Gu Zhizhuo’s heart was pounding wildly.
Shen Xu has always been ruthless and cruel in his actions, never leaving anyone alive. This countryside manor was now firmly in his grasp. If she tried to abandon it and leave, it would be impossible. They’re still alive for now only because Shen Xu didn’t want to alert his prey prematurely.
This divination was really accurate! She hadn’t lost her touch at all.
Gu Zhizhuo rubbed her brow, thought for a moment, and said, “Chief Steward Gao, I’m going to the west courtyard.”
“It’s still raining outside,” Chief Steward Gao hesitated. “Young Miss, if there’s anything you need, just tell me and I’ll handle it.”
“There is indeed something I need you to do,” Gu Zhizhuo said solemnly, “And only you can do it.”
As soon as she said that, Chief Steward Gao stopped talking at once and solemnly agreed.
Gu Zhizhuo gave very detailed instructions, and Chief Steward Gao didn’t ask for any reason at all—he simply committed every word to memory.
After finishing her instructions, Gu Zhizhuo put on her veil and stepped out the door.
Qiongfang followed at her side, holding a lantern and an umbrella.
Gu Zhizhuo walked at a steady pace; the rain was fine and dense, and a thin layer of water had already accumulated on the ground.
They exited through the hanging-flower gate and walked along the stone path for a while before stopping in front of the west courtyard.
Two brand-new glazed lanterns hung at the entrance of the west courtyard; their dangling tassels swayed in the wind.
Two men in plain green robes stood under the lanterns. Though dressed as ordinary servants with average appearances, they were calm and reserved, yet radiated a chilling, murderous aura.
Gu Zhizhuo stepped forward and said, “I’m the owner of this countryside manor, here to request an audience with your master.” Her attitude was neither humble nor arrogant.
One of them said indifferently, “My Master has already retired for the night. Please return, Young Miss.”
Gu Zhizhuo gave a faint smile and simply laid her words bare: “With Shen Duzhu[mfn]督主 (dū zhǔ) is a fictional or semi-historical title. The title can be translated as chief, director, supervisor, inspector, grand overseer, or imperial inquisitor—depend on the context (so I’ll just leave the title as it is).
In most contexts refers to:
– The head of the Eastern Depot or similar secret police/intelligence agency in the Imperial Court.
– Usually a powerful eunuch who controls surveillance, intelligence, and sometimes assassinations.[/mfn] himself present, how could we dare be negligent? Kindly inform him—the owner of this manor request an audience.”
The expressions of the two men changed suddenly. They exchanged glance, and one of them went in to report. Shortly after, he returned, and said, “Young Miss, this way please.”
Gu Zhizhuo stepped into the courtyard. Qiongfang raised her hand to cover her mouth, nearly gasping in surprise.
On either side of the pebble path, a glazed lantern was placed every two steps, illuminating the rain-drenched courtyard with shimmering brilliance. Each lantern was painted with unique landscape on its shade, and the fan-shaped panels were adorned with gemstones.
They had similar glazed lanterns in their countryside manor too, but not nearly this many—even if they gathered every single one from their entire countryside manor. What’s more, at a glance, these were clearly more exquisite and luxurious than theirs. These definitely didn’t belong to their countryside manor.
Qiongfang couldn’t help but glance at Gu Zhizhuo, but seeing her Young Miss’s gaze remained straight ahead, she quickly lowered her head.
When they reached the main hall, Gu Zhizhuo instructed, “You don’t need to follow me. Just wait for me here.” She spoke lightly, and her demeanor showed not the slightest trace of tension.
Qiongfang obediently agreed, folded up the umbrella, and stood beneath the corridor’s eaves.
Gu Zhizhuo lifted the curtain and walked in. Even though the courtyard full of glazed lanterns had mentally prepared her somewhat, she still couldn’t help wanting to rub her forehead.
The west courtyard had always been used for dispensing medicine, its décor simple and unadorned. But now, the moment she stepped inside, a subtle, elegance scent of incense greeted her sense.
It’s still the exquisitely rare Yuhua Zuiyun[mfn]玉华醉韵 (yù huá zuì yùn) lit. Drunken Charm of Jade Blossom[/mfn], worth its weight in gold.
The wisps of smoke rise gently, and this incense burns like burning gold.
The slightly worn kang[mfn]炕 (kàng) refers to a traditional heated brick bed[/mfn] was covered with a snow-white fox fur, and an expensive chessboard was casually placed on the golden nanmu wood table.
