The spies Xie Lin had sent to track Empress Dowager Wu soon returned to the palace with a report: the dowager had taken up residence in an inn within the capital and had sent out a letter, likely waiting for someone to come and assist her.
Xie Lin asked, "Who received Empress Dowager Wu’s letter?"
The spy replied, "It was someone from the Central City Military Command. This humble servant followed discreetly and saw the letter handed directly to the commander of the Central City Military Command."
"The commander personally escorted the letter out of the capital, heading north. We continue to have people tailing him, but it remains unclear who the final recipient will be."
Jiang Yunshu wore a thoughtful expression. "The commander of the Central City Military Command…" That official title sounded somewhat familiar.
Xie Lin glanced at her and reminded her, "Duan Jinxing."
Jiang Yunshu suddenly understood—Duan Jinxing had recently been promoted to commander of the Central City Military Command.
"Two bait cast by the Chief Eunuch, yet they’ve hooked the same fish?" Jiang Yunshu was both surprised and enlightened.
There were few bold enough to oppose Xie Lin, and even fewer with the capability to do so. Whoever this was had the power to promote Duan Jinxing while also managing to contact the empress dowager deep within the palace, stirring up trouble.
Such individuals were exceedingly rare—it made perfect sense that it would be the same person.
Jiang Yunshu looked at Xie Lin. "Does the Chief Eunuch have someone in mind?"
Xie Lin rubbed the white jade prayer beads on his wrist and softly uttered three words: "The Prince of Yanbei."
He issued an order: "Dispatch a troop of soldiers to investigate north of the capital."
"Verify whether the Prince of Yanbei’s forces remain stationed in Yanbei… and where the prince himself currently is."
His subordinates accepted the command and departed.
Hearing Xie Lin’s instructions, Jiang Yunshu felt a chill run down her spine. "Does the Chief Eunuch suspect the Prince of Yanbei has secretly led his border troops into the capital?"
This sounded like the prelude to war!
Xie Lin reassured her, "He won’t be able to infiltrate the capital."
However, Xie Lin strongly suspected that the Prince of Yanbei had already left Yanbei and was likely hiding somewhere between Yanbei and the capital.
—
Xie Lin was not mistaken—Duan Jinxing had indeed thrown his lot in with the Prince of Yanbei.
Duan Jinxing’s connection to the prince was facilitated by Jiang Zhaohua, who had ingratiated herself with the prince’s favored Hu concubine.
This matter traced back two months. Jiang Zhaohua had suffered daily torment under Duan’s mother—forced to wash her feet while being pressured to beg her noble family, the Marquess Xiping’s household, to expedite Duan Jinxing’s promotion.
The Marquess Xiping had pulled some strings for Duan Jinxing, yet every avenue had led to a dead end.
Growing desperate, Jiang Zhaohua took matters into her own hands, seeking connections among the noblewomen of the capital. During that time, she spent lavishly, buying gifts and currying favor.
At a jewelry shop in the capital, Jiang Zhaohua encountered an exceptionally beautiful Hu woman whose spending was even more extravagant than her own.
Jiang Zhaohua had arrived first and was carefully examining a hair ornament when the Hu woman entered later but immediately pointed at the piece in Jiang Zhaohua’s hands and declared, "I’ll take that one!"
The Hu woman’s brazen attempt to snatch the item from her incensed Jiang Zhaohua. Just as she was about to lose her temper, she suddenly recalled something from her past life.
In her previous life, when she had been a lowly maid in the Xie Residence, she had overheard the other maids gossiping enviously about a highly favored concubine of the Prince of Yanbei.
That concubine had once visited the capital and nearly bought out all its treasures.
Jiang Zhaohua remembered that the Hu concubine had light green eyes and a teardrop mole at the corner of one eye—an image that had stuck with her because she had never before seen someone with green eyes. She had even thought at the time, How could anyone have eyes like a wolf’s?
Now, as she studied the Hu woman before her, every feature matched the concubine she had heard of. It was almost certainly the Prince of Yanbei’s favored concubine.
A thought struck Jiang Zhaohua, and she immediately yielded the hair ornament with exaggerated generosity, praising the Hu woman’s beauty. "With such striking features, sister, this ornament will only enhance your radiance."
The Hu woman turned to her, puzzled. "You’re much younger than me—why call me ‘sister’?"
