My Arch-Rival Seduces Me Every Day - Chapter 2

Xie Lingbi.

Xie Lingbi.

He had just placed first in the imperial examinations this spring and was assigned to the Six Ministries for experience. In my past life, he had opposed me at every turn in the Ministry of War. He has been incredibly annoying since we were children. What business was it of his if I brought a servant girl home?

Unless he already knew that her identity was unusual.

Back then, if I had not been willing to charge onto the battlefield to “atone” for my father’s supposed treason, my entire family, detained in the capital, would have died.

I truly, deeply loathed the person behind the curtain.

My blood turned cold instantly. Looking at his lowered eyes, I could not detect a hint of emotion.

“Xie Lingbi,” I said to him, “drink the sobering soup yourself.”

The grandson of a bitch would not let it go: “You never used to bring people home.”

“I felt like it. Is it any of your business?” Fed up, I shoved him off me. Xie Lingbi was not fully sober yet; that one push sent him off balance, and he landed flat on his backside on the ground.

I stood up abruptly, glaring at him. Before I could utter a word, I heard the sound of carriage wheels, and a man in satin robes rushed over.

Xie Xu.

The Prime Minister pulled his son up first, then cupped his hands toward me. “My son has been rude. Please do not take offense, Little Marquis.”

Xie Lingbi quieted down, but he kept watching me with an expression that was unsettling.

Xie Xu’s expression was grim. He had never liked me much, and I imagined he was not happy to see Xie Lingbi entangled with me.

“Take him away,” I said with a wide grin at Xie Xu. “If I find him again next time, I will throw him to the wild dogs.”

Xie Xu’s face darkened. He bowed again and took his leave.

I was not in a good mood.

Xie Lingbi had better not have any ill intentions. If this was a deliberate lure today, I will certainly make him regret it in the future.

The next day, I did not get out of bed until the sun was high in the sky. I dressed slowly and had Cao Xuan lead me to the side courtyard.

Cao Xuan was limping. I frowned. “Where were you fooling around last night?”

“I went gambling,” the boy said with a long face. “I almost lost my trousers.”

“Pathetic.” I tossed him a silver ingot. “Go get two sets of decent clothes made. Do not embarrass me.”

Cao Xuan beamed and opened the door for me. “She is staying put, but she will not let any of the maidservants near her.”

The little girl was very wary. A night had passed, but she had not changed her clothes, and her food remained untouched.

I glanced at Cao Xuan. He looked helpless. “I did not tie her up. She followed me back to the manor of her own accord.”

“You, get out.”

Cao Xuan closed the door, and I sat down in front of the girl.

“Kou’er.”

Her eyelids flickered, and she clutched the bundle in her arms tighter.

“You traveled thousands of miles to the capital to seek justice. Do you really think there is anyone here who can give it to you?”

The girl’s eyes widened instantly, looking at me with utter terror.

I grabbed a handful of melon seeds, cracking them loudly.

“Relax. I am not the one who killed your parents,” I smiled. “But the moment you step foot out of here, it is hard to say; someone is already watching you.”

She stared at me and asked, “Who are you?”

“Did Cao Xuan not tell you?”

“No.”

That boy, he actually knew how to follow instructions.

“This is the Qingping Marquis Manor,” I said, raising an eyebrow at her. “The person they want you to falsely accuse is my father.”

She froze. I continued, “I can guarantee that even if you do exactly as they say, you will still die once the deed is done. People who know too many secrets are not allowed to live. Right now, I can protect your life, but you must tell me who is behind this.”

“How can I trust you?”

I shrugged. “You do not have the luxury of choice. If you do not trust me, I can kill you right now and be done with it.”

Kou’er studied me fearfully for a long time before finally nodding. “Fine. I will talk.”

I peeled my seeds as she confessed: “The three of us were street singers at Daxiao Pass. There are many soldiers in the fortress. That day, someone called us to the military camp to perform. I saw a hall with a banquet set. Two people were sitting there; one of them was the guardian of the pass, the Marquis of Qingping.”

“Who was the other person?”

Kou’er shook her head. “I do not know him. I only heard his voice; it was thin and shrill. The Marquis called him ‘Eunuch’.”

So it was a eunuch.

The Emperor favored eunuchs, making the inner court a foul mess. Furthermore, those castrated men were all scrambling for power. When generals were out fighting, the court often sent eunuchs as military supervisors. If they were not flattered and given enough bribes, they would surely trip you up.

I pressed further, “What happened next?”

Kou’er said, “When we arrived, the Marquis was already mostly drunk. After we sang two songs, the Eunuch got up to leave, and shortly after, we were sent out too. My mother even complained that these high officials were too stingy and gave too little tip. Who would have thought that that very night, a gang of thugs broke into our home? They killed my father and mother without a word and kidnapped me.”

She broke into tears. My mind was clear. Her family was likely summoned by that dead eunuch specifically to manufacture a witness.

“Those people gave me several pieces of paper and told me to lie. They wanted me to say that we discovered letters of treason in the Marquis’s room, and that is why my parents were silenced. The Marquis guarded the pass for us; he is our benefactor. I could not do it, so I found an opportunity to hide in a merchant’s coal wagon and barely escaped with my life.”

It was roughly the same in my past life. The girl reached the capital to report the crime, not realizing she had jumped from the wolf’s den into the tiger’s mouth, delivering herself straight to the villains. By the time I went to find this witness, she had already “accidentally” fallen into the water and died.

