Private affair
In the evening, Li Wan said she didn't need anyone to serve her, sent all the maids out, and secretly started searching her room.
She searched the wooden drawers on the table, rummaged through the dressing box, and even carefully checked the wooden wardrobe, but found not a single letter or piece of paper.
In despair, he found a Shu brocade purse in a celadon vase inside the bed.
She opened the purse and found that it contained half a white jade pendant, with the character "言" (speech) carved in openwork on it.
Xie Qi, courtesy name Yanjin!
Li Wan's vision went black. Just as she had expected, Jiang Feiwan and Xie Qi were having an affair!
Perhaps even more tragically, four years later, the woman who drove Xie Qi to commit suicide for love was Jiang Feiwan.
Li Wan's palms burned as she held the jade pendant. It turned out that in this life, God hadn't just randomly assigned her to be a noble lady, but rather made her, as Jiang Feiwan, to personally sever this ill-fated relationship!
Li Wan put away the jade pendant and took out a small but sharp dagger from under the bedding. She had taken it from her younger brother Jiang Feiche's room to protect herself when she first arrived at the Jiang residence, fearing that she would be exposed.
Holding the cold dagger now, she understood even more clearly.
Actually, regardless of whether the woman who drove Xie Qi to suicide four years later was Jiang Feiwan, as long as Xie Qi was dealt with so that he could not have any thoughts of romantic love, and that he could survive the Battle of Yugu Pass, that would be enough.
Tomorrow's appointment at Zuiyue Tower would be an excellent opportunity.
Having figured all this out, Li Wan fell asleep peacefully.
In early winter, the moonlight was as cold as ice, and the bustling capital city fell silent in darkness.
In the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion, built across the street from the Jiang residence, the atmosphere in the dimly lit dungeon was oppressive and suffocating.
Yang Ti, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, knelt in the center of the dungeon. The seven or eight-foot-tall man was hunched over, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
He cautiously raised his eyes to peer at the man sitting behind the nanmu wood table.
The man wore a dark brocade robe with gold thread embroidered on the narrow cuffs. His wrists beneath the fabric had sharp lines, with slightly raised veins extending to the back of his fair and strong hands. His long, slender fingers held a blue teacup, turning it casually.
Finally, Yang Ti could no longer bear the man's overwhelming pressure and slammed his forehead heavily against the ground.
"Your Honor, I do not know why my mother would cry out for justice in the street. I suspect she was instigated by someone else. Please forgive me."
Xie Qi raised an eyebrow, his voice lazy and teasing, "Then, Vice Commander Yang, who do you think instigated this?"
Yang Ti frantically wiped the cold sweat from his brow, "This humble general did not know... Ah!"
Before he could finish speaking, he let out a shrill scream as his right index finger, which was supporting him on the ground, snapped off instantly, leaving a bloody mess.
With a cold expression, Shen Jie sheathed his bloodstained longsword and silently retreated to the side.
Yang Ti was nearly fainting from the pain, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Excellency, please forgive me. Yesterday, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review suddenly came to my door and, on the grounds that I had abandoned my post, resulting in the Crown Prince being attacked and injured, imprisoned me in the Court of Judicial Review prison. During this time, I did not speak a single word to my family, and truly do not know..."
Yang Ti caught a glimpse of Shen Jie stepping forward and quickly changed his tune: "This humble general thinks it might be the Fourth Prince. His Majesty was furious that the Crown Prince was injured. The Fourth Prince was afraid that my crime would implicate Commander Ji. Therefore, he had my mother plead with you in public to gain the sympathy of the people and force you to be lenient in this matter."
Xie Qi chuckled lightly: "That's a very good explanation. I'll borrow it."
Yang Ti paused, not understanding Xie Qi's meaning.
Xie Qi slowly rose, walked around the table, and stood tall and imposing in front of Yang Ti. His narrow eyes glanced at him, and his voice was gentle, “Deputy Commander Yang may not know this, but the person who sent your mother and child to the streets to beg me is none other than myself.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Ti's eyes widened suddenly, but before he could speak again, a heavy longsword slashed past his eyes, blood spurted from his throat, and with a "thud," his body fell straight to the ground.
Xie Qi glanced at Yang Ti's corpse, then turned to the side and ordered, "Send the gifts to the East Palace. Also, convey Yang Ti's words to the Fourth Prince, and tell him that I am magnanimous and will not pursue this matter."
Shen Jie cupped his hands in acceptance, "Yes."
