The Grand Duke waved his hand, and the servants in the corridor quickly scurried away. His whip was already on Wenyuan’s desk, and the Grand Duke was blazing with rage.

“How can I help you, grandfather?” Kayla asked. Even as her heart rate increased, she tried to keep her tone light.

"You little whelp, do you know what you’ve done?!” the Grand Duke snapped at her. Kayla tilted her head questioningly.

“What’s wrong, grandfather? You look so troubled,” she said.

“How dare you act so rudely before the Secretariat Director?” The Grand Duke shouted. “You’ve disgraced this household!”

Wenyuan’s anger roared inside her chest at the injustice of the accusation. Kayla’s voice cracked as she replied. “I disgraced this household? He was the one who acted rudely!”

“You arrogant brat!” The Grand Duke shouted angrily, grabbing the whip off the desk. Wenyuan’s rage combined with her own and erupted into a mess of emotion.

“You said he wouldn’t touch me! You promised!” She shouted back. A stinging feeling rose through her throat and nose, and Kayla was vaguely aware that she might have started crying.

The Grand Duke paused for a second, looking rather shocked.

“Why? Didn’t he tell you? Didn’t he say what he did? Why are you blaming me when he was the one who broke the promise first?!” Kayla demanded. The Grand Duke’s eyes narrowed.

“He put his hands on you?” The Grand Duke asked. Kayla nodded.

“Then you should have come to me instead of acting so rashly!” The Grand Duke snapped. “What were you even hoping to accomplish here? I could’ve wrapped this up quietly, all you’ve done is announce it to the world!”

Even if she hadn’t expected anything, Kayla was still stunned into silence at the Grand Duke’s reaction. Wenyuan’s soul was emitting a pained, furious noise, and if he had a body, she was sure he would be crying.

“I’m your grandson,” Kayla said in a shocked tone. “I’m your family! How could you take his side over mine?!”

“You’re a goddamn disgrace!” The Grand Duke shouted. “What did you even do for him to act like that? He has 7 concubines! 7 of them! Do you think his appetite is still unfilled? Why the hell did you have to overreact like that?!”

“Fuck off!” Kayla shouted back in a rage-fueled frenzy. “You fucking coward! When most people sell their daughters for glory, they at least have the fucking guts to admit it! You send out your grandson and you don’t even have the balls to own up!”

Her face exploded into pain as the Grand Duke punched her. Kayla crashed to the floor, glaring up at him through her tears as the Grand Duke seethed at her.

“Fuck you,” Kayla hissed.

The Grand Duke brought the whip down. Kayla instinctively curled up, shielding her head as the Grand Duke began to whip her. She didn’t count to a hundred this time. Her soul seemed to blaze as Wenyuan’s anger melded with her own, their white-hot rage coiling like a hot iron chain inside her stomach. They were experiencing it together, their fury seeming to wash out everything else, even the pain on her back. Wenyuan’s presence seemed to be shifting and combining further with her own as their emotions synchronized.

Xianchun, even if you don’t destroy him, we’ll destroy him. The silent vow carried them through to the end of the beating. The Grand Duke let the whip clatter to the floor, chest heaving as he panted with exertion. With one last hateful kick to the ribs, the Grand Duke stalked out of the room.

Kayla uncurled, wincing in pain as the rush of anger subsided a little. The Grand Duke had really gone all out, and Wenyuan’s entire back was bleeding and raw. Kayla grit her teeth, hurriedly pulling out the talismans from her inner robes before the doctor arrived. With immense effort, she pulled her arms behind her back to activate the talismans over her left shoulder, nearly blacking out from the pain. With Wenyuan’s steady encouragement, she managed to finish and shove the ripped talismans under the seat cushion of the chair next to her before the doctor scurried in on the heels of Housekeeper Wang.

She barely registered their presence, allowing herself to be physically lifted onto the chair in a pain-filled haze by the doctor as Housekeeper Wang got to work cleaning up the blood, but was still wracked with anxiety as the doctor began healing her wounds.

The talismans worked perfectly. Kayla let out a sharp sigh of relief, even as her shoulder ached painfully. The doctor used pretty low-tier spells, and never so much as used magical scans since all of Kayla’s wounds tended to be pretty visible. That had left Kayla with some room to work with.

