After Rebirth, She Becomes the Revenge Queen
Chapter 157 - 156: Dark Alley!

Chapter 157: Chapter 156: Dark Alley!

Lian Rong entered the mansion and arrived at Xu Yin’s study.

He first handed over the document: "Someone from the Eastern Palace said that His Highness received your letter, and then went to the Empress’s palace to pay his respects, and immediately decided to switch Consort Yu to attend the grand ceremony."

Xu Yin, sitting behind the desk, glanced at him, closed his book, and said, "What did the Empress say?"

"I heard that the Empress was overjoyed and praised His Highness for his wisdom, even rewarding him with two pecks of pearls and a Ruyi scepter.

"After returning to the palace, His Highness gave the pearls to Consort Li and the Ruyi to Consort Yu."

Xu Yin leaned back into the chair, lightly tapping his fingers on the armrest: "Consort Li comes from a more prestigious background than Consort Yu and is favored by the Crown Prince, while Consort Yu, although lacking power, has already given birth to the Imperial Grandson.

"Who is more suitable to be the Crown Princess, the ministers might not know, perhaps not even the Crown Prince, but the Empress certainly knows.

"Now, although His Majesty’s health is still frail, many state affairs are assisted by the Empress, and many old ministers are persuaded by her. If His Majesty were to pass away and a new emperor ascends, the Empress will still play a crucial role in stabilizing the military spirit. Although she hasn’t directly meddled with Eastern Palace matters, the Crown Prince can’t ignore it.

"We should stop meddling in Eastern Palace matters from now on.

"The Imperial Censorate has recently changed its personnel. They are all appointed by the Emperor, and some were recommended by the Empress; they’re all tough individuals who dare to report grievances regardless of the cost.

"Don’t let them catch any faults, otherwise, they might accuse me, Xu Yin, of privately visiting the Crown Prince."

Lian Rong nodded: "As long as the grand ceremony proceeds smoothly, your duty will be fulfilled, and all the effort will be worth it."

Xu Yin waved his hand and took a sip of tea.

Lian Rong, however, did not leave: "There’s another matter I must report. I just met that Miss Fu."

"How was it?" Xu Yin did not lift his head, placed down the cup, and picked up the "Diamond Sutra" beside him to flip through it.

"I happened to pass by the Ning Family’s newly opened Wanbin Building, so I decided to stop by, and then saw Fu Zhen come out. To my surprise, the girl was very beautiful. Although her frame is frail, indicating some kind of deficiency, it couldn’t diminish her radiance."

Xu Yin lifted his gaze slightly, smirked, and lowered his head again: "A pleasant appearance is nothing special. What’s important is her intellect."

"Besides her appearance, the girl also possesses eyes that are extremely clear and bright. Clearly, she seems like a weak woman, but that gaze—"

Lian Rong recalled at that moment when he encountered Fu Zhen, and she turned around making eye contact with him: "It was too sharp. It flashed by quickly, but it couldn’t stay hidden."

Xu Yin remained silent for a moment: "With a father like Fu Yuan who lacks affection, it’s normal for her to display some fierceness after enduring so much oppression."

"Though that might make sense... "

At this point, Lian Rong hesitated to refute: "Perhaps you are right. Given the Fu Family’s situation back then, the Ning mother and daughter could either submit or fight back against their fate.

"They chose to resist, so it’s likely this Miss Fu also possesses some strength."

Xu Yin gazed into the distance without responding.

Lian Rong continued, "By the way, there hasn’t been any sign of Pei Zhan treating Fu Zhen particularly well. On the contrary, Fu Zhen has gotten quite close with the junior general of the Cheng family.

"Recently, Cheng Chili was even appointed as Fu Zhen’s martial arts instructor, after Mrs. Ning heard from the Cheng family that practicing martial arts could benefit her health, and Junior General Cheng volunteered himself."

Xu Yin thought for a moment: "That sounds reasonable."

Just as he was about to rise, a servant’s voice came in from outside the door: "Reporting to Master, the Princely Heir’s wife sent celebratory pastries from the Prince Manor, the young grandson is turning ten, and there will be a banquet in two days. The Commandery Princess asked me to inform you and await your decision."

Xu Yin paused and looked at Lian Rong.

Lian Rong walked out, taking the food box with the red paper seal: "Tell the messenger to report back to the Princely Heir’s wife that both the Commandery Princess and Master are aware and will definitely attend the banquet."

A house servant nodded, walked through the courtyard, and came to the outer courtyard, speaking to the middle-aged wet nurse who was with two maids: "The Commandery Princess and Master both know, there won’t be any errors."

Upon hearing this, the wet nurse asked, "Was this said by the Commandery Princess, or by the Assistant Minister?"

The house servant replied, "Both of my masters expressed this."

The wet nurse frowned slightly but said nothing more and turned to leave.

The door opened here, and they stepped into the small alley connecting the Xu Mansion and Prince Manor.

One end of the alley leads to the back street of the Prince Manor, and the other to the main street, usually empty except for its purpose of serving the two mansions, so even carriages and litters are unnecessary.

One maid behind said, "The message just now must have been from Vice Minister Xu. The Commandery Princess doesn’t even show a smile in front of the Princely Heir’s wife, how could she say such polite words?"

"Right, Vice Minister Xu is always courteous. When hasn’t he handled things gracefully?"...

"No manners!" The wet nurse turned and scolded, "Gossiping behind the masters’ backs, don’t you realize that if the Princess’s people hear you, they’ll surely slap you?"

The maids fell silent, but soon one of them added, "There’s no one here, no one will hear us. Besides, we’re people of the Princely Heir’s wife, naturally we speak for her, why would the wet nurse punish us?"

The wet nurse glared at them but remained silent.

The three walked on in silence until suddenly a wild cat dashed across, startling the maids who hit the lantern against the wall, extinguishing it.

A string of curses broke out, and after a few steps, the angry hiss of the wild cat erupted again, seemingly fighting.

The wet nurse took a deep breath: "Let’s go around to the front entrance."

Just as they turned, a furry creature squealed past their faces!

Instantly, their vision turned black and the faint lights were snuffed out!

Then came a flurry of screams, and the three slammed into each other, unsure of who hit whom. A sharp pain hit the back of their necks, and they all fell to the ground!

From above the alley, two figures swooped down, hoisting the three up while snatching the overturned lantern, then darted out of the alley mouth at a swift pace!

Under the trees below, a carriage opened its door, the timing impeccable, and in a flash, they disappeared into its interior, quickly turning out of the alley.

Behind in the alley, a gatekeeper from the Xu Mansion, hearing the commotion, opened the back door to take a look, only to see the alley completely empty, puzzledly closing the door once more.

Inside the carriage, Yang Tong pulled down his face mask: "Where are we going?"

Fu Zhen, also in night clothes, answered without hesitation: "Turn left and go straight to the end, there’s the moat. Half a mile forward there’s an abandoned temple! We’ll head there!"

Before setting out, the silver note from Mrs. Ning came in handy. As dusk fell, Zhang Cheng promptly procured the night clothes, and Fu Zhen, with her military background, was well-versed in the capital city’s layout. While they were executing their plan, she had already pinpointed their destination!

The carriage moved with the flow of people, arriving in no time.

At night, no one walked by the moat, and no one ventured near the abandoned River God Temple bereft of incense!

Entering the temple, Fu Zhen instructed Yang Tong to guard the entrance while lighting a fire stick to order Zhang Cheng: "Remove an old one and bring it down! Leave the other two as they are, don’t touch them!"

(Headache... If someone hadn’t voted, I probably would’ve had to take a leave today.)