After Bai Jinxiu saw off Fu Ruoxi, Bai Qingyan slowly rested her elbow on the hidden pouch, lowering her gaze to ponder deeply why Wang Qiulu would go to Prince Liang’s mansion. Was it… to seek revenge for Liu Ruofu? Or… did he still wish to help Prince Liang ascend to the throne?

But if he wanted to accomplish these two things, what connection did it have with Fu Ruoxi? Why would he lure Fu Ruoxi to the entrance of Prince Liang’s mansion, letting Fu Ruoxi witness with her own eyes his entry into Prince Liang’s mansion?

Or was it Li Mingrui who instructed Wang Qiulu to act thus?

The Crown Princess was giving birth, and the Crown Prince’s mansion was in complete chaos today.

Old Fang and Ren Shijie donned their black cloaks and pulled up their hoods. The two quietly slipped out through the side gate of the Crown Prince’s mansion. After looking around in all directions to confirm no one was present, only then did Ren Shijie help Old Fang board the carriage that had been waiting early outside the Crown Prince’s mansion gate.

After the two boarded the carriage and took their seats, the ever-cautious Old Fang lifted the curtain to glance outside. After waiting for about half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, only then did he instruct the coachman: “Let’s go!”

Ren Shijie sat beside Old Fang, seeming somewhat uneasy: “Old Fang, are we not going to inform His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Old Fang, who had been severely reprimanded by the Crown Prince today, had a gloomy and unsightly expression.

“Right now, the Crown Princess is giving birth, and His Highness has no time to spare. Moreover, we currently don’t have Wang Jianghai’s son firmly in our grasp… If we just tell His Highness that Princess Zhenguo sent people to rescue the rebel Wang Jianghai’s son Wang Qiulu, do you think His Highness would believe it? His Highness now trusts Princess Zhenguo far more than he trusts you and me. He might even think that I’m being petty-minded and cannot tolerate Princess Zhenguo!”

Old Fang’s eyes flickered between light and shadow under the swaying lanterns outside the carriage: “I’m now increasingly certain that when Princess Zhenguo risked her life to save the Crown Prince… it was all a scheme! With this scheme in place, whenever the Crown Prince suspects Princess Zhenguo, he’ll remember how Princess Zhenguo risked her life to save him and dismiss his doubts! What a truly… excellent strategy!”

Ren Shijie pressed his lips together and sat in silence.

This time, when Li Mingrui approached Ren Shijie, he intended to conspire in framing Princess Zhenguo. Ren Shijie could see this.

For Ren Shijie, a spy from Great Yan, naturally, the more chaotic Jin became, the better!

In the past, the Great Jin had the invincible Duke Zhenguo Bai Weiting, so the various nations feared them and dared not easily declare war.

Now, Great Jin had this murderous Princess Zhenguo, whose methods and intellect were even more ruthless than Duke Zhenguo’s, so naturally, the various nations feared her as well.

If Old Fang could truly make Jin’s Crown Prince abandon Princess Zhenguo, or even… take Princess Zhenguo’s life, this would only benefit Great Yan’s future efforts to reclaim their former capital… the Capital City, or Great Yan’s conquest of Jin.

After all, no one wished for an enemy nation to have such a formidable… and deeply trusted by the heir apparent, military general.

Ren Shijie had been by the Crown Prince’s side for so many years. Princess Zhenguo was the only person besides Old Fang who could influence the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince ascended the throne in the future with someone like Princess Zhenguo assisting him, Great Yan would find it difficult not only to conquer Jin but even to reclaim their old capital.

As a minister of Great Yan, Ren Shijie naturally had to plan for Great Yan’s interests.

Ren Shijie vaguely knew that their master, Xiao Rongyan, seemed to have deep connections with Princess Zhenguo.

But even so, for the sake of Great Yan, there were some things Ren Shijie had to do. Moreover, this time it wasn’t Ren Shijie taking action, but rather the Jin people wanting to wound their hearts and lungs. He was merely… going with the flow, informing Old Fang, who hated Princess Zhenguo to the bone, of this matter.

