Character Index
Yunqi: Fifth Prince, currently inactive at court due to his maternal clan’s politically precarious position.
Kuang: Third Prince, one of the main competitors for the throne.
Zhou Chengqian: Grandson of the current Emperor and son of Kuang and Cao Shuyi.
Cao Shuyi: Wife of the Third Prince, her maternal clan is famous for producing healers and educators.
Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Younger brother of Minister Liang and rightful heir to the Liang clan, he formerly was responsible for doing the dirty work for the Liang clan and now works for Kayla, mostly for entertainment. A big fan of chaos and stirring up trouble, he is nonetheless a highly skilled person to have on your side.
Chen Caichun: A talented young woman who currently serves as a Chamberlain in the Ministry of Judicial Review, having served as a Ministerial Case Reviewer prior. She was recruited by Kayla and is an important member of the neutral faction, highly valued for her intellect.
Xianchun: The Seventh Prince and former main character, he was responsible for the OG Wenyuan’s death in the original timeline. In the current timeline, he has yet to learn of the culprit behind his mother’s murder.
Liu Boyue: Xianchun's strategist and right-hand man, he has been secretly acting without Xianchun's permission in what he believes is in the Prince’s best interests. He has met Hu Qing before, having contracted Hu Qing's services through Minister Liang for a variety of purposes, including an attempt to recruit Qu Boyong.
----------------------------------------
Kuang bounced his son on his knee. “Qian’er, don’t pull on my collar,” he said mildly as the boy tugged at Kuang’s immaculate robes, rumpling them from their pristine state. “Your mother will be angry with me if my robes get messy.”
The boy made a sound of disappointment but desisted, nestling into his father’s arms.
“Third Brother, Chengqian,” Yunqi greeted them as he entered.
“Yunqi, you’re here! Qian’er, hurry up and greet your uncle,” Kuang prodded the boy, who slipped down from his father’s lap to bow politely toward Yunqi.
“Chengqian greets Fifth Uncle,” the boy said. Yunqi laughed, scooping the boy up.
“Look how fast you’ve grown! If you have a sprout, you need not worry that it will not grow,” Yunqi said. Chengqian giggled, turning his attention to Yunqi’s hair crown.
“Qian’er, stop that,” Kuang admonished, an indulgent smile on his face.
“Qian’er! Stop bothering your uncle!” Cao Shuyi scolded him as she swept into the room. Chengqian quickly stopped, withdrawing his hands and stuffing them into his sleeves.
“Sister-in-law,” Yunqi greeted her. “It’s no trouble, you need not admonish him for it.”
“Yunqi, it’s good to see you here,” Cao Shuyi said, waving for the small child to get down. Chengqian scrambled down from Yunqi’s arms and padded over the floor to stand politely at his mother’s side.
“Children need some modicum of discipline, or how will they ever grow to become good men?” Cao Shuyi said. “Chengqian, go with your nanny now.”
The boy went over to grip the sleeves of the older woman in the doorway, politely giving his goodbyes before following her out.
“Sister-in-law knows best about education,” Yunqi agreed with her.
It was no secret that while the Third Prince was the master of the faction, Cao Shuyi was the master of the household’s internal affairs. Kuang beamed pridefully at the praise for his wife.
“How is Zhengyu doing?” Cao Shuyi asked.
Yunqi sat down next to Kuang at his brother’s beckoning.
“Zhengyu’s doing much better now, it seems he’ll recover without any complications,” Yunqi said, his voice dripping with relief. He turned towards Cao Shuyi. “I really have to thank Sister-in-law for this, if you hadn’t mentioned the importance of having a healer on hand for Zhengyan, I never would’ve arranged one for Zhengyu.”
Cao Shuyi waved off his thanks. “You’re exaggerating now, it’s just that my clan produces so many healers that it’s a habit for me to always have one around,” she said.
“Does Zhengyu remember anything?” Kuang asked.
Yunqi sighed, the smile dropping off his face. “He remembers being startled by Qu Boyong bursting in and the details of their conversation, but he doesn’t seem to remember the server bringing him the soup, or even drinking it.”
Both Kuang and Cao Shuyi frowned at that. “Seems like Qu Boyong left quite an impression on him,” Kuang remarked.
