It took Shiyiniang quite a while to grasp the meaning within all this.

From the Emperor’s first signal of his dissatisfaction with the Qu Family — beginning with a cup of tea from the Imperial Noble Consort — to summoning Wang Jiubao to the capital, which marked its peak. And Ouyang Ming, who had remained at the Crown Prince’s side all along, was a minister the Emperor had set in place for the Crown Prince. Viewed in this light, from the time of the Fifth Prince’s death, the Emperor had already begun laying his plans.

Only she did not know what arrangement the Emperor had in mind for the Xu Family.

Thinking of it this way, it was not hard to understand why Xu Lingyi had been deliberately showing weakness in everything. He hoped that through this incident with the children, the Emperor would reassess the Xu Family, find his foil against the Qu Family, and allow the Xu Family to withdraw from the eye of the storm. Then she would no longer need to worry about all these tangled matters, and could simply live a few quiet, stable days.

Sighing inwardly over this, she brought up the matter of Wang Lang: “My lord, who was the perpetrator?”

Shiyiniang felt something was amiss about this.

There was no reason for Xu Lingyi to hide anything from her — yet when recounting Wang Lang’s death, his words had been extremely sparse. Only a person who wants to conceal something speaks that way. Because the simplest account is the one with the fewest flaws.

Xu Lingyi knew his young wife was a person of exceptional intelligence. He had no intention of concealing anything — he had simply not wanted to say certain things in front of the Grand Madam, sparing Shiyiniang from embarrassment.

“Wang Lang died in a male pleasure house.” He looked steadily at Shiyiniang and said plainly, “The likely perpetrator is Ren Kun.”

Shiyiniang leaped to her feet.

She should have realized it sooner. The Shuntian Prefecture — what kind of place was that? It handled the security of all of Yanjing. No one knew better than they did which people could be upbraided and which had to be handled with the utmost care. To come rushing over specifically to inform Xu Lingyi — there had certainly been more to it than that.

No wonder Xu Lingyi had been so vague earlier.

If the Grand Madam found out that Wang Lang had died in a male pleasure house, killed by Ren Kun, Shiyiniang would not have been able to hold her head up.

On one side was the only son of the elder sister whom the Emperor most revered; on the other, though fallen from power, was the heir of the Duke of Chengguo’s estate — a relative by marriage of the Empress’s family. At this moment, the Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate was most likely unable to sleep a wink.

“What do you mean by ‘likely’ perpetrator?”

Xu Lingyi looked at Shiyiniang with a rueful smile. “According to the Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate: The day before, Wang Lang and a few friends had been drinking at the male pleasure house and, having had too much, stayed the night there. At the start of wei time, after eating the midday meal, he was about to leave when Ren Kun arrived. He saw the male attendant who had been serving Wang Lang, gave a slight nod and a smile, and asked to speak with Wang Lang alone.

Wang Lang laughed it off and said: What is there between us that can’t be said openly?

At that, Ren Kun’s face turned ashen. He first kicked the male attendant out with one foot, then turned around and shut the door with a sharp crack.

At first, only low voices could be heard from inside the room. After a while, Wang Lang began shouting curses at the top of his voice.

Because Wang Lang’s and Ren Kun’s personal servants were standing guard outside the room, the house attendant did not dare approach.

When you time arrived, the house attendant felt the hour was getting late and brought wine and food over.

Only to find that the personal servants who had been standing in the courtyard were all gone. The main door was wide open, Wang Lang lay on the floor covered in blood, and one of Ren Kun’s personal servants sat nearby on an embroidered stool, a blood-soaked dagger in his hand.

When he saw the house attendant, he rose slowly and unhurriedly to his feet. He said: Wang Lang owed our young master money and refused to repay it. Our young master came to collect the debt, but he kept making excuses. On top of that, he hurled insults. Our young master left in anger. Out of righteous indignation, I got into an argument with Wang Lang. Wang Lang flew into a rage and beat and cursed me, and in the commotion I accidentally killed him. This matter has nothing to do with our young master. I will go with you to the Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate’s office to turn myself in.”

