The arsonist never expected anyone to be in the quiet library that day. Caught off guard and attempting to flee, they were intercepted by Xiao Jue. Being no match in martial arts, they were disarmed by Xiao Jue in a single move.
While Xiao Jue engaged with the intruder, He Yan quickly grabbed a nearby carpet to smother the fire. Fortunately, the fire wasn’t extensive – the perpetrator had counted on the paper scrolls being easily combustible and hadn’t used any oil. Otherwise, the two of them might not have been able to extinguish it.
The fire was put out in time, having only burned half a book. He Yan shook her head at Xiao Jue, “It’s fine, nothing serious happened.”
The two looked at the person on the ground. He was young, dressed in plain clothes, and at first glance appeared to be a student from Xian Chang Academy. With his limbs disabled by Xiao Jue, he couldn’t move. He Yan noticed calluses on his tiger’s palm typical of martial arts training and frowned, “He doesn’t seem to be a student from Xian Chang Academy. He must have sneaked in.”
Regular students, even those studying martial arts at the academy, wouldn’t have such thick calluses – these were clearly from years of intensive training. Xiao Jue looked down at him coldly and asked, “Who sent you?”
The man only stared at Xiao Jue without speaking.
“Wait.” He Yan seemed to notice something and stepped forward, gripping his chin. Before Xiao Jue could stop her, she announced, “He can’t speak – he’s mute.”
Forced to open his mouth, they saw it was empty except for half a tongue.
“That’s dangerous,” Xiao Jue pulled her up and behind him. “Don’t get too close.”
“They deliberately chose a mute person to infiltrate Xian Chang Academy, all to set fire to the library,” He Yan’s attention wasn’t on herself but turned to Xiao Jue instead. “It seems someone had the same idea as us.”
Though the library contained rare and unique books, it wasn’t worth such a risk. Moreover, the perpetrator wasn’t there to steal but to set fire and coincidentally targeted the shelf containing “He Rufei’s” past works. Just as He Yan and Xiao Jue had come to the academy today to find “He Rufei’s” handwriting for future reference, it seemed the real Young Master He was also feeling anxious and desperate to destroy the evidence.
Xiao Jue asked, “What do you plan to do?”
He Yan thought for a moment, and when she looked up again, her expression had lightened. “Since someone covets ‘General He’s’ records, why don’t we keep them safe for now? As for this person… let’s inform Master Huang and see what he says.”
When Master Huang received the news and arrived, he could hardly believe his eyes. It had been less than an incense stick’s time since he’d let Xiao Jue and He Yan into the library – how could someone have started a fire?
“Master Huang,” Xiao Jue gestured to the person on the ground, “Is this person a student at the academy?”
Master Huang carefully examined the arsonist’s face and shook his head, “No, no, I’ve never seen this person before.”
“That’s what I thought,” Xiao Jue nodded. “This person snuck into the academy and was caught trying to start a fire.”
Master Huang hurried to check the recently burned bookshelf. The scattered examination papers on the ground, the half-burned book, and the smell of charred wood in the tower all confirmed that Xiao Jue wasn’t lying. Someone had indeed tried to start a fire.
“But… why?” Master Huang seemed confused. “What grievance could this person have with our Xian Chang Academy to specifically target the library?”
Thankfully it was the library and not the academy itself, but if Xiao Jue and He Yan hadn’t been there – given how few people usually entered the library – it might have been too late by the time the fire was discovered. Thinking of this, Master Huang felt a wave of fear.
“This person is mute,” He Yan smiled. “He can’t speak.”
Xiao Jue’s voice was cold: “It’s likely connected to the Wutuo people.”
“Wu-Wutuo people?” Master Huang was startled. “How could Wutuo people appear in Shuo Capital?”
Xiao Jue spoke carefully, “This matter is confidential, and I hope Master Huang will keep it secret. Since this is a Wutuo plot, we should turn it to our advantage. Please announce to others that the library caught fire, burning one shelf of books. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished in time and didn’t cause major damage, however… General Fei Hong’s records were destroyed, with nothing remaining.”
