Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 67
by Little PandaVolume 3: Courtly Winds and Clouds, Each Finds Their Place
Searching the Mansions
“Have you guys heard? There’s a libertine thief1 in the capital recently.”
“Of course, I’ve heard. The whole thing’s blown up so big, it’d be weirder if you hadn’t heard, okay?”
“What libertine thief? I haven’t heard anything. Quick, tell me, tell me!”
“Aiya, how could you not have heard about something this huge?! Tsk tsk tsk, the fuss it’s caused… I heard even Her Majesty the Emperor was alerted and assigned several times more Capital Guards to patrol.”
“Stop keeping us in suspense! Quick, tell me, tell me, what exactly happened?”
“Well, people are saying there’s this big, burly woman who specifically sneaks into people’s courtyards when it’s dead quiet late at night, slips into their mansions, knocks out the men of good families with drugs, and does improper things to them.”
“No, no, what I heard is that the woman is a master thief who only steals money. She’s already robbed dozens of households.”
“That’s not it at all! I heard she’s a chivalrous outlaw from a righteous martial arts sect, robbing the rich to help the poor. I heard she only steals from those rich families; even a few court officials got robbed. The money was given to the poor. If you don’t believe me, go look – there are way fewer beggars in the north side of the city now.”
“You’re wrong. I heard she’s a spy sent by the Huachen Kingdom to steal state secrets from our Yanxue Kingdom.”
“You’re the one who’s wrong! My older sister who works in a high official’s mansion told me this!”
…
On one side of Tianyi Restaurant, a crowd sat together, chattering away about the recent major events.
In a private room not far behind them, Shui Qing sat on the floor, snot and tears streaming down her face as she began to protest, “I don’t want to do this anymore! My reputation is almost completely ruined, wuwuwu.”
She cried, sniffling and choking, but after waiting a long time without hearing a response, she looked up strangely.
It was fine until she looked up. The moment she did, she saw that the few people sitting there were actually laughing. She was so miserable, yet these people were laughing so happily – it was truly unjust! So she cried even more heartbrokenly. “You… you bunch of malicious people… wuwuwu…”
When Su Yi had asked for her help, she thought it was about revealing some secrets from Xuanji Tower or something. Who knew that the respectable-looking Su Yi would actually have her take knockout incense, sneak into the mansions of Yanxue Kingdom officials and nobles, take some worthless items, mess up the décor in the young masters’ and misses’ rooms, and fake the appearance of having been mol%sted or robbed?
Now, rumors of the libertine thief and the master bandit were spreading all over the capital. She was an assassin! To think she’d fallen to this level! It was truly a sight to make onlookers grieve and hearers weep.
“My reputation… wuwuwu…”
Su Yi laughed so hard tears came out. Forcing herself to hold back, she consoled her, “Relax, you weren’t caught. How would anyone know it was you? If nobody knows, they definitely won’t say you’re the libertine thief. Besides, I only asked you to mess up the decorations in the young masters’ and misses’ rooms, not take off their clothes. Aren’t you still perfectly innocent?”
“Who says?!” Shui Qing sobbed. “When I went in, I saw the person on the bed was sleeping naked! And it wasn’t just one house! My eyes… wuwuwu…”
Shui Qing felt genuinely traumatized, crying her eyes out.
Su Yi played her trump card. “How about this: I’ll add ten portions of roasted venison, ten roasted squabs, plus twenty portions of vegetable dishes. From now on, you can eat and drink whatever you want whenever you come to Tianyi Restaurant. How about that?”
“Wuwu—” The crying stopped abruptly. Shui Qing looked up, her eyes red, meeting Su Yi’s sincere gaze, somewhat skeptical. “Really?”
“Of course. I’m still the young lady of the Marquis Pingyang’s Residence, after all. Why would I lie to you?”
Shui Qing wiped her tears with her sleeve, sniffled, and her eyes lit up with a longing for food. “Okay! Deal!”
Su Yi smiled and patted her shoulder, thinking to herself, Foodies really are easy to coax.
Feng Ruoqing walked closer with a light smile. “This is the new knockout incense I developed. It’s ten times stronger than the previous one. Take it.”
Shui Qing mumbled as she accepted it, “Good thing there’s knockout medicine, otherwise I wouldn’t go even if you beat me to death.”
“You’ve worked hard these past few days.” Ji Qingchi took out a booklet with names written on it. After carefully circling something on it, she mused, “You’ve already visited quite a few officials’ homes these days, but you haven’t visited the most crucial ones yet.”
Saying this, she tapped several names with her finger: Chancellor Xiao’s Residence, Marquis Zhenwei’s Residence, and Marquis Ding’an’s Residence had not yet been visited.
Marquis Zhenwei was the maternal family of the Fifth Princess’s biological father. Marquis Ding’an’s Residence was where the Fifth Princess’s paternal grandfather originated. Both families were related to the Fifth Princess. Ji Qingchi first had Shui Qing investigate these two places.
Su Yi was a little worried. “These are both Marquis residences. I don’t know if she can sneak in.”