Shiyiniang was left completely dumbfounded.

When Wang Lang had defiled that censor’s son, he had accused the other party of refusing to repay a debt. Now that he himself had been killed, the very same excuse of “refusing to repay a debt” was being used. Was there truly a divine order at work in this world?

“The house attendant, in a state of sheer terror, reported the case. The personal servant just waited there for the Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate’s men to arrive.” Xu Lingyi said helplessly. “Not a single stroke of the board was needed — he confessed to everything. He even produced a promissory note showing that Wang Lang had borrowed money from Ren Kun.”

“And Wang Lang’s personal servants who went with him?”

“They said that Wang Lang and Ren Kun were often in each other’s company. When they heard Wang Lang hurling abuse at Ren Kun, they felt rather ill at ease. One of Ren Kun’s personal servants invited them to have drinks in a nearby courtyard. They went along. It was only when they heard there had been a killing and the Shuntian Prefecture came to make arrests that they learned something had happened to Wang Lang.

Ren Kun’s own personal servants were also questioned. They said that what Wang Lang was shouting was too indecent to bear, and that out of regard for their young master’s dignity, they had sent Wang Lang’s servants off to drink in a nearby courtyard.

The Shuntian Prefecture also questioned the people in the pleasure house. Someone saw Ren Kun leave. The time was between the end of shen time and the beginning of you time. He was dressed in a fine fur coat with a loose belt, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”

“The only person who can be genuinely suspected is the one who committed the act — Ren Kun’s personal servant. Even so, it amounts to little more than suspicion.”

Xu Lingyi hesitated for a moment: “Not entirely. The Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate examined the dagger. If this truly was a sudden, impulsive act and the killing was accidental, it would be perfectly natural to have used a bench or thrown a vase. Using a dagger is rather uncommon. What’s more, Wang Lang had been stabbed thirty-seven times — twenty-one of those in vital areas. Calling it accidental is rather difficult to believe.”

Shiyiniang couldn’t help but rub her forehead.

“Were it not for these stab wounds, the personal servant’s account would actually have been without flaw.” Xu Lingyi said pensively. “When the Shuntian Prefecture came to report to me, they also sent someone to the Duke of Chengguo’s estate. We are not, after all, the wronged party, so it is not our place to be out front on this. We can only see what the Wang Family intends.”

Xu Lingyi had never had any liking for Wang Lang, yet his tone now seemed to suggest he actually wanted to seek justice for him. Though she did not know what had changed his mind, in Shiyiniang’s view, a man like Wang Lang did not deserve his death to be avenged. Not by anyone. If the Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate managed to find the true culprit, that was Wang Lang’s good fortune. If not, it was simply his just desserts.

“My lord, what I am most worried about right now is my Tenth Sister.” She offered Xu Lingyi a subtle hint. “Tenth Sister was not long married, and she left no children behind. Now that her husband has died a violent death — I don’t know what the Wang Family’s plans and intentions are for Tenth Sister.”

Xu Lingyi was willing to get involved entirely because of Shiyiniang.

Since she was his wife, he would do his utmost to help where he could. But this was unlike other matters — it involved family lineage and the ancestral clan. As an outsider by surname, how could he properly interfere?

A trace of difficulty flashed across Xu Lingyi’s face: “We are brothers-in-law after all… for the specifics of the matter, I’m afraid we’ll still need to entrust it to Zhensheng. If anything is needed, there’s no problem with me standing on the side to say a few words.”

Shiyiniang understood perfectly well. What’s more, this was not what she had in mind at all. Hearing Xu Lingyi say as much, she immediately said: “I was thinking of going home. To inform my elder brother and discuss together how best to proceed.”

Shiniang had married up into the Wang Family. What the Wang Family’s people truly thought was still hard to say. If someone from the Luo Family went to see Shiniang, the Wang Family, even if they disliked Shiniang, would have to stop and consider.

