When Chu Xisheng returned to Chu Residence in West Mountain Town after racing several dozen li, he saw Wu Meiniang standing at his gate.
Holding her smoking pipe, she leaned against the stone lion beside the entrance, her delicate brows tightly knitted and her thoughts elsewhere.
Chu Xisheng walked over, his face dark as iron, and stared coldly at her. "What happened to Qingyun? Why didn't you send me word when he got into trouble?"
"Have you come to call me to account, Hall Master Chu?"
Coming back to herself, Wu Meiniang shook her head slightly. "Qingyun wouldn't let me tell you. He didn't want to drag you into this. I also thought it would be best for you to watch from the sidelines. This isn't something you can intervene in."
She tapped the ash from her pipe, her voice low and husky. "But since you've asked, I'll explain the situation. An enemy of Zuo Tianlu wants them dead."
Chu Xisheng raised his brows. "An enemy? What sort of enemy leaves me unqualified even to ask?"
"The current deputy minister of the Court of Judicial Review!"
Wu Meiniang exhaled a cloud of white smoke. "When Zuo Tianlu served as a censor in the Censorate, he once impeached this man, costing him his post and getting him demoted to an official position on the southern frontier. Five of his family of seven ended up dying of plague. Now that he's been restored to his former office, naturally he's trying every possible means to take revenge. Zuo Tianlu originally had solid foundations at court, with many colleagues backing him. But he was foolish enough to impeach the 'Ten-for-One Cash,' giving his enemies an opening."
Wu Meiniang looked at Chu Xisheng. "The deputy minister of the Court of Judicial Review was called the