I Can Save Your Wei Family, but I Can Also Wipe Out Your Nine Clans

At noon, a carriage slowly left the imperial palace and headed for the busiest street in Xiling.

Di Qingyu took Chunzhi and Xialin to a teahouse to watch an opera. After sitting there for about a quarter of an hour, Di Qingyu disguised herself as a servant boy and left through a secret passage in the private room, while Chunzhi and Xialin stayed at the teahouse just in case.

The teahouse was very close to Zhihua Pavilion. Di Qingyu turned onto the next street and arrived at its back door.

She had applied makeup and reshaped her features with modeling putty. Her complexion was dark, and no one who saw her would recognize her.

Knock, knock, knock! Di Qingyu rapped on the door three times.

"Who is it? Don't you know no one's allowed in here?"

A moment later, the back door opened, and a man came out, his gaze impatient yet wary.

Di Qingyu raised her head slightly and lowered her voice, saying only, "I'm here to collect Squire Liu's things."

At those words, the man's gaze subtly changed at once, and he smiled politely.

"Oh, so you're one of Squire Liu's people. Please, come in. Everything's already wrapped up. Just follow me and I'll get it for you."

Di Qingyu followed him inside. Once the back door was shut, the man said nothing and led her straight into Zhihua Pavilion's secret passage.

"Master, Wei Ning is already waiting for you inside." Once they entered the passage, the man immediately bowed respectfully.

"Mm." Di Qingyu's expression was cold. "Keep an eye out for spies in the area."

Clearly, both the teahouse and Zhihua Pavilion were Di Qingyu's territory.

"Yes."

Di Qingyu did not go straight through the passage to meet him, but entered through the private room's main door.

Bang!

Di Qingyu knocked on the door, and someone inside soon opened it.

A middle-aged man stood before her, his hair black but his temples flecked with gray. His brows and eyes were sharp and upright, with an air of authority and keen perception. His light-brown clothes were simple in style, but made of silk with a subtle woven pattern. He rather resembled the stern and impartial Bao Qingtian.

This was none other than Wei Ning, Xiling's vice minister of justice.

"And you are?"

Wei Ning looked at the dark-faced servant boy before him, who was short and rather plain-looking, and could not help growing suspicious. Was the sixth princess playing a trick on him?

"I am the person you wish to see right now, Lord Wei."

Di Qingyu looked calmly at the man before her. They had met a few times, having caught brief glimpses of each other outside Xuanzheng Hall.

"Walls have ears. Let's talk inside."

With that, seeing that Wei Ning had yet to recognize her through her disguise, she went around him and pushed her way inside.

Though Wei Ning was surprised by her appearance as a servant boy, he quickly recovered. Someone who could offer to save the Wei Family naturally had some ability.

He immediately shut the door and turned toward the room.

"Don't doubt me, Lord Wei. I am Di Qingyu. I still need this disguise for the trip back later, so I won't show you my true face."

Di Qingyu sat down at the table and gazed at him with unruffled composure.

"So that's how it is."

Wei Ning also knew that there were skilled people in the martial world whose disguise techniques were superb, so he did not dwell on it. Besides, he had indeed recognized Di Qingyu's voice.

"This subject, Wei Ning, vice minister of justice, pays his respects to Your Highness."

He first stepped forward and properly raised his hands in salute to Di Qingyu.

Di Qingyu was in no hurry. Smiling, she said, "There's no need for formalities, Lord Wei. You are one of Xiling's important ministers who assist Imperial Father. Over the years, you've stood up to the powerful, secured justice for Xiling's people, punished evil and promoted good. The people praise you as an 'official who cares for them like a parent.' You are a good official whom I, Qingyu, respect."

"Please don't make fun of me, Sixth Princess. I stood up to the powerful before because it didn't endanger everyone in the Wei Family. But now..."

At her words, Wei Ning's face twisted into a bitter smile. He had devoted his whole life to his duties, only to bring disaster upon his entire family in the end by offending the powerful.

Di Qingyu reassured him softly, "Lord Wei, you've been an official for many years. You should know what stands above the powerful. There is still a chance of survival for the Wei Family. It's too early to despair."

Above the powerful stood imperial authority!

Wei Ning's brown eyes flickered slightly as he looked at her, some hesitation hidden in his gaze.

"Sixth Princess, I would like to know why you want to help the Wei Family."

"Wei Xin should have told you in her letter. I can save the Wei Family, but my condition is the loyalty of every member of your family." After a pause, Di Qingyu added pointedly:

"Loyalty to me, Di Qingyu, not to the Xiling imperial family."

"You mean..."

Although Wei Ning had been somewhat prepared, his heart still skipped a beat at her words. He understood perfectly what lay behind that last sentence.

Loyalty not to the Xiling imperial family meant that she did not consider herself subordinate to it at all. If she wished to do something that betrayed the imperial family, the Wei Family would become a blade in her hand, sharing in her glory and her ruin.

Wei Ning hesitated. He lowered his eyes, his pupils trembling slightly, and his hands curled at his sides as his body stiffened.

"Judging by your expression, haven't you already understood what I mean?"

Di Qingyu was in no hurry. She sat there and waited for him to digest the shock. A little tired from the trip over, she poured herself a cup of tea to quench her thirst.

She had just taken a drink when she heard him speak.

"Sixth Princess, what can you offer to make me believe that you can save everyone in the Wei Family?"

Wei Ning narrowed his eyes and fixed her with a piercing gaze. The lives of the entire Wei Family rested in his hands, and he would never pledge himself to anyone unless he had no other choice.

After all, he had never depended on anyone in the first half of his life. He knew only that the people provided the official robes he wore, and all he wanted was to serve them.

