The disaster relief grain had been replaced with empty husks.

“How could this happen?”

Yu Lingxi had thought her brother was injured or had encountered bandits, but she never expected such a major case. “Wasn’t it inspected before departure?”

“How could it not have been inspected? Yu Huanchen isn’t stupid. He checked several times before departing, and the relief grain showed no abnormalities. But when they reached Luozhou County, they discovered the grain had been switched. Behind this, someone must be framing us!”

At this point, Yu Xinyi gazed at her still-young sister and said earnestly, “Suisui, Mother’s old illness hasn’t healed, and she can’t withstand such a shock. We absolutely cannot let her know about this matter. Only we can…”

“I know what to do, Sister. If someone is truly framing us, it must be a powerful court official with such capabilities. For a military official to embezzle grain funds is a grave crime second only to treason. With such a large amount involved, it would certainly result in dismissal and confiscation of our family property.”

Yu Lingxi pressed her palm, striving to keep her voice calm. “We cannot leak this news, nor can we report the truth to the Emperor. Otherwise, if someone with ulterior motives adds fuel to the fire, His Majesty will be enraged, and our brother will be found guilty of embezzling disaster relief grain.”

“Exactly.”

Seeing her sister’s clear thinking, Yu Xinyi felt somewhat relieved. “I secretly came back to inform you. Now I must return to the palace for my duty. You stay home and accompany Mother well. Don’t lose your composure.”

Yu Lingxi nodded: “I understand.”

After seeing Yu Xinyi off, before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she saw Madam Yu push open the door and ask with concern: “Suisui, your sister was in such a hurry just now. Has something happened?”

Yu Lingxi composed herself and quickly stood up with a smile: “Nothing’s wrong. She left something behind and came back to get it.”

With clear eyes, pretending everything was normal, she stepped forward to support Madam Yu and said lightly: “It’s going to rain. Mother shouldn’t be in the wind. Let’s go back to your room to rest. Would you like me to massage your shoulders?”

Madam Yu’s brow relaxed as she said gently: “That would be nice. If your sister were half as attentive as you, I would be satisfied.”

Ink-black clouds hung low; a storm was brewing.

At the hour of you, servants hung lanterns on long hooks. Yu Lingxi accompanied her mother through dinner and to bed and finally heard the sound of Yu Xinyi returning to the manor.

Yu Lingxi immediately rose and asked: “How is it?”

Yu Xinyi’s expression was even more grave than during the day. She removed her rain-soaked cloak and shook her head.

Yu Lingxi’s heart felt as cold as if it had been soaked in rainwater, sinking deeper and deeper.

“What about Father?” she asked.

He was Yu Lingxi’s pillar of strength; as long as Father was there, the Yu family would not collapse.

Yu Xinyi said: “Father claimed illness and has rushed to Luozhou to stabilize the situation.”

Yu Lingxi felt a glimmer of hope: “As long as we fill the grain deficit before the court discovers it, everything will be fine.”

“It’s too late, Suisui.”

Yu Xinyi took a deep breath and revealed the most worrying development, “The court has sent an inspector to rush overnight to the four counties of Luozhou, under the pretext of monitoring and showing sympathy for the people’s conditions. By noon tomorrow at the latest, if we cannot produce thirty thousand dan of grain, both Yu Huanchen and Father will lose their lives.”

Yu Lingxi’s breath caught.

The Emperor didn’t know there was a problem with the disaster relief grain, so why was he in such a hurry to send an inspector?

Could someone be deliberately escalating the situation, intending to destroy the Yu family?

“Sister, which official is serving as the inspector?” Yu Lingxi asked.

Yu Xinyi, having rushed home from the palace after hearing the news of the inspector’s departure, immediately replied: “It’s the Vice Minister of Revenue, Wang Lingqing.”

Wang Lingqing…

The name sounded very familiar as if she had heard it before.

Remembering something, Yu Lingxi suddenly looked up and said softly: “Sister, he is the Crown Prince’s man.”

Yu Xinyi was astonished: “Suisui, how do you know?”

Wang Lingqing had always been as slippery as an old loach, worldly and smooth. Even Yu Xinyi, who regularly served in the palace, didn’t know which faction he belonged to. How could her sister, secluded in the inner chambers, be so certain he was under the Crown Prince’s command?

Yu Lingxi realized she had misspoken, but there was no time to worry about that now.

She remembered that in her previous life, not long after entering the Prince’s manor, someone had presented treasures and beautiful women to Ning Yin.

Ning Yin, leaning on his crutch, had walked straight past the official in vermilion robes who was prostrating on the ground, and said coolly: “Wang Lingqing, this Prince doesn’t need servants with divided loyalties.”