Yunqi clenched his jaw, a hint of anger in his eyes. “Qu Boyong seemed to have spouted a bunch of lies to my cousin. That bastard took advantage of Zhengyu’s naivety to get rid of his pursuers.”
“We’ll catch him and get him to spit out what he knows,” Kuang assured Yunqi. “Zhao Wenyuan is also quite unhappy with his former servant, and we’ve come to an understanding that Qu Boyong will not be allowed to find shelter with Xianchun either.”
Yunqi nodded. “If he left through the staff corridor, he’s probably a key witness. But enough about him for now, sister-in-law said she had something important to tell us?”
Cao Shuyi beamed at both of them. “That’s right. Your Sixth Sister suddenly returned to the capital yesterday morning, I only learned of it when I went to visit your mothers earlier today,” she announced.
“Mingda came back to the capital?” Kuang asked in surprise.
“Is she in poor health?” Yunqi added.
“She’s doing no worse than usual,” Cao Shuyi assured them. “She even went around and made a round of visits, I actually ran into her while visiting the Wise Consort.”
Yunqi nodded. “I’m grateful she thought of my mother.”
“Indeed, she is quite considerate. To my surprise, she had returned not for any other reason, but to matchmake for her personal serving maid’s sworn sister,” Cao Shuyi said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “It seems that a palace maid serving in the kitchens had secretly developed mutual feelings with Captain Jiang of the Imperial Guard, but the palace maid hadn’t been old enough when the last batch of palace maids was released from service and didn’t know how many more years she would be waiting at this rate. She wrote to her sworn sister in despair, and the Sixth Princess happened to catch her serving maid weeping in sympathy. The Sixth Princess then came back to ask Father-in-law and the Empress Dowager to conduct another round of dismissals and to ensure that palace maids were ensured enough severance pay to make for handsome dowries, especially if they were almost past the age of being marriage material.”
Cao Shuyi’s smile broadened as she went on. “Father-in-law was deeply pleased by her generosity and benevolence, and immediately drafted an edict that will take effect by tomorrow, providing for all palace maids between the ages of twenty and twenty-five to be granted the option for release from service and given severance pay. They’ll also receive a plaque proving their tenure. All the young palace maids were rejoicing about it when I got there, and Father-in-law’s even considering repeating the measure once every ten years.”
Kuang chuckled. “An excellent idea! If it were me, I would have it edified in law. I wonder what other ideas Mingda has in store?”
Yunqi smiled at Kuang before turning back to Cao Shuyi. “I suppose Captain Jiang must have received a marriage decree as well then.”
Cao Shuyi beamed at him. “Indeed! The Sixth Princess even provided a dowry for the girl so she wouldn’t have to enter his household empty-handed. Rumor has it that he was so grateful he cried. Could you imagine that? ”
Kuang chuckled. “That must have been quite the sight!”
“He’ll certainly owe Mingda quite a hefty favor now,” Yunqi commented.
Cao Shuyi’s smile took on a hint of craftiness. “Indeed, but that’s not the full story.”
Kuang and Yunqi raised their eyebrows in unison. “How so?” Yunqi asked.
“She mentioned to me that she would like to meet with Zhao Wenyuan during her time in the capital,” Cao Shuyi said. “I wonder why that is?”
All three of them exchanged knowing looks. The sworn sisters story was probably false. How likely was it that a girl working in the kitchens would be such good friends with a personal maid of the Sixth Princess? The difference in status notwithstanding, the Sixth Princess’ long-term absence from the capital made it highly unlikely. The most probable scenario was that someone had offered a chance for the Sixth Princess to boost her reputation and peddle out a large number of favors to a lot of people all at once, and given her sudden interest in a cousin she had barely spoken with before, that person was likely Wenyuan.
“So he’s aiming for the backing of the Northern nomadic tribes,” Kuang said thoughtfully. “It makes sense strategically, he’s already set to have the support of his Khaganate in-laws, enjoining the Northern tribes would strengthen his position greatly.”
“We might as well push the boat along the current,” Cao Shuyi suggested. “It doesn’t hurt to keep the exchange of favors going, especially when Mingda’s given us the opportunity.”
Kuang nodded. “Might as well,” he echoed. “It’s decided then. We’ll help Wenyuan secure Mingda’s support.”
