Chapter 120 She had never looked so refined and dignified.
Wang Wu frowned, his face full of confusion: "Commander, why would Meng Xi take the initiative to send such a message? As far as I know, he is Meng Jiang's only legitimate son, why would he do this?"
"His father was a high-ranking official in charge of maritime trade. Even if he was completely unaware of such a scandalous affair of collusion with the enemy under his command, he could not escape the serious crime of 'lax management of subordinates and negligence in oversight.' At best, his official reputation would be ruined and his career would be cut off; at worst, he would be dismissed from office, exiled, and his entire clan would be implicated!"
His voice grew lower and lower: "As the eldest son, Meng Xi cannot escape punishment even if he has the blood of the Duke's mansion. Isn't this just inviting trouble and inviting disaster upon himself?"
Xiao Yeming twirled the plain paper between his fingers, his expression calm: "But if he were to offer this 'righteous cause' voluntarily, and then use the influence of his maternal clan to maneuver, wouldn't he be able to clear his name and extricate himself unscathed?"
Wang Wu paused for a moment, then nodded: "That's true."
Still unwilling to give up, he pressed on, "Could it be that he intends to use this achievement to forge a familial bond with the court, seize power, and become the head of the family?"
At this point, his tone became serious: "Is he trying to take advantage of his father's loss of power and the upheaval in the family to ascend the throne ahead of time?"
Wang Wu sighed: "I had heard long ago in the capital that there was a deep-seated rift and long-standing resentment between the father and son. This move, ostensibly to save the clan, is actually a ploy to kill someone with a borrowed knife to settle a personal grudge!"
Xiao Yeming's gaze swept over the sparse handwriting on the paper once again.
Although he knew little about the feuds among the high-ranking families in the capital, he had heard of this eldest son of the Meng family—a solitary and unsociable man who, despite his talent, had no interest in power struggles and spent his days entertaining himself with poetry and books, as if nothing in the world concerned him.
Judging from the few words in the letter, he didn't care about the position of family head at all.
He despised the hypocrisy and pretense of officialdom, disdained the burden of family prestige, and had long been bored with the power struggles of interpersonal relationships, merely observing from the sidelines.
Xiao Yeming suddenly spoke up: "He sent this 'pledge of allegiance' not to scheme for power. 'Overthrowing his father' is the truth, 'becoming the head of the family' is a pretense."
Wang Wu was taken aback: "Then what is he after?"
A faint, cold smile flickered across Xiao Yeming's lips: "Lend me this 'knife' to cut away that lump of 'rotten flesh' in his eyes. It will satisfy the 'righteousness' in the eyes of outsiders and also give me some peace and quiet. If I'm not mistaken, he just wants to end this disgusting farce himself, or to coldly mock the hypocrisy of human nature."
"As for taking charge of the Meng family and bringing glory to the family?"
His tone turned cold. "He'll probably just scoff and have no interest whatsoever."
To put it bluntly...
He just wanted to see his father suffer a humiliating defeat.
Wang Wu finally understood, and after a long pause, he sighed in a low voice, "What a madman."
He added, "Those under Prefect Meng who have the courage and means to commit this act of treason are none other than those few who hold real power—Deputy Prefect Gu Chen, or Judge Yu Bang, who is in charge of criminal cases. As for Lin Hai, the most suspicious person who could have 'secretly communicated' with him is still Prefect Niu Xin'ou, or his deputy Zhong Xingchang."
He paused, his brow furrowed: "But... now that Meng Tiju is keeping it a secret, the other side will surely be on guard. We are outside, so it is even more difficult to determine who it is, and we don't know how far they have progressed."
Xiao Yeming's gaze was calm as he placed the plain paper over the candlelight, watching it curl, char, and eventually turn to ashes.
"It's alright."
His voice was calm and composed, yet carried an undeniable determination: "Now that the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, one or even more of these four must be the parasites. If we rashly send troops to suppress the Japanese, the strategy for marching and deploying troops will probably already be on the enemy chief's desk before we even leave the camp."
"Next, all we need to do is set a trap, release the bait, and wait for the snake hiding in the shadows to come out of its hole on its own."
"The army will not leave the camp until the traitor is eliminated."
"Once the internal troubles are eliminated, we will strike at the heart of the matter with lightning speed and deliver a fatal blow."
