Chapter 98

Husha learned of Wanyan Puruo’s arrival in Lidu Prefecture just one hour before Zhang Yuehui did.

He was desperate to strut before the princess, this woman of supreme authority, and prove himself as an exceptional general.

While he enjoyed the prestige of his position—being the undisputed authority in Lidu Prefecture—he still lacked tangible accomplishments.

The Black Raven Corps had captured numerous individuals, but most were clueless commoners. On rare occasions, when they did catch someone confirmed to be associated with the Candle Bureau, the captives proved unyieldingly stubborn.

However, on this day, things progressed rapidly.

One person finally couldn’t withstand the pressure and confessed: The Yucheng army is indeed still alive. The mountain explosion that day was merely a trick to mislead, and the Yucheng army, in cooperation with the Bingchu Division, set up a trap for Wanyan Jun and Husa. He was involved in the plan to transport supplies for the Bingchu Division, so he knew where the Yucheng army was.

Husa was overjoyed. Once the Yucheng army’s involvement was confirmed, Wanyan Jun would face exile at best, or a death sentence at worst. Moreover, it could implicate Han Xianwang’s faction as well.

He immediately prepared to lead a team to capture the Yucheng army. Just as he stepped out of the prison, another prison guard called out to him.

“General, someone else has confessed!”

Husa was elated, thinking to himself that today was truly his lucky day.

——

On this day, Qin Ge’er was going to school at Song Muchuan’s place as usual.

Song Muchuan informed Nanyi that the Yucheng army had all entered the city, disguised as shipyard laborers, waiting for orders.

Earlier, news came through the “Yan” that once the Yucheng army was safe, the message that they had escaped during the mountain explosion could be released.

At first, Nanyi didn’t understand why they were doing this—it seemed like a risk. But after Song Muchuan explained, she finally understood the reasoning.

The Black Crow Camp was tightening its grip, and they had to give them some significant news to loosen their tongues. The Bingchu Division had ways to make them believe the authenticity of this news, but by the time the Qiren gathered their army to search for the Yucheng army at Huguishan, they would be unaware that the Yucheng army had already slipped right under their noses.

This was also meant to provide Husa with more solid evidence to help him take down Wanyan Jun.

Wanyan Jun was suspicious, deep-minded, and ruthless. If he could be moved out of the Lidu mansion and only dealt with Husa, things would be much easier.

Nanyi, now understanding the situation, felt somewhat reassured. She and Song Muchuan hurriedly said their goodbyes.

As they left the alley holding Qin Ge’er’s hand, a team of Qiren soldiers marched into the alley. Nanyi’s heart skipped a beat, but she only heard polite words from inside, saying that there was an issue at the Shipbuilding Bureau and that Lord Song was needed there.

It seemed like nothing major, but Nanyi still felt uneasy. However, with Qin Ge’er beside her, she couldn’t act rashly and had to quickly return to Wang Xuewu.

On the way back to Wang Xuewu, everything was calm. After settling Qin Ge’er, she stepped out, only to find that the situation had changed.

The women in the household had gathered in Madam Gantang’s courtyard, chattering in a frenzy, causing a headache for anyone nearby.

Madam Gantang could no longer stand it and scolded them.

“Quiet!”

The room fell silent, and Nanyi had just stepped to the door when Madam Gantang, rubbing her temples, dismissed the others and asked Nanyi to accompany her to the inner room to rest. Nanyi noticed that Tang Rong, who had been quietly following Madam Gantang, was now tense, unconsciously exuding an aura of killing intent.

Madam Gantang lowered her voice and asked Nanyi, “Did anything unusual happen when you returned from Mr. Song’s place?”

“A group of Qiren soldiers took him to the Shipbuilding Bureau, but they were still polite to him.”

“Just now, we heard that the entire Shipbuilding Bureau had been surrounded by Qiren soldiers, as someone had confessed that the leader of the Bingchu Division was inside, and they were conducting a night-long investigation.”

Nanyi’s heart tightened.