After leaving the dark prison, Shen Jie followed Xie Qi. The Ning'an Marquis's mansion had already shut down all its pearls and jewels, and the moonlight made their figures appear unusually long.
Shen Jie was considered extremely tall for a man, but Xie Qi was several inches taller than him. In addition, Xie Qi exuded an air of nobility and had the demeanor of someone who had been strategizing for many years, making him extremely imposing.
"My lord, the secret guards from the Jiang residence report that Miss Jiang has been behaving strangely since recovering from her illness, and has been paying extra attention to you."
Xie Qi slowed his pace slightly, his tone disdainful, "Having just recovered from illness, you couldn't wait to come and find me. It seems you felt that sending a letter alone wouldn't be enough to win me over, so you've resorted to seducing me with your body instead."
Thinking about Jiang Feiwan's actions today, Shen Jie frowned and said, "Our secret guards have already discovered that Jiang Feiwan is a member of the Fourth Prince's faction."
"This time, by eliminating Yang Ti, the Fourth Prince has lost an important pawn. Coincidentally, today, Miss Jiang, in order to see you, disregarded the proper etiquette of a noble lady and committed the disgraceful act of throwing eggs in public. I believe they must have some ulterior motive."
Xie Qi sneered, "I just want to place her openly and legitimately by my side. It's best to swat a fly that's bothering you to keep things quiet. Let's see how I swat this Miss Jiang tomorrow."
As soon as he finished speaking, a dark cloud obscured the moonlight.
A light drizzle fell all day, and the next day, the entire capital was shrouded in mist and rain.
Li Wan munched on a poria cocos cake, mentally rehearsing the plan once more before telling Xiuzhu that she was going out.
Upon hearing that she was to sneak out again, Xiuzhu hurriedly shook her head in fear, "Miss, please don't make things difficult for me. If the master and mistress find out that I secretly took you out, they will definitely sell me off."
Li Wan curled her lip, "To be a noble lady, yet be confined to the mansion, what's the difference between that and being in prison?"
Such a noble lady is not as comfortable as she was as a village girl. If possible, after settling Xie Qi's matter, she would like to return to Niutian Village and live a life of farming.
Xiuhe was more resourceful than Xiuzhu. Seeing that the young lady really wanted to go out, she suggested that they could tell Madam Zou directly and ask for her permission to go out openly.
Upon hearing this, Li Wan went straight to Zou's room.
When Zou heard that Li Wan was going out, she was quite surprised, as Li Wan used to stay at home and rarely went out on her own initiative.
"Is Miss Wan missing something in her room and she needs to go out to buy it?"
Li Wan nodded: "When I was sick, I caused you, Father and Mother, a lot of worry. Now that I am feeling better, I thought I would buy some calming herbs and make some soothing sachets for you and Father."
"Wan-jie is so thoughtful," Zou said with a smile, then turned to instruct Xiu-he and Xiu-zhu to take good care of her.
Li Wan left the mansion an hour early and went to the herbal medicine shop first.
While in Niutian Village, she had helped the village hunters grind medicinal herbs, earning ten coins in the process. Those herbs were potent sedatives used by the hunters to prevent large wild animals from fighting back.
Li Wan remembered the names of the medicinal herbs and told the pharmacy owner directly.
Seeing the shopkeeper looking at her with a questioning gaze, Li Wan said without batting an eye, "My big dog at home suddenly went berserk. I was afraid it would hurt someone, so I gave it some medicine and threw it away to save trouble."
The shopkeeper nodded: "I see." In recent years, it has indeed become fashionable for wealthy families to keep pets for their young ladies and gentlemen to keep them company.
As they left the pharmacy, Xiuzhu asked, puzzled, "Miss, when did our household get a big dog?"
Li Wan put the ground medicine powder into her sleeve pocket and said with a smile, "It's a stray dog outside. By the way, where is Zuiyue Tower?"
"Would you like to go to Zuiyue Tower for a meal, young lady?" Xiuhe asked hesitantly. "But I'm afraid we don't have enough money."
Li Wan frowned: "Is Zuiyue Tower very expensive?"
Xiuhe and Xiuzhu nodded in unison, “Zuiyuelou is the most expensive and best restaurant in the capital. It is frequented by princes, nobles, and even princes.”
Li Wan secretly clicked her tongue: Xie Qi was willing to invite Jiang Feiwan to such an expensive place for a private meeting, it seems that the two of them have a deep affair. Just thinking about what she would do to her lover while wearing Jiang Feiwan's body... tsk tsk, what a sin.
