Chapter 57 – Too Frightening

Mu Nanjin turned her head and saw two men in flying fish robes walking toward them.

The man wearing a red robe embroidered with a golden flying fish had a strikingly handsome face and piercing black eyes. Just one glance from him felt as if he had dug up eighteen generations of your ancestors to interrogate them one by one; under that gaze, no one could hide a single secret. Even without anger, his aura commanded such authority that not even the Emperor himself could match it. It was as though he were the true sovereign of the world.

The other man, also clad in a red robe but embroidered with a white flying fish, looked far more approachable. His features were refined, and a friendly smile rested perpetually on his lips, making him appear easy to talk to.

【Commander-in-Chief? Vice Commander?】

Mu Nanjin recognized their ranks from their robes.

Before this, all Jinyiwei officials above the rank of Deputy Commander had been sent out on missions, which meant this was her first time seeing the highest leaders of the Jinyiwei since joining.

“The Commanders have returned?” Some Jinyiwei who heard her inner voice turned and saw the two men approaching. Their reactions varied; some faces lit up, while others paled, but without exception, every one of them dropped to one knee and saluted.

“Subordinates pay respect to the Commander-in-Chief and the Vice Commander!”

【So they really are the Commander-in-Chief and Vice Commander. They’re so young! I thought someone who could reach such a high rank would be at least sixty!】

The Commander-in-Chief’s sharp gaze swept faintly across Mu Nanjin.

Captain Liu, noticing she was still standing, tugged discreetly at the hem of her skirt.

Mu Nanjin lowered her head and whispered, “What are you doing?”

He muttered back, “Kneel.”

“Why? Besides the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, do we have to kneel to other people too…?”

Reluctantly, Mu Nanjin dropped to her knees.

【They always say a man’s knees are worth gold, but never mention that a woman’s knees are inlaid with jade! We have to kneel every day; my knees are going to lose all their value soon.】

【I should declare right now: from this day on, I’ll only kneel to Heaven, Earth, my parents, and my master, and the dead. Anyone else had better be mentally prepared, in case I accidentally kneel them to death someday!】

Everyone: “…”

【Anyway, the Commander-in-Chief is really imposing and fierce! No wonder those six freaks in the dungeon were beaten into submission by him. I wonder what he looks like without that disguise; I really want to see his true face!】

Everyone: “!!!!!”

True face?

What did she mean by that? Could it be that the face they were seeing right now… wasn’t real?

The Jinyiwei exchanged shocked glances.

Especially the Vice Commander; he had worked beside the Commander-in-Chief for years and had never once known the man wore a disguise.

The Commander-in-Chief’s eyes narrowed, a flash of bone-chilling cold glinting within.

Mu Nanjin’s expression tightened.

【Killing intent.】

Swish, swish, swish,

Before Mu Nanjin could even lift her head, the Jinyiwei around her instantly rose to their feet, drawing their swords in unison and scanning their surroundings warily.

The Ministry of Rites officials hurriedly hid behind the Jinyiwei for protection.

Mu Nanjin, however, stood up leisurely.

【So they sensed the killing intent too? That means it wasn’t aimed at me.】

The Jinyiwei: “…”

The Vice Commander smiled pleasantly. “It’s good to see everyone reacting so swiftly. Clearly, no one has been slacking in their training.”

The Jinyiwei: “…”

They were all trained by Mu Nanjin, after all.

【The Vice Commander is a smiling tiger, always grinning, but calculating everything behind that smile. Poor old Kan Chaoyan probably learned his bad habits from him.】

Vice Commander: “…”

Kan Chaoyan: “…”

The Vice Commander looked at Mu Nanjin with a warm smile. “So this young lady must be the female Jinyiwei His Majesty personally recruited?”

Captain Liu answered on her behalf, “Yes, that’s right.”

The Commander-in-Chief asked coolly, “Why are you all here?”

Everyone fell silent in unison.

Because… there was simply no face to say it aloud.

【We were just having a meal, not visiting a brothel! Why is it so hard to admit that?】

Everyone: “…”

The Vice Commander chuckled. “We’re heading to see His Majesty. You may all return and wait for further orders.”

“Yes, sir.”

The group watched as the two leaders departed.

Their path happened to cross with the officials exiting the Tai Jin Hall. Mu Nanjin noticed the Left and Right Censorate Ministers glaring at her as they passed. She blinked in confusion.

