Palace Coup 7

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Xie Yuanju gazed at her profile, flushed slightly by the setting sun, her presence cold and resolute, almost unreal in its clarity. His eyes softened as he said, "Lady, please wait." Then he called back, "Bring the man over."

A burly man dragged a figure with a burlap sack over his head and threw him down before her.

Xie Miaoxuan said nothing, simply watching the man bound tightly, waiting for an explanation.

"This man is Yang Wei’s confidant; the two were inseparable," Xie Yuanju explained. "Yang Wei originally was pretending to be a bandit with me, but after we left, he vanished and later reappeared by the lady’s side."

"When Yang Wei fled in haste, he left this man behind. Upon searching him, we found poison powder. Under interrogation, it was revealed Yang Wei had secretly discovered the hiding place of the gold and silver ingots and intended to steal them amidst the chaos. Just taking one box would be enough for them to secure their lives. With that money, they could bribe officials to gain legal freedom. The poison powder was a contingency plan, meant to control the lady and distract me should their scheme fail."

"They must have harbored rebellious thoughts to seize the family fortune after their master’s departure, but had no chance until now. Approaching the capital made this the rare opportunity to risk everything."

"Given the urgency, I could not inform the lady and had to kill Yang Wei on the spot to prevent further trouble," Xie Yuanju said, pointing to the man who had died. "I didn’t expect to have missed one person, who nearly harmed the lady. I beg your pardon."

So, it was her insistence on stopping midway that gave them the chance to seize the treasure. Had they pressed on without pause, none of this would have happened.

As Xie Yuanju prepared to accept punishment, the burly man suddenly lunged forward and knelt before Xie Miaoxuan, pounding his knee painfully on the ground. "Lady, please do not blame my lord. I discovered Yang Wei’s secret moves and told him. Yang Wei had long disliked my lord; you don’t know how often he plotted against him..."

"Shut up!" Xie Yuanju’s gaze struck like lightning, silencing him instantly.

Xie Miaoxuan helped the burly man up but fixed her eyes on Xie Yuanju. "Rise. I understand everything. If it weren’t for your loyal protection, I wouldn’t have come this far. From now on, no more kneeling and begging for forgiveness."

"We still face the storm of the Xie family clan. Discovering a traitor early is not entirely bad."

With a larger group, conflicting thoughts naturally arise. When Father Xie gathered his troops, he never imagined some of his sons would grow ambitious enough to plot like this.

Human desire is insatiable...

Xie Yuanju looked at Xie Miaoxuan, who smiled faintly. "Your deeds today merit reward. From now on, you shall command the troops."

Given his performance, taking charge in crisis, resisting the lure of vast wealth, and saving her in danger, anyone would call him meticulous and fiercely loyal.

Her forces numbered less than two hundred, and after losing three today, she reckoned about one hundred seventy remained. Holding ground in the capital was not easy for a lone woman with such riches.

Possessing great wealth invites envy and danger.

Suppressing the uneasy feeling deep in her heart.

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Xie Yuanju truly was a reliable safeguard.

With that thought, Xie Miaoxuan’s expression softened further.

Xie Yuanju understood the meaning behind her words and saw the shifting emotions in her eyes.

Refusing to hand over the treasure meant severing ties with the entire Xie clan. They had schemed to bring her back after all these years not out of genuine care; they would never let go easily.

A confrontation was inevitable. As long as she did not cripple herself, his role as her childhood husband would prove invaluable.

Though her expression flickered briefly, he saw the complex turmoil within her heart. He merely smiled quietly, taking no offense. His task was to ensure her safety, which did not conflict with anything else.

External pressure would suppress internal strife; temporarily uniting against a common foe was no bad thing.

He accepted her command and produced a bundle from his chest. "These are the confessions and charges against Nian Momo and the others from that year."

Xie Miaoxuan was surprised. At the time, when he was sent to fetch ink and brushes to have the three women sign their confessions—ostensibly to distract him—he had actually remembered and managed to obtain the documents.

"Well done. Thank you for your efforts."

She opened the papers and found the charges detailed and precise, the amount of stolen silver and gold recorded down to the last copper coin. Truly meticulous.

With such a formidable enemy as the Xie clan behind her, Xie Miaoxuan was glad to ease the previously sharp tensions with him at an appropriate moment.

Fortunately, her former self had yet to commit any irreparable acts, only some attitude issues and covert schemes.

Rebuilding the relationship now would not be difficult—after all, she was the mistress, which naturally gave her leverage.

She praised him generously, exchanging knowing compliments as if their past discord never existed.

The burly man sobbed with relief. It was wonderful that the lady no longer bore enmity toward the lord. He was not bright, had always struggled with martial arts, and without the lord protecting him these years, he would have been bullied to death by Yang Wei and his cohorts.

So even if the lady stripped the lord of all his titles, he would still call him lord out of genuine respect.

He was deeply grateful to the family head for saving his life. Since the lady had turned cold toward the lord, he was torn between loyalty to his lord and brotherhood with his fellows.

In his eyes, the lord was no less than the sons of noble families, but the lady simply looked down on such a good man.

Now, at last, the lady no longer targeted the lord—she even smiled at him just now.

Xie Miaoxuan did not press Xie Yuanju about how he saw through Yang Wei’s plot or what past grievances they might have shared.

It was clear enough: two tigers cannot share one mountain.

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That Xie Yuanju was chosen by Father Xie to entrust the original lady’s care before his death proved he was no fool.

He had been treated as a servant by the original lady only after Father Xie’s passing. Before that, Father Xie had granted him authority over the troops. When Yang Wei rose in favor with the original lady, he naturally harbored resentment toward Xie Yuanju. That was why Yang Wei disliked him.

But what intrigued her more was, “You killed Yang Wei on the spot and captured this man—what else delayed your progress?”

Her side was escorted by troops on horseback, but they did not push the horses hard, for her sake.

Xie Yuanju rode a fine horse from Daliang, bought specially by Father Xie for him in recognition of his unparalleled martial skills.

While not capable of traveling a thousand miles a day, this was only a matter of several dozen miles—was such a delay necessary?

“Something seemed amiss back at the manor.”

The group dashed off again, this time heading for the manor.

Dusk had just fallen, the sky tinged with a salty egg-yellow light over the fields. The scent of ripened rice filled the air, and wisps of smoke curled ahead.

The sprawling manor came into view—over a hundred wooden and mud-tile houses encircled a central three-sectioned blue-brick main hall.

Surrounded on all sides by golden rice paddies, the nearby peasant cottages had gardens full of vegetables and melons.

It was a pastoral idyll, a self-sustaining rural scene.

Xie Miaoxuan and her party, weary from travel, dismounted at the village entrance. She led the way inward.

From afar, she saw small groups resting under the village trees. In the fields, some were still toiling diligently, prompting a faint smile.

Before their gazes met, the people under the trees scattered like startled birds.

Those working in the fields dropped their tools and fled in panic. Some stumbled heavily into the embankments; though hurt visibly, they silently rose and kept running.

Their faces were filled with terror, as if haunted by unseen phantoms.

She clearly noticed an elderly man with impaired mobility hobbling after them with a cane—yet moving surprisingly swiftly.

Xie Miaoxuan: "..."

It seemed the manor truly was haunted.