Chapter 25: The Shakedown

Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads and stifled their laughter.

Dashing and elegant, a jade tree in the wind?

Exactly who gave him such confidence?

All they saw now was a bruised and battered face, utterly wretched.

Inside the private room, Mo Ruishan shook his head with a smile: "A-Yan, Shaozhi didn't do it on purpose. Sending him to Mobei—isn't that a bit severe?"

Mo Junyan swirled the wine cup in his hand and said in a low voice: "Are you clear on the current situation at court?"

"I've heard my father mention it. Court affairs, though ever-shifting, haven't had anything particularly major happen. Have you gotten some kind of news?"

"The Princess of Yuqin Guo specifically demanded to marry him. Now that the Duke of Zhenguo's residence has amassed illustrious battle merits, there's already suspicion of meritorious subjects overshadowing the ruler. My imperial father is no benevolent sort—his pettiness runs deep. Though Yuqin Guo's national strength isn't as flourishing as Qi Guo's, it isn't far behind either. The Princess of Yuqin Guo refused to marry a prince, and instead insisted on marrying the young heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's residence. What do you think my imperial father would think?"

Mo Ruishan's heart stirred: "So that's the reason. You sent him to Mobei to avoid disaster?"

Mo Junyan did not answer, only gazing out the window, unknown what he was thinking.

"Right, why were you delayed so long today?"

Mo Junyan still did not answer. Mo Ruishan's gaze turned to Yun Shui. Seeing that his master had no intention of silencing him, Yun Shui simply recounted everything that had happened today.

Mo Ruishan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "Truly unexpected. The dignified Prince Li, a stalwart man decisive in slaughter on the battlefield, would actually handle such trifling matters. Curious, truly curious—eh? Wait, that's not right! If coming from West Street, that's a huge detour!"

"What does it have to do with you?" Mo Junyan glared at him: "Keep being noisy and you'll go with Gu Shaozhi to Mobei."

Sure enough, personal grudges were still involved.

"No, no, no, he can go to Mobei alone. This heir hasn't enjoyed enough of this Jingcheng yet!" Mo Ruishan thought for a moment, still unable to suppress his curiosity: "A-Yan, you and Su Yuqing..."

"This Prince has no relationship whatsoever with her."

"Then the rumors in the streets..." Mo Ruishan blinked: "Could it be that Su Yuqing or the Su Family intentionally leaked the news, wanting to force you into compliance? Now that they see you've injured your leg, they've set their sights on the Crown Prince. Or did they originally want to marry Su Yuqing into the Crown Prince's Residence? They knew the Crown Prince and you don't get along, so they wanted to use this dirty trick to make the Crown Prince compete with you over Su Yuqing. Hiss... no matter which it is, the Su Family's scheming is truly vicious!"

A cold light shot from Mo Junyan's eyes.

If this matter was truly done by the Su Family, then even Old Master Su personally coming to the door to plead would be of no avail.

Inside the Su Family's villa, Su Yuqing stepped down from the carriage and removed the veiled hat from her head. Where was the sorrow and grief she had shown at the tavern just now?

"Miss, your eyes are still a bit red and swollen."

Su Yuqing took the ointment handed over by the maid and applied it around her eyes. The eyes that had been somewhat uncomfortable just now instantly felt much better.

"Miss, this servant saw today that His Highness Prince Li's leg seems to truly be ruined."

Su Yuqing nodded. From the look of it, the news she had received was not wrong. Mo Junyan's leg was ruined and his face disfigured. Even if he once had illustrious battle merits and made tremendous contributions to Qi Guo, the throne no longer belonged to him. Since that was the case, she absolutely could not bet her future on a cripple.

What she wanted had always been the most exalted position among the women of Qi Guo—that being the Empress of Qi Guo. With Mo Junyan ruined, the Crown Prince's sole rival had fallen. The only one who could inherit the throne was the Crown Prince.

Though she would enter the residence as a side consort, she was confident she could secure the position of the Crown Prince's principal consort. With her beauty and schemes, that position would be hers sooner or later, and the future Empress's throne of Qi Guo would also be hers.

If there was anyone in Jingcheng she found threatening, it was the legitimate daughter of the Right Minister's Residence. But since she was entering the Crown Prince's Residence first, as long as she established her footing and produced a royal heir ahead of the other, the position of principal consort would be hers alone. As fellow legitimate daughters of ministers' residences, no matter how heavenly that woman's beauty, she couldn't outrank a child. As for bearing a royal heir, her mother had given her a prescription that could ensure a son.

At this moment she still didn't know that Chi Nan Yi had already left the Minister's Residence. If she knew, she would likely feel even more that the Crown Princess's position was already in her bag.

"Miss, the things from the Crown Prince's Residence are so good. You only applied a little and your eyes aren't red anymore."

"His Highness the Crown Prince's things are naturally of the finest quality." She adjusted the hairpins on her head and said with a smile: "In a while, send someone to deliver a message to His Highness. What he wanted to know, I've already obtained."

"Yes."

Su Yuqing returned to her room, sat before the bronze mirror, picked up a dangling hairpin and put it in her hair, then applied another layer of lip rouge. Her whole person looked in excellent spirits. That frail, delicate little white flower image from just now had long since vanished without a trace.

Chi Nan Yi followed the Chi Family father and son by carriage toward Yuping Village. Every time they passed through a town, Chi Nan Yi would secretly stock up on supplies behind the Chi Family father and son's backs. After all, in their eyes now, Chi Nan Yi had only ten taels of silver left to her name, while the bedding, eggs, and meat she bought had probably cost over a hundred taels.

"Father, where did little sister go? Why hasn't she come back yet?" Chi Zhiqiu said with some concern: "How about I go take a look!"

"Your little sister is much more clever than you. She told us to wait here, so we'll just wait right here. If we get separated, we're unfamiliar with this place—what if someone gets lost?"

Chi Zhiqiu nodded upon hearing this. Indeed, that made sense.

Chi Nan Yi was at a fabric shop buying cotton.

The farther toward Yuping Village they went, the colder Chi Nan Yi felt.

When winter arrived, without cotton clothes and cotton quilts, who knew how cold it would get.

Reaching a place with no people around, Chi Nan Yi stored all those things into her space. After a moment's thought, she went to a pharmacy and bought some medicinal materials for treating coughs.

By the time she returned to the carriage, a crowd had already gathered in a circle there.

Inside the crowd it was noisy and clamorous—one look made it clear something had happened.

Chi Nan Yi rushed quickly through the crowd and saw an old woman lying flat on her back on the ground. Beside her stood a middle-aged man with shifty eyes and a thievish look—one glance told you he was no law-abiding sort.

"Aiyo! I can't go on living! I can't go on living! You hit someone and want to run! Come look, everyone! Aiyo! You want to crash this old woman to death!"

The Chi Family father and son's faces flushed red, and for a moment they were at a complete loss.

"Old woman, we didn't hit you. You ran into us yourself. This... you can't just rely on your age to falsely accuse people!" Chi Zhiqiu said loudly: "Everyone here is watching! What you're doing is extortion!"