【Why are they glaring at me? They are glaring at me, right? I just treated everyone to a meal; how did I suddenly become some heinous criminal? Is it really that serious?】

Everyone: “…”

They were this close to losing their official positions; how could it not be serious?

【And the Ministry of Rites officials are giving me such strange looks too, like they want to say something but can’t. What’s so hard to say? Don’t tell me they fancy one of the courtesans at Xiaoqing Tower and are too shy to ask me for help?】

Ministry officials: “…”

Could she please think of something decent for once?!

Deng Xingchao coughed lightly. “Mu Nanjin, do you still remember what happened last night?”

Mu Nanjin nodded. “A bit of it.”

【Did I get drunk last night and harass one of the Ministry officials? Are they here to make me take responsibility today?】

【Most of the Ministry officials are old men, though… Don’t tell me I’ve really lost all sense of taste? That’s too terrifying.】

Ministry officials: “…”

If they didn’t need her help, they would have strangled her already.

Both Deng Xingchao and Kan Chaoyan looked visibly relieved that Mu Nanjin didn’t remember much from last night.

Deng Xingchao said, “During dinner, you said the Ministry officials had been poisoned with Gu, and that you could cure them. Do you not remember saying that?”

Mu Nanjin frowned deeply. “I said that?”

Everyone nodded together. “You did.”

【I actually told the truth while drunk? That’s horrifying.】

【At least I didn’t spill any of my own secrets, right?】

Everyone: “…”

No, she hadn’t revealed her own secrets; she had revealed everyone else’s.

Mu Nanjin asked, “Other than that, did I say anything else?”

Deng Xingchao shook his head. “Nothing more.”

【Whew… that’s a relief.】

Mu Nanjin turned to the Ministry officials. “The reason the Great Wei Kingdom used Gu on you is to control you into assassinating the Emperor. If I lift the curse now, they’ll notice and might plant a second Gu. The second one won’t just control you; it could kill you.”

The Ministry officials gasped sharply.

The Minister of Rites asked, “But if we don’t remove it, we’ll still be under their control.”

“Each of you, pull out one strand of hair for me. I’ll handle the rest.”

The officials exchanged uncertain glances but complied, each pulling out a single hair and handing it to her.

Mu Nanjin wrapped the strands in a handkerchief, tucked it safely into her robes, and started walking toward the palace gates.

Once she was gone, the Minister of Rites turned to Kan Chaoyan. “Lord Kan, can she really remove the Gu?”

Kan Chaoyan replied, “People say one speaks the truth when drunk. Since she was so confident last night, it should be fine. But if you’re still uneasy, I can have the National Preceptor keep an eye on it.”

The Minister nodded. “Then I’ll trouble you with that. We still have to prepare for His Majesty’s birthday, so we’ll take our leave.”

Deng Xingchao also departed with them, leading his men back to the royal estate for patrol duties.

Kan Chaoyan said to his subordinates, “You may take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow is His Majesty’s birthday; make sure you’re in top form.”

“Yes, sir!”

Tang Jingrui hurriedly left, intending to catch up to Mu Nanjin and escort her home.

But just outside the Imperial City, he saw her black horse, Heitan, kick two assassins dressed in black to death.

Tang Jingrui rushed to assist, but the remaining assassins had already fled.

Mu Nanjin left him to clean up the scene and returned to the Mu residence.

When Tang Jingrui finished dealing with the aftermath and returned to the Tang family estate, the Jinyiwei he had assigned to monitor Tang Liuzhao came to report.

He took the man into his study, where the Jinyiwei laid two silver notes worth a thousand taels each on the desk.

“This is what the assassins were paid with, left behind by your aunt. Her personal seal is on it.”

Tang Jingrui recognized his aunt’s handwriting instantly. His expression turned grim. “Did you personally see her hire the assassins?”

The Jinyiwei nodded firmly. “We saw and heard it with our own eyes and ears. She instructed her most trusted maid to hire killers to assassinate Mu Nanjin.”

“I understand.” Tang Jingrui placed two silver ingots on the table. “You’ve worked hard. This is your reward. Keep this matter absolutely secret.”

“Thank you, my lord.” The Jinyiwei hesitated but eventually accepted the silver and left.

