She gazed at Xiao Xueya’s straight back but didn’t chase after him to ask, because there were too many urgent matters to handle.
Her ship was burned and needed emergency replacement vessels. She had to interrogate Qi Lingyuan, the Xizhou Prefect, and separately question all the Xizhou officials who had attended the banquet with Qi Lingyuan today. Then she needed to determine which officials remained in Xizhou – who was hiding from trouble, who maintained upright conduct but was excluded by Qi Lingyuan, who was at odds with Qi Lingyuan, and whether any could temporarily shoulder major responsibilities to serve as acting Xizhou Prefect and handle the aftermath of today’s battle on Fuguang River.
The latter was especially important – otherwise Xizhou would be paralyzed and the common people would suffer.
Tie Ci ordered Wan Ji to lead men to the Xizhou prefectural office and issue a Crown Princess decree summoning all local officials of sixth rank and above to meet the Crown Princess on Fuguang River.
Everyone from deputy prefects, judicial commissioners, water transport supervisors, Xizhou garrison commanders, Southwest pacification commissioners stationed in Xizhou, secretaries, and magistrates to subordinate county magistrates all rushed over within a day, filling the blessing ship’s deck.
Tie Ci had these people wait while she went to check on the Chi couple. Both were in terrible shape with multiple burns, clearly having faced extremely dangerous circumstances. Tie Ci appeared very apologetic and personally offered her regrets, but Chi Qingbo was very magnanimous, only saying that he and his wife had been too careless.
Tie Ci then asked him about Wanmei Pavilion. Chi Qingbo said he’d never heard of this Wanmei Pavilion. Tie Ci also showed him Feng Huan’s sausage lips. These lips were strange – they looked terrifying but caused no pain or itching, yet couldn’t be reduced either. The ship’s physicians had tried several remedies, but Feng Huan’s mouth remained the same, causing him great distress as he clamored to find that woman called A’ji for revenge.
Tie Ci asked Chi Qingbo if he knew anyone in Xizhou skilled in controlling poisonous insects. After some thought, Chi Qingbo told her, “Speaking of poisonous insects reminds me of a legend from Qianzhou and Yannan about a mysterious large family skilled in using poison between the two regions. They’re secretive with formidable methods, a prosperous clan with surprising hidden power. They’re said to have marriage connections with the Qianzhou Provincial Administration Commissioner and the You family of Yannan, but though we hear about them, no one has seen their people or knows which sons-in-law or daughters-in-law of the Qianzhou Guo family and Yannan You family belong to them – otherwise how could they be called mysterious?”
Tie Ci became interested.
She had originally wanted to support local powerful families in Yannan to compete with the You family, but the You family had operated in Yannan for generations, making it their territory. How could they allow others to sleep peacefully beside their couch? All major Yannan families depended on the You family for survival, with complex intermarriage relationships over many years creating intricate, deep-rooted connections. Outsiders could hardly understand their relationships and backgrounds. In such circumstances, random contact would only alert the enemy and potentially trap herself.
If there was a family independent of the Yannan You family and unafraid of their power, it would be worth attempting contact.
Or she could contact the native chieftains – Yannan’s three major chieftain forces were powerful. Though they also had years of marriage ties with the You family, as local natives, harboring different intentions was almost inevitable.
Chi Qingbo told her that this mysterious family wasn’t famous initially, but later suddenly produced a miraculously powerful ancestor said to be a semi-immortal being capable of anything in heaven and earth, with many supernatural qualities, making the family increasingly prosperous. Outwardly, the You family controlled Yannan and coexisted peacefully with the chieftains occupying the great mountains, but their influence over the chieftains was far less than this mysterious family’s.
Tie Ci simply smiled and marveled that capable people existed everywhere. But Chi Qingbo told her that this family acted quite strangely, following their whims. If truly offended, Young Master Feng would certainly die. Since it was only sausage lips, his life was definitely safe. This must be a minor punishment, so it was better to accept it rather than insist on treatment and displease that family.
Tie Ci agreed completely.
She continued, “Since you’re from Qianzhou and have visited Yannan before, are you familiar with the You family of Yannan?”
“I know a thing or two.” Chi Qingbo smiled, “The old prince had two sons and one daughter. The eldest daughter is now the heir apparent, temporarily handling Yannan affairs for her younger brothers. However, this female heir lives reclusively. For external meetings with officials and handling affairs, Left Counselor You Weinan of the Provincial Administration Commission and Regional Military Commissioner You Jun are usually responsible.”
