Feng Xiao quickly went through the case, and Cui Buqu had said, "I have always suspected Yuwen Eying."
"Since when?"
"The Thousand Lantern Banquet."
Cui Buqu hadn't interacted much with the granddaughter of the Emperor, but they'd see each other at the Empress' from time to time.
Yuwen Xuanzhu was a gentle person; but to put it more bluntly, she was shy and seldom spoke.
This tallied with the Yuwen Xuanzhu that Cui Buqu met at the Thousand Lantern Banquet.
However, as Yuwen Xuanzhu ran after them on her own accord after the banquet, and questioned his decisions about keeping information away from them and allowed her mother to make a fool of herself in the banquet, this series of actions had made him suspicious.
Perhaps questioning wasn't the right word, because tears filled Yuwen Xuanzhu's eyes back then. She had even kneeled down at him submissively. During that time, there were too many people present who thought Cui Buqu had been ruthlessly abusing his power so much that even the grandchildren of the Emperor had to bow down to him. After this incident, a great many people delivered edicts complaining about him to the royal desk.
From that moment onwards, Cui Buqu had a doubt.
Feng Xiao said: "During that time, you said only one word: 'Strange'"
Cui Buqu: "That's right. Yuwen Xuanzhu used that method to appear defeated but she is, in fact, victorious; this is indeed brilliant, but that obviously wasn't her character."
Perhaps other people wouldn't have paid so much attention to a few words spoken, but after the Thousand Lantern Banquet event, Cui Buqu was suspicious of every single person in the Princess' manor. Yuwen Xuanzhu's unusual behaviour also naturally caught his attention.
"Ren Yue, who was only the Princess' kept man, had plotted such a huge scheme in the Thousand Lantern Banquet, whom practically half of the aristocracy and members of royalty had attended. He would not have been able to mobilize that many people alone. The fact that a huge group of people were exposed too quickly was also very suspicious."
"During Tiannan Mountain, Fan Yun reminded me, once, that Xiao Lu had an even larger force of power at play in court."
"I've asked the Empress before. Back in those years, Princess Leping did indeed give birth to a pair of identical twins. One of them passed away even before a name could be given to her."
Feng Xiao remained silent for a moment.
"What you meant is that Yuwen Xuanzhu's twin sister is still alive. In fact, due to some reason, she is allying with Xiao Lu?"
Cui Buqu lightly nodded his head.
Feng Xiao spoke up, "I tested her once when we met at the gates of the palace. She had reacted like a normal person."
Cui Buqu understood the meaning of his words immediately.
"Like", and not "definitely".
Yuwen Xuanzhu should have just been a normal person to begin with.
Feng Xiao said with keen interest, "Practitioners of the martial arts are sensitive to dangers. During that time, I obviously saw her desire to move, but she forcibly stopped herself to appear like a normal person on purpose. I originally wanted to touch her face to see if she was wearing any sort of disguise, but this a wholly unexpected and delightful discovery. Her patience and tolerance are truly remarkable."
As a princess of the former dynasty and a Xuanzhu of the present dynasty. Yuwen Xuanzhu has a special identity unlike all her predecessors.
A daughter born in an aristocratic family should have not needed to be laboured.
Yet, Yuwen Xuanzhu knew martial arts.
In fact, from the way Feng Xiao saw it, her martial arts were quite good.
Cui Buqu said, "But these are all just theories without concrete evidence. Alerting the enemy would only result in utter defeat."
Feng Xiao continued: "That is why we could only start investigating from Li Mu and Liu Fang's death. The biggest difference between these two cases is that Li Mu descended into madness before his death, yet Liu Fang did not. He had died in peace and even left behind a written will."
Cui Buqu reminded him, "It might not necessarily be he who left the will."
Feng Xiao nodded. "I've asked the Li family; during the last few days of Li Mu's madness and eventual death, he had taken a prescription from a physician due to coughs and his condition had turned for the better after a few doses."