Tang Jingrui then went to find his father, Tang Wenzong, and relayed everything.

Tang Wenzong pondered deeply before finally taking Jiang Zhenru with him to Tang Liuzhao’s courtyard.

Tang Liuzhao looked surprised when she saw them. “Big Brother, Sister-in-law, what brings you here today?”

Jiang Zhenru smiled gently. “A-Yi isn’t home, and Mu Nanjin has moved out, so you’re living here all alone. Your brother and I were worried you’d grow lonely, so we came to check on you.”

Tang Liuzhao didn’t believe for a moment that her brother would visit her on the eve of the Emperor’s birthday out of idle concern.

She looked at Tang Wenzong. “Big Brother, is there something you want to say to me?”

Realizing he couldn’t hide it, Tang Wenzong sighed and laid the two thousand-tael notes on the table before her.

The moment Tang Liuzhao saw her own handwriting, she knew her plot to assassinate Mu Nanjin had been exposed.

Yet she didn’t panic; instead, she calmly took the notes back and slipped them into her sleeve.

Tang Wenzong frowned. “A-Zhao, aren’t you going to explain why you tried to have Mu Nanjin killed?”

“What?” Jiang Zhenru’s eyes widened. “A-Zhao tried to have Mu Nanjin assassinated?”

Tang Wenzong said, “I’ll explain later.”

Jiang Zhenru nodded quietly.

Tang Liuzhao took a sip of tea without speaking.

Tang Wenzong pressed on. “Do you understand what will happen if the authorities find out you hired assassins to kill an official? At best, your marriage with A-Yi will be over. You love him so much; do you really want to lose him?”

“Marriage?” Tang Liuzhao sneered. “Brother, do you really think we’re like a real husband and wife?”

Tang Wenzong said nothing.

“I’ve been married to him for fifteen years, but he’s barely been home for five.”

“So you resent him? And that’s why you hate Mu Nanjin too?” Tang Wenzong probed.

“No. I don’t resent him at all. On the contrary, I love him so much I’d die for him. But…” Her eyes filled with a twisted hatred. “But Mu Nanjin wants to take him from me. Tell me, how could I not hate her?”

“But Mu Nanjin is Mu Qinyi’s niece, his only family. Of course he cares for her. As her aunt, you should cherish her like your own child. If you did, you and A-Yi could live happily together until old age.”

Tang Wenzong believed his sister’s feelings for Mu Qinyi had long since become warped, so possessive that she couldn’t bear anyone else near him.

Perhaps because she had no children, all her emotions had been poured entirely into him.

“Niece? Treat her as my own child?” Tang Liuzhao laughed bitterly, her tears spilling over. “I wanted to… I really did. But later… I realized I couldn’t.”

Tang Wenzong opened his mouth to speak, but Jiang Zhenru stopped him with a look. She gently took Tang Liuzhao’s hand.

“A-Zhao, don’t cry. If you’re in trouble, just tell us. We’re family; no matter what, we’ll stand by you and protect you. But if you don’t tell us anything, we can’t help you even if we want to.”

“A-Zhao, I know you must have your reasons for doing this. Tell me what happened, and maybe I can help you.”

“I just… I don’t know how to say it. I’m afraid that if I do, A-Yi and I will truly be over.”

Tang Wenzong paced anxiously back and forth before them.

Jiang Zhenru frowned. “But if you stay silent, once A-Yi learns what you’ve done, your marriage will still fall apart. If you tell us now, maybe we can find another way, something you never expected, that might let you and him stay together peacefully.”

Those words struck a chord deep in Tang Liuzhao’s heart.

Her sobs slowly quieted. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief, then ordered her maid to stand guard outside and let no one in.

“I hope that once I’ve told you everything, you’ll truly help me.”

Tang Wenzong sat back down. “You’re my sister. Of course I’ll help you, no matter what.”

He was desperate to understand what kind of pain had driven her to attempt murder.

Tang Liuzhao took a shaky breath. “It all started one night five years ago. That day, A-Yi said he had to capture a criminal and wouldn’t be back until midnight. I was so worried for his safety that I couldn’t sleep all night. When midnight passed and he still hadn’t returned, I got up to check on Mu Nanjin, to see if she’d kicked off her blanket. But then… I saw A-Yi standing beside her bed.”

At that, her eyes once again filled with blazing hatred.