The commotion from Kang Li in his cell caught Ji Yunwei’s attention not far away. She frowned and walked into the room, only to see Kang Li in a state of madness, muttering to himself, while Cui Wangshu stood by with furrowed brows and a cold gaze fixed on him.
Ji Yunwei walked up to Cui Wangshu and asked, “Minister, what’s wrong with him?”
Cui Wangshu narrowed her eyes. “He’s just feigning madness.”
Hearing this, Ji Yunwei wanted to step forward and drag Kang Li up, but Cui Wangshu stopped her. Ji Yunwei looked at Cui Wangshu in confusion.
Cui Wangshu looked at her and said, “We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
Ji Yunwei’s eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded. “Mm.”
After the two left the cell, Ji Yunwei asked, “Minister, why didn’t you let me beat him earlier? What if he comes up with a fabricated story by tomorrow?”
Cui Wangshu glanced toward Kang Li’s cell and sneered, “It’s just the death throes of a drowning man.”
Kang Li’s earlier confident demeanor had almost fooled her, but Cui Wangshu’s mind quickly cooled. The Prince Jin case could not have any hidden truths.
She had miscalculated once with Jiang Chenbi’s matter. She would not make the same mistake again.
Kang Li and Prince Jin were two peas in a pod. In his eyes, Prince Jin’s rebellion was out of necessity—so were exploiting corrupt officials to amass wealth, colluding with foreign invaders, betraying the country, and oppressing the people also forced upon him?
Everyone had their own set of beliefs, convictions ingrained in their bones that could not be changed. They saw nothing wrong with oppressing the common folk and would never repent. That was their problem.
She did not need to understand them or correct them. She only needed to seize their weaknesses and obtain the information she wanted.
Cui Wangshu handed the white jade vial in her hand to Ji Yunwei. “Feed him this tomorrow, and he’ll spill everything.”
Ji Yunwei took it in a daze and asked, “Is this Gu poison?”
Cui Wangshu said flatly, “You could say that.”
Ji Yunwei frowned. “Then why didn’t you give it to him just now?”
Cui Wangshu lowered her gaze. “I’ve already gotten the information I wanted. It’s more suitable for you to use during interrogation. Otherwise, it would be empty words without proof—what a waste.”
Ji Yunwei pursed her lips. “So… the matter with the Jade Face Asura—was it really him who deliberately sold it to Alna?”
Cui Wangshu recalled the venomous hatred on Kang Li’s face and said, “I’m afraid it’s more than just that. The entire Ministry of Rites needs a thorough purge.”
Kang Li hated Rongguo Gong for leading troops to suppress Prince Jin’s rebellion back then, forcing Prince Jin to commit suicide by the city walls in Tongzhou. As Rongguo Gong’s granddaughter, Cui Wangshu was someone Kang Li could never let go.
Cui Wangshu looked at Ji Yunwei. “Vice Minister Ji, get some good rest tonight. We’ll interrogate him tomorrow. I still need to handle things at the Ministry of Rites, so I’m leaving this to you.”
Ji Yunwei nodded. “Rest assured, Minister. The evidence is irrefutable—Kang Li won’t be able to deny it.”
On the carriage back to the estate.
Cui Wangshu rubbed her brow, a slight fatigue easing in as she relaxed. She had thought she could wrap everything up quickly after returning to the capital, but one thing after another kept cropping up, and her schedule would be delayed again.
As for Luozhou…
Chen Quan had been in office for a month now, but the Luo River diversion project had not yet been set in motion. This was a major undertaking, with countless eyes watching her every move. Without foolproof preparations, she could not proceed.
Fortunately, the Kang Kingdom incident had given Cui Wangshu a perfect excuse.
…
Morning court.
The Emperor inquired about the results of Kang Li’s interrogation, and Ji Yunwei reported them one by one.
Kang Li admitted to bribing the Tongzhou Ancha Shi and planting Jade Face Asura in the western part of Tongzhou City. After learning of the internal strife in Kang Kingdom, he deliberately sold the Jade Face Asura to Alna.
