On the chessboard, once a move is made, there's no going back (1)

"Miss, what's wrong with you? You seem distracted ever since you came back from outside."

Chuntao handed her a plate of freshly made osmanthus cake with concern, "Did you have a bad day outside? Or are you feeling unwell again?"

Jiang Wanzhi picked up a piece of pastry, but couldn't taste it. She sighed and said, "It's nothing, it's just that... the weather in the capital can change in an instant."

While embroidering a handkerchief, Qiuju whispered, "Miss is thinking about His Highness Prince Heng, isn't she? Sigh, that's true. Someone as great as His Highness is now trapped in his mansion... I heard that the Imperial Guards are guarding it like an iron barrel, not even a pigeon can fly in."

"Who's thinking about him!" Jiang Wanzhi nearly jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her voice rising several decibels. "I'm contemplating life! Contemplating... contemplating what to eat for dinner!"

Chuntao and Qiuju exchanged a glance, tacitly agreeing not to say anything more, but their worry deepened. The young lady's reaction was clearly a case of protesting too much.

Jiang Wanzhi waved them away irritably, then slumped onto the couch, staring blankly at the exquisite canopy above her head.

Her mind was a mess.

One moment it's a scene from the book describing how Prince Heng later turns to the dark side, becoming ruthless and eliminating his enemies.

One moment he's outside Lin'an City, clad in armor and covered in blood, calmly directing operations.

One moment it's his pale profile as he argues vehemently in the imperial court, coughing up blood as he passionately presents his case.

Finally, the image freezes on that fleeting glimpse of a solitary, solitary figure in black beneath the old ginkgo tree.

"Are the villains... really all bad?" For the first time, she seriously questioned the plot of that lousy book that was her biggest "cheat code"!

The book says he was ruthless, but he did protect the people of Lin'an.

The book says he was ambitious, but when he was stripped of his military power and placed under house arrest, he did not seem to put up a fierce resistance.

The book says he has no feelings for his "fiancée" and only uses her... well, that seems to be true so far.

But... what if? What if it's written incorrectly?

Or, what happened to him that made him the way he was later?

Once this idea takes hold, it grows wildly like weeds.

She sat bolt upright. No! She couldn't just sit there and wait to die like this!

Since the plot has already fallen apart to the point of being unrecognizable even to its own mother, she, as a transmigrator who holds the script, can't just lie down and become a lazy bum, waiting for the executioner's knife to fall from who knows when, right?

She has to do something! At the very least, she has to find out what's really going on beneath that iceberg!

We need to figure out whether they are friend or foe before deciding whether to cling to their coattails or run away!

But how could she figure it out? The Prince Heng's mansion was surrounded like an iron barrel; she couldn't even get through the gate.

Writing a letter? It would probably be intercepted before it even reached Prince Heng, and might even cause trouble for her father.

To pass on a message? Who should she pass it on to? Yan Cheng? She can't even see Yan Cheng.

Jiang Wanzhi paced back and forth in the room like an ant on a hot pan.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up!

Just because she can't go in doesn't mean others can't come out! That little eunuch who came out to buy groceries! If he can come out once, he can come out a second time! The Imperial Guards are guarding Prince Heng; they can't completely cut off the Prince's daily groceries, can they?

A bold plan, which was completely out of character for a well-bred young lady, gradually took shape in her mind.

For the next two days, Jiang Wanzhi was unusually "well-behaved," staying obediently in Wanzhi Pavilion reading and embroidering. In reality, she secretly paid attention to the scattered discussions in the Prime Minister's residence about the outside world and quietly prepared some things.

On the afternoon of the third day, she once again found an excuse to slip out of the Prime Minister's residence and went to the street near the Prince Heng's residence.

She moved to a more secluded spot, a window seat on the second floor of a small bookstore. She ordered a pot of tea and some snacks, pretending to read, but her eyes were fixed on the side gate of the Prince's Mansion.

The wait was long and agonizing. Just when she thought no one would come out today and was about to head home, the side door creaked open again.

It was the same little eunuch! Carrying the same food box, head down, walking hurriedly.

Jiang Wanzhi's heart jumped into her throat instantly; the opportunity had arrived!

