Kayla returned to Wenyuan’s rooms, worn out after arguing with the Grand Duke over the Ministry of War.

Seriously, how could I possibly help him out with that? I feel like he just wanted to throw a tantrum and was looking for an excuse. Other than the Grand Duke’s arrogance, there was also the new bombshell he had dropped on her.

Did the palace really try to kill Wenyuan after the Imperial Princess died? The Grand Duke could just be lying, but after Wei Guang’s repeated hints that the Imperial Palace had some degree of involvement in either killing the Imperial Princess or her fellow researchers, Kayla wasn’t so sure.

As soon as she stepped in, Kayla was greeted by Hu Qing nonchalantly sprawled across the wooden couch, tugging at a loose thread in one of the cushions.

“Don’t tug at that, it’ll just make it looser,” Kayla chided him almost instinctively. Hu Qing got up from his position, giving her a look of absolute innocence.

“Hello, Minister. I don’t know what you’re talking about, I was just looking at it,” Hu Qing said.

Kayla tried and failed to resist rolling her eyes.

“Whatever, but if it comes apart, you’ll have to sew it back up. Heavens know that no one else will do it,” Kayla said flatly. “Anyways, what’s going on?”

Hu Qing beamed at her. “I brought you someone.”

Kayla frowned, glancing around the room. It was empty save for the two of them. “Someone? Not something?”

“Yup, I have them tied up,” Hu Qing said innocently.

“What do you mean you have them–did you kidnap someone?!” Kayla hissed, feeling her blood pressure shoot straight up.

“No, I caught them on your behalf,” Hu Qing said. “Plus, the ropes are pretty loose, it’s not like they’ll get hurt from it or anything.”

“Hu Qing! You unbelievable little–who is it? Who the hell did you grab?” Kayla demanded.

Hu Qing bit back a chuckle of amusement at her reaction, nodding towards the closet.

“Why don’t you see for yourself? Don’t worry, no one saw me bring her in.”

“You kidnapped a girl and shoved her into my closet?!”

“Just take a look,” Hu Qing insisted. Kayla groaned and complied, for lack of a better option. What was she going to do? Hu Qing had already kidnapped whichever poor girl he’d grabbed, there was no coming back from that. Hopefully, the girl wouldn’t be too traumatized and would be willing to be compensated with a large sum of silver and brocade in exchange for her silence and troubles.

I need to set some ground rules, this fucker is going to drive me insane if he does something like this again!

Kayla pulled open the closet door and froze.

“Chujiao?!” She stared at the girl in shock for a moment before whirling on Hu Qing, who raised his hands defensively.

Chujiao?! What the fuck?! Is she okay?! The all-consuming flash of Wenyuan’s panic threatened to drag Kayla under. Gritting her teeth, Kayla gave Hu Qing a glare that could pierce stone.

“Young lord!” Chujiao called from where she sat, quite comfortably, on a pile of clothes that hadn’t been there before. Her hands and feet were loosely bound so that she could not move about without great difficulty, but also would not bruise or chafe her.

“Look, she’s not hurt or anything! I didn’t even gag her, it’s all fine and good, I even made sure she was comfortable!” Hu Qing hastily defended himself, realizing that Kayla was seriously angry with him.

“It’s just as he said,” Chujiao jumped in as well, speaking up for Hu Qing for some ungodly reason. “He was just doing his job.” Kayla looked between them with disbelief.

“Really? Because I don’t recall instructing him to kidnap a woman and shove her into my closet!”

Hu Qing stepped forward, stretching his hands out placatingly.

“My lord, I get that you dislike this type of thing, but you should know that I did this for a good reason,” he said, serious for once. Kayla stiffly nodded, a little taken aback.

He’s never called me by ‘my lord’ before, it was always ‘Minister’, she noted in surprise, not quite sure what that meant.

“This woman, whom you have been known to greatly favor, is not loyal to you,” Hu Qing continued.

“What do you mean?” Kayla asked.

“Ask her about the ‘father’ who sent her into the service of the Zhao clan, my lord. Ask her about how this so-called Jing patriarch was paid two hundred silver to pass her off as his daughter,” Hu Qing urged. Kayla looked at Chujiao, who lowered her head guiltily, avoiding Kayla’s gaze.

“Well?” Kayla asked, her voice coming out much more gently than was perhaps appropriate.

Chujiao shook her head, tears silently dripping down her face.

“I’m sorry, young lord.”

Kayla took a deep breath. Wenyuan’s soul seemed to be curling in on itself like an injured animal, the pangs of pain and denial emanating from him sinking into Kayla’s own emotions like barbed hooks.

