The night shrouded the Daohua Estate in pitch-black darkness. The narrow back door of the estate was opened from the inside, and a thin, small man slipped away into the dark.
Inside a cluster of thatched cottages where the tenant farmers lived, a man missing three fingers and another one-eyed man sat around a fire. The firelight illuminated their faces, yet offered no warmth.
The bamboo door was pushed open from the outside, and the two men instantly stood up, staring intently at the newcomer.
"What were those people here for today?"
Chen Jiu looked at the two men, sighed, closed the door behind him, and sat down.
"The girl who came wearing a green dress today is the newly titled Linghui County Princess. The Emperor has already rewarded her with the Daohua Estate and Shiquan Estate."
The two men's expressions changed drastically. This was not good news for them; it was an absolute disaster.
Qu Ya frowned deeply. Recalling the few glances he had exchanged with Song Jinzhao, she did not look like an ordinary sheltered noble young lady.
"Linghui County Princess... Why does this title sound so familiar? I feel like I've heard it somewhere before." Guan Nianshan concentrated on recalling but just couldn't remember.
Chen Jiu said, "She is the Linghui Township Princess who invented the waterwheel, proposed off-season planting, and built vegetable greenhouses."
"Steward Chen said that at the Emperor's birthday banquet, she presented a type of crop that yields a thousand catties per acre, called potatoes. It has already spread all over the capital. Only those of us who stay on the estate all day didn't know."
Qu Ya's pupils darkened. "As far as I know, does this County Princess know martial arts?"
Chen Jiu nodded. "Not only does she know them, but her martial arts are highly formidable. She has killed quite a few people."
Guan Nianshan picked up a piece of firewood, added it to the fire, and slowly said, "If her martial arts weren't high, she wouldn't keep a tiger as a pet. She definitely noticed us today. Did Chen Fu and Li Hou tell her about our identities?"
Chen Jiu shook his head. "I don't know. When the Linghui County Princess found issues with the account books, Steward Chen and Steward Li claimed they embezzled the money themselves to buy houses in the neighboring city. The County Princess told them to produce the property deeds, but since they never bought any, they couldn't produce them and claimed they lost the houses gambling."
"The Linghui County Princess said she would raise the rent and sell off Steward Chen's and Steward Li's entire families. After that, Steward Chen's grandson started crying. Later, the two stewards were kept in the room to talk for a long while. I was standing outside and couldn't hear. They didn't say anything when they left, but what I can confirm is that she saw that you both used to be soldiers."
Qu Ya used his mangled right hand to touch his chest until he felt the hard bulge.
"I crossed paths with her twice today. She is highly alert and not an ordinary person. Steward Chen and Steward Li couldn't have kept it hidden; they definitely already told her."
Guan Nianshan stood up and paced back and forth in the thatched cottage. "If she reports us to the authorities, we are dead for sure."
Chen Jiu spoke with uncertainty, "Although the two stewards looked pale, they didn't act like the sky was falling. They did nothing out of the ordinary. There might still be room to turn this situation around."
Qu Ya nodded. "Chen Jiu is right. If she had reported it, the Imperial Guards would have arrived in the afternoon. Since there's been no movement at all, she definitely didn't report it."
Guan Nianshan said, "What should we do now? We can't just sit and wait for death, putting our lives in the hands of a stranger."
"We have no choice but to wait. If she reports to the authorities, the people outside absolutely cannot escape the government's pursuit." Qu Ya looked up into Guan Nianshan's eyes. If they left the estate, what if the young master returned one day and couldn't find them?
As if reading the meaning in Qu Ya's eyes, Guan Nianshan's eyes turned red. He sat down dejectedly and said no more.
After Chen Jiu left, he finally raised his head, his moist eyes filled with tears. "Do you think the young master is still alive?"
Qu Ya remained silent for a long time before replying, "Chancellor Chen would definitely protect the young master with his life. He must still be alive."