Tie Ci knew these two men. You Jun was the brother of the former Yannan Prince. Yannan had never been as arrogant as Liaodong, never establishing their own mini-court. Local officials were the same as other administrative regions of equal level, with their own Provincial Administration Commission, Provincial Surveillance Commission, and Regional Military Commission – they just appointed these three commission officials themselves.
The Regional Military Commission controlled military power. Under Yannan’s Regional Military Commission were 130 guard posts, all under the commission’s jurisdiction. You Jun essentially controlled all of Yannan’s military power.
The Provincial Administration Commission handled regional civil administration, so You Jun’s son You Weinan became Left Counselor of the Provincial Administration Commission at a young age – the top position under the Provincial Administration Commissioner, equivalent to a second-rank court official.
With his royal family status, the Provincial Administration Commissioner above him was just his puppet – would he dare command him?
The former Yannan Prince had few heirs – only two sons and one daughter. Not to mention the eldest legitimate daughter, of the two sons, one was reportedly mentally impaired and the other was young and illegitimate. When the former Yannan Prince was alive, he valued his brothers and nephews greatly. It was said that on his deathbed, he entrusted the prince’s mansion and his children to them. This Master You truly appeared conscientious, not only refraining from seizing the princely title but even petitioning the court to enfeoff his niece as female heir apparent.
Tie Ci remembered the court debating this matter extensively at the time. A female heir apparent was unprecedented, and many old ministers cited classics to refute it, but everyone knew the Yannan Prince’s eldest son was mentally impaired and unsuitable to inherit the title.
Some court officials argued that only males could inherit the ancestral line, that having a woman as heir apparent violated propriety. Even if he was an idiot, Yannan should let the idiot inherit – perhaps an idiot would beget idiots, and after two generations, it would return to the court without a fight.
Though logical, the intention was too despicable. The court needed face, and Yannan’s other ministers weren’t fools – this naturally wouldn’t work.
Finally, the Empress Dowager made the decisive call. Tie Ci remembered her glancing at herself standing below the steps and saying that since the imperial dynasty had a Crown Princess, it could naturally have a female heir apparent – as long as she was gentle and obedient, anyone could do it.
The ministers fell silent then.
This hinted at using Yannan to set up a female heir apparent as a puppet, while also mocking the Tie father and daughter.
Just as when Tie Ci was required to attend court sessions, rising early daily to follow court proceedings, standing below the steps for hours – this was actually the Empress Dowager’s method of controlling her, keeping her under surveillance, making her personally witness how her father served as a puppet, making her gradually accept the status quo like a frog slowly boiled in water.
Tie Ci never accepted fate. If told to observe, she observed seriously – studying the ministers, learning government affairs, never missing any opportunity.
The female heir apparent was decided then, with ministers praising You Jun’s loyalty and integrity, but Tie Ci disagreed.
Probably another case of slowly boiling a frog.
Sure enough, You Jun supported his niece well then, reassuring palace officials and ministers, earning people’s praise. Then over these years, he managed Yannan affairs justly and diligently, with magnanimous benevolence, winning over all ministers’ and people’s hearts while continuously marginalizing the original royal children, keeping them from public view. Now there was talk of popular petitions to change the heir apparent – did he feel the time was right to make his move?
Tie Ci smiled, “Master You and his son control Yannan’s military and political power.”
“When the old Yannan Prince was alive, Master You and his son already held important positions in the Provincial Administration Commission and Regional Military Commission, always with good reputations.” Chi Qingbo said cautiously, “I hear that Young Master You is accomplished in both civil and military arts, quite outstanding. My relative in Wuling – my uncle – previously served as a clerk in the Yannan Provincial Administration Commission and once worked as a palace registrar. He told me that Young Master You has always controlled the Yannan Prince’s generational secret personal guards, called ‘Arrows.'”
“Arrows?” Tie Ci smiled, “Sharp and unmatched, hitting wherever they’re aimed?”
“Exactly.” Chi Qingbo said, “They reportedly gather Yannan’s capable and unusual people with strange and varied methods, categorized by arrow types: ‘Phoenix Feather,’ ‘Flying Gnat,’ ‘Armor-Piercing,’ and ‘Whistling Arrow.'”