“Speak clearly,” Kayla said with an edge in her voice. Chujiao devolved into quiet sobs. Hu Qing glanced between the two of them uneasily before stepping between them.

“This woman is not who she claims to be,” Hu Qing told Kayla. “She entered the household under false circumstances and has lived under a false identity, though I do not know her true identity or purpose, I know that she is a threat to you. If you would permit, I would see her removed.”

“You are not to harm her!” Kayla snapped, Wenyuan’s knee-jerk reaction kicking in to defend Chujiao.

“I wouldn’t,” Hu Qing said, his tone so unusually serious that it grounded Kayla’s skittering mind. “But I would have her blindfolded and packed into a carriage, and not allow her to get off until it’s reached a far-away city from which she would have quite some difficulty getting back. If you fear for her fate, then pack her some silver as you did for Qu Boyong. That would be mercy enough.”

Kayla had to fight back the instinctive urge to refuse, to keep Chujiao safe and close and somewhere within reach, an urge that she now recognized as engrained in the very muscle of Wenyuan’s body.

“Let her speak her case first,” Kayla said in a heavy voice. Chujiao looked up at her, teary but hopeful.

“I don’t recommend that,” Hu Qing warned her. “This woman’s lied every single day for years, and you would give her a chance to craft her words before you? Do not think of her as a hapless young maiden, but an opponent as cunning as yourself.”

Kayla knew Hu Qing was right, but couldn’t steel her heart to do it. More accurately, she couldn’t steel Wenyuan’s heart to do it.

“I trust you to parse her words for me,” Kayla said. “Chujiao, this is your last chance. Speak truthfully, or this will be our last meeting within this lifetime.”

“Young lord!” Chujiao protested. “I have no right to beg your forgiveness, but please believe me when I say that I have never betrayed you, nor have I ever wished you harm!”

She instinctively wanted to believe Chujiao.

Damn it, Wenyuan, you foolish man. Why did you give your heart to a woman like her?

“She’s not lying,” Hu Qing said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s the full truth.”

Kayla glanced at him, almost a little surprised.

So she meant it?

I believe her, Wenyuan insisted.

“It’s easy not to betray someone if you’re not loyal to them in the first place, isn’t it?” Kayla said instead.

“That’s not it! Young lord, I may not be loyal to the Zhao household, and I would admit that without hesitation, but I was always loyal to you! Nothing on this earth could ever induce me to do wrong by you, not even if it crushes my bones and scatters my ashes!” Chujiao declared. Hu Qing gave Kayla a small nod.

“But I am also not the only one you’re loyal to. Who is the other man?” Kayla asked. Both Hu Qing and Chujiao’s expressions grew stiffer.

“I…I’m sorry, young lord,” Chujiao said in a tiny voice.

“So you’re still protecting him?!” Kayla shouted.

“My lord,” Hu Qing cut in, his expression grim. “If I may speak with you for a second?”

Kayla allowed him to drag her into another room, out of Chujiao’s hearing.

“My lord, you have a list of names, do you not?” Hu Qing asked.

“I have multiple lists, you need to be a bit more specific.”

“A list of people who have a grudge against the Zhao clan, the one from the–” Hu Qing lowered his voice even further. “From the villa.”

“I do, what do you plan on doing?” Kayla asked.

“Who are the potential parties that would’ve had the motive to send a child into this household?”

Seeing where he was going with this, Kayla tiredly rubbed her face.

“You think she’s here for revenge?”

“Most likely. Children are extremely unreliable, the only reason they would send her is that they don’t have anyone else they can use. Either all the adults are dead, or they’re all too well-known to sneak in. Does that narrow it down a bit?”

Kayla nodded. “Alright, I’ll give you a few names.”

They returned a few moments later, Chujiao patiently waiting for them in her spot. She evidently hadn’t struggled or resisted capture, a pragmatic choice given that she was facing Hu Qing. Kayla didn’t doubt that Hu Qing was much more skilled than he claimed to be, but was pretending otherwise to avoid getting assigned difficult tasks.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Young lord, I-” Chujiao began but was cut off by Hu Qing.

“Sima clan of Qingzhou,” he said flatly. Chujiao blinked at him in confusion.

“What?”

“Lu clan of Fanyang.” At Chujiao’s growing confusion, Hu Qing continued to rattle off clans that had been victimized by the Grand Duke. The young woman only looked at him uneasily, not sure of what he was trying to do, or the connection between those seemingly unrelated clans.