That eunuch is the key, but there are many eunuchs on external assignments. I will have to find a way to figure out who he is.

“Where are the letters, they gave you?”

The girl gave a dry cough and pulled several crumpled papers out of her straw sandals.

“Next time, wrap them up before you hide them.” I took the papers.

She blushed.

The handwriting on the paper was indeed very similar to my father’s. If it were not for someone like me who frequently looked at his manuscripts, it would be hard for others to tell the difference.

My heart felt cold. To be able to mimic it to this extent, I feared it was someone close to my father. As long as they can forge letters, the same trick will surely be used a second time.

I burned the forged evidence and took out something else. “Here, sign this deed of sale.”

The girl stared blankly. “I cannot read.”

I snapped, “You cannot read, yet you knew those were letters of treason?”

I flared up for a second then calmed down. Some “truths” are whatever people want them to be.

“Just leave a thumbprint,” I pulled out a box of ink. “Once you have pressed your print, I will teach you how to read.”

Just as the thumbprint was pressed, a commotion broke out outside.

“Indulging in lust in broad daylight! The Little Marquis is truly full of vigor!”

“Show us this delicate little girl, quick!”

I pointed at the bed. “Get in there! Take off your outer coat and do not let them see you!”

Kou’er was obedient; she scrambled onto the bed and closed all the curtains.

I undid my own belt, pulled my outer robe open, and tugged my inner shirt to expose half my chest. Then, I smeared that vermilion ink on my lips, neck, and chest, creating the appearance of a debauched mess before opening the door.

Outside, Cao Xuan looked panicked. Beside him stood my group of “fair-weather” friends, and among them, inexplicably, stood Xie Lingbi.

Wait, why was he here?

A banquet was set in the courtyard. The smell of braised deer tendon was rich and tender. Suddenly, a violent explosion of firecrackers went off outside. It sounded like pieces of the wall were crumbling; I nearly jumped out of my skin.

These bastards, who spent their lives in pursuit of nothing but vice, insisted that since a “new lady” was being welcomed into the Marquis’s backrooms today, a feast had to be held in celebration.

In the month since my rebirth, I had claimed to be ill and refused all visitors. My outing yesterday must have let the word out. Usually, it was fine if they came to my house to sponge off me, but with a secret witness hidden in the room, my heart was hanging by a thread.

I scanned the room. Xie Lingbi sat opposite me, calm and composed, chatting and laughing naturally with the others.

Xie Jun was beside him, busily pouring wine. Sensing my gaze, he gave me a guilty smile.

These two were first cousins. Xie Jun was a handsome youth with fair skin and red lips. He shared some resemblance to his cousin, but his temperament was the exact opposite: lively, active, and impulsive.

In my past life, Xie Jun was my deputy general.

Perhaps because my displeasure was obvious, Prince Yu leaned over and whispered, “Something happened at the Prime Minister’s manor last night.”

“Oh?”

“Prime Minister Xie spoke. He made Xie Lingbi kneel in the ancestral hall all night.”

What?

No wonder the bastard looked like a disgruntled hawk.

“What happened?”

“I was about to ask you,” Prince Yu looked at me meaningfully. “I heard that yesterday, the eldest son of the Xie family performed his duties at the wedding perfectly, yet after the banquet, he was seen scuffling with you in the street. Very strange.”

I sneered. “He was just drunk and clinging to me. Your information is usually the fastest; if even you do not know, how would I? The Prime Minister is disciplining his own son; who could possibly incite him to do that?”

Prince Yu fiddled with his agate beads, looking thoughtful.

Since he remained silent, I did not bother making small talk.

The late Emperor, like the current one, was a useless drunkard with few offspring. However, at fifty, the “old tree blossomed,” and a concubine became pregnant with Prince Yu. He is only in his twenties now. Perhaps the late Emperor grew a conscience in his old age; he did not allow Prince Yu to participate in any political affairs, nor did he send him to a fief upon adulthood. He kept him in a manor in the capital under his nose. This way, the current Emperor, having secured the throne, would at least remember their brotherhood and let him live as a wealthy, idle prince.

Prince Yu did not disappoint the late Emperor’s expectations; he grew into a top-tier playboy, an expert in eating, drinking, and merrymaking.

This top-tier playboy remembered something and said to me, “You have not been out in a while, so you might not know. Prime Minister Xie has been in a bad mood lately. The Emperor summoned the Duchess of Anguo into the palace a few days ago and has not let her out yet.”

“Ha!”

The Duke of Anguo had just inherited his father’s title; he used to play with me often, which explained why he was nowhere to be seen today. The old Duke was an upright man in his time and had a good relationship with Xie Xu. With the Emperor pulling a stunt like this, Xie Xu naturally could not stand by.

My voice was a bit too loud, and Xie Lingbi shot a glance my way.

What are you looking at?

Your father is in a bad mood, so you are the one suffering. You deserve it.

Xie Lingbi used to be forced to kneel in the ancestral hall frequently.

The reasons varied, but it always boiled down to him failing to satisfy his Prime Minister father.

The eldest son of the Xie family: brilliant, elegant, a “jade tree in the wind.” Every teacher at the Imperial Academy treated him like a treasure. Xie Xu, however, was terrified that he would become arrogant from the praise, so he suppressed him at home at every turn. If anything was slightly imperfect, or if he failed to set a “proper example” for Xie Jun and the other younger siblings, he was punished.

I stared into his calm, waveless eyes and remembered something.

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