The Great Qian Dynasty naturally had spies in Yannan, and such information had reached Tie Ci’s desk before, though never in such detail. Tie Ci showed no reaction outwardly, only saying with apparent curiosity, “Let me guess – Phoenix Feather arrows are extremely fast, so this group excels in lightness skills; Flying Gnat arrows are three-edged with great killing power, so these are assassins; Armor-Piercing arrows specialize in attacking various armors, so these are heavy cavalry? Whistling Arrows naturally excel at gathering intelligence – scouts and such.”
Chi Qingbo looked admiring but smiled, “Since they’re secret guards, I naturally don’t know these details, but it’s probably as you say.”
“What’s Young Master You’s temperament like?”
“According to my uncle, apart from being somewhat arrogant, his scholarship and cultivation are acceptable – after all, he’s from an aristocratic family.”
Tie Ci asked no more, chatting casually before having the Chi couple rest well. She came out with Feng Huan and immediately summoned all the physicians.
Feng Huan had been dejected after hearing Chi Qingbo’s words, but seeing Tie Ci’s instructions, his eyes immediately brightened as he said gratefully, “Your Highness cares for me most! Your Highness will definitely do everything to cure me!”
But he heard Tie Ci instructing the physicians, “His mouth can’t be cured and shouldn’t be treated. Not only shouldn’t it be treated, you should use some medicine to make these sausage lips last longer.”
Feng Huan: …Your Highness, why are you doing this! Are you still the Highness in my heart!
Feng Huan was led away crying and wailing for treatment. Tie Ci turned to knock on Murong Yi’s isolation room, smiling, “Satisfied?”
Murong Yi said lazily, “It’s not for me. You heard about that mysterious family and were tempted, wanting Feng Huan’s sausage lips to parade around town to attract them to come again, right?”
“It’s hard being a confused person.” Tie Ci sighed, “Can’t you just turn a blind eye and treat it as my affection for you?”
“No, I want your real affection.” Murong Yi said, “Otherwise it’s my real affection for you. Didn’t you praise my great device…”
Tie Ci: “Can we drop the suspicion of Chi Qingbo?”
“Don’t change the subject.” Murong Yi said, “Can you take back what you’ve said? You’re the Crown Princess with golden words! Come, quickly tell me how you know my device is great…”
Tie Ci: “He nearly burned to death this time. You saw it yourself – did it seem fake?”
Murong Yi: “Whether I’m fake, you’ll know if you try. How can you know my device is great without trying…”
Tie Ci: “Today he voluntarily revealed this mysterious family that can compete with the You family, which shows his noble character…”
Murong Yi: “I’m also very proactive. I’m very proactively inviting you to try my great device…”
Tie Ci: “Come on, act up! Strip!”
Murong Yi: “…”
He wasn’t afraid to strip, but he feared that after stripping, Tie Ci would punch through the cabin wall and have the whole ship come watch him – that wouldn’t be good.
Though the Crown Princess was virtuous and wise, that didn’t prevent her from being wicked too.
Actually, he knew that saying anything now was useless since the poison wasn’t cured yet, but the more this was the case, the more his heart burned with desire, and he couldn’t help being mouthy. However, Tie Ci’s mouth was also made of steel – when it came to verbal sparring, she never lost.
Murong Yi couldn’t help fantasizing about what style someone would have in bed. It would definitely be exciting enough.
Before he could figure anything out, Tie Ci was already laughing, snorted dismissively, and walked away with dignity.
After all, she still had a pile of officials to meet and needed to quickly select someone to temporarily manage Xizhou.
While Tie Ci interrogated and met with people, seeing a bunch of officials who were either hesitant, flattering, self-important, or eloquent, she felt her head buzzing with noise.
Finally, she dismissed the obviously unrelated, mediocre officials, keeping only three: the Southwest Pacification Commissioner, the Xizhou Regional Military Commission Commander, and the Water Transport Supervisor.
The Southwest Pacification Commissioner was originally established to control the governance of border ethnic groups, but obviously in Yannan where one power dominated, this position was useless. However, this supposedly awkward Pacification Commissioner hadn’t been idle – though he couldn’t accomplish much, he loved the Southwest’s mountains, waters, and forests, having traveled throughout Yannan, Qianzhou, and Nanyue. He understood local geography, customs, and folk conditions well, and was knowledgeable about Xizhou’s various economic, civil, and military affairs. If he took over Xizhou, she wouldn’t need to worry about her back being unstable during her time in Yannan. But he was a successful candidate from the Renshen year examinations, and that year’s chief examiner was Rong Luchuan.