“That is something you don’t need to worry about.” Xu Lingyi said. “As soon as I left the Shuntian Prefecture I sent someone to inform Zhensheng. By now he should already know.”

Shiyiniang felt relieved. Realizing she had been so absorbed in conversation with Xu Lingyi that she had forgotten to add hot water to the foot basin, she stood up and poured more warm water in.

Xu Lingyi reminded her: “Wang Lang’s case still has no resolution. There will likely be more to think over. For now, say nothing. With so many people and so many mouths, it would make others think the Xu Family is stirring up trouble.”

Shiyiniang nodded. “My lord, rest assured. I will not say a single word more than is necessary.”

The two then discussed the matter of going to offer condolences to the Wang Family before settling in for the night.

The following morning, everyone expressed their feelings about Wang Lang, and things were relatively calm and uneventful.

At midday, Luo Zhensheng arrived.

He looked somewhat worn, and spoke with Xu Lingyi in the inner study.

“I have heard that the Emperor has summoned Wang Jiubao to the capital to discuss lifting the sea trade ban. For my lord to step back at this time is, if anything, a good thing.”

Xu Lingyi gave a quiet nod inwardly.

Zhensheng was indeed a perceptive man.

“It is good that you can see it that way.” He smiled. “I was still afraid you might get drawn into it.” Saying this, he paused in thought for a moment, then said, “This matter involves a great many interests in Fujian. You ought to keep a closer eye on your father-in-law. Take care that scheming people don’t try to exploit him.”

Luo Zhensheng was startled.

He had not thought of this angle.

This was ultimately the business of his elders — it was not Xu Lingyi’s place to say too much. He made his point and immediately changed the subject. “I can see you look fatigued. Is there something troublesome on the Wang Family’s side?”

“I went to see Tenth Sister first thing this morning.” Luo Zhensheng had come precisely about the Wang Family’s affairs. Now that Xu Lingyi had been stripped of his post and was not keen on discussing court matters further, he naturally would not be so tone-deaf as to push the topic. He followed Xu Lingyi’s lead and answered: “I met Jiang Furen. One of Jiang Furen’s stewards had just returned from the Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate’s office. From the way they spoke, Tenth Sister’s husband died under rather suspicious circumstances. Jiang Furen has already sent someone to Taiyuan to ask Master Jiang to dispatch an advisor experienced in criminal matters. She also asked me to pass word to my lord — whether it could be arranged for her to meet with Eleventh Sister.” As he said this, he looked at Xu Lingyi with a hesitant expression.

After all, this involved Princess Chang’ning.

Shiniang was his sister, and so was Shiyiniang. To trouble Shiyiniang for Shiniang’s sake was something he equally could not bring himself to do. Not to mention that Wang Lang’s conduct had been so improper, causing Shiniang so much suffering. Yet considering Shiniang’s circumstances now, if her family said nothing at all, she would likely find it very difficult to hold her ground in the Wang Family in the future.

Xu Lingyi did not hesitate. “Then you and Shiyiniang work it out between you and see when would be a good time. Invite Jiang Furen to come visit at the house.”

He knew Ren Kun well.

He also had a very good relationship with Chang’ning.

When the Emperor was still in his private residence before ascending the throne, Princess Chang’ning would often come by for a visit.

Now the Wang Family wanted to see him — most likely they were coming to sound out his position. He also very much wanted to know what the Wang Family was planning. If he could play peacemaker, it would certainly be better than having the two families take each other to court and be watched as a laughingstock by all of Yanjing — the nature of the relationship between Wang Lang and Ren Kun was, after all, not entirely respectable.

Seeing him agree so readily, Luo Zhensheng actually felt somewhat uneasy. “Perhaps I should first gauge Jiang Furen’s intentions. If it proves too difficult, have Shiyiniang decline. Say that my lord has been in low spirits lately and not receiving visitors. I imagine Jiang Furen would understand.”

“It is better to meet.” If Jiang Furen’s demands proved excessive, Xu Lingyi trusted Shiyiniang to handle it with good judgment.

—