CH 23

“It’s pretty auspicious today,” said Hua Liuli to Hua Changkong, holding the tilting doll of the god of longevity and the lucky baby doll the peddlers had given her. “To receive such gifts on new year’s day will give us good luck for the whole year.”　　

“Mm, Younger Sister is right.” Hua Changkong touched the tilting doll and lucky baby doll. Then he sat with his legs crossed, expression solemn.　　

“Did you notice something?” he asked.　　　　

“I was their target.” But Hua Liuli couldn’t quite wrap her mind around it. “Logically, if people wanted to take revenge on the Hua family, their main target should be you, not a daughter like me.” People always thought men were the pillars of the family. It made no sense to leave the son and go for the daughter.　　

“You truly are my closest sister.”　　

“Of course.” Hua Liuli set aside the tilting doll and the baby doll. Gave Hua Changkong a cup of tea. “Do you have another sister closer than me?”　　

“Everyone knows that the Hua clan has not birthed a daughter for generations. You are the sole little flower sprouting among a hundred mu of woodland. It makes sense that you were the target. After all, the more rare something is, the greater its value.”　　　　

Hua Liuli frowned. Could it be that Jinpo Country sent people to retaliate against them in secret? But their Second Prince had already been captured as hostage. The king of Jinpo Country gave up land and signed their surrender in order for a ceasefire. If something truly happened to her, weren’t they afraid that Great Jin would send out their army again in anger to obliterate them?

Even if they did not fear their Second Prince dying in Great Jin, they should fear that Great Jin would once again send its troops to attack them. So why did they dispatch people to plot against Hua Liuli now? Did the Hua clan not beat them painfully and hard enough?　　　　

As a matter of fact, this did not give Jinpo Country any benefits. Their scared-silly king dared not do such a thing.　　

“Did you offend anyone in the capital?” Hua Changkong thought back on what had occurred these past few months, shooting his younger sister’s face a glance. Careful to the max, he said, “Are you in conflict with another young lady?”

“There is no knowing what’s in a man’s heart. How could I know how others see me?” Hua Liuli shook her head. “The girls in the capital all have different personalities. But they all know well what they should and should not do. At most, they would just make a small move. They wouldn’t plan something like this.” 　　

The relationships between the capital’s inhabitants were very complicated. So long as one dared to kidnap someone in the middle of the streets, one ought to prepare well against the possibility of getting caught. Even Commandery Princess Jiamin, who had the most impulsive temperament, wouldn’t do something this brainless.　

“Have you ever thought that by ruining the assassination attempt on the crown prince, you’ve caused the mastermind to bear a grudge against you?” said Hua Changkong, coming to a different possibility. “You coincidentally ruined the assassination attempt on Lin Huizhi, helped the crown prince capture the assassin out for him, and also saved the life of Tian Ruidong a few days ago.”

“But weren’t those all coincidences?” Hua Liuli felt wronged. She had sensed something off about that palace maid. Was she supposed to just let her approach the crown prince?　　

If something happened to the crown prince while in the presence of her and her brother, how much trouble would they be in? What’s more, the crown prince was so easy on the eyes, not to mention attentive, soft, and gentle. How could she stare blankly as he was harmed?　　

“Before Father and Mother return to the capital, stay home as much as possible,” he said. “If you want to go outside, then Yuanwei and Yurong must be by your side.”　　　　

“Alright.” Hua Liuli nodded, openly rejecting all of the invitations to visit and play during the beginning of the year.　　

But Hua Changkong could not be this carefree. Not only did he have to represent their parents in paying visits to the families with connections to their own, he also had to deal with some scholars. He was so busy that he ran like the wind.　　

He had participated in the autumn exam at Qinghan Prefecture.  There, the circumstances for the civilians proved difficult, and the overall level of the students could not compare to that of other places. Despite his decent scores in the autumn exam, in the eyes of scholars in the capital, he was merely a giant among dwarves.　　　　

Some of the civil officials specially told their younger generation to take care of Hua Changkong. Originally, those younger generation scholars did as told just for their elders’ sake, but after meeting with Hua Changkong, they were convinced by his elegant manner, becoming genuine friends with him.　　

The members of the younger generation in the capital did not understand the Hua clan well. They did not know that if the members of the Hua clan wanted to be friends with others, they would easily influence those people into having a good opinion of them.　　

