Chapter 50: Ten Years Ago

Yang Xuan felt a bit nervous.

“That’s called a background check,” Vermilion Bird explained. “If your past isn’t clean…”

“And what then?” Yang Xuan carefully reviewed his own history and felt there was nothing to worry about.

“Then you’d better scrub it clean.”

At Mirror Terrace, the investigator assigned to check Yang Xuan’s background prepared to set out.

“Ah!”

He had barely stepped out of the duty room when he slipped and fell. Examining his ankle, he found it was swollen like a pig’s trotter.

This job was out of the question now. From the side, Zhao Sanfu hurried over, and as he passed the steps, his right hand slipped from his sleeve, swiftly wiping away the grease on the step with a cloth.

“Hey! What happened?” The investigator looked back at the steps in confusion. “I don’t know how I slipped—must’ve been lost in thought. Ah, this is bad… If I abandon the task, the gatekeeper will kill me. Sanfu, do me a favor, go check the Notorious Marshal’s background for me, and I’ll owe you one. Next time, I’ll take you to the pleasure house—pick any beautiful courtesan you like…”

Zhao Sanfu propped him up and helped him back to the duty room, step by step, pressing firmly on that spot as they passed.

“Who doesn’t have trouble sometimes?” Zhao Sanfu settled him onto a mat, speaking gently, “It’s just a favor, there’s no need for thanks.”

“Sanfu!” Tears welled in the investigator’s eyes. “Thank you. But don’t let this leak out, or my rivals will use it against me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep it secret.”

Zhao Sanfu then headed to Wannian County to check Yang Xuan’s records and registration.

“Father: Yang Ding. Mother: Lady Wang. Three brothers… spotless, nothing amiss,” the clerk in charge of the registry said with a smile.

“That’s right!” Zhao Sanfu returned to Mirror Terrace.

“Spotless,” the injured investigator said gratefully, brushing away his tears. “Thank you, brother!”

“You’re welcome.”

He cleared his throat, “Brother, keep it secret!”

“Rest assured—unless I die.”

Leaving the duty room, Zhao Sanfu looked up at the sky and murmured almost inaudibly, “But back then, he did ask about Yang Lue several times.”

Xin Quan was still watching his small pot, as if only food was left in the world.

“Chief.”

“Hmm?”

“Are there truly innocent people in this world?”

“Is everything in your eyes just black and white?”

“…”

The water boiled. Xin Quan skimmed off the foam with a spoon. “When you see only black and white, you’ll get tangled up, disliking many things and many people. But, Sanfu, the world isn’t just black and white. There’s also… grey.”

…

Southern Zhou.

Yang Lue knelt in the hall, his powerful figure as imposing as a mountain.

Nan He entered. “General, it’s almost done.”

Yang Lue looked up. “He’s lost everything?”

“Yes. First, one of our men pretended to drop a string of coins in Yang Ding’s path. Yang Ding was delighted to find it. Ahead, two others were gambling; Yang Ding joined as expected…”

“Gambling, the root of all evil,” Yang Lue said coldly.

“Yes. At first, they let him win, and he was quickly hooked. But wins and losses soon evened out, and eventually, losses outweighed gains. When his family’s money was gone, he borrowed… Our men both lent him money and won it back. In the end, Yang Ding was deep in debt, and fled overnight with his family. They’re now under our control, being kept at that place,” Nan He explained, still puzzled. “General, wouldn’t it be simpler to just kill them?”

“I’d like to wipe out the whole family. But the young master will be an emperor one day. Historians will record the tale of Yang Ding and his wife—however brief. I won’t allow even a blemish on the young master’s name.”

Yang Lue’s gaze was icy. “If not for that, they’d already be dead!”

He rose and left.

Nan He trailed after him. “General, shall I send word that Yang Ding’s family should be treated well?”

“No, put them to work.”

“What kind of work?”

Yang Lue raised three fingers, folding them one by one—

“Take vows.”

“Pray for the young master’s fortune.”

“Every day—otherwise, break their legs!”

All three fingers curled in, forming a fist.

…

“To have the young master guard the false emperor’s woman—unbelievable,” Yi Niang complained.

“Mirror Terrace will check the young master’s background.” Often, men and women focus on different things. Cao Ying said, “That family in Yuanzhou is a flaw.”

He glanced at Yi Niang. “Keep your eye on the big picture. Don’t lose your temper.”

Yi Niang fell silent.

