Chapter 180

Wind swept the official road, lifting the dry leaves on the ground, rustling.

Du Shanü stood beside the horse, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the reins, her gaze fixed on the distant, hazy horizon, unmoving for a long time.

Chinu frowned, urged his horse forward a few steps, and demanded sharply:

"Who is that person? How reliable are his words?"

Liu Liu, being shouted at by Chinu, froze the hand he had raised for a bow, instinctively lowering his head slightly to hide his face.

The cold‑faced man pondered a moment, then replied:

"Although that person claims to have traveled south and north, his wife, children, and elders are all in Dun Cheng, so he likely wouldn't lie."

"Besides, we brothers have just carefully compared them—An Nan's horses are small in stature but have extraordinary endurance, skilled at long‑distance raids across mountains, and their hoof prints are naturally shallower than those of local horses....... Such horses are extremely rare here; ordinary folks wouldn't keep them, and even if they did they'd be useless, so we probably aren't mistaken."

"As for the rest...... there aren't many horse droppings or hoof prints; the number is roughly between ten and twenty. They headed north along the riverbank, finally vanishing into the hills beside Dun Cheng."

Having spoken, Liu Liu stepped back, stood with hands at his sides, and waited for Du Shanü's reaction.

Du Shanü's expression remained unchanged, she didn't reply, seeming lost in thought.

Everyone waited a while; seeing her no response, they felt somewhat puzzled.

Liu Liu had previously seen this woman act decisively, and had hoped she could resolve the matter, so he reported the details; now seeing Du Shanü look frightened and speechless, he couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed—

That's right.

That's right.

The radiance of the Taizong emperor cannot be sought again.

He fled south from the old capital all the way, having seen several emperors along the road—not to mention that pretender in Jinling; even the former Xiao Ai, when surrounded by danger, might not have handled it any better.

So, will Chinu have a way?

The man's grip tightened a little more, his heart sighing momentarily—

Earlier they had fought to the death to stop Chinu from seizing regency, yet now they couldn't escape relying on Chinu...

These worldly affairs, truly...

"Good, quite good."

"Truly heaven helps me!"

A somewhat low, hoarse female voice interrupted everyone's thoughts.

Liu Liu suddenly lifted his eyes, looking at the woman on horseback.

On that lovely woman's face there was none of the bewilderment and helplessness he had expected, not even a trace of surprise.

Du Shanü merely drew her gaze back from the distance and settled it on Liu Liu's face.

She didn't speak, just tilted her head slightly, as if running something through her mind, then the corner of her mouth twitched, drawing a faint smile.

Like a player who sees the final moves on the board, calm and unhurried, victory already decided...

Firmly believing everything is within her grasp.

Liu Liu raised his head to look at her; a flicker of doubt crossed his usual icy eyes.

The few behind him also exchanged glances, unsure why the person now actually in control of Dun Cheng could remain so composed after hearing the news of An Nan's horses.

Du Shanü wound the reins around her palm, rubbed them a few times, then said with a smile:

"Trouble you to find a corpse for me, the corpse's age and build must match a certain person... the former magistrate of Dun Cheng, Ouyang Ling."

Liu Liu's pupils shrank sharply; he had come to Dun Cheng early and knew quite a bit—

"That Ouyang magistrate, though he deliberately concealed his background, could, given his ability, easily tell that the person likely came from An Nan."

"More than a month ago, that magistrate of mysterious identity left the city and vanished—no sign of life or death."

"The magistrate's remaining troops left in the city sent people to search countless times, with no result, and they didn't wait for those searchers to exhaust themselves before continuing; later Dun Cheng was stormed by Du Shanü leading the refugees and became the 'Princess's fief'."

"Rumors of the magistrate's disappearance circulated in Dun Cheng for a while, then gradually faded."

"But he knows what matters, knows ordinary people aren't worth the An Nan remnants going to such trouble, so he hurried to report after discovering the An Nan scout."

"However, however."

