Chapter 140: The scheme Xie Qingyu plotted against was only against one person.
Yue Yining got off work early today, and it was still light when she returned to the princess's residence.
Because she had important matters on her mind, she thought she needed to set aside time to discuss the plans and arrangements with Wei Yihua, so she finished her official duties for the day as quickly as possible and left the capital early.
Back in her bedchamber, Yue Yining casually asked a maid, "Is Her Highness the Princess in the manor?"
Her personal maidservant helped her change, speaking respectfully: "Her Highness the Princess went out to see the Imperial Censor this afternoon and has not yet returned to the residence."
With Fu Yao absent, the personal maids serving her in the palace were Bao Lian and Nong He. Yue Yining let Bao Lian take off her cloak, then brushed off her sleeves and was about to go around to sit behind the desk when her gaze suddenly stopped as it swept across the table.
After hanging up her cloak, Baolian followed and saw Yue Yining standing in front of the table with an inscrutable expression.
Who has entered my bedchamber today?
Yue Yining abruptly asked a question, and the maid Baolian was stunned for a moment before quickly bowing her head and replying, "Reporting to Your Majesty, three groups of people entered the palace today. After you left, this servant, Fu Yao, Nonghe, and I went into the room to tidy up the bedding and dressing table, organized the dressing table, and arranged the calligraphy and paper scrolls on the desk. Then it was the time for the maids to do the menial tasks..."
Yue Yining had already sat down, flipping through a few pages of documents on the table, tapping the table lightly with her finger as she read, listening to her speak without saying a word.
Baolian reported her duties in detail, but her heart was pounding. She didn't know why Lord Yue would suddenly ask about this. Could it be that Lord Yue had discovered that something in the room had been tampered with? But all the people who had entered and left the palace today were familiar faces. They had all worked in the princess's residence for half their lives. Who would be so reckless as to steal something?
After reporting, Baolian stood still, eyes downcast, not daring to utter a sound. Suddenly, she heard Yue Yining's smiling voice: "I noticed that the palace is exceptionally clean today, and this vase of red plum blossoms in the snow is beautifully arranged, so I thought I should reward you all."
"Go and fetch my brocade pouch containing plum blossom ingots," Yue Yining said with a smile. "Red plum blossoms are cold, elegant, and exquisite. These plum blossom ingots are quite fitting for the occasion. Divide them carefully, one pouch for each person. Also, go and get some of the new gauze palace flowers made by the inner palace the other day and distribute them to the maids. Tell them to pick out a few fresh ones to wear."
Baolian had experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in just a few breaths, and her legs were weak, but when she heard that not only was she alright but she would also receive a reward, she couldn't hide her joy: "Yes! This servant will go right away!"
As Yue Yining watched her departing figure, the smile on her face gradually faded until it disappeared completely.
When Shen Liude arrived, he was greeted by a courtyard full of delicate heads adorned with palace flowers. The cheerful little maids, with rosy cheeks, moved with light steps, their joy evident to the naked eye.
She entered the hall. Yue Yining was dressed in a simple blue robe. Behind her was a round window, and outside was a vast expanse of snow, so white it was dazzling, like the bright moonlight flowing across the earth. She was like a lotus leaf rising gently under the bright moon.
Shen Liude slowed down, and Yue Yining looked up and saw her, a hint of a smile in her eyes.
"Lord Shen, please have a seat."
"I've only just entered the courtyard when I see so many little maids wearing flowers everywhere, it's dazzling." Shen Liude sat down in front of her. "You seem to be in a good mood today? I've never seen you reward so many servants at once before."
The maids in the palace had already left. This was Yue Yining's custom. She often met with close ministers in her palace, and no one was left in the palace to serve them during their conversations.
Yue Yining tilted the teapot and poured her a cup of tea, but didn't say anything for a moment, only glancing at her briefly.
Shen Liude's smile also faded.
She had worked with Yue Yining for quite some time and could read her hints and glances. Shen Liude frowned, realizing something. "Could it be that something has happened?"
Yue Yining nodded. "Something has happened."
"There's a traitor in the princess's residence."
"What!?" Shen Liude was shocked and couldn't control her voice for a moment. Realizing she had lost her composure, she quickly tightened her voice, but her expression still showed surprise. "The manor? How could there be a traitor in the manor?"
"How did you find out?" Shen Liude asked, then immediately understood, his expression changing. "Could it be—"
Yue Yining nodded, confirming her guess: "When I came back today, I found that the documents I had placed on the table had been moved. My personal maid will tidy up the scattered scrolls for me, but she will not look at the contents of the documents."
She was always careful, leaving inconspicuous marks on her everyday items and tucking dried flowers and grass leaves into her documents. She could tell at a glance if someone had touched them.
