“My prince, I am deeply grateful!” Lord Liang bowed towards Xianchun tearfully. Minister Jun stood by with a pleased smile, also serving to keep watch for anyone who might enter the empty corridor.

“Please don’t say that, Lord Liang. I am happy to be of any help in preventing this tragedy,” Xianchun replied.

“Lord Liang, the Prince worked day and night to investigate Lady Yue’s identity over the last few days for fear of being too late to save her. I was deeply surprised when he approached me late in the night two days ago and was moved by the depth of his benevolence,” Minister Jun said, gesturing at Xianchun.

“You praise me too much, Minister Jun,” Xianchun protested, hastily stopping Lord Liang before he could bow again.

“My prince, I am in your debt and eternally grateful for your kindness,” Lord Liang said earnestly.

“Lord Liang, there’s no need to think like that,” Xianchun replied with false modesty. Despite his words, Xianchun had every intention of making use of Liang from now on.

“Prince, Lord Liang, I was deeply pleased to see the strength of your characters,” Minister Jun jumped in, determined to facilitate an alliance. “For too long, the Grand Duke has coveted power and covered the sky with his hand, crushing innocent lives without remorse. I have felt hopeless, like a small boat trying to row against the current, but today’s events have given me the determination to struggle against the powerful darkness that engulfs the court. I propose that the three of us should join hands, following the lead of the Prince, who demonstrates both strength and intelligence.”

Xianchun smiled as Lord Liang quickly agreed. As shocked as he had been when Wenyuan had told him Lady Yue’s true identity, he had never expected things to go this well. Minister Jun had quickly seen the opportunity present in this case to build a political coalition against the Grand Duke, and easily brought in Lord Liang.

Who would have thought that his political rival was the one who helped him make the most progress?

“The two lords are vastly more experienced and virtuous than me, and I dare not call myself your leader,” Xianchun said. “However, I will not show rudeness through refusing your kind intentions. Though I may be inexperienced and lacking in skill, please assist me with your wisdom.”

Lord Liang and Minister Jun both bowed towards him. Xianchun smiled at them, but the satisfaction of forming an alliance could not fully quash the curiosity within his heart. Everything about Lady Yue had been exactly as what Wenyuan had said, and Xianchun really did find people who were eager to argue the case for him. It was uncanny how accurate it all was.

Zhao Wenyuan, just who are you?

//////////////

The excitement of successfully affecting the plot carried Kayla through the workday, only dimming when she remembered that she had to go to Liu Hongyu’s household instead of returning home. Even then, the sharp annoyance Kayla and Wenyuan felt was dulled by their sense of accomplishment.

Kayla nodded to Qu Boyong as she got on the carriage, leaning back as the carriage began to roll forward. If she could keep Lady Yue from getting killed, she could probably find the girl with the red jade necklace and fire her. The next day was her day off, so Kayla was planning to go around staring at people creepily until finding the right serving girl.

The carriage arrived at the Liu household, and Kayla reluctantly went in to meet Liu Hongyu. Like last time, Liu had already changed into casual clothes and had started drinking. Kayla began toasting him speedily, but Liu Hongyu seemed to be in a talkative mood tonight. Rather than drinking, he brandished the filled cup, ignoring the wine that sloshed out as he complained.

“Just what the hell was Jun Shao playing at, that little rat?” Liu shouted angrily. “A descendant of General Liang? They can’t prove that!”

Kayla nodded, keeping her silence.

“Can they really prove that his grandson’s wife wasn’t a fucking whore? Maybe his grandson was a cuckold, huh? It might not even be his daughter!” Liu continued. “Where the hell did any of this pop up from anyways? It’s like they were holding onto this information to use it against us!”

Kayla knew exactly where all this came from, but wasn’t about to say anything about her role in it all.

“Is it that bad? It’s just sparing the wife and daughter, isn’t it?” Kayla asked. Liu snorted.

“Wenyuan, you’re as beautiful as a woman but as stupid as one too. Yue Wuxuan’s been collecting evidence for a while, and we have the testimony of his servant that he shared all the evidence with his wife for whatever reason,” Liu said. “We meant to eradicate the threat, but now that woman not only gets off, she gets a free pass to enter the capital!”

Wow, ok you chauvinistic fuck.

