone except the Second Prince.
As she pondered this, she casually waved her hand.
The black-clad Nine Guards subordinate nodded and quietly departed.
Meanwhile, Xiao Wen made her way to the back courtyard, where Feiyu was also secretly communicating with his subordinates. He held a note reporting that according to instructions, they had attempted to assassinate the Crown Princess but failed. The Crown Princess had instead gone into hiding without a trace, and they were now collecting information to locate her whereabouts.
Feiyu frowned slightly. Most of his people were in Liaodong, by his side, or maintaining the information line from Haiyou to Liaodong. His foundation was in the north with little connection to the inland capital Shengdu. Finding a Crown Princess who deliberately concealed her tracks was truly difficult.
What people called “darkness under the lamp”—he had his people search in Shengdu but, being overconfident about places he’d been, overlooked them and didn’t instruct subordinates to investigate again. Otherwise, checking back at the academy would have revealed everything.
However, at this moment, the Embroidered Guards’ agents were still networking with officials around Shengdu, gathering intelligence.
Footsteps sounded behind him. Feiyu casually crushed the note and turned to see Xiao Wen.
The young lady stood gracefully under the flowers, facing him. Feiyu tilted his head, looking at her with apparent curiosity.
When she neither spoke nor smiled, her eyes appeared cold and spirit clear. Like a bright pearl on snow, with flowing mysterious light—both beautiful and enchanting, both lustrous and cold, making people afraid to approach.
Xiao Wen looked at her, and the courage she’d accumulated along the way instantly deflated by half. But remembering the words she’d heard earlier, she gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, suddenly rushed forward a step, embraced Feiyu’s legs, and softly knelt down.
Tie Ci turned around the corridor just in time to see this scene and stopped.
Feiyu didn’t appear shocked, only looked down at Xiao Wen. After a long moment, he slowly chuckled: “What is Miss Xiao doing?”
Xiao Wen closed her eyes, not daring to look at her, her voice forced through gritted teeth: “Please… please save me!”
“Miss Xiao comes from a prestigious family, dressed in silk and fed on jade. What could you need saving from? Even if you needed to ask someone, it shouldn’t be me. Don’t you see our graceful and handsome Young Master Ye? Aren’t you the person the Xiao family arranged for Young Master Ye?”
Xiao Wen inexplicably sensed danger in these words. She trembled, released her hands, cowered at his feet, staring at his dress hem and saying softly: “…Young Master Ye… it won’t work. Why ask when you already know?”
But Feiyu misunderstood, chuckling: “You also know he only has me in his heart.”
Xiao Wen looked at her strangely, not daring to argue. After a long moment, she said softly: “Though I bear the title of Miss Xiao, I’m actually far inferior to Wenliu—just an orphaned girl from a distant branch that the Xiao family took in, raised as a gift to be sent away at any time… But I don’t want to be casually matched with anyone, and I’m even more afraid of defying their wishes and ending up thrown to local ruffians to be ruined… I… I’ll help you keep your secret, and you help me. You… you take me in.”
Feiyu narrowed his eyes, looking her up and down, then smiled ambiguously: “Oh my, quite capable indeed.”
He slowly crouched down, his fingers lifting Xiao Wen’s chin. She didn’t dare resist or make eye contact, her gaze drifting aside. She felt those fingers gradually applying pressure until her jaw seemed about to be crushed. She cried out softly, tears filling her eyes and streaming down.
Feiyu had no quality of tenderness toward women. His gaze dangerously moved downward toward her throat as he breathed at her ear: “You saw I’m not a woman?”
Xiao Wen whimpered.
“How did you see through it?” Feiyu’s expression grew worse.
Was he the type who could be seen through at a glance?
“Intuition… I can’t explain clearly…” Xiao Wen sobbed: “I… I was born with extremely strong intuition, able to sense the essence of things at a glance. Men and women have different auras and colors in my eyes… Though you look completely like a woman, in my eyes your aura and color are those of a man…”
“I see.” Feiyu released his hand somewhat disappointedly: “I thought you had extraordinary eyes and was considering digging them out to study them properly.”
Xiao Wen shuddered all over, instinctively looking at him, hoping in her heart it was just a joke. But upon meeting those still-smiling eyes, she knew he wasn’t joking.
This made her feel like she’d fallen into an ice pit, vaguely realizing she was seeking skin from a tiger. She couldn’t help regretting—she should have chosen to negotiate with Young Master Ye.
Seeing that person was a woman, her intuition was unreliable, so she chose this real man, thinking a woman’s tears would be more useful on a man. But ultimately she had thought too simply.
“You saw through my disguise and, being in a bad situation yourself, came to negotiate with me, wanting me to take you in and escape the Xiao family?” Feiyu smiled: “Good calculation.”
“I… I dare not force you to take me in, only beg… only beg you to take me away from the Xiao family. Afterward I can find my own way… and definitely won’t burden you!”
“Shut up. Call me Miss.”
“Yes… Miss Feiyu, Miss Feiyu… please…”
The beauty was as pure as a pear blossom, pear blossoms with rain, trembling pitifully—even a heart of stone would sigh.
But Feiyu smiled again, gently stroking her cloud-like hair, his fingertips tender, his voice soft as if whispering to a lover: “Do you know where the last person who tried to threaten me is now?”
From those slender fingertips, a cold gleam suddenly flashed—a thin, long needle emerged, aimed at the top of Xiao Wen’s head.
Xiao Wen didn’t know of the killing intent above her head, but her strong intuition made all her hair stand on end, her mind about to explode. In panic, she cried urgently: “No, no, no, I dare not threaten you! I know you’re disguised as a woman not to deceive anyone—you must have your reasons. I won’t expose or ruin your affairs… I’m only begging you. If you’re not satisfied, I can also tell you an important secret…”
Author’s Note: The timing for the second update was set incorrectly, and my computer broke today. I just discovered this and thought I wouldn’t be able to write today, so I might as well do just one update. But thinking it over, I decided to post it anyway.