Of course, this could also be an accident. For example, the maid might have accidentally knocked over the scroll while cleaning, causing the dried flowers and grass inside to be out of place. Fearing that she would be scolded for telling the truth, she pretended that everything was normal and rearranged the documents.
But Yue Yining didn't mention that there was another thing that confirmed to her that this was definitely not an accident.
She has been performing a great deal of divination in the palace recently. The Six Lines divination can be used to divine about people who are nameless, faceless, causeless, and without cause, but the amount of divination is often enormous. Even though she narrowed down the scope by using the special properties of the Worldly Line and the Ghost Line, there are still a full nine hundred and ninety-nine hexagrams before her that need to be analyzed.
If she's unlucky, she might have to do the final divination to get Xie Qingyu's true birth date and time.
Another characteristic of the Six Lines divination is that it requires a great deal of equipment. Not only does it require setting up a Bagua chart, but it also requires burning yarrow stalks and using the ashes to determine the precise time and direction. Often, each divination is a large-scale undertaking. In order to get the result as quickly as possible, she has been spending an average of one hour a day in the palace these days, busy interpreting and calculating the hexagrams.
If there really was a mole in the courtyard, they would definitely notice her unusual behavior and report it to their true master.
Yue Yining had just considered this point and checked the divination tools she had put away in the box. Sure enough, she found that they had also been moved. The stack of paper with hexagrams drawn on it that she had neatly put away had also been looked through from beginning to end. The person who looked at it obviously did not understand divination and mistakenly thought that the hexagrams were the same. Although the person carefully put them back as they were, the order of some of the papers was accidentally messed up, and the person did not notice.
Shen Liude: "Then why didn't you tell Her Highness the Princess and ask her to send someone to investigate? Instead, you rewarded all the servants in the courtyard. What's going on here?"
“My initial thought was the same as yours: inform His Highness and then eliminate the spies. But then I thought it was best not to alert them.” Yue Yining held her teacup, tapping the side of the cup with her finger. The deep meaning in her eyes rippled like the tea. “Even if we catch them, they will still plant more people. There is no such thing as a thousand days of guarding against thieves.”
"We might as well turn the tables on them and use this opportunity to strike back."
Their eyes met, and Shen Liude quickly understood what she meant. "...I understand. No wonder you suddenly wanted to reward the servants."
"So, you think that you already have someone you suspect?"
“It’s most likely one of the Fourth Prince’s men.” Yue Yining took a sip of tea. “I don’t know if he sent someone in or bribed someone, but the method was rather clumsy.”
If it were someone from the Seventh Prince's faction, they would have been much more meticulous in placing someone in the Princess's residence to monitor her. Moreover, Xie Qingyu would most likely have handled the Seventh Prince's people. Based on her understanding of him, firstly, he wouldn't use such a low-level method, and secondly, since the person would be planted right under her nose, he would definitely be more careful and less likely to be noticed.
Yue Yining was halfway through her thought when a thought flashed through her mind, and she suddenly stopped drinking her tea.
...She didn't even realize it.
Even in her heart, she would always speak up for Xie Qingyu.
Yue Yining remained silent for a moment. Seeing that the topic had come to an end, Shen Liude took the opportunity to pull out the documents she had brought from her sleeve. She had come here with important matters to report to Yue Yining: "You instructed me to investigate the Ministry of War's Ordnance Department before, and these are the things I found."
"We guessed correctly. There were indeed problems with the large quantities of military equipment delivered to the border. A number of people in the Ministry of War, as well as officials from the other six related ministries, were involved to varying degrees, with layers of exploitation from top to bottom. As a result, the military equipment produced in the end could hardly meet the regulations."
Shen Liude said from the side that Yue Yining followed her explanation and looked at the documents. She read them quickly and made sense of them.
The military merchants responsible for supplying spare parts had private dealings with officials in key positions in the Ministry of War. Therefore, the Ministry of War would select them for long-term cooperation. Both parties would benefit from each other and make profits together, forming a tightly closed chain of interests. Although there is no evidence, the list of officials involved can already be drawn up.
Shen Liude also found a record from two months prior that had been missed but not altered or concealed. It recorded a message from the border stating that the loss of military equipment had increased significantly. After reviewing the court's documents, no similar reports were ever sent back from the border.
Yue Yining: "Is it impossible to obtain physical evidence of the military equipment?"
Shen Liude shook his head: "When I first said I wanted to check the warehouse, they were very wary. They handed me a pre-fabricated register to check, and it was impossible for them to let me take away the weapons inside. I thought of other ways afterward, such as bribing the officers in charge of the warehouse, but it was as if they had received special orders, and the methods were completely ineffective."
Yue Yining understood. She roughly knew when the traitor in her palace had been planted.
