Chapter 10

Bingchu Bureau

The maidservant led Nan Yi, now dressed in simple white clothes, to the entrance of the mourning hall.

“Young Madam, you will stay here to keep vigil.”

Nan Yi glanced inside, where the white banners swayed in the wind.

“Just me?”

“Lady Qiao should have been here with you, but she fainted from grief. Since the eldest son has no heirs, you must stay here alone tonight.”

The maidservant bowed and left. Nan Yi walked calmly into the courtyard, and after a few steps, she saw someone standing in the mourning hall.

He was standing in front of the coffin, tall and still, silent in the quiet.

The white banners fluttered in the wind, obscuring his figure, making it hard to see clearly.

Scholar—the word suddenly came to Nan Yi’s mind without reason.

She hadn’t seen many scholars herself, but she had heard Zhang Yuehui describe them. In her mind, they represented the most noble of people, as pure as the moon in the sky.

“Big Brother.”

He spoke softly, and Nan Yi recognized the voice. It was Xie Que Shan. She regretted her oversight—how could she have associated the word scholar with this traitor?

“My first bow was given to me by you. You once said that a scholar is useless, that a scholar must first have the ability to protect himself, so that he can speak for the world... Then I went to the battlefield, but I betrayed Da Qi. I want to ask you, after all these years, do you regret turning me into the person I am?”

This was the first time Nan Yi heard Xie Que Shan speak in such a tone. He sounded calm, not remorseful or guilty, but his tone carried a rarely seen emotion—seemingly reminiscing, as if he were a wanderer returning home after many years, hesitating at the doorstep for a moment.

Nan Yi was momentarily stunned. She suddenly felt curious—how had he transformed from a noble family member into a traitor over the years?

A gust of wind blew through the corridor, lifting the white banners and obscuring Nan Yi’s vision. When the wind settled, she saw that the man had turned, and they locked eyes across the courtyard filled with white.

At this moment, he seemed to soften, and his gaze was no longer as intimidating.

“Come here.”

Nan Yi hesitated for a moment, but she obediently walked over. Her eyes inadvertently glanced at the memorial tablet on the offering table, and she suddenly noticed three familiar characters written on it.

It read: Memorial tablet of the late Xie Hengzai. Nan Yi recognized the surname Xie, which was common throughout Wang Xuewu, so it wasn’t hard to guess that the remaining two characters were his given name.

Where had she seen this before...?

Xie Que Shan followed Nan Yi’s gaze and remained unfazed.

“His name is Xie Hengzai. You must have seen this name before.”

Nan Yi remembered that these three characters had appeared on the letter she copied from the silk message.

At once, she guessed the general situation: it meant that Xie Hengzai had been involved in the plan to assist King Ling’an, and he was likely the one who formulated the plan. It wasn’t hard to guess, as the Xie family in Lidu was one of the most powerful families of the Yu dynasty, with significant influence in Lidu itself.

But wait, how did Xie Que Shan know that she had seen this name?

Nan Yi looked at Xie Que Shan in fear.

Xie Que Shan pulled out the silk letter from his sleeve and unfolded it before Nan Yi.

Nan Yi tried to remain calm and said, “Sir, I cannot read.”

Xie Que Shan directly read aloud: “On the sixth day of the twelfth month, Xie Hengzai is to marry into the Qin family of Luyang City. The wedding procession will pass through the Tiger Kneeling Mountain valley, where it will meet King Ling’an. Our forces can set an ambush in the valley to trap him.”

Nan Yi’s mouth dropped open. She had thought of herself as a mere passerby, but it seemed that she had already been a part of the plot from the very beginning.

“This message—did you pass it on?”

Since he came to question her, it meant that King Ling’an had not appeared. Nan Yi felt a strange sense of relief.

“Why do you ask that, Sir? I’m just a beggar who cannot read. Pang Yu could not have entrusted such an important message to me.”

“Have you ever heard of the Candlelight Bureau of the Privy Council?”

Nan Yi shook her head in confusion.

“Spies, like those who move under the cover of candlelight at night, are trained by the government in the Candlelight Bureau. The dark network of the Bureau is like the rivers running across the Central Plains—everywhere, unseen. A message can silently flow like water, reaching any place you want it to go. Did Pang Yu ask you to go somewhere or say anything?”

“No,” Nan Yi denied.

Xie Que Shan smiled, lowering his gaze to pick up a piece of pastry from the plate—a plum-shaped Chengsha dumpling!

Xie Que Shan held the dumpling near her mouth. “Five-petaled plum shapes are much easier to make. A six-petaled one would break apart when steamed.”

Nan Yi froze, her hands and feet cold. Seeing that she didn’t open her mouth, Xie Que Shan directly seized her chin and forced her to open her mouth to swallow the whole dumpling.

Nan Yi choked, turning red in the face as she coughed and struggled to breathe. She looked at Xie Que Shan in fear.

“You know everything... why not just kill me?”

“Kill you?” Xie Que Shan sneered. “I said I would make you suffer endlessly. Why would I let you die so easily?”

Nan Yi froze, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. She had no doubt about what Xie Que Shan said. She suddenly knelt down, grabbing his sleeve and begging for mercy. There was no one else to rely on, and without gold under her knees, it was always wise to kneel and beg first when faced with trouble.

“Sir, I’m just an ordinary commoner trying to survive. Some things, I was just accidentally dragged into, but I never intended to ruin your plans. Please, show mercy and spare my life...”

“Do you like begging?” Xie Que Shan asked, unmoved.

Nan Yi was stunned by the question, her tears frozen in her eyes.

“Do you know,” Xie Que Shan continued calmly, “when the old capital fell, all the royal women were captured and taken to Da Qi, where they were turned into slaves, concubines, and military prostitutes. Those women were more noble, more valuable, more beautiful, and more pitiful than you. They too knelt on the ground, begging others to show mercy... They lived a little longer, but died even more tragically. Because begging only makes others want to toy with you more.”

When he said the last sentence, his tone suddenly grew cold, sending a chill down Nan Yi’s spine.

Xie Que Shan lifted her chin with his hand and gently wiped away the tears from her face. His touch wasn’t harsh, but she could clearly feel the rough calluses on his fingers. He looked down at her with a smile.

“Since you’ve escaped to the Xie family, you should learn to be a proper elder sister-in-law. The affairs of a noble family are far more interesting than you think.”

As his callused fingers grazed her face, the sensation was both comforting and like a warning.

Xie Que Shan tossed her back to the ground and then stood up to leave.

Nan Yi sat on the ground, drained of strength, staring blankly at Xie Que Shan’s retreating figure. Cold sweat had soaked her clothes.

What did he mean by that? What other ways of tormenting her did he have? And what did he mean by “interesting affairs” in a noble family?

Xie Que Shan walked out of the mourning hall, and as he did, He Ping, who had been waiting outside, followed him. When they reached the courtyard corridor, Xie Que Shan suddenly stopped, turned, and spoke to He Ping.

“Madam’s biological mother passed away a few years ago, and the old matriarch is elderly. Go find out who is currently in charge of the back courtyard of the Xie family. Then, look for an opportunity to tell her about the Qin family’s illegitimate daughter being substituted in marriage.”

He Ping paused, seemingly pondering the master’s intentions, but after a moment, he couldn’t figure it out. However, he knew that his master’s actions always had a purpose, so there was no need to question it too deeply. He Ping cupped his hands and accepted the order. “Understood.”