Xie Xinglang dodged while begging for mercy: "Mother, stop hitting! Sister is injured—hurry and call the imperial physician!"
"You still remember to call the physician? The physician came long ago. I was busy hosting him—did you think I wouldn't notice you slipping out?"
Lu Xiangyi returned from outside and shouted: "Mother, Mother, stop hitting… the Prime Minister's estate is on fire!"
Luo Sheng stopped and asked in surprise: "What? The Prime Minister's estate caught fire?"
"Yes. Qi Hui's study is billowing with smoke, and everyone nearby is putting out the fire. Qi Hui is furious and has called for the authorities."
Yu Qingqiu pulled Luo Sheng back into the house and called Xie Xinglang in as well, saying: "Third Brother, you set the fire at the Prime Minister's estate, didn't you?"
Xie Xinglang didn't deny it: "I did!"
Lu Xiangyi immediately clapped: "Well done…"
Luo Sheng shot her a glare, and Lu Xiangyi lowered her head, drawing circles on the ground with her toe. "Well… it's passable, I suppose!"
Yu Qingqiu, however, nodded and said without hesitation: "It was indeed well done. Third Brother has both courage and cunning!"
Lu Xiangyi said happily: "Mother, see—even Sister-in-law says it was well done."
Of course it was well done.
Only Xie Sanlang, with his singular brilliance, could pull it off—setting the fire and then going straight to find Yu Tang, both matters timed with perfect precision. The Prime Minister's estate would never suspect Xie Sanlang.
The eldest brother was on duty at the palace, the second brother was far away at the border, and the third brother had beaten Yu Tang in the street and burned the estate? The General's estate had no time to commit the crime.
Xie Xinglang: The Third Young Master never lets a grudge survive the night.
Perfect!
Xie Suisui's injuries had already been treated by the imperial physician, who left behind medicine. The physician instructed Xie Suisui to rest well, not to let the wound touch water, and not to scratch even if it itched.
Watching Xie Xinglang being chased all over the courtyard, Xie Suisui laughed from the side.
Third Brother was a filial son, and Luo Sheng was a loving… mother.
Luo Sheng saw her laughing and swung a big palm at her: "And you! Not learning anything good, following Old Third around getting into mischief all day. If you can't find a husband in the future, see what you'll do!"
Xie Suisui ducked down, covering her head, and said with a grin: "I'll never marry—I'll just cling to Mother's side and be an old maid for life!"
Xie Xinglang fanned the flames from the side: "Marry? Men are all worthless. Someone like Yu Tang—not even married yet, and already this trash!"
Lu Xiangyi immediately objected: "Men aren't all bad… my husband is quite good."
"Big Brother and Second Brother are both wonderful, and Father is wonderful too." Xie Suisui firmly agreed with Lu Xiangyi, taking the chance to praise Father and Big Brother as good men.
Suddenly she felt two piercing glares of murderous intent.
Turning her head, she saw her own third brother sitting on a tall stool, one foot on the lower crossbar, the other leg crossed over his knee. A cup of tea rested on his knee—one hand flicking the lid to stir the leaves, the other propping up the chair back—as he looked down at her with an imposing aura.
A hint of unpolished ruffian energy seeped from him as he shot her a displeased look: "So I'm the only bad one?"
Xie Suisui sighed inwardly and thought bluntly: My brother—arrogant, a real man!
"Third Brother is the best." The little mouse quickly offered her "affirmation."
"You really won't marry for life?" Xie Xinglang stared at her. "Dare you swear it?"
Xie Suisui stood at attention, raised three fingers to the sky, and solemnly vowed: "I swear…"
"I'll teach you two to keep provoking me! Every one of you deserves a beating!" Luo Sheng was furious. Swearing never to marry? What a thought!
Xie Suisui cackled with laughter, then suddenly had some new ideas.
"Third Brother, Yu Tang told Qi Qingrou that in three months, he could become king."
"King of what—king of bastards?"
"He really might become king." Xie Suisui couldn't easily explain her past life to Xie Xinglang, so she said, "Just watch—he'll soon be buying up grain in bulk, and even quietly recruiting soldiers and buying horses…"
She called Xie Xinglang over and whispered to him for a while.
Xie Xinglang looked at his sister with deep eyes: "Really?"
