The journey from Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple to the capital was very far. Because it was the Emperor’s procession, the entire route was paved with yellow earth. The Imperial Guards had sealed off the roads the imperial carriage would pass through three days in advance, arranging personnel at every ten paces—the security was extremely tight. On the day of the heaven-worshiping ceremony, the Emperor’s convoy was grand and mighty. By the time they reached the dismounting monument before Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, it was already the hour of the dragon. The Minister of Rites had been waiting respectfully for a long time. When the Emperor’s carriage slowly came to a stop, he immediately stepped forward, performing three kneelings and nine kowtows in grand ceremony to welcome the imperial presence. At the same time, bells and drums sounded together with flutes and zithers in harmony. The Emperor stepped down from the carriage, treading on a eunuch’s back, while everyone behind him also dismounted and exited their carriages according to order and protocol. Li Weiyang stood far away. Looking into the distance, she could only see the Emperor’s imperial banner rustling in the wind ahead, that bright yellow color appearing especially striking.

The Emperor walked slowly forward, all officials clustering around him, with all the female family members following behind. Yuexi’s custom was that only family members of officials of third rank or above could participate in such grand ceremonies. To the sound of music, the Emperor walked steadily forward, leading all ministers with stable steps up the mountain. The wind on the mountain was very strong, causing many people to be unable to open their eyes. Yet Li Weiyang stared directly at that bright yellow figure ahead, advancing steadily.

At some point, a soft voice sounded beside Li Weiyang. “Miss Guo, I hope you can keep your promise.”

Li Weiyang turned her head sideways and saw Wang Zijin’s beautiful face. Her eyes flickered slightly, then she smiled. “What does Miss Wang mean by this?”

Wang Zijin laughed coldly. “I promised you I’d eliminate Pei Bi for you. Today is the best opportunity.”

Li Weiyang said indifferently, “In broad daylight before everyone’s eyes, I wonder how Miss Wang plans to act?” Her voice was very low, her bearing very leisurely. Onlookers would only think she was discussing the scenery with Wang Zijin.

Wang Zijin’s tone was quite composed. “The best method is naturally to charge him with a capital crime!” Such a beautiful face now carried three parts of rare killing intent.

Li Weiyang said with a calm expression, “Pei Bi comes from the Pei residence. Ordinary crimes wouldn’t cost him his life. Does Miss Wang have confidence?”

Wang Zijin’s smile became even more beautiful, a trace of cold light flashing in her eyes as her lips curved upward. “The crime of regicide.”

Li Weiyang smiled. “Regicide? That’s absolutely not an easy matter.”

Seeing doubt revealed in her expression, Wang Zijin smiled. “This time when His Majesty worships heaven, all civil and military officials entering Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple must undergo detailed inspection. If someone finds a dagger on Pei Bi, they can charge him with regicide. Think about it—if he didn’t intend to assassinate His Majesty, why would he carry a dagger on his person?”

Li Weiyang still only smiled. “It sounds simple, but unfortunately Pei Bi isn’t a fool. Why would he carry a weapon on him for no reason?”

Wang Zijin was unhurried, her eyes carrying slight amusement. “That’s even easier to handle. During the search, just say there’s a problem with him and have him remove his outer garments, then plant something—wouldn’t that accomplish it?”

Li Weiyang glanced at her. “That’s not a bad method, but Pei Bi is very cautious. Accomplishing this will probably require great effort.”

Wang Zijin looked forward, her gaze suddenly turning cold. “Great effort is inevitable. I’ve long had a plan for this matter. Miss Guo needn’t worry.”

Li Weiyang smiled pleasantly. “Miss Wang is so eager to show goodwill to our Guo family—what’s the real reason? Is it only to prevent us from continuing to pursue your third brother’s matter?”

Wang Zijin nodded. “Not only that. Empress Pei presumes to use the Wang family—naturally I must send her a grand gift in return! Miss Guo, just wait and watch.”

Hearing this, Li Weiyang merely smiled faintly, clearly not taking all of the other’s words as truth.

Wang Zijin’s beautiful eyes focused. After a slight pause, she spoke. “During the heaven-worshiping ceremony, no errors whatsoever are permitted—otherwise severe punishment will be meted out. Every time there’s a sacrifice, His Majesty orders the Ministries of Rites, Works, Justice, and War to jointly patrol and inspect. If anyone within the altar coughs, laughs, or makes noise—whether imperial clan or officials—they will be impeached. So over the years, whenever there’s a heaven-worshiping ceremony, the attending personnel are all fearful and trembling. Last year when His Majesty attended the heaven-worshiping, merely because the text on the altar wasn’t written neatly enough, the table cloth wasn’t arranged properly, and according to regulations three heavenly lanterns should have been hung but one was missing—he flew into a thundering rage and ordered an investigation. As a result, Minister of Works Luo Han, Right Vice Minister Mu Qing, Minister of Rites De Jia, Vice Minister Ming Feng and others were all dismissed from office. Among them, Right Vice Minister Mu Qing received the heaviest punishment—after dismissal, his entire family was exiled to the frontier. The inspection is so strict, allowing not the slightest negligence. You can imagine if a dagger is found on Pei Bi, he’ll definitely face certain death.”