“This…” Master Huang was still puzzled.
“This concerns state affairs,” Xiao Jue’s gaze was sharp as lightning. “I hope you’ll consider the bigger picture, Master.”
Master Huang shuddered, “Of course. But General He’s records…”
“As his fellow student, these were just ordinary writings. I’ll take them back to the Xiao family for safekeeping. Once the true culprit is revealed, we’ll return them intact.”
Master Huang sensed something significant and looked at the young man before him. The once lazy and indifferent youth had shed his adolescent immaturity, becoming like an unsheathed sword – completely different from before.
He respectfully bowed his head and said softly, “I’ll defer to Commander Xiao’s judgment. As for this person…”
“I’ll handle it. Master Huang need only announce that someone died in the fire.”
Master Huang nodded in agreement.
After instructing Master Huang, a short while later, Chi Wu entered and took away the mute arsonist, along with an entire sack of “He Rufei’s” records.
As He Yan and Xiao Jue walked out, she asked, “Xiao Jue, about what just happened… will it work?”
Master Huang wasn’t part of the Xiao family, and it was unclear how much he could keep secret. He Rufei wasn’t a fool – when his sent man didn’t return, even if Master Huang announced the library fire, He Rufei might not believe it.
“Don’t worry, leave this to me,” Xiao Jue replied.
He Yan thought for a moment, “I think Xu Zhiheng is probably still searching for Nanny Qin’s whereabouts. We must ensure their safety.”
Xiao Jue smiled casually, “Don’t worry, the Xu family’s reach doesn’t extend to the Xiao family.”
He Yan felt somewhat relieved, though today’s pleasant visit to reminisce at Xian Chang Academy had been disrupted by this unexpected incident. The mood had become heavy. Just as they reached the entrance, someone suddenly called out “Miss He.”
He Yan looked up to see a man in an indigo robe standing not far away, as refined as an orchid – it was Chu Zhao.
He also noticed Xiao Jue beside He Yan, and his eyes flickered briefly, though his smile quickly returned to normal as he came forward to greet them: “Commander Xiao, Miss He.”
“Why is Fourth Young Master Chu here?” He Yan asked with a smile. Since the palace banquet where Emperor Wenxuan had arranged the marriage, she hadn’t seen Chu Zhao, only knowing that the Xu and Chu families were busy preparing for his marriage to Xu Pingting. Compared to He Yan’s humble background, the match between Chu Zhao and Xu Pingting seemed more appropriate in terms of social status.
Although… He Yan didn’t believe Chu Zhao particularly liked his fiancée Xu Pingting.
“Just handling some business,” Chu Zhao replied gently.
He Yan noticed that today’s servant girl following him was unfamiliar, plain-looking, and not Ying Xiang. She couldn’t help but look at the servant girl twice. The girl wasn’t shy and stared right back, her gaze containing a hint of scrutiny. He Yan thought for a moment and understood. It seemed Miss Xu Pingting was concerned about the beautiful Ying Xiang by Chu Zhao’s side and had replaced her with this maid. Nominally to serve, but actually to monitor. It made sense – after all, Chu Zhao had a notoriously philandering father, and being handsome himself, it was natural for others to be suspicious.
But this made Chu Zhao rather pitiful. As a man, he couldn’t even decide which maids to keep by his side. This was just the beginning – after marriage, Miss Xu Pingting would only become more controlling.
The servant girl looked at He Yan with wariness, as if Chu Zhao were a piece of fatty meat and every woman on the street was a hungry dog, watching intently. He Yan didn’t want to invite trouble or become a target, so she said, “Xiao Jue and I have matters to attend to, so we’ll take our leave now.”
When Chu Zhao heard the name “Xiao Jue,” he paused for a moment, his gaze moving between the two of them before smiling and saying, “Very well, we’ll meet again another time.”
He Yan nodded and quickly left with Xiao Jue. After they left, Chu Zhao looked toward Xian Chang Academy’s main gate, his eyes showing deep thought.