It was both to fan the flames and sabotage relations between Kang Kingdom and Great Zhao, and to drag Cui Wangshu down, making her culpable in the Kang Kingdom affair.
The Jade Face Asura had mainly been shipped to the outskirts of the capital, where a batch of specially made wine was prepared for release at year’s end. Wine laced with trace amounts of Jade Face Asura juice would not induce hallucinations, but long-term consumption would cloud the mind, create addiction, and leave the capital’s officials dependent on his Illusion Wine.
After interrogating Kang Li, Ji Yunwei had led men to seal off the locations he confessed to. The Illusion Wine and those involved had been brought back to Dali Temple for processing, while the fugitives were still being pursued.
As for Kang Li actually being Prince Jin’s male favorite from back then, Ji Yunwei reported it to the Emperor via secret memorial. After all, no one would imagine that a colleague one rubbed shoulders with daily in court was once a rebel partisan.
If this were publicized, where would the imperial prestige stand? What would the people think of the imperial family and the court?
Thus, the Tongzhou clay figurine murder case finally drew to a close.
Using the Kang Li incident as pretext, Cui Wangshu investigated the Ministry of Rites personnel and, sure enough, uncovered some of his accomplices. They were handed over to Dali Temple for trial and conclusion.
Three days later, the Ministry of Rites internal matter was fully resolved and closed. The next day after court, Cui Daoyuan had Cui Wangshu return with him.
In the study, Cui Daoyuan’s face was grim. He slammed his palm on the table, making it shake. “What’s the matter with you? Problems in the Ministry of Rites right under your nose, and you let yourself be schemed against. Is this how I taught you?”
Cui Wangshu kept her eyes lowered, knowing he had held back this long just to wait until the case closed. She said, “This was my mistake. I was too overconfident and let them exploit the gap.”
Cui Daoyuan stared at Cui Wangshu and grabbed a vase from the desk, smashing it on the ground. “I think you’re not overconfident—you just don’t have your mind on court affairs anymore. Tell me, what’s the deal with that village girl?”
After she went to Tongzhou, Jiang Chenbi had vanished. Naturally, this could not be hidden from Cui Daoyuan.
“Tired of her. Sent her away.”
Cui Wangshu looked at Cui Daoyuan, her gaze cold and clear, her tone flat.
Cui Daoyuan’s face was icy, anger blazing visibly in his eyes. He barked, “Kneel!”
Cui Wangshu said nothing and knelt on the ground, her back straight, full of backbone.
Cui Daoyuan snorted coldly, took a whip from the cabinet—the whip barbed with fine thorns—and Cui Wangshu’s eyes trembled involuntarily upon seeing it.
Forcing her gaze away, Cui Wangshu kept her face expressionless, staring firmly ahead.
The whip landed on her shoulder and back, splitting flesh. The excruciating pain was the same as in her childhood. Cui Wangshu let out a muffled grunt, cold sweat pouring down as she clenched her teeth, silent.
“You think becoming Minister of Rites means you can grow a pair of wings? Don’t forget who put you there!”
Whip marks fell chaotically on her body, accompanied by Cui Daoyuan’s warnings: “If I catch you doing anything improper in private again, I’ll make you fall exactly as I raised you up.”
Ice filled Cui Wangshu’s eyes, seething with boundless hatred. She ground her silver teeth to bits and squeezed out, “It won’t happen again, Father.”
After some time, once he had vented his rage, Cui Daoyuan put away the whip and pointed to the courtyard outside where the sun blazed fiercely. “Get out and kneel there for two hours.”
Cui Wangshu’s face was deathly pale. She slowly rose from the ground, enduring the burning pain on her back, and shuffled out.
Her knees hit the ground. Ignoring the wounds on her back, Cui Wangshu knelt upright in the courtyard, more resolute than the golden bamboo behind her.
…
A month later, in Luozhou.
Jiang Chenbi flung the silver needle in her hand. Her left hand gripped her right wrist tightly, but she still could not stop the trembling in her right hand.