Li Weiyang’s gaze lingered on her for a moment as she said with a half-smile, “Since Miss Wang already has complete confidence, then I wish you complete success.”

Wang Zijin stopped her steps and turned. “After this succeeds, your Guo family cannot continue holding onto my third brother’s mistakes. Also…”

Li Weiyang smiled. “I wonder what other requirements Miss Wang has?”

Wang Zijin narrowed her eyes looking at Li Weiyang. Under the sunlight, this Miss Guo’s expression was composed, her countenance clear and refined—like a lotus emerging from water, making one’s heart tremble. She smiled slightly, yet her mouth said quite calmly, “Nothing really. The conflict between you and me—we’ll figure it out later.”

Li Weiyang smiled but said nothing more, then watched Wang Zijin gracefully depart.

Princess Ali beside her stepped forward, saying softly, “Jia’er, I always feel this person cannot be casually trusted. You must be extra careful.” Princess Ali originally wasn’t on the attendance list. Later, she used every means to beg Duke Qi, which was how she managed to come along. But her presence was still quite conspicuous.

Li Weiyang’s smile grew increasingly cold, her tone unconsciously gaining three parts chill. “Trust her? I’ve never trusted her!”

Princess Ali’s heart jumped. “Since you don’t trust her, why did you stand here talking with her for so long?”

Li Weiyang’s smile became even more amiable. Yet Princess Ali somehow sensed mockery in that smile. Before she could speak, she heard Li Weiyang say, “Princess, look—an hour ago the sky was covered with dark clouds looking like rain, but now the gloom has cleared and the clouds have scattered. The sky is full of brilliant sunshine. This is truly good weather. Perhaps something fortunate will happen!”

Having said this, Princess Ali stood there bewildered, feeling increasingly confused. These past days, Li Weiyang, Prince Xu Yuan Lie, and Guo Dao and Guo Dun had been discussing something constantly, whispering all day long. Princess Ali had tried several times to learn what it was, but they treated her like a child, never allowing her to participate. Was Wang Zijin’s move truly meant to eliminate Pei Bi as a hidden threat for the Guo family? She always felt something was wrong but couldn’t say what exactly.

At this moment, the Emperor had already taken the lead entering Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, while the officials behind him had to undergo inspection one by one. Even His Highness the Crown Prince was no exception. Inspecting all civil and military officials was very troublesome—going through them one by one would take a full hour and a half, which was why everyone had arrived at Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple so early. Now there were still approximately two hours until the sacrifice time—enough for them to complete the inspection. When the inspection reached Pei Bi, the general in charge of inspection indeed called out to him. “Lord Pei, please come to the side.”

Pei Bi paused, then walked forward. Behind him, everyone whispered among themselves, wondering what had happened to Pei Bi and why he was being called aside alone. But contrary to their expectations, in less than half an hour Pei Bi returned, though his expression still carried traces of puzzlement.

Someone beside him asked, “What happened to Lord Pei?”

Pei Bi’s surface also showed great surprise, yet he smiled. “Nothing. The inspection seemed to have some problems, but it’s resolved now.”

Only then did everyone relax and enter Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple together with Pei Bi. Li Weiyang watched this scene from afar, her expression carrying three parts amusement. Princess Ali said, “It seems Wang Zijin truly keeps her word. She indeed tampered with Pei Bi.”

Li Weiyang turned to look at Princess Ali, her expression indifferent. “Your Highness, one cannot judge everything by appearances. He left for half an hour, which doesn’t necessarily mean he was tampered with.”

Hearing this, Princess Ali grew increasingly surprised. She didn’t notice that the Guo brothers standing in the male guests’ queue had exchanged a glance, suppressing cold smiles in their eyes. Prince Xu Yuan Lie seemed to be thinking of something, those amber eyes appearing as if ready to watch a good show.

The Emperor ascended the jade path stone steps step by step. Wang Zijin watched from afar, a trace of cold mockery revealed in her eyes. Miss Guo didn’t know she was deliberately scheming against her—probably still smugly pleased with herself. This time, because of the merit in presenting relics, the Emperor had instructed Duke Qi to supervise the construction of Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple. After the temple was completed, he praised Duke Qi highly and bestowed many gifts. So if something went wrong with this temple, the first to meet misfortune would be Duke Qi… Therefore, Wang Zijin had thought of a plan.

