Chapter 24

The next day, Chu Tianjiao indeed came to the Rare Treasures Pavilion with the large sum of money her third uncle had given her.0The shopkeeper personally received her again.0

"My father's birthday is approaching, and I've looked around other places yesterday but couldn't find any other suitable gift," she said. "Is that jade thumb ring from yesterday still available?"0

The shopkeeper's face lit up with joy as he nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, it is."0

By this time, the jade thumb ring was no longer on display. The shopkeeper asked Chu Tianjiao to wait a moment while he went to the back warehouse to retrieve it.0

After a while, the shopkeeper returned with an exquisitely carved wooden box.0

When he opened the box, it indeed contained the jade thumb ring from the day before.0

Chu Tianjiao feigned curiosity and asked, "Why did you put away such a fine thumb ring?"0

The shopkeeper's eyes flickered as he flattered her, "I saw that Miss Chu liked it yesterday, and I was afraid you might come looking for it again, so I kept it in the back waiting for you."0

Chu Tianjiao pretended to be grateful, "How thoughtful of you."0

The shopkeeper thought to himself, "She's so easy to fool! I was originally planning to find an opportunity to give it to you, but I didn't expect you to come with money in hand."0

Chu Tianjiao paid three thousand taels and received some small trinkets as gifts from the shop. She left happily with the wooden box.0

Upon returning to the Marquis's mansion, Chu Tianjiao summoned Royal Physician Wang and asked him to examine the jade thumb ring for any hidden mechanisms.0

Royal Physician Wang carefully sniffed it and asked for a bowl of clear water to be brought.0

After immersing the jade thumb ring in water, he tested for poison with a silver needle, but there was no reaction.0

Royal Physician Wang then asked for a chicken to be brought.0

After feeding the water that had soaked the thumb ring to the chicken, it quickly began foaming at the mouth, stretched its neck, and died.0

"Grandfather Wang, what kind of poison is this?" Chu Tianjiao asked.0

Royal Physician Wang's face was filled with fear as he said tremblingly, "Thousand Mechanism Powder, the very same you asked me about yesterday."0

"The terrifying aspect of Thousand Mechanism Powder is that it's colorless and odorless, undetectable even by silver needles. Moreover, it can be ingested orally or absorbed through the skin."0

"This poison, applied to the thumb ring, would cause the wearer to be poisoned within three to five days."0

Upon hearing "Thousand Mechanism Powder," Chu Tianjiao's first instinct was to think of Ye Tinglan.0 S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

But at this time, Ye Tinglan was just a young girl who had recently come of age. How could she control such a large business as the Rare Treasures Pavilion?0

Moreover, if Ye Tinglan wanted to poison someone, she could have just poisoned Chu Tianjiao herself. She certainly didn't have the courage or means to poison the Marquis of Liyang at this point.0

That evening, when Chu Tianjiao told her second and third uncles about this result, they both exclaimed in unison, "The Dongyi royal family!"0

It was obvious that the person behind the Rare Treasures Pavilion must be from Dongyi.0

The Chu family had a generations-old feud with the Dongyi people.0

Chu Tianjiao's grandfather, the old Marquis of Liyang, had once led a direct attack on their capital and captured the Dongyi emperor of that time.0

Although Dongyi wasn't destroyed, it was severely weakened after that battle and had only regained its strength in the past decade or so.0

Chu Ye's face turned cold, his tone icy:0

"The Dongyi people have both national and personal grudges against our Chu family. Wanting to kill your mother and elder brother makes sense now."0

"I'll write to your elder brother and fourth brother immediately, warning them to be cautious of Dongyi's secret plots."0

Chu Tianjiao thought about her previous life, where there hadn't been this incident with the jade thumb ring. This change was actually brought about by her rebirth.0

According to the trajectory of her previous life, her father, the Marquis of Liyang, had fallen into a trap set by the Dongyi people and died in battle two years later.0

She wondered if her actions today would cause the Dongyi people to make their move earlier.0

Her father was still fighting against the Western Rong at the border. Sending a letter to warn him to be careful was absolutely necessary.0

"Second Uncle, for the Rare Treasures Pavilion to operate on such a large scale in the Capital City, it must have support from someone in the court. Otherwise, it wouldn't be able to establish itself. I suspect the Rare Treasures Pavilion is connected to the Ye Family," Chu Tianjiao said.0

Uncle Chu Ye was startled, "The Ye Family? You mean the family of Imperial Consort Ye? The family of Minister Ye?"0

Chu Tianjiao nodded.0

Ye Tinglan's grandfather was the current Minister of Personnel, in charge of official promotions in the court, wielding significant power.0