Black lines rapidly spread from the back of her hand, densely crawling toward her heart in moments. Ignoring the shaking arm, Jiang Chenbi gritted her teeth, tasting blood in her mouth.
With her trembling left hand, Jiang Chenbi reached for the dagger on the table.
The dagger sliced open the outer side of her arm. Biting down, she thrust her fingers into the wound, probed slightly, then yanked hard. A “black net” was pulled from her body and tossed into the golden basin, where it still writhed.
Jiang Chenbi’s lower lip quivered. Her already sickly face grew even paler, nearly transparent. Only after the pain—like her body being torn apart alive from heart to arm—eased somewhat did her mind clear a little.
After treating the wound, Jiang Chenbi weakly glanced at the Gu worm in the basin, a ruthless smirk curling her lips. She sneered, “In this world, no Gu worm has the right to control me.”
She took the prepared medicinal powder from the table and sprinkled it on the black Gu worm, which instantly dissolved into a puddle of pus.
Ying Lan paced anxiously outside the door, worry and urgency in her eyes. Finally, she heard the familiar “Come in” from inside.
Ying Lan hurriedly pushed open the door and entered. Seeing Jiang Chenbi leaning weakly on the table, barely breathing, Ying Lan hurried over but did not dare touch the wound. Her voice cracked as she spoke, “Palace Lord… how could you use such a method?”
The sensation of half her body being ripped apart lingered in Jiang Chenbi, who frowned involuntarily. “I won’t die. What are you panicking for?”
“But… such a violent method will have the Gu worm tear open your flesh.” Ying Lan’s voice carried a sob.
How could Jiang Chenbi not know? But without this method, it would be too late. This Love Gu outbreak had come fiercely—perhaps because she had been intimate. Her usual methods had almost no effect.
With Cui Wangshu not in Luozhou, she could only use the most primitive approach to extract this Gu worm.
Ying Lan’s eyes reddened. “What about next time? When the Love Gu acts up again, will you do this?”
Jiang Chenbi closed her eyes briefly, tugged at her lips, and soothed Ying Lan’s emotions. “It’s fine. Didn’t this outbreak subside? With this Gu worm’s pus, maybe I really can research a way to lift the poison.”
Ying Lan looked at Jiang Chenbi, who seemed ready to dissolve into the wind at any moment. She had never seen the Palace Lord so frail. Thinking of how the First-Generation Love Gu was fundamentally incurable, she could not help but cry. “Palace Lord…”
Jiang Chenbi smiled helplessly and said softly, “Alright, come here.”
Hesitation flashed in Ying Lan’s eyes, but she squatted down, buried her head in Jiang Chenbi’s embrace, wrapped her arms around her waist, and muffled her sobs there.
Jiang Chenbi stroked her head and chuckled inwardly. Still so young, such a child’s heart.
Ying Lan’s feelings toward Jiang Chenbi were complex. Older than her, she had bought her and her sister back, then cared for them meticulously. To Ying Lan, the Palace Lord was like both a mother and a sister.
When not crossing Jiang Chenbi’s bottom lines, Jiang Chenbi treated her differently from others—strict on the surface, but with extra indulgence. When her heart was knotted, she would soften and coax her. How could Ying Lan not grow dependent?
But cross those lines, and Jiang Chenbi was ruthless, even killing the deeply attached Lai Niang without hesitation—just because Lai Niang had avoided her, left her, broken rules, lost value, and made her unhappy.
Ying Lan knew Jiang Chenbi’s bottom lines well, so she toed them carefully, never doing anything to displease her. It was both to preserve her life and because she craved that sliver of gentleness amid the ruthlessness.
Unlike Lai Niang, she did not agonize over whether that gentleness was genuine or a calculated handout, trapping herself in a dilemma.
For people like them, getting that bit of gentleness was already more than others could dream of. So she willingly swallowed Gu worm after Gu worm, placing her life in Jiang Chenbi’s hands.