The dignified Deputy Commander of the Jinyiwei, Sheng Jiang, looked just like the most loyal servant as he tended a small red clay stove where a silver kettle was boiling water. The tea sets laid out on the table were made of thin Ru kiln porcelain[mfn]汝窑 (Rǔ yáo) refers to one of the most famous and revered types of Chinese imperial porcelain kilns. Check out here -> https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/%E6%B1%9D%E7%AA%AF[/mfn] inlaid with gold and silver threads, and just one small teacup alone was worth at least a hundred taels of silver.
On either side of the folding screen stood several even more exquisite glazed lanterns, all with white jade bases.
The floor was spotless. Gu Zhizhuo had walked through mud and water on her way here and now felt embarrassed to even step onto it.
If she hadn’t been certain that this was her own countryside manor, she would’ve thought she had gone to the wrong place.
Shen Xu reclined against a large pillow, holding a string of sandalwood prayer beads in his hand, and his gaze rested on the chessboard in front of him.
He was just over twenty years old, dressed in a bright red robe embroidered with qilin patterns in gold thread, which accentuated his delicate, androgynous features and made him stunningly beautiful beyond compare.
Humph.
This person is still the same—wherever he went, he had to bring so many things. Serving him is truly an exhausting task.
Gu Zhizhuo silently complained in her heart.
“Shen Duzhu.”
Gu Zhizhuo smiled as she curtsied gracefully.
Then she walked straight in, her muddy embroidered shoes leaving several clear footprints on the floor.
Shen Xu finally deigned to look up at her, his entire being radiating undisguised distaste.
Sheng Jiang’s brow twitched.
“Eldest Young Miss Gu,” Sheng Jiang observed her expression[mfn]察言观色 (chá yán guān sè) is a classical Chinese idiom that means: To observe one’s words and expressions – in order to gauge their feelings, intentions, or mood[/mfn] before speaking up, “Please change your shoes.”
Stop stepping on the floor already.
If she dirties the floor like this, and ends up dying over it, then I’ll be the one in trouble!
Gu Zhizhuo raised an eyebrow.
Change shoes? Don’t tell me they brought several new pairs just for a trip! Even embroidered shoes?!
Don’t be too outrageous, okay!
“No.”
After she said that, she moved a round stool for herself and sat down at the other end of kang table.
On the chessboard was an endgame; black and white pieces battled fiercely. The white piece had already captured most of the board, while the black piece struggled to survive in the corner.
Gu Zhizhuo glanced over and said with a smile, “Duzhu, this game of chess is rather interesting.”
She brushed her right hand over the chess box and picked up a white chess piece with her fingertips.
Sheng Jiang’s eyes nearly popped out.
Should he call her bold, or…
Fearless due to ignorance?!
The master hates it most when anyone touches his things. Now this hand definitely would be done for.
What a pity, her hand was actually quite pretty.
Gu Zhizhuo lightly tossed the white piece up and caught it steadily, fiddling with it between her fingers. Before Shen Xu could open his mouth to throw her out, she spoke first, “Duzhu, the person you’re waiting for should have arrived by now, right?”
Though phrased as a question, her tone carried absolute certainty.
Shen Xu lifted his eyelids; his entire being was like a bloodstained blade, exuding an ominous aura.
Gu Zhizhuo shifted her gaze from the chessboard and looked directly at him.
Shen spoke, his voice soft and androgynous: “You seem to know quite a lot, Young Miss.”
Gu Zhizhuo wagged her finger and smiled: “Not that much, not that much.”
“As for me, I only know that Duzhu wants to use my countryside manor to ambush Young Master Chen.”
Sheng Jiang’s face remained expressionless, but his heart was full of shock and astonishment. He didn’t even notice that the water in the small silver kettle was almost boiling.
Gu Zhizhuo continued unhurriedly, “My countryside manor is in a good location. It’s surrounded by four nearby villages, and it’s the closest to the official road. If Young Master Chen returns to the Capital, this road is one he must take.”
Her fingertips lightly tapped the chessboard, as if what lay before her wasn’t a chessboard but a map of the capital region.
Xie Yingchen had concealed his whereabouts, and while everyone thought he was still in Yizhou, he had in fact already arrived in the Capital.
But just one wrong move in the game[mfn]棋差一招 (qí chā yī zhāo) literally means: a mistake of one move in chess.
Meaning:
– A small error or misstep that leads to failure or loss.
– Often used metaphorically to describe a situation where one wrong decision or move causes the whole plain to fail[/mfn] allowed the Eastern Deport to discover him.
