Fate Trading System – Chapter 372

Plan B

Mandarin Ducks 2

Su Xin planned to quietly enter through the back door and return to her own courtyard.

Fortunately, the lake wasn’t far from the Xu family estate, and at this hour, there weren’t many people wandering around.

The sky was nearing dusk, which was dinnertime. Xu Jinyan had used the excuse of taking a walk after dinner to go out and throw herself into the lake.

Otherwise, if people saw her dripping wet, there’s no telling what they might imagine.

Hearing the noise, the servant came to open the back door. They were startled to see the Third Miss standing there, hair in disarray and soaked to the bone.

“Third Miss, what happened to you?”

“I slipped and fell into the lake.”

Xu Jinyan knew how to swim, as did most of the Xu family’s children. This was because they used to go to the lake to catch fish for fun when they were young. A merchant family was not as strict with its rules as a family of scholar-officials. Besides, Old Master Xu had not been very wealthy in his youth; it was only after marrying a virtuous wife and working his way up that he achieved his current status.

“That’s truly frightening. Miss, please come in quickly, lest you catch a wind-cold¹ from the breeze.”

The servant was aware of Xu Jinyan’s situation and knew she must be feeling terrible right now. She had gone for a walk by the lake and accidentally lost her footing. But if she had truly been unable to overcome her despair… what would have become of her?

Su Xin returned to her courtyard, and the maidservant at the door stomped her foot anxiously and hurried over to greet her.

“Miss, why did you go out all by yourself without taking me? Oh my, Miss, what happened to you?”

The young maid was in a tizzy. Su Xin already felt unwell, and the girl’s fussing made her a bit dizzy.

“Alright, Xiao Qin², I just accidentally fell into the water, that’s all. Go prepare bathwater for me, and then go to the kitchen and cook a bowl of chill-dispelling soup³.”

Xiao Qin was fourteen, still very young. She was quick and meticulous, but because she was still too young, she lacked composure and was always somewhat impetuous.

The maid who had previously served Xu Jinyan had been married off and had left with a merchant caravan for another place. The Xu family had then assigned a new personal maid to Xu Jinyan.

The Xu family had grown in number now. Although the second and fourth daughters were married, some of the older and younger brothers had started their own families, which naturally required more attention. As a result, Xu Jinyan’s arrangements were not as good as before.

In the past, she had at least two personal maids and numerous servants for rough work. But Xu Jinyan had kept delaying marriage, and while she wasn’t mistreated in terms of food and clothing, her situation was still not as favorable as it once was.

In the past, the affairs of this rear courtyard were all managed by the First Madam⁴, who was Xu Jinyan’s mother. But this past year, her mother’s health had been poor, her energy lacking, and she spent more time resting each day. Thus, the responsibility had been handed over to the Second Aunt-Madam⁵.

Xu Jinyan couldn’t complain that her quality of life had declined. She didn’t care much about these things, and even if she did say something, what good would it do? The Second Aunt-Madam would just cry and say she was doing her best, and that because money was hard to come by, she cut expenses where she could. In short, nothing would change. Xu Jinyan only wanted to quietly wait for her beloved in the Xu family, living as an invisible person.

Su Xin soaked in the hot water while Xiao Qin scrubbed her back.

“Master Fourteen, transmit the data to me.”

【Okay.】

Su Xin needed to get a good understanding of the situation and relationships of the main characters in this family, as well as those of Liu Yunyi⁶, the Princess⁷, and the Emperor.

She needed to find a breakthrough to get out.

First, the first step was not to marry. Marriage brought with it a whole new pile of troubles, and she had no desire to marry any man.

Second, find the best way to get to the capital.

Finally, find Liu Yunyi.

Making this person apologize shouldn’t be difficult. As long as she could meet him in private, anyone with a conscience would apologize. Even a false, deceptive apology to dismiss her should be possible, right?

【Host, wait, the mission has changed.】

Hm? It can be changed?

【Before the client’s soul dissipates, they can choose to watch past scenes they wish to see. Xu Jinyan’s emotional state worsened when she saw a scene with Liu Yunyi, and she submitted a request to change the mission, which was approved.】

What’s the new mission?

【Make Liu Yunyi personally tell Princess Yuyuan⁸ about the past between him and her.】

Tsk, got it. Is the apology still necessary?

【It does not need to be implemented.】

This mission was much more difficult than the original one.

The previous one could have been accomplished through clever tricks, but this one could not.

Liu Yunyi would have to be out of his mind to do such a thing voluntarily.

From the data, it was clear that this person placed extreme importance on official achievement, fame, wealth, and rank⁹. Marrying the princess was nothing more than a stepping stone for him to climb higher.

He was the one who actively drew Princess Yuyuan’s gaze to himself; it was not a case of Princess Yuyuan forcing him to be the Prince Consort¹⁰.

Cunning and without a conscience.

To make him do such a thing, she would have to either coerce him or entice him.

To inform him with emotion and move him with reason¹¹ was useless; this was a person who eats the hard but not the soft¹². She either had to make him afraid or make him see a potential benefit.

Su Xin was a little annoyed as she read. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him human dregs¹³; he was a complete egoist with very little morality.

If he encountered a fatuous emperor, he would undoubtedly be a treacherous courtier¹⁴.

The current Emperor was not fatuous; he was an enlightened ruler¹⁵.

Su Xin observed that this Emperor’s situation was not very good.

The Emperor had been on the throne for five years. He hadn’t accomplished anything particularly earth-shattering, but he had built upon the foundations of his predecessor to make the country more stable, and he was diligent in his duties.