Kayla watched tensely as Hu Qing went through the long list of names. He neared the end of the list, still watching Chujiao with intense scrutiny as he read in her microexpressions.

“Wang clan of Taiyuan. Dugu clan of Guanlong. Dou clan of Fufeng. Xiang clan of Chu. Wu clan of Hedong. Yang clan of Hongnong.” He finished the list.

Chujiao’s expression hadn’t changed throughout the entire process, but Hu Qing nodded and stepped back, looking satisfied.

“Minister, I believe this woman is related to the Xiang clan of Chu in some way,” Hu Qing said gleefully. A spasm of panic flashed over Chujiao’s face, matching the panic curling into Kayla’s chest.

Holy shit, the Xiang clan?! The one that got exterminated?! What the fuck?!!!!!

Wenyuan’s emotions devolved into a complete mess, no coherent thoughts emerging from the pulsing shreds of shock that he was emanating.

“Yeah, you see that? She just confirmed it for me as well,” Hu Qing pointed to Chujiao’s face.

At the sight of Kayla’s expression, Chujiao paled several shades.

“Young lord, that–I can explain!” Chujiao pleaded.

“Don’t bother denying it, you weren’t exactly subtle with the naming choice,” Hu Qing shot back. “Speaking of, there’s another man with an interesting name wandering around, isn’t there? What’s your relation to Qu Boyong?”

Chujiao’s stared back at him in confusion. “Wasn’t that the young lord’s servant? I’ve only ever heard of him.”

Hu Qing nodded sagely at her response. “I see. Minister, that’s the other man you were asking about. Guess we know what family he’s from as well.”

That really doesn’t bode well for me at all!

Hu Qing turned back to Chujiao. “And who is Qu Boyong? The Xiang clan’s young master?”

She kept her face completely blank this time, but Hu Qing nodded as though he had been confided in.

“I see, I see. And you, you’re his sister? No, his fiancee? So not that either. One of his cousins? Ah, so a cousin of the family.” He glanced at Kayla. “My lord, what do you think?”

Kayla swallowed past the lump in her throat with some difficulty, meeting Hu Qing’s steady gaze.

"One as my serving maid and one as my personal guard, well played," Kayla said as calmly as she could manage.

"Young lord!" Chujiao pleaded.

"Indeed, it was quite a good arrangement, but you two should've been a bit more careful," Hu Qing chimed in mockingly. "If the two of you hadn't gotten into the habit of meeting up at night, right within the Zhao household at that, I probably wouldn't have found out so quickly."

Chujiao's face visibly paled in response to that. Kayla watched Chujiao's reaction, her heart slowly sinking.

How the fuck did I miss this? I can't just let her stay here anymore. The feeling of helpless rage congealed into a steely edge inside her stomach.

“I have a few things to say about that,” Kayla said. Chujiao looked at Kayla forlornly, her tearful face truly fitting the image of pear blossoms in the rain. If it were Wenyuan in her place, Kayla just knew that he would have softened at the sight. Kayla pretended to, the stiff look of controlled rage melting into a tender look of sympathy.

“You were only twelve when you entered the household, weren’t you? It must have been difficult, alone in the lair of the enemy,” Kayla said quietly. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, you were too young even to have an actual choice.” She spoke with heartfelt sincerity, channeling Wenyuan’s emotions into her words.

Chujiao’s face crumpled at that, looking more aggrieved than Kayla or Wenyuan had ever seen before. Kayla watched on as Chujiao’s emotional defenses broke down.

I can’t blame her for trying to take revenge, especially given what happened to her clan, but Wenyuan didn’t have a choice either. Everything was already decided, what could he have done?

Over Chujiao’s weeping form, Kayla glanced at Hu Qing, her eyes cold. He assessed her expression for a moment before nodding in understanding.

Kayla schooled her expression, speaking in a gentle tone. “Chujiao, you know that I care about you deeply. I have always told myself that you felt the same way, but I see now that it was only a one-sided delusion on my part. I’m very sorry if I’ve caused you to feel uncomfortable.”

“That’s not it! Young lord, I have always admired you from the bottom of my heart, the heavens can attest to the depth of my feelings for you!” Chujiao protested, shuffling forward with a desperate look in her eyes. Kayla slowly approached, getting down on one knee to speak with her at eye level.

“Truly?” Kayla asked, taking on a hopeful tone.

Chujiao nodded, carefully extending her bound hands, afraid of being rejected or pushed away. Kayla took them into her own, gently stroking a thumb over the back of Chujiao’s hand.