The carriage swayed and rocked until it reached the first household at the entrance of Jiuchuan Alley, the home with a lantern bearing the character “Du” hanging by its door.

Ren Shijie helped Old Fang down from the carriage and instructed the coachman to take the carriage further away, returning to fetch them after half an hour. The coachman acknowledged and led the carriage away.

Ren Shijie glanced at Old Fang, then stepped forward to knock on the door knocker. Soon, an elderly man with silver hair, wearing azure-gray rough cloth and black cloth shoes, came to open the door.

The old man’s sharp eyes looked at Ren Shijie, who had knocked on the door, then at Old Fang behind Ren Shijie.

“Good evening, elder. We’ve come to find Lord Li,” Ren Shijie said after bowing to the old man.

The old man nodded, stepped aside to clear the doorway, and made a welcoming gesture. Ren Shijie could tell that although this old man was advanced in years, he was a martial artist with likely extraordinary skills.

Ren Shijie turned to invite Old Fang to enter first. Old Fang, with a stern expression, lifted the hem of his long robe and stepped into the courtyard. He saw a white-robed strategist standing in the corridor, smiling as he bowed deeply to Old Fang and Ren Shijie: “Our young master has been waiting for Old Fang and Master Ren for quite some time!”

Old Fang surveyed this unremarkable courtyard that even seemed somewhat shabby, then looked at the solitary maple tree standing in the courtyard. Several heavy snowfalls since winter began had scattered the maple leaves, leaving sparse red leaves hanging on the branches. Reflected by the dim, cold lamplight under the corridor, it inexplicably added several degrees of desolation.

The white-robed strategist showed no concern for the disdain in Old Fang’s eyes and lifted the curtain to invite Old Fang and Ren Shijie inside.

Li Mingrui sat upright at a black lacquered square table inside the room, holding a bamboo scroll in one hand, reading carefully, while extending his other hand to warm it over a brazier burning vigorously before him. A teapot was set on the brazier, its water boiling.

Wang Qiulu stood behind Li Mingrui, having lost a considerable amount of weight.

Seeing Old Fang and Ren Shijie enter, Li Mingrui set down the bamboo scroll in his hand and nodded: “Old Fang, Master Ren, please sit!”

Old Fang’s gaze fell on Wang Qiulu. He lifted his robes and sat down, asking Li Mingrui: “Lord Li, is this Wang Jianghai’s son Wang Qiulu?”

“Indeed…” Li Mingrui nodded and looked up at Wang Qiulu.

Wang Qiulu’s expression was unpleasant. He stepped forward and bowed to Old Fang and Ren Shijie before saying: “This criminal is Wang Qiulu.”

“Take him away,” Li Mingrui said to his white-robed strategist.

The white-robed strategist nodded and led Wang Qiulu out.

Li Mingrui used a cloth to protect his hand from the teapot handle, lifted the copper teapot from the brazier, poured tea for both Old Fang and Ren Shijie, and asked with a smile: “Wang Qiulu was rescued by Princess Zhenguo’s people. Although Princess Zhenguo acted extremely secretively and didn’t use people from Princess Zhenguo’s mansion, surely Old Fang and Master Ren have already investigated thoroughly and confirmed this.”

Ren Shijie nodded: “The person who rescued Wang Qiulu was indeed from Shouyang, and indeed had inseparable connections with the Shouyang Bai clan. Old Fang sent people to Shouyang to investigate thoroughly. That person was originally a gambler, poor as a church mouse, owing a pile of gambling debts. After returning from the Capital City, not only did he pay off all his debts, but he also bought a courtyard and married three concubines!”

“Not only that, his cousin who worked as a jailer in the Capital City’s Court of Judicial Review prison… seems to have prospered recently as well, having come into a windfall and even bought a three-courtyard house.” Li Mingrui smiled as he pushed the teacup toward Old Fang, looking at him. “Am I correct in what I’ve said, Old Fang?”

“So Lord Li not only delivered the message, but also investigated this matter,” Old Fang said, his expression unchanged.