This position among the military officials was not low, and it held real power, unlike those noble sons who merely accumulated military merits.
"You've gone to the Northern Bureau?" Xie Jiayan was somewhat surprised.
"The Seventh Prince arranged it personally. What do you think?" Xie Yuanlang glanced at his son.
"This is cultivating a confidant for the Seventh Prince," Xie Jiayan's expression was profound.
The Duke's mansion was originally from a military background, so it was not inappropriate for the heir to go to the Northern Bureau. It was just that the timing was too coincidental.
"The Luo family is colluding with the Khitans, and the Marquis of Guannei is incompetent. You guessed correctly; His Majesty likely intends to re-employ the Duke's mansion." Father and son spoke as they walked.
"If that's the case, we might as well give them a push." The pus must be squeezed out sooner or later; the sooner, the better.
"It's too risky," Xie Yuanlang guessed his intention.
"I heard the Eldest Princess is bringing her daughter to the capital. Perhaps that's an opportunity."
"If she knew you were taking such risks for her, she would certainly not agree..."
"Must she be confined in a cage for her entire life?" Xie Jiayan's eyes seemed to hide a myriad of emotions, dark as the sea.
...
Upon returning to her mansion, Yu Mingyue immediately asked Chi Hua to inquire about Su Wanqing's news. Soon, Chi Hua had gathered information.
Su Wanqing went to the garden near her brother's courtyard to stroll every day. Su Wanqing was also present every time her brother paid his respects to the Old Madam.
"The cousin and the heir often meet in the garden. The cousin has borrowed books from the heir a few times, and then embroidered sachets and made pastries as thank-you gifts."
"Anything else? Is there anything else?" Yu Mingyue asked anxiously.
"No more," Chi Hua shook her head.
Yu Mingyue frowned. She feared her guess was correct; Su Wanqing's beloved was her brother.
If so, the events in the storybooks suddenly made sense.
Su Wanqing's revenge on the Yu family was not because of her, but to destroy everything her brother cared about.
Because in the storybook, she had already died, so it couldn't be for her revenge.
After her parents' divorce, she was perpetually melancholic. The Seventh Prince and Su Wanqing got together at some unknown time, and they broke off her engagement.
The successive blows caused her temperament to change drastically, becoming hysterical.
On the Old Madam's suggestion, her father sent her to the estate to recuperate. After arriving at the estate, her health deteriorated day by day.
At that time, the Old Madam managed the inner affairs of the Yu family, and the stewards were all appointed by the Old Madam. Even when she was ill, no doctor was called.
Chi Dan wanted to go out for help from her father but was treated as a runaway slave by the steward of the別院 (bié yuàn - separate courtyard/villa) and beaten to death, then thrown into a mass grave.
Not long after her mother learned of her death, she also died of melancholy. Her brother went to Jiangzhou to mourn.
It was during that period, at the Old Madam's instigation, that her father recognized Su Wanqing as his adopted daughter.
Su Wanqing, relying on the Yu family's influence, soared to become a Prince's Consort, then the Crown Princess, and finally the Empress of Great Wei. It was then that she began to take revenge on the Yu family.
This woman was truly wicked. The Old Madam bringing a wolf into the house and meeting such an end was no one else's fault.
But she could not stand by and watch Su Wanqing destroy the Yu family again.
She had to find a way to eliminate this future trouble, otherwise, the harm would be endless.
Su Wanqing's reliance on the Yu family was merely the Old Madam. If she lost the Old Madam's favor, this cousin would not even be able to stay in the mansion.
...
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the examination results. Although Xie Jiayan had finished the exam early, he still, as in the storybooks, ranked first.
Next was the imperial examination, which His Majesty scheduled for the first day of the fourth month.
Before this, Xie Jiayan closed his doors to visitors, preparing for the imperial examination at home.
However, closing the main gate did not mean closing the courtyard walls.
After Yu Mingyue climbed over the wall once, she found it more convenient than taking the long route to the main gate. She simply had someone leave the ladder there permanently.
Yu Mingyue nimbly jumped down from the ladder. "When my martial arts are perfected, I won't need to climb ladders anymore; I'll just use Qinggong (lightness skill) to get over."