Kayla made her way down the corridor, the servants lowering their heads and pretending not to see her. If they acknowledged her and didn’t offer a proper greeting, they would be in trouble with the household’s heir. If they greeted her, they would be in trouble with the household’s master. The best solution was simply to act as though they didn’t see Kayla at all. Given that she was the one putting them in such an awkward situation, Kayla wasn’t in a position to be bothered about it.

Catching sight of her target, Kayla strode towards Housekeeper Wang. He caught sight of her as well, bowing slightly as she approached. He gave a mocking smile that grew increasingly uncertain at the confident look on Kayla’s face.

“Young lor-” Housekeeper Wang began only to be cut off.

“Where is my grandfather?”

A knowing look flickered across Housekeeper Wang’s face and he bowed slightly.

“The Grand Duke is in his study right now, but I’m afraid he’s very busy at the moment,” Housekeeper Wang said politely. “Perhaps I can bring a message for you when he gets a moment of respite?”

“No need,” Kayla shot back. It was clear that both he and the Grand Duke expected her to go beg for mercy, and the Grand Duke was indulging in some twisted power play by refusing to meet her right away, shaving down the amount of time she would have to make any other moves. Kayla had no intention of playing along. Walking right past Housekeeper Wang, Kayla headed straight for the Grand Duke’s study.

“Young lord! Where are you going? You can’t just barge in there,” Housekeeper Wang protested, grabbing Kayla’s arm. She shook him off harshly.

“I’m the heir of this household and a Minister, who are you to lay your hands on me?” Kayla asked icily. Housekeeper Wang hastily took a step back.

“B-but young lord, the Grand Duke’s busy right now,” Housekeeper Wang said.

“I’ll keep it short,” Kayla shot back. Housekeeper Wang shook his head with a frown, hovering anxiously as he followed Kayla down the corridor.

“Young lord,” he protested as she opened the door to the study. She ignored him, slamming it shut behind her.

The Grand Duke glanced up from the documents on his desk with a furious glare.

“What do you think you’re doing? Leave at once,” the Grand Duke demanded. Kayla turned to face him with a smile.

“I apologize, grandfather, but this is urgent. After all, I’m heading back to the Ministry of Justice soon,” Kayla said. The Grand Duke gave a low laugh.

“Heading back? To do what, sit in the interrogation room until they lose their patience with you?”

“To confess,” Kayla replied without hesitation.

The Grand Duke’s lips curled into a smirk. “And would the palace be alright with that? Right after the Emperor’s broken precedent for your sake, you run your reputation into the dirt. Even if your punishment will be lightened, the Emperor won’t forgive you easily. What do you think will happen to you once you confess? There’s only one way out of this for you, and that’s for me to intervene.”

Kayla nodded thoughtfully. “Well, you have a point, grandfather. But I don’t want to ask you for help.”

“And here I’d thought that you’d grown a brain, but it turns out you’re still relying on boorish bravery,” the Grand Duke scoffed. “You really are a fool who won’t shed tears until he’s seen the casket.”

“I appreciate your concern, grandfather, but there’s no need for you to worry about my affairs. Shouldn’t you be more curious about what I’m going to confess?” Kayla asked.

“Did you get it in your head that you can threaten our clan by confessing about the Empress Dowager’s involvement? Then I’d advise you to think again,” the Grand Duke said.

Kayla shook her head. “Of course not, it’s another matter entirely. Even if I confess, I’m sure Uncle will be fine with it, since it benefits him as well. After all, it has to do with our family’s reputation. But I’m concerned for your sake, grandfather. No matter what, we are family, so I thought I should at least discuss it with you first.”

The Grand Duke’s eyes narrowed and his voice came out in a low growl. “You little brat, what kind of tricks are you playing? Spit it out before I flay you.”

Kayla retrieved the scroll from her robes with a wry grin. “Alright then, it seems you’re finally willing to hear me out. I wanted to confess about the testimony I gave in the Liu Hongyu case. I’ll admit it, I lied. By omission, yes, but it was a lie nonetheless.”

“What nonsense. If you want to confess, go ahead and do it.”

