Fish Meat – Chapter 69

The Ninth Year of Shenchu

Needle Tip versus Wheat Awning (Part 6)

The green bamboo stands silently in the separate courtyard.

Li Yanyi sent Liu Feng and the others away, leaving them to wait outside the courtyard, and didn’t leave a single maid. She personally extinguished the charcoal fire to lower the temperature in the room, allowing Ah Xin, who was struggling with the heat, to feel more comfortable.

She loosened Ah Xin’s clothes and took out a skin pouch soaked in icy well water, touching it to ensure it was cool before gently pressing it onto Ah Xin’s forehead. Ah Xin’s burning and sensitive body suddenly felt the coolness, causing her to uncomfortably wrinkle her brow and turn away. Li Yanyi knew that after taking the Furong Powder, the skin would be extremely fragile, but Ah Xin’s internal heat was so intense that if it wasn’t removed in time, it could damage her heart and lungs.

“I know it’s uncomfortable, but you must endure it,” Li Yanyi said, trying to push away her restless hand. Just as she held her wrist, she noticed some red marks there, and even around her ankles. She moved the ice pouch more gently, slowly moving it from her forehead to her neck, shoulders, and back.

After changing the ice pouch three times, Ah Xin’s body heat finally subsided a little, and she opened her eyes to recognize Li Yanyi.

“How do you feel?” Li Yanyi had just started speaking when Ah Xin forcefully struggled to get out of bed. Fortunately, to prevent her from moving randomly, Li Yanyi had been holding her troublesome wrist, preventing her from falling to the ground due to unbalanced movement.

“Look at you in this state, where do you still want to go?” Li Yanyi pulled her back, patiently helping her by picking the messy hair off her face and lips.

Ah Xin kept pushing her away, but her hands lacked strength, making her attempts to push and reject appear even more unclear.

Seeing her in this state, Li Yanyi seemed to recall some old memories: “Back then you were also like this… always struggling under me.”

These words infuriated Ah Xin. She angrily rose and grabbed Li Yanyi’s throat, using all her strength, and her eyes flared with raging fire: “I have warned you countless times, never to mention those past events again! Back then, I was young and foolish to be with you… if I had known you would one day become a traitorous menace to the country, I should have killed you then!”

Li Yanyi, being choked by her, felt her face slowly turn red, yet she could still speak: “You truly are a peerless military genius… even after consuming Furong Powder, you remain so strong… but what’s the use of saying ‘if only I had known earlier’? I am still alive today, and you, you still can’t kill me.”

With a grappling move, Li Yanyi freed her hand, turned over, and pinned her on the bed, with Ah Xin’s arms restrained behind her and her upper body pressed onto the bed: “With this strength, you should conserve it well and think about how to fight against the addiction to Furong Powder in the future.”

Ah Xin tried several times to turn over but was powerless. A fire roamed inside her body, making her eyes dry and limbs weak, and her skin felt as if cut by sharp blades, slightly touching it would cause pain.

“Furong Powder?” With her face pressed against the bed surface, Ah Xin clearly heard what Li Yanyi said and couldn’t help but be surprised.

“That’s right, Furong Powder! The very thing you’re addicted to is Furong Powder!”

“I did not… how could I have come into contact with this thing!”

“I know you didn’t,” Li Yanyi released her. “So, what exactly happened, who is trying to harm you, can you still remember?”

Ah Xin tidied her clothes, with her back facing Li Yanyi, supporting herself on the bed’s edge, trying hard to recall. Her memory was in chaos, and after thinking for a long time, she finally grabbed a root cause from the chaotic memories and immediately exclaimed, “This isn’t good!”

“I returned from the northern line after receiving a secret report, saying that Suichuan was in turmoil, with countless Jixi refugees crossing into Da Yu’s territory through the gap in Qixian, among them numerous spies from the three major Hu tribes in the northwest. In the past, these three major Hu tribes united to attack Jixi, intending to use Jixi as a springboard to launch a sneak attack while Da Yu was weakened by resisting Chongjin and other Hu bandits. Now, they have already sent out no fewer than five thousand spies into Da Yu, attempting to steal Da Yu’s intelligence. This time, I was ordered to return and investigate this matter and capture a group of spies.”