The maid beside him urged, “Fourth Young Master, it’s getting late. We should go to the silk shop to choose materials first. The Young Miss said all wedding-related matters must be personally approved by the Fourth Young Master.”
The young man concealed the darkness in his eyes and smiled, “Alright.”
At the Xu family’s entrance, the servant Fu Wang was holding a broom, halfheartedly sweeping the ground.
He had been distracted all afternoon, and truthfully, it had been this way for days. That generous mysterious person hadn’t appeared again since being told of Nanny Qin’s whereabouts.
Fu Wang felt disappointed. He had originally planned to extract more money from this person before leaving, but now they had disappeared. He somewhat regretted not holding back the information about Nanny Qin’s location – perhaps if he had delayed longer, he could have squeezed more silver out of them.
Once accustomed to easy money, looking back at his modest monthly wages made Fu Wang particularly dissatisfied.
As he swept, suddenly a copper coin rolled past him. Fu Wang instinctively followed to pick it up, bending down and taking a few steps before the coin was suddenly stopped by a boot. He froze, looked up, and saw a tall man wearing a bamboo hat standing before him, who said softly, “Are you Fu Wang?”
Fu Wang was startled and stammered, “Y-yes, that’s me.”
“Meet at the usual place, the teahouse at the street corner,” the man said, then lifted his foot and left.
Fu Wang stared at the dirt-covered copper coin, bent down to pick it up, wiped off the grime, and tucked it into his sleeve as his heart raced. When his companion returned from the latrine, Fu Wang made an excuse about having diarrhea and seized the opportunity to slip away to the teahouse where he used to meet the mysterious person.
It was still the innermost tea room. The man from earlier was already seated when Fu Wang entered, feeling suspicious. Although this person’s attire was very similar to the previous one, they weren’t the same person – compared to the previous mysterious figure, this man was notably taller.
“Sir, you are…”
“The person who asked you to find Nanny Qin can’t come anymore. From now on, I’ll be the one dealing with you,” Fei Nu said in a hoarse voice.
Xiao Jue had sent him to the Xu family to make a deal with the servant Fu Wang, while safely distancing He Yan from this matter to avoid leaving any vulnerabilities.
Fu Wang paused, carefully asking, “May I ask about the previous gentleman…”
“Dead,” the other party’s voice was extremely cold. “So, don’t ask what you shouldn’t, and don’t look at what you shouldn’t.”
These icy words startled Fu Wang. Though greedy, he valued his life. Hearing that the previous mysterious person had died, his thoughts raced – even now, he didn’t know that person’s identity or why they wanted him to inquire about Nanny Qin’s whereabouts.
“Then… what does Sir want from me?” Fu Wang tentatively asked.
“I want you to search the Xu household for all the belongings of the deceased First Madam Xu, and also locate anyone who had connections with her,” the man stated concisely.
First, it was finding people and matters related to Concubine He, and now it had changed to First Madam Xu – why?
“I…” Before Fu Wang could finish speaking, he saw the man take out a box from his side, place it on the table, and open it to reveal dozens of neatly arranged silver ingots.
Fu Wang’s eyes widened at the sight. This was far more generous than the previous employer, who had given silver one ingot at a time. How could it compare to such extravagance? Instantly, Fu Wang forgot his earlier fears, his mind, and eyes filled only with thoughts of silver.
“Well?” Fei Nu asked.
“Of course, of course,” Fu Wang pulled the box toward himself, grinning from ear to ear. “Even if I have to climb mountains of knives or wade through seas of fire, I’ll complete this task for Sir.”
“This won’t be simple,” Fei Nu deliberately lowered his voice. “Your master will surely be watching your movements.”
“No matter, the mansion has its weak points. However, the First Madam passed away long ago, and most of her belongings were buried with her body. I’m not sure what remains.” Fu Wang, apparently dazzled by the silver before him, wracked his brains for a moment before continuing, “However, the master loved First Madam deeply, and her former courtyard is still maintained in its original state. Perhaps we could find an item or two there. Though the courtyard is watched and difficult to enter… but,” he smiled ingratiatingly, “I should be able to find a way in.”