The Water Transport Supervisor managed Fuguang River affairs from Xizhou to Wuling. Regardless of his abilities, at least during Tie Ci’s journey, she hadn’t encountered dock inspections, arbitrary checkpoints, or merchant taxation – common money-making schemes in water and land transport. When Xiao Xueya suppressed bandits, the riverside garrison soldiers were cooperative, showing he was at least not corrupt. However, having only managed water affairs, he probably wasn’t familiar with local government matters.
As for the Xizhou Regional Military Commission Commander, the reason for considering him was simple – he had troops. Controlling military power could ensure local stability and policy implementation.
Tie Ci didn’t immediately decide who would temporarily serve as Xizhou Prefect, instead keeping all three on the blessing ship. Since her own ship was burned, she could only move to the blessing ship. Xiao Xueya had people arrange a cabin next to his for her, while placing Murong Yi’s cabin in a bottom corner.
Murong Yi wouldn’t accept such cold treatment. He simply stayed on the burned old ship, playing his flute mournfully on the dark deck while facing Tie Ci’s cabin.
Tie Ci went to the bottom hold where Qi Lingyuan was detained while listening to the melancholy flute music, preparing to thoroughly interrogate him. But just as she reached the bottom hold, the entire ship suddenly lurched violently.
Caught off guard, Tie Ci thought rough seas had arrived. She rushed to the deck but saw bright moonlight and clear river – where were the rough seas?
This disturbance obviously alarmed Xiao Xueya too. He rushed to the deck with a telescope to investigate. Tie Ci was surprised to find he was still wearing that strange large hat.
She wanted to ask Xiao Xueya about it, but then the deck lurched again with a creaking sound. She looked down.
She saw the deck beneath her feet suddenly crack open.
Civilian blessing ships commonly used pine and fir, as Nanyue produced much pine and fir, but pine and fir planks and keels lacked sufficient hardness and couldn’t withstand impacts. Xiao Xueya always insisted on doing things properly or not at all – his blessing ships and warships all used extremely precious ironwood as hard as steel, so hard that ordinary swords couldn’t cut it.
With ironwood for the hull bottom and deck, reinforced with iron nails, the ship’s sturdiness was imaginable.
Now it was tearing like paper, silently cracking before Tie Ci’s eyes.
The crack grew larger, running from bow to stern, as if an invisible person in the void was silently splitting this ship capable of carrying a thousand people with a giant sword.
Tie Ci’s scalp exploded as she recalled the flying pigs at Wanmei Pavilion.
The next instant, the ship split in two and she fell backward, quickly grabbing the railing.
Sharp whistle sounds came as cabins split in half. Naval soldiers sleeping in their quarters sat on their beds, puzzled why the roof had suddenly disappeared and why their neighbor who had been sleeping next door was now on the other side. The unluckier ones had their beds collapse, getting caught in deck cracks and crying out in pain. But upon hearing the whistle, these well-trained soldiers’ confused expressions suddenly vanished. Following orders precisely, they leaped up and rushed out in organized chaos, grabbing things to steady themselves under their officers’ commands while surrounding warships slowly approached, extending planks for comrades to quickly change ships.
But Tie Ci heard screams and looked down to see the bottom hold flooding, where Qi Lingyuan and others were detained.
All those detained from that day’s banquet were there – prefectural office subordinates, county magistrates under Xizhou, Qi Lingyuan’s advisors and guards. These people’s faces were flushed red as they screamed hoarsely.
Tie Ci frowned, thinking the water had just entered the hold and only reached their ankles at the bottom – why were they screaming so heart-wrenchingly?
Most people on the ship hadn’t yet steadied themselves. Tie Ci drew her meteoric iron dagger, preparing to go into the water herself to get these people out. She couldn’t just let them drown – she still wanted to question Qi Lingyuan about who was behind him. A mere Xizhou Prefect couldn’t have managed all those equipment-laden ships with fire oil.
But as soon as she leaped into the water, she immediately felt like a cooked shrimp!
The water was actually scalding hot!