Marquis Ding’an was the former Chancellor. Because she had served the country with utmost dedication and loyalty, the late Emperor had enfeoffed her as Marquis Ding’an. She gave birth to a son who married into the Marquis Zhenwei family, and those two then gave birth to the Fifth Princess’s father.
Marquis Ding’an came from a civil service background and was now elderly; perhaps the guards at her residence weren’t very strict. But Marquis Zhenwei had galloped across battlefields for many years; her residence was surely impregnable.
Ji Qingchi shared this concern and asked Shui Qing, “How is your Qinggong?”
“My Qinggong is the best in our Tower!” Shui Qing raised her head proudly, patting her chest. “They all say even eagles aren’t as fast as me!”
Ji Qingchi still wasn’t entirely reassured. After assigning several Shadow Guards to follow Shui Qing secretly, she said to Shui Qing, “Alright then. Tonight, you infiltrate Marquis Zhenwei’s Residence first. Follow the same procedure. If there are no issues, go to Marquis Ding’an’s Residence tomorrow.”
“Why not go to Marquis Ding’an’s Residence first?” Su Yi asked strangely. “Logically, the guards at Marquis Ding’an’s Residence shouldn’t be very strict.”
Ji Qingchi shook her head. “This Palace also come from a military background and know a few things about the army. In the barracks, soldiers, especially those with military honors, love to boast about their achievements. Marquis Zhenwei has distinguished herself greatly on the battlefield, so she must be extremely proud and disdainful of using guards for defense. Even if she does use them, she’ll believe her own martial arts are superior and no one would dare offend her, thus neglecting precautions. Compared to the powerless Marquis Ding’an, the security at Marquis Zhenwei’s Residence is bound to be much looser.”
After Shui Qing went to scout, she returned to report. Sure enough, Ji Qingchi had guessed correctly. Marquis Zhenwei’s Residence had very few guards. She slipped in quickly and stole an inconspicuous hand warmer2.
“This hand warmer… why does it look somewhat familiar…” Ji Qingchi murmured hesitantly, looking at the object in her hand.
In her limited childhood memories, it seemed… the late Imperial Consort loved holding this in the winter.
At this thought, her expression tightened. She quickly summoned a Shadow Guard, handed the item over, and instructed, “Find a place to store this… No, first have someone check if there’s anything suspicious about it.”
The Shadow Guard wrapped the hand warmer in a cloth bundle, held it, and acknowledged, “Yes.”
Watching the Shadow Guard leave, Su Yi asked, “Your Highness, is there a problem with this hand warmer?”
Ji Qingchi explained her suspicion. Su Yi recalled that the original work indeed hadn’t mentioned how the Imperial Consort died. Thinking about it carefully now, it did seem rather fishy. How could he have suddenly died violently the day before New Year’s Eve? It was said it was for the Emperor, but what trouble had the Emperor encountered at that time?
“Alright, let’s not think about this for now.” Seeing Su Yi’s brow furrowed, Ji Qingchi couldn’t bear to let her worry. She stepped forward, smoothed her brow, and smiled, “If you keep letting your imagination run wild, you’ll turn into an old lady.”
Su Yi slapped her arm lightly. “Your Highness, nobody will think you’re mute if you don’t speak.”
Ji Qingchi smilingly accepted the painless slap and turned to Shui Qing. “Tomorrow, This Palace will personally go to Marquis Ding’an’s Residence. You can rest.”
“Huh?” Shui Qing was baffled. “Why?”
“Marquis Ding’an is an old fox, a hundred times craftier than the current Chancellor. Otherwise, she couldn’t have retired from the chancellorship unscathed and even been enfeoffed as a Marquis. Her residence is bound to be full of traps.” Ji Qingchi said, “If I’m not mistaken, she must have heard the rumors by now and set up numerous traps at home waiting to catch you. My martial arts are superior to yours; only I would have a chance of escaping if I go.”
Remembering how Ji Qingchi had subdued her in just a few moves, Shui Qing shut her mouth and asked no more questions.
Su Yi stepped forward and urged, “Your Highness, be careful.”
“Relax, This Palace be fine.”
The next evening, Ji Qingchi donned night-travel clothes and slipped into Marquis Ding’an’s Residence. As expected, the courtyard was filled with numerous traps.
Ji Qingchi skillfully dodged continuously firing arrows, an entangling net that flew at her face, and countless tripwires and hidden pits. Evading pursuers, she rolled and slipped into a room.
She casually grabbed a small trinket – a small jade figurine – randomly messed up the room’s decorations, and then escaped.
Returning to the private room at the restaurant, the others breathed a sigh of relief seeing her return safely. Shui Qing was gnawing on a duck neck quite contentedly and asked, “There’s still the Chancellor’s Residence. Do you need me to go tomorrow?”
“No need.” Su Yi smiled. “Marquis Ding’an’s Residence and Marquis Zhenwei’s Residence, two major Marquis residences, have been infiltrated. Plus, dozens of noble families have had things stolen recently. I guess this reason is sufficient now.”
This was the excuse she had mentioned before, giving Ji Qingchi a reason to search the residences of the nobility and officials.
“There’s one more reason that Your Highness needs to create yourself.”
