Yuan Fuyu tried to rise, but Pei Du pressed her shoulder back down with his sword sheath.
She looked up…
The way Xie Huaizhou sat imposingly in the official’s chair, calmly accepting her kneeling posture, was vastly different from the Imperial Son-in-Law Xie Huaizhou in Yuan Fuyu’s memories.
Yuan Fuyu laughed in extreme anger.
Now that the world had turned upside down and statuses were reversed – he the powerful official, she a merchant’s daughter – it was only fitting that she kneel to Xie Huaizhou.
Yet, from their first acquaintance, she had always been in the superior position, Xie Huaizhou beneath her.
Having grown accustomed to Xie Huaizhou’s docile and gentle nature, she found herself utterly unaccustomed to this current situation.
Xie Huaizhou looked down at Yuan Fuyu with a mocking demeanor: “The umbrella from Qianjin Pavilion, the signal arrows, Pei Du… It seems this Princess’s confidant truly wants your life. I just wonder… how many Qianjin Pavilion assassins will show up later?”
At the doorway, Li Yunping escorted a Mystic Eagle Guard onto the bridge in the courtyard, shouting: “Xie Huaizhou! Pei Du! Now that we both have hostages, how about an exchange?”
The cold wind whipped snow around, causing the bronze bells hanging from the eaves to chime incessantly.
Xie Huaizhou didn’t even glance at the shouting Li Yunping, focusing solely on Yuan Fuyu: “Cui Siniang, legitimate daughter of the main branch of the Cui merchant family from Wu City. How did you obtain the Princess’s handwritten letter? What is your purpose? Explain in detail, and I’ll leave your corpse intact.”
When He Yichen brought the letter to find Pei Du today, Xie Huaizhou had been in the inner chamber.
He had seen the letter and confirmed it was undoubtedly the Princess’s handwriting.
But… he didn’t believe Cui Siniang could be the Princess’s confidant.
The age didn’t match, and she was from the merchant class the Princess despised most.
Yuan Fuyu chuckled softly, her voice calm: “Since it’s written in the Princess’s own hand, naturally the Princess gave it to me. Just because Pei Du and you, Minister Xie, don’t know about a confidant, doesn’t mean they’re not a confidant.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Huaizhou slowly leaned forward from his imposing chair, his distinct-knuckled slender fingers easily gripping Yuan Fuyu’s chin as he indifferently pulled her closer.
Caught off guard, Yuan Fuyu stumbled, steadying herself with one hand on the threshold and the other gripping Xie Huaizhou’s wrist.
Looking up at this man who gazed down at her from his superior position, she felt an indescribable… interest well up in her heart.
Since her rebirth, the one who had given her the greatest surprise was undoubtedly this former Imperial Son-in-Law Xie Huaizhou, who had once been gentle, humble, and refined in her presence.
She had thought he had simply forgotten his origins after gaining power.
Now it seemed she had underestimated her former Imperial Son-in-Law – Xie Huaizhou’s cunning ran deep indeed.
Xie Huaizhou made no attempt to conceal the contempt in his eyes: “Silver-tongued. Did you use this face, this mouth, to bewitch He Yichen into helping you establish your identity as the Princess’s confidant?”
“Bah!” He Yichen fumed. “You think I’m a lecher like you!”
The already bound Liu Mei sneered: “How interesting! Does Minister Xie think the Princess is the type to be so mentally confused by love that she would tell everything to her lover? Or… is Pei Du the Princess’s master, such that the Princess must report her confidants to Pei Du for his approval?”
“Liu Mei, watch your words!” Yu Yunyan spat. “What is he but the Princess’s pet kept man? What lover? In this world, besides Jian Lin… who would dare claim to be the Princess’s lover!”
“Why waste words with him? Sooner or later we’ll kill these two dogs to avenge A’yu!” Du Baorong said fiercely.
Li Yunping, who held the Mystic Eagle Guards at bay, had a murderous glint in her eyes. “Pei Du, we’ve all seen Ah Yu’s handwritten letter. The few of us grew up with Ah Yu—we know what’s real and what’s fake. Today, we’ve come for the truth! Whoever killed Ah Yu… we’ll kill them!”
