Wei Residence.

After Wang Wanzhen listened to the information her personal maidservant had gathered, her entire body went soft, and she nearly collapsed on the spot.

Wei Xianzhong had suffered a stroke, and Lady Wei was not managing affairs. After the Wei Pingjin siblings met with successive misfortunes, the power to manage the Wei household naturally fell into her hands. Therefore, after Yuan Fang returned and met with Yu Zhiyuan, and today when Xiao Li led troops to surround the South City Gate and forced a meeting with Yu Zhiyuan, she knew about all of it.

Worried about the situation at the South City Gate, she had kept people watching the front courtyard, with orders to report back to her immediately when news came.

After the maidservant tremblingly finished reporting that Yu Zhiyuan was a spy for Pei Song, and that his father was none other than Yu Jingwen, the poisonous strategist of the Pei camp who had single-handedly orchestrated the Majialiang massacre, Wang Wanzhen had only one thought in her mind: It’s over.

That day, she had helped Yu Zhiyuan swear with certainty in accusing Xiao Li. Now that Yu Zhiyuan was a spy for the Pei camp, what would become of her?

Besides fear, a tremendous resentment also rose in her heart.

She too had been deceived by that traitor Yu Zhiyuan!

How could she have known his true identity as a Pei camp spy!

Having struggled and crawled her way through the theater troupe for so many years, she had never regarded relations between men and women as love, but rather as leverage and means to curry favor with the powerful.

Yu Zhiyuan was Wei Pingjin’s strategist. That night when he discovered her secretly going to the guest courtyard to see Xiao Li, she feared he would inform Wei Pingjin. His attitude toward her was somewhat ambiguous, and she understood all too well the base nature of men, so she simply pulled him onto her own boat.

After all, no matter how much Wei Pingjin looked down on her origins, she was still his properly married wife to the outside world, the young mistress of the entire Wei clan. For Yu Zhiyuan as a subordinate to dare have an affair with her would be a capital offense that could cost him his head.

She had thought that since Yu Zhiyuan dared to commit such an transgressive act, unlike Wei Pingjin who was just a hot-tempered good-for-nothing, he must be someone with depth and cunning. Who would have expected that he was actually a venomous snake that Pei Song had planted in the Wei clan!

The maidservant supported Wang Wanzhen and, seeing her angry face turn deathly pale and her five fingers resting on her hand ice-cold, asked with concern: “Princess, should I fetch a physician for you?”

Wang Wanzhen, caught between terror and fury with emotions reaching their peak, directly swept away the vases and porcelain on the high table with one motion, her chest heaving violently as she said: “What physician! That bastard is trying to get me killed!”

The maidservant following her was someone she had personally selected and promoted from among the rough servant girls after being chosen as the former Jin princess, and was currently her only trusted confidant.

Those maidservants that Wei Qishan had originally arranged around her had all been gradually replaced by her after Wei Qishan fell ill and died.

This maidservant knew Wang Wanzhen’s temperament and dared not breathe a word when she was angry, and her shoulders trembled uncontrollably from fear that the matter would be exposed.

Wang Wanzhen noticed this, which made her even more furious. She raised her hand to slap the maidservant, but just before the slap landed on her face, for some reason she forcibly held back, withdrawing her hand with a flick of her sleeve before scolding the maidservant with disappointment: “What are you trembling for! If not for me, you would have been beaten to death with clubs long ago when you accidentally splashed two drops of mud onto the county princess’s skirt while cleaning! I saved you and cultivated you into this marquis residence’s first-rate senior maidservant. Show some backbone for me!”

When she hadn’t made it to the top in the theater troupe, being beaten and scolded was commonplace. Sometimes it was even receiving a round of beatings and punishments from the troupe master and the “stars” that needed no reason at all, simply because of bad luck in becoming the one they vented on.

Therefore, everyone at the bottom fought desperately to become a star, and after becoming a star, they had no psychological burden in ordering the people below them around.

No one in the theater troupe thought there was anything wrong with this. Everyone understood from the first day they entered that place the principles of flattering the high and trampling the low, seeking advantage wherever it lay.

On her path to becoming a “star,” she was more willing to endure hardship than anyone, and also did better than anyone.

After being chosen by Wei Qishan and studying the Four Books and Five Classics with tutors, she hadn’t yet learned much about Confucian and Mencian philosophy, but had already learned from the books another thing that she found extremely useful—using both kindness and authority.

Mere beatings and scoldings could only raise a group of servants who feared rules and obeyed, but only by appropriately adding favors could one raise loyal servants willing to sacrifice their lives to protect their master.