Shen Xu was lying in ambush with deadly trap on the very route he had to take back to the Capital!
Gu Zhizhuo said confidently, “As long as Young Master Chen passes through this official road, Duzhu has a hundred ways to make him stay.”
“It may be a dead tree blocking the road, a venomous snake in the wilderness, or falling rocks injuring his horse…”
Gu Zhizhuo paused for a moment, then slowly added, “Especially today, with the heavy rain and thunder. Even the Heavens seem to be on Duzhu’s side.”
She tossed the white piece back into the chess box, and then picked up a black piece.
The thin veil covered half of her face, revealing only a pair of lively phoenix eyes.
She spoke casually, as if she had insight into everything, but the fingers hidden in her sleeve were tense like a drawn bowstring, betraying her inner turmoil.
“On this road, if any accident happens, the only place to temporarily take refuge would be my countryside manor.”
“Once Young Master Chen enters the countryside manor, his life or death will be entirely in your hands, won’t it, Duzhu?”
“As for my countryside manor,” Gu Zhizhuo was still smiling, but her tone turned icy cold.
She was stating a fact, a fact that had already happened in her previous life.
“…Afterward, all it takes is a fire to burn everything down and then blame it entirely on the bandits.”
“It was just Young Master Chen’s bad luck to encounter bandits on his way back to the Capital, and not because the Emperor wouldn’t allow him to live.”
“Even if someone must be held accountable, it should be Gu Yican—a tiger father, a dog-like son—who was ordered to suppress the bandits but failed in his duty and let them slip into the Capital!”
In her previous life, everyone in the countryside manor had died.
Even in this lifetime, it has almost followed the same path of fate.
Sheng Jiang’s pupil shrank. He raised his hand to touch the dagger hidden at his waist.
Xie Yingchen was a cunning and deceitful man.
As the saying goes, “A crafty rabbit has three burrows[mfn]狡兔三窟 (jiǎo tù sān kū) is an idiom meaning a clever person always has multiple escape routes or backup plans[/mfn],” but he had far more than three burrows. Ever since entering the borders of Da Qi, Xie Yingchen’s whereabouts have been a complete mystery.
Several times, after expending a great deal of manpower and finally tracking his whereabouts, it turned out he had merely laid a false trail.
Only he could make the Eastern Depot run around in circle.
If Xie Yingchen hadn’t stepped into the capital region.
If it weren’t for the fact that over the past year the Capital had been tightly controlled by Duzhu like a spider’s web from which no fly could escape, Xie Yingchen might truly have been able to step onto the Golden Throne Hall without anyone noticing.
They found the person, but the fact that he was now in the Capital also meant more eyes were watching.
They had to act even more secretly, leaving no loopholes.
This time, Duzhu had taken charge personally. It should have been foolproof. So how did this girl know?!
Sheng Jiang was filled with doubt and suspicion.
He desperately tried to recall where things had gone wrong, even beginning to suspect that someone within the Eastern Depot might have leaked the information.
As the candlelight flickered, he had already thought of countless possibilities when he suddenly heard the girl casually throw back a question: “Duzhu, don’t you agree?”
Shen Xu’s thin lips curled slightly, and his naturally peach blossom eyes tilted upward at the corners. In his eyes, there seemed to be a pool of water, glittering with shimmering ripples.
He rested his chin in one hand and said with interest, “So, Young Miss, you’ve come to beg me for a way out?”
Gu Zhizhuo’s brow revealed both delight and keen interest.
She glanced at the water clock in the corner of the room, leaned forward a little, and instead of answering, she asked, “Shen Duzhu, do you like fireworks?”
Her tone was as gentle as flowing water.
Gu Zhizhuo didn’t expect him to respond to her either.
She raised her index finger, making a gesture for silence, and then pointed toward the window.
The sky in the middle of the night was dark and heavy, with fine raindrops falling gently. It was a night without even a single star.
“Look.”
Gu Zhizhuo opened her red lips slightly.
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, a firework suddenly soared into the sky and exploded in the dark night, blooming into a bright red glow.
Bang, bang, bang!
Ten explosions in a row.
One after another, fireworks lit up the night sky in an instant. In the dark night, clusters of vibrant red flared brightly among them.
Shen Xu’s fingers that were holding the prayer beads suddenly tightened, and a hint of indescribable astonishment finally appeared on his usually indifferent face. The red glow of the fireworks was reflected in his eyes.