Pei Du stared coldly at Yuan Fuyu, who had deceived the remnants of the Golden Banner Eighteen Guards in the name of being a close confidant.
He said, “The letter is indeed genuine, but the Princess despises merchants. She would never allow a merchant to be her confidant.”
Yuan Fuyu only looked at Xie Huaizhou, her smile deepening. “So, the Princess entrusting state affairs to Xie Huaizhou, who comes from a merchant background, is false.”
Their eyes met, and Xie Huaizhou’s brows lifted slightly.
He pushed Yuan Fuyu’s face away and leaned back into his chair with composure, his gaze growing even more indifferent. He preferred docility and disliked the provocation in Yuan Fuyu’s eyes.
“What did Xie Huaizhou promise you to make you betray your master?” Yang Jiancheng asked Pei Du with a grim expression.
Pei Du clenched his fists at his sides. “I did not betray my master!”
Yuan Fuyu’s gaze returned to Pei Du, who had been restraining her without letting go. “If you were loyal, you should have died before the Princess on the twenty-third day of the sixth month in the fourth year of Yuanping. Yet, when the Princess, whom you were supposed to protect with your life, died, only you and Xie Huaizhou survived. Where were you, Pei Du, the peerless master, when the Princess was in danger?”
Yuan Fuyu could not die in obscurity.
Before meeting He Yichen, she had been contemplating how to arrange a death for Pei Du that would serve her purposes.
But He Yichen said that Pei Du was still secretly searching for the Cheng Style Reviving Spring Needles, and doing so behind Xie Huaizhou’s back.
Yuan Fuyu was willing to give Pei Du another chance to explain, out of regard for the many years he had risked his life for her.
Pei Du pressed his lips together and did not answer, his frosty expression revealing no emotion.
But Yuan Fuyu knew Pei Du too well. From this close, she could sense his guilt and shame even with her eyes closed.
“Pei Du, up until now, I still believe you were deceived by Xie Huaizhou,” Su Ziyi interjected. “Since you claim you didn’t betray your master, what exactly happened on the twenty-third day of the sixth month in the fourth year of Yuanping? We want the truth.”
“If you won’t speak, then we’ll all die together!” Lin Changxue drew his sword.
Pei Du glanced at Lin Changxue and said to Yuan Fuyu, “Miss Cui, as soon as the assassins from Qianjin Pavilion arrive, the Mystic Eagle Guards will surround this courtyard. Even if you manage to fight your way out with the help of these few from the Golden Banner Eighteen Guards, by involving Qianjin Pavilion in the assassination of a high-ranking court official, if the court uses this as a pretext to thoroughly investigate Qianjin Pavilion, do you think Qianjin Pavilion will spare you and your insignificant Cui Family? Qianjin Pavilion… won’t care about the Golden Banner Eighteen Guards! Tell us truthfully where the letter came from, and I’ll beg Lord Xie to spare your family’s lives!”
As soon as Pei Du finished speaking, a team of highly skilled assassins burst into the right side of the courtyard, and the Mystic Eagle Guards immediately moved to support that flank.
Seeing that things had reached this point, Xie Huaizhou lost his patience. He brushed off nonexistent dust from his robes, stood up, and stepped over the threshold.
Xie Huaizhou had been observing this Fourth Miss Cui since earlier.
Her calm composure surpassed what someone of her status ought to possess.
She was like a blood-stained blade, unsheathed in the dark of night, cold and sharp.
It made Xie Huaizhou deeply uncomfortable.
“The Golden Banner Eighteen Guards—since the Princess has decreed with her golden words that you shall live out your lives in peace, then you must live out your lives in peace.” Xie Huaizhou glanced down at Yuan Fuyu kneeling in a low position, his tone casual. “As for her… rather than learning the source of the letter, I dislike variables even more. Kill her. And while you’re at it, dismantle the Qianjin Pavilion too…”
Having said this, Xie Huaizhou made to leave.
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to walk out of this courtyard, Lord Xie.”
At Yuan Fuyu’s words, Xie Huaizhou’s raised foot paused mid-step.