Kayla didn’t bother responding to the Grand Duke’s mocking tone, plopping the scroll onto his desk. He scoffed but picked up the scroll disdainfully. As he read through the scroll, his expression darkened.

“What on earth is this?” The Grand Duke snarled.

Kayla smiled at him sweetly. “Isn’t it pretty clear from what I wrote? I briefly talked about Liu Hongyu’s insults to my mother in the testimony I have to the Imperial Investigator Bureau, but I omitted his insults to me out of pride."

The Grand Duke’s frown deepened, but he didn’t seem to believe that Kayla would really go through with it. It would ruin her reputation and make her the subject of endless mocking from the court if she went ahead and admitted that Wenyuan had bit his tongue and put up with Liu Hongyu’s offenses for almost five years, especially when Wenyuan had the Emperor and Empress Dowager’s favor the whole time.

From insulting Wenyuan for being a coward to mocking his masculinity, the response of the court that Kayla had rather thoroughly offended was certain to be vicious. It was a nightmare scenario for Wenyuan, who never would’ve gone through with it.

"You fool, do you know what this would mean? Your career would be over," the Grand Duke said.

"Well, I was also afraid of that at first. But now, having seen the ramifications of Li Sanjin’s false testimony, I have come to realize how much importance these testimonies hold and wish to supplement my previous statements. As your grandson and as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, I have to abide by proper principles and serve as a good example, I can’t just continue to commit an error while knowing it’s wrong," Kayla replied.

"And what do you think this flimsy testimony would do for you? Your words alone can't prove anything, it wouldn't help you legally, only fuel the rumors of the court," the Grand Duke shot back.

Kayla reached into her robes, pulling out the second scroll with Zhu Ling'er's testimony. Kayla had purposefully removed the girl's name from the scroll, leaving only the red fingerprint.

"It's not just my words alone, take a look at this," Kayla passed the scroll to him. The Grand Duke practically ripped the scroll open, the paper nearly tearing beneath his fingers. His rage mounted as he read through the statement.

The Grand Duke flung down the scroll in anger. “You bastard! How dare you!”

“Careful there, grandfather. My parents were wedded when I was conceived, you wouldn’t want my uncle to hear your conjectures about my mother just now, would you?” Kayla shot back.

The Grand Duke shot to his feet, his chair overturning with a loud crash. Kayla kept herself from flinching at the noise, refusing to break gaze with the Grand Duke.

“Are you threatening me right now?” The Grand Duke snarled, his voice dripping with disdain.

“Grandfather, how can you say that I’m threatening you? This is a warning for your good. There is a witness, and her testimony has already been recorded and made copies of. If we push this matter any further, we’ll both come to shame. Of course, maybe you don’t feel that should need to feel ashamed of anything, but I’m not so sure the court and the palace would agree with you,” Kayla said sweetly.

The Grand Duke let out a harsh laugh. “This little piece of shit, I don’t know since when you’ve suddenly grown a pair, but what the hell do you think you can do against me? I’m nothing like those fools I’ve let you mess around with until now-everything you have, everything you know, all of it comes from me,” the Grand Duke said, his voice so cold that the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

"This might shame me, but it’ll ruin you,” the Grand Duke snarled. “How dare you try to use this against me? Do you think you’ve made it this far because you’re talented? It’s because you had my patronage! Mine and Liu Hongyu’s! And now the dog bites the hand that feeds it. You white-eyed wolf!”

“It’ll ruin me, yes. But most importantly, it’ll ruin the Zhao clan,” Kayla shot back. “And your patronage? I would’ve thought it was my mother’s bloodline that got me this far, not yours. We both know how much you benefited from my mother’s identity, both in her life and death, you’ve all but crushed the bones to suck out the marrow! Even if this ruins me, I still have royal blood. But you, you only have the Zhao bloodline. And where would that leave you if this comes to light?”

There was a subtle change in the Grand Duke’s expression. Even after all the mess Kayla had stirred up, the Grand Duke still only knew about the Yue Wuxuan case and the Liu Hongyu case. Kayla’s promotion and appointment to the rank of Minister had seemed more like a declaration of war from the Emperor than a sign of a significant shift in Wenyuan’s abilities and political status, and the Grand Duke still saw Wenyuan as a weak and cowardly puppet who would cave in once his rebellious spirit wore out.

