From the adjacent room, Min Wenqing’s voice came through with a seemingly amused tone: “Since you don’t have this sincerity, then we need not waste time.”

This was followed by the sound of Min Wenqing lifting his robes to stand up.

Concubine Fang said, “Wait, is it that I lack sincerity or that you lack sincerity? This is my life-saving treasure! I can’t just spill everything to any random person you send over without you promising to let me go back, can I?”

Min Wenqing chuckled softly but said nothing, directly opening the room door.

“Wait—”

Now, Concubine Fang couldn’t sit still. She had finally waited for someone to come and be willing to listen to her. Looking at this man’s bearing, he shouldn’t be an unimportant person either. Most importantly, if he just left like this, she didn’t know whether she would just be confined here until death.

She didn’t want to die, and she couldn’t die yet. If she died, her two children would be finished.

Concubine Fang’s earlier sparring with Min Wenqing was just to test his bottom line. She hadn’t expected that although this young man looked young, his mind was quite deep. He was so slippery that Concubine Fang had no recourse.

Moreover, hearing him mention Guangli Money House earlier, he might have already discovered something. This was also her fault for being somewhat anxious when captured and misjudging the situation, thus losing her strategy.

Now Concubine Fang was afraid that these people would follow the clues and discover many things. Then she would become a useless pawn to be discarded.

So when Concubine Fang saw that Min Wenqing was opening the door to leave, she got up and chased to the doorway.

Min Wenqing raised an eyebrow and said flatly, “Ready to tell the truth now? This time you’d better think it through, because you won’t have another chance.”

This time, Concubine Fang’s tone was much more humble and earnest: “Yes, yes, yes, I’ve thought it through. I’ll have to trouble you for some more time.”

Min Wenqing closed the door again and walked back into the room.

When Min Wenqing was closing the door, Concubine Fang took the opportunity to glance outside and happened to see a corner of green clothing under the eaves of the corridor. Concubine Fang’s gaze couldn’t help but focus.

After Min Wenqing sat down again, Concubine Fang frowned and hesitated for a moment before asking, “May I ask who is the woman standing outside?”

Min Wenqing hadn’t expected her eyes to be so sharp, so he said casually, “Just a maid. What? Do you know her?”

Concubine Fang thought for a moment and said honestly, “I didn’t see her face clearly, but that green pleated skirt she’s wearing looks very familiar. I think I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

Concubine Fang showed a thoughtful expression.

In the adjacent room, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but smile bitterly upon hearing this.

The person standing outside should be Pingguo. The emerald green pleated skirt Pingguo was wearing today was one that she had worn several times before, which Nanny Xu later found and gave to Pingguo. She hadn’t expected Concubine Fang to have such sharp eyes and careful observation – just a glance at the doorway made her feel that the fabric and embroidered edges of this skirt looked familiar.

Pingguo was quite innocent. When Ren Yaoqi and Xiao Jingxi entered the room, she didn’t dare go too far and could only guard by the door. Hearing movement in the adjacent room, she immediately turned around and moved away some distance, but still had her skirt corner spotted by Concubine Fang.

Xiao Jingxi looked at Ren Yaoqi with a comforting smile and even teased her, “You’re quite strange. Now you hold the knife and cutting board while she’s the fish and meat, yet you’re still afraid of being recognized by her? Don’t worry – I don’t mind helping you silence her when the time comes.”

Ren Yaoqi was amused by his words.

In truth, she wasn’t afraid of Concubine Fang and wouldn’t fear facing her directly.

She just thought of how she had trusted her in her previous life, remembered how gentle and caring she had been toward her then, and felt somewhat unsettled.

Even though Concubine Fang’s kindness to her was just an act, she had performed that act too well.

This made Ren Yaoqi, when facing the current Concubine Fang, also think of her parents’ and sister’s tragic deaths in her previous life, and she couldn’t help but feel some resentment toward herself.

This feeling was like cutting meat with a dull knife – sharp and painful whenever she thought of it. So, even though she hadn’t realized before that she didn’t want to see Concubine Fang at all.

In the adjacent room, Concubine Fang didn’t pursue the matter of the maid outside further. This time she got straight to the point: “I haven’t been to Guangli Money House many times, but my brother wrote to tell me earlier that if there was anything that needed help, I could contact Manager Liu at Guangli Money House.”

“What’s the background of that Manager Liu?” Min Wenqing didn’t tell Concubine Fang that Manager Liu and several of his subordinates had already been arrested earlier.

Concubine Fang shook her head: “I don’t know exactly what kind of person he is, but I know he’s quite capable. Whatever I asked him to do, he could get it done for me. According to my brother, this person was given to him by someone else to use, but since he couldn’t come to Yanbei this time, I convinced him to hand this connection over to me.”

“Who is the ‘someone else’ who handed this person over to your brother?”

Concubine Fang paused and said, “Eunuch Lu by the Empress Dowager’s side.”

Concubine Fang thought that since this connection had already been exposed, there was no need for her to continue concealing it from others. Speaking up before others did could still serve as her bargaining chip.