Kayla had combined the blemish-hiding talisman and the magical cosmetic setting-spray talisman to hide part of the wounds on her shoulder, further combining it with a clothes mending spell to fix the rips over the area where the whip had landed, and a preserving spell that kept things in the exact same condition as it currently was in to prevent further bleeding. It was a simple and stupid combination that fell apart under any close scrutiny, but it worked because of how nervous the doctor was with the Grand Duke’s domestic abuse, and how eager the poor man was to hurry up and get out of here.

Once he was done, the doctor stepped back and bowed, and Housekeeper Wang moved forward to help Kayla change. She choked down a whimper of pain as she moved her shoulder while changing into new robes, and quickly shooed Wang out of the room. She gasped in relief, staggering over to where she’d placed the pain relief talisman under her pillow. Once she ripped it in half, a wave of blessed numbness swept over her. Kayla let out a soft laugh at the sudden absence of pain. She removed the ripped talismans under the seat cushion and took the remaining talismans from her desk. She had another two pain relief talismans prepared since each one only lasted six hours.

Please let this work out, she pleaded to whatever god was listening. After I’ve gone through all this trouble, I’ll seriously cry if it doesn’t work. So what if she cried a lot anyway? Kayla hadn’t even had a mental breakdown yet. She gingerly laid down on the bed, carefully positioning herself on her side to avoid her left shoulder, and was asleep within moments.

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

Kayla awoke to excruciating pain from her left shoulder and hastily ripped the pain relief talismans by her pillow. She glanced furtively at the clock. It was almost 6 am, and she had at least another few hours before meeting with the Empress Dowager. The cosmetic spell had worn off, but the preservation spell was meant for days, if not weeks.

Even with the pain relief spell, her left shoulder still tingled unpleasantly. Kayla sighed and turned to nullifying household spells as stress relief.

Wenyuan was the favored grandson of the Empress Dowager, but he didn’t have any actual power of his own. Kayla had no way to remove Yu Bianfu with her own hands, but she could use the Dowager’s power. Even better, she was unlikely to be suspected for it, since Wenyuan had always been a slightly hedonistic but not very crafty person. One could say he was naive and stupid, or that he avoided facing his issues head-on, but the point was that even the Dowager who witnessed countless gambits and ploys for power within the Inner Palace would not suspect that Kayla was trying to target the female general.

Kayla went to the Palace after breakfast, once again going through the court meeting. Neither Xianchun nor his new friends made a move, so either Xianchun doubted Kayla’s intel or they were still investigating, and the court was dismissed after an uneventful meeting. She quickly left the hall, despite a strange feeling that someone was staring into her back.

Making an excuse about having something to tend to at home, Kayla got the day off from Minister Xie and got back on the carriage. She ignored the surprise from Wenyuan’s guards and ordered the horseman to take her back to the household. Kayla returned back to her room and waited. Everything would have been for naught if the Empress Dowager didn’t send General Yu, and Kayla began to regret choosing a plan that hinged on so many uncertainties.

She had hoped it would work because it was so out-of-character for the novel’s characterization of Wenyuan. But now everything was in the hands of someone who had no idea how important her next decisions were for Kayla. Kayla groaned softly, slowly lowering her head to the desk, carefully keeping her left shoulder still.

Wenyuan, tell me it’ll work, she pleaded.

It’ll work. Wenyuan sounded very sure of himself. I would never be able to think of something like this, much less carry it out. If we’ve gone to this extent, it has to work.

Kayla wasn’t sure that was how things went but was still comforted by Wenyuan’s confidence. To her immense relief, a servant came knocking at the door to announce General Yu’s arrival.

“Let her in,” Kayla said immediately.

“Pardon, my lord?” The servant asked quizzically. It wasn’t customary for guests to enter the Inner Quarters, and Yu Bianfu had already transgressed upon the Grand Duke by storming in last time.

“Did I stutter?” Kayla asked, raising an eyebrow at him. The servant bowed and left to deliver Kayla’s message. Within a few minutes, there was a short knock on the door before it flew open. Kayla looked up at Yu Bianfu with a bored expression.

“Good afternoon, young lord, please pardon my intrusion,” Yu Bianfu said with a smile.

“General Yu, are you making it a hobby to burst into my room?” Kayla asked flatly. Yu Bianfu raised an eyebrow.

“But didn’t you ask me in, young lord? Or did Bianfu misunderstand?” She asked with mock nervousness. Kayla sighed and stood up.