Kayla slowly took a deep breath as she watched the shift in the Grand Duke’s gaze. His eyes took on the sharp glint of a hunter assessing his prey. It was enough to make her break out in a cold sweat. For the first time, the Grand Duke was seeing Kayla as a political rival.

“So that’s how it is, I’ve raised a tiger to become a threat,” the Grand Duke said in a low voice.

“I’d say that you barely raised me, but you’ve got the gist of it,” Kayla agreed.

From now on, she would no longer have the advantage of being under-estimated, but for the time being, she needed him to see her as a threat. She needed him to be dangerous enough for him to fold.

“It doesn’t have to be so hard,” Kayla said gently. “Let’s just take care of this within the family. After all, I’m your grandson. There’s no need for such hard feelings between blood.”

A vein throbbed on the Grand Duke’s forehead. Even if Wenyuan was only a relative’s grandson, he was socially, politically, and legally the Grand Duke’s grandson. It was the only way the Grand Duke could remain the Imperial Princess’ father-in-law and not just one of the many clan leaders with some blood relation to the current emperor.

“You lowly scum, you’re no grandson of mine. You’re nothing but a spineless coward too weak to protect yourself. At first, you hid behind your mother’s skirts, then you shuffled around with a lowered head in my shadows. Now that you’ve finally gained some courage, your first act is to attack your own family-I’d be better off adopting one of your cousins, they’d be more of a man than you could ever be!” The Grand Duke shouted, slapping the table hard enough that Kayla was almost certain she’d heard a crack.

“More of a man…well, that’s fine with me. But what would you say to Uncle?” Kayla asked. “You’re the cold-blooded bastard who sent me to act as a hostess for your ally the second my mother’s mourning period had ended, and I’m his precious nephew. He was furious enough with Liu Hongyu for insulting my mother. Now that old codger’s dead, who do you think his rage will be directed towards?”

She leaned forward with a mocking smile. “You better think things through before making a decision, or the one who’ll get burned is you, grandfather.”

Something seemed to snap in the Grand Duke, his eyes filling with an animalistic rage. The Grand Duke shoved the desk out of the way and lunged forward, grabbing Kayla by the collar. She made a choked noise as the cloth constricted around her throat. The Grand Duke’s face was twisted into an ugly mask of fury, flushed dark red with throbbing veins on his forehead and jaw.

Her body reacted instinctively with fear, an icy coldness that flooded her veins. Kayla tried to speak, but all that came out was a jumbled mess that couldn’t make it past her teeth.

Finally, a coherent sentence tumbled out.

“You think you could get away with killing me?”

The Grand Duke paused for a moment, physically trembling with rage. With an angry snarl, the Grand Duke shoved Kayla backward with enough force that she flew through the door. The wood splintered into her back and Kayla groaned in pain, bitterly recalling the last time she’d gotten bodily flung through the door of Wenyuan’s room less than two months ago. Kayla landed on top of the broken door, its splinters digging into her back. She was pretty sure a particularly sharp piece of wood had gotten lodged in her shoulder blade.

Fucking asshole- Kayla carefully pulled herself off the ground, trying to avoid getting stabbed by any additional splinters. She ignored Housekeeper Wang’s horrified expression. To her disappointment, he had moved away from the door fast enough to avoid getting a splinter in the face.

Wheezing a little, she turned towards the Grand Duke and gestured at the scrolls scattered over the floor.

“Well, I have to get back to the Ministry of Justice within the next three days, you should make a decision before then,” Kayla choked out. Ignoring the Grand Duke angrily shouting after her as Housekeeper Wang tried to calm him down in vain, she staggered towards the household’s back door, activating her communication talisman to contact Boyong.

By the time she actually made it to the back entrance, Qu Boyong was already anxiously waiting there.

“My lord!” Boyong pushed past the doormen to Kayla’s side. The doormen quickly stopped trying to pull him back out after catching sight of Kayla, at which they nervously looked away and shuffled back to their positions. Boyong shot an angry glare at them over his shoulder before turning back towards Kayla with a look of concern.