In a short month, even those civil officials who did not have a favorable impression on the Hua family were not stingy in giving Hua Changkong praise.　　

In passing, said civil officials sighed with sorrow in their hearts, jealous. Why did such a good scholarly seedling have to come from the Hua clan? The Heavens were practically blind.　　

“Word has it that the Hua clan’s brother and sister duo encountered evildoers yesterday, and were almost abducted. Fortunately, the peddlers from all around lent a hand, and those evildoers didn’t get away with it.”　　　　

“No wonder the capital increased its guard today. I heard somewhere that those evildoers weren’t ordinary people, but assassins.”　　

“That’s way too dangerous. Thankfully those two were alright.”　　

On the second day after the new year, Mistress Du brought her daughter to Mistress Du’s paternal family for a visit. Because her Second Brother had married Princess Shunan, he was living at the princess estate. Therefore, today, he also paid a visit to his paternal family, the Yao household.

Princess Shunan merely remained sitting with Mistress Du’s parents for a little while, before rising to her feet and taking her leave. She was an imperial princess. Thus, just sitting for a moment was already giving her in-laws a lot of face.

The Yao family had an abundance of daughters yet few sons. The womenfolk gathered together and discussed the interesting things happening in the capital, chattering on more openly and without restraint than they would have outside.　　

Commandery Princess Jiamin’s status was high. Those of the younger generation in her family flattered her. They knew she disliked Hua Liuli, so their words inevitably held some mockery when speaking about the girl in question.

“Who knows if Hua Liuli offended someone outside the capital?”　

“Exactly. That sort of deeply-scheming woman…”　　

“Stop gossiping about other people,” said Du Xiuying, standing. Expression somewhat cold. “For many generations, those of the Hua clan have risked their lives for Great Jin on the battlefield. It was not so that you people could ridicule their daughter.”　　　　

“How hypocritical,” said the young ladies who had talked badly of Hua Liuli, their expressions unsightly.　　

Du Xiuying did not want to argue with them, turning around and leaving.

“Du Xiuying.” Commandery Princess Jiamin raised her chin. “Are you deliberately going against me?”　　　　

Du Xiuying knew perfectly well that she disliked Hua Liuli, yet still said something to her defense. It was clear she didn’t want to get along with Jiamin.　　

Du Xiuying turned around to look at Commandery Princess Jiamin, frowning. So people who do not submit entirely to you are going against you? Then there must be too many people in this world against you.”　　　

Such words choked up Jiamin to the point where her face kept changing color. A good while later, she said, “Stop trying to speak reason and rules with me. Right now, you defended Hua Liuli. But do you know how close she is with the crown prince?”　　

“What does that have to do with me?” countered Du Xiuying.　　

“Could it be you don’t know…””　　

Du Xiuying turned back around, not allowing Commandery Princess Jiamin to finish what she was saying.　　

Commandery Princess Jiamin was so furious, she scolded in a low voice with a dark expression, “You want to marry into the imperial family with this kind of temperament? Maybe in your next life.”　　

“You said that those attempted murderers are assassins?” The capital governor finished reading the case records and report. He held a teacup with both hands and shook his head. “No way, no way. We can’t handle this case. Pass it on to the Dali Temple.”　　　　

“Sir, the Dali Temple’s Sir Zhang said that if we push another case on them, he’d set his dogs on us.”　　

“What nonsense. The dogs of the Dali Temple eat better than we do every day. How could they still have an appetite after seeing you people? Transfer the case. Transfer it boldly and without worry.” The capital governor had made up his mind not to deal with this case.　　

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The relationships between the capital’s inhabitants were  complicated. With his position, he wouldn’t be able to take care of this case even if he wanted to. He might as well pass it on to the Dali Temple. They had a lot of classified information in their hands and their staff were intelligent. It would definitely be easier for them to solve this case. 　　

When Zhang Shou, the head of the Dali Temple, received the case transferred from the capital governor, he was angered to the point of raining curses. “It’s the new year. Can’t the capital governor’s office do a bit of work for once? They just stuff any kind of case into our Dali Temple. What do they take us for?”

“Sir,” said  Pei Jihuai consolingly. “These attempted abductors are assassins. This subordinate suspects they are related to the assassins of the previous few cases.”　　

“Have they been interrogated?” Zhang Shou’s complexion darkened. If there really was an assassin organization involved in those prior cases, it would indicate a large plot enveloping the whole capital.　　　　