She immediately dropped the money for the tea, rushed downstairs, and followed him from a distance. The little eunuch seemed to be just making routine purchases, visiting a few regular shops and buying some ingredients and daily necessities.

Jiang Wanzhi took a deep breath, calmed her wildly beating heart, and seized an opportunity when there were fewer pedestrians around. She quickly stepped forward and pretended to accidentally bump into the little eunuch!

"Ouch!" The little eunuch was caught off guard and almost dropped the food box in his hand.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Jiang Wanzhi apologized quickly, her voice deliberately softening, but her hand quickly slipped a small, finely rolled piece of paper wrapped in oiled paper into the gap of the cloth bag that the little eunuch was carrying, which contained the items that had just been purchased.

The young eunuch was startled, but seeing that it was a well-dressed and beautiful young lady, he didn't dare to make a scene. He just waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "It's alright, it's alright, Miss, please be careful."

After saying that, he looked around warily, quickly picked up his things and left, seemingly afraid of causing any more trouble.

Jiang Wanzhi stood there, watching the little eunuch's departing figure, her palms covered in cold sweat.

Success! I wonder if he'll find out? If he does, will he hand it over? And if he does, will Prince Heng even look at it?

She didn't write her name on the note, but only used the most ordinary pen to write a line: Be careful with the provisions, there are doubts about the accounts, old stories of the Northern Army.

This line of text was the useful information she had come up with after racking her brains to recall details from the original book.

It points out the key to framing King Heng (the military pay accounts), hints that she knows some inside information (the Northern Army), and is vague enough not to expose herself immediately, but enough to arouse King Heng's attention and speculation.

She didn't know if this move was right or wrong; it might be completely wishful thinking, or even backfire.

But after doing all this, the inexplicable irritability and frustration in her heart strangely dissipated a lot.

At least she tried, instead of passively waiting for fate to decide her fate.

The study of Prince Heng's residence.

Yan Cheng walked in silently, carrying the cloth bag and the small oiled paper slip in his hands. "Your Highness, Miss Jiang bumped into Xiao Anzi, who was out shopping, on the street just now, and slipped this in." His tone was slightly strange.

Zongzheng Hengyu was practicing calligraphy. Upon hearing this, he continued writing without stopping until he finished the last character. Only then did he slowly put down his pen and take the note.

His gaze swept over the delicate yet slightly childish handwriting, and a faint, almost imperceptible ripple flashed across his deep eyes.

He stared at the note for a moment, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the words "suspicious accounts".

Immediately, he expressionlessly brought the note close to the candle flame beside him. The flame licked at it and instantly turned it into a small pile of ashes.

"I understand." He said calmly, his voice devoid of any emotion. "It seems there are people who are even more impatient than us."

Yan Cheng hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Your Highness, what is Miss Jiang's intention in doing this? How did she find out?"

“It’s not important.” Zongzheng Hengyu interrupted him, his gaze returning to the powerful calligraphy on the Xuan paper. “Whether it’s a test, a gesture of goodwill, or something else, it doesn’t matter right now. What’s important is that this line of events might be more interesting than we thought.”

He looked up and gazed out the window, his gaze seemingly piercing through the courtyards and high walls. "Since someone has offered a ladder, wouldn't we be wasting this 'kindness' if we didn't take it?"

"Yan Cheng, let's get our spies in the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War moving. Let's start by investigating the subsidy accounts for the batch of troop replacements for the Northern Army three years ago."

"Yes!" Yan Cheng's spirits lifted, and he immediately accepted the order and left.

Inside the study, Zongzheng Hengyu stood with his hands behind his back, the afterglow of the setting sun casting a long shadow of his tall figure through the window.

After Zongzheng Hengyu gave the order, those "spies" who had been dormant for a long time, like dormant volcanoes, were immediately activated.

They came from various backgrounds: some were disgruntled officials, some were veteran clerks in charge of archives, and there were even one or two seemingly timid but actually meticulous scribes.

In ordinary times, they may be mediocre or marginalized on the edge of power, but at this moment, they become the most hidden tentacles extended by King Heng.

The investigation focused on the "armory subsidy accounts for the Northern Army's troop rotation three years ago," as suggested by the note that had turned to ashes.

