Chapter 222: Driving a wedge between allies
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Xu Mansion, in the night, someone was up and lit an oil lamp.
The bed on the side was empty, and tonight, Xu Zhiheng slept in the study again.
He Xinying walked to the table, picked up an outer garment and draped it over herself, watching the flickering wick in the oil lamp, her expression complicated.
She didn’t know when it started, but it seemed there was an invisible barrier between her and Xu Zhiheng. To be precise, since the last palace banquet, Xu Zhiheng had become particularly strange. Later, when she saw the Marquis Wuan He Yan, who shared the same name and surname with her elder sister, at the Yuhua Temple, shortly after returning home, He Rufei came to visit her. It was more of a probe than a visit.
Some things, once suspicion arose, could not be easily dismissed. He Xinying could feel that there was a big secret hidden in the Xu family, perhaps related to her deceased elder sister, or perhaps… related to the He family as well.
She stood by the window, and the winter day in Shuojing was extremely cold. On such a cold night, the servants had all gone back to their rooms to sleep. He Xinying looked at the bare branches outside the window, pondered for a long time, and finally put on a cloak. She picked up an oil lamp and left the room.
Her movements were very light, walking very carefully, not disturbing anyone nearby. The night guards of the Xu Mansion were stationed outside the main courtyard and wouldn’t come in. The light of the oil lamp was dim, only barely illuminating the path underfoot. He Xinying walked to an abandoned courtyard.
This dilapidated courtyard was where her deceased elder sister, He Yan, had lived. Even after He Yan’s death, Xu Zhiheng preserved the original appearance of the courtyard. Last time, He Xinying saw Xu Zhiheng frantically searching through the drawers in this courtyard. She didn’t see what Xu Zhiheng was looking for and was discovered. This time, with no one around temporarily, she wanted to take a look.
Although no one lived in this courtyard now, the snow inside the courtyard had been swept clean. She walked to the front of He Yan’s room, and the door was not locked. With a gentle push, the door opened.
He Xinying walked in.
The room emitted a musty odor, cold and damp. He Xinying was slightly surprised. Wasn’t it said that Xu Zhiheng often missed his elder sister? If he truly missed her elder sister, why was this room not cleaned? Covered in dust, it looked like it hadn’t been visited for a long time, as if it was avoided.
Holding the oil lamp, He Xinying looked around.
This was a woman’s boudoir. In front was a shelf with some inexpensive vases and decorations casually placed on it. In the middle was a small table covered with a thick layer of dust. Even the teacups and teapots had spiderwebs on them. Further inside was a large wooden bed. Compared to the surroundings, this bed seemed cleaner with a thin blanket on it. The room looked desolate and deserted, not as warm and delicate as an ordinary daughter’s boudoir. Upon entering, a chilling feeling swept over.
Even though in the He family, He Yan got married shortly after returning and didn’t live here for long, the boudoir before her marriage was meticulously arranged. If this was indeed the room where He Yan had lived in the Xu Mansion, preserving its original appearance, He Xinying couldn’t help but think that her late elder sister might not have lived as happily in the He family as the rumors suggested.
Even if it was because He Yan was blind and too many items in the room could trip her, the furnishings and tools here were too plain and perfunctory. There were no interesting things to alleviate boredom. A blind person living alone in such a large room, if it were herself, she would probably have been driven insane long ago.
He Xinying walked to the table. Last time, she saw Xu Zhiheng rummaging through drawers here, and she pulled out a wooden drawer. As expected, it was empty. It was reasonable to think that if there was anything valuable, Xu Zhiheng probably took it.
She didn’t realize that, unconsciously, she had put Xu Zhiheng in an opposing position. The reliance and trust on this gentle and considerate husband were replaced by vigilance and suspicion. Even the affection and warmth from the past, in He Xinying’s eyes, had become hypocritical.
He Xinying walked around the room, checking all the wooden drawers and shelves, but found nothing useful. Having stayed outside for too long, and with the cold wind biting into her knees, she rubbed her numb legs. She glanced at the relatively clean bed and sat down.
