Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 63
by Little PandaVolume 3: Courtly Winds and Clouds, Each Finds Their Place
Interrogation
The flower artisan, kicked in the stomach by Ji Qingchi, spat blood and collapsed on the ground, unable to move.
Seeing this, the other guards rushed forward to restrain her.
Ji Qingchi said coldly, “Quick, get a cloth gag to stuff in her mouth, lest she bite her tongue and commit suicide.”
The guards did as instructed. As they went to gag her, they clearly saw she was already preparing to bite her tongue. The guards dislocated her jaw, preventing her from moving it, then stuffed her mouth with the cloth.
Su Yi also reacted, seeing the long gash on Ji Qingchi’s arm, and quickly said, “Your Highness, stop the bleeding quickly.”
Ji Qingchi pressed the bleeding-control acupoint1; the long knife wound made onlookers ache just looking at it.
Su Yi looked at the gaping wound and said worriedly, “I wonder if it’s poisoned.”
She had a maid bring Feng Ruoqing over. After a careful diagnosis, it was indeed confirmed that the dagger had been coated with poison.
“Don’t worry. When I came over, Miss Hua gave me an antidote pill,” Feng Ruoqing said softly, taking out a small white porcelain bottle and pouring out the medicine for Ji Qingchi to take.
Assassins from Xuanji Tower always carried poisoned weapons; it would be strange if one day they didn’t.
Hua Wuying had anticipated this long ago and given her the antidote prepared in the Tower. Due to her own special status, it wasn’t appropriate for Marquis Su to see her, so just before Su Yi had ordered the search, she had Hua Wuying wait in her room.
Ji Qingchi took the antidote, and Feng Ruoqing cleaned and bandaged the bloody wound on her hand.
Su Ban breathed a sigh of relief; she couldn’t bear the responsibility if Her Highness was injured in her residence.
She stepped forward and bowed to Ji Qingchi, “Many thanks to Your Highness for saving this old subject’s great-granddaughter just now. Your Highness’s presence graces my humble home, making it shine. But this old subject didn’t know when Your Highness arrived and failed to welcome you properly; I am truly ashamed.”
When Ji Qingchi and the others had entered the Su Residence, Su Yi hadn’t let the guards announce them, so Marquis Su hadn’t known two guests had arrived in her home.
Ji Qingchi had already prepared an excuse, “This Palace and Miss Su are good friends. This time, I specifically didn’t want to disturb the Marquis; I just wanted to come over and reminisce with Miss Su.”
“So that’s how it is.” Su Ban didn’t doubt it. After all, when celebrating her birthday, Su Yi had been able to produce the Ninth Highness’s painting, indicating they indeed had a very close private relationship.
She looked at the subdued woman on the ground and said, “This person harbors ill intentions and must be interrogated thoroughly. Your Highness, since this person appeared in this old subject’s residence, let this old subject handle it.”
Su Yi smiled and took her great-grandmother’s arm, “Great-Grandmother, you should go rest. You’re usually tired from attending court; don’t worry about these troublesome matters anymore. Yi’er’s health has improved considerably, so let me help you with the questioning. I’ll report the results to you once the interrogation is done, how about that?”
Su Ban trusted this great-granddaughter of hers very much. Thinking that she was indeed getting old and it was time to train her descendants, she smiled and patted her hand, “Alright, then I’ll entrust this matter entirely to Yi’er.”
She then led Su Jie and Su Ming away to rest.
As Su Ming left, she worriedly grasped Su Yi’s hand, “If there’s anything Yi’er can’t handle, come find Mother, alright?”
Su Yi smiled and nodded, “Mother, don’t worry.”
After seeing them off, she immediately had the woman securely tied up, brought Cui Jinli along, and returned to her own room.
Hua Wuying was sipping tea. Seeing the flower artisan dragged in, she raised an eyebrow, “Oh? Isn’t this Shui Qing2 from Protector Yang’s3 side? Usually so arrogant around your master, how did you end up in such a sorry state?”
Hearing her voice, the woman lifted her head, a flicker of surprise vanishing from her eyes.
She had wanted to cry out for help, but hearing Hua Wuying’s words and seeing her sitting properly in a chair, calmly drinking tea, unlike herself tied up like a dumpling4, she instantly understood.
Once Yan Can removed the cloth gag from her mouth, she immediately spoke angrily, “Eldest Miss! You’re also part of Xuanji Tower, how could you collude with these people like the wolf and bei5?!”