This heaven-worshiping ceremony was managed by the Ministry of Rites, with the Imperial Guards responsible for external security work. Wang Qiong had former subordinates in the Imperial Guards—for instance, today’s inspector General Jiang Yu was Wang Qiong’s student and someone he had recommended. So Wang Zijin had Jiang Yu devise a method to tamper with the imperial path. As the Emperor walked this route, it looked calm and peaceful on the surface, but mechanisms were hidden beneath the imperial path. However, they were made extremely ingeniously—outsiders absolutely couldn’t detect them. When the Emperor passed, the mechanism would retract inward. The Emperor would naturally fall, and definitely fall hard. Even if he had martial arts skills, he absolutely wouldn’t expect the flat ground to completely collapse beneath him. Once successful, the mechanism would automatically burn itself, leaving no trace to investigate. Think about it—this imperial path and the entire Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple were supervised and constructed by Duke Qi. Why would there be problems with the imperial path the Emperor walked? Clearly Duke Qi intended to harm the Emperor. This crime needn’t even be determined by the Emperor—it could be handed over to the Three Judicial Offices for judgment.

Last time, Wang Zijin had been dissatisfied with Li Weiyang’s behavior. Moreover, the Guo family had deliberately spread rumors outside about her brother’s actions, forcing her to sacrifice a piece to protect the king—having Father bind Third Brother to enter the capital and face His Majesty, pleading guilty to obtain the Emperor’s forgiveness. To someone as proud as Wang Zijin, this matter was an utter humiliation. How could she not cause trouble for the Guo family? She would definitely settle this account—and settle it a thousand-fold, a hundred-fold. Being charged with regicide, even though Duke Qi had always enjoyed deep imperial favor, and even with Noble Consort Guo and Prince Jing maneuvering in the palace, would be extremely troublesome.

Her gaze fixed straight ahead as the Emperor walked up the imperial path step by step. Soon that place would arrive… Twenty steps, fifteen steps, ten steps, five steps… It’s here!

The Emperor walked up the path, striding like a dragon yet very steadily. Wang Zijin’s expression changed. Unknowingly, the Emperor had already passed that spot—no accident whatsoever had occurred.

Wang Zijin stood there, her eyes revealing disbelief. Even her body trembled slightly. Then she slowly calmed herself, thinking that after the mechanism was completed, she had ordered people to test it countless times. The results were always good—foolproof—which was why she did this. But why had it failed now? No, this was absolutely impossible! She had personally designed the mechanism. How could it turn out like this? Fine beads of perspiration seeped from Wang Zijin’s nose tip. She kept staring at that imperial path until she heard a voice beside her.

“Why does Miss Wang’s gaze look so strange?” Wang Zijin whipped her head around to see Li Weiyang’s smiling face. Under the sunlight, this Miss Guo’s expression showed concern, as if she cared about her very much.

Wang Zijin gritted her teeth, forcibly suppressing the enormous turmoil within as she said, “I’m fine. I’ve just been standing in the sunlight too long—my head is a bit dizzy.”

Li Weiyang smiled faintly. At this moment, the two of them stood together, and onlookers cast surprised glances. After all, in everyone’s eyes they were romantic rivals and shouldn’t be so intimate. Yet Li Weiyang’s face showed no abnormality whatsoever. She even said quite warmly, “That mechanism needs proper adjustment before it won’t fail at critical moments.”

Wang Zijin’s face turned deathly pale at once. She stared at Li Weiyang, saying incredulously, “It was you?”

Li Weiyang’s smile grew increasingly composed. Those crystal-clear eyes revealed a trace of ice-cold chill. “Miss Wang, before harming others, you should carefully consider whether your methods are sufficient! From the moment you acted, I was already paying attention. What a pity! One move short—just that tiny bit! If His Majesty had smoothly taken a tumble, he would definitely have charged our Guo residence with regicide. Even if it weren’t that serious, it would still be great disrespect to the imperial family or dereliction of duty. At that time, at minimum confiscation, at maximum extermination of the clan—perfectly achieving Miss Wang’s wish. Faced with this result now, Miss Wang must be very disappointed?”

At this moment, Wang Zijin wore luxurious garments yet her sleeves were soaked with sweat. That chilling wind blew over, and she had the illusion her entire body was freezing. Looking at Li Weiyang, her lips moved but she couldn’t say a single word. Li Weiyang said with a calm expression, “Such mechanisms should properly be used on battlefields, yet Miss Wang used them to frame loyal subjects. If the grandmaster knew his beloved disciple actually wasted his life’s work this way, who knows how angry he would be?”

Hearing Li Weiyang mention her teacher, Wang Zijin’s heart couldn’t help but jump. “Miss Guo, what exactly are you trying to say?”

Li Weiyang smiled, her eyes even more brilliant in the sunlight. “Miss Wang, there’s still a good show to watch shortly. No need to be anxious.”

Hearing this, Wang Zijin’s heart grew increasingly anxious. She subconsciously wanted to retreat a step. Li Weiyang unexpectedly grabbed her wrist in one motion. Wang Zijin said coldly, “Let go!”

Li Weiyang smiled. “Why is Miss Wang so impatient? I already said—shortly I’ll invite you to watch a show.”

Wang Zijin said through gritted teeth, “I told you to let me go!”