“Hey Boyong,” Kayla said between gritted teeth. “I think I really need a healer now.”

---

Hu Qing smiled politely at the doormen, flashing the silver plaque he’d been given by Zhao Wenyuan. The doormen at the Zhao household’s back gate glanced at each other with visible discomfort before nodding at Hu Qing and looking away. Hu Qing glanced back at them, scrunching his face up as he walked into the Zhao household.

The place was huge and expensively decorated, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. There was a strange air in the household that hit him like muggy weather, the kind you only ever saw when something really bad had gone down and everyone was trying not to talk about it. It was rare to see in the Liang household, except for that one time when three of Minister Liang’s concubines had a giant spat fight after which each of them decided to go back to their maternal families, crying and stirring up a huge fuss until Minister Liang spent a great deal of effort coaxing them into a better mood.

None of the servants spoke to Hu Qing, quietly ignoring him and acting as though they hadn’t seen him. Hu Qing leisurely strolled down the corridors until he finally found a room that looked like it was the Zhao heir’s quarters. Without hesitation, he knocked.

“Who is it?”

Hu Qing smiled at the familiar sound of Qu Boyong’s voice.

“It’s Hu Qing,” he called. There was the soft sound of footsteps and the door swung open to reveal Boyong’s agitated expression.

“Hurry up and come in, what took you so long?” Boyong asked.

“Whoa, you wanted to see me that much?” Hu Qing teased. His smile faded away at the serious look on Boyong’s face. “Wait, what’s wrong?”

“I hope you’re as good a healer as you claim to be,” Boyong replied in a tense voice. He led Hu Qing further into the room.

“My lord, Hu Qing’s here,” Boyong announced.

“Evening, Minister Zhao,” Hu Qing said cheerfully. The smile slowly faded from his face as Wenyuan nodded in greeting.

“Thanks for coming,” Wenyuan said. His calm tone was completely out of place compared to his appearance. There were pieces of what seemed to be wood in the man’s hair and clothes, and even though Wenyuan’s back wasn’t visible, there was the distinct smell of blood. For all purposes, the man looked like he’d gotten run over by a cart or kicked through a door.

The fact that Hu Qing had been called in as an actual healer caught him off guard. Either Wenyuan was about to ask something really difficult from him, or the household’s healer was refusing to treat Wenyuan.

“Yeah, uh, no worries,” Hu Qing said nervously. “To be honest, I didn’t think you actually needed a healer, I thought it was just an excuse. If I’d known I would’ve brought the proper tools.”

“I have some medical talismans on hand. Boyong,” Wenyuan nodded at his servant, who quickly retrieved a stack of talismans from Wenyuan’s desk. “Will these do?”

Hu Qing stifled the urge to ask what on earth had happened and settled for looking through the supplies instead. Zhao Wenyuan was oddly prepared to have a stack of these on hand inside his desk, especially given that he was the rich young master of a very influential household. But then again, Hu Qing already knew that the Zhao household’s internal affairs were a mess.

“I can make do if I combine these with the ones I brought,” Hu Qing said, approaching where Wenyuan sat on the bed. “Can I take a look?”

Wenyuan shifted to let Hu Qing see his back. “Of course, please go ahead.”

Hu Qing cast a pain-relief spell before getting to work pulling out the sharp pieces of wood lodged in Wenyuan’s back, wincing a little in sympathy.

“What a mess,” Hu Qing muttered to himself.

“Just work quietly,” Boyong snapped in annoyance. Hu Qing let out a huff but held back from saying anything. After healing Wenyuan’s back, he cautiously checked to see if there were any splinters he’d missed, but it was difficult with the multiple robes in the way.

“Sorry, but could you remove your robe for a bit? I need to check for anything I might’ve missed,” Hu Qing said. Wenyuan paused for a moment before nodding and removing his robes.

Hu Qing hesitated as to whether he should help Wenyuan with the complicated layers of robes, and Qu Boyong evidently had similar thoughts as well from how he shifted to move forward. Neither of them was used to something like this, but it also didn't seem a good idea to call in a serving girl. Their worries seemed unnecessary given the ease and speed with which Wenyuan removed his robes, seeming to be pretty used to doing it himself.