Jiang Zhaohua feigned confusion. "How so? I’m already nineteen. You can’t be older than sixteen, surely?"
The Hu woman burst into laughter. "I’m twenty-three and have borne two sons!"
Jiang Zhaohua gasped dramatically. "I never would have guessed! My mistake—I should be calling you elder sister."
The Hu woman was delighted. She seized Jiang Zhaohua’s hand. "What’s your name? You’re not like the other women in the capital. I like you!"
Though the Hu woman spoke decent Han Chinese, her words were blunt. Jiang Zhaohua recalled the rumors she’d heard in her past life—flowery, indirect compliments would be lost on her. So, Jiang Zhaohua matched her directness.
After introducing herself, Jiang Zhaohua helped the Hu woman pick out more jewelry, showering her with effusive praise for her beauty and youth.
The Hu woman grew increasingly pleased. Just as I’d heard, Jiang Zhaohua thought.
She remembered that the Prince of Yanbei’s concubine had struggled with the refined flattery of noblewomen, leading many would-be sycophants to fail in their attempts to win her favor.
Jiang Zhaohua deliberately made her compliments exaggerated and even brazen.
The Hu woman adored it.
Jiang Zhaohua also recalled that Hu women aged faster than Han women. Despite meticulous care, the concubine had been deeply insecure about it.
So, Jiang Zhaohua played to that insecurity, lavishing praise on her youth—which thrilled the Hu woman.
Though Jiang Zhaohua found the woman’s wolf-like green eyes unsettling and avoided looking at them directly, this, too, worked in her favor. The concubine despised the way capital dwellers gawked at her unusual eyes.
With Jiang Zhaohua catering to her every preference, the Hu woman swiftly took to her as a friend.
Lonely and bored in the capital, the concubine began insisting on Jiang Zhaohua’s company whenever she went shopping, and their bond deepened over time.
Eventually, Jiang Zhaohua started confiding in her about her suffering—how her cruel mother-in-law tormented her daily.
Tears welled in her eyes as she spoke. "As long as I fail to secure my husband’s promotion, my mother-in-law will never relent. But how can a powerless woman like me possibly achieve that?"
The Hu woman patted her hand. "Stop crying. Tell me—what’s your husband’s current position, and what does he aspire to?"
Jiang Zhaohua spun a tale of her husband’s triple honors in the imperial exams, only to incur the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord’s wrath and be humiliatingly assigned to tend horses.
The Hu woman was incensed, cursing the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord.
Jiang Zhaohua pretended to caution her. "Elder sister, be careful—the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord’s power in the capital is absolute. If such words reached his ears…"
The Hu woman scoffed. "What’s there to fear from him? Do you know who my husband is?"
Jiang Zhaohua shook her head innocently.
The Hu woman grinned. "My husband is the Prince of Yanbei."
Jiang Zhaohua feigned shock, immediately dropping to her knees to kowtow to the "princess consort."
Seeing this scene, the concubine Hu felt even more delighted. Of course, she wasn’t the official princess consort, but the princess consort was bedridden with illness and might pass away any day. Having borne two sons and being the Prince of Yanbei’s most favored concubine, she practically held the same status as the princess consort in the prince’s inner court—only lacking the imperial decree that would formally grant her the title.
As for the decree… Concubine Hu sneered inwardly.
The current emperor was nothing but a milk-fed infant who couldn’t even write, let alone issue decrees.
The Prince of Yanbei’s journey south this time was precisely for…
In any case, Concubine Hu had no regard for the infant emperor, much less for any imperial decree.
After savoring Jiang Zhaohua’s shock, she helped her up and said, “I’ll speak to my lord and have him promote your husband.”
Jiang Zhaohua expressed endless gratitude, then suddenly seemed to remember something and grew anxious. “But will my husband be assigned to the northern frontier? My son is still young—I fear he won’t endure such a long journey…”
Concubine Hu laughed at once. “Who said anything about the northern frontier? Of course, it’ll be an official post in the capital.”
“In a couple of days, have your husband come pay his respects to the prince.”
Jiang Zhaohua looked puzzled. “But the Prince of Yanbei is far in the north…”
Concubine Hu smiled. “Who told you he’s in the north?”
“He’s not far from the capital at all. Your husband can ride out and meet him directly.”