----------------------------------------
Hu Qing watched with narrowed eyes as Kayla sighed dejectedly, looking forlornly at her paperwork. As he watched, Kayla stamped her seal on a document and pushed it aside, with the exact likeness of an affronted cat pushing aside its food. Unable to hold in his curiosity, he moved closer to the desk.
“My lord, why are you moping?” Hu Qing demanded.
Kayla looked up at him in bewilderment.
Why? I wonder why. My best friend’s suicidal because he thinks so little of my chances, how the fuck would I be in a good mood?
“I can’t help but feel uneasy these days,” Kayla admitted.
I can’t really blame Wenyuan, there’s no telling what happens from now on.
Hu Qing gave her a strange look before chuckling. “What are you so worried about? No matter what happens from now on, I’m sure you’ll find a way to benefit from it. You have talented people such as Sun Ruhui and Chen Caichun on your side, Senior Investigator Li Que’s supporting you way more than he was probably meant to, and you got yourself a new godfather. It’s good you take potential dangers seriously, but it is also meaningless to undervalue the advantages you have, isn’t it?”
Kayla sighed. “You have a point,” she admitted. “Don’t mind me, you know how paranoid we politicians tend to be. More importantly, how far along are you on the whole thing with Xianchun’s spies?”
Hu Qing lit up with excitement. “Ah, yes, the grand reveal!”
Kayla gave him a look of exasperation.
He ignored her and nodded to himself, a smug grin on his face. “I’m ready to move when you are, my lord. There are a few steps we should take ahead of time to make sure it works out, but here’s what I’m thinking. We need the official paperwork to be ready with the Court of Judicial Review, but we also need to be able to destroy it at any time."
"You mean to write official warrants? Well, that's doable. Chamberlain Chen can take care of that," Kayla replied.
"That's not all," Hu Qing added. "Tomorrow morning, you should write to the Seventh Prince.”
----------------------------------------
Xianchun waved off his servants, waiting until he was alone in the study to open the message from the Zhao household.
He frowned at the letter. The scroll was stamped with Wenyuan’s personal seal and had been wrapped with an anti-tampering talisman, leaving Xianchun expectant for some important information. Rather, it was a message that left him deeply confused.
My prince, do you recall offering to lend me guards should I ever need them? If you would be so willing, please send a few guards to the Zhao household as soon as possible, I have need for their assistance. Should you be so generous as to agree to my request, please send them in plainclothes. The letter was short and to the point.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“What in the heavens?” Xianchun muttered.
“What is it, my prince?” Liu Boyue asked from the doorway.
“Wenyuan asked me to lend him a few guards,” Xianchun replied.
Liu Boyue came closer, taking the message to read it through. “At the Grand Duke’s household? My prince, surely you aren’t thinking of going through with it, this is most likely a trap.”
“If he wishes to implicate me, it’s more than easy enough for him to do so. He has control over the judicial system, if he wished to use such methods, it would be as easy as turning one’s hand over,” Xianchun said thoughtfully. “Rather, I’m curious what that man’s up to this time.”
Liu Boyue grimaced, lowering his face to hide his expression. He had a bad feeling about the request, but Xianchun seemed to have made up his mind.
“Then please take caution, my prince. You should send the most sensible of your guards and instruct them to adjust to the situation accordingly,” Liu Boyue suggested.
“Of course, I’ll leave that to you. Choose a few men you think are suitable,” Xianchun replied. Liu Boyue bowed his head and left, a dark look on his face as soon as he was out of Xianchun’s sight.
----------------------------------------
Kayla quietly waited in the alcove, out of sight from the small inner courtyard.
To think they had all been caught in one swoop…Kayla bit back a smirk. As expected of Hu Qing, he really gets the job done.
The man’s flair for drama was evident in the scene before her.
After Feng Yi had been caught, Hu Qing waited until Xianchun’s spies had hidden anything that might implicate them, including communication talismans, plaques, and anything else that might uncover them should their belongings be searched. Once they felt secure in their subterfuge, Hu Qing proceeded to uncover everything they had just hidden away, leaving it out in the open. They freaked out, as expected, and a series of well-timed incidents and accidents forced all of them into the same place at once, an abandoned courtyard used for storage.
