Chapter 16 The power of pillow talk is unimaginable.

Chu State Duke's Study

Jiang Yu served soup to the Duke of Chu, recounting the interrogation of Zhang San and Yang Tianfu. The Duke of Chu took the bowl of soup she handed him and asked, "What do you plan to do with these two?"

Jiang Yu sat down. "Zhang San will be sent to the government office and charged with arson. Yang Tianfu... will be beaten to death and his body thrown at the entrance of the Qingshan Marquis's residence."

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Chu frowned, took a few sips of soup with his spoon, and said, "Wouldn't it be better to kill them all?"

Jiang Yu: "Su Yuezhen ordered Yang Tianfu to kill me, and later my family's house was burned down. It's obvious who did it. So, if Yang Tianfu disappears and it's revealed that I am the eldest daughter of the Duke of Chu's mansion, what will Uncle Qingshan think?"

Duke Chu remained silent in thought, and Jiang Yu continued, "If Earl Qingshan were as foolish as Su Yuezhen, then there would be nothing more to say. But is he?"

He probably isn't. You can tell from how the Earl of Qingshan decisively sent the Imperial Concubine to the palace when the Qingshan family faced a crisis. He must be someone who is opportunistic and knows how to make choices.

Upon hearing her words, the Duke of Chu looked at Jiang Yu with aged, cloudy eyes, a mixture of admiration and regret. He knew Jiang Yu was wise, but he hadn't expected her to discern the Earl of Qingshan's character from just one incident. He felt a pang of regret once more; why wasn't she a true man?

“You’re right,” he said.

Jiang Yu did not show much joy at his praise, but continued to express her thoughts, "After Yang Tianfu burned down my house, he disappeared into thin air. The Qingshan Earl must think that we must have captured Yang Tianfu and learned important secrets of the Qingshan Earl's mansion from him."

The Duke of Chu nodded, and Jiang Yu continued, "I don't know how powerful our Duke of Chu's mansion is in the court, but sometimes the power of a pillow talk is unimaginable."

"If we beat Yang Tianfu to death and dump him at the Qingshan Earl's residence, wouldn't the Qingshan Earl suspect that we learned something from Yang Tianfu?" the Duke of Chu asked.

Jiang Yu: Yes, but it depends on what we do next.

Duke of Chu: "What do you intend to do?"

“Go big, the bigger the better, even take my affair with Qi Yuanhong and Su Yuezhen to the Emperor.”

Jiang Yu said, "When one thing is overwhelming, other things are easily overlooked. Moreover, we only have two purposes for making a fuss: first, to get justice, and second, to get money. By not suppressing the Qingshan Marquis's Mansion in any way, we completely show that we know nothing about the matter between the Imperial Concubine and the Prince of Lingnan."

Duke Chu nodded, and Jiang Yu continued, "Perhaps afterwards, Earl Qingshan will realize that we may have learned something from Yang Tianfu, but if we continue to act as if we don't know, he will only remain suspicious."

"Do you really think you don't know about the affair between the Imperial Concubine and the Prince of Lingnan?" the Duke of Chu asked.

Jiang Yu: "How could that be? It's just that the key cards have to be played at the key moment. Besides, even so, the Earl of Qingshan still guessed that we learned some secret from Yang Tianfu, so it doesn't matter. We might as well play our cards open. Anyway, no matter what, we will never be on good terms with the Earl of Qingshan's family or the Imperial Concubine."

The Duke of Chu laughed heartily, "You silly child, where did you learn all this from?"

Jiang Yu smiled mischievously, "I'm smart!"

Looking at her girlish behavior, the Duke of Chu's smile faded, and he sighed deeply, saying, "Yu'er, I've been thinking these past two days about whether to let you be an ordinary girl, or to let you do what men do, like you are now."

"If you were to live as an ordinary young lady, although our Chu State Duke's mansion is declining, I can still find you a good family, ensuring a comfortable and easy life for the rest of your days. But..."

The Duke of Chu did not say anything more, but remained silent for a long time.

Jiang Yu put some food on his plate and said, "Grandpa, you're overthinking it. Haven't you noticed? My personality isn't such that I can do whatever you want me to do. You should do your best and leave the rest to fate."

I don't know what my future holds. I don't know what the future holds for the Duke's mansion either. Let's do what we should do now; the future is unpredictable, who can say for sure?