"The other day, I found it strange that a mere concubine-born daughter of the Ye Family had a VIP card from the Rare Treasures Pavilion," Chu Tianjiao explained.0

She couldn't reveal that she knew from her previous life that Ye Tinglan could also make Thousand Mechanism Powder, so she had to use the VIP card as evidence.0

Third Uncle Chu Sheng, who was knowledgeable about such matters, agreed, "That is indeed suspicious. The VIP card from the Rare Treasures Pavilion requires an annual spending of 100,000 taels. How could a concubine-born daughter possibly have that much money?"0

Chu Ye looked troubled, "But the Ye Family is powerful, and Minister Ye has always had a good reputation in the court. I'm worried that directly confronting the Ye Family would be disadvantageous for our Chu family. Moreover, they have Imperial Consort Ye in the palace to whisper in the emperor's ear."0

Chu Tianjiao disagreed, "We should investigate first. We need to deal with the Rare Treasures Pavilion and also investigate the Ye Family. If there are Dongyi spies in the Li Country court, our Chu Family Army will be the ones to suffer."0

This immediately gained the approval of Chu Ye and Chu Sheng.0

After dividing the tasks, they immediately set to action.0

A few days ago, Chu Tianjiao had arranged for Feng Jia to keep a close watch on the shopkeeper of the Rare Treasures Pavilion.0

According to the information obtained by Feng Jia, Chu Tianjiao learned that this shopkeeper was very mysterious and lived in a commoner's area in the east of the city.0

That night, under the cover of darkness, Chu Tianjiao, dressed in night-raid clothes with her face covered, led twelve warrior maids to the shopkeeper's residence.0

Chu Tianjiao leaped over the surrounding wall and opened the courtyard gate. The twelve warrior maids entered the small courtyard in sequence, surrounding the house.0

The room was pitch black, as if everyone inside was asleep.0

Feng Yi stepped forward and used a special hairpin to pick the lock, easily opening the door.0

Chu Tianjiao rushed in with her people.0

"Young Miss, there's no one in the bed."0

"Search!"0

The twelve warrior maids began searching other rooms, tying up all the maids and old women, and gagging them with their own belts.0

Feng Jia put her sword to one maid's throat, removed the belt gagging her, and asked, "Where is your shopkeeper?"0

The maid trembled in fear and stammered, "The shopkeeper just went to sleep!"0

Chu Tianjiao felt the bedding, which was still warm, suggesting someone had indeed slept there.0

Feng Jia threatened the maid, "You're lying. I'll cut you down right now!"0

The maid was so frightened she wet herself, swearing that she had indeed just put her mistress to bed before returning to her room.0

Chu Tianjiao seemed to have an idea and began tapping on the floorboards.0

Hearing a hollow sound, she lifted the edge of the bed and discovered a secret passage underneath.0

"Did they escape?"0

Feng Yi led some people to jump down, with Chu Tianjiao following closely behind.0

Feng Jia stayed behind, knocking out all the maids and old women like a game of whack-a-mole, then stood guard outside.0

Chu Tianjiao followed the secret passage to its end, only to discover that it connected to the neighboring courtyard.0

The neighboring courtyard was empty; the manager of the Rare Treasures Pavilion had already fled.0

Chu Tianjiao commanded the twelve warrior maids, "Split into four groups and pursue in four directions. Feng Gui, go inform Feng Jia to forget about those people and search the house for any clues. After searching, return directly to the mansion."0

After giving these orders, Chu Tianjiao led Feng Yi in pursuit towards the direction of the Ye Family's residence.0

Her instinct told her that this shopkeeper must have some connection to the Ye Family.0

In her previous life, Ye Tinglan knew how to make Thousand Mechanism Powder, and now the Rare Treasures Pavilion was using it to try and harm her father.0

Thousand Mechanism Powder was a secret drug of the Dongyi royal family; there must be a connection.0

To save time and distance, Chu Tianjiao and Feng Yi traveled across rooftops and walls.0

After a while, Chu Tianjiao indeed saw the figure of a woman with disheveled hair running ahead.0

Chu Tianjiao jumped down with Feng Yi, and just as they surrounded the shopkeeper from the Rare Treasures Pavilion, they saw a group of people on horseback approaching from a distance.0

"Bad luck, we've run into the City Patrol Department. We need to end this quickly!"0

Chu Tianjiao's Heavenly Crow Sword moved in a flurry of strikes towards the woman.0

This woman indeed knew martial arts, and her skills were not low.0

Fortunately, after experiencing her previous life, Chu Tianjiao's combat skills far exceeded her original level.0

With Feng Yi's assistance, they quickly gained the upper hand.0

"Who goes there, fighting in the streets at night? Put down your weapons, or we'll kill without question!"0