Coming face to face with one another, they began discussing the situation amongst themselves, not realizing that a series of carefully machinated incidents had also led Housekeeper Wang and a few conveniently stationed guards to pass by the courtyard. Kayla shook her head in wonder at Hu Qing’s thoroughness, having had to set everything up without alerting the Imperial Investigators watching the household.
If Hu Qing were in the modern world, he would be perfectly suited for either directing slapstick comedies or pulling off elaborate bank heists. Knowing him, he would probably do both.
With the guards piling into the courtyard, no one noticed as Kayla quietly entered the alcove through the connected building, a route that Hu Qing had excitedly introduced to her ahead of time.
“Please, sir, it’s not what you think! We’re innocent!” The spies were pleading with Housekeeper Wang now, having been forced onto their knees by the guards.
“Silence! Do you think I’m deaf?! I heard the lot of you loud and clear! You bunch of two-faced ingrates and white-eyed wolves, I’ll see to it that you’ll pay the price for your actions,” Housekeeper Wang snarled, livid at their excuses.
Kayla smiled to herself, shaking her head slightly. Housekeeper Wang was just as sadistic and violently tempered as the Grand Duke, what on earth did the spies think their paltry excuses could do in this situation?
“My lord, be sure to wait until they’re in serious danger before you act,” Hu Qing had repeatedly insisted on that point. “Heroes saving the beauty only have appeal when they swoop in at the last second. Granted, there aren't any beauties in the lot, but that’s not the point.”
“Sir, it’s not what you think! You’ve misunderstood us!” One of the female spies tearfully protested.
“Enough of these excuses! Guards, drag them out and beat them to death as an example to the others!” Housekeeper Wang ordered.
“Please have mercy!”
“Housekeeper Wang, we’re innocent!” The spies cried out fearfully, increasingly frantic as they realized the severity of their plight.
“Silence! Guards!” Housekeeper Wang shouted. Kayla took the chance to sweep out of the alcove, stepping into the center of the courtyard to stand between the spies and Housekeeper Wang.
“What on earth is going on here?” Kayla demanded. Housekeeper Wang stuttered in shock at her sudden appearance. He quickly composed himself.
“Young lord, what are you doing here?” Housekeeper Wang asked.
Kayla shrugged. “I was taking a walk and heard a commotion, so here I am. Now what is all this?”
“I caught these rats conspiring together and was about to deliver punishment,” Housekeeper Wang replied. “If you would kindly allow me to proceed, young lord.”
“No.”
Housekeeper Wang blinked at her in surprise. “What do you mean, no? Young lord-”
“I’m taking these spies with me,” Kayla said firmly.
“With you? They can’t be allowed to leave this place alive! Young lord, what on earth are you trying to do?” Housekeeper Wang demanded.
Kayla stared him down. “Whether or not you want them dead has nothing to do with me. These people are coming with me, and that’s final.”
Housekeeper Wang’s expression settled down into a glower.
“Please move aside, young lord,” Housekeeper Wang said through gritted teeth. It wasn’t a request, not with that many guards around him.
Kayla raised an eyebrow, glancing at him and then back at the spies behind her.
“There’s no need for that, I’ll be taking them into custody,” Kayla said firmly. “I’ve already notified my subordinates from the Court of Judicial Review to come and bring them in.”
A vein bulged on Housekeeper Wang’s head. At this point, it was clear that Kayla had been watching for a while now.
“This is a private matter of the household, what need is there for you to use public resources on such a thing? It reflects badly upon your clan!” Housekeeper Wang argued. “Please call them off, and we will handle this internally.”
“I don’t need you to teach me how to act,” Kayla replied. “And if you need to involve this many guards, it’s clearly no longer an internal issue. If you’d rather save face for the household, then that’s fine as well. I can bring them in myself, quietly, rather than having my subordinates come in and arrest them. Doesn’t that satisfy both of us?”
“Most certainly not! Young lord, the Grand Duke will be furious!” Housekeeper Wang said.
“Will he be angrier if this becomes a well-known incident throughout the capital, or if this is resolved with a compromise?” Kayla asked.
“Young lord, he won’t be pleased to hear your threats,” Housekeeper Wang warned. The guards behind him shifted, and Kayla couldn’t help but laugh.