Cui Buqu was hit with a sudden realization. "Prescriptions?"
Feng Xiao, "Goldthreads, isatis root, chameleon plants, and etc."
Cui Buqu, "One of them is bitter, one of them raw; something similar happened last time."
Feng Xiao continued in good nature, "That half-filled bowl of Tremella and Lotus Seed soup in the Yandang Estate?"
Cui Buqu lifted his eyelids to look at Feng Xiao.
Feng Xiao's lip curled but quickly concealed them as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Fish maws taste raw; the people on the Yandang Estate had similarly killed each other in their frenzied madness. Their manner of deaths is similar to Li Mu. And yet, Liu Fang was different. I've taken a look at his corpse using the method you taught me back in Qiemo; for one to truly have died from being hanged, there would be a deeper gash in the centre and two lighter streaks on both sides. The gap under his neck wasn't much different in terms of depth. It is evident that he didn't hang himself after being lectured by the Emperor."
"So, Liu Fang's death might be the doing of Xiao Lu for the sake of sowing chaos in this place while he schemes an even bigger plot in the dark."
"Li Mu and the Yandang Estate's case, as well as our encounter of the gu array, might be the doing of someone else. As for the motives of this group of people—"
Feng Xiao paused. "Are they testing the waters?"
Cui Buqu look at the engravings on top of the wooden table with a serious expression, as if he could see a picture of the Eight Diagrams of Fuxi1.
Up until Feng Xiao thought that his soul had left his body, or he wasn't even listening to what he was speaking, only did Cui Buqu slowly said, "I am suspecting Göktürks."
Feng Xiao's voice pitched, giving Cui Buqu his consent to continue speaking, "Hm?"
Cui Buqu: "The Göktürks possessed hearts of greed. Although they named themselves subjects of the Great Sui and surrendered, it would not last for long. Should there be a chance of retaliation, they would grab hold of it with no hesitance; this is the first reason. The so-called gu poison originated from the Pyu city-states, came into Cuanman via the Southwest, and then made its way into Tangut, Tuyuhun, Gaochang, laying in secretive hiding. The Shamans of the Northern Regions enjoyed using these methods to deliberately cause false accounts of ghosts and demons; this is the second reason. These gu arrays and the poisoning only happened after the Seventh Prince Kuhezhen arrived in the capital, and this is the third reason."
Feng Xiao smiled and said: "What a coincidence. It seems Kuhezhen would also be going to the banquet at Prince Qin's manor tonight."
Cui Buqu appeared to want to say something, but suddenly he rose to his feet and turned his gaze outside to look down below.
Feng Xiao followed his line of sight.
Among the bustling group of people, a familiar figure passed by the entrance of the Luqi Pavilion surrounded by servants as she travelled at a steady pace.
It was Yuwen Xuanzhu.
At this moment, the time of the roosters returning their dens (5PM – 7PM) was almost over, and the time of the dogs coming out to be on guard (7PM – 9PM) was drawing near.
The banquet of Prince Qin's manor would begin during that time.
The crowd below was separated into two groups; one group was heading north to see the fireworks, and the other was heading south to see the lantern festival in the suburb.
Prince Qin's manor was located in the North, yet Yuwen Xuanzhu and her stream of people are heading South.
She must have also received Prince Qin's invitation, but if she took a saunter at the Lantern Festival, she might not make it to the banquet in time.
Cui Buqu knuckled the tables thrice.
Guan Shanhai came in through the door.
Cui Buqu pointed to the outside: "Follow Yuwen Eying and see where she's heading then report back to me."
Guan Shanhai nodded before disappearing behind the door.
Feng Xiao rose to his feet.
"It seems like you wouldn't be able to go to Prince Qin's manor. Since this is the case, then I'll take my leave to avoid missing the crowd."
Cui Buqu: "Have a pleasant journey while I won't be sending you off."