She was clumsily yet greedily and earnestly learning the ways of those above her in controlling those below.

The maidservant’s shoulders still trembled violently: “This servant… this servant is worried about the Princess…”

Wang Wanzhen touched her still-flat abdomen, and as if making up her mind about something, her eyes gradually changed from initial panic to firm and ruthless determination: “I too was coerced by that man surnamed Yu. I carry in my womb the only bloodline of the Wei clan. I need not fear that Xiao Li and the various Wei divisions will hold me accountable!”

—

After Yu Zhiyuan was captured, Yuan Fang, Wei Ang, and others put great effort into clearing Xiao Li’s sullied reputation and restoring his name among the people.

For a time, teahouses and wine shops were filled with discussions about Xiao Li.

Some felt indignant on his behalf for being wrongly accused earlier, some denounced the viciousness of the Yu father and son, and others who fancied themselves as having read a few volumes of classics and understanding worldly affairs listened to the wine shop storyteller describe how Yu Zhiyuan had framed Xiao Li, then let out a cold laugh right there in the hall, shaking their heads and saying: “Some things are just for listening. For him, Xiao Li, to have risen from being the son of a prostitute to his current position, how could he be one of those virtuous types?”

Someone immediately rebuked: “What kind of talk is that? That Yu Zhiyuan acknowledged his traitor father right there in front of so many soldiers on the city walls that day. Could Lord Xiao being wrongly accused still be false?”

That scholar just haughtily clicked his tongue: “Even if that Yu Zhiyuan acknowledged his father, it only proves he’s a spy for the Pei camp. It doesn’t prove that the Wei clan’s young master wasn’t killed by Xiao Li. What if that man surnamed Xiao discovered Yu Zhiyuan’s identity early on and deliberately killed the Wei clan’s young master? After drawing public condemnation upon himself, he then revealed that spy’s identity—wouldn’t that clear his own grievances?”

“Hearing brother’s words, there’s indeed some logic to them…” Someone cupped their hands toward that scholar with considerable admiration.

That scholar waved his hand dismissively, smiling with satisfaction, clearly quite pleased, though his mouth remained modest: “This humble scholar has simply seen too many of these wolf-hearted beasts in human form during these chaotic times, and understands a bit about human nature. If that Xiao Li dared to directly seize power, I would still respect him as a regional overlord, but using these kinds of tricks…”

As he spoke, he shook his head, his eyes showing utter disdain.

Someone at another table slammed the table and stood up: “Your words are utterly unreasonable! That man surnamed Yu has already confessed to being a spy for the Pei camp, and the Princess also said that her earlier slander of Lord Xiao was all due to coercion by that man surnamed Yu. She even led the various Wei generals to the military camp to personally apologize to Lord Xiao and request that Lord Xiao return to the Wei camp. Yet here you are making baseless accusations of right and wrong?”

That scholar looked at the person who had slammed the table with an expression of great incomprehension: “How is this baseless accusation of right and wrong? What, are you from his Xiao camp? That Xiao Li hasn’t even retaken control of the Northern Border yet, and already he can’t tolerate even a word of suspicion?”

That man’s face turned red with anger: “I just can’t stand you, you sour scholar, slandering people’s good names!”

The scholar, as if he had pinpointed that man’s weakness, said smugly: “A sour scholar, and you’re so angry you’re cursing—still saying you’re not from the Xiao camp? With such limited tolerance, that Xiao Li still wants to learn from Marquis Wei and become a hegemon?”

A rough, deep voice came from the wine shop: “Then you, this bastard, are so eager to exonerate the Yu father and son—what, are you the illegitimate son of that old traitor Yu Jingwen?”

Amid the hall’s roaring laughter, the scholar’s expression became somewhat uncomfortable. He raised his head to look upstairs but only saw a burly shadow leaning against the railing. He still said indignantly: “When did I ever exonerate the Yu father and son? Haven’t all my words been reasoned speculation?”

The man who had spoken in the main hall earlier said: “Princess Wanzhen has personally clarified the matter. What are you speculating about?”

That scholar, whether from shame or anger, had a reddening face, yet still spoke in a self-important tone: “What if Princess Wanzhen is the one being coerced by that man surnamed Xiao?”

The man upstairs snorted coldly, seeming angered by the scholar’s words. His palm as large as a winnowing fan slammed heavily on the solid hardwood railing: “With one word of suspicion, you can baselessly slander someone’s good name. If you’ve wronged Lord Xiao, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Do you know how many times Lord Xiao held Yanle Mountain to the death to block the barbarians from raiding south? Initially when the Wei army had no reinforcements, how many righteous soldiers died unjustly under Lord Xiao’s command?”