“You’re here to escort me to the Empress Dowager’s palace then?” Kayla asked, not bothering to banter with Bianfu. Bianfu gave a mocking bow, gesturing grandly towards the exit.

“As you wish, my lord,” she said cheerfully. Kayla made her way back to the carriage with Bianfu nonchalantly strolling behind her.

“By the way, young lord, are you feeling unwell? I thought you had work today,” Bianfu asked. Kayla shook her head but didn’t bother explaining. Kayla got into the carriage without saying anything further, continuously reassuring herself on the way to the palace.

When Kayla entered the Empress Dowager’s quarters, she was immediately greeted by the Dowager cheerfully calling Wenyuan’s name.

“Oh, Wenyuan’s here! Come and sit,” the Dowager called affectionately, waving for Kayla to stop bowing. Kayla happily obliged, freezing as she realized that Xianchun was also there. She bowed her head and stiffly greeted him.

“Come and sit, cousin,” Xianchun said. He was evidently trying to be less stiff, but the words still came out in a formal tone. Kayla mechanically joined them, heart pounding furiously.

Oh shit, why is he here?! She half considered calling off the plan completely, but the plot had already begun, and Kayla had no idea how many more chances she would get.

Do we continue? Wenyuan asked nervously.

Kayla steeled herself. Yes. Even if it doesn’t work, the Dowager will probably still extend her protection over us. One way or another, we can’t let go of this opportunity!

She smiled as the Dowager pushed some snacks towards her, and cheerfully began conversing with Wenyuan’s grandmother. Xianchun’s eyes seemed to be following her, increasing Kayla’s anxiety. Kayla braced herself and nullified the preservation spell, and then the pain relief spell.

The pain was immediate, and Kayla had to squeeze her eyes shut and clench her jaw to keep from crying out. It would take quite a while longer for the wound on her shoulder to bleed through the multiple layers of robes, but Kayla had to act in a believable way to avoid suspicion once the injury was discovered.

“Wenyuan, what’s the matter?” The Dowager asked in concern.

“Tea’s too hot,” Kayla choked out. “Oof, that was scalding. I think my tongue’s fully cooked now.”

“Slow down and blow on your drink,” the Dowager scolded affectionately. “Spit it out next time, don’t just force it down or you’ll burn your throat.”

“Got it, grandmother,” Kayla croaked. She breathed in deeply and continued the conversation, but the blinding pain from her back made it more and more difficult to act normally. Sweat began to bead on her head and back, and she could feel the cool drops trickling down.

“Cousin, is something wrong?” Xianchun asked. Kayla blinked and looked at him. Xianchun looked at her with a small frown. “You don’t look very well.”

“I’m fine,” Kayla forced out a smile. “Thank you, cousin.” The dampness on her shoulder was slowly increasing, but she wasn’t sure if it was visible yet.

“Goodness, young lord! Your shoulder!” One of the dowager’s ladies-in-waiting gasped. Kayla guessed it was visible after all.

“What?” She asked in false bewilderment, trying to twist her head to look. The lady-in-waiting rushed forward to lightly press her handkerchief against the dark spot on Kayla’s shoulder, eliciting a pained groan. The Dowager made an alarmed expression, getting up to see for herself. Xianchun stood up as well, a strange look on his face.

“Good gods, what is this, Wenyuan?” The Dowager asked, looking at the blood in horror. “Hurry and call for the Royal Physician!” Kayla forced herself to breathe in and out slowly despite the anxiety she felt.

“It’s nothing!” Kayla protested.

“When on earth did you get injured like this?” The Dowager asked in an urgent tone. She gently wiped the sweat on Kayla’s face. “Wenyuan, what on earth happened?!”

Kayla shook her head and remained resolutely silent. Yu Bianfu stepped forward with a confused look on her face from where she had stood near the entrance of the room, just in time for the Dowager to turn a fierce glare at her.

“General Yu, you escorted him here and you don’t know what’s going on?!” The Dowager snapped. Kayla sensed her chance and went for it.

“Grandmother, it’s not-it’s not General Yu’s fault,” Kayla stumbled over her words and her voice was shaking at the thought of framing Bianfu in front of Xianchun, but the Dowager only seemed to take it as a sign of Wenyuan’s pain.

“Child, who did this to you?” The Dowager asked gently. Kayla had to turn her face away from the sincere concern radiating off the old woman to shield her conscience.