Yet Li Weiyang stood motionless. “Miss Wang, I advise you not to act rashly. You should know this is in front of everyone. I’m kindly supporting you because you’re dizzy—don’t lose your composure before the throne!”

Wang Zijin’s eyes revealed a trace of wariness. She hadn’t expected this Miss Guo, who appeared so calm and dignified with nothing special about her, would at critical moments turn out to be such a ruthless and merciless character. What exactly did she mean by having a show to watch?

At this moment, the Minister of Rites had already stopped ahead and announced loudly, “The sacrificial ceremony begins.” So the Emperor offered incense and bowed, taking the lead in kneeling. Behind him, the ground filled with kneeling figures. Afterward, the Emperor stood again and continued forward. After passing through Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple’s main hall, he finally reached the sacrificial furnace in the plaza. A gust of wind blew by. The Emperor coughed lightly and accepted the wine the Minister of Rites offered, slowly raising his hand to scatter it before the sacrificial furnace. According to custom, the Emperor would present personally written Buddhist scriptures before the ancestral spirits and pray to Buddha for blessings for all living beings—this was the important content of the heaven-worshiping ceremony. Wang Zijin’s heart stirred. She couldn’t help but say, “Miss Guo, given the current situation, what exactly do you intend to do?”

Li Weiyang said indifferently, “Miss Wang will know shortly.”

Wang Zijin couldn’t help but want to break free of Li Weiyang’s hand. But somehow, though the other’s hand was cold as ice, its strength was extremely great. She actually couldn’t break free for the moment. She wanted to use internal force to shake Li Weiyang off, but heard Li Weiyang smile and say, “If I’m injured here, everyone will inevitably suspect what Miss Wang did. If I were you, I’d stand here properly to avoid implicating yourself—that would be truly disastrous!”

Wang Zijin naturally didn’t dare act before everyone. She knew those Guo family members were no pushovers. Thinking of Guo Dun’s martial arts and Guo Dao’s intelligence, Wang Zijin sighed. “Fine, I admit defeat! Miss Guo, this time I was wrong. Please release me.”

Only then did Li Weiyang release her hand. Wang Zijin was about to turn and leave when she heard her laugh softly. “Watch carefully, Miss Wang. You still have much to learn.”

Wang Zijin paused. At this moment, a commotion suddenly arose in the crowd. Apparently, for some reason, a bit of sacrificial incense ash suddenly flew out from the furnace and landed on the Prefect of Fenyang’s robes, immediately catching fire. The Prefect of Fenyang cried out and his corpulent body fell to the ground. He shouted loudly, “Put out the fire! Quickly put out the fire!” Immediately people rushed toward him. But though the Prefect of Fenyang rolled on the ground several times, alarming almost everyone, the fire on him grew fiercer, almost burning half his robe. The guards rushed up and finally extinguished the fire on him. Before they could help him up, someone cried out in alarm, “Heavens! What is this?”

Everyone turned back to see the crowd suddenly part, leaving only Pei Bi standing in the middle. Pei Bi stood there, face deathly pale, looking incredulously at the dagger on the ground one step away from him. Someone pointed at Pei Bi and shouted loudly, “He carried a weapon on him—he definitely has evil intentions and intends to assassinate His Majesty! Quickly arrest him!”

Seeing this scene, everyone was stunned. Today was His Majesty’s sacrificial ceremony. Apart from the Imperial Guards, no one could carry the slightest weapon on them. They had just undergone layer upon layer of inspection. Why would Pei Bi have this dagger on him?

Wang Zijin immediately turned back, staring at Li Weiyang with an ice-cold gaze. “So that’s how it is!”

Li Weiyang smiled faintly. “Miss Wang fancied herself the mantis, yet didn’t understand the principle of the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole lurks behind. From the moment you ordered that person to deliberately detain Pei Bi to put on a show, I already had people tamper with things. I knew you wanted me to mistakenly believe Pei Bi had hidden a dagger to gain my trust. But General Jiang holds a high position and weighty responsibilities. Naturally he wouldn’t personally do such things. One of his deputy generals volunteered. Oh, Miss Wang probably doesn’t know—this deputy general is a good friend of my third brother Guo Cheng… You should know the ceremonial robes worn for sacrifices have layer upon layer of fabric—ordinarily it’s impossible to detect. Pei Bi must have received your message early on and trusted you greatly, which gave me such an opportunity.”

Wang Zijin shook her head. “No, impossible! Jiang Yu is a clever man. He absolutely wouldn’t give you such an opportunity to tamper with Pei Bi! This deputy general theory is even more impossible!”

Li Weiyang smiled. “Miss is truly wise. Originally I did want to use this opportunity to eliminate one or two spies, but you still saw through it… However, whether I hid the dagger on Pei Bi’s body or ordered someone to deliberately bump into him to make the dagger fall out—that’s for Miss Wang to guess yourself. If everything were within your expectations, it wouldn’t be interesting.”