Those involved in this case were simply part of a grander, whole conspiracy.　　

The crown prince, Consort Xian, Prince Ying, Prince Ning, the Tian family, the Chen family, and the Hua family…　　

Was this the result of the imperial princes scheming against each other or… was it another country behind it?　　

“From this subordinate’s investigation, these assassins are top-ranked experts. Their leader is a man with the code name of ‘Five.’”　　　　

“Assassins have rankings?” Zhang Shou shocked.　　

To which Pei Jihuai paused. The way he saw it, his boss shouldn’t be finding that the most important point.　　　　

Then the head of the Dali temple asked, “Do we have any information related to that assassin that’s code-named ‘Five?’”　　

“Rumors have it that he has an average appearance and unusually good hearing, able to pinpoint where things are with just his ears. On the assassin rankings, he’s ranked third.”　　

“Who’s ranked first?”　　

“The assassin who failed in assassinating the crown prince last month.”　　

“Oh…” At once, Zhang Shou lost all interest. “Looks like these assassins aren’t all that special.” He had heard that in the Eastern Palace, Commandery Princess Fushou had accidentally held onto that assassin and caused her to fall.　　

A weak commandery princess had actually tripped that assassin, and said assassin was even ranked first out of her peers. It seemed there weren’t any useful people in the assassin business.　　

Pei Jihuai felt he shouldn’t continue on this topic, fearing that his boss would spend his energy researching why assassins were dropping in quality. So he blurted, “Sir, His Majesty has sent out invitation cards. In two months, a state banquet will be held. When the time comes, there will be envoys from many countries at the capital. A portion of our Dali Temple’s staff will be transferred to the banquet in charge of security.”　　　　

A sigh escaped the head of the Dali Temple. “Understood.”　　

The Great State of Jin and Jinpo Country had fought in wars against one another for the past hundred years. This was the first time they had squashed Jinpo Country to such a thorough degree. It wasn’t only to ensure safety at the border; at the same time, Jinpo Country’s defeat served as a warning to other neighboring countries.　　

That the emperor was conducting this state banquet held extraordinary significance.　　

Thus, before the state banquet was held, there must not be anything bad occurring. Especially not to a family like the Hua family, one that belonged to an important minister.　　

When the empress dowager learned that an assassin had almost abducted Hua Liuli, worry filled her heart. But she couldn’t have Hua Liuli enter the palace again right after the year had ended. Therefore, the empress dowager could only send people to deliver many soothing medicinal ingredients to her. 　　　　

These past few days, Hua Liuli received plentiful gifts from the empress dowager, the emperor, the crown prince, the other imperial concubines, the other imperial princes, and the families that shared friendly relations with the Hua family. 　　　　

“Imperial Tutor Du’s household had people send over things too?” asked Hua Liuli after finding a gift list belonging to the Du family from the pile of gift lists. Surprise painted her features. “Doesn’t Imperial Tutor Du dislike Daddy?”　　

When the current emperor had still been the crown prince, her daddy was his reading partner. Imperial Tutor Du thought her daddy would lead him astray, and so treated her daddy with indifference.　　

The two families did not have much contact these past years. In Hua Liuli’s opinion, if it weren’t for the fact that Imperial Tutor Du had already gone into retirement, he might have joined Lin Huizhi in impeaching her daddy for being a warmonger.　　

“This slave has heard that the Du family might produce a crown princess consort,” said Yuanwei, organizing and putting away what used to be a disorganized pile of gift lists. “Perhaps it’s to smooth the relationship between our two households in advance.” 　　　　

“Really?” In a flash, Hua Liuli felt a bit of sympathy for the crown prince. He had even eaten some snacks in secret during the ceremony praising the Heavens. If he married someone from a family like the Du family, just how would his future days be?

“It’s just a rumor among the nobility.” Yuanwei fell into a moment of serious thought. “Who knows how trustworthy it is?”　　

Hua Liuli shook her head. Judging from the situation at the court, a daughter from the Du clan was a great choice as a wife for the crown prince, not to mention a perfect choice as the empress. But with how much the emperor dotes on the crown prince, he might not be too happy with other people dictating what his son should do.　　　

Of the countless parents in the world who spoiled their children, they all had one thing in common. 　　

You can talk about me, but if you talk about my kids, then we have a problem.