“Since it is to capture spies entering from Suichuan, why did you run a thousand miles away to Nanya?” Li Yanyi asked, to which Ah Xin responded with a cold laugh:

“You think I went there just to see you? I merely received news that you went to Nanya to rob grain, intending to collect evidence of your rebellion. Who would have thought you’d be shameless enough to announce to the world, inviting all to come, in order to plunder more wealth and grain? I no longer needed to collect evidence; everyone already knows.”

Li Yanyi didn’t expose the flaws in her words, letting her continue.

“When I was almost at Suichuan, I received a letter. I mistakenly believed what was written and fell into a traitor’s ambush, losing consciousness. When I regained awareness, I was already here.”

“A letter? What could the letter have said to deceive you? You’ve fought battles across the land for many years; how could you be so easily trapped?”

“This matter doesn’t concern you.” Ah Xin’s tone was firm, unwilling to let Li Yanyi know. Li Yanyi understood Ah Xin’s position; after all, she is the legitimate daughter of the Xie family, and everything she does is from the Xie family’s standpoint, loyal to the emperor. How could she disclose secrets to an enemy? Since she wouldn’t speak, Li Yanyi couldn’t be bothered to press further:

“So, you really don’t know who the person secretly harming you is, right?”

Ah Xin nodded angrily. It was unclear if the nod was too forceful or if recalling the process of being harmed caused her anger to rise sharply, but Ah Xin experienced waves of dizziness, and the annoying heat began to surge upward again. With her back facing Li Yanyi, she knelt on the bed, hands supporting the bed’s edge. This posture was originally because she couldn’t get off the bed and didn’t want to see Li Yanyi’s face. However, the poison of Furong Powder swept over her once more, and she gradually couldn’t support her body’s weight, with her shoulders and waist sinking, relying only on her arms and knees for support.

Indeed, Furong Powder…

As the world spun, a pair of cold hands reached over from behind, resting on her exposed shoulder. She utterly hated this traitor, but this gentle touch unexpectedly made her whole body shiver.

“Qingqing,” Li Yanyi straightened her body over hers, one hand wrapping around her waist and pulling her into her embrace. Her voice drilled into Ah Xin’s ear, making her heart feel both soft and numb, and even more unable to support herself.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Do you still need me to teach you how to resolve the poison of Furong Powder? Look, this is your…”

“Get out.”

Ah Xin, panting, continued kneeling, nearly collapsing onto the bed several times, only to be picked up again by Li Yanyi each time.

Li Yanyi did not expect the Furong Powder to be so potent, or perhaps it was because she hadn’t been in contact with Ah Xin for some time, and her body had become more mature and sensitive?

Perhaps, it was both.

After this activity, Ah Xin’s body heat reduced somewhat. Li Yanyi, very satisfied, laid the exhausted Ah Xin flat, noticing that the flush on her face had not yet faded, and that there was an expectation hidden in her hateful gaze. Li Yanyi, quite understanding, continued to tease her chest and then went on to rub and press between her legs, constantly probing.

“Could it be that you still desire more, Qingqing?”

Ah Xin bit her lips tightly, not making a sound, yet her body eagerly responded.

“Qingqing is wonderful. Today, you and I, as old lovers, should have a good reunion.”

They tossed and turned until midnight, and neither had any strength left, so they both lay down. Li Yanyi touched Ah Xin’s forehead, confirming that this wave of toxicity should have completely passed, and only then did she, feeling comfortable, hug Ah Xin and fall asleep.

The next day, Li Yanyi woke up very early, noticing that at some point Ah Xin had turned over to face her, with her forearm resting on her shoulder, still in deep sleep. This scene was exactly the same as when they were children.

Li Yanyi kissed her face, gently moved her hand away, got out of bed, and dressed. After stretching her sore shoulders and arms, twisting her waist that had been pinched red by Ah Xin, she bathed in the hot spring in the courtyard, then returned and called two maidservants to come in and wait.

“When Ah Xin wakes up, tell me immediately.”

“Yes!”

Li Yanyi walked out of the main courtyard towards the front hall just as Liu Feng hurriedly entered the house.

“How was the investigation?”

“Your Highness, the person who kidnapped Lady Ah Xin seems to be an exceptionally skilled wandering knight. My subordinates found that this person rode from Dongchun, avoiding official roads, traveling through wild paths, leaving very few traces, and no one has seen him.”

“Dongchun?” Li Yanyi said, listening to Liu Feng while walking out. “It cannot be an ordinary wandering knight. Ah Xin had already received a secret report of urgent military affairs to manage and was intercepted on the way, surely someone wanted to block her and delay military matters. This person also knew I would treat Ah Xin well, which is why they sent her here. This person does not want Ah Xin’s life, just wants to delay time by doing this.”