Just who is being threatened here? Whether it was the guards present or the implicit threat of the Grand Duke’s violent fury, Kayla was the one being threatened.
“Housekeeper Wang, he won’t be pleased to hear you let this become a scandal,” Kayla replied.
At his reddening face, Kayla smiled, softening her tone.
“Housekeeper Wang, why go through all this trouble? Don’t you just want to get rid of them? I want the same thing, just to go about it in a slightly different way. Are you really going to take advantage of your position as a prized servant to make a mockery of the young lord of the household and a Minister of the court?” Kayla asked, once again dragging out her status to make use of.
Housekeeper Wang pursed his lips, face tight with displeasure. “Since the young lord has said it to this extent, what else can I say?! But I too have orders from the Grand Duke to harshly punish any lowly cretins who have two loyalties in one heart, those who eat from the house but paw for the favor of outsiders! How dare I not obey? Even if the young lord wishes to stand in my way, there is naught I can do but proceed at the risk of offending you!”
Damn, that didn’t work.
Kayla hastily held out a hand to stop him, switching to a different tactic. “Wait! I did not say that they would not be punished, in fact, that is for which I am arresting them! Why do you proceed so hastily without even asking my intentions?”
Housekeeper Wang didn’t take the bait, evidently having been warned against allowing Kayla to start her spiel of persuasion.
“Young lord, I truly apologize. But regardless of your intentions, for matters of the household, I answer to only the Grand Duke,” he replied. He made a subtle gesture, and the guards began to approach.
Damn it! It seemed that Housekeeper Wang hadn’t come into this unprepared.
“How dare you! Unhand me!” Kayla whirled upon a guard as he tried to grab her by the arm. He reeled back, uncertain how to proceed.
“What are you fools doing? Hurry up and escort the young lord to safety, will you let him remain surrounded by criminals?” Housekeeper Wang said. Having a good enough excuse to continue, the guards proceeded to gently but firmly pull Kayla out of the way, practically lifting her off the ground.
“Don’t you dare kill them! Let go of me!” Kayla shouted, raising her voice to signal to Hu Qing. He was probably already watching from the rooftop, perhaps even eating melon seeds while he waited, but she didn’t doubt he would let it go on just a little longer for the fun of it, probably only swooping in at the very last second.
Hu Qing didn’t disappoint, almost immediately dropping down from the rooftop right before Kayla.
“How dare you,” Hu Qing began, his voice overlapping with Housekeeper Wang’s as the older man angrily pointed at Hu Qing. The two stared at each other, affronted at having been interrupted.
“How dare you! Seize this intruder!” Housekeeper Wang screeched, snatching up the opportunity to speak first.
“He’s no intruder! He’s my personal guard, you would dare harm him?!” Kayla shot back. The guards on either side of her glanced uneasily at Hu Qing, sensing that he was more skilled than they were. He turned to give them an unimpressed look. They let go, stepping away from Kayla.
“How dare you!” Hu Qing repeated himself. “Unhand the Minister immediately!” The guards looked at each other uncertainly, having already unhanded Kayla, and stepped further away from her.
You just really wanted to say that line, don’t you? Kayla withheld the urge to roll her eyes. If Hu Qing wanted to have fun with the situation, she was fine with that. The situation was enough of a mess that she no longer cared as long as it wrapped up in her favor.
“A mere housekeeper dares to intervene in the affairs of the Court of Judicial Review?” Hu Qing snarled at Houskeeper Wang, who flinched but stood his ground.
“I have orders from the Grand Duke! Stand aside or I won’t let you off easily,” Housekeeper Wang warned.
“I don’t see a Grand Duke here,” Hu Qing shot back. “And even if that were the case, did the Central Secretariat have the right to directly intervene in the Court of Judicial Review’s affairs? The paperwork for these arrests was filled out this morning, and now you want to step in?”
“What?” Housekeeper Wang frowned. “Impossible! Even if you want to lie, you should at least choose a more believable excuse. We only captured them just now, how could you possibly have filled out the paperwork this morning?”
Kayla gave a cold laugh from safely behind Hu Qing. “And this is why I asked you to hear me out, Housekeeper Wang. But alas, you refused to do so. What on earth makes you think I only learned of their presence now? I am not as blind as you.”