Hu Qing quietly drew in a deep breath at the sight of Wenyuan’s back, glad that the man wasn’t able to see Hu Qing’s face right now. From the corner of his eye, Hu Qing saw Boyong visibly stiffen in place. It wasn’t so much that Wenyuan had a motley of scars like some battle-hardened warrior who went around with one pec exposed and a sword big enough to cut a cow in half, but that there were no scars whatsoever.

Healing magic sped up the body’s healing process, regenerating the muscle, flesh, and skin that had been damaged. It left no scars. What it did leave, on the other hand, was new and healthy skin that was visibly different from the skin around it, not completely fading into its surrounding skin until a long time after. As a result, most young women who received facial injuries would ask to have their entire face “healed” rather than just the chunk that was hurt.

Entire chunks of skin on Wenyuan’s back and arms looked like they were from a young child, paler and smoother than the surrounding areas, and there were visible edges from where healing magic had been used multiple times, each time not overlapping completely with the others.

Hu Qing almost felt as though he had seen something he shouldn’t have. Even if the Zhao heir was on bad terms with his grandfather, he was the Emperor’s nephew. Just where did the Grand Duke get the guts to treat him like this? Being a rational and cool-minded person, Hu Qing decided to mind his own business.

“Your back should be fine now, Minister,” Hu Qing said politely.

“Thank you,” Wenyuan said, pulling his robes back on immediately.

The words came out before Hu Qing could stop himself, his curiosity almost boiling over. “How did things go with your grandfather?”

Wenyuan turned towards him. “I’d say that we’ve come to an understanding,” he said, a dangerous look in his eyes as he smiled. “Things will be looking up soon, would you mind if I made my offer again at that time?”

Hu Qing gulped nervously. “Um, actually, in hindsight, I’m starting to realize my uncle actually treats me pretty well. I think I’m good.”

Wenyuan’s smile only grew wider. “It’s good he treats you well, but my offer still stands. Sooner or later, it may come in handy.” Hu Qing shifted uncomfortably. Wenyuan seemed to think that he understood something about Hu Qing or sensed something they had in common, but Hu Qing didn’t want to entertain those delusions. Unlike the ambitious politicians of the capital, all Hu Qing wanted in life was to eat well, sleep well, and look at hot people.

“Sure,” Hu Qing said. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Minister?”

Wenyuan shook his head. “Boyong will give you the payment. Keep the plaque though, you can use it to come to find me if you ever had the need.”

---

Xianchun briskly walked through the Outer Palace, heading towards the convening of the court. It was certain to be a turbulent session after the sudden accusations leveled against Zhao Wenyuan and the subsequent fallout between the Secretariat Department and the Ministry of Justice.

The Secretariat Director was furious at Minister Liang, who had followed Xianchun’s intentions of helping out Wenyuan and letting the Zhao heir out on medical leave, only to have the heir hole up in the Zhao household on “prescribed rest” for three days. Of course, Zhang Dingyong had also been involved, but he had been discreet enough, or rather sneaky enough, that the bulk of the Secretariat Director’s wrath was directed at Minister Liang.

The last of the three days Wenyuan had been prescribed would be over by tomorrow, which meant the accusation was going to be presented in court while the man himself wasn’t present. Xianchun couldn’t tell if Wenyuan was smart or foolish to avoid such a decisive moment, but perhaps it was for the best.

The Secretariat Department’s vitriol against Wenyuan was enough to prove that the Grand Duke’s faction was attempting to prevent the tides from shifting against them at any cost and that they wouldn’t stop unless Wenyuan either caved or was ruined. Xianchun’s smile took on a slightly feral note at the thought. He had no intention of letting those old men have their way.

“Xianchun,” a familiar voice called out to him. Xianchun turned to greet Kuang, who approached with a friendly smile.

“Third Brother, is Fifth Brother not joining us today?” Xianchun asked politely.

“I told him to head in first, I thought I might find you here,” Kuang said.

“What can I help you with, Third Brother?”

“It’s about the new case involving our cousin,” Kuang said. “It’s certain to be a mess in court today, what are your plans?”

