After school in the afternoon, Wang Yutong hurried back to Piaoyi Residence. As soon as she entered, she ordered Hongshan:
“Hongshan, go call A-Wu back. I have something for him to do.”
Seeing Wang Yutong’s dark expression and obvious anger, Hongshan quickly lowered his head and went out. He drove a carriage and rushed toward the estate.
He felt that something about the young lady today was strange—the tight expression on her small face reminded him of Old Marquis on the battlefield, terrifying and oppressive.
He wondered who had been blind enough to provoke her.
After spending so much time together, Hongshan had more or less figured out her temperament.
If things were done well, she would reward silver. If there were small mistakes, she would only verbally reprimand them. As for major mistakes—so far, no one had made one, so he had no idea what would happen.
But he knew how Old Marquis dealt with serious offenders: they were beaten to death on the spot.
Thinking of that, Hongshan couldn’t help shivering, a chill rising from his feet to his spine.
He quickly stopped thinking about it.
..
The next morning, A-Wu arrived.
“Miss, A-Wu is here,” Chuntao reported.
“Let him wait in the front room. I’ll go over after I finish eating.
Also, bring him breakfast. He probably rushed here and hasn’t eaten yet,” Wang Yutong said calmly after swallowing her rice porridge.
When she finished eating and tidied up, it was already a quarter of an hour later.
“A-Wu, quietly return to the Marquis household and investigate Concubine Tian’s current situation. Most importantly, check whether Madam Hou, Madam Cui, is planning anything against her recently,” Wang Yutong ordered directly, without explanation.
“Yes, Miss,” A-Wu replied without asking anything.
As a shadow guard who originally lived in secrecy and now served the young lady, he naturally obeyed her orders.
“Be careful. Don’t alert Old Marquis or the others. Once you find evidence, directly capture the people involved and bring them to me for interrogation.
I want to see what tricks they’re planning this time to provoke me.”
There was a hint of amusement in her tone.
“Don’t disappoint me,” she murmured softly.
..
A-Wu moved quickly.
By the time Wang Yutong had completed her third body tempering and advanced to a ninth-rank martial artist, she received his report.
She quietly felt the surge of strength in her body, her confidence returning.
She knew this was only because she was still in the early stage of tempering, when progress was fastest—but she was still pleased.
A ninth-rank martial artist. Though far from her previous life’s peak, it at least gave her some ability to defend herself.
“A-Wu, report. What did you find?”
Sitting in her chair, Wang Yutong asked calmly.
A-Wu lowered his head:
“Miss, I discovered that Madam Cui is planning to host a Spring Banquet in three days, inviting several noble ladies to the Marquis residence to watch a play.”
“Oh? A banquet to watch a play… I doubt it’s just a normal performance,” she said lightly.
“Yes,” A-Wu continued. “Madam Cui instructed her trusted maid, Madam Jiang, to drug Concubine Tian during the banquet and send her to the stable hand Jiang in the marquis stables.”
A-Wu’s expression remained neutral, but his voice grew slightly tense as he noticed Wang Yutong’s face darkening.
He instinctively stopped.
“Continue,” she said coldly.
A-Wu stiffened and continued:
“When Concubine Tian is with Jiang, Madam Cui will have someone report that she is missing. Then, under the guise of searching for her, everyone will ‘discover’ the affair. They will expose it publicly, kill her to silence her, and erase you from the Wang clan registry.”
His voice grew softer and softer.
A heavy pressure filled the room.
“Where do Jiang Mama and Jiang the stable hand stand in relation to each other?” Wang Yutong asked coldly.
“Jiang the stable hand is Madam Jiang’s younger brother. Because he has a slight limp, she begged Madam Cui to assign him to the stables,” A-Wu explained.
“Have you captured them yet?”
“No. I did not act without permission. I came back to report to you first,” A-Wu answered respectfully.
Wang Yutong tapped the armrest lightly, thinking.
After a long silence, she spoke:
“Continue watching. Catch them in the act. As for Concubine Tian, after catching them, knock her out and send her back to her room.”
“Miss… why not arrest them in advance to prevent accidents?” A-Wu asked.
“Because catching thieves requires catching them with stolen goods, and catching adulterers requires catching them in the act,” she replied calmly. “Otherwise, they will deny everything.”
“After catching them, should we hand them to the Marquis or the Old Madam?” A-Wu asked again.
“No need. I will interrogate them myself that day. You only need to record everything, make five copies, and have them sign and leave fingerprints.”
A-Wu did not fully understand, but he knew his duty was to obey.
..
Three days passed quickly, and the Spring Banquet of the Marquis household began.
All the young ladies of the household were given leave to receive guests.
Wang Yutong, however, was not going to attend the banquet—she was going to interrogate the Jiang mother-and-son pair.
That morning, she changed into specially tailored men’s clothing and had Chuntao style her hair into a boy’s topknot.
In an instant, the delicate young girl transformed into a handsome little scholar.
“Miss, you look so good in men’s clothes—you look like a young gentleman,” Chuntao praised.
Wang Yutong looked into the bronze mirror and nodded in satisfaction.
“Make more sets like this. I’ll wear men’s clothing when I go out in the future to avoid trouble.”
She turned and strode toward the door.
A carriage was already waiting outside. Hongshan drove it slowly toward the rear gate of the Marquis residence.