Wang Zijin’s expression turned extremely ugly. She looked at Li Weiyang, so angry for a long time she couldn’t say a word. From childhood to now, no one had ever been able to manipulate her in the palm of their hand. This Miss Guo was truly too formidable. She laughed coldly. “I finally understand why the Pei family is so wary of you. You’re indeed a formidable opponent, worthy of my respect!”

Li Weiyang showed no pride whatsoever at the other’s praise. She merely said plainly, “If people don’t offend me, I don’t offend them. If Miss Wang hadn’t intended to harm me, why would I need to treat you this way?”

Wang Zijin was furious to the extreme yet could only restrain herself, smiling without mirth. “Miss Guo truly knows how to speak. Once you harm someone, you give them absolutely no way out.”

At this moment, the Emperor was heard shouting angrily, “Pei Bi, you carried a dagger on you—what exactly did you intend?”

Pei Bi fell to his knees with a thud, actually swaying, his features full of alarm and fear. Someone beside the Emperor naturally rebuked angrily, “Your Majesty, Pei Bi openly carried a weapon to attend the ceremony. He definitely has rebellious intentions!”

Just as the Emperor was about to speak, he suddenly felt his head ache as if being twisted. He said sternly, “You Pei Bi—I’ve treated you well, yet you dare attempt regicide!”

Pei Bi was drenched in sweat, almost unable to speak. He hadn’t expected this carefully planned show with Wang Zijin would result in himself becoming the victim. He should never have trusted a woman! All women in this world were as cunning as foxes—completely unreliable! He whipped his head around to look at Wang Zijin, his gaze almost shooting flames: You betrayed me.

Wang Zijin looked at him coldly, her expression unmoved. Pei Bi had absolutely no evidence to prove the Wang family colluded with him, let alone speak of betrayal. She had merely reached a brief transaction with him to jointly deal with the Guo residence. When had they become friends? Don’t forget—last time Pei Bi had wanted to kidnap the Princess to frame the Wang family… Since they weren’t friends, how could there be betrayal? Simply ridiculous!

The Emperor was furious beyond measure. Daring to assassinate him at the sacrificial ceremony—this was absolutely not a crime that could be easily forgiven. Of course, officials from the Pei clan’s direct line immediately stepped forward to plead. “Your Majesty! Lord Pei absolutely didn’t intend this. Someone must have deliberately framed him.”

Duke Qi said coldly, “Lord Xia, you’re mistaken. Who would frame him for no reason? It’s only because recently he couldn’t repay the Ministry of Revenue’s funds, so he harbored resentment toward His Majesty and intended assassination. Lord Xia, I advise you not to excuse such a criminal before investigating, otherwise you’ll be judged with the same crime.”

Lord Xia was startled and glared at Duke Qi. “Duke, are you saying I’m colluding with the Pei family?”

Duke Qi smiled faintly. “That’s what Lord Xia said yourself. I meant nothing of the sort.”

The Crown Prince stepped forward at this moment and said loudly, “Father Emperor, your son believes Pei Bi absolutely lacks such courage. This so-called carrying of a weapon must be someone manipulating things from within. Please give your son a few days to investigate properly. I’ll definitely give Father Emperor a satisfactory explanation.”

Prince Jing laughed coldly. “The sacrificial ceremony is of such importance! Who doesn’t know that whether civil or military officials or court ladies, absolutely no weapons may be carried on one’s person! If not for the accident that just occurred, we still wouldn’t know someone coveted Father Emperor’s life. Pei Bi knowingly violated the law—clearly this was premeditated assassination! Crown Prince, as Father Emperor’s son, you don’t care about Father Emperor’s safety at all. You only want to shield the Pei family. What exactly are your intentions?”

The Crown Prince’s face turned pale as he quickly said, “Father Emperor, your son absolutely has no such intention!”

Prince Jing said indifferently, “Perhaps Pei Bi brought this dagger into the hall at certain people’s instigation, which is why the Crown Prince shields him so!”

This was saying Pei Bi’s actions were his own instigation! The Crown Prince whipped his head around and rebuked Prince Jing sternly. “Prince Jing! Don’t spout nonsense here!”

Prince Jing smiled faintly and said to the Emperor, “Father Emperor, Pei Bi carrying a weapon is already witnessed by all eyes. Yet the Crown Prince keeps making excuses for him—I don’t know what his intentions are. Please Father Emperor strictly investigate this matter and not indulge such criminals!”

Duke Qi and several other officials also stepped forward, all requesting His Majesty severely punish Pei Bi as a warning to others. Indeed, the heaven-worshiping ceremony was of such importance—how could anyone be allowed to carry weapons on them with evil intent? If the Emperor forgave him, that would truly make him a paper tiger. In the future, anyone could assassinate him. Though Pei Bi hadn’t actually attempted assassination today, merely carrying a weapon was already a grave crime. The Emperor laughed coldly. “Besides Pei Bi, who was in charge of today’s inspection?”

Hearing this, Jiang Yu quickly stepped out from the ranks and knelt on the ground, his voice trembling. “Your Majesty, it was this humble subject.”