Feng Xiao waved that container of Immortal Salve in front of him. "You truly don't know who gave me this? Then I'll be throwing it away."
Cui Buqu didn't even raise his head. He started to eat as if he had just only noticed the delicacies in front of him.
Feng Xiao gave a cold snort and forcibly stuffed a fan into Cui Buqu's hand.
Cui Buqu paused and raised a brow as if he was holding a hot yam in his hand.
"You're not allowed to throw it away!" Feng Xiao threatened.
"The saying goes that the people of old had a tale of gifting fans as a token of love. I couldn't have guessed that Commander Feng is already holding such deep love for me?"
Cui Buqu opened the fan and felt seized by a spasm. He was no longer able to talk.
There was a tall and broad figure standing next to the yellow river on the fan, who stood against the wind like an immortal that descended from the Heavens, truly a drawing of Commander Feng himself.
Cui Buqu really wanted to throw it away.
Cui Buqu couldn't help raising his voice, "Qin Miaoyu said you entered the palace to borrow a painter from His Majesty, was it just to draw this?"
"Since you've given me the Immortal Salve as a token of your love, I've pondered for a long time that I should return a gift just as valuable. The most precious thing in this world is none other than me. Since you couldn't see me at every ticking second of time, it would be the same if you could look at a painting of me from time to time as a consolation."
Feng Xiao leaned in close to Cui Buqu on purpose and whispered seductively into his ear. However, he retreated quickly, tucking the Immortal Salve back into his sleeve and left with a boisterous laugh before Cui Buqu could unleash his fury.
Cui Buqu felt the hairs on his body stand. He reached out wanting to tear that fan apart to avoid allowing the other to feel cocky.
But as his gaze fell upon the fan, he hesitated.
An imperial painter indeed had brilliant skills. The person on the drawing was lively as if he could leap out anytime soon.
After ensuring no one was around, he kept the fan as if nothing happened.
After Feng Xiao left, Guan Shanhai very quickly returned.
"Commander, the Xuanzhu keeps heading South. After she left the city she didn't go to see the lantern but sat alone at the Flowing Light Pavilion. Even as this humble subject returns, she hasn't left. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, this humble subject dared not come close and ordered Wang Jiu to keep an eye."
Cui Buqu's eyebrows furrowed for a moment and suddenly said: "Your cover blew."
Guan Shanhai was stunned, and from his mouth he spoke, "Impossible. This humble subject is only pursued from afar…"
"I didn't blame you!" Cui Buqu waved his hand, "The Flowing Light Pavilion is atop the stone mound. Nothing surrounds it and it sits quite a distance away from the Lantern Festival. The crowd wouldn't wander there, and now it's Winter with shrivelling leaves. There is nowhere to hide. Yet you people haven't wandered into the crowd for a long time. If her people are paying attention, they would definitely have taken notice of you. In fact, she's most likely sitting there on purpose, waiting for you to engage."
Guan Shanhai, "On purpose?"
Cui Buqu nodded his head. "There are always fishes who are willing to be caught; let us go, and try a hand at being the fish tonight."
He rose to his feet and brought Guan Shanhai as well as the others to head outside.
Guan Shanhai couldn't help questioning the new fan in Cui Buqu's hand, but he wasn't the sort to meddle into affairs that don't concern himself; he did his part and refrain from prying
Cui Buqu abruptly stopped his footsteps.
"If you have the time, go ask around when will the Jiejian Bureau return the painter to the palace."
"Yes."
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[1] 伏羲八阵: : "The eight groups of symbols around are the eight trigrams, which represent heaven, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain and lake." Fuxi said, who was a culture hero in Chinese Legend, the brother of Nüwa. Read it here. It basically just means that ququ is very engrossses that he looked like he was analyzing an old artifact.
Translator's Notes:
I showed Sath this scene before and I love her comment on it-
Sath says: I love how their gifts are like:
ququ to feng-er: fx's beauty
feng-er to ququ: fx's beauty