"Lord Wei, from the moment you decided to come see me, weren't you already placing your trust in me? Surely, on your way here, you thought of countless reasons to do so. My current position in Xiling, for instance. Or the confidence that gave me the nerve to demand the loyalty of the vice minister of justice's entire family. Or..."

Hearing his question, Di Qingyu lowered her eyes to the teacup in her hand, her lips lifting slightly and her lustrous foxlike eyes curving. "Apart from cooperating with me, the only path left to you is death. If you refuse me, I won't let anyone who knows even a hint of my trump cards live, including Wei Xin, whom you sent to the imperial palace in the hope that she might survive."

The smile on her face was broad and chilling. Despite her makeup, the bloody killing intent deep in her sinister eyes was unmistakable.

"You..."

Wei Ning, who had been watching her every subtle expression, caught his breath. His face tightened slightly, and for a second, his blood seemed to flow backward. He was shocked by the fierce, bloody savagery in her eyes.

He had interrogated thousands, if not tens of thousands, of criminals, yet even a murderer without a shred of humanity had never possessed bloodthirsty, baleful energy as intense as hers.

Looking at her, one could almost see piles of corpses and bones behind her, with her standing atop the blood and flesh as their slaughterer!

"All right, that was only a joke, Lord Wei. Please don't take it seriously. After all, I'm just a young woman. How could I possibly have such heaven-defying ability?"

Seeing that she had frightened him, Di Qingyu smiled faintly, lowered her eyes, and raised them again. As her eyes shimmered, the killing intent was gone, and her smile was utterly innocent.

"Sixth Princess, please do not joke with me. The lives of everyone in the Wei Family rest on my shoulders. I cannot afford jokes of any kind."

But Wei Ning's palms had grown sweaty without his noticing. He understood keenly that the sense of danger he had just felt was no illusion. Di Qingyu's bearing and methods were indeed not what an unmarried young lady should possess.

Even if she was a princess, none of the princesses he had met had possessed a danger about them that put him on guard as she did.

"Very well. It seems you have some confidence in me now, Lord Wei."

Seeing this, Di Qingyu chuckled and stopped putting pressure on him in secret. She got straight to the point.

"In truth, the Wei Family is certain to profit from cooperating with me, with nothing to lose. As long as you agree to wager the loyalty of everyone in the Wei Family, I'll do everything I can to save you. If I win, everyone in your family lives, and you won't come to harm by following me. If I lose, you lose nothing. You were going to die anyway, so what is there to regret?"

"..." That was true, but still.

Her words made Wei Ning's face turn ashen. He wanted to refute her, but the reality left him unable to argue. After all, the person behind it was the empress dowager, and the Wei Family could not gamble on what the emperor was thinking.

Wei Ning took a deep breath and asked one last question.

"Sixth Princess, aren't you afraid we'll go back on our word and bite the hand that helped us, accusing you of privately threatening and currying favor with officials and throwing the court into turmoil?"

"Heh." Di Qingyu found the question amusing and indeed laughed aloud. She leaned comfortably against the edge of the table, propping her head on one hand. "Lord Wei, the fact that you dare ask me that tells me you wouldn't dare do it."

"Leaving aside whether Imperial Father would believe you, even if he did, do you think he wouldn't doubt your loyalty after you chose to agree to my terms instead of appealing to him for justice, only to expose me afterward? Besides..."

"I can save your Wei Family, but I can also wipe out your nine clans. Do you believe me or not?"

Di Qingyu's gaze was cold and frighteningly indifferent, and she spoke without the slightest concern that Wei Ning might become defiant and regret his choice.

"..." His heart stopped for an instant, and numbness spread through his limbs and bones.

Wei Ning's pupils contracted sharply. He stared silently into Di Qingyu's eyes for a long time. Or rather, today's conversation had overturned much of what he believed, and he needed to think it over.

"Lord Wei, I've said everything I needed to say. You can go back and spend the night hesitating. Once dawn breaks tomorrow, this opportunity will be gone. Take your time and consider it." Di Qingyu's throat was dry from speaking. She drained her tea, set down the cup, and rose to leave.

Wei Ning listened to her footsteps grow more distant. His heart pounded like a war drum as he half closed his eyes, full of hesitation and struggle.

For half his life, he had neither feared the powerful nor sought anyone's patronage, remaining loyal only to the people. But now...

Were the lives of all 123 members of the Wei Family truly to be lost because of him?

Tap, tap.

The footsteps stopped. Di Qingyu raised a hand to the door, about to open it and leave.

"Wait!"

With her back to Wei Ning, Di Qingyu closed her eyes, an unsurprised smile in their depths.

"I would like to know what Your Highness will need the Wei Family to do in the future."

"Follow me, kill people, and set fires."

Without looking back, Di Qingyu continued calmly, "Do what no one else in the world dares to do, protect the people of Xiling, and safeguard the peace of its lands."

"..." Though Di Qingyu's first words made Wei Ning's heart sink, "protect the people of Xiling, and safeguard the peace of its lands" made him understand the greater cause in her heart.

After pondering for a long time, Wei Ning's clenched hands tightened further.

The next moment.

"Very well!"

"I, Wei Ning, accept this wager. I ask that Your Highness save the lives of my Wei Family. From this day forth, everyone in the Wei Family will follow Your Highness's lead, without a trace of disloyalty."

The firm pledge rang out behind her. Di Qingyu turned slightly and glanced sidelong at Wei Ning, who stood with his hands cupped in salute.

"What resolve, Lord Wei. Wait for my instructions."

With that, she pushed open the door and left.

Seeing that she seemed to have anticipated his response long ago, looking neither surprised nor delighted, Wei Ning was suddenly struck by an inexplicable feeling. He had served as an official for decades, yet he had been intimidated and outmaneuvered by a fourteen-year-old girl.

What exactly did this princess intend to do?