Yang Xuan looked at her in surprise. Normally, Cao Ying’s jibes would have provoked a tirade, yet today, Yi Niang was calm.

“Personality transplant—possessed by a transmigrator. Soon she’ll beg you to sleep with her…” Vermilion Bird’s carriage was well hidden. Yang Xuan was startled, then recalled novels he’d read.

Yi Niang looked troubled as she faced Yang Xuan. “Does the young master hold any grudge against that family?”

“I did before, and later as well. But looking back, they were just foolish people.”

Yi Niang pressed on, “Do you wish to punish them?”

“To punish…” Memories of childhood—before and after age ten—flashed through Yang Xuan’s mind in silence.

Love belonged to the years before ten.

Hatred came after.

Yi Niang spoke softly, “Yang Lue feared someone would investigate Yang Ding’s family, so he set men to watch them. After you left, Yang Ding began gambling…”

When Yang Xuan was home, Yang Ding would occasionally gamble a little—if he won, he bought meat, if he lost, he came home cursing, mostly at Yang Xuan.

“But then he gambled more and more…”

Yang Xuan listened in silence.

“In the end, he lost everything.”

Yang Xuan was silent.

“He ran up huge debts and fled with his family—no one knows where.”

Yi Niang was nervous, worried Yang Xuan would pursue the matter.

Cao Yi gave her a look, equally anxious that Yang Xuan might explode.

After a long silence, Yang Xuan rose.

“I’ll go check the route out of the palace.”

“Oh!” the two replied in unison.

At the door, Yang Xuan paused.

Cao Ying and Yi Niang tensed.

“Tell Yang Lue not to let them starve.”

Yang Xuan walked out.

Behind him, the two let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

…

“The Imperial Consort’s parents are deceased. Only her elder brother remains, living in Zhao State Ward.”

Wen Xinshu was good at gathering information.

In Yang Xuan’s ear, Vermilion Bird remarked, “Isn’t this the standard setup for web novel protagonists?”

Leaving the palace, passing through Danfeng Gate, and following the road past Yongning Ward, two wards further lay Zhao State Ward.

The Imperial Consort’s brother, Liang Jing, lived there.

“Her brother wasn’t a good man,” Zhao Guolin explained for once. “He was always a troublemaker back home. After his sister became…what she is, he grew even more arrogant. When she entered the palace, she brought him to Chang’an.”

“What did the Imperial Consort do?” Vermilion Bird asked.

Yang Xuan slowed his pace, waiting for the others to move ahead, then murmured, “She was once the Crown Prince’s woman.”

The green light flashed wildly—a cuckolded son, a lecherous old man.

They scouted the route all the way to Zhao State Ward.

Mirror Terrace’s people were already there. Xin Quan stood outside, while another official, Zhang An, was lecturing the men.

“Keep a close eye. If anything goes wrong, you’ll be skinned alive before the gatekeeper even gets to you.”

Zhang An turned. “Go in and investigate.”

Zhao Sanfu stood beside Xin Quan, whispering, “He doesn’t even ask you to speak—how rude.”

“Don’t stir up trouble, kid,” Xin Quan replied. “Talk too much and you lose focus. The Imperial Consort is more favored than ever. Zhang’s speech isn’t for those boys—it’s for…”

Xin Quan nodded subtly behind him. “He’s really talking to the young rake who might become the emperor’s uncle.”

Zhao Sanfu was silent.

“That man… is Yang Xuan, isn’t he?” Xin Quan spotted Yang Xuan.

“Yes.” Zhao Sanfu waved.

“Zhang An resents me, and sees you as a rival. Aren’t you afraid he’ll use this to trip up Yang Xuan?” Xin Quan asked.

Zhao Sanfu replied softly, “I’ve watched Yang Xuan myself. There’s no hiding it from others. Better to be open than to cover it up.”

“Zhao, the investigator,” Yang Xuan greeted with a bow.

“Never thought you’d become Notorious Marshal,” Zhao Sanfu returned the nod.

Old friends meeting drew the eyes of everyone from Mirror Terrace.

“He was the one Zhao Sanfu was assigned to watch, but was later cleared of suspicion,” Investigator Hu Yunli explained for his superior, Zhang An.

Zhang An gave a slight nod, his thick lips twitching. “The Imperial Consort is more favored than ever. This time, keep a close watch. If you find Xin Quan’s mistake, don’t let go—sink your teeth into that cannibal old dog and never let go!”