"He had never before considered another matter!"

"Since everything started because of that magistrate, what about that Ouyang magistrate?"

"Where is the person?!"

"Du Shanü, why now bring him up and blurt out a corpse??"

"Liu Liu's mind kept turning over those words, piecing together the details he'd overlooked—"

"Could that person be the one killed by the one before us!"

"Liu Liu gasped in astonishment, but Du Shanü remained calm; she spoke, laying out the game she had simulated countless times in her mind:"

"Now the prefectural governor has gone mad—this is the perfect moment."

"That governor is notorious for his taste for male beauty; and our 'suspected' An Nan‑origin former magistrate happens to be handsome. Having disappeared outside the city, he was spotted by that governor who likes men—"

"She paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone's face, the smile at her lips deepening slightly, her voice gaining more rise and fall:"

"It could only be considered a common occurrence, right?"

"After all, the fact that Magistrate Ouyang vanished outside the city was known to everyone!"

"Du Shanü forced the corners of her mouth down, showing a strained, miserable expression, then lifted her hand to wipe away nonexistent tears:"

"Whenever I recall that magistrate's handsome visage now, my heart feels like it's being cut by a knife!"

"Damn that governor, he momentarily lusted after beauty, failed to realize this magistrate was actually the Fifth Prince of the An Nan vassal state, and hastily had him secretly seized and raped!!!"

"Her voice wasn't loud, yet each word struck like a nail into their ears:"

"His household already had so many attendants; why couldn't he spare an An Nan prince? It's truly excessive!"

"As for why the person died—that's even easier. The governor's temper is unpredictable; he could beat a bed‑partner to death, so killing a foreign prince is nothing special."

Liu Liu's expression changed.

Beneath that layer of eternal, unmelting cold, an expression appeared that one could not tell whether it was shock or admiration.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, his Adam's apple rolling up and down once.

The several people behind him were even worse: one sucked in a breath of cold air, one widened his eyes, one instinctively stepped back half a pace, as if the weight of Du Shanü's words made them unable to stand firm.

They looked at the young woman before them, seated high on horseback in the cold wind, her sleeves snapping in the breeze; her face held no hint of ferocity, even bearing a touch of weariness.

Yet every word she spoke was like a poisoned blade—precise and cruel.

【Diverting the Disaster Eastward】

These four words almost simultaneously appeared in the minds of everyone present.

It was not about confronting the prefect head‑on, nor about leading troops to attack and seize territory; instead, it used a corpse, a missing prince, and a well‑known habit to draw a tremendous disaster onto the prefect's head.

If the An Nan royal family learned that their prince had been abducted and killed by a foreign prefect, what would they do?

If County Magistrate Chen's memorial were sent to the imperial court, what would the Imperial Court do?

Can a prefect who colludes with demonic daoists, deceives the populace, drives people to death, and is suspected of killing a foreign prince still hold onto his seat?

Du Shanü looked at their expressions and knew they had understood.

She did not repeat herself, nor feign sorrow any further; she simply gathered her exaggerated expression, took up the reins again, and rode on.

After the horse had taken two steps, Du Shanü turned her head again and gave Liu Liu an instruction.

「Cang Cheng still has the items that County Magistrate Ouyang carelessly lost when he went missing back then; we will send people to bring them over later, and you... should also handle things more cleanly。」

What a carelessly lost item—can something like that really be lost!

So, indeed, it was a slip of the tongue!!!

It is clearly she who killed him!!!

Liu Liu drew a deep breath, stepped back, clasped his fists and bowed, and replied in a low voice with a single word:

「Yes。」

Du Shanü did not look back; Chinu followed behind, the two of them proceeding one after the other along the official road.

Liu Liu stood where he was, watching the two horses gradually fade into the distance.

After a long while, after a long while, he finally belatedly murmured:

「Is this new head of our Yu family perhaps... a little too formidable? 」

?? The tumultuous homeland finally welcomed its true master......

? Although the master is a shameless version, cough cough.