"Really. To completely destroy a man, you must first lift him high, then dash him down hard—break his spine."
She quietly told Xie Xinglang that she had a way to ruin Yu Tang—she would steal a batch of grain from the national treasury, and Xie Sanlang would find people to sell that treasury grain to Yu Tang.
Let Yu Tang hoard ten thousand dan of grain and dream his kingly dream.
Then expose it to the Censorate, and bring it before Emperor Guangzong.
This plan would have been hard to pull off before, but now that she had the Spatial Dimension, it was much simpler.
However, she changed tack and said: "The most urgent matter is Father's safety."
Xie Xinglang asked: "You asked earlier whether Father had any ties to the Crown Prince—is something wrong on Father's end?"
"I overheard Qi Hui and Grand Marshal Zhao conspiring. They want to join the Struggle for the Succession and are strongly urging His Majesty to send the Crown Prince to the border to earn military merit… If the Crown Prince dies at the border, Father will bear the blame."
Luo Sheng and Yu Qingqiu's faces changed drastically.
"Suisui, is this true?"
"It's true. I heard Qi Hui and Grand Marshal Zhao say it with my own ears."
The talk of a "past life" was too outlandish, so it was better to pin it on the trash father—after all, Qi Hui was no good, and in the past life, the General's estate's annihilation had Qi Hui's hand in it.
The current Emperor Guangzong has five sons. The eldest and second princes have already departed for their fiefs. The third prince, born of the empress, is the Crown Prince. The fourth prince's mother died early, and he was raised under the Empress's care, making him a loyal follower of the Crown Prince. The fifth prince, at thirteen, is quite clever.
Until the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the struggle for the succession will never cease.
And the struggle for the succession has always been brutal!
Yu Qingqiu immediately sent a servant to the palace to fetch Xie Xinghui.
"Tell the Young General that… say that I accidentally fell from the rooftop, and ask him to return to the residence at once!"
Yu Qingqiu's words made Xie Suisui's lips twitch slightly. Her eldest sister-in-law was gentle beyond compare, but when she turned ruthless, she was truly ruthless.
The servant was quick-witted and immediately rushed to the palace to urgently summon the eldest young master back to the residence.
Xie Xinghui, twenty-four this year, was a renowned civil-military general of the Chongfeng era.
He began martial arts training at three, started literary studies at four, and excelled in both. At twelve, he went to the battlefield, where his valor outshone the entire army, earning him the title of Ever-Victorious General.
On top of that, his mind was exceptionally sharp—he placed third in the civil examinations and first in the martial ones.
The Grand Tutor of the court greatly admired him and betrothed his eldest legitimate daughter, Yu Qingqiu, to him. The two treated each other with the utmost respect, and in six years of marriage, they had never once exchanged a harsh word.
Such a young war god—pure and upright, noble and composed—had, in his previous life, suffered brutal torture in prison before his exile, had both legs broken, and died on the road to banishment…
Xie Xinghui hurried back to the residence, only to learn that the injured one was Xie Suisui.
Seeing his sister's severe injuries, Xie Xinghui's eyes darkened as he asked, "What exactly happened?"
Luo Sheng recounted Xie Suisui's ordeal at the Prime Minister's residence once more.
Xie Xinghui said, "The Prime Minister's household has humiliated our sister. I won't let them get away with it."
"Big brother, revenge against the Prime Minister's residence can wait. I have other urgent matters to discuss with you."
Xie Xinghui dismissed the servants and said, "Speak, sister."
"Big brother, does the Crown Prince currently have any ties to the General's residence?"
"No deep connections. It's just that a few days ago, Second Brother wrote saying the border garrison is severely short on provisions—Father and the others have started digging up cogongrass roots to eat. His Majesty sent the Crown Prince to escort provisions to Father."
"When was this?"
"Two days ago."
In spring, when crops are still young and food is scarce, the Northern Yan launched a major push southward, harassing the border people, seizing grain and livestock. His Majesty ordered the Crown Prince to "annihilate the enemy before returning to court."
"Ah, no!" Xie Suisui's expression changed drastically, and she spoke incoherently, "Big brother, someone has arranged for assassins along the route to kill the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince will surely die!"
The Emperor wanted the Crown Prince to compete for military merit, and treacherous ministers had also urged the Crown Prince to deliver the provisions—but in truth, they planned to seize the opportunity to murder the Crown Prince and frame Xie Fei for failing to protect him.