The Duke of Chu ate the food she had placed on his plate, pondering her words, and then smiled with a sense of relief.

He said, "Yu'er is more insightful than me. Yes, just do your best in the present. No matter how much I think about the future, I can't control it."

Jiang Yu nodded and said, "I once read in a book about an experiment someone conducted. He wrote down the twenty things he was most worried about, and ten years later he found that most of those twenty things he was worried about had not happened. So, many times, we are just creating our own troubles."

The Duke of Chu pondered her words for a moment, then said, "This experiment is good. Who is this person? Which book did you read about him in?"

Jiang Yu paused slightly, then said, "He's an unknown scholar. I'll find the book and get it for you later."

"Well, do whatever you want. Just tell Li Zhong and Granny Liao what you need." Duke Chu said, "Have Li Zhong find some people for you to choose from."

"good."

The grandmother and granddaughter ate their meal and chatted about other things, mainly Jiang Yu talking about her past. She didn't hide anything, including her time at school and her business dealings.

How to describe her feelings for the Duke of Chu? There's a blood ties, but not much romantic love. At most, she treats him with the respect due to an elder and with the honesty of a partner.

After finishing their meal, the two played a game of chess before Jiang Yu took her leave. She returned to Yunfeng Courtyard with Xia He, where a maid was standing at the gate. Upon seeing her, the maid immediately bowed and said, "Miss, the Master has arrived and is waiting for you in the hall."

Jiang Yu paused for a moment, then asked, "When did the master arrive?"

"It's been a while," the maid replied.

Jiang Yu stepped inside and, upon reaching the entrance of the hall, saw Jiang Chengye sitting in the center of the room, drinking tea in a grand chair. He was in his forties, but his striking appearance made him quite pleasing to the eye.

Jiang Yu stepped inside and bowed to him, saying, "Father."

Jiang Chengye looked at her with a complicated expression for a moment, then waved for her to sit down. Jiang Yu sat in the chair to his left, silent. Jiang Chengye must have come to see her for something; she should let him speak first.

Jiang Chengye sighed deeply and said, "I heard from your mother about your divorce. What do you plan to do next?"

Jiang Yu lowered her eyes and remained silent, wanting to hear what Jiang Chengye's plans were.

He said, "It's certainly unfair that your husband was taken away. But the one who took your husband is a girl from the Qingshan Marquis's family. They have the Imperial Concubine as their backer, so we'd better not make too much of a scene."

Jiang Yu looked up at him. "What does Father want me to do?"

Jiang Chengye took a sip of tea. "Your mother cried and insisted that your grandfather, your maternal grandfather, and your uncle stand up for you, and even said that if necessary, the Emperor would take charge. I think it's not good to make such a big fuss, since we're all in the capital and will run into each other all the time."

At this point, he glanced at Jiang Yu somewhat guiltily. Seeing her calm expression, he couldn't immediately guess what she meant, so he continued:

“Although it was that Qi Yuanhong who broke his promise, it’s not good for a woman like you to be divorced. So let’s not make this public. Even though you’re divorced, you are still the eldest daughter of the Duke of Chu’s family. I can still find you a good husband, even better than Qi Yuanhong.”

After he finished speaking, he looked at Jiang Yu, waiting for her answer. This daughter was so different from other girls. Other girls, when faced with such a situation, would definitely cry and whine, asking their parents and family to make a decision for them. But this daughter was calm, as if nothing had happened to her.

“Father,” Jiang Yu said, having a general understanding of what kind of person her biological father was, “I have already discussed the matter between me, Qi Yuanhong, and the fourth young lady of the Qingshan Marquis’s mansion with my grandfather.”

Jiang Chengye was taken aback. "You've already discussed it? How did you discuss it?"

Jiang Yu: "Why don't you ask your grandfather?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chengye shrank back slightly. The Duke of Chu disliked him and always reprimanded him whenever they met, so he avoided seeing the Duke of Chu whenever possible. But he couldn't say this to Jiang Yu; he still had his pride.

“Then…then I’ll go ask your grandfather.” Jiang Chengye got up and walked out. Jiang Yu saw him to the door, watched his back disappear into the distance, and then turned back into the study.

She sat at her desk, looking out the window at the night sky, reflecting on the day's events. Thinking of her biological father, she gave a mocking laugh.

No wonder the Duke of Chu is so exhausted. With such a son and such a grandson, and such a large ducal mansion without a successor, most people would be anxious.