“I see,” Kayla said calmly. “Uncle Liu, there isn’t anything we can do right now, please drink some wine and calm down.” She quickly poured him another cup as soon as he drank. Instead of drinking, Liu set down the cup angrily, splashing out some of the wine.

“I can’t calm down! The thought of it makes me angry!”

He let out an angry huff, before turning narrowed eyes onto Kayla. “You drink. I’m in a bad mood because of your Ministry’s issues, so I’ll have you drink three cups as punishment.”

Kayla balked. Seriously?!

Liu slammed his hand onto the table. “I said drink!”

Kayla forced a smile and emptied her cup. “I’m working on it, Uncle Liu.” Liu filled her cup again, and Kayla drank the second cup, and then the third. Kayla choked down the alcohol, feeling extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

“I’ll apologize on behalf of the Ministry, so let me toast you, Uncle,” Kayla offered. Liu scoffed but accepted the wine she poured for him. Perhaps it was because Liu was in a bad mood, but the older man quickly became drunk and passed out. Withholding a sigh of relief, Kayla left Liu’s household, being quite inebriated herself.

Boyong hurried forward to help Kayla onto the carriage, gently shutting the door after getting her onto the seat. Kayla dozed off, waking up with a start as the carriage stopped.

“Young lord, we’ve arrived,” Boyong announced. He opened the door and reached out to help her out. Kayla stumbled into the Inner Quarters, feeling overwhelmingly sleepy. Chujiao hurriedly came over to greet her, gently guiding Kayla back to Wenyuan’s quarters.

“Young lord, shall I bring you some tea?” Chujiao asked worriedly as she helped Kayla undress.

“That’s okay,” Kayla said, words slurring together. “Jiao’er, I had something to ask you.”

“Chujiao’s listening, young lord.”

Kayla flopped onto the bed, blinking sleepily. Chujiao gently covered Kayla with a blanket.

“That’s right, the necklace,” Kayla said, eyes slipping shut. “There’s a girl with a red jade necklace but I don’t remember who…” She turned her face away from the shining lamp at her bedside.

“Ugh, I’ll ask tomorrow,” Kayla groaned. Chujiao leaned close and put a hand on Kayla’s arm softly.

“Young lord, are you speaking of the red jade necklace the late Princess gifted me?” Chujiao asked. Kayla blearily opened her eyes to look at Chujiao. The young woman reached into her collar and pulled out a piece of jewelry that had been hidden by her robes. Kayla’s eyes widened with shock as she stared at the necklace.

“Is Chujiao’s necklace the one you were thinking of, young lord?”

Oh shit. Kayla nodded mechanically.

“Chujiao, I-” Kayla’s head swam and she squeezed her eyes shut, anxiety racking her insides. With great effort, she managed to keep from reacting outwardly.

“Yes, my lord?”

“Let’s talk in the morning,” Kayla finally settled on procrastination. “I-I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Yes, my lord. Please have a good rest,” Chujiao said, bowing slightly. The young woman extinguished the lamp next to Kayla’s bedside before leaving the room quietly. Despite Wenyuan’s shock and anger, Kayla couldn’t focus on anything at the moment. Overcome by exhaustion and alcohol, she fell into a dreamless sleep until morning.

/////////////

The first thing in the morning Kayla woke up to was Wenyuan’s wounded sense of betrayal, ringing painfully like a jagged cut in her heart.

Wenyuan, what’s wrong? Kayla thought groggily. Her eyes shot open as last night’s events came back to her.

How could Jiao’er sell me out like this? I was hardly perfect, but I was far from being a bad master! Wenyuan sounded deeply aggrieved. Kayla’s heart rate increased as she considered the situation.

Could it be a red herring? Maybe there’s more than one necklace.

But it makes sense, most serving girls don’t know my schedule.

Okay, how about we ask her if she knows any other girls with a red jade necklace. I mean that stuff’s expensive, so Chujiao would probably know. We can go from there.

As much as she was trying to stay calm, the thought of it made Kayla sick to her stomach. If it was Chujiao, then that meant the person who sold her out had been right under Wenyuan’s nose. How long ago did Chujiao meet Xianchun? The prince only began his rise to power around this time in the novel, but he had been making connections with servants of households for a while. Even without having political power, Xianchun did have some semblance of an intelligence network, though he still missed a lot of important information at the start of the story.