Liu Feng said, “Your Highness is wise. I am well aware of the difficulty in investigating a wandering knight’s identity, so I abandoned that clue and turned to other avenues.”

“Oh? What else did you find?” Li Yanyi knew that Liu Feng, as the Huben Zhonglang General, had extremely rich reconnaissance experience, and those who could rise to this position were not simple.

Liu Feng still had his head lowered but responded with weight: “I found it. I discovered the source of the Furong Powder that Lady Ah Xin consumed.”

Finally settled down, Zhen Wenjun took a satisfying bath, almost rubbing off a layer of skin. After washing, she lay in the soft bedding and had a comfortable sleep, feeling extremely pleasant. The next day, she got up early wanting to find Wei Tingxu, but Lingbi said the lady had gone out early.

“Sister left so early?”

“Exactly, the lady originally wanted to take you along and called you for a long time, but you didn’t get up. So, the lady had to go with Xiaohua first. She asked me to wait here for you, so when you wake up you can go meet her.”

“What did Sister go to do?”

“She didn’t say, let’s go, you’ll find out when we get there.”

On this side, Zhen Wenjun and Lingbi had just gone out, while on the other side, Wei Tingxu and Ah Liao were having a secret closed-door conversation. Ah Liao’s words made worry rise in Wei Tingxu’s heart.

“How can this be used as evidence?” Ah Liao, after listening to her, was not panicked, “Indeed, according to your description, Ah Xin indeed might have consumed my usual formula, which includes top-grade night hibiscus leaf tips ground and mixed with cinnabar, alum, azurite, and magnetite, combined with yellow perilla leaves to be consumed together. But this doesn’t mean I am the one who harmed Ah Xin. Although I am addicted to consuming it, this is my own affair, and I never force others. Besides, I have no enmity with that Xie family’s Ah Xin, so why would I harm her?”

Wei Tingxu said, “I certainly know you wouldn’t do this, and you have no reason to. Even if the Eldest Princess investigates, there might not be concrete evidence to prove that the person who plotted against Ah Xin is you.”

“Isn’t that so.”

“But she also doesn’t need concrete evidence, or rather, the person who set up this situation doesn’t intend for the Eldest Princess to find real evidence. What he wants is merely to direct suspicion towards you and me.” Wei Tingxu slowed her voice, her fingers moving back and forth between her and Ah Liao.

Ah Liao pondered for a moment, and the more she thought, the worse it seemed: “This person wants to sow discord but is not in a hurry, or rather, the plan to sow discord is not meant to succeed immediately, so he only needs to make Li Yanyi suspicious of us. Once suspicion takes root in the heart, even if unspoken, doubts will gradually grow and sprout.”

Wei Tingxu’s eyes sharpened, affirming her with a look.

Ah Liao said seriously, “But this matter has nothing to do with you; everyone knows you are not interested in Furong Powder. If there’s suspicion, it should be on me.”

“No.” Liu Feng succinctly refuted Li Yanyi’s defense for Wei Tingxu, “Zhangsun Ran, courtesy name Ah Liao, grew up with Wei Tingxu, and their relationship is like that of sisters. Beyond this bond, in order to trace the whereabouts of Furong Powder, I went to Dongchun overnight and examined all of its sales routes. Furong Powder is inherently expensive and scarce, and even Zhangsun Ran’s stock is limited. Moreover, she consumes it daily, making it extremely hard to retain, and every year she finds ways to procure it from various places. The key ingredient in the purchased Furong Powder, night hibiscus, varies in quality, and the taste differs greatly with quality; aristocratic families always seek high-quality night hibiscus. Presumably, Your Highness also detected the quality from Lady Ah Xin.”

Li Yanyi’s eyebrows had not relaxed since the conversation began, and she had to admit: “Although other medicinal stone scents interfere, the Furong Powder Ah Xin consumed has a strong scent, with an orange fragrance, indicating it is made from top-grade ground night hibiscus.”

Li Yanyi does not consume it herself, but her biological mother, the current Empress Dowager, is heavily reliant on Furong Powder. Li Yanyi is very familiar with its scent.

“Correct, it is top-grade night hibiscus. If it were ordinary grade, the sources would be widespread and hard to trace, but top-grade is easier to track. I only needed one night to trace the source of Zhangsun Ran’s batch of night hibiscus.”

