The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 557: Chapter 557: Turning the Tables, Laying a Trap with Oneself as Bait

Ye Chutang could see that no matter what she said, Princess Qingyang wasn’t going to listen.

’She’s even more invested in this than Shen Yanchuan and I are.’

So, Ye Chutang said no more, content to let the princess’s imagination run wild.

”Did you come here today just for this?”

Princess Qingyang cleared her throat. ”Well, not entirely. I also heard that Fan Chengzhuo has been removed from his post as Minister of the Ministry of Justice?”

’Her sources are certainly fast.’

Ye Chutang nodded. ”His Majesty issued the edict today. With such a huge mess at the Ministry of Justice, someone had to take the fall.”

”Him?” Princess Qingyang scoffed. ”If you ask me, he was never fit for that post to begin with. But the man is as slippery as an eel and never made a major mistake. It’s a wonder he lasted this long before getting the boot.”

Ye Chutang was rather surprised to hear such disdain for Fan Chengzhuo in her voice.

”Do you have some history with him?”

’Why else would she be so interested in Fan Chengzhuo’s affairs and so delighted by his downfall?’

”Not me, my father,” Princess Qingyang admitted candidly. ”He tried to trip my father up a few times in the past. My father didn’t hold it against him, but I’m not so forgiving.”

”King Yan Nan?”

Now Ye Chutang was genuinely surprised.

’One is a military general, the other a civil servant. What kind of conflict could they possibly have?’

She had never heard of any friction between the two of them.

Princess Qingyang waved her hand dismissively. ”It was years ago. He submitted memorials against my father several times.”

Ye Chutang racked her brain for a long time before a vague memory surfaced.

Some years ago, someone at court had indeed accused King Yan Nan, charging him with amassing military power for his own ends and of his accomplishments eclipsing the throne.

King Yan Nan had offered to surrender his military authority, but Emperor Muwu refused, and only then was the matter dropped.

But ever since, King Yan Nan had remained stationed in the Southwest, never setting foot in the Capital City again except to report on his duties at the appointed times.

He left only the young Princess Qingyang behind in the capital.

So much time had passed that most people had probably forgotten, but who would have thought that Fan Chengzhuo had a hand in it.

No wonder Princess Qingyang’s attitude toward him was so hostile, and why she delighted in his misfortune.

Ye Chutang said, ”However, with the Wazhen Mission about to arrive in the capital, His Majesty has suppressed the matter for now and opted not to hand down a severe punishment.”

”I figured as much.” Princess Qingyang shrugged. ”But it’s still good to see him taken down a peg.”

Ye Chutang nodded. ”After the huge fiasco last night, it was expected that he wouldn’t be able to hold on to his post. As for the final outcome... that will still depend on His Majesty’s will.”

”He’s a treacherous one. Who knows what trouble he’ll stir up in the meantime.” Princess Qingyang clearly looked down on him, her red lips curling in a sneer. ”After what happened to the Jiang family, the fact that he managed to escape unscathed shows he’s certainly got a few tricks up his sleeve.”

Ye Chutang agreed with that.

A series of past events flashed through her mind. Fan Chengzhuo had clearly thrown in his lot with someone else.

’As for who that person was... that was difficult to guess.’

”Anyway, enough about him! I actually came today with another important matter to discuss with you.”

Princess Qingyang leaned forward, her expression growing uncharacteristically serious.

”I heard that those Southern Hu Blade Men from last night died from a Southern Hu Gu Technique?”

Ye Chutang hummed in affirmation.

”To be precise, it was the Seven Corpses Gu, an exceptionally bizarre and malevolent Poisonous Gu Technique. It’s almost impossible to guard against and very difficult to trace.”

Princess Qingyang lowered her voice.

”I might know who planted the poisonous insect in them.”

Ye Chutang was taken aback. ”Truly?”

Princess Qingyang nodded. ”Have you forgotten? I spent some time with my father on the Southwest Border. Although that Gu poison is a secret art of the Nanhu, very few people actually know how to use it.”

Ye Chutang understood at once.

’If that’s the case, then the range of suspects has narrowed considerably!’

”Then why didn’t you go and tell the Princely Heir?”

’With Shen Yanchuan’s resources, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to investigate this.’

”I was going to, but isn’t he busy interrogating the assassins who tried to kill him? So I figured telling you first would be just as good!”

Princess Qingyang said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world,

”Besides, you recognized the Seven Corpses Gu, which shows you know something about the Southern Hu Gu Technique. Maybe if I tell you, you’ll figure it out even faster than my brother, right?”

Ye Chutang: ”...”

’For a moment, she didn’t know whether to say that Princess Qingyang had too much faith in her, or...’

After a moment’s thought, she asked, ”Why don’t you ask about the assassins?”

Princess Qingyang threw up her hands. ”My brother is always wrapped up in some trouble or another. People are trying to assassinate him every other day. How am I supposed to keep track?”

Ye Chutang thought that was a very good point and nodded seriously.

”That’s true.”

Princess Qingyang suddenly thought of something. She propped her chin on one hand, a sly, suggestive smile playing on her lips.

”Besides, maybe this time my brother will even have to thank them!”

...

Within a single day, more than a dozen people in the Ministry of Justice, from the top down and including Fan Chengzhuo, were demoted and transferred from their posts.

The punishment was neither light nor severe.

Considering the fiasco, a few heads on the chopping block would not have been out of place. But everyone understood the reason for this outcome: it was to smooth things over for the upcoming peace talks with Wazhen.

Coupled with the involvement of the Southern Hu Blade Men and the attempt on Shen Yanchuan’s life, everyone treated the matter with extreme discretion, tacitly agreeing not to speak of it further.

Only a select few realized that, with this move, the entire Ministry of Justice had effectively been purged and reshuffled.

...

「Dingbei Marquis Mansion.」

Yun Cheng presented a list.

”Master, this is the list of officials who were ousted and their replacements.”

Shen Yanchuan glanced over it. The names were more or less what he had expected.

He tossed it aside.

”Fan Chengzhuo spent years cultivating his network in the Ministry of Justice, only to see it all go up in smoke after one fire.”

Countless eyes were now fixed on the positions that had opened up.

’No matter how capable Fan Chengzhuo is, he can never return to his former post. Years of work, all for nothing.’

Yun Cheng froze for a moment, then it dawned on him.

”So... Master, you deliberately walked in there alone that night?”

Shen Yanchuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

”They had already woven their net and were just waiting for me to jump in. It was such a warm invitation, how could I possibly refuse?”

Yun Cheng was shaken. It was a long moment before he spoke. ”But once they made their move, it was meant to be a fatal trap. For you to take such a risk—”

”Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Shen Yanchuan stood up and retrieved a Crossbow from behind a bookshelf.

—It was the very one his would-be assassins had intended to use on him!

His thin lips curved slightly.

”This thing... is far more interesting.”