Men do not shed tears easily, but after waiting so many years without any news, Guan Nianshan felt an agonizing pain in his heart.
He spoke in a hoarse voice, asking Qu Ya as much as he was asking himself.
"If he's alive, why hasn't he come looking for us? Twenty-five years is too long, so long that I'm almost losing hope."
Qu Ya reached into his robe and took out the token hidden in his chest. A large character for Wu was prominently carved on it. "I believe he will come."
His gaze falling on the token, Guan Nianshan sadly turned his head away, trying to swallow back his tears.
The next day, after Ye Liangyu returned from his duties at the Censorate, Song Jinzhao sought him out and feigned an inquiry, "Lord Ye, yesterday I went outside the city to inspect the farmland rewarded to me by the Emperor. I found that the stewards on the estate are old servants left behind by the Chen family. The Imperial Household Department kept them on the estate. If I don't want to use them, can I dispose of them as I please?"
Ye Liangyu's right hand paused slightly. He lowered his eyes and said, "According to the rules, since the estate was rewarded to you, you hold their indentures and can deal with them however you wish."
"However, you don't have many people in the capital, and training new servants in a short time is quite troublesome. For the Chen family's servants to become stewards, they must have some ability. You could try to take them in for your own use."
Song Jinzhao nodded. "I heard they used to be trusted aides of the former Chancellor Chen Yan. They have ability, but I'm worried their character might be flawed."
Given Ye Liangyu's personality, if the Chen family was exiled innocently and Chen Yan was a good official, he definitely wouldn't be able to stand hearing her say such things.
Just as Song Jinzhao expected, before she could even finish her sentence, Ye Liangyu interrupted her, his tone even a bit aggressive.
"The Chen family's exile does not mean Chancellor Chen's conduct was flawed. He was framed."
Song Jinzhao was taken aback for a moment, not expecting Ye Liangyu to react so strongly.
"What do you mean by that, my Lord?"
Ye Liangyu asked her in return, "Currently in the court, Prince Qi and Prince Ying stand as equals in opposition. No matter who ascends the throne in the future, does the County Princess think they will treat the officials who once stood against them kindly?"
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "I have witnessed the character of these two princes. They are narrow-minded and likely won't be kind."
The corners of Ye Liangyu's mouth curled up in pure bitterness. "It was the same for Chancellor Chen back then. Although he didn't directly align with Prince Jin's faction, he and Marquis Wuying were close friends who grew up together, and the Wu family was Prince Jin's maternal family. So, in the eyes of outsiders, he was also part of Prince Jin's faction."
"When Marquis Wuying was executed with his entire family for treason, Chancellor Chen firmly believed that the Marquis was wronged. He repeatedly submitted memorials requesting a reinvestigation of the case, but was rejected by the Emperor every time."
"It wasn't until two years later, when Chancellor Chen's disciple, Gu Qishan, found a journal in the Chen manor's study. It was filled with curses directed at the Emperor for not letting him reinvestigate the case. As a result, the charge of disrespecting the Emperor fell upon him, and the outcome was that all thirty-six members of the manor were exiled."
Song Jinzhao blinked. So Gu Qishan had become the Chancellor by reporting his own teacher.
"Did he really write it?"
Ye Liangyu said indignantly, "This was clearly a deliberate frame-up by Gu Qishan, that traitor who deceived his master and destroyed his ancestors, just to climb the ranks. The current Emperor had long been unable to tolerate Chancellor Chen because of the matters concerning Prince Jin and the Wu family. Gu Qishan saw this clearly, which is why he made his move."
"It's just hateful that I had only just entered the Hanlin Academy at the time. My position was low and my words carried no weight, otherwise I would have impeached him to death."
Song Jinzhao: "..."
If Xiao Chengjing had made up his mind to condemn Chen Yan, it was only fortunate that Ye Liangyu had not yet entered the Censorate at that time. Otherwise, given his outspoken nature and his stubborn tendency to walk down a single path until it went dark, he definitely would not have survived to this day.