The Black Crow Camp had been arresting people, and she was worried that Song Muchuan’s identity might be exposed. However, Song Muchuan was always cautious, rarely revealing his true identity to others. Only a few core members of the Bingchu Division knew who he really was.

But even with his carefulness, it was inevitable that some traces would be left. Most of his activities revolved around the Shipbuilding Bureau, so it was likely that someone had deduced that the leader was hiding there. Later, under the pressure of torture, everything useful had been confessed.

This was completely unexpected.

Although they had only identified a range and hadn’t yet directly named Song Muchuan, the Qiren soldiers were ruthless. They would never stop until they found him inside the Shipbuilding Bureau.

Song Muchuan was in grave danger.

Nanyi quickly calculated in her mind. She couldn’t sit and wait to die. She should find Liang Da and Jiuniang to rescue Song Muchuan. Or… could Xie Que Shan have a solution?

He had previously saved her uncle, Madam Gantang, and even her; Song Muchuan was his close friend, and he certainly wouldn’t leave him to die.

Just as Nanyi thought of him, Xie Que Shan unexpectedly arrived, walking straight into the room.

Seeing him, Nanyi suddenly discarded any previous awkwardness and felt a sense of familiarity. She was about to speak, but her voice caught in her throat. She realized that Xie Que Shan had reverted to his usual cold, indifferent expression. The warmth she had occasionally seen on his face these days had completely disappeared.

Not only had he come, but he had also brought guards with him.

“Second sister, the young mistress will stay in your courtyard for the next few days, so you can look after each other.”

Madam Gantang immediately understood the situation and said, “Xie San, what do you mean? Are you planning to keep us under house arrest?”

Tang Rong immediately put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Xie Que Shan glanced at Tang Rong, indifferent. “Don’t waste your effort. Just calm down, and everything will be peaceful.”

“I want to go out,” Nanyi stared at Xie Que Shan’s face.

“Don’t bother,” he repeated succinctly.

“And what about you? What are you going to do?” Nanyi still held on to a glimmer of hope—was he planning to rescue Song Muchuan on his own, so as not to drag them down?

“As for the Shipbuilding Bureau, I will avoid any involvement. I will stay in Wang Xuewu and not go out,” Xie Que Shan answered calmly.

There were only four people in the room, and everyone knew exactly what was going on, so there was no need to hide it.

“What about Song Muchuan?” Nanyi shouted at Xie Que Shan in frustration.

“What does it have to do with you? What does it have to do with me?”

This wasn’t right... Xie Que Shan should have been explaining something to her, like he did before, telling her to do something to turn the situation around.

Madam Gantang, also in disbelief, said, “You clearly wanted to protect Song Muchuan before.”

Xie Que Shan finally showed a trace of impatience: “That was in the past. I helped him once, but he didn’t appreciate it and insisted on getting involved in the mess. Now that things have gone wrong, do you want me to drag myself and the entire Xie family down with him?”

“Are you going to watch him die?” Nan Yi couldn’t believe the drastic change in Xie Que Shan’s attitude. He was always good at acting, and she tried to read his face for any signs of deception.

But in front of her and Gan Tang, what reason did he have to act? With things already laid bare, couldn’t he just tell her his plans directly? Surely they still shared some understanding, right?

But then... what if he wasn’t acting?

“I just want to protect myself. Not selling him out is already because of the past relationship.”

Seeing that Nan Yi was still in disbelief, Xie Que Shan coldly threatened her, “If you dare to make any rash moves and drag me into this, I won’t show mercy.”

Without another word, Xie Que Shan left.

Nan Yi was stunned by his words. As she saw him walking away, she instinctively rushed after him and grabbed his hand.

“Xie Que Shan, you promised you wouldn’t lie to me!”

The scene of them pulling at each other took both Gan Tang and Tang Rong by surprise.

Even Tang Rong could see that something was off between the two of them.

Xie Que Shan coldly looked up: “What’s with the pulling and tugging? This isn’t appropriate.”