When the three arrived at Zuiyue Tower, it was not yet dusk. They intended to simply have a pot of tea and rest while they waited. However, as soon as they entered the restaurant, before Li Wan could even take in the luxurious furnishings, she was stopped by a man who appeared to be a steward.
"Greetings, Miss Jiang. This servant thanks Tian Fu of the manor. My young master has important business to attend to and will be delayed for a while. He has specially ordered this servant to prepare a private room for you to rest."
"Okay." Li Wan nodded and was about to follow Tian Fu upstairs.
Xiuhe and Xiuzhu quickly grabbed her, surprised, "Miss, who is the young master of the Xie family? Did you make an appointment with him?"
Li Wan didn't want to tell them too much, fearing that the truth would be exposed and innocent people would be implicated. She said, "He's just an ordinary friend. You can sit and have some tea while you wait for me."
After saying that, he followed Tian Fu upstairs.
Two guards with swords stood at the entrance of the private room. When they saw Li Wan arrive, they opened the door and invited her in.
Tian Fu said respectfully, "Miss, please have some tea and snacks first. My young master will be here shortly."
After Tian Fu left, Li Wan took off her veil and began to examine the place carefully.
Zuiyue Tower is truly magnificent and extravagant. The main hall on the first floor is already quite splendid, but it is only when you get to the second floor that you will find that the private rooms are even more luxurious and elegant.
After entering and passing the huge landscape screen, she saw a carved rosewood round table in the center of the private room. On the table was a set of purple clay teapots and teacups, and several exquisite snacks that she had never seen in the Jiang residence.
Li Wan picked up a piece of crimson pastry and instinctively felt that it was soft, sweet and light, and incredibly delicious.
It's a pity she's here to work today; otherwise, with such delicious food in front of her, she would definitely eat until she's stuffed.
Despite thinking it was a pity, he still stuffed two more pastries into his mouth before planning his next move.
She had originally planned to slip the sleeping potion into Xie Qi's tea when he wasn't looking, but now that she had arrived first, she saved herself the trouble. She simply lifted the lid of the purple clay teapot and poured the potion in.
Although Li Wan had not read many books, she knew the principle of not acting rashly.
Xie Qi's invitation to a secret meeting meant they would be alone together, so drugging him and doing *that* was easy enough. The key was how she would get away afterward.
Imagine a man whose manhood has been inexplicably severed; how could he not be furious? Judging from his attitude towards the elderly couple yesterday, he must be a cold-blooded, ruthless, and vindictive person.
If he knew she was the one who did it, even if she was his lover, he would definitely have ruthlessly destroyed her.
But she still wanted to stay alive and return to Niutian Village to reunite with her father and brothers.
Therefore, she came up with a foolproof plan: to fabricate a murderer who had committed the crime and fled.
The most important thing in this method is the anonymous letter she is currently holding.
She wrote this letter early in the morning. She didn't know many characters to begin with, and her handwriting was childish and messy. To prevent it from being recognized later, she specially found a storybook and copied it word by word.
This letter will let everyone know that the person who harmed Xie Qi was a heartbroken woman who had admired Xie Qi for many years but could not have him. When she learned that Xie Qi was having an affair with another woman, she was filled with resentment and committed this evil act.
All Li Wan had to do was wait for Xie Qi to arrive, then coax him to drink the tea. Once he was unconscious, she would carry out her plan with the knife, place the letter in a conspicuous spot, and then drink the tea herself, pretending to faint along with Xie Qi.
Confirming that her plan was foolproof, Li Wan smiled and said, "I really am the smartest girl in the whole village, just as my father said."
After eating a few more pastries, the sound of a guard greeting her came from the doorway. Li Wan quickly sat up straight, lowered her eyes, and put on a shy and demure demeanor, like a noble lady.
The door creaked open.
Xie Qi stepped into the private room and immediately saw the woman sitting at the table, gesturing and making faces.
The two had only communicated through letters and had never met in person.
He casually glanced at the woman.
She was wearing a light blue brocade dress with intertwined floral patterns, her almond-shaped eyes were slightly raised, her eyebrows were dark as ink, and her long, glossy hair was half-draped over her slender waist.
Xie Qi paused for a moment; the woman's figure and appearance were barely acceptable.
But... his gaze fell on the pastries on the table that had obviously been touched, then swept over the woman's awkward sitting posture and her guilty, evasive eyes.
Xie Qi's eyes darkened instantly. Was the Fourth Prince openly provoking him by choosing such a stupid and awkward woman to seduce him?
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