However, the reigning Empress Dowager¹⁶ was not the Emperor’s birth mother, and the phenomenon of government interference by the consort kin¹⁷ was severe. The country looked fine on the surface, but its political structure was actually precarious.

The Empress Dowager wanted her own biological grandson to be the emperor and wanted to drive the one on the Dragon Throne¹⁸ out. The power of the consort kin was too great for the Emperor to easily reclaim, leaving him in a state of difficult maneuvering.

Princess Yuyuan was not the Emperor’s biological sister but the Empress Dowager’s daughter. Her personality could not be called good; she appeared innocent and romantic, but in reality, her mind was extremely vicious.

If the Emperor were to be forced to abdicate, the Empress Dowager would immediately have the son of her deceased son—that is, her biological grandson—ascend the throne.

The Emperor’s health was not very good, and the imperial harem had remained without issue. If he died, the throne would certainly go to his nephew.

Su Xin learned from the data that the Emperor’s illness was not congenital but was the result of the Empress Dowager’s machinations. She had given him a type of poison that had made his body so weak.

The Emperor was filled with hatred and had been secretly conditioning his body while plotting how to take down the Empress Dowager and her maternal family.

The Emperor had a capable aide, the General Who Pacifies the North¹⁹, Lin Suhuai²⁰.

Here, Su Xin also saw her breakthrough point.

Lin Suhuai was the Emperor’s confidante and had always stood on the same front as him. Consequently, she was heavily targeted by the Empress Dowager, an existence like a nail in the eye, a thorn in the flesh²¹.

On her secret journey back to the court this time, Lin Suhuai was ambushed by assassins. It wasn’t the first or second time she had been targeted, but this time was special: there was a traitor on Lin Suhuai’s side.

Lin Suhuai’s whereabouts were unknown. The Emperor was extremely anxious, sending people to search for her in secret while pretending on the surface at court that nothing was wrong.

This was because Lin Suhuai had secretly returned to have an audience with the Emperor²²; no one else knew.

Except for the Empress Dowager, who had received news from her spy.

Su Xin immediately had Fourteen check Lin Suhuai’s information, her heart filled with joy.

Lin Suhuai was in a place not far from her, seriously injured and unconscious. If she didn’t receive timely medical treatment, she would very likely not survive.

Most importantly, Lin Suhuai was a woman.

This secret was known only to the Emperor.

Since childhood, Lin Suhuai had been a female disguised as a male, not loving red finery but loving martial attire²³.

Lin Suhuai’s family had produced Tiger Generals²⁴ for three generations, but in this generation, she was the only girl. The Lin family was also being watched like a tiger eyeing its prey²⁵ by others. If this matter became known, it would be tantamount to saying the Lin family had fallen into decline, because it was impossible for a girl to go to the battlefield; they were destined to be married off sooner or later.

In order to prevent those with intentions from having an opportunity to exploit²⁶, Madam Lin announced to the public that she had given birth to a baby boy.

Their family had planned to secretly adopt a boy and hide their biological daughter away, officially bringing her back into the family under the pretext of adoption when she came of age.

But even though the Lin family hid the child well, at the age of three, the adopted baby boy was poisoned to death.

The General and his wife killed the perpetrator before they had a chance to report the news and told Lin Suhuai what had happened.

Lin Suhuai was precocious and expressed her willingness to disguise herself as a boy and train.

So, in the eyes of outsiders, the Lin General’s son had merely suffered a serious illness.

When she was young, it not being easy to distinguish male from female²⁷ wasn’t a major issue. Lin Suhuai knew that if she didn’t properly pretend to be a boy, something terrible would happen. Coupled with her great interest in wielding swords and spears, she studied military strategy and tactics from a young age, learning martial arts to strengthen her body.

Fortunately, General Lin and Madam Lin were both tall, so Lin Suhuai was also tall. Although she couldn’t be considered the most heroic among men, she wouldn’t be mistaken for a woman either.

Lin Suhuai was three years younger than the Emperor, and they had associated with each other since childhood.

When Lin Suhuai won her first victory, the Emperor wanted to bestow a marriage upon her to help her gather more influence and better solidify her position. Upon receiving the news, Lin Suhuai confessed her female identity and stated that she would never marry a man or take a wife in this life.

To show her determination, she even cut her own face and made an oath, further strengthening the bond between ruler and subject.

The Emperor was greatly shaken by this and never again mentioned bestowing a marriage upon Lin Suhuai. When others hinted at it, he would pretend not to understand.

The ministers thought the Emperor was wary of the power the General held and did not want her influence to continue to grow, to avoid having achievements so high they shake the master²⁸.

Needless to say, since Liu Yunyi married Princess Yuyuan, he was definitely on her side.

And needless to say, the Princess was definitely on her mother’s side, so Liu Yunyi was one of the Empress Dowager’s faction²⁹.

Coercion or enticement? Su Xin chose the former without hesitation. She simply didn’t want that scumbag Liu Yunyi to have an easy time.

Su Xin narrowed her eyes. She thought of a plan that was one move, three gains³⁰.

Su Xin had Fourteen pinpoint Lin Suhuai’s location and observed her injuries.

She probably wouldn’t die tonight, but the situation was definitely not optimistic.

She could only hope that she could hold on a little longer.

“Master Fourteen, get me a medicine that can save her. It doesn’t have to be too good, just the best that the Lin family could produce.”

【Okay.】

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