The heir to the throne dies, the general falls—killing two birds with one stone!
Xie Xinghui, being as intelligent as he was, understood immediately, and his face turned grim.
"Without the strength to truss a chicken, and the Crown Prince insists on personally leading a campaign?!" Luo Sheng said with some irritation. "Isn't that just adding to the chaos?"
Adding to the chaos was an understatement—it was outright murder!
All of Father's lifelong military achievements couldn't offset the death of the Crown Prince!
Xie Suisui's heart raced with anxiety as she said, "Big brother, can you find a way to notify the Crown Prince? Even if it's just to make him change his marching route?"
"The Crown Prince has already been gone for two days… Mother, sister, don't get involved in this. Leave it to me." Xie Xinghui tucked the corner of her blanket in and said, "Sister, rest well and recover."
Then he hurried out.
Yu Qingqiu comforted Xie Suisui: "Sister, you're injured. Rest well for now. Leave matters of the court to your brother-in-law."
Xie Suisui's medicine had also been brewed. The maidservant Haitang blew on it to cool it down and reassured her not to overthink.
From outside the door came the voices of Xie Xinglang and Zhu Yan.
"I heard sister is seriously ill. I've come to check on her."
"You two have never gotten along. Don't go crowding in."
"You—"
"Scram!"
Haitang sighed.
Miss Zhu really was something. Both of them were adopted daughters of the General's residence, and the Madam and Young Madam treated them even-handedly—what was she still fighting over all day?
"Haitang, close the courtyard gate. I want to sleep for a while. My head is spinning."
"Yes, miss."
Haitang bolted the courtyard gate and withdrew from the bedchamber.
Xie Suisui took the opportunity to inspect her newly acquired spatial dimension.
"Store!"
"Release!"
She discovered that within a radius of fifteen zhang, any object she laid her eyes on could be stored and released at will.
The spatial dimension had no offensive power, but she could relocate objects to any point within a fifteen-zhang radius.
For example, mid-air—letting a bucket of night soil free-fall.
For example, dropping a boulder from fifteen zhang up.
Qi Qingrou had no idea how long she'd been stockpiling, but the grain in this spatial dimension was more than Xie Suisui could eat in ten lifetimes—unless she used it for rebellion!
Raw beef, mutton, even fresh fish—all were very fresh. This divine artifact could not only store but also preserve.
But living creatures couldn't be stored. She tried putting a dog into the spatial dimension—no good! Not to mention a dog, even she herself was bounced back out when she tried to enter.
She was injured and had caused a scene at the Prime Minister's residence for most of the day, leaving her utterly exhausted. After fiddling with the spatial dimension for a while, she drifted into a groggy sleep.
Half-conscious, she dreamed of Qi Qingrou, eyes savage, conjuring a dagger out of thin air and waving it around her face.
"You were thrown away by your own mother's hand!"
"Didn't they say Xie Xinglang dotes on you and protects you the most? Once the Xie family is dead to the last person, let's see who's left to protect you!"
She laughed eerily, raised the blade, and sliced off Xie Suisui's fingers.
Xie Suisui screamed in pain and jolted awake.
It turned out to be a nightmare.
The sky had gone completely dark, and the wounds on her head and hands throbbed with a burning pain.
"Miss, does it hurt?" Haitang heard the commotion, immediately lit the lamp, and helped her sit up.
She asked in a hoarse voice, "Has Big Brother returned?"
"He came back, but he left again with Third Young Master."
"Quick, help me to the front courtyard."
Before she even reached the door of the reception hall, she heard Luo Sheng's angry voice: "For the sake of seizing military supplies, you don't even care about your lives anymore?"
Xie Suisui's heart sank, and she immediately asked, "Mother, what's happened?"
"The Crown Prince has already left the capital for two days—it will be very hard to catch up… Your big brother sent a carrier pigeon to your father, asking him to send reinforcements from his side."
Luo Sheng said helplessly, "Your big brother is chasing along the main road, and your third brother is taking a detour to the front—hoping they'll make it in time. Oh, right, your third brother left a letter for you before he departed."
Xie Suisui took the letter and opened it.
The first line that met her eyes—
[Don't be afraid, the Prime Minister's mansion will be cut off from descendants.]
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