The Emperor looked at him, his gaze seeming to shoot several sharp swords. “You were in charge of inspection today. How did you allow someone to enter the hall carrying a weapon?”

Hearing this, Jiang Yu was almost drenched in sweat down his back. He knelt there constantly kowtowing, shouting loudly, “Your Majesty, this humble subject momentarily failed in inspection. Please Your Majesty forgive me!”

The Emperor’s gaze grew increasingly cold. His eyes swept one by one across the Crown Prince, Prince Jing, Duke Qi, Wang Qiong, and all the ministers’ faces. Wang Zijin’s heart couldn’t help but rise. Jiang Yu was someone Father had initially recommended. Thinking of this, she turned to look at Li Weiyang. Only now did she understand the other’s true intention.

Sure enough, Duke Qi said coldly, “Jiang Yu, as the general in charge of inspection this time, you actually overlooked such a person! No, wait—I vaguely remember you specifically pulled this person aside earlier. He should have been carefully inspected. Why would he still be carrying a weapon?”

Jiang Yu’s face became even paler. He hadn’t expected things would develop to this point. He quickly looked toward Wang Qiong, hoping he could save him. Wang Qiong stepped out from the ranks and said to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, this humble subject can vouch for Jiang Yu. He definitely wouldn’t do such a thing!”

Prince Qin and Prince Jin remained aloof, watching coldly.

Prince Jing laughed coldly. “That’s not necessarily so! General Wang, Jiang Yu is your student and was recommended by you for office. Naturally you’ll shield him in every way. If Jiang Yu has no guilty conscience, why did he pull Pei Bi aside? Since he underwent careful inspection, why would Pei Bi still have a dagger? Isn’t this contradictory? Clearly they colluded with intent to assassinate His Majesty! General Wang, you actually shield such a person. Do you know your crime?”

Wang Qiong was rebuked by Prince Jing and, though deeply calculating and experienced, couldn’t help but feel his heart turn cold. He knew that no matter what, he couldn’t escape involvement in today’s matter. Even if he hadn’t stepped forward just now, no one would believe him, because Jiang Yu could be considered his inner-door disciple and was someone he personally recommended to the Imperial Guards. Not just him—even the Imperial Guards’ commander would likely face questioning. Thinking of this, he quickly said, “Your Majesty, how would Jiang Yu have such audacity? He merely failed in inspection temporarily and was deceived by Pei Bi. He definitely didn’t collude with this traitor. Please Your Majesty investigate clearly!”

The Emperor looked at these princes and all the ministers, suddenly laughing coldly. “Good, good, good! You people are treating me like a monkey to toy with. One by one colluding together—who knows what you’re plotting behind my back!”

Li Weiyang watched this scene and smiled. This is the bitter fruit you planted yourself. If you hadn’t always supported the Wang family, intending to use them to check the Guo family, how would things have developed to this point? Now you’ve dragged the Wang family into the water. How will you perform this play? As an emperor, you should know—when punishment is due, you must punish. Otherwise, you’ll only create disorder in proper authority.

Today, Pei Bi carrying a dagger into the hall meant certain death. Even if Jiang Yu could avoid the crime of collusion, he ultimately committed the crime of failed inspection. And Wang Qiong was the one who recommended Jiang Yu, not to mention he had just stepped forward to shield Jiang Yu. Even if he hadn’t stepped forward, the initial erroneous recommendation would still drag him down. So these three people were now grasshoppers on one string—none could escape. The only distinction was merely the severity of their crimes. To escape punishment, the Emperor would have to deliberately show favoritism… But if he showed favoritism, in the future no one would obey his commands. This was a difficult problem with no easy solution. Li Weiyang deliberately wanted to make things difficult for the Emperor, deliberately provoke him. Who told him to make things difficult for her? If she didn’t add some stakes, how could she be worthy of her recent displeasure…

Wang Zijin laughed coldly, looking at Li Weiyang and saying softly, “Miss Guo is truly exceptionally formidable. You even understand our court’s official system so thoroughly.”

Li Weiyang smiled. In Yuexi there was a joint responsibility system. Anyone recommending talent must also bear responsibility. But no one dared guarantee their recommendations were truly objective. So unless there were related interests, people wouldn’t needlessly risk recommending unrelated persons. This prompted the talent selection system to become a nepotism system. Everyone recommended either their own students or relatives. So-called “when one person attains the Way, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven; when one person loses power, they support each other.” Over time, apart from those who rose through the imperial examination system from humble backgrounds, all powerful great families and civil and military officials had their own small circles—different communities of shared interests.