Hua Wuying spread her hands innocently, “Tsk, listen to you. I’m just a powerless puppet, lacking even the strength to truss a chicken6. Doesn’t your master usually say I’m just a scapegoat7, not really part of Xuanji Tower? Why now, are you suddenly so eager to claim I’m one of Xuanji Tower’s people?”
Shui Qing, having followed Left Protector Yang Yuan8, was accustomed to seeing the Left Protector’s resentment towards this Eldest Miss who had lost her martial arts. When Hua Wuying wasn’t around, she would even curse her behind her back a few times.
Rebutted like this, she was somewhat speechless.
“If you don’t know how to use idioms, don’t use them casually.” Su Yi took over, smiling as she pointed at her, “You’re the bei. As for the master behind you, that’s the wolf. You two are the ones who fit that idiom.”
“Hahaha, well said, well said.” Hua Wuying clapped and laughed, “Miss Su puts it aptly.”
Ji Qingchi also smiled, “Miss Su is right. This Miss Shui— ah no, Miss Bei, why don’t you tell us, what were you planning by hiding in the Su Residence?”
“It’s alright if you don’t speak.” Feng Ruoqing took out her medicine kit, unfurled her pouch of silver needles9, picked one as thick as an infant’s finger, and gestured with it towards Shui Qing. “I recently developed a new set of needle techniques, haven’t had a chance to use them yet. Miss Bei, you’re an assassin, tough and thick-skinned, surely you can endure it.”
On the way earlier, Su Yi had mentioned methods of threatening people during interrogation, and Feng Ruoqing immediately thought of silver needles. To the uninformed, these things looked particularly terrifying and were quite effective for intimidation.
The silver needle glinted coldly under the lamplight.
Kneeling on the cold floor, facing four figures—some sitting, some standing—like Yama kings10, Shui Qing felt both fear and anger.
Finally, a surge of passion made her shout angrily, “You’re not human!”
“Miss Bei, you have fiery eyes and golden pupils11, eh? You saw that we’re fairies?” Su Yi said with a smile. “Unfortunately, praising us won’t help. Speak quickly, what were you doing coming to the Su Residence? And what information have you secretly gathered?”
Hua Wuying smiled like a flower, showing no intention of saving her. Ji Qingchi drew her soft sword and began wiping it. Feng Ruoqing took out three more exceptionally thick silver needles.
The four were clearly smiling at her, yet Shui Qing felt as if she were looking at malicious ghosts from hell, making her feel more tormented than being in a torture chamber.
She couldn’t bear it anymore and voluntarily confessed her purpose for coming to the Su Residence.
She had come under the orders of the Tower Master, tasked with spying on Marquis Su’s movements within the residence and, when necessary, sneaking into the study to steal a personal letter from Marquis Su, framing her just as they had framed the Eighth Princess.
Furthermore, the Young Master had also instructed her to pay close attention to Su Yi, saying she owned the largest cosmetics shop and restaurant in the entire capital, and they needed to find a way to seize what was hers.
After hearing her confession, Ji Qingchi frowned deeply, “Do you know how many people your Tower sent here?”
“She’s just a small fry, what could she know,” Hua Wuying said lazily. “If you want to know how many are hidden, you’d have to search the homes of every noble and official in the capital.”
Su Yi shook her head, “That’s not a bad idea, but there’s no reason, and we can’t just barge into people’s homes without cause. Besides, investigating all this would take a lot of time; it’s probably not feasible right now.”
At this critical juncture, it was indeed difficult to find a good reason to search the residences of the capital’s powerful figures.
Ji Qingchi placed the gleaming sword against her neck, narrowing her eyes, “Are you sure you’re not lying to us?”
The sword was made of meteoric iron12, extraordinarily sharp. If she turned her head even slightly, it would draw a line of blood on her neck.
Shui Qing tensed, holding her neck rigidly straight, “I’ve said everything I was going to say. Believe it or not.”
Seeing her expression didn’t seem fake, Su Yi waved her hand, “Alright, tie her up, throw her in the woodshed, and assign twenty people to watch her.”
Yan Can asked, “Miss, isn’t that a few too many people?”
“Too many?” Su Yi smiled. Though she appeared pale and frail, her smile sent a chill down Shui Qing’s spine. “I don’t think it’s too many. But you did remind me, even if I arrange a large number of guards, this Miss Bei seems quite skilled. What if she takes the opportunity to escape?”