Kayla forced herself to calm down as Chujiao entered with Wenyuan’s breakfast, but could barely manage to force the food down. She waited until the serving girls cleared away the breakfast to call Chujiao over, the young woman waiting patiently until the other servants were gone.

“Young lord, you wished to speak with me?” Chujiao asked.

Kayla smiled at her in what she hoped was a kindly manner. “Jiao’er, could you tell me about your necklace?”

Chujiao bowed her head slightly. “Yes, my lord. This was gifted to me by the late Princess when I first became your maid.”

Kayla nodded slowly. “I see. And are there any other girls who had a similar necklace or any kind of necklace from red jade within the Inner Quarters?”
Chujiao shook her head and Kayla’s heart dropped. “No, young lord. The red jade is only available in the palace; this was from the Princess’ dowry. The Princess was generous to the servants, but while she gifted other jewelry, I don’t believe anyone else received an ornament of red jade.”

“Got it, thank you. You can go for now, but come by again a little later,” Kayla said, keeping her voice as light she could. Chujiao bowed and took her leave.

Wow, holy shit.

It was Chujiao after all. I can’t believe it was her!

Okay, Wenyuan, what do we do? If we just fire her it’ll be suspicious.

There was a surge of dissatisfaction from Wenyuan at the suggestion.

I get it, you don’t want to fire your childhood friend. Could we get her to leave in a manner that doesn’t screw her over then?

I suppose she would leave if she was getting married. Wenyuan sounded extremely reluctant at the idea. Kayla sighed.

That’s an option. Not a great one, but an option.

I don’t think she would agree to it.

You have any other ideas?

There was a resigned silence from Wenyuan. Kayla buried her head in her hands for a moment before turning to nullifying talismans for stress relief until Chujiao came back a while later.

“Young lord, Chujiao is here,” she called from outside the door. Kayla hurriedly pushed all the ripped-up paper into the trash can and closed its lid.

“Come in,” she replied. Kayla watched apprehensively as Chujiao entered. She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat at the anger and hurt that Wenyuan’s soul was emitting.

“Chujiao greets the young lord.”

“Jiao’er, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. How old are you this year?”

Chujiao looked slightly confused but answered without hesitation. “I’m 23, my lord.”

“Hm, 23 is a good age. Jiao’er, haven’t you ever thought of getting married?” Kayla gave Chujiao a questioning look.

Chujiao seemed extremely flustered, her face turning red. “No! I haven’t! I mean, I haven’t, my lord.”

Kayla nodded sagely. “Well, you should start thinking about it.”

Chujiao gave Kayla a horrified look. “What? But I-I’m in no rush, young lord. I don’t wish to be married yet.”

Kayla found herself echoing the Dowager’s words. “When a man is grown he should take a wife, when a woman is grown she should marry a husband. 23 is the perfect age to find a good match for you. Jiao’er, you’re an important person to me and I want to ensure your happiness as the official wife of a talented and responsible man,” Kayla said. “I’ll be sure to find you a good husband.”

To her surprise, Chujiao dropped to her knees tearfully. “Young lord, I don’t wish to leave!”

Yeah?!! Why, though, to get me killed?!

“Could it be there’s someone in this household you’re sworn to?” Kayla asked. “Let me know who he is and I’ll see to it that he gets promoted before your wedding.”

“That’s not it! Young lord, I’m truly grateful for your kind intentions, but I’ve seen my mother and sisters suffer in poverty after they were widowed or abandoned. I don’t wish to be provided for, I want to have skills and a career of my own. Chujiao wants to stay here rather than hand her life into someone else’s hands!” Chujiao pleaded.

Kayla sighed. With Wenyuan’s position, he could easily force Chujiao to marry whoever he chose, but neither she nor Wenyuan could bring themselves to do it.

“Alright then, Chujiao. I understand.”

Chujiao stiffened at the change in how Wenyuan addressed her, before lowering her head forlornly, tears still dripping off her face.

“Thank you, young lord! Chujiao is truly grateful!”

Kayla nodded. “I’m sorry for distressing you, go and wash your face.”

She watched Chujiao quickly retreat from the room, feeling a headache coming along. Wenyuan didn’t want Kayla to fire Chujiao, and Chujiao didn’t wish to marry. Was there no other way to move Chujiao out of the way?

An idea suddenly occurred to her.