The official in vermilion robes immediately crawled after Ning Yin’s footsteps, fawning: “This humble official was once blind, which is why I followed the former… oh no, the former Crown Prince. Now I’ve abandoned darkness for light and am willing to smear my liver and brains on the ground for Your Highness!”

“Oh?” Ning Yin had glanced at him, then narrowed his eyes and laughed softly.

Yu Lingxi remembered this name so clearly because that day, Ning Yin had truly fulfilled his wish to “smear his liver and brains on the ground.”

He had ordered Wang Lingqing’s liver and brain to be cut out, chopped up, and fed to the dogs.

“I probably heard Father or Brother mention it in passing…”

Yu Lingxi casually made up an excuse and changed the subject: “Sister, now is not the time to discuss this.”

“You’re right, you’ve reminded me.”

Yu Xinyi analyzed, “Father has refused to align with the Eastern Palace faction, which has long made him a thorn in the Crown Prince’s side. Moreover, with the successive marriage arrangements falling through, he may wish to use this incident to suppress and swallow up the Yu family.”

All doubts were resolved.

By noon tomorrow, they would either die or submit.

Thinking of this, Yu Xinyi bit her silver teeth and clenched her fist: “Despicable!”

“Sister, don’t be anxious. First, keep this from Mother.”

Yu Lingxi pondered for a moment, then said decisively, “There’s still time. I’ll go to the Xue residence.”

As she pushed open the door, gusts of wind carrying sudden rain struck her face, and the world was shrouded in darkness.

In the back alley, a gray falcon’s wings swept across the sky, disappearing among the dense raindrops.

In the isolation room, Ning Yin removed his bamboo rain hat and sat down. By the dim lamplight, he glanced at the secret note in his palm.

The small, fly-head script contained just a few lines, yet encompassed the recent developments in the imperial city and the four counties of Luozhou.

His lips curved into a mocking arc—just as he had expected: that pig Ning Tan couldn’t resist making a move against Yu Huanchen.

Those hidden thirty thousand dan of grain were enough to sustain an army.

When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits.

The more turbid the waters at court became, the more convenient it would be for him to make his move. As for who was caught in the middle, or how many would die…

Ning Yin placed the secret note on the oil lamp and set it alight, watching the dancing flame and thinking indifferently: hmph, who cares?

Apart from those eyes clear as autumn waters, all faces in his sight were blurred, mere ants to him.

The sound of a carriage came from the side gate.

Ning Yin stood up and looked through the gap in the door toward the courtyard, just in time to see a maid hurriedly holding an umbrella, protecting the grave-faced Yu Lingxi as she left through the side gate.

Amid the clamorous rain came the neigh of horses, then the sound of wheels receding into the distance. After a long while, Yu Lingxi did not return.

The casual ease in Ning Yin’s eyes suddenly faded, spreading into shadow, turning deep and profound.

He leaned carelessly against the door, inexplicably discontent: “So late at night, who is she going to see?”

Yu Lingxi was going to pay a visit to Right Chancellor Xue.

Xue Chen’s grandfather was the Right Chancellor, the head of civil officials, and held a pivotal position in the court. The old man was the last hope Yu Lingxi could think of at this moment.

Night fell especially early on a rainy day, with dusk closing in and few pedestrians on the street.

In just a quarter of an hour, Yu Lingxi’s carriage stopped at the gates of the Xue residence.

The one who came to open the door was the Xue family’s steward. Upon hearing Yu Lingxi’s purpose, he smiled awkwardly and said: “Second Miss has come at an inopportune time. Both of our masters are in the palace attending the Emperor and have not yet returned.”

With the Right Chancellor absent, the hope Yu Lingxi had just kindled was largely extinguished.

After thinking for a moment, she asked: “Is the Second Young Master Xue at home?”

“Well… our Second Young Master is also out.”

The steward apologetically said: “If Second Miss has any urgent matter, you may tell me, and I will report it to the masters when they return.”

It was too late; they needed to find another way.

“There’s no need, thank you.”

Yu Lingxi said “Sorry to disturb you,” turned, and got back into the carriage to return and discuss another strategy with Yu Xinyi.

She couldn’t just do nothing and watch as her father and brother fell into the trap of factional strife.

But when she returned to the manor, she heard from the guards that Yu Xinyi had just left.

Yu Lingxi was suddenly struck with a foreboding feeling. Without taking the time to dry off from the rain, she asked: “Where did she go?”

“This servant doesn’t know.”

The guard said, “However, the eldest miss was wearing her Imperial Guard uniform when she left.”

Uniform?

So late at night, her sister had no duty to perform and couldn’t possibly enter the palace for an imperial audience. Why wear the official uniform?

Recalling her sister’s anger and anxiety when discussing the Crown Prince earlier today, Yu Lingxi felt as if struck on the head: Could it be that her sister had gone directly to the Crown Prince to plead for mercy?