“A c-country has its laws and a family has its rules, it’s not like General Yu could have interfered,” Kayla grit out. “I-I wouldn’t know what to do if I walked in on something like this either.” A look of anger flashed over the Dowager’s face, and she turned a cold gaze onto Bianfu, who was staring at Wenyuan in shock.

“General Yu, step out for now. I’ll summon you later,” the Dowager said icily. Her tone softened into a gentle voice as she turned back towards Kayla. “Alright, Wenyuan, the Royal Physician’s here, it’s going to be alright,” the Dowager soothed her.

The Royal Physician quickly rushed over to Kayla and healed her shoulder. Kayla sighed in relief as the pain disappeared.

“Young lord, would you allow this servant to check your shoulder?” The Royal Physician asked. Kayla hesitated, feeling weird about stripping in front of so many people.

“Escort the young lord to the side chamber to be examined,” the Dowager ordered. Her lady-in-waiting quickly helped Kayla to her feet and guided her into the attached room. Kayla undressed with the older woman’s help, showing the Royal Physician her back. He began a magical scan, before stepping back with a complicated expression.

“Young lord, please pardon my asking this, but did you sustain other injuries within the past few days?” He asked. Kayla stiffened. Had the Physician noticed something?

“What kind of question is that?” Kayla asked accusingly.

“Please pardon my rudeness, young lord,” the physician replied, bowing his head. “I couldn’t help but notice that there were traces of multiple healing and pain relief spells. I mean no offense, my lord.” Kayla breathed in sharply.

Shit, did he realize I kept the wound on purpose?

“You must have seen it wrong,” she said, her voice wavering a little bit. Kayla cursed her inability to hide her reactions, but neither the Royal Physician nor the lady-in-waiting looked suspicious, instead looking slightly worried.

“Can I get dressed now?” Kayla asked. The Royal Physician bowed.

“Of course, my lord,” he said. “Please excuse this servant.” Kayla nodded and he quickly left the room, the lady-in-waiting helping Kayla get dressed again. The blood was gone from her clothes, the older woman having discreetly cleaned them off with spell talismans while Kayla was being examined.

“Would you like to lay down for a while?” The lady-in-waiting asked. Kayla shook her head, nervous at what was going on in the other room now that only Xianchun was left there. Kayla had gone through all this trouble just to make Bianfu seem like she wasn’t performing her duties properly. Essentially, Kayla was framing Bianfu this time with the general’s actions last time. Bianfu had withheld the domestic abuse she witnessed to blackmail Wenyuan, but Kayla had no qualms about revealing it to the Empress Dowager. Though Kayla wasn’t sure what Bianfu would have done if the Grand Duke hadn’t sent for the doctor, it was hardly untrue that Bianfu walked in on Wenyuan getting beaten within an inch of his life and hadn’t done a thing to get him healed or help him. Even if Kayla was twisting the truth dramatically, Bianfu couldn’t fully deny that it had happened.

Now, not only was Bianfu someone who withheld important information from the Empress Dowager about the welfare of her favorite grandson, she was also someone who didn’t even get him a healer. Even if Bianfu wasn’t punished for it, she would be under much more scrutiny after this happened before so many people.

Kayla re-entered the room with the lady-in-waiting walking a few paces behind her. Upon her arrival, the Royal Physician who had been whispering softly to the Dowager stepped away hurriedly, bowing towards the Dowager before scurrying away. Kayla’s heart skipped a beat in fear at the Dowager’s angry expression.

Shit, did it backfire?

Thankfully, the Dowager’s expression melted into one of complete concern as Kayla approached. “Wenyuan, why didn’t you go get some rest?” She called out worriedly. Kayla shyly bowed her head.

“I’m sorry for the disturbance, grandmother,” she said. “I’m fine now, really.”

The Dowager gently placed a hand on Kayla’s arm, looking at her sadly. “That’s good, my child.”

“Cousin, are you sure you’re alright?” Xianchun asked.

Kayla glanced at him. He wore a concerned expression, but there was something unreadable in his eyes that made Kayla nervous. After all, she had framed his friend right in front of him.

“Yes, thank you,” Kayla replied. “I do apologize for ruining the mood like this.”

“Not at all,” Xianchun said, his eyes narrowing briefly before his expression went back to normal. The Empress Dowager fussed over Kayla for a while, until they reached the time when Wenyuan would normally leave the palace, but the Dowager seemed reluctant to let Kayla leave. After a long moment of deliberation, the Dowager bid her goodbyes to Wenyuan and Xianchun.

