Jiang Liyang despised Fan Ning’s rough manners and accented speech; whenever he saw her, he never failed to mock her. Fan Ning, accustomed to bluntness on the frontier, was not the sort to swallow insults quietly. Thus, wherever the two appeared together, there was always a lively scene to watch.
The idle sons and daughters of noble families in the capital, upon hearing that the pair were set to compete, eagerly arranged to attend. Just as Lianxing had guessed, some mischief-makers had already opened betting pools.
“The drill ground is bustling, but it’s all for the nobles’ amusement. Ordinary folk have no way in. If you’re interested, miss, you could ask the young marquis to take you,” a maid said with a smile.
Ming Niansheng had no friends in the capital. With her status as a concubine-born daughter raised in Linzhou, few would even look her in the eye. Luo Xinci could not hope to step past such thresholds. But if she let Ming Yuhe escort her, how could she secretly investigate her father’s whereabouts?
Awkwardly, Luo Xinci turned her face aside and asked as if casually, “Does elder brother often take part in such amusements?”
“The young marquis sometimes goes hunting outside the city with Prince Ning. As for the drill ground, those young lords’ playground, he only went a few times years ago when accompanying the princess.”
“So then, in a few days when the young master competes with Fan Ning, might mother also go to watch?” Luo Xinci pressed quickly.
Following Princess Shao’an would surely be safer than following Ming Yuhe.
The maid laughed. “I’d guess not. In recent years, apart from entering the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, the princess hardly ever leaves the residence.”
Luo Xinci sighed inwardly in disappointment.
After two days, with no way to approach the nobles, Lianxing had only managed to inquire about a few minor officials surnamed Wang. Calculating their ages and the time they entered the capital, none matched Luo Xinci’s father. Her own progress was equally slow. Ming Yuhe wanted her to retaliate against Jiang Liyang, but she could think of no means to do so. It was too difficult—being good was hard, but being wicked was harder still! She had done nothing, yet Jiang Liyang already disliked her. If she truly struck back, she feared she would never know peace again. Worse, she dared not truly harm him. If she provoked his wrath, Jiang Liyang was capable of striking her down without mercy. She did not know how much weight Ming Yuhe’s words carried—whether he could truly protect her.
If there was any small blessing, it was that with Ming Yuhe’s indulgence, the maids of Yunshang Pavilion were no longer so tight-lipped. Most of her questions now received clear answers. Even so, she could hardly ask them outright for ideas on how to deal with Jiang Liyang.
Luo Xinci racked her brains to no avail, growing frustrated. After confirming with the maids that both Marquis Wuling and Ming Yuhe were occupied, she relaxed a little and stepped out of Yunshang Residence.
Afraid of stumbling upon another secret, she dared not wander far, and instead strolled by the pond outside to ease her mind. After a while, she sat on a stone bench by the water, gazing at her reflection. Whether illusion or not, she thought she looked much more haggard. Once famed as a beauty in Linzhou, in barely half a month at the marquis’s residence she had been worn down to this—truly, this was no place fit for human life!
She pitied herself for a moment, then broke a willow branch to stir the reflection into ripples, and returned to brooding over how to retaliate against Jiang Liyang. She did not notice that from a high pavilion, someone was watching her.
“After Lord Qu met privately with His Highness the other day, he stopped mentioning that old matter. I followed him for two days and found him more cautious than usual, as though he suspects the marquis,” a guard reported softly.
“Let him be,” Ming Yuhe said with a frown.
Qu Li was Marquis Wuling’s trusted aide.
Ming Yuhe was certain that the crown prince’s accident years ago had been the marquis’s doing, but he did not know how many others had been involved. After long planning, just as he was about to obtain the list from Qu Li, an unexpected incident occurred. His mood was already sour, and when he looked out through the flowering branches to see Luo Xinci sitting by the water, he felt—whether it was the drifting spring blossoms or the willow twig she idly twirled—that her quiet, graceful figure was strangely soothing.
Everything was going wrong for him, yet Luo Xinci, who had played him for a fool, sat there basking in the sunlight, serene and content.
Ming Yuhe’s mood instantly darkened. The human heart is greedy. Perhaps her original intent in impersonating Ming Niansheng was merely to borrow the marquis’s power to deal with others, but over time, who could say she would not change her mind? Just as some people, when they act too convincingly, begin to believe they truly are Marquis Wuling.
Ordering his guards to continue shadowing Qu Li, Ming Yuhe descended from Zhaixing Pavilion.
“What is Niansheng doing here?”
The sudden question startled Luo Xinci, who had been absorbed in plotting her next move. Her hand slipped, and the willow twig fell into the water. She turned and saw Ming Yuhe walking out from beneath the trees.
Handsome in face, tall and long-legged, he strode forward with a gait both leisurely and vigorous. Though he emerged from the shadows, the sight was as if the shade dissolved into gauzy veils, gently peeling away to reveal him solemnly bathed in sunlight. Good looks, noble birth—this man was blessed beyond measure.
Luo Xinci, distracted for a moment, silently reminded herself with the phrase “gold and jade on the outside, rotten rags within,” to regain composure. She rose obediently and saluted him. “The room was stifling, so I came out for some air,” she answered truthfully, though inwardly she braced herself.