This person was truly blinded by money, or rather, He Yan had already drawn out his inherent greed, and now it was unstoppable, saving Fei Nu considerable effort.
Fei Nu looked at Fu Wang, seemingly satisfied, and said, “Very good. This silver is just a down payment. If you can complete the task I’ve entrusted to you, our master will certainly treat you well afterward.”
“May I ask,” Fu Wang boldly inquired, “Sir’s master is…”
This time, unlike the previous mysterious person, the man across from him wasn’t so secretive. He held his head high proudly and said, “The current Emperor’s personally appointed Flying Hong General, Young Master He Rufei.”
“General He?” Fu Wang exclaimed in surprise: “Why would General He want to…” He didn’t finish his sentence, remembering the earlier warning about not asking what shouldn’t be asked, and instead smiled ingratiatingly, “I understand. I will certainly serve General He well.”
With matters settled, Fu Wang returned to the Xu household to avoid arousing suspicion by staying out too long. Fei Nu sat in the tea room, finished his tea in one gulp, and also left.
At the Crown Prince’s residence, there was singing and dancing today. Crown Prince Guang Yan was in an excellent mood, half-reclining on a soft couch, watching the dancing maids. Beside him sat Xu Jingfu.
“How does the Prime Minister have leisure time to visit me today?” Guang Yan smiled. “With Zilan and Pingting’s wedding approaching, the Xu household must be busy.”
Xu Jingfu smiled and replied, “The household matters are managed by my wife. I’ve come to see Your Highness today regarding the Wutuo envoys.”
Guang Yan paused while drinking and looked at Xu Jingfu, “Oh? What are the Prime Minister’s thoughts?”
“In less than half a month, the Wutuo envoys will arrive in the capital,” Xu Jingfu said. “Currently, there are more who favor peace than war in court, so convincing His Majesty won’t be difficult. However, regarding the establishment of trading posts, I urge Your Highness to reconsider.”
“What does Prime Minister Xu mean by this?” Guang Yan spoke carelessly. “Initially, cooperating with the Wutuo people was your idea. Since they proposed establishing trading posts, why are you changing your mind at this crucial moment?”
Xu Jingfu wasn’t angered by the Crown Prince’s attitude and merely smiled, “It’s not about changing my mind. Now that Xiao Huaijin has won a victory, albeit by chance, the initiative lies with Great Wei. There’s no need to be overly accommodating to the Wutuo people. Once the trading posts are established, it will be difficult to negotiate terms with them. Why not raise our demands now? Otherwise, won’t the Wutuo people have all the say?”
A trace of displeasure appeared on the Crown Prince’s face, though it was quickly concealed. “Prime Minister Xu makes sense. But you must understand one thing – you and I have had private dealings with the Wutuo people. If this gets out, what future would we have? The Wutuo people hold this leverage. If we don’t give them the right to establish trading posts in Great Wei, would they just let it go? What if they create obstacles behind my back… what if they hinder my grand plans?”
The female musician playing the zither had withdrawn at some point.
Xu Jingfu remained silent for a while before bowing to the Crown Prince, “Your Highness’s insight is superior.”
Guang Yan smiled slightly. At this moment, a beautiful woman wearing a wide-sleeved lotus immortal dress entered from outside, carrying a small silver pot. She walked to the Crown Prince, knelt, and offered the wine.
The Crown Prince drank all the wine before him and pulled the woman into his arms. When she raised her head, revealing a beautiful face, Xu Jingfu recognized her as Ying Xiang, whom Chu Zhao had recently given to the Crown Prince.
Seeing Xu Jingfu, Ying Xiang also smiled gracefully, “Ying Xiang greets the Prime Minister.”
“The maid Zilan sent is indeed clever and charming,” Guang Yan pinched the beauty’s cheek with satisfaction. “She quite pleases me, very good indeed!”
Ying Xiang protested coquettishly, “Your Highness overly praises me, I dare not accept such compliments.”