“Now in your possession are all from the batch Wenjun sold you before going to Nanya.”

Wei Tingxu’s words made Ah Liao suddenly change color.

“Yes, it is… but!” Ah Liao originally wanted to say “but Ah Xin might not have consumed that batch of top-quality Furong Powder,” but then thought, what if it just happens to be?

“It just happens to be,” Wei Tingxu said. “I smelled the scent from Ah Xin’s mouth and nose; indeed, it is from the batch Wenjun sold you. Have you sold this batch of night hibiscus externally?”

“No.” Ah Liao shook her head solemnly, “Although I haven’t sold it externally, I have many guests and countless close female friends. No matter who I entertain, I lavishly offer, and Furong Powder is always available for anyone to take at will. I’ve never restricted or paid attention to it.”

“In this way, it links you and me together. Presumably, Li Yanyi has already found out.”

Ah Liao angrily slammed a fist on the table: “I didn’t expect to be ruined by this Furong Powder!”

“You don’t need to be angry either; this matter was my moment of carelessness. When I saw Ah Xin appear in my room, I only thought Xie Fuchen’s group’s methods were becoming cruder and more unbearable. I didn’t expect that by going along with the flow to send a favor to the Eldest Princess, it would turn out to be solid evidence. They were waiting for this very moment. Have that wandering knight who sent Ah Xin to the other residence temporarily leave Da Yu; he must not be found by Li Yanyi’s people.” Wei Tingxu rubbed her temple, “You also don’t need to worry too much. The overall situation is still undecided, and Li Yanyi cannot lose the support of the Wei family and the Zhangsun family. More importantly, even if we poisoned Ah Xin, there is no justified reason; she would at most think we are ruthless towards the Xie family, not ruining her major ascent. As long as we are careful in our future actions, it will be fine.”

Ah Liao responded with a long, deep “hmm,” neither affirming nor denying.

In their hearts, they both knew Ah Xin is the person Li Yanyi cares most about, her weakness. Attacking Ah Xin is like stabbing a knife into Li Yanyi’s heart.

Besides this? Is there anything else they haven’t thought of?

Unrevealed clues are the ones most worth pondering.

“Even if the Furong Powder comes from Zizhuo, they have no reason to ruin Ah Xin. What benefit would ruining Ah Xin bring them?” Li Yanyi said.

“But has Your Highness considered that if the three major Hu tribes in the northwest don’t have internal support, how can they smoothly infiltrate Da Yu? How many intricacies are there that perhaps no one knows? Just at this time, Ah Xin had an incident. Whose strategy is it, and what consequences will delaying military intelligence lead to? If Hu tribe spies stir up trouble in Suichuan, wouldn’t it be beneficial for us to win people’s hearts? Delaying military information means we lose a great opportunity. Besides, that wandering knight comes from Dongchun, and the Zhangsun family is deeply rooted there.”

Li Yanyi said, “Besides the Zhangsun family, Dongchun also has Xie Fuchen. The Xie family is actually Dongchun’s primary power. How do you know this isn’t Xie Zhongcheng’s deliberate act to alienate me from Zizhuo?”

“But Your Highness, isn’t the last matter of Wei Ziyun worth considering? He had already reached Suichuan but was called back, ultimately benefiting Feng Kun’s nephew, and Wei Ziyun was eventually protected back. If these comings and goings are examined…” Liu Feng still wanted to say something but was stopped by Li Yanyi flicking her sleeve.

“No need to say more; this matter ends here, and in the future, it is not to be mentioned again.”

Li Yanyi was not overly severe, but in the past, she was always able to patiently listen to all her advisors’ suggestions, and very rarely interrupted anyone. Liu Feng knew that this time Li Yanyi was certainly siding with Wei Tingxu.

Those involved are often confused.

Liu Feng always had a poor impression of the Wei family’s hidden woman, yet Li Yanyi happened to value her greatly, discussing everything with her, which is absolutely not a good thing.

How could Liu Feng not know this is a plan to sow discord? He just wanted to remind Li Yanyi to take this opportunity to balance the Wei family, to prevent them from holding favor and becoming more unscrupulous, even one day having their achievements overshadow the ruler.

In the end, elbows always bend outward.

It’s a pity that Li Yanyi is currently weak and powerless, and can only rely on the Wei family.

Liu Feng just doesn’t want Li Yanyi to escape the wolf’s den only to enter the tiger’s lair.