Chapter 455 Then Don't Let Her Grow Up
As night deepened, the bright light from the study in the main courtyard of the Duke of Chu's mansion shone through the gauze window, turning a warm yellow.
Through the gauze window, the steward Li Zhong saw a figure inside writing at his desk. He sighed inwardly, then quickly walked to the door and called out, "Lord Duke."
Jiang Yu, still writing in his hand, called out, "Come in." Li Zhong pushed open the door, walked to the desk, and respectfully presented the letter in his hand, "Lord Duke, this is from the Xie residence."
Jiang Yu put down his pen, took the letter, and told Li Zhong to leave. Opening the letter, he saw two short sentences: "Everything went smoothly, and there was an unexpected surprise."
Jiang Yu put it down first, her fingers tapping lightly on it. Xie Ning'an told her that Zhu Junning had asked to meet him. Whether this was Xie Ning'an's intentional attempt to pledge allegiance again or a sign of his trust in her, it showed that Xie Ning'an was trustworthy. Her reply to Xie Ning'an was to play it by ear, not actually expecting Xie Ning'an to get anything out of Zhu Junning.
Firstly, the fact that the Prince of Lingnan brought Zhu Junning to the capital and sent her to meet Xie Ning'an indicates that Zhu Junning is no ordinary woman. Furthermore, with the Xie family fallen, Xie Ning'an holds no advantage over Zhu Junning, a princess of the Prince of Lingnan's household.
Therefore, she hadn't expected Xie Ning'an to glean any important information from Zhu Junning. But now...
Jiang Yu lowered her eyes, staring at the few words on the letter, her face thoughtful. Having worked with Xie Ning'an for so long, she knew Xie Ning'an fairly well; she wasn't someone who spoke without reason. Xie Ning'an wouldn't have written her such a letter unless she had obtained important information.
So why did this happen?
Jiang Yu tapped the letter again with her finger, the rhythmic sound clear in the quiet room. After a while, she smiled. The reason, she thought, was perhaps that Zhu Junning wasn't as intelligent as she had imagined, at least not as intelligent as Xie Ning'an.
Secondly, Xie Ning'an grasped the Achilles' heel of the Lingnan Prince's Mansion, or rather, Xie Ning'an always knew where the Achilles' heel of the Lingnan Prince's Mansion lay. After all, the Xie family had cooperated with the Lingnan Prince's Mansion for so many years, and Xie Yun was no fool; it was only natural that he possessed some unknown information about the Lingnan Prince's Mansion.
As for Xie Ning'an knowing about the death of the Prince of Lingnan's mansion but not reporting it, she didn't see anything wrong with that. She wouldn't have reported it to the Emperor either. To the Emperor, Xie Ning'an was now just a lamb to the slaughter. Even if Xie Ning'an made contributions to the court, she wouldn't get anything in return, at most a few words of praise from the Emperor.
Could the Xie family's descendants immediately resume taking the imperial examinations? Of course not. Could the Xie family be given another chance to prosper? That was also impossible. So why did Xie Ning'an do that?
Picking up the letter and placing it over the candle flame, watching it burn out bit by bit, Jiang Yu called over Xia He, who was standing guard to the side, and instructed, "Notify the Yu family and have their spies around Pei Tinglan begin their operation."
"Yes," Xia He replied immediately.
Jiang Yu stood up and walked towards his bedroom. Dong Shuang greeted him, "Lord Duke, the bath is ready."
Jiang Yu hummed in agreement and walked towards the bathroom. Stepping into the bathtub, enveloped in warmth, she closed her eyes, and Xie Ning'an came to mind again. To be honest, she admired Xie Ning'an.
It's not difficult for someone to excel when things are going smoothly. But it's truly commendable to remain clear-headed and undeterred when facing danger and hardship. Having known Xie Ning'an for so long, she knew that Xie Ning'an didn't possess Xie Yun's cruelty or his ruthless methods to achieve his goals. Xie Ning'an wasn't inherently bad.
Therefore, if possible, she was willing to help Xie Ning'an.
........
The next day, Jiang Yu went to the government office to work as usual. He first took care of the matters that needed to be handled, and then sent someone to invite Xie Ning'an over. Jiang Yu got up and walked to the tea table, personally taking out the tea set and beginning to brew tea. When Xie Ning'an arrived, the tea was already brewed, and Jiang Yu casually waved for him to sit down.
Xie Ning'an still bowed respectfully and sat down opposite her. Jiang Yu poured two cups of tea, then picked one up and offered it to Xie Ning'an. Xie Ning'an immediately accepted it with both hands, saying, "Thank you, Duke of Chu."
Jiang Yu was already used to his respect and politeness, so she didn't say anything. She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then looked at Xie Ning'an, asking, "What kind of person is Zhu Junning?"
Xie Ning'an put down her teacup. "She's somewhat clever, but superficial, and a bit too eager for quick success."
Jiang Yu paused slightly, then nodded. It seemed Xie Ning'an was able to extract important information from Zhu Junning because Zhu Junning was less skilled.
Then Xie Ning'an said, "Perhaps because she has little experience, I haven't heard that the King of Lingnan has valued her."
Jiang Yu leaned back, adopting a more casual posture, and said, "Then we can't underestimate her in the future."
“Yes,” Xie Ning’an said thoughtfully, “If she is the type to learn from her mistakes, she will grow up in no time.”
Jiang Yu narrowed her eyes. "Then don't let her grow up."
She spoke these words casually, yet they carried an unspeakable murderous intent. Xie Ning'an wasn't surprised at all, because he thought the same thing.
"Tell me what you talked about?" Jiang Yu asked, looking at him.
"Yes." Xie Ning'an recounted her conversation with Zhu Junning in detail. The more Jiang Yu listened, the more interesting her expression became. She hadn't expected Xie Ning'an to be so good at deceiving people.
First, there was the claim that Yan Fengxi was to become Prince Rui's concubine; then, that only a little over 30 million taels of silver had flowed into the national treasury in the past six months; and finally, that Prince Rui's research and production of firearms had consumed most of the national treasury's funds. This sounded like utter nonsense, yet he presented it with such plausible evidence. If she hadn't been involved in almost all of these events, she might have believed it too.
This is a lie that's a mix of truth and falsehood, the easiest thing for people to believe!
After he finished speaking, Jiang Yu couldn't help but give him a thumbs up. Xie Ning'an touched his nose a little shyly and said with a smile, "It was just a spur-of-the-moment decision."
Jiang Yu gave him another thumbs up; he could even tell a lie so well on a whim. However...
She thought for a moment and said, "Given the King of Lingnan's cunning and shrewdness, he won't completely believe what you say. He will definitely try to investigate."
"Yes." Xie Ning'an looked at her and said, "Now it's up to you, Duke of Chu."
Jiang Yu nodded, "Don't worry, I'll make arrangements to make him believe that everything you said is true."
Xie Ning'an relaxed, and Jiang Yu poured him another cup of tea, saying, "I will report the truth to the Emperor."
Xie Ning'an has rendered meritorious service. Even if the emperor does not give her a substantial reward, he should still let the emperor know that Xie Ning'an is different from Xie Yun.
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