Xu Jingfu’s smile faltered slightly.
This maid, who had previously served Chu Zhao, had caused trouble with Xu Pingting multiple times due to her outstanding beauty. Xu Pingting had repeatedly come to him demanding that he dispose of Ying Xiang. However, Xu Jingfu had learned that Ying Xiang had been rescued by Chu Zhao from outside a brothel. Perhaps her circumstances reminded him of his mother Ye Runmei, causing him to view Ying Xiang differently.
Chu Zhao was someone he had his eye on, and Xu Jingfu didn’t want to damage their teacher-student relationship over a mere maid. Moreover, keeping Ying Xiang by Chu Zhao’s side could serve as a test. If Chu Zhao was just a man who coveted beauty, he wouldn’t be worth using, let alone keeping by Xu Pingting’s side.
Over the years, Chu Zhao had passed the test, showing no romantic involvement with Ying Xiang. As Chu Zhao and Xu Pingting’s wedding date drew closer, Xu Pingting became increasingly anxious.
Xu Jingfu wasn’t unaware of Xu Pingting’s private visits to Crown Prince Guang Yan. However, he currently had no intention of dissuading her. In the future, Chu Zhao will be Xu Pingting’s husband and his son-in-law. If a mere maid made his daughter unhappy, killing her would be nothing, let alone giving her away. Chu Zhao should know where he stood.
Chu Zhao had made the right choice.
Xu Jingfu was very satisfied. Young people who were both intelligent and knew how to make proper choices were rare in the current Shuo Capital.
In the past, Xu Jingfu’s impression of Ying Xiang had always been that although beautiful, she was timid and quiet, a common maid who never caused trouble. But now, seeing Ying Xiang’s coquettish smile as she nestled against the Crown Prince, gave rise to a hint of unease in his heart.
The Crown Prince’s residence never lacked for beautiful women, nor clever ones. The struggles in the inner palace were no less intense than the power struggles at court. When Xu Pingting sent Ying Xiang to the Crown Prince’s residence, she certainly hadn’t intended for her to survive. Yet after all this time, Ying Xiang was living well and had gained the Crown Prince’s favor – this wasn’t something that could be achieved by beauty alone.
The coquettish beauty’s eyes were clear, as if unaware of the world’s filth and corruption. Among all the beauties, she was like morning dew, carrying a fragile purity. Even Guang Yan, who didn’t typically treasure beauties, showed some pity in his eyes when looking at her.
Xu Jingfu sat for a while before taking his leave. After he left, Guang Yan ordered servants to clear away Xu Jingfu’s bowls and cups.
“An old fool, just because he’s Prime Minister, he thinks he’s some great figure, even trying to meddle in my affairs,” Crown Prince Guang Yan’s malicious intent, suppressed during Xu Jingfu’s presence, was now fully released. “I think his reach has grown far too long!”
Ying Xiang nestled against Guang Yan, her small hand gently stroking his chest to soothe him, speaking softly, “Your Highness needn’t be too angry. This world will eventually be Your Highness’s world. Whatever Your Highness says goes – why should you need to listen to others?”
These words greatly pleased Guang Yan. He kissed her cheek and said, “You clever girl, you know just what to say. Be careful the Prime Minister doesn’t hear and cause trouble for you.”
“Even if the Prime Minister wants to cause trouble for this servant, I am Your Highness’s person. Your Highness will surely protect me, won’t you?” Ying Xiang said coquettishly. “Even being Your Highness’s servant is better than most people in the world. Besides, let me tell Your Highness a secret.” She leaned close to Guang Yan, looking extremely charming.
Unlike other beauties who either flattered him or feared him, Guang Yan liked this maid very much and asked, “What secret?”
“This servant also dislikes Prime Minister Xu,” Ying Xiang said with a troubled expression. “The Prime Minister has too many rules and always has his own opinions. I truly fear that one day, the Prime Minister will try to manage even Your Highness’s affairs and make Your Highness send this servant away. That would be terrible.”