If a criminal official appeared, the person who initially promoted them had to take responsibility… Jiang Yu was someone Wang Qiong personally promoted—he could be said to be his trusted aide. This time Jiang Yu made a mistake, so naturally Wang Qiong also had to face misfortune. Wang Zijin shook her head. She finally realized this Miss Guo’s true formidability wasn’t her methods but her insight into human nature. In this play, she grasped her own thoughts, grasped Pei Bi’s thoughts, even grasped the lofty Emperor’s thoughts! So many of them were actually played by such a young woman! She, Wang Zijin, had fancied herself peerlessly intelligent and brilliantly talented, yet ultimately was just a chess piece in the other’s hand. At this moment, Wang Zijin deeply comprehended Li Weiyang’s scheming—it was almost chilling. She stared at her, trying her utmost to restrain her inner trembling. “Do you think this can destroy our Wang family?”

Li Weiyang’s lips curved in a slight smile. “When Miss Wang designed this scheme, you actually already knew—even if my father were convicted, others would find ways to exonerate him. The Guo family would merely suffer a major blow but wouldn’t face extermination. Similarly, the Wang family is the same. If I truly wanted to utterly destroy the Wang family, it wouldn’t have been so easy just now.”

Wang Zijin couldn’t suppress her cold laugh. “Though not utter destruction, it’s not far off. If you’d been just a bit more ruthless earlier, none of us could have escaped.”

Wang Zijin saying this showed she clearly understood the choice the Emperor would make next. Sure enough, the Emperor was heard saying coldly, “Take Pei Bi to the imperial prison. Jiang Yu—strip him of office and exile him three thousand li. As for Wang Qiong…”

The Emperor paused slightly here. Wang Qiong couldn’t help but tremble. He heard the Emperor say coldly, “Fine him one year’s salary and order him to reflect behind closed doors for three months.”

Wang Qiong lowered his head. Fortunately… His Majesty ultimately didn’t punish him severely. But this time, the Wang family’s face was thoroughly lost!

Pei Bi didn’t even have time to defend himself before being dragged away. As the Imperial Guards led him past Li Weiyang, Pei Bi suddenly laughed coldly, his eyes shooting extreme hatred. “This time things went as you wished.” He stared again at Wang Zijin, his heart growing increasingly resentful. Unfortunately, he had no evidence to present, otherwise he absolutely wouldn’t spare this woman who betrayed him!

Li Weiyang said nothing, merely smiled faintly. Pei Bi had no chance to linger and was dragged out. Though Jiang Yu had acted according to Wang Zijin’s instructions, at this critical moment, he even less could betray Miss Wang. If he dragged the Wang family into the water, there wouldn’t even be anyone to rescue him. So he remained silent, allowing people to drag him away as well.

The heaven-worshiping ceremony had reached this point with everyone’s hearts in turmoil, yet the Emperor turned around and said loudly, “Complete this sacrificial ceremony entirely according to normal procedures.”

Hearing this, everyone felt apprehensive yet dared say nothing. They meticulously completed the ceremony according to the original plan. After the Emperor boarded his dragon carriage and departed, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and began whispering among themselves.

The Crown Prince laughed coldly. “Prince Jing, you truly calculated well!”

Prince Jing smiled faintly and said to the Crown Prince, “This subject bids farewell to the Crown Prince!” The Crown Prince’s gaze grew even more hateful. Without looking back, he strode away with large steps.

As soon as the ceremony ended, Prince Xu Yuan Lie, who had been standing in the crowd, immediately walked toward Li Weiyang. Wang Zijin watched him coldly and said indifferently, “Miss Guo, you and I became enemies because of Prince Xu. But essentially, there’s no hatred between us, is there?”

Li Weiyang didn’t know what the other suddenly meant by bringing this up. She merely smiled faintly. “Does Miss Wang have more to say? I thought after what just happened, you’d completely break with the Guo family.”

At this moment, Yuan Lie had been surrounded by the crowd. Many people detained him intending to inquire about His Majesty’s intentions. Everyone knew His Majesty’s favoritism toward Yuan Lie was undiminished. Everyone wanted to learn more about the Emperor’s preferences from him. Now, seeing the Pei family had lost even its last direct heir, everyone vaguely felt the court’s direction was changing. So despite Yuan Lie’s eccentric and violent temperament, they still surrounded him. Yuan Lie was annoyed yet couldn’t lose his temper. He could only look at Li Weiyang from afar and wave his hand. At this time, Wang Zijin had already continued speaking. “The most important reason I targeted the Guo family was because you previously spread rumors about my third brother.”

Li Weiyang smiled. “Not rumors—that was fact! Moreover, I did this because your third brother dared to cause trouble at the Guo residence gate. Did he truly think our Guo family was a place to come and go as he pleased?”

Wang Zijin smiled faintly. “Whether it is or isn’t, it’s all in the past. I hope in the future Miss Guo won’t target the Wang family again.”

Li Weiyang’s heart was clear as crystal. In an instant she understood. “That depends on Miss Wang’s performance—whether you’ll continue cooperating with Empress Pei or turn the helm and consider cooperating with me.”

Wang Zijin laughed coldly. “Cooperating with Empress Pei is making a deal with a tiger. What benefits are there in cooperating with you?”

Li Weiyang smiled. “At least no danger of clan extermination.”

Wang Zijin’s eyelid jumped. She couldn’t help but say, “What does this mean?”