Ji Qingchi understood immediately, walked up to her, sealed her meridians13, and smiled kindly at her, “Your meridians and internal force14 have been sealed by This Palace. This is a unique technique of mine. If you dare to run, within a few shichen, your intestines will rupture and your stomach will rot.”
Shui Qing was shocked and furious, “But didn’t you just—”
“We never said we’d just let you go like that,” Su Yi said, beaming. “We want to keep Miss Bei as our guest for a few more days, lest we can’t find her when we need her help.”
After saying this with a smile, she instructed Yan Can, “Take Miss Bei to be a guest in our family’s woodshed.”
Yan Can led Shui Qing, still bound like a dumpling, away.
Only the four women and the quietly seated Cui Jinli remained in the room.
“Miss Cui,” Su Yi found it truly difficult to reconcile the lively face from before with the person before her now. After hesitating for a moment, she walked over, crouched down in front of her, and asked, “Were you harmed by people from Xuanji Tower?”
“Don’t ask her, I know about this.” Hua Wuying walked over to them and sighed, “There are quite a few people in Xuanji Tower skilled in disguise. This Miss Cui was impersonated. The impersonator, fearing she might reveal herself, had someone disfigure her face and… render her unable to speak.”
Ji Qingchi asked suspiciously, “How does Miss Hua know this so clearly?”
Hua Wuying gave a faint smile, “Because I was the one who let her go.”
At that time, after Cui Jinli’s identity was discovered, she was targeted. Her ‘good’ brother found an assassin within the Tower whose facial features bore some resemblance to Cui Jinli. An expert in disguise altered the assassin’s appearance, mixed her in with a group of trafficked women, and deliberately had the Fifth Princess notified, letting the princess bring them back.
They carried out this series of actions without avoiding Hua Wuying. At the time, she lacked the strength to truss a chicken and couldn’t help Cui Jinli. All she could do was secretly have someone treat her injuries afterward and then release her.
“I don’t know exactly how many undercover assassins the Tower has dispatched, but as for disguised ones, I currently only know of Miss Cui.”
After Cui Jinli was unfortunately captured, the other nobles strengthened the protection of their children; how could they let them be captured so easily again?
So, up until now, Cui Jinli was the only unlucky one.
After Hua Wuying finished speaking, the quietly seated Cui Jinli was already dissolved in tears.
Ji Qingchi sighed, “That day, seeing Minister Cui’s state, it seemed she didn’t know about any of this. I fear she herself didn’t recognize that her own child had been swapped.”
“Shopkeeper Hua, that brother and father of yours are truly unacceptable.” Hearing all this, Su Yi’s expression turned cold, a layer of anger covering her pale face, yet the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward. “Just you wait to become the new Master of Xuanji Tower.”
The author has something to say:
My gastritis flared up, not feeling well, can only advance the plot a little.
Footnotes
- 穴道 | xuédào | Pressure points in Traditional Chinese Medicine and martial arts, believed to affect the flow of vital energy (Qi).
- 水青 | Shuǐ Qīng
- 杨护法 | Yáng Hùfǎ | Hùfǎ (护法) is a title, often translated as Protector or Guardian, typically indicating a high-ranking position within certain organizations or sects.
- 粽子 | zòngzi | Pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in leaves, often eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival. Being “tied like a zongzi” is a common expression for being bound tightly.
- 狼狈为奸 | láng bèi wéi jiān | Lit. “wolf and bei act villainously together.” The ‘bei’ (狈) is a legendary creature said to have short forelegs and ride on a wolf’s back; the idiom means to collude in evil.
- 手无缚鸡之力 | shǒu wú fù jī zhī lì | Lit. “hand lacks the strength to bind a chicken,” a common idiom meaning very weak or physically frail.
- 替罪羊 | tì zuì yáng | Lit. “substitute-crime sheep,” meaning scapegoat.
- 杨菀 | Yáng Wǎn
- 银针 | yín zhēn | Silver needles are commonly used in acupuncture and sometimes depicted in fiction for medical or coercive purposes.
- 阎罗 | Yánluó | Kings of Hell in Chinese mythology.
- 火眼金睛 | huǒ yǎn jīn jīng | An ability of Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) allowing him to see through deception; used here idiomatically to mean sharp, discerning eyes.
- 陨铁 | yǔntiě | Iron from meteorites, often depicted in fiction as being exceptionally hard and sharp.
- 经脉 | jīngmài | Channels through which internal energy (内力 | nèilì) is believed to flow in cultivation/martial arts systems.
- 内力 | nèilì | Cultivated internal energy or power in martial arts/cultivation.
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