From past experience, whenever she encountered Ming Yuhe, nothing good ever followed. She should have stayed shut indoors. Still, she had not left the residence these past days, and the information she had gleaned from the maids mostly concerned the upcoming riding and archery at the drill ground. Surely there was no oversight for Ming Yuhe to seize upon?
“At leisure, then tell your elder brother how you plan to deal with Liyang.” His casual words struck her like a blow, setting her heart racing with anxiety.
She fumbled for an answer: “…I’m still considering which method would be best. It’s a secret.”
Ming Yuhe said, “Then let me guess?”
Luo Xinci’s eyes lit up, and she quickly said, “Alright, you guess!”
Ming Yuhe’s lips curved faintly. Clearly, she couldn’t think of a way to take revenge and was eager for him to guess more, to give her ideas. He dared to offer suggestions—whether she dared to use them was another matter.
“Feign an attack in the east while striking in the west?”
Luo Xinci blinked twice. “Hm?”
“…” Ming Yuhe was speechless for a moment, then reluctantly explained: “On the day of the drill ground, there will be many people. You are alone and weak; confronting Liyang in public is unwise. The best method is to create chaos—for example, set a fire to draw everyone’s attention away… Then, even if you throw a sack over Liyang and beat him soundly, no one would notice.”
False. Prince Ning’s household had only these two brothers left. Jiang Liyang loved to stir trouble, and his guards—both open and hidden—were countless. If she dared to act, she would certainly be discovered.
Luo Xinci’s face had been full of eagerness, but after Ming Yuhe finished, she pondered carefully and said, “Brother has clever ideas.” Her words were praise, but her eyes remained calm, unmoved. In her heart, she admitted the method was effective, yet she had no intention of using it.
Arson was easy to start but hard to stop. A single misstep could burn down pavilions and houses; if it spread to harm the common folk, her guilt would be too great. And if she truly had to strike someone, she lacked the courage—and the strength to hurt them.
Ming Yuhe could not see her inner scruples, but he did notice she was not tempted by the plan. Determined to teach her a lesson, he continued: “That method works, but has flaws. Better to kill with a borrowed knife—it is simpler and more effective.”
Luo Xinci glanced at him, secretly wondering: was his “kill” meant literally, or just a figure of speech?
“Liyang and Fan Ning have always been at odds,” Ming Yuhe quickly gave her the answer.
Luo Xinci’s heart stirred, her eyes brightening at once. The maid had said it was common knowledge that the two were enemies. Even the Empress Dowager had been alarmed and personally warned them: small quarrels were tolerable, but under no circumstances were they to harm each other.
Using Fan Ning’s hand against Jiang Liyang would neither injure anyone nor earn his lasting hatred. It neatly resolved Luo Xinci’s worries and perfectly matched Ming Yuhe’s demand. Besides, the two already had a feud—she hardly needed to lift a finger.
“I think one could take advantage of…”
“Brother isn’t busy today?” Luo Xinci liked this idea, but feared Ming Yuhe would spell it out completely and later realize she was borrowing his scheme. She quickly cut him off.
Ming Yuhe replied, “Even with official duties, an elder brother must rest. Just now I saw Niansheng enjoying the scenery here from the pavilion above, so I came down to chat a little.”
You call plotting revenge against someone “chatting”?
Luo Xinci wanted to stop the “chat” before he offered more ideas, but struggled to find another topic. She glanced at the artfully arranged rockeries and blooming flowers in the courtyard, then turned to the koi swimming in the pond. Just as she was wondering which subject might be easier to talk about, a carp flicked its tail, rippling the water and distorting the tall, well-proportioned shadow reflected there.
Suddenly inspired, Luo Xinci raised her voice: “Ordinary men marry at seventeen or eighteen. Brother is strikingly handsome—why have you not yet taken a wife?”
Ming Yuhe’s gaze sharpened instantly. From his youth, countless people had tried to meddle in his marriage—beauty traps, favors disguised as concern, slanders against his honor—the schemes were endless.
This was the matter Ming Yuhe loathed most. Luo Xinci knew nothing of this. In her eyes, she was Ming Niansheng now, a sister sharing his bloodline. Ming Yuhe’s marriage prospects could never have anything to do with her. And since she was already seen as a greedy woman, one who intended to snare every talented man in the capital, even if the topic turned back to her, the outcome could hardly be worse than it already was. Marriage and matchmaking—this was, for her, an absolutely safe subject.
“If there were a sister-in-law, she would surely be able to talk with brother often and ease his worries,” Luo Xinci said sincerely, sounding every bit like a dutiful younger sister who truly wished her elder brother a good marriage.
Ming Yuhe’s gaze turned cold. Before coming to see Luo Xinci, he had merely been in a foul mood and teased her a little. Now he wanted to kill someone to vent his anger. He lowered his head, staring fixedly at Luo Xinci, eyes narrowing slightly, and said: “The reason I have delayed marriage is because I have a hobby that cannot be spoken of to outsiders. Niansheng, do you want to know?”