The room was illuminated only by the dim light of the oil lamp in her hand, and sitting here, it inexplicably felt eerie. When it quieted down, He Xinying somewhat regretted coming here. What was she doing in this empty place? With no one around, hearing that the soul of the deceased would linger where they lived during their lifetime, if her elder sister were here… Although they were blood relatives, they were not particularly close before. Moreover, encountering a ghost at night would be frightening.
He Xinying couldn’t help but grip the bedpost, a habit from her childhood. When she was young and timid, she used to sleep with her mother. When she grew a bit older and couldn’t sleep with her mother anymore, having her own courtyard, He Xinying was still afraid when alone. During the scariest times, she would press against the inside of the bed, tightly gripping the bedpost against the wall, silently praying for the protection of the bodhisattva.
Today was no exception.
However, as her fingers slid down the bedpost, she suddenly felt something was off. He Xinying was startled, then reached out and touched the same spot again, sensing something. She climbed to the head of the bed, holding the oil lamp and looking inside. She suddenly discovered that on the side of the bedpost facing the wall, a piece of wood was slightly protruding.
Being observant, she pressed on the wood, and the wooden board fell down, revealing a yellow scroll, seemingly inscribed with something. Her heart raced rapidly, only understanding that this item, hidden here, must be very important. Perhaps what Xu Zhiheng was looking for earlier was this.
Here, it was uncertain when someone would come over. He Xinying exerted force and pulled out a book-like object from the deliberately hollowed bedpost. She quickly concealed the book in her arms, hastily closed the bedpost, and cautiously left, holding the oil lamp.
The surroundings were eerily quiet. He Xinying secretly returned to her own room before daring to take out the book from her arms. By the dim light of the oil lamp, she took a look. It was indeed a scroll. She flipped through a few pages and froze. It was… a military book?
It recorded various military strategies, accompanied by notes and opinions written by the reader. Judging from the handwriting, it was definitely not Xu Zhiheng’s. Moreover, no one in the Xu family was engaged in martial arts, and considering the secrecy, being in He Yan’s room, no matter how you looked at it, this military book was left by her deceased elder sister.
But… how could He Yan read a military book?
If it were her cousin He Rufei, it would be more plausible, but He Rufei’s military books were not hidden in the Xu family, let alone hidden so carefully.
He Xinying held the military book, unable to fathom what was going on. At this moment, suddenly, there was someone’s voice outside. He Xinying was startled and quickly blew out the oil lamp. She hid the book in the bottommost drawer under the table and walked to the couch to lie down. Just as she lay down, there was a maid knocking on the door, “Madam? Madam?”
“What’s the matter?” He Xinying pretended to reply sleepily.
There was silence outside for a while, and someone said, “Thieves entered the courtyard. Master asked us to inform Madam.”
“Thieves?” He Xinying felt a bit nervous but had to pretend to look surprised. She put on an outer garment and opened the door for the maid, asking in confusion, “How could there be thieves in the mansion?”
“I don’t know.” The maid seemed relieved to see that He Xinying was indeed peacefully in her room and said, “Master is interrogating the little thief now.”
“There’s a thief?” He Xinying was somewhat nervous but still had to feign surprise. She asked, “How did thieves enter the mansion?”
“I don’t know.” The maid saw that He Xinying was indeed peacefully in her room and seemed to relax. She said, “Master is interrogating the little thief now.”
“I’ll go take a look.” He Xinying said. She closed the door and followed the maid to the main hall.
In the main hall, Xu Zhiheng sat in the middle chair, surrounded by a group of maids and servants. On the floor, a man dressed like a servant kept kowtowing to Xu Zhiheng, “Master, spare my life, spare my life. I really didn’t take anything, didn’t take anything!”
Xu Zhiheng’s face was dark as if water might drip from it. He stared at the man and said, “Stop the nonsense. Hand over what you stole from the Madam’s bedpost, or today, you’ll die here!”
When he said this, his eyes were malevolent and fierce, completely different from his previous gentle and calm demeanor. He Xinying was startled, and hearing the words “bedpost,” she became even more nervous. She forced a smile and walked to Xu Zhiheng’s side, “Husband, what’s going on?”