The Ministry of War was more cautious and vigilant than they had imagined. Shen Liude's sudden investigation must have alerted the Ministry of War, which then came to the attention of the Fourth Prince. That's why the Fourth Prince sent people to infiltrate the Princess's residence; he wanted to know exactly what they were investigating.
Without physical evidence, any further deductions they make here are just empty words, and no one will believe them. Yue Yining closed the document, rubbed her temples with her fingers. A whole day of work and thinking made her look a little tired. She slowly said, "It's not advisable to force this matter. They are very cautious and will easily notice something is wrong. If they start erasing traces left over from the past, it will be even more difficult to obtain evidence later."
It seems we should wait for news from He Chan before making any plans.
Now we can only take it one step at a time and wait for the right opportunity.
Yue Yining thought for a moment, but the Fourth Prince's methods against her were quite mild. You know, his strategists used much more ruthless methods when dealing with the Third Prince.
......
Dusk descends on the horizon, and frost melts into snow and mud.
Yin Yi and Huang Qiu stood guard at the courtyard gate. Several guards remained silent, and maids walked by quickly, creating a tense atmosphere in the courtyard.
Beside their feet lay a burlap sack, at least two meters long, inside which something seemed to be alive, struggling and wriggling. No matter what the sack made, Yin Yi kept his eyes straight ahead, paying it no attention whatsoever. Only Huang Qiu would kick the sack when it moved too violently, silencing it briefly.
After an unknown amount of time, a steady, slow footstep came from outside the courtyard gate. Yin Yi immediately went to the gate and waited respectfully for the person to enter before calling out, "Young Master."
Before the person even arrived, the faint scent of cool pine resin reached the tip of the nose first.
Xie Qingyu, dressed in a dark brocade fox fur coat, appeared at the courtyard gate. His skin was as white as snow, and he exuded a cold and otherworldly aura. His beautifully shaped eyelids were half-closed, and his face was expressionless.
Upon hearing Yin Yi's voice, Xie Qingyu didn't even glance at him before heading over.
Yin Yi called out again, "Young Master, I have important matters to report to you. Please wait."
Xie Qingyu had only taken two steps when she stopped. Actually, even without Yin Yi saying anything more, Xie Qingyu knew something had happened as soon as she saw a group of personal guards standing at the courtyard gate.
His expression was indifferent as he looked in the direction of Yin Yi and Huang Qiu, finally fixing his gaze on the wriggling sack.
"What is it?"
Yin Yi: "Huang Qiu discovered someone trying to sneak into the palace to poison the incense burner of the Yue people while on a mission at the princess's residence today. He immediately knocked the person unconscious and brought him back with the evidence."
After he finished speaking, the courtyard fell into a deathly silence.
As expected, Yin Yi noticed a change in Xie Qingyu's expression.
Even the sack on the ground sensed the impending danger and abruptly stopped wriggling, then began to struggle with all its might again.
Yin Yi grabbed the sack that was moving around on the ground and threw it a meter in front of Xie Qingyu, then gestured for Huang Qiu to come forward.
Huang Qiu forced himself to take a few steps forward, feeling the weight of Xie Qingyu's intense gaze on his neck. He lowered his head and said, "Yes, yes, it was someone I caught."
"The poison found in his sleeve is still here with me, please take a look, young master."
In his outstretched palm was a folded paper packet. Xie Qingyu walked closer, picked it open with her fingertips, and looked down at the strangely colored powder inside.
“Cold Blood Poison.” Xie Qingyu parted her lips slightly and accurately named the poison. “It takes effect quickly. If taken orally, the toxicity can be detected afterward. If it is poured into an incense burner, it can kill people overnight without them even noticing, and the cause of death is extremely difficult to find. The antidote is rare and hard to find. When the poison takes effect, one will experience a painful sensation similar to freezing to death.”
Xie Qingyu raised her leg, her silver-patterned leather boots stepping on the motionless sack, grinding it twice before kicking it away.
The person in the sack rolled several times and crashed into a protruding rock of the artificial hill. He cried out in pain.
Xie Qingyu pulled his legs back, his large fox fur coat draped to the ground, and he once again became that flawless, jade-like young master. He stared indifferently in the direction of the man, "Feed him the poison."
"Yes," Yin Yi replied. "Won't you spare his life to interrogate him, young master?"
“No need,” Xie Qingyu said without turning around. “I know who sent him.”
Yin Yi: "Understood."
Xie Qingyu entered the room, and a maid closed the door to the side room for him. The sound of a burlap sack being torn open came from the courtyard, followed by a violent and high-pitched scream, which was then replaced by a strange sound of gagging as someone choked on their throat. After that, the commotion in the courtyard gradually subsided.
That evening, the snow stopped and the wind died down.