The scholar, seeming to feel that continuing the debate would be embarrassing, pulled out some broken silver from his sleeve and tossed it on the table, saying with an inexplicable expression: “What does that have to do with me? Did I beg that man surnamed Xiao to go defend Yanle Mountain?”

As he strode outside, he even sneered coldly: “Throughout history, which power-seeker hasn’t attached some laudable titles to themselves, using a few pretentious achievements as if they were imperial edicts, expecting us common people to constantly show tearful gratitude and kneel in worship?”

The man upstairs called out coldly: “Stop right there.”

The scholar turned back and accidentally bumped shoulders with someone. He raised his hands and shook both sides of his scholarly sleeves, affecting a self-important manner: “Just because this humble scholar spoke some unpleasant truths, are people from the Xiao camp going to make trouble for me?”

Zheng Hu gripped his wine vessel, the murderous urge to crush this man already rising in him. He still poured the full vessel of clear wine into his mouth, then hurled the cup down heavily: “I saw that you’re a thief wearing a scholar’s robe!”

The man who had just bumped into the scholar heard this and touched his chest, immediately shouting: “My money pouch is gone!”

The scholar, hearing this, seemed to find it amusing and was about to speak, but then saw that man take a quick step forward, grab the cord showing at his chest collar, and pull out the money pouch, pointing at him and shouting: “You’re the thief who stole the money pouch!”

The scholar panicked and hurried to say: “How is that possible! I…”

Before he could finish speaking, a fist had already swung toward his face.

The wine shop rang with shouts of catching a thief. Some joined in to beat this thief, while others pointed and gossiped from afar: “He looked like someone who studied the classics, yet he commits such base acts…”

After that scholar was thrown out of the wine shop, he still argued for himself: “I didn’t steal the money!”

But no one believed him anymore. All that came from the crowd were looks of endless contempt.

That scholar, facing the crowd pointing and gossiping about him, was so ashamed and angry he could die, and could only flee in disgrace.

The man who had bumped into the scholar came upstairs and called to Zheng Hu: “General.”

Zheng Hu picked up the wine pot and put it to the spout, pouring the last mouthful of clear wine into his mouth, then still cursed unsatisfied: “A bunch of ungrateful bastards!”

—

Returning to the military camp, Zheng Hu didn’t find Xiao Li, only saw Zhang Huai receiving wealthy clans who came to present lavish gifts, smiling warmly at everyone yet maintaining a proper distance. Song Qin was training new recruits at the drill ground.

After everyone left, looking at the entire command tent piled full with various rare jades and precious stones, he asked puzzled: “How come this time they’re all sending jade?”

Zhang Huai closed the gift registry, his expression ambiguous: “Perhaps it’s because last time the lord exchanged all the gold and silver objects the wealthy merchants sent for silver currency as military funds, only the jade stones weren’t pawned, so people thought the lord favors jade stones.”

Zheng Hu felt that Zhang Huai’s words sounded somewhat unhappy, but since his heart was still uncomfortable about the wine shop incident, he didn’t ask more, only saying: “Where’s Second Brother?”

Zhang Huai’s expression tightened slightly, and after a pause he said: “The lord went out.”

Zheng Hu asked: “Where did he go?”

Zhang Huai placed the gift registry on the desk and said: “After reading a memorial secretly sent back from Southern Chen, he didn’t say a word and rode out of camp.”

He raised his eyes to ask Zheng Hu: “What’s the matter?”

Zheng Hu gloomily recounted what he had witnessed at the wine shop, saying: “I just feel it’s unfair to Second Brother, and I’m afraid he might inadvertently hear those words and feel bad, so I wanted to tell him not to go to the marketplaces recently.”

Zhang Huai’s eyes turned cold, almost mocking as he said: “Those scholars are the most loyal watchdogs of the aristocratic clans. They attack and question the lord not because of anything else, but because the lord doesn’t belong to any powerful clan and has broken their rules of power succession, making these self-proclaimed ‘descendants of famous families’ who pride themselves on noble birth ashamed to bow down before a lord who rose from humble origins!”

Throughout the Central Plains, no matter how many times it had been divided, the ones towering above all the realm had always been the wealthy noble clans. Even when these noble families declined, power had always alternated among them.

For Xiao Li, with such origins and such iron-blooded methods, to take control of Northern Wei after Wei Pingjin’s death and become that lord standing openly in the light was tantamount to breaking through that barrier of “lords, marquises, generals, and ministers are of another breed.”