Ren Yaoqi heard Eunuch Lu’s name again, but wasn’t as agitated as before. Only a barely noticeable look of disgust appeared on her face.

“Is Fang Yacun very familiar with Eunuch Lu? What did he instruct Fang Yacun to do?”

When she heard her brother’s name, Concubine Fang became more cautious: “Not very familiar, but my brother’s superior, Lord Feng, has close ties with Eunuch Lu. He is also highly regarded by Lord Feng, so Lord Feng doesn’t hide anything from him and is willing to entrust many matters to him. This trip to Yanbei should also be on Lord Feng’s orders, probably to help Eunuch Lu manage the Yanbei official circles, because I heard earlier that Eunuch Lu would be sent to Yanbei as a military supervisor.”

“Military supervisor?” Min Wenqing smiled. “Supervising which army?”

Concubine Fang glanced at Min Wenqing and said, “It should be the Ningxia Army.”

When it came to military affairs, Min Wenqing naturally understood perfectly.

The court sending Zeng Pu was to serve as the vanguard. After the situation here stabilized somewhat, sending a military supervisor was the court’s usual practice.

On the other side, Xiao Jingxi also explained to Ren Yaoqi in a low voice: “There are quite a few factions in the southern court. Speaking of which, Zeng Pu and Lu Yu are not from the same faction.”

Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment: “Lu Yu is undoubtedly Empress Dowager Yan’s person, but I heard that Zeng Pu is also from the Yan family?”

Xiao Jingxi tapped the table lightly with his finger and smiled faintly, “You’re not wrong, but don’t forget that the little emperor has grown up now.”

Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi immediately understood. No wonder she had heard in her previous life that the emperor was somewhat dissatisfied with the Yan family’s monopoly over court politics. Later, because of the Ningxia incident and the Yanbei Xiao family being too tough, the emperor and Empress Dowager Yan temporarily reconciled by making compromises.

But Empress Dowager Yan’s position and attitude were worth pondering. Over the years, Empress Dowager Yan had consistently stood firmly with her natal Yan family. The world also regarded the Yan family and Prime Minister Yan’s intentions as the Empress Dowager’s intentions.

However, Xiao Jingxi’s statement that “Zeng Pu and Lu Yu are not from the same faction” implied many things.

For instance, when it truly came to critical moments, the Empress Dowager might not abandon her biological son to stand with her natal family. After all, a mother’s status depended on her son’s nobility – the emperor was the foundation of her security and livelihood. Without her son being emperor, she would be nothing.

This was why Ningxia got Zeng Pu, while the court planned to send Military Supervisor Lu – this was the result of factional struggles within the court.

Therefore, back then, although Zeng Pu and Eunuch Lu would have confrontations privately, on the surface they both worked hard to maintain a balanced relationship and wouldn’t easily offend each other.

Seeing Ren Yaoqi’s thoughtful expression, Xiao Jingxi knew she understood his subtle hints and couldn’t help but feel pleased.

This wasn’t surprising – though Young Master Xiao had seen countless beauties in his life, he had developed romantic feelings specifically for Ren Yaoqi, this young woman.

In this world, those prettier than Ren Yaoqi weren’t as intelligent as her. Those more intelligent than her weren’t as attractive. Even if there was someone both more intelligent and better-looking than Ren Yaoqi, they might not be able to keep up with Xiao Jingxi’s line of thinking.

“Bestowed by beauty, given by soul, heart pleased and mind at ease” – what mattered most was this kind of spiritual connection.

However, Ren Yaoqi was thinking about why Xiao Jingxi would share such information with her.

The relationship between the emperor and the Yan family could be considered confidential. At least Ren Yaoqi, an ordinary civilian woman, had no way to glimpse such secrets.

Now that Xiao Jingxi knew the emperor and Yan family were only superficially harmonious, he could use this point in the future to provoke conflicts between them and then reap the benefits from behind.

On the other side, after Concubine Fang finished explaining about Guangli Money House, Min Wenqing asked about Baiyun Valley.

Concubine Fang still harbored some hope that Baiyun Valley hadn’t been exposed yet, but it turned out that people had followed the trail there too.

Concubine Fang felt helpless and could only explain Nun Liang’s situation as well.

“Is that Sun Eleven Lady also one of your people?” Min Wenqing asked.

Concubine Fang said, “Sun Eleven Lady was introduced to me by Nun Liang. They knew each other before, but I’m not very familiar with her. Nun Liang has quite a few people under her. She should have been a court official for a long time. I heard she had some… some relationship with the deposed Prince Xian’s heir, and should have been an informant the court placed beside the deposed Prince Xian earlier.”

Listening from next door, Ren Yaoqi also pondered that Nun Liang had indeed had some entanglements with her uncle before. However, she had learned earlier that Li Tianyou hadn’t been to Baiyun Valley for quite some time. Presumably, after White Dragon Temple hid troops, Nun Liang’s mission had also changed.