This was not a random choice of time. Three years ago, the war in the northern border was relatively stable, and the imperial court was carrying out a large-scale rotation of border troops and modernization of weaponry.

The large sums of money involved, the complicated procedures, and the numerous departments involved make it the easiest place to commit fraud, and also the most difficult place to investigate.

The faction of the Ming king chose to frame him from this point, which shows their shrewdness.

However, no matter how sophisticated the disguise, as long as it exists, there will always be traces.

The operation was carried out in extreme secrecy, without any high-profile file retrieval or attention-grabbing inquiries; everything was conducted quietly under the guise of routine official business.

An old official in charge of checking old files accidentally discovered a batch of original receipts for northern military subsidies issued three years ago, which had subtle batch differences from the final warehousing records.

During a routine review, a clerk in charge of logistics allocation documents noticed that the transport routes and loss records of several batches of important military equipment were unusual, and the signatures of the escorting officers also seemed to have extremely subtle differences from the handwriting on file.

Furthermore, an informant hidden within the Ministry of War's Armory Inspection Office discovered, through comparing military equipment records from different years, that the batch of weapons supposedly embezzled by Prince Heng had a generational difference between the models of those weapons and the models actually deployed in the northern border three years prior—a difference that was easily overlooked but crucial.

The batch of military equipment accused of being embezzled was actually an earlier generation of obsolete equipment that should have been phased out and destroyed! It was completely incompatible with the newly allocated subsidies!

Seemingly scattered and insignificant clues, like scattered pearls, were silently collected and channeled through top-secret channels to the study of Prince Heng's mansion.

Zongzheng Hengyu was not in a hurry to piece these fragments together. He was extremely patient, like the most experienced hunter, waiting for more clues to emerge and for his opponent to reveal any weaknesses.

He knew that these basic pieces of evidence alone were not enough to completely bring down the Ming King and his cronies; on the contrary, they might alert the enemy.

He needs more conclusive evidence that directly points to the core of the forgery chain, ideally... to catch the perpetrators red-handed.

At the same time, he did not relax his surveillance of the Ming and Zhao kings' residences.

The Prince Ming's residence remained stagnant, tightly sealed off, with little news escaping. Yet, the more tranquil it was, the more eerie it seemed.

The Prince Zhao's residence, however, presented a completely different scene.

Since returning in triumph and receiving special honors, the Prince Zhao's mansion has been bustling with activity, with a constant stream of carriages and guests.

Many officials who had initially adopted a wait-and-see attitude, or who had previously been close to the Prince Heng's residence, changed their tune and began to tentatively gravitate towards this newly favored prince.

Zongzheng Zhaoran seemed to enjoy being the center of attention, often holding poetry gatherings and banquets, chatting and laughing with civil and military officials. Although he did not forget his brotherly affection, he also subtly revealed his concern for the current situation and his expectation for fairness.

When Yan Cheng reported all this to Prince Heng, Zongzheng Hengyu listened indifferently, his fingertips lightly tapping on the chessboard, without uttering a word. He had anticipated Prince Zhao's intentions.

…………

Jiang Wanzhi has been extremely uneasy these past two days. Ever since she slipped that damned note out, she has been filled with immense regret and lingering fear.

At this moment, she was practicing in front of the mirror how to make the most innocent and bewildered expression, just in case she was interrogated by the big villain one day and could get away with it.

Isn't she being too impulsive?

Will the Imperial Guards find that note?

Will that little eunuch betray her?

What will Prince Heng think when he sees the note?

Wouldn't people think she has ulterior motives? Or worse, that she's a fool meddling in other people's business?

Countless tragic possibilities flashed through her mind, each one sending chills down her spine.

"Chuntao, Qiuju, what do you think... what should we do if someone accidentally finds out a secret they shouldn't know?" she asked the two maids indirectly.

Chuntao said innocently, "Then keep it to yourself, Miss! It's said in the stories that the more you know, the faster you die!"

Qiuju, being more mature, lowered her voice and said, "Miss, have you heard something again? Please don't tell anyone! In this capital, walls have ears!"

Jiang Wanzhi: "..." She was even more frightened.

She even started having nightmares, dreaming of the cold and aloof Zongzheng Hengyu, who came to settle scores with her, holding that note in a gloomy expression, followed by a group of fierce guards.