“Rest assured.” Ji Qingchi smiled with complete confidence. “I have been training diligently these days. My beast taming skills have greatly improved.”
That evening, everyone in Jingdu was astonished because a massive flock of crows appeared, blotting out the sky and even obscuring the sun, plunging the land into darkness.
These crows gathered together, forming several characters.
“Subjects disloyal, Yanxue imperiled.”3
Officials from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau reported this strange phenomenon to the Emperor. Coupled with the recent series of thefts in noble households, the Emperor declared publicly that she suspected it was the deliberate work of certain disloyal subjects. She immediately ordered the Capital Guards to conduct searches of the noble and official households.
Except for the Fifth Princess, the other princesses were assigned to accompany the Capital Guards during the searches.
Ji Qingchi had already coordinated with her elder sisters. The princesses knew what to do. During the searches with the Capital Guards, they paid particular attention to those acting suspiciously and were also somewhat suspicious of those who appeared overly calm. They arrested anyone they caught sight of. Before long, they had arrested over three hundred people, all escorted to the Dali Temple4 for interrogation.
Ji Qingchi personally interrogated them. Apart from some who were committing crimes and acted suspiciously out of guilt, the rest were spies. She had Chen Bi and Shui Qing come identify them, and they actually caught over a hundred spies planted in noble households.
This number thoroughly enraged the Emperor, but she didn’t show it. After Ji Qingchi extracted their secrets and confessions, she had them all secretly executed. The official announcement claimed these people had been stealing from their masters and, fearing capture, had used the master bandit’s name as cover. Such disloyal and unrighteous individuals could only be put to death.
To appease the nobles and officials, she specially gifted them some servants to fill the vacancies in their households.
These individuals were servants in name but supervisors in reality.
For a time, the actions of the nobles and officials became much more cautious.
Su Yi lay on the chaise longue, pouting. “But we still haven’t found out who smashed my shop.”
The way she puffed out her cheeks was exceptionally cute. Ji Qingchi couldn’t resist poking her cheek. Su Yi shot her a sideways glance. “Your Highness, please conduct yourself with dignity.”
“This Palace just bumped into it accidentally. Why is Miss Su telling me to conduct myself with dignity?”
Ji Qingchi pretended not to understand her words and continued poking. “If Miss Su is unhappy, you can also accidentally bump me.”
“Alright then. Your Highness, lower your head.”
Ji Qingchi lowered her head with a smile, but then her smile started to stiffen. Su Yi, like playing cat’s cradle, tugged her face several times.
“Ow… Miss Su, please be merciful.”
“Your Highness has been getting increasingly improper lately.” Su Yi looked exasperated as she kneaded that beautiful face like dough before finally letting go with satisfaction. “We’re talking about serious matters now. If we don’t catch the person who smashed my shop, I can’t reopen. It’s been almost half a month since we closed. What are those clerks and suppliers supposed to eat and drink?”
Ji Qingchi rubbed her reddened face. “Previously, Young Master Cui said that Chancellor Xiao’s son instigated him. Although I didn’t fully believe him, I kept it in mind. During the searches this time, I specifically had people search the residences of Chancellor Xiao’s protégés5 carefully.”
It was nothing until they checked, but the check truly uncovered quite a few things.
Ji Qingchi took out a booklet from her sleeve. “This is from the home of the Vice Minister of Personnel. She entered the Ministry of Personnel through Chancellor Xiao’s recommendation. Inside is her record of the private wrongdoings of various officials.”
“The Ministry of Personnel oversees official promotions and has the duty to impeach officials. It’s understandable for her to record these things. But crucially, after recording them, she wrote on the last page, ‘Respectfully presented to Mentor.’ So it’s obvious this booklet was meant for Chancellor Xiao.”
Not only the Vice Minister of Personnel, but in the Ministry of Works, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Justice – these important government offices all had Chancellor Xiao’s protégés.
“So, does this mean it really was Xiao Zhengyun who caused the trouble?”
“Even if it wasn’t him directly, he’s definitely implicated.”
Su Yi frowned. “Then what should we do?”
Ji Qingchi smiled. “Doesn’t my Fifth Imperial Sister fancy that son of Chancellor Xiao? Then let her go see just what kind of person this Young Master Xiao truly is.”
Footnotes
- 采花大盗 | cǎihuā dàdào | Lit. “flower-picking great thief.” A term for a criminal who targets women, often implying mol%station or r%pe, though here used in varied gossip.
- 手炉 | shǒulú | A small, portable stove or container, often metal or ceramic, holding hot coals or water to warm the hands.
- 臣不臣, 炎雪祸 | chén bù chén, Yán Xuě huò | A cryptic phrase. 臣不臣 (chén bù chén) literally means “subject not subject” or “minister not acting as a minister,” implying disloyalty or officials overstepping their bounds. 炎雪祸 (Yán Xuě huò) means “Yanxue disaster/calamity.” The phrase suggests disloyal subjects will bring disaster to the Yanxue Kingdom.
- 大理寺 | Dàlǐ Sì | The highest court for reviewing criminal cases in imperial China.
- 门生 | ménshēng | Disciple, student, protégé; often implies a political follower or someone promoted by a patron.
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