Nan Yi felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, and it dawned on her. It was she who had earlier said she wanted to keep her distance, and he had simply returned her attitude.

But she didn’t let go, clutching his sleeve tightly. She had never been a person overly concerned with face. Was she really expecting to maintain dignity? Bah, what dignity? If there was anything that could bind Xie Que Shan to this moment, she didn’t care if everyone saw her act.

“You save Song Mukuai, and I’ll promise you anything.”

Xie Que Shan’s lips twisted into a cold, abrupt smile. He felt both sadness and joy. Sad because she hadn’t wanted to approach him before, but now, for Song Mukuai, she was willing to throw everything away. Joy, because now he could play the villain to perfection.

“You think you’re someone? Get lost.”

He even roughly shook her off.

The courtyard door slammed shut, and the heavy lock fell.

...

After Xie Que Shan learned that something had happened at the Shipyard Office, the first thing he did upon returning was to restrain Nan Yi, preventing her from making any moves.

The situation was dire.

He couldn’t just stand by and let Song Mukuai fall into danger. Song Mukuai had to be kept safe. His “rebirth” plan had to succeed. Only then could King Ling’an be safely sent to Jinling.

But now, the situation in the Lidu Governor’s Office was deteriorating rapidly. He knew that even if he went to save someone with his own life, he wouldn’t be as fortunate as before. This matter might require him to carry the weight alone—sacrificing his life to save Song Mukuai.

If he voluntarily exposed his identity, all attention would be focused on him.

He knew she was anxious, but he couldn’t let her take risks. In the worst-case scenario, if he died, and the family’s womenfolk were captured, the Qiren would still try to maintain some semblance of peace and wouldn’t harm them too severely. But if they were caught red-handed, it would be a senseless sacrifice.

Right now, he just hoped for a little more time, that Song Mukuai wouldn’t be captured too soon.

He prayed to all gods and spirits, hoping they could give him more time.

Surrounding the Shipyard Office was Gou Sha’s command. First, to capture the leader of the Candleholding Division, and second, to take over the mess involving Wan Yan Jun.

But the Shipyard Office had hundreds of people, and these artisans couldn’t be freely beaten or killed, as they were useful for shipbuilding. It would take too much time to interrogate them all, and not all of them would speak the truth. Some would lie.

Gou Sha rarely acted calmly, but now he took a moment to strategize. Based on the clues he already had, he picked a few key dates and checked who had acted strangely in the Shipyard Office on those days.

By comparing these, Gou Sha zeroed in on someone.

This person had previously been dismissed by him, thought to be just like the other scholars who talked about the country and family but were easily subdued by force.

On the day of the mountain explosion, Song Mukuai had left the Shipyard Office early due to a conflict with Wan Yan Jun.

On the morning of King Ling’an’s disappearance, Song Mukuai had arrived late by two hours.

Taken individually, these two events weren’t enough to draw conclusions, but when placed together, they were suspicious.

Moreover, Song Mukuai was an old friend of Xie Que Shan’s. Gou Sha had already been suspicious of Xie Que Shan for a long time, and now that he thought about the relationship, he felt that the previously dismissed scholar might indeed be Xie Que Shan’s ally.

But how could he use Song Mukuai to uproot Xie Que Shan and the entire Candleholding Division?

Based on recent experiences, Gou Sha’s interactions with members of the Candleholding Division had been ineffective, even with severe torture.

Now, Gou Sha wanted to act quickly.

Wan Yan Pu Ruo had arrived, and he knew she was here to investigate the matter involving Wan Yan Jun and him. He had to quickly achieve some results in front of her to crush Wan Yan Jun underfoot, never to rise again.

Once Lidu Governor’s office became his, capturing King Ling’an would be only a matter of time.

At this moment, Gou Sha’s ambition began to grow wildly. He always felt he had been suppressed in the past, unable to stretch his hands. Now, wasn’t it the time for him to shine? Even if it meant using any means necessary, he would achieve his goal quickly.

A plan began to form in his mind...