“How long has my sister been gone?” she asked, her breath trembling.

The guard replied: “She just left, not even the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”

Too impulsive!

The Crown Prince had set a trap specifically to force the Yu family to submit. Her sister going to the Eastern Palace now was like a lamb entering a tiger’s den. With the Crown Prince’s temperament and methods, how could she emerge unscathed?

No one knew what the Crown Prince might do; the more Yu Lingxi thought about it, the colder her heart grew.

After being reborn for so long, this was the first time she had been filled with such panic. Her father and brother were already in deep trouble; her sister absolutely couldn’t get into trouble too!

At this point, the only ones who could restrain the Crown Prince were the two in the palace. But ordinary people couldn’t enter the palace; they needed help from someone of royal blood…

Yu Lingxi looked up and ordered someone to bring Yu Xinyi’s sword.

She gripped the scabbard and handed it to the guard, saying gravely: “Take my sister’s sword to the South Yangguan Prince’s Manor and tell the young prince that Yu Xinyi is trapped in the Eastern Palace, her life in danger. Ask him, for the sake of how my sister once risked her life to save him, to quickly enter the palace and rescue her! Go!”

The guard, intimidated by the calm in her eyes, dared not delay and hurriedly accepted the sword with both hands, mounting his horse and galloping away.

But the Crown Prince would certainly not let Ning Ziluo enter the Eastern Palace to spoil his plans. If they wanted to save her sister, Ning Ziluo would need to enter the palace and bring the Emperor or Empress.

There wasn’t enough time.

They needed to find a way to delay the Crown Prince, to buy time for her sister.

With this thought, Yu Lingxi made a decisive choice and instructed Hutao: “Prepare a horse, we’re going to the Eastern Palace.”

The rain poured down, and the carriage sped along Yongxing Street.

Due to the severe jolting, the teacups and fruit plates on the small table all rolled off, but Yu Lingxi remained motionless, sitting upright with her skirts gathered, a sharp golden hairpin lying across her palms on her knees.

She was clear-headed. The Crown Prince was the heir apparent; if she wounded him, it would only plunge the Yu family into an even more difficult situation.

So this golden hairpin was not prepared for Ning Tan but for herself.

Yu Lingxi knew that Ning Tan’s interest in her exceeded that in her sister; this was her only chance to buy time and exchange for her sister’s freedom.

If Ning Ziluo couldn’t bring help in time, then she could only…

“Who goes there?” The carriage driver shouted in alarm, hurriedly pulling tight on the reins with a “whoa.”

The carriage came to an abrupt halt, and Yu Lingxi was thrown forward by the tremendous inertia. She quickly grabbed the carriage wall as objects within the carriage tumbled to the floor with a clatter.

The candlestick on the small table had fallen over, plunging everything into darkness. After a while, Yu Lingxi found her breath again, slowly exhaling the stale air trapped in her chest.

“What happened?” she asked.

Outside the carriage, apart from the sound of pouring rain, there was no movement.

Yu Lingxi found the fallen golden hairpin on the floor, clutched it to her chest for protection, took a deep breath, summoned her courage, and lifted the carriage curtain.

She was stunned.

The lantern in front of the carriage cast a dim light, extending a three-foot glow in the rainy night.

The rain threads glistened golden in the light. The driver had rolled off to the roadside, unconscious, while in the driver’s position stood an all-too-familiar young man in black.

Ning Yin had grabbed the horse’s reins with one hand, wound them around his arm, and pulled with all his might, actually stopping the galloping horse with his strength alone!

“Wei Qi.”

Yu Lingxi stared at Ning Yin’s tall and straight figure on the rainy night, suddenly feeling a surge of anger. “Are you mad!”

A horse at such speed could easily trample him into a pulp if he made the slightest mistake.

How dare he!

“The young miss is the one who’s mad.” Ning Yin threw down the reins and turned to face her.

Yu Lingxi then saw that his expression was terrifyingly cold, with rainwater sliding down his pale face, dripping from the tip of his nose and his jaw.

“Where does the young miss plan to go? The Eastern Palace?”

His pitch-black eyes seemed tempered with cold, yet also roiling with dark magma. He forced a not-very-successful cold smile and said, “Do you know what it means to go there?”

Yu Lingxi stared at him for a long time, her own eyes misting over: “I know.”

But she couldn’t think of a better way.

Yu Lingxi held the golden hairpin and said softly: “I’m not afraid, Wei Qi.”

But he was.

Ning Yin’s lips moved, but the rain was too noisy, and Yu Lingxi couldn’t hear what he said.

“What?” Yu Lingxi asked.

“I said,”

Ning Yin, his body imbued with the night’s cold, bent down and stared at her, enunciating each word: “Young miss, now, immediately, go back with me!”