Chapter 36: The Jade Face Asura Part 2

Cui Wangshu’s lips curved as she fixed him with a piercing gaze, pressure mounting between her brows. “You truly have no idea?”

The Ancha Shi’s face whitened further, his tone laced with guilt. “This official… really has no idea.”

Cui Wangshu’s face hardened. She slammed the teacup onto the table with a “bang” and said coldly, “Which is more important—money or your life? Do I need to remind you what those courtyards in the western district are for?”

The Ancha Shi’s face went ashen. “You… you already know.”

Cui Wangshu stared at him. “When did it start?”

With a deathly pale face, the Ancha Shi recounted the origins of the Jade Face Asura in the western courtyards.

Half a year ago, Kang Li had sent someone to him with a hundred gold ingots, asking him to maintain those vacant courtyards in the west for him.

Those courtyards had been sealed after Prince Jin’s case and left unused. If someone offered a hundred gold ingots to take care of the abandoned properties, why would he refuse?

As for the Jade Face Asura, he truly hadn’t known at first. Though he’d sent people to check, he assumed they were just exotic ornamental plants.

Seeing he still wasn’t telling the full truth, Cui Wangshu slammed her palm on the table and snapped, “You served as a border patrol envoy in the Western Regions in your youth. Are you telling me you don’t recognize Jade Face Asura?”

The Ancha Shi stared at Cui Wangshu in stunned silence, unable to utter a word.

Suddenly, his expression changed. He grabbed a handful of white powder from the sachet at his waist and flung it at Cui Wangshu’s face.

Cui Wangshu was prepared. Having taken the antidote beforehand and holding her breath, she leaned back to dodge, covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve, rose, and kicked the fleeing Ancha Shi to the ground.

With her other hand, she unfurled the Onyx Iron Fan and hurled the fan blade like a dart. With a “whoosh,” it embedded tightly into the floor beside the Ancha Shi’s neck.

Cui Wangshu approached and narrowed her eyes. “Do you know when I started suspecting you?”

The Ancha Shi, still shaken, eyed the razor-sharp fan blade inches away and swallowed hard. “When?”

“The day we arrived in Tongzhou. The moment you insisted on taking us to Yunxiao Tower, I suspected you.”

The Ancha Shi lay on the ground, eyes bulging. How could she have known then? Then why had she credited him with the city sealing?

Cui Wangshu smiled faintly and leaned closer, whispering, “All is fair in war, Ancha Shi.”

Without creating that facade of trust, how could Cui Wangshu have obtained evidence—that during the city sealing, someone had smuggled gold and silver into the Ancha Shi’s residence under cover.

The Ancha Shi gnashed his teeth. “You dared to deceive me?!”

Cui Wangshu sneered. “Men, take the Ancha Shi away and ‘look after’ him well.”

She watched coldly as the Ancha Shi was dragged off, her thoughts drifting back to their first day in Tongzhou.

The Ancha Shi had personally welcomed them at the city gate. When Ji Yunwei’s sachet accidentally fell, and he picked it up to hand it back, Cui Wangshu had noticed the thick callus on his thumb.

That was the mark of a chronic gambler.

The Ancha Shi was an old gambler—such a man’s word couldn’t be trusted. For money, he’d do anything.

The secret letter sent to the capital last night had detailed the Ancha Shi and Kang Li’s situations to Song Yu. The stage in the capital was set.

Cui Wangshu composed herself, expression neutral, as she pulled the Onyx Iron Fan from the floor and stowed it away.

She looked up at the cloudless sky and smiled faintly: It had begun.

Western Tongzhou City.

The Tongzhou Commander led officers to surround the manor airtight. He kicked the door open and barked sternly, “Search! Don’t let a single ant escape.”

The Tongzhou garrison filed in behind him.

Cui Wangshu brewed herself a cup of tea and sat before a chessboard. Playing black, she made the first move, placing a stone at the heavenly origin.

Vermilion Sparrow Street.

Ji Yunwei hurled the wine jar beside her at the fleeing figure ahead. The Kang Kingdom woman was struck squarely and staggered awkwardly.

Two bailiffs slid forward, tripping her with their legs. She fell to the ground, and the rest of the bailiffs rushed up to subdue her.

Ji Yunwei walked over leisurely, yanked off the woman’s face veil, and sneered, “You sure can run!”

Cui Wangshu placed another piece, and on the board, the black stones formed a “Lovesick Severance” formation. No matter how the white stones responded, their key pieces could not escape annihilation.