Wenyuan, aren’t there female secretaries in the Outer Quarters?

Wenyuan hesitated before affirming it. There are, but there are very few of them.

Alright, since Chujiao wants to be a career woman, we should absolutely support her hopes and dreams. And also stop her from getting us killed. Let’s send her to the Outer Quarters!

Would that work?

Why wouldn’t it? We’re the young lord of the household, if we order an unimportant serving girl to join an unimportant position, it shouldn’t be too difficult. We just need to avoid anything that interferes or is directly related to the Grand Duke.

I guess that could potentially be a solution-

Then I’ll try that. There really wasn’t anything Kayla could do other than trying every option she had. Kayla stepped out of the room and stopped a serving girl who was hurrying past.

“Wait a moment, could you call Matron Li for me?” Kayla asked her.

The girl bowed, looking a little surprised. “Yes, my lord. I’ll do so immediately.”

“Please do that. If you’re late because of this, say that I directly ordered you not to be punished.” Kayla said.

“Thank you, my lord! I will go right now!”

Kayla watched the girl disappear down the corner and returned to her room. Within a few minutes, the girl was back, looking slightly out of breath.

“Young lord, please excuse me. Matron Li will arrive shortly,” she said. Kayla nodded and gave the girl a coin.

“Good work, you can go now.” The girl accepted the coin with a bright smile, thanking Kayla before hurrying off again. It didn’t take long for Matron Li to come knocking at the door.

“Young lord, please excuse me,” Matron Li said as she entered. “I heard your lordship was looking for me?”

“Matron Li! Great to see you,” Kayla said cheerfully as she faced the other spy in the household. Luckily for her, Matron Li had been described as a woman whose only grudge was against the Grand Duke and had actually been indebted to the late Princess. The novel had described Xianchun hiding his hand in Wenyuan’s death to appease Matron Li, so even if she was a mole, Kayla was fine leaving her be for now.

“Matron Li, I was thinking recently that Chujiao has grown into a bright young woman,” Kayla remarked.

“Indeed, your lordship’s observation is apt. Chujiao is known for her attentive and efficient work,” Matron Li agreed.

“I was thinking that her talents shouldn’t be confined to the position of a personal maid. I heard Chujiao mention she wanted to be a career woman rather than marrying, and I was rather moved by her determination. I’d like to help her become a secretary in the Outer Quarters. It has more room for advancement and better pay, so it should be the perfect chance for her,” Kayla said. “Does Matron Li know of any open positions?”

Matron Li didn’t show any surprise, bowing her head slightly as she responded. “Yes, my lord. An old secretary who works on household purchases recently retired. If you wish, I can arrange for Chujiao to enter the position.”

Given how large the household was with all its staff, there needed to be several secretaries and managers at any given moment. Kayla had a hunch there would be an opening, but Matron Li’s willingness to comply had surprised her.

“Will any official recommendation letter or application be needed?” Kayla asked.

“Not at all, my lord. Even if Chujiao is a woman, the young lord’s word will be enough if the position is not related to the Grand Duke’s work,” Matron Li said smoothly. Kayla nodded. That seemed to make sense since it wasn’t as though they had LinkedIn here, people were probably hired through word-of-mouth all the time. As long as it wasn’t suspicious enough to get Chujiao into trouble, Kayla was fine with whatever strings Matron Li planned to pull.

“Then please arrange it for me,” Kayla said. “Oh, and Chujiao’s a very devoted worker, so I’m worried she won’t be able to perform as well if she keeps thinking about the ongoings of the Inner Quarters. For the time being, don’t tell her anything about the Inner Quarters or my schedule. Let her find her feet in the Outer Quarters first. Even if she’s unhappy about it, it’ll be good for her career in the long run.”

“Understood, young lord,” Matron Li said, bowing her head. “Chujiao will surely be deeply moved by the young lord’s thoughtfulness and generosity.” Kayla waved away the compliment and thanked Matron Li before sending the older woman on her way. Once she was alone again, Kayla let out a deep sigh.

That should take care of it.

