Qin Banruo"s delight lit up her entire face, and she half-bowed in courtesy before saying, "Banruo wishes to borrow Fourth Sister"s beauty and charm in order to seduce a man."
“A man?” Fourth Sister raised an eyebrow. “If it comes to seducing a man, surely you do not lack for suitable candidates.”
Qin Banruo shook her head. “My people will not do, they have worked in the capital for too long and are too easily recognized. Fourth Sister, you have hidden away for many years and are skilled in disguise, and so you will easily be able to hide yourself and thus increase the chances of success. Besides, if we speak of the art of provoking infatuation, who among my people could possibly compare to Fourth Sister?”
Fourth Sister"s long thin eyelashes lowered, hiding her gaze as she said in a low voice, “Banruo, I am not entirely without acquaintances in the capital….”
“I know,” Qin Banruo smiled sweetly. “I swear to you, Fourth Sister, while you are in the capital seducing this man, you will not have any interaction with those n.o.bles and officials who were your guests in the past.”
“Oh?” Fourth Sister was astonished. “Unrelated to n.o.bles and officials? Then who is this person you want me to seduce?”
“Tomorrow morning, let Fourth Sister come to the Ill.u.s.trious Embroidery House in the capital, and I will point him out to you.”
Fourth Sister pursed her red lips and turned slowly, walking a few steps away, as if deep in thought, and did not answer for a long while.
“If Fourth Sister will lend a hand this time, then in the future, no matter what happens, your little sister will not disturb you again,” Qin Banruo added softly.
“And if…I am not able to succeed?”
“This person will not be difficult to seduce, I believe Fourth Sister will not have any trouble.”
“I am no longer as I was in the past….” Fourth Sister let out a long sigh. “If I prove unworthy of your faith in me, I pray you will forgive me. You and I started our journeys from the same door, and though our paths have diverged, I cannot deny the ties that bind us still. Since you say it is the last time, and I do not have any reason to mistrust you, then very well, I will do as you say, and meet you tomorrow at the Ill.u.s.trious Embroidery House.”
Qin Banruo was delighted, and her powdered face, which had been clouded all along, now glowed with joy. She took Fourth Sister"s hand and spoke to her for a little while longer before replacing the veil over her face and taking her leave.
That night, Qin Banruo slept well for the first time in many days, and the next morning, she rose early, dressed in plain robes and a green cap with a hanging veil, and left quietly without bringing any serving girls or calling for one of her own palanquins, instead hailing one on the street, which brought her swiftly to the Ill.u.s.trious Embroidery House. This embroidery house was one of the largest of its kind in the capital, and there were several small stalls located before its walls, selling everything from dyes, to needles and threads, to silk fabric, to fabric patterns. It had a reputation for attracting young ladies from all over the capital, who liked to spend time among the stalls browsing for supplies for their needlework. Qin Banruo walked between the stalls, looking at different selections of embroidery thread, and after about an hour, Fourth Sister"s graceful figure appeared not far away.
The two met and exchanged only a pleasant greeting. Qin Banruo did not say any more as she led Fourth Sister slowly through the stalls, stopping to purchase a few rolls of thread and a few fabric patterns before walking into an adjacent tea shop