In the Capital City.

Song Yu submitted a memorial to the Emperor. Ministry of Rites Vice Minister Kang Li had bribed the Tongzhou Ancha Shi, with irrefutable evidence of the graft. The Ancha Shi awaited escort back to the capital and had confessed to the corruption without reservation.

Kang Li had selfishly planted the forbidden Jade Face Asura in the western part of the city. Not only did he sell this hallucinogenic herb, but he also planned to transport it back to the capital to brew Illusion Wine and control the officials, with the intent to rebel and avenge Prince Jin.

The Emperor flew into a rage and issued a decree sending Kang Li to the imperial prison, to be tried by the Dali Temple Vice Minister upon their return to the capital.

Cui Wangshu placed the final piece, and all the white stones on the board were captured.

“Lord Minister, someone just threw a bundle outside the official residence. The yamen runner opened it and found a severed head,” an officer said, holding a disfigured head in his hands.

Cui Wangshu curved her lips. Jiang Chenbi’s gift had arrived right on time.

She took a sip of tea and said, “Take it to the coroner and have him check if it’s Yelu Narqi’s head.”

“Yes.”

…

Inside the Yellow Path Palace in Luozhou.

Jiang Chenbi lightly closed her eyes, enjoying the pressure of Ying Lan’s fingers on her temples. She curved her lips and asked, “Has it been delivered?”

Ying Lan replied softly, “Yes. All the Jade Face Asura in the western part of the city has been investigated. In the capital, Kang Li has been imprisoned, awaiting trial by the Dali Temple Vice Minister upon their return.”

Jiang Chenbi raised her hand, and Ying Lan stopped and stepped aside. Jiang Chenbi opened her eyes, her lips curving upward. “Have the Tongzhou side clean up all loose ends without leaving any traces. Don’t waste Little Cui’s good intentions.”

“Yes.”

“Check new recruits to the Yellow Path Palace more thoroughly from now on. Don’t let them cause trouble like this again.”

Ying Lan thought of that woman from the Kang Kingdom, annoyance flashing in her eyes. She said gravely, “Yes.”

…

Tongzhou.

Ji Yunwei’s face was cold and stern as she narrowed her eyes. “What is your name? What is your occupation? Why did you kill Yelu Narqi? How did you commit the crime? Explain it all one by one.”

The woman from the Kang Kingdom sneered from below the hall and raised an eyebrow. “You want to pin this crime on me? Let me tell you, I’m from the Kang Kingdom. Officials of Great Zhao have no authority over me.”

Ji Yunwei slammed the gavel and said coldly, “Within the borders of Great Zhao, anyone who violates the law is treated equally.”

The woman from the Kang Kingdom turned her face away and said nothing.

“Alna, if you won’t talk, I’ll send you to Luozhou,” Cui Wangshu said coolly, narrowing her eyes.

The Kang Kingdom woman named Alna widened her eyes, shock and fear flickering in her pupils. “How do you know my name?”

Cui Wangshu curved her lips. “Today, someone sent Yelu Narqi’s head to the official residence. Guess who sent it?”

Alna reacted almost instantly, staring deathly at Cui Wangshu with venomous resentment. “It was her…”

“Should I tell this story, or will you? Think it over.”

Cui Wangshu’s brows and eyes were indifferent, her expression reminding Alna of Jiang Chenbi—that terrifying madwoman.

Ji Yunwei frowned. Why couldn’t she understand what the Minister was saying?

Alna gritted her teeth, her voice squeezing out through clenched jaws. “I’ll talk…” Compared to falling into Jiang Chenbi’s hands, she’d rather die cleanly.

Three months ago, the Kang Kingdom’s king had suddenly passed away without leaving a will. The eldest prince acted as regent, but the throne remained vacant. All three princes eyed it covetously, none willing to yield to the others.

Yelu Narqi was a follower of the third prince. Because she had established diplomatic relations with Great Zhao, bringing welfare to the Kang Kingdom’s people, the third prince enjoyed greater popular support than the other two. Many in the populace backed him for the throne.

Alna was loyal to the eldest prince and knew that if relations between the Kang Kingdom and Great Zhao soured, depriving the people of those benefits, the third prince would lose popular support, increasing the eldest prince’s chances of ascension.

But she was also a member of the Yellow Path Palace, which had strict rules forbidding private actions for personal desires. Alna had violated them by killing Yelu Narqi on her own to aid the eldest prince.