After climbing out of the cellar, Yu Ange saw Zhang Shou, the prefect of Qizhou Prefecture, accompanied by a group of minor officials.
Yu Ange cupped her hands in salute to Prefect Zhang: “Greetings, Uncle.”
Zhang Shou nervously looked Yu Ange up and down: “Did you suffer any injuries, Nephew Yu?”
Yu Ange breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that Zhang Shou hadn’t recognized her: “Thank you for your concern, Uncle. Just minor injuries, but…”
Before Yu Ange could finish, Prefect Zhang gestured with his hand: “It’s good that you’re fine, otherwise I’d have no way to explain to your father. Last time I saw you, you were only this tall. After a few years, you’ve grown even more handsome! In your father’s letter to me, he even called you a blockhead. I think he was clearly bragging by saying the opposite.”
While Prefect Zhang was chattering away, Shang Qingyan was also helped up by Zhu Ying.
Shang Qingyan, who had just exuded murderous intent toward Yu Ange, now appeared frail and helpless in front of others, as if he might faint at any moment.
Prefect Zhang was momentarily stunned when he saw Shang Qingyan, unable to react immediately.
Yu Ange quickly introduced him: “Prefect Zhang, this is Nanchuanwang. I was accompanying Nanchuanwang back to Jingdu when we encountered bandits at Lingyin Si. Nanchuanwang has suffered severe injuries.”
Prefect Zhang’s expression changed instantly. The news he had received was that Yu Anhe had encountered bandits, with no mention of this lord.
But with the man right before him, Prefect Zhang felt uneasy and had no choice but to brace himself: “This humble official greets Your Highness!”
Shang Qingyan waved his hand weakly, as if on the verge of collapse: “Prefect Zhang, quickly send someone to Lingyin Si to check on the condition of the envoy from Jingdu.”
Hearing that Shang Qingyan had brought an envoy from Jingdu to Wangchuncheng, Prefect Zhang felt even more uneasy.
The envoy from Jingdu was a eunuch personally dispatched by the Emperor, representing His Majesty’s will in every word and action.
Prefect Zhang dared not speculate on the Emperor’s intentions, nor could he afford to slight Shang Qingyan before him: “This humble official will send someone to Lingyin Si immediately. Carriages and horses are prepared outside. Your Highness, please follow me back to the prefectural office. We must not delay treating your injuries.”
No matter how or where Shang Qingyan died, he could not die in front of him, or he would be held accountable.
Shang Qingyan nodded and was helped into the carriage by Zhu Ying.
Yu Ange also returned to the prefectural office. Yu Shu, who had some medical knowledge, re-bandaged her wounds.
After settling Shang Qingyan, Prefect Zhang approached Yu Ange with a dark expression: “Nephew, you’ve given me quite a difficult problem.”
Zhang Shou, having reached the position of prefect, was naturally shrewd. By now, he had pieced together the whole story and guessed some of the Emperor’s intentions.
But regardless of the Emperor’s intentions, they had nothing to do with him. Yet Yu Ange had secretly called him here, forcing him to become entangled with Nanchuanwang.
He retracted his earlier words—Yu Anhe truly was, as Yu Ting had said, an ignorant blockhead, causing him such a huge trouble.
Yu Ange dismissed Yanbo and Yu Shu, leaving only herself and Prefect Zhang in the room.
“Uncle Zhang, you may not know this, but I am not giving you a difficult problem—I am helping you.”
Prefect Zhang was unconvinced: “Helping me? By using Nanchuanwang to help me?”
What was meant as a sarcastic remark unexpectedly received Yu Ange’s agreement: “Exactly.”
“Uncle, think about it. When Nanchuanwang went to Wangchuncheng to fetch me, why did he not alert anyone along the way? Not only you, but even I only learned that His Majesty intended to summon me back to the capital after encountering Nanchuanwang by chance.”
Magistrate Zhang glanced at Yu Ange, and the suspicion in his heart grew increasingly evident.
Yu Ange confirmed his thoughts: “Nanchuanwang’s health is frail. Who knows if something unexpected might happen on this journey?”
Magistrate Zhang held his teacup, his expression grim: “Nephew, you knew this, yet you still asked me to invite him back to the prefectural office.”
The implication was that he wanted to feign ignorance and comply with His Majesty’s intentions.
Yu Ange shook his head slightly: “Uncle, though ignorance may be excused, this time it was clearly bandits who burned the temple, causing an uproar throughout the city. Consider this: if anything were to happen to Nanchuanwang, it would clearly be due to your lax governance allowing bandits to run rampant, thus inviting disaster.”
As soon as Yu Ange spoke these words, Magistrate Zhang suddenly looked sharply at him, his teacup trembling slightly in his hand.
Yu Ange continued: “Uncle, I know you do not wish to defy His Majesty’s will, but from the very beginning, His Majesty gave you no choice.”
Yu Ange knew that even without her, Shang Qingyan would not die. That was how it had been in her previous life. When His Majesty failed to achieve his goal, he vented his anger on Magistrate Zhang, demoting him three ranks in succession.
But what if His Majesty succeeded?
What awaited Magistrate Zhang would not be merely a three-rank demotion, but utter ruin.
Because both His Majesty and Magistrate Zhang knew perfectly well that in Qizhou, under Magistrate Zhang’s jurisdiction, bandits would never dare to ambush and kill Nanchuanwang.
In other words, ever since the bandits burned the temple, whether Nanchuanwang lived or died, the blame would fall on Zhang Shou’s shoulders.
Enlightened by Yu Ange’s words, Zhang Shou instantly understood everything. He had thought he was complying with His Majesty’s will, but unexpectedly, he was facing a dead end.
Zhang Shou looked at Yu Ange in amazement: “I prided myself on being clever, yet I am not as perceptive as you.”
Yu Ange replied: “It is because you are too close to the situation, Uncle.”
Zhang Shou, troubled in heart, stood up and paced a few steps: “Then, in your opinion, nephew, what should I do?”
Yu Ange said: “First, submit a memorial to actively admit fault, stating that your negligence and oversight allowed bandits to mistakenly harm Nanchuanwang. At the same time, dispatch troops to suppress the bandits—the more grand the momentum, the better.”
Having Zhang Shou proactively shoulder the blame was better than waiting for His Majesty to shift it onto him. Suppressing the bandits was to convince the world of the blame he willingly bore; the less suspicion fell on His Majesty for harming his own nephew, the safer Zhang Shou would be.
“Second, send troops to escort Nanchuanwang safely back to the capital.”
This move was not only to relieve Shang Qingyan of worries but also to silence His Majesty, preventing him from easily venting his anger on Zhang Shou.
“Third, publicly announce that Nanchuanwang is severely injured, not long for this world, and even if he recovers, he will be a cripple.”
Having witnessed Shang Qingyan’s capabilities in the mountains, Yu Ange guessed his intentions from her previous life. Only by becoming a “cripple” could Shang Qingyan temporarily ease His Majesty’s suspicions.
After hearing these three points from Yu Ange, Zhang Shou could not help but clap his hands: “That coarse martial man Yu Ting actually fathered a son as astute as you. Yet he is never satisfied, always cursing you as a blockhead! Truly blind!”
Yu Ange felt embarrassed: “There is no time to lose, Uncle. You must act swiftly!”
Zhang Shou also knew the situation was urgent. Once the prefectural officers brought back the envoy from the capital, it would be difficult for him to act. Thus, he hurried off to take action.
After Zhang Shou left, Yu Ange’s ears twitched as she heard the person on the roof quietly depart, but she did not pursue them.