She had hoped to rely on Chujiao like Wenyuan did, though it seems now that the serving girl had played both of them for fools. Even so, there was a bond between them deepened by ten years of daily interaction, and Kayla couldn’t sever that. She hadn’t thought about it much with everything that had happened, but the soul merge had changed her in a fundamental way. Wenyuan’s memories were just as impactful to her as her own now, and it was increasingly difficult to ignore the effects of that. The only thing she couldn’t access was Wenyuan’s death, the memories having been completely blocked off. Even Wenyuan couldn’t access them, and Kayla suspected it was a mental defense mechanism to prevent the two of them from being too traumatized.

Kayla’s musings were interrupted by Chujiao announcing her arrival for the third time that day. Chujiao entered, eyes wide and dewy with tears.

Oh boy. Kayla uncomfortably avoided Chujiao’s gaze.

“Young lord, please pardon my intrusion,” Chujiao said in a shaky voice. “I heard that I was to be moved to the Outer Quarters.”

“Oh, did Matron Li tell you the news? I’m sure you’ll do great, Chujiao. It might be a bit difficult at first, but once you get used to the work, I’m certain you’ll have a lot more opportunities than you would here,” Kayla assured her.

Chujiao dropped to her knees. “Young lord, please let me remain at your side! I don’t have the ability to take on the position of a secretary, and I don’t dare to take on a role I can’t perform!”

“Don’t say that, Chujiao. I sincerely believe that you can do it. Listen, most secretaries don’t know how to perform the duties before they start anyways, you’re intelligent and a quick thinker, you’ll be just fine,” Kayla said firmly.

“Young lord! Did Chujiao do something wrong? I was rude to reject your kind intentions so quickly, but I truly meant no disrespect!” Chujiao pleaded.

Kayla sighed, her head aching dully. “Chujiao,” she said tiredly. “Please just try it out, alright? I recommended you for the post because you said you wanted to have a career. What kind of career can you have as a personal maid? Are you going to do housework all your life until you retire? If you become a secretary, no matter how low the position is, you can rise all the way up to a managerial position. Isn’t this perfect for you?”

“But-young master, I-” Chujiao protested.

Kayla quickly cut her off. “Listen, Chujiao. Take the post for a while, it’s fine if you want to stop later, but I’ll be very disappointed if you don’t even try. You’re more than capable enough to achieve a great deal, and I really want you to take this opportunity. You can always come back later, but chances like these don’t come along every day.” Regardless of whether or not that was true, Kayla didn’t have any intention of allowing Chujiao to refuse. Or return, for that matter, but that didn’t need to be said aloud.

Chujiao opened her mouth to protest again, but Kayla stopped her again. “Chujiao, even the great strategist Kongming himself accepted a job post after he was offered thrice. Don’t toss aside my good intentions without at least giving it a go.”

At the firm tone in Kayla’s voice, Chujiao’s shoulders slumped, the young woman bowing her head in a resigned manner. “Young master, I’m truly grateful,” she said miserably. “Please take care of yourself from now on.”

“You as well, Chujiao. I’m looking forward to your accomplishments,” Kayla said. Chujiao bowed again and left the room, silently crying as she closed the door. Kayla felt sorry for Chujiao a little, but ultimately she was satisfied with the results. At least one person involved in Wenyuan’s death was now taken care of.

---

一手遮天/Cover the sky with one hand: A Chinese proverb meaning that someone has excessive power, being able to dominate the populace and control the flow of information to their liking.

逆水行舟/Rowing a [small] boat against the current: Chinese proverb meaning to struggle against the dominant forces/trends with difficulty.

力挽狂澜/Struggle against the [wild/out of control] powers of darkness: Chinese proverb meaning to fight bravely against the evil of the dominant powers.

有勇有谋/Having [both] bravery and strategy: Chinese proverb meaning that someone is bold and intelligent, being able to both plan and act bravely.

却之不恭/Refusing repeatedly is disrespectful: Chinese proverb meaning that if you refuse repeatedly, it will be seen as disrespectful. 

戴绿帽/To wear a green hat: Chinese colloquialism describing getting cuckolded as being made to wear a green hat.

三顾茅庐/Visiting the grass hut three times: Chinese proverb referring to a passage in Romance of the Three Kingdoms where Liu Bei, King of Shu, visits the scholar Zhuge Liang, also known as Zhuge Kongming, three times at his home to recruit the man. Touched by Liu Bei's sincerity, Kongming becomes the strategist and later the Prime Minister of the Shu Kingdom. Kongming is well known for his cunning strategies and gambit pileups, as well as having a noble character.