Seeing He Xinying, Xu Zhiheng’s expression eased slightly. He pointed to the man on the ground and said, “This person sneaked into Ah He’s former courtyard stealthily at night, and he stole Ah He’s old things from the bedpost. Extremely hateful!”
Fuwang — the man on the ground hastily explained, “Master, it really wasn’t me. When I found the bedpost, it was already empty. I really didn’t take anything from inside!”
Fuwang also felt extremely bitter in his heart. Today, he took advantage of the night when no one was around, thinking it was a good opportunity to secretly sneak into the Madam’s room. He intended to search for old items for that mysterious person. After searching the room, he did find a place different from elsewhere—namely, the bedpost near the inner room. He thought there might be some secrets inside, but to his disappointment, it was empty. Before he could regret it, he was discovered by Xu Zhiheng, not knowing when the commotion alerted people outside.
“Master, it really wasn’t me who did it. If you don’t believe me… search my body, search where I live… I’m innocent!”
He Xinying watched as this man kept kowtowing and pleading, feeling nervous. It seemed like this man had become her scapegoat. However, if it were just ordinary belongings, considering Xu Zhiheng’s temperament, there was no need for such harsh punishment. At most, he could be punished with a beating and driven out of the mansion. Yet, the way it looked now seemed like they were pursuing him relentlessly. Could it be that Xu Zhiheng knew what was inside the bedpost? But that was merely an ordinary-looking military book!
He Xinying didn’t quite understand.
“I see you’re full of lies, not a single word of truth. In that case, staying here won’t reveal any reasons. I’ll hand you over to the officials for disposal.” Xu Zhiheng said coldly.
As soon as these words were spoken, Fuwang’s expression changed drastically. Historically, servants handed over to the officials by their masters mostly ended up dead, and their deaths were particularly torturous. He had only been greedy for money and hadn’t thought of risking his own life. Moreover, he was wrongly accused. Considering he didn’t take anything, in this situation, the most important thing was to preserve his own life. Fuwang begged, “Please, Master, don’t hand me over to the officials. I was just acting on someone else’s behalf to steal things. I’ll tell Master everything I know, can Master spare my life?”
“Acting on someone else’s behalf?” Xu Zhiheng looked at him.
“That’s right, that’s right,” Fuwang knocked his head so hard that it made a thumping sound. “It’s just that someone asked me to do this, and even with a hundred guts, I wouldn’t dare to steal things in the mansion!”
Xu Zhiheng stared at Fuwang, as if trying to determine whether his words were true or false. After a moment, he said to the people around, “All of you, go out. I have something to ask this thief.”
He Xinying glanced at the servant on the ground and said, “Husband, I…”
“You also go out.” Xu Zhiheng’s attitude was resolute.
He Xinying didn’t say anything, withdrew, and only after the door closed did she look in the direction of the room. At some point, her palms were already moist with sweat.
That military scroll… what exactly is going on?
Inside the room, Xu Zhiheng asked, “Speak, who told you to come to the Xu family to steal things?”
“It… it was General He,” the servant, Fuwang, replied.
“Do you dare to lie to me?” Xu Zhiheng was furious.
Frightened, Fuwang immediately knelt down again. “This little one dares not deceive the master. The person who instructed me said their master is General He!”
Xu Zhiheng’s hand clenched into a fist, suppressing his emotions. “Why did He Rufei ask you to come here and steal things?”
“This little one doesn’t know,” Fuwang wiped the sweat from his forehead, “they gave me some silver, and for a moment, I lost my mind. I thought, just stealing some things and inquiring about a person, it’s not something morally wrong. So, I agreed.”
“Inquiring about a person?” Xu Zhiheng narrowed his eyes. “What exactly do they want you to do?”