“From the bottom of my heart, I have always wanted you to be safe and happy,” Kayla said. “It’s much too dangerous for you right now to continue on like this. If my men could uncover your identity, then so could others. In fact, the Grand Duke has probably already caught wind of this. If you stay on here, you'll surely be killed. The capital is a veritable battlefield right now, a storm of bloodshed can be unleashed with even the smallest spark. Most of this is behind the scenes, civilians like you wouldn’t be made aware of it, but the things I know keep me up sleepless at night.”

“Young lord, I’m truly sorry,” Chujiao said tearfully. “Even though I lied to you, how can you still be so kind towards me?”

“Neither of us had a choice in how our lives were shaped. The forces of fate are so strong, how can a weak young girl resist it alone? I know you’ve suffered greatly over the years, and I don’t want you to suffer any more than this. Chujiao, please just accept this one request of mine, don’t get involved anymore. At this point, no one can control what happens next, all that I can do is make sure you don’t get hurt,” Kayla urged her. “If it’s Qu Boyong you’re worried about, I promise that I will leave one side of the net open for his affairs, on account of your relationship with him. I know that my grandfather has greatly wronged your clan, and you’re well aware that I am working to rectify his injustices. Let me shoulder this burden for you, why should a maiden like yourself carry it alone?”

Kayla could see Chujiao wavering. The young woman had truly been in love with Wenyuan, who had always been too timid to show any kind of initiative. These words of affection and assurance must have been something Chujiao had longed to hear for the lonely years she had spent in enemy terrain.

Now, Qu Boyong was missing, but Wenyuan was here, offering Chujiao everything she could have hoped for. The Wenyuan before her eyes wasn’t just treating her as a childhood friend or as a favored servant, but a young maiden he wished to care for and protect. Kayla watched confidently as Chujiao’s final line of defense crumbled. The young woman nodded, signing off on her own fate.

“Thank you, Chujiao. Right now, many eyes are on your cousin, whether it’s the Imperial Palace or the Grand Duke. If anyone were to learn of your true identity, you would be in great danger. I’ll arrange for you to stay somewhere safe,” Kayla assured her. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything. You’ll be protected and provided for, and I’ll come to visit you as well. Once everything is over, I’ll take care of the next steps. I'll make sure everything works out.”

If Chujiao had been any less smitten, any less desperate to trust in the one chance of happiness she had, she would have refused.

“I will follow the young lord’s arrangements,” Chujiao said softly.

“Wonderful,” Kayla said warmly, gently squeezing Chujiao’s hands. “I’ll have you stay in the residence we rented for Sun Ruhui for the time being. He’s a married man, and there’s an old matron who stays there to take care of the house, so it’ll be fine if you live there. Most importantly, you’ll be safe. We’ll pass you off as his niece for the time being, and I’ll provide all the living expenses for a comfortable stay. Is that alright with you?”

Chujiao nodded her assent. Kayla gestured for Hu Qing, who bowed his head.

“My lord, if that is your wish, then I will make the necessary preparations right away,” Hu Qing said. “Young miss, if you would please.”

He stepped forward and removed Chujiao’s bonds. Chujiao gave Kayla one last look before following Hu Qing out at Kayla’s assuring nod.

Holy shit. Kayla stood suspended for a long moment.

Kayla, what did you do? Wenyuan asked, his voice filled with dread as he only just realized Kayla’s intentions.

Calm down. As I said before, I don’t intend to harm that woman. Even if she weren’t the one you loved, she would still be someone who had been coerced into extreme danger at a very young age. She’s not guilty for not having had a choice.

Kayla!

I’ll treat her well, as I promised. I’ll release her afterward and arrange for her safety and well-being, as I promised. Stop worrying, Wenyuan. Sun Ruhui’s a good man, and he’ll keep an eye out for her on my behalf.

You mean he’ll keep an eye on her for you! You’re keeping her as a hostage!

A very well-treated one. And she agreed to it herself, didn’t she?

She didn’t, you know she didn’t! She was already so scared, and then you-you went in there acting all romantic and-and–you bamboozled her into it!

Wenyuan, I hope you understand that we are facing the very likely possibility of getting killed by Qu Boyong! And it’s not untrue that Chujiao is in danger, do you think the Grand Duke wouldn’t notice what’s happening in his own house? What would happen to her then? She would never be allowed to leave this house alive at that point, at least now she’ll be safe, and so will we!

You’re taking advantage of her. Kayla, you're taking advantage of someone who trusts me! It's not you that she has faith in, it's me, and you're just going to-to trap her with that?!