Kayla walked out, extremely conscious of Xianchun’s heavy silence next to her.

“I’ll take you back, cousin,” Xianchun said. Kayla glanced at him in surprise.

“That’s alright, please don’t waste your time on these things,” she quickly replied.

“No, I’ll see to it you arrive safely to your household,” Xianchun said firmly.

He probably wants to chew me out but can’t do it when so many eyes are watching.

Resigning herself to her fate, Kayla subduedly accepted. Xianchun got into the carriage before Kayla and settled into a seat as though he owned the vehicle. Kayla watched him apprehensively as they departed, waiting for the prince to start accusing her.

Instead, he frowned pensively and turned to her with a confused expression.

“Why did you do that?” Xianchun asked, his voice surprisingly quiet and calm.

“What are you talking about?” Kayla asked back.

Xianchun looked at her with a complicated expression. “You were trying to trap Bianfu, weren’t you?”

Kayla tilted her head. “Is that what you think this is?”

Xianchun shook his head disbelievingly. “Is it not? I could hardly believe that you of all people would use a strategy like this, but what on earth for?”

“What I said was hardly untrue, even if the timeline is a little skewed,” Kayla said candidly. “But I don’t think that Bianfu was undeserving of it.”

Speaking of, why is he so certain it’s on purpose? Kayla thought back to Xianchun’s intelligence network and mentally shook her head. Never mind, he probably already knows what happened last night, it wouldn’t be hard to put two and two together.

“Why do you think that?” Xianchun asked. He didn’t seem particularly angry or accusatory, even less so than before. Had she surprised him that much?

“She wanted to blackmail me for getting beaten by my grandfather,” Kayla said. “That’s reason enough. First of all, who even does that? That’s just shitty to begin with. I also remember telling you that I don’t care if people gossip about this, it’s not like I’m the one who goes around beating people.”

She took in a deep breath and continued feeding the prince half-truths. “Second of all, I was beaten because I tried to do the right thing. It took me a lot of effort to muster the courage to do that, and she was going to use it against me. Did you think I would take that lying down?”

Xianchun looked at her with an unreadable expression for a moment, before letting out a long sigh. “What would you do if I told you she threatened you on my orders?” Xianchun asked.

I know she did, alright? She killed Wenyuan on your orders too, asshole.

“I would wonder why an Imperial Prince would stoop to using such methods,” Kayla replied after a long pause. “And you, my prince? Do you think I'm a petty person?”

Xianchun looked at Kayla thoughtfully for a long moment, until Kayla cleared her throat to show her discomfort. “I heard there was a large commotion at Liu Hongyu’s household last night,” Xianchun finally said. “Do you know anything about that?”

“No, not at all,” Kayla replied. “I heard that Lord Liang has been drinking with Minister Jun often. Do you know anything about that?”

Xianchun chuckled at that and shook his head again. “Zhao Wenyuan, I’ve really underestimated you,” he said, a tinge of amusement in his voice. “I’m beginning to take an interest in you.”

Is that a death flag or a good sign?! Speak clearly, you asshole!

Kayla chose not to reply, biting back the annoyed retort on the tip of her tongue. The carriage came to a stop in front of the Grand Duke’s household, and the two of them got off.

“Well, I’ve made it back home safely, thanks to your highness,” Kayla said, giving Xianchun a polite bow. He nodded before getting into the carriage without another word. Kayla as the carriage rolled away into the distance.

After everything she’d done, she still didn’t have any idea of how much progress she was making. She could only hope that it was enough.

---

Cultural Notes

卖女求荣/To sell your daughter for glory: A Chinese proverb that is used as a derogatory term to describe someone who uses his daughter to obtain political or economical benefit, usually by offering his daughter to someone in a higher position.

御医/Royal Physician: A doctor who works exclusively for the Imperial Palace, though they may be sent outside of the palace on the orders of the Emperor, Empress, or Empress Dowager.

国有国法、家有家规/A country has its laws and a family has its rules: A Chinese proverb describing that both the country and the family has a set of governing rules. Due to co-living with extended families being the norm, it was common for clans to have their own familial rules that usually include a specific and rather extensive set of restrictions and punishments.

苦肉计/Bitter[ness of the] Flesh Strategy: China's equivalent of the Wounded Gazelle Gambit.