Chapter 495 - Chapter 495: The Most Noble Woman
Chapter 495: The Most Noble Woman
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation | Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
After Zhou Qing left, Su Ying went to the Imperial Garden. Beside the den where the two wolf cubs were kept was a wooden cage that was as tall as two people. Inside the cage were two messenger eagles which were as tall as half a human.
Su Ying opened the cage and grabbed a messenger eagle from inside. She hid the message tube under its massive wings and secured it well. Thereafter, she released the messenger eagle.
That very night, the messenger eagle flew back.
After Su Ying had her dinner, while Xiao Jin and the others were taking their baths, she went to the Imperial Garden to retrieve the message from the eagle’; wing. Using the dim yellow light from the sheepskin lantern, she was able to see the words on the letter.
After reading the contents, Su Ying put away the letter safely and returned to the Conjugal Phoenix Palace.
Xiao Jin was wearing a moon-white loose robe and leaning on the chair as he went through the memorial in his hand. When he heard the noise, he raised his eyes to look at Su Ying and saw that she was still wearing the palace robe. He asked in surprise, “Didn’t you go to take a bath?”
“I’m going now.”
Xiao Jin frowned slightly as he watched her back profile while she walked towards the bathroom.
When Su Ying came out of the bathroom, Xiao Jin put down the memorial in his hand and took the cloth from her hand to dry her long hair.
“Where did you go just now?”
I went to the Imperial Garden to get something.”
Xiao Jin raised his eyebrows. “What can there be in the Imperial Garden at night?”
“There’s something I haven’t told you before. Do you still remember the Red Demon Sect?”
Of course, Xiao Jin remembered. That Red Demon Sect was a blade in the hands 0 the late emperor. Xiao Jin had originally planned to deal with this secular apolitical organization that had the guts to get involved in the affairs of the Imperial Court, but too many things had happened recently, and he couldn’t find the time to deal with them.
“Mm-hmm. What about it?”
“I took over it.”
“What?” Xiao Jin thought he had misheard.
Su Ying said with a yawn, “I mean, I’m the leader of the Red Demon Sect now Understand?”
Xiao Jin understood what she meant, but this fact still astonished him. “How did that happen?”
“After I was saved by the people on the island, I met the former leader of the Red Demon Sect on the island. After he was betrayed, he acknowledged me as his big boss and willingly handed the control of the Red Demon Sect over to me.”
SO while Xiao Jin was worried to death about her safety in the capital, she was happily taking in underlings outside? And she took one who was such a big shot? 5
“The two messenger eagles you are raising in the Imperial Garden are used to send messages to the Red Demon Sect?”
“Mm-hmm. Zhou Qing said that she found out that Su Yuyan suddenly went to a brothel today. I felt that it was strange, so I sent a message to the Red Demon Sect to ask who the owner of the brothel was.”
“They found out so quickly?”
“Mm-hmm. It is owned by the eldest son of Prince Jiangning, Xiao Shihang.” Ever since the late emperor ascended the throne, Prince Jiangning had been living the life of an idle prince in the capital city. It was not that he had never held a position in the Imperial Court in his early years, but because he was too lazy and screwed up many things, the late emperor sent him packing. To make sure that he did not turn into a laughing stock, the late emperor bestowed him a fiefdom. However, Prince Jiangning had never gone to his fiefdom all these years and only stayed in the capital city.
Prince Jiangning had two sons, but none of them were allowed to go into government service. The eldest son, Xiao Shihang, was in business, while the second son was in charge of managing the fiefdom. There had not been any problems over the years.
There was no problem with Xiao Shihang operating Jade Fragrance House. The problem was why Su Yuyan had gotten involved with him. If Xiao Shihang had taken a fancy to Su Yuyan, he could have easily gone to the residence with his status as the eldest son of Prince Jiangning to ask for the girl’s hand in marriage. There was no need to be so secretive and hide from the public.
Su Ying would never believe that there wasn’t anything shady about this matter.
Moreover, Su Yuyan had gone to the brothel after Su Ying sealed off Su Yulun’s courtyard. Could it be that Su Yuyan was behind Su Yulun’s current state?
Su Ying couldn’t come to a conclusion before the matter had been thoroughly investigated.
She just couldn’t figure it out. “If Su Yulun dies, who will benefit the most?” Xiao Jin frowned slightly as he combed her waist-length hair with a wooden comb.
Be it civil officials or military officials, there had to be a leader. While he was in office, Su Yulun had acquired a group of people who chose to follow him over the years. This group of people was now standing in opposition to Duke Jingguo. If Su Yulun fell from power, the people who would benefit the most would be Duke Jingguo’s faction.
“Once Su Yulun dies, the civil officials in the court will gradually side with Duke Jingguo.” At that point, it would really be one faction dominating the world. The current Duke Jingguo was wholeheartedly devoted to the kingdom but who could guarantee that his descendants would not have second thoughts? This was also the biggest reason why Xiao Jin had never made a move against Su Yulun. The way for a ruler to maintain power was how he used people and how he struck a balance.
However, what did Su Yulun’s faction or the faction aligned with Duke Jingguo’s Residence have to do with Prince Jiangning’s Residence?
After night fell, the red-light district in the east of the city became lively, forming a sharp contrast with the desolate daytime scene.
Xiao Shihang, dressed in luxurious clothes, was sitting in a hidden room in the back courtyard of Jade Fragrance House, waiting for something.
Before long, the door was pushed open and a slender figure walked in.
She was wearing a gauze hat on her head, making it impossible for others to see her face clearly.
Xiao Shihang stood up from his chair in welcome when he saw this person coming in. Even though he was trying his best to suppress his emotions, it was not difficult to see his excitement.
“Rong’er.” Xiao Shihang grabbed the visitor’s hand at once.
The visitor’s expression was indifferent as she slowly withdrew her hand and took a step back. “Eldest Young Master, please watch your actions.”
Xiao Shihang looked at his empty hands and felt that his heart was also empty. However, he quickly restrained his emotions and sat opposite the visitor.
“Some problem cropped up at the Prime Minister’s Residence. The Empress has sent people to guard Su Yulun’s courtyard. What should we do next?”
The visitor frowned slightly, but she quickly smiled and said, “It’s fine. Death is only a matter of time.”
“I heard that the Empress’s medical skills are superb. What if…”
There s no ‘what if.1 He will definitely die!”
Xiao Shihang listened to her voice filled with certainty and believed her. Ever since he knew her, whenever she said that she wanted to do something, there was nothing she did not succeed in doing.
“Alright. I believe you.”
-Su Yuyan is already useless. You didn’t leave any clues at her side, did you?”
Xiao Shihang shook his head. “No.”
“Good. Do as we have planned. During this period of time, do whatever you need to do. Don’t let anyone notice anything unusual.” With that, she stood up and got ready to leave.
However, Xiao Shihang stepped forward and stopped her. “How are you doing in the residence? I heard that your stepmother is discussing marriage for you again. That guy is not the young master of Duke of Jingguo’s Residence at all. He’S just a worthless piece of trash from the First Mistress’s family. If you can’t get rid of him, I can help you.”
The visitor’s eyes turned chilly. She looked at Xiao Shihang’s anxious expression and sighed softly. “You are the eldest son of Prince Jiangning’s Residence. You will rise to the top in the future. You shouldn’t get yourself caught up in these trivial matters in the women’s quarters in the back courtyard. I will settle my own matter. They have no control over me. Don’t worry.”
“Then what about your engagement with Marquis Qingyi?”
“She won’t let me marry him.”
Xiao Shihang let out a sigh of relief.. “When this matter is done, I’ll definitely make you the most noble woman in the world!”