Above Gongshu Mansion.
A pair of mounts streaked through the air.
Two figures descended, landing steadily in front of the gate.
Just as they were about to step forward, they saw the Crown Prince's carriage arriving as well.
When Li Zhixuan saw Li Xingluo, a warm smile immediately appeared on his face. "Imperial Sister, why have you come to Gongshu Mansion too?"
Li Xingluo's heart tightened slightly, but she replied calmly, "If you can come, Imperial Brother, why can't I?"
With that,
she led Pu Mingzhu straight into Gongshu Mansion.
Li Zhixuan's smile faltered slightly. The officials all praised the Crown Prince for his gentleness and humility, but sometimes he truly hated the image he had built for himself.
He wanted to live like Li Xingluo, arrogant and overbearing, looking down on everyone.
He shook his head and quickly followed them.
But who would have thought—
as soon as he entered, he saw Gongshu Xia stopping Li Xingluo at the gate.
Li Zhixuan was curious. Although the Gongshu Clan never involved themselves in factional struggles and had never fawned on anyone, they were still very respectful toward the imperial family. Why had they stopped Li Xingluo?
He stepped forward, about to ask what was going on.
But Gongshu Xia bowed to them both. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Imperial Princess, my father returned from the Puppet Assembly and immediately came down with a high fever and convulsions. He really can't receive guests. Could the two of you come back another day?"
Li Xingluo: "..."
Li Zhixuan: "..."
Since Gongshu Songting had been scared into convulsions, they had all the more reason to meet that puppet master.
The man had said that after the assembly, he would give Gongshu Xia some pointers. He had to be somewhere in Gongshu Mansion.
Li Zhixuan smiled faintly, quickly coming up with an excuse to smooth things over. "Brother Gongshu, you've misunderstood. I didn't come to see your father today. I came to see you."
"Me?"
Gongshu Xia scratched his head helplessly. "If you came to see me, I'm honored. But if you're looking for that puppet-making master, I'm afraid Your Highness will be disappointed."
"Hmm? This..."
"Wait a moment!"
Gongshu Xia hurried inside and brought out a box, opening it in front of them.
Inside the box lay a neatly folded puppet.
"This is..."
"This is that puppet master."
Gongshu Xia was also rather annoyed. "We agreed to drink and chat together, but halfway through, he suddenly said his wife was angry and he had to appease her tonight. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, and when he was in the mood again, this puppet would crawl out."
Everyone: "..."
Pu Mingzhu couldn't help asking, "Did the master say anything else?"
Gongshu Xia glanced at the box, thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Three-fold folding. No matter how you fold it, it still has a face!"
Everyone: "..."
By evening, at Southern Pacification Mansion.
Qin Yanying reclined in her chair, legs crossed and swinging at ease. Sipping cold tea, she asked, "Muye, where's Yuji? Dinner's almost ready. Why hasn't she come to eat?"
Qin Muye shot her a speechless glance. They had only watched half of the puppet-making assembly before she and Chen Sui had disappeared to who knew where.
You could say that middle-aged men and women communicated simply and directly.
Sometimes, Qin Muye even thought Qin Yanying hadn't married Chen Sui not because she had a hang-up about it,
but because she was afraid they'd get tired of each other after being married too long. By deliberately staying together without a name for it, they could keep the passion alive.
Just look at her gulping down that cold tea. How thirsty did she have to be?
He curled his lip. "She got worn out treating me, so she's already gone to sleep."
"It's still early in the day. Why would she go to sleep already?"
Qin Yanying muttered a couple of times. Something seemed strange to her, though she couldn't say what. She simply got to the point. "Muye, when are you planning to marry Yuji?"
"Huh?"
Qin Muye froze. "We're getting married already?"
Qin Yanying's brows immediately knitted together. "What the hell are you talking about? Yuji's pretty, skilled in medicine, and good to you. That girl's been living in Qin Mansion for ages. Aren't you going to give her a proper title?"
She was genuinely pleased with Bai Yuji now.
At first, she'd thought the young woman was after the Qin Family's status.
But then she'd thought about it. With medical skills that good, why would she need to marry into the Qin Family to gain status?
The girl was really quite something.
Qin Muye grinned. "Of course I'm willing. But with a marriage, we should at least ask our parents first, right?"
Qin Yanying slapped her thigh. "Perfect! The Ten Thousand Races Imperial Examination is coming up soon. Your father might come to the capital. We can settle everything while he's here."
"The Ten Thousand Races Imperial Examination? Is my father coming to proctor it?"