Upon hearing this, Wang Wu's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he immediately perked up.
But before turning away, he hesitated and said, "When Meng Xi brought that jar of wine that day, he said, 'Once the commander recovers, we will open the jar and drink together.' Now that he has brought such important news, should I... personally go and bring him here to drink with the commander, so that we can fulfill our promise?"
Xiao Yeming's eyes turned cold, and he said decisively, "No!"
He tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, his voice deepening: "Inviting him here now is tantamount to pushing him into the open. Those eyes in the shadows are watching closely, and any slight movement will arouse suspicion. This wine cannot be drunk now."
The next day, the sky was grayish-blue, and the drizzle had just stopped.
Wan Wanning dressed in front of the mirror.
Dongrou stood behind her and styled her hair into a pretty double bun, then carefully tied it with a blue ribbon.
After combing her hair, Dongrou took out a white jade camellia hairpin. The material was warm and smooth, and the flower shape was full. She carefully inserted the hairpin diagonally into her hair, adding a touch of noble elegance to her.
Wan Wanning also changed into a brand new lotus root-colored shirt, paired with a willow-yellow long skirt.
The figure in the mirror was slender and delicate, the colors of her new clothes and the flower hairpin in her hair complementing each other, making her skin appear even fairer.
Dongrou looked at her in the mirror and smiled, praising, "You look so beautiful with this makeup. Your features are somewhat like your older sister's former beauty. This white jade camellia hairpin suits you very well."
Wan Wanning stared at the bronze mirror, the strange yet familiar image within it causing her to pause slightly.
She couldn't help but raise her hand and lightly touch the flower hairpin at the edge of her hair, as if to confirm its presence.
Then, she pursed her lips, revealing a shy yet delighted smile.
yes.
So beautiful.
She had never looked so refined and presentable.
She stood up, her fingers unconsciously tracing non-existent folds on her skirt, making sure the hairpin was securely in place, before taking a deep breath, as if gathering immense courage, gently pushing open the door, and stepping out—to welcome her first day as "Lady Lu's sworn sister."
The people in the boudoir treated her with exceptional kindness, greeting her with smiles whenever they met, praising her beauty and especially noting the unique white jade camellia hairpin she wore.
Just then, Greenie hurried past carrying a tea tray and accidentally bumped into her, causing the teacup to clatter to the ground.
Startled, Lü'er immediately bowed and apologized repeatedly. Her gaze swept over the silver hairpin and new clothes in Wan Wanning's hair, and her expression became even more humble and respectful, treating her as if she were half a mistress.
Wan Wanning's heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously straightened her back and, mimicking Lu Zhaoruo's usual calm demeanor, said softly, "It's alright, just be more careful next time."
Upon hearing the sound, Lü'er bowed again before squatting down to collect the broken pieces.
Unbeknownst to her, Greenie had done Lu Zhaoruo a small favor, and was also a maid that Lu Zhaoruo had brought from the Shen family.
In the afternoon, Lu Zhaoruo led Wan Wanning out of the city.
At the foot of the mountain, in a secluded spot, a newly erected blue stone tombstone stands forlornly in the damp soil, with only the three simple characters "Wan Miao Niang" engraved on it.
Wan Wanning knelt before the monument, not crying out loud, but her shoulders trembled slightly, and tears silently streamed down her face.
She reached out, her fingertips carefully touching the cold stone carving. After a long while, she spoke very softly, "Sister... I'm... doing very well now. Madam Lu... treats me extremely well, she took me in as her sworn sister... Look, she even gave me new clothes and this hairpin..."
As she spoke, she tilted her head slightly, as if to let her sister see the flower hairpin in her hair.
"She let me live in the embroidered tower. The room had everything: a carved dressing table, soft brocade quilts... and these newly made clothes, the fabrics... were all of the finest quality."
"Look..."
As she spoke, she stood up, gently twirled around, and showed her sister the hard-earned respectability she had achieved.
Then she knelt down again, lowering her voice even further: "Sister, do you know? There's a maid named Lü'er in the boudoir... Today, she treated me with the same respect she would show to her mistress... I was quite taken aback."
Recalling Greenie's humble demeanor, a smug smile unconsciously crept onto her lips as she murmured, "Little sister... has never been treated like this before. This feeling..."
"Very good."
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