Li Weiyang said composedly, “If you help Empress Pei destroy the Guo family, you’ll make Empress Pei aware of the Wang residence’s strength. Naturally, when the Crown Prince ascends the throne, court politics will all be controlled by Empress Pei. At that time, will she tolerate your Wang family’s arrogance? You’ve dealt with Empress Pei for quite some time. Don’t you understand her character at all? The so-called ‘when the cunning hare dies, the hunting dog is cooked’—once the Guo family is slaughtered, the next one she’ll deal with is you. Miss Wang is so intelligent—you shouldn’t not know this, right? Or do you feel she’ll make you a consort, so you’re deliberately ignoring it?”

Wang Zijin gritted her teeth. How could she not know? She just refused to accept it. What did she lack compared to Li Weiyang? Why would Yuan Lie prefer to choose her rather than herself? Manipulating human hearts was a sinister private art. If used in the rear palace or court, it would only disturb proper authority, benefiting neither country nor people. Choosing such a woman to stand by his side—wouldn’t this eventually destroy his brilliance? So she absolutely could not forgive this! Fundamentally, Wang Zijin’s pride was at work. She felt Prince Xu Yuan Lie had humiliated her dignity, so she had to regain face and prove to him that Miss Guo was inferior to her. But now her own behavior had become counterproof instead. Her literary and martial strategies, when facing this Miss Guo whose conspiracies were practiced to perfection, had absolutely no use. How could this not make her furious? Today she hadn’t just lost—she’d lost miserably, without the slightest room to turn back.

Seeing the ugly expression on Wang Zijin’s face, Li Weiyang knew what she was thinking. She smiled. “Miss Wang needn’t feel embarrassed. It’s merely that the foot has its shortness, the inch has its length. On the battlefield, I too would have to admit defeat. But regarding these techniques of controlling people, you should still be more modest.”

Wang Zijin didn’t want to say more. She merely turned to walk out. Li Weiyang, seeing persuasion was ineffective, also said no more and simply turned to descend the steps. Before long, Yuan Lie caught up with Li Weiyang. He said, “Why didn’t you wait for me?”

Li Weiyang’s eyes contained a smile, yet her mouth said irritably, “Didn’t you see I was dealing with a romantic rival?”

Yuan Lie was startled and looked back at Wang Zijin’s retreating figure. “Her? Stop joking with me.”

Li Weiyang coughed. “It’s all trouble you brought me. If that day you hadn’t refused the marriage in court…” Having said half these words, she felt they carried some misplaced anger. Actually, whether or not Yuan Lie refused the marriage in court, as long as he refused to marry Wang Zijin, this would be an unsolvable knot. Wang Zijin was proud and haughty—she would never easily forgive Yuan Lie. But then again, Yuan Lie hadn’t done anything wrong. Should he be forced to marry a woman he didn’t like? In this world, probably only the Emperor could do such stupid things so righteously.

Yuan Lie’s eyes flashed, completely unconcerned. “The weather is so good today. Let’s not return immediately. I’ll take you out for an outing.”

Li Weiyang smiled faintly. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Princess Ali say, “An outing? Great, I want to go too!” Before she finished speaking, Guo Dun laughed. “Wherever it’s lively, there you are. If you’re going, let’s all go together!”

Guo Cheng smiled. “I’m not going. I still need to send Han Lin back.” Everyone booed. He smiled sheepishly and took his leave first.

Guo Dao said mischievously, “You’re all paired up. Only I’m alone. How about—” He turned his head, suddenly looking thoughtful. “How about I chase back Miss Wang and we all go together?”

Li Weiyang saw his expression carried three parts mockery and couldn’t help but sigh. “I see her look at you with even more venom than she looks at me. What exactly did you do?”

Guo Dao spread his hands. “I didn’t do anything. I just asked her a divination question last time and she got angry. See, women’s hearts are truly petty!”

Hearing this, Li Weiyang couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, this Miss Wang is proud and haughty with indeed a small heart. But women have the right to be petty. Isn’t that right, Fifth Brother?”

Li Weiyang’s thoughts turned a thousand times—she almost got caught in her own trap! Hearing she seemed to be testing him, Guo Dao touched his head, deliberately pretending not to understand. “Such a grand young lady—I really can’t serve her. Let’s go—let’s go on our outing!”

Princess Ali almost cheered. Guo Dun quickly grabbed her and hushed her. “I shouldn’t have brought you out. Look at what occasion this is. Such a major incident just occurred. If you’re so joyfully celebrating, won’t everyone know this matter is related to us?”

Princess Ali paused. “Related to us? What does what just happened have to do with us?”

The other four looking at her couldn’t help but laugh. This innocent and romantic grassland princess truly knew nothing of worldly affairs. She still completely didn’t understand everything that had just occurred. Li Weiyang turned to look at the incense burner on the altar and smiled faintly. If she didn’t kill, that was one thing, but once she started killing, she had to eliminate the roots. This matter wasn’t finished yet…