"When did he ever have the education for that? Those border kingdoms don't want to fight anymore, so they all want to negotiate during this opportunity. Our Qin Family guards Annan and has beaten up more foreign tribes than anyone else, so naturally we have to send someone important. Either your father or your Fourth Uncle. I've already sent word. We'll definitely get your marriage settled."
"..."
"While you're at it, tell him how hard things have been. The culprit's been difficult to catch. With family coming, we need to convince His Majesty to step up the investigation."
"Mm!"
Qin Muye pondered. Earlier that day at the Tea Pavilion, Chen Sui had already told him that all the henchmen they'd dragged out, along with their families, had died suddenly overnight.
That ruthless severing of loose ends showed just how vicious and powerful the mastermind was.
Chen Sui was furious. He knew this was a big fish, and the Brocade Guard alone probably couldn't handle it.
But his request to the emperor to mobilize the Shadow Guard had gone unanswered.
To push the investigation forward, perhaps the Qin Family really would have to step in.
But even if the Qin Family did, the emperor might not be willing to hand over the culprit.
Right!
Hand over the culprit!
Qin Muye's gaze turned cold. That Infatuated Woman had thoroughly put him off earlier, and his body had developed a problem, so he'd cut off the surveillance.
But he'd still managed to see that Infatuated Woman's fate.
[Main Fate: Infatuated Woman]: A lovesick madwoman turned demon, unable to have the one she loved.
[Fate Rank]: Seventh-grade (79/80)
[Note]: A foul rat with a brain full of holes, willingly reduced to a pawn. Out of jealousy, she slaughtered her lover's children, then was killed by him after giving birth.
Slaughtered her lover's children. That "lover" could only be Qin Kaijiang.
As he recalled, Qin Kaijiang's skin was divided into two regions, with a slight difference in color.
Now it seemed that was because the woman had flayed him.
The Grand Marshal had been flayed—a matter so serious that even his son hadn't heard of it. That showed that the beautiful woman's identity was no ordinary one.
Add in her wealth, and the fact that she could order Li Xingluo around.
The answer was already plain.
Grand Princess Li Runyue, Li Hong's younger sister and the only person in Great Gan ever to be granted the title of Grand Princess.
But after helping Li Hong ascend the throne, she had vanished without a trace. Very little had ever come out about her, and no one knew what had happened to make her so deranged.
Four thousand spirit stones for a human-shaped Purple Mood, and she'd even sewn one on...
Qin Muye was fairly certain that Li Runyue had made a move against him without the emperor's orders—or at least, without his orders now. The emperor must have known about the foreign envoys coming to the capital to negotiate much earlier than he had. There was no way he'd start trouble at such a critical moment.
But whether the emperor knew that Li Runyue was behind it was another matter.
That lunatic woman had no sense of the bigger picture and kept trying to kill him. She had to be dealt with.
He regretted it a little.
If only he'd given the puppet an explosive dick.
But on second thought, that probably wouldn't work either.
What respectable person would give a puppet a dick? It would only make people suspicious.
Besides, Li Runyue had clearly prepared in advance. The thing she'd sewn on might have been a mold of Qin Kaijiang's. She probably wouldn't want to replace it.
This was truly ridiculous!
That woman rarely appeared in public. How was he supposed to kill her?
"Muye? What are you thinking about?"
"N-nothing! Let's eat!"
"Go ahead. Afterward, take some food to Yuji."
"Okay!"
Qin Muye carried the food to Bai Yuji's door.
"Wife, dinner's ready!"
"I'm not hungry!"
"Whether you're hungry or not doesn't matter. I mainly have something to tell you."
"I'm not listening!"
"I'm getting married. My family arranged a marriage for me."
"What!"
Bai Yuji flung the door open, grabbed Qin Muye, and dragged him inside. She glared at him furiously. "Didn't I tell you not to get married? Do you really think I wouldn't lay a hand on you?"
She didn't understand why she was so angry.
Although this would limit how much she could control Qin Muye, marriages between Aristocratic Clans were perfectly normal. She'd even prepared to force Qin Muye to turn it down.
But hearing about it still made her furious.
Qin Muye set down the tray and rubbed his head in frustration. "Mainly, I can't refuse this marriage. Besides, I quite like that girl."
Bai Yuji grew even angrier.
Qin Muye hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Of course, I know this goes against our agreement. I'm not in a position to talk about whether I like someone or not. I came to you because I want you to help me think of a solution."
Bai Yuji asked with a stern expression, "Who is that woman?"
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