"Chen Yan was so determined to overturn the verdict for the Marquis of Wuying. Could it be that the events of those years were truly a wrongful accusation?"
Ye Liangyu, who had just been speaking with righteous indignation, so agitated that his white beard was practically flying, instantly became mute.
Song Jinzhao could not read his attitude regarding this matter from his face.
After a long silence, Ye Liangyu slowly shook his head. "The witnesses and material evidence were all present. The Wu family truly had no way to refute it. The only flaw in this case was that the Marquis of Wuying never pleaded guilty; instead, he was shot to death while fleeing. That is why Prime Minister Chen, who had a very deep friendship with him, always insisted on his innocence. But to say that he harbored treasonous intentions just because the Emperor refused to let him reopen the case, that I do not believe."
Song Jinzhao blinked. After so many years, the man was already dead, yet Ye Liangyu still referred to Chen Yan as Prime Minister Chen with every breath, showing his deep respect for him.
When the Chen family was exiled in the third year of Yongyuan, Ye Liangyu had only recently passed the imperial examination and entered the court as an official. There must have been some interaction between the two of them back then to earn such deep trust.
"Your Excellency just mentioned that the Wu family was the maternal family of the Prince of Jin. Holding such heavy military power, if he did not die, the Emperor's dragon throne would likely not be secure."
"Speak cautiously, County Princess," Ye Liangyu's eyes widened sharply as he stood up to make sure no one else was outside the room. "You cannot speak such words recklessly. It will bring a fatal disaster."
Song Jinzhao covered her mouth, pretending to have misspoken. She looked frightened, but her mouth did not stop.
"I was just making a random guess. If the Emperor could not even tolerate Chen Yan, how could he possibly spare the Wu family?"
To behead even the disabled ordinary soldiers, Xiao Chengjing must have been quite ruthless back then.
Ye Liangyu stood before Song Jinzhao with his hands behind his back. "There was a reason why the Emperor refused to let Prime Minister Chen reinvestigate the case back then. After the Wu family was entirely executed, the Yuecheng Army stationed in Yuecheng unexpectedly defected to the foreign tribes in the southwest."
"Although the southwest is also the territory of the Dongzhao Kingdom, these foreign tribes have always been restless, frequently recruiting soldiers and buying horses in an attempt to establish a separatist regime. The Yuecheng Army's actions were tantamount to treason. The commander-in-chief of the Yuecheng Army, Zeng Qing, was single-handedly promoted by the Marquis of Wuying, and half of the Yuecheng Army had served in the Wu Family Army. How could the Emperor not be furious?"
Song Jinzhao frowned in confusion. "If that was the case, why did they not attack back then? There was a ready-made excuse to deploy troops."
Ye Liangyu replied, "At that time, the Wu Family Army had been defeated at the border, and the Duke of Zhenguo led the remaining troops to resist the enemy. The imperial court had no more soldiers to deploy. It was a blessing that the southwest did not take advantage of the crisis to strike; how could the Emperor have the energy to deal with them?"
"After the peace talks between the two countries, the imperial court lost almost half the silver in its treasury. Coupled with the depletion of military strength, they could not afford another war in the short term. They could only let the foreign tribes in the southwest do as they pleased. Over the years, their military power has gradually expanded, and they have already become a major threat to the court."
Song Jinzhao remained silent. The commander of the Yuecheng Army must have worried that Xiao Chengjing would come after him, which was why he preemptively led his troops to flee.
With so many troops at hand, if the Wu Family Army had not gone to the border, the Prince of Jin could have easily conquered this empire by force.
She just did not know what exactly happened during the battle for the throne back then. The schemes involved were probably only known to the players deeply entrenched in the struggle.
Those disabled soldiers at the estate could only be considered collateral damage, innocent fish in the moat; already crippled, they still had to suffer the blade.
There must be someone among them who knew the Emperor wanted to kill them, which was why they hid in the estate behind closed doors, dragging out their ignoble existence.