In the vast white night, after receiving an urgent message from Xie Qingyu, Rong Xuan hurriedly left the mansion and rushed to the Ministry of Justice prison.
He had informed the Ministry of Justice beforehand that he was going to retrieve a death row inmate from the prison. The officials understood and presented him with a roster filled with detailed prison records and personal information, such as family background, origin, and crimes committed. Rong Xuan carefully selected a suitable prisoner and had his subordinate lead him there to see him.
The Ministry of Justice prison was built underground, perpetually damp and dark, never seeing the sun. The only source of light in the prison was candlelight. In the dead of winter, melting snow would seep into the cracks in the stone, immersing the entire prison in a chilling atmosphere that made your teeth clench.
Rong Xuan rarely came here because the prison was poorly ventilated, and the smell of excrement and blood mixed together, making it extremely stinky. Staying there for too long would make him feel nauseous.
As Rong Xuan neared the end of the road, he was still looking at the roster as he passed the prison cells, not paying attention to his footing. Suddenly, a withered, thin hand swiftly reached out and grabbed his hem!
Rong Xuan almost stumbled and fell. He stared in astonishment at the prisoner who was holding him in the cell. The man's hair was tangled and dirty, and he was covered in blood. His eyes were filled with fear and longing as he looked at him.
Looking disheveled, Che Zilong reached out from the crack in the prison door and grabbed the corner of his clothes tightly. Tears streamed from the corners of his swollen eyes. He looked at Rong Xuan, who was different from everyone else in terms of clothing and appearance, and looked like a god. It was as if he was looking at Rong Xuan as his last lifeline.
He cried out, "My lord! My lord! My lord, please don't go! I beg you! I'll give you money, I still have silver and land, I'll give you everything! Please, please... stop torturing me, just give me a quick death!!"
Rong Xuan frowned, looking at the prisoner at his feet, who was crying and covered in filth, hiding the disgust in his eyes very well.
He didn't rush to withdraw his leg. Although the Ministry of Justice prison was almost entirely staffed by his men, it was filled with low-ranking prison officials. He didn't know if there were spies planted by other forces. He still had to put on a show, knowing that someone would take care of things for him.
Sure enough, the nearest jailer spat and strode forward, stepping on Che Zilong's hand that was holding Rong Xuan. Amidst Che Zilong's sudden, high-pitched scream, the jailer cursed, "What the hell! Open your dog eyes and see clearly! This is Minister Rong, you filthy thing! Instead of staying put, you dare to act recklessly!"
Rong Xuan was baffled and turned to ask his subordinate, "Who is this person?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, this man is the former Prefect of Qinghuai, named Che Zilong."
It turns out he was Che Zilong.
Rong Xuan suddenly realized what was happening, and a hint of pity appeared in his eyes as he looked at Che Zilong.
How foolish! He still doesn't realize that the reason he's ended up in such a miserable state is because he offended someone he shouldn't have.
Che Zilong's eyes were unfocused, his face blank, and his mouth trembled as he repeated, "I have money, I have money, it's all yours, it's all yours... Let me go..."
It seems he suffered a lot in this prison.
How pathetic, she was just begging him.
When he received Xie Qingyu's order to have people "take good care" of Che Zilong in prison, he didn't even know who Che Zilong was. Later, when he learned that Che Zilong was the governor of Qinghuai, Rong Xuan thought that Xie Qingyu was doing this to avenge him, since Qinghuai hadn't sent anyone to rescue him in time after he went missing, which could be said to be due to Che Zilong's behind-the-scenes machinations.
However, as he did more and more things for Xie Qingyu, he gradually saw the truth and realized how naive and superficial his initial ideas were.
Xie Qingyu is no ordinary person.
If anyone else were in his position, no matter how much they strategized and painstakingly plotted, they would mostly be preoccupied with the four things: power, profit, fame, and status. What makes Xie Qingyu different is that he only schemes for one person.
Seeing that Che Zilong was still muttering to himself, Rong Xuan had a mischievous thought. Through the iron prison door, he deliberately laughed and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Your silver and land have been confiscated, Prefect Che."
These words struck a nerve with Che Zilong, who suddenly screamed in agony.
Rong Xuan ignored him and gestured for his subordinate to take care of the aftermath, while he took the roster and continued searching for people.
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Author's note: Amazing, Ningning! [Sprinkling flowers]
Dark Jade [doge emoji]
P.S.: Rong Xuan has been Yu Yu's person for a long time. This is foreshadowed in Chapter 32. Later, Ning Ning will also find out by questioning Yu Yu (the way she questions her is very passionate [doge]).
The next chapter will focus on the romance, and Yu Yu will suffer again, but it's okay, he'll get some sweet moments this time too. [clasped hands]
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