Housekeeper Wang faltered. It was one thing to get rid of them if Kayla had yet to make the arrests, but things would grow far more complicated if the procedures had already begun.
“Housekeeper Wang, I believe we have the same purposes and are just differing in terms of methodology. But as you can see, I had planned to deal with this in a much more subtle way that will not leave potential mistakes for people to grab onto. In some cases, having a paper trail is the better choice,” Kayla said. “I know you have your difficulties as well, having orders from the Grand Dukes, but why give me a hard time when I’m also working to resolve this problem? If you kill them, our household will be accused of either harboring criminals or executing them without permission, other people will be able to twist that to their benefit and accuse us of trying to silence them for nefarious purposes.”
Seeing that Housekeeper Wang was steadily losing his determination, Kayla pushed forward.
“Listen, no matter what happens, the responsibility for this lies solely with me. You know where the Grand Duke’s rage is certain to be directed towards, why do you still hesitate?”
The Grand Duke hated Kayla enough to kill her. Not yet to the point of irrationality, but they were getting there. Kayla’s suggestions for dealing with Zhao Wei’s implication by the Imperial Investigation Bureau’s findings had put a stopper in the rapidly worsening relations, allowing some of the Grand Duke’s anger to dissipate, but that would be blown away by the force of his rage once he learned of this incident.
Evaluating his options, Housekeeper Wang decided to let Kayla court death if she so wished to and backed off.
“Since the young lord insists, then it seems that there is no more that I can do,” Housekeeper Wang said. He waved for the guards to back down and stomped away, the confused guards trailing after him. Kayla turned back towards the spies, who had been watching the whole exchange fearfully.
“Alright then, you lot come with me. Don’t even think of trying to run,” Kayla ordered.
“Thank you, young lord!”
“Thank you for your mercy!”
Kayla held up a hand to silence the chorus of thanks.
“Don’t thank me, thank your master for being someone I need to give face to,” Kayla said. “Now get moving.” The spies quickly fell silent, taking in the implications of her words.
“You heard the Minister, get on it!” Hu Qing snapped. Several of the spies glanced over at Hu Qing, trying to assess if he would be able to catch them if they made a break for it. They all thought better of it and obediently followed Kayla out of the Zhao household, Housekeeper Wang still glaring at them from a safe distance away.
----------------------------------------
Cultural Notes
Adding 儿/'Er to the end of a name: A common form of endearment, especially for someone younger than you. Usually, you take the last character of someone's given name and add an 儿/'Er, hence Chenqian->Qian+'Er=Qian'Er.
家家有本难念的经/Every household has a difficult sutra to read: A Chinese saying meaning that every family has its own difficulties and complicated family drama.
胸无大志/No great ambition in his chest: An Ancient Chinese proverb, usually used in a slightly derogative fashion.
守口如瓶/Guard one's mouth like a closed bottle: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to keep one's mouth tightly shut/be good at keeping secrets.
兵者，国之大事/Military is a great[ly significant] affair of the state: An Ancient Chinese proverb originating from the pre-Qin work, Sun Tze's Art of War.
灭自己志气，长别人威风/Crush your own side's confidence and grow the opponent's certainty: An Ancient Chinese proverb originating from the battlefield, but essentially means to overestimate your opponents while making your allies feel more uncertain about their chances.
易如反掌/Easy as turning over one's hand: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning that something is very easy to accomplish for the person in question.
白眼狼/White-eyed wolves: An Ancient Chinese phrase used to describe an ingrate/someone who betrays you.
英雄救美/Hero saving the beauty: An Ancient Chinese proverb referring to the trope of dramatic last-second rescues, as well as the hero gets the girl trope. A variation on this is 英美救雄/Heroic beauty saves the man, which is pretty much what it advertises itself to be.
家丑不外扬/Ugly familial affairs aren't advertised outside: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning that the family's internal messes stay internal. You're not meant to tell anyone else of it.
吃里爬外/Eat from the house but peddle for the favor of outsiders: An Ancient Chinese proverb referring to someone who betrays their master.
吃瓜子/Eating melon seeds: A common snack people used to eat while watching plays/Peking opera/performances. Relatively cheap and nutritious, it's a common snack food going centuries back. The seeds are left untracked, so part of the fun is cracking the shell open with your teeth.