“I don’t happen to have any in mind,” Xianchun said after a slight pause. “Why?”

“I plan to throw my support behind Wenyuan, Yunqi will do the same,” Kuang said without the slightest hint of hesitation. “I wanted to warn you to stay quiet if you don’t plan to go along.”

“I was planning to support him to begin with, I don’t need you to instruct me on this,” Xianchun snapped.

Kuang’s smile faded away. “Good. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be worthy to be my rival.” He continued, ignoring Xianchun’s annoyed expression. “Xianchun, listen to your older brother on this matter. This isn’t the time to mess around, we could lose the momentum our elders have been working to build up for decades. No matter what, our common enemy is the scourge of this nation and a threat to our family’s reign. Not only do we all need to support Wenyuan, but we also need to show that we’re doing so in unison.”

Xianchun let out a short huff before nodding reluctantly. “I was worried you two weren’t going to support him, but here you are lecturing me, what a joke. But you’re right, we should join hands.”

Kuang gave a tight smile. “Why would you think that? He’s our cousin too, not to mention that he’s a talented official who’s sure to go far. Of course I'd support him. Well, no matter. We can work that out another time, let’s focus on the matter at hand. We need to present a united front today.”

“I know, each of us backs up what the others say,” Xianchun muttered.

“That's right, we'll do it just like did with the tutors back when we studied together,” Kuang agreed.

The two princes headed into the hall side-by-side, falling into pace with each other's stride out of muscle memory. Yunqi greeted them as they entered.

“Third Brother, Xianchun,” Yunqi said. “Good, you’re both here. It seems the Grand Duke’s also not coming today, he’s taken a day off for sick leave.” He flicked his gaze towards the visibly flustered Secretariat Director, who no longer seemed to know how to proceed.

“Interesting,” Kuang said with a slight smile. “It seems our cousin’s made his move as well.”

“In that case, good luck to the Grand Duke,” Xianchun muttered, his brothers grinning in amusement.

“Well, shall we proceed as planned?” Yunqi prompted.

“Of course, I’ve taken the trouble to plead with my little brother,” Kuang said teasingly.

“You didn’t plead at all,” Xianchun said in annoyance even as he nodded his agreement.

“Alright then, I’d like to see how the court could make trouble while all three princes are working in unison,” Yunqi said. The three brothers shared knowing smirks before moving to stand in their positions before the throne.

With the Grand Duke out of play, their battle was already half-won.

---

Cultural Notes

匹夫之勇/Bravery of a Brute: An Ancient Chinese proverb referring to Xiang Yu, one of the generals contending for power after the fall of the Qin Dynasty. Xiang Yu was an excellent general and very brave, but was criticized as having the bravery of a brute, with little foresight or political skills. Given that he was matched up against Liu Bang, founder of the Han Dynasty and a man who was practically a born politician, Xiang Yu was eventually defeated and committed suicide.

不见棺材不落泪/Not shedding tears until you see the coffin: A colloquial phrase from Ancient China, meaning that a person doesn't feel regret or acknowledge defeat until it is staring them in the face. So the coffin in this case refers to one's own coffin.

明知故犯/Knowingly commit an error: A proverb from the Song Dynasty to lament people's foolishness or stubbornness in knowingly doing wrong.

恩将仇报/Repaying kindness with revenge: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to bite the hand that feeds you.

白眼狼/White-eyed wolf: A Chinese phrase referring to someone who is like a white-eyed wolf, who insists on harming you no matter how well you treat them. This stems from the folk belief that wolves with larger whites in their eyes are the cruelest of their pack.

敲骨吸髓/To break the bone and suck its marrow: An Ancient Chinese proverb referring to the extent of someone's oppression and exploitation, usually referring to the exploitation of commoners by those in power.

养虎为患/To raise a tiger to become a threat: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to allow an enemy to become strong, usually by actively helping them or at least passively leaving them alone. Once again referring to Xiang Yu, who allowed Liu Bang (who was initially one of his subordinates) to become strong and eventually become the founder of the Han Dynasty after defeating Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu really can't catch a break from the Ancient Chinese historians, but then again, he did commit a lot of war crimes.