Fuwang only hoped to be spared his life, disregarding everything else, and decided to reveal everything he knew. “They wanted me to find some old items from the late Madam and people related to her before her death. When I entered the mansion, Madam had already passed away, and I couldn’t find anyone. I just thought maybe I could steal something.” He was cunning, only mentioning that he was caught before he could do anything for them, completely omitting the earlier incident involving Qin Momo. “Tonight, when I sneaked into Madam’s room, I hadn’t found anything when I was discovered. But, sir, the things in the bedpost were not taken by me. When I found the bedpost, it was already empty!”
Although what he said seemed truthful, Xu Zhiheng still remained skeptical.
“Please spare this little one’s life. I won’t dare to do it again!” Fuwang pleaded.
The usually soft-spoken and lenient Master Xu, however, did not respond promptly today. Fuwang, daring to look up, saw the man’s face half-lit by the lamplight, one half appearing ordinary, and the other half twisted like an evil ghost, sending a chill down his spine.
After an unknown period had passed, just when Fuwang felt that his life was hanging by a thread, the person in charge spoke. Xu Zhiheng said, “Since you claim that General He entrusted you with a task, I will spare your life. However…” his voice lowered, “the next time they invite you to meet, you must tell them that there was no discovery, and you cannot disclose the fact that I found out about you.”
Was he being asked to deceive the people from He Rufei’s side? A fleeting doubt crossed Fuwang’s mind, and he quickly lowered his head, expressing gratitude with tears in his eyes, “Thank you, sir! I will definitely do a good job for you!”
Xu Zhiheng watched the servant kneeling and bowing, but remained silent.
He Rufei actually sent someone to investigate the late He Yan’s belongings in secret. What was the purpose? Did he want to find some leverage to threaten himself?
Yes, a few days ago, there was a big fire in Xianchang Academy, and coincidentally, what was burned was the writing of the younger “He Rufei” from his youth. When the news reached the Xu family, Xu Zhiheng guessed that it must have been He Rufei’s doing. It seemed that He Rufei was not as calm as he appeared on the surface with the appearance of his cousin with the same name and surname.
The He family had too many vulnerabilities: Second Madam He, He Rufei himself, and the two brothers, He Yuansheng and He Yuanliang. In comparison, the Xu family had very few handles. Even in He Yan’s death, Xu Zhiheng was not the one who took action. If the truth were exposed, Xu Zhiheng could easily walk away unscathed.
Perhaps it was this lack of leverage that made He Rufei uneasy. That’s why he was doing everything he could to catch He Yan’s handle in the Xu family. This way, as long as it could be proven that he also knew about the switch of identities between He Yan and He Rufei, if the truth would come out someday, the Xu family wouldn’t be able to escape.
He Rufei was scared, so at this time, he wanted to drag the Xu family down.
Xu Zhiheng’s face grew darker.
Even though he knew about this from the beginning and understood that the He family and the Xu family were on the same boat, seeing this happen right under his nose still made him feel uneasy. In the past, when everything was peaceful, they naturally wished for each other’s well-being, but once trouble arose… He Rufei’s actions were truly lacking in morality.
Since He Rufei had gone so far, he didn’t need to consider any courtesy. Considering that Fuwang, like when he wandered around He Yan’s room without finding anything, if there was no evidence, Xu Zhiheng could still protect himself wisely.
…..
At night, He Yan tossed and turned on her bed, unable to sleep.
She knew that He Rufei was not Flying Phoenix General, and there were many loopholes, but people always emphasized the need for evidence. Just her words alone wouldn’t reveal the truth. Moreover, the truth sounded so unbelievable.
In the Fuyue Army, there were currently no living witnesses. Qin Momo alone was not enough, and to catch He Rufei’s handle, they had to start with the Battle of Huayuan. In that battle, there must be some illicit relationship between He Rufei and the Wutuo people.
He Rufei was cautious, and if they wanted to find evidence of him colluding with the enemy, perhaps they could only make a trip to the He Mansion.
The He Mansion…
He Yan sat up on her bed, leaning against the bedpost, gazing at the curtains, her thoughts gradually drifting.
In reality, she wasn’t afraid to step back into the He family. In that “He family,” she had had enough of being used and looked down upon. Returning to the mansion wouldn’t bring back any old emotions.
However, the thought of facing Second Madam He again made her uncertain about how to handle it.
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