Kayla didn't have anything to retort with. It was true, and she did feel bad, but what else could she do? Quietly ending the conversation with Wenyuan, Kayla sent a quick message to Sun Ruhui through the communication talisman to explain the situation. Wenyuan was a man in love, and this was the childhood friend he had spent almost every single day of his life with. She couldn’t exactly expect him to support this decision.

I’m sorry. But this is the best decision I can make in this situation.

Ignoring Wenyuan’s continued protests with great effort, Kayla began cleaning up the room as she waited for Hu Qing to return. He arrived when she had finished putting all the clothes back where she had found them.

“My lord, it’s arranged for. Chamberlain Sun knows what he’s doing. I’ll arrange for the house to be watched around the clock if you give your permission,” Hu Qing said.

“That would be for the best. Make sure the men you hire are discreet,” Kayla replied.

“Of course, my lord. They’ll never be traced back to you,” Hu Qing assured her.

“You’ve never called me by ‘my lord’ before, why the sudden change?”

“I’ve decided to become your retainer."

At Kayla's look of astonishment, Hu Qing shrugged, looking at her innocently.

"It just seems like that’s the best arrangement for us both now that I’ve kidnapped someone and you’re keeping a hostage,” he said. Kayla couldn’t help but give a dry laugh, shaking her head.

“What a mess,” she muttered.

“Heroes always struggle to pass the trial of beauties, you’ve made the right decision,” Hu Qing said, once again unusually serious. “Qu Boyong won’t be able to move recklessly against us if we have one of his people. I suppose we shouldn’t call him that anymore though, what’s your cousin’s name?”

Kayla blinked, processing that sentence. Right, he’s technically related to Wenyuan. What the fuck? Was he behind Chujiao’s betrayal in the original timeline?

“I…don’t remember too clearly. Was it Xiang Dao…Dao something, there were two characters,” Kayla replied. “Shit, what was his name?”

“That should be easy enough to figure out, the question is how you plan on dealing with him,” Hu Qing pointed out.

“I can’t kill him, that much is certain. Even if the palace is willing to turn a blind eye to all this, they could always use it against me later, especially since he’s still related to the Imperial Family,” Kayla said. “I think we need to discuss this with Caichun and Sun Ruhui.”

----------------------------------------

“...and in any case, just because they’re implicated doesn’t mean they’ll be removed, and there’s always the possibility that the Emperor will make another appointment instead of following the line of succession,” Zhang Dingyong was arguing with several of Kuang’s other supporters in the prince’s sitting room. Kuang listened to them patiently, not expressing approval or disapproval as he observed their thinking patterns and arguments, taking note of their abilities for later usage.

“Perhaps the Right Secretariat is unaware, being too busy with affairs of the Ministry of Justice, but the Ministry of War isn’t a place where a random appointment can be made, we don’t even have the same structure as the other ministries!” Yao Gongzhuo protested. He was the Director of Logistics within the Ministry of War, and was currently the most likely person to become its next Minister.

“But the Right Secretariat has a point, the Left Secretariat of Justice was single-handedly elevated into that position even though he was only a County Magistrate a few months ago, who’s to say the same thing can’t happen again?” Another official jumped in.

“Do you think military men are as soft-tempered as you civil officials? They won’t accept someone they don’t trust,” Yao Gongzhuo insisted.

“The officials they’ve trusted so far have all been proven to be corrupt, wouldn’t that change their minds?”

They began to argue again, hashing out their conjectures and predictions. Unnoticed, a servant slipped in and whispered his message into Kuang’s ear. There was a subtle shift in Kuang’s expression that melted away again as soon as it had appeared. He raised a hand, and the conversation quickly fell silent.

“My friends, it seems that I am needed elsewhere,” Kuang said with a smile. “Feel free to stay and continue amongst yourselves.”

“Of course, your highness. We apologize for taking up your time,” Yao Gongzhuo said sheepishly.

“No such thing,” Kuang assured him. “As much as I enjoyed this conversation, there is an urgent matter I must take care of.”

He took his leave of them, his supporters getting to their feet and bowing as Kuang left. Once they were a good distance away, Kuang waved for the servant to come closer. He was a man that had served Yunqi for many years, having been hired when the Fifth Prince first moved out of the Imperial Palace.

“What happened?” Kuang demanded. “You said it was an emergency, did something happen with Yunqi?”

The servant lowered his head nervously, avoiding Kuang's gaze.

“In response to Your Highness’ question, it...well, it seems that young master Shu was poisoned.”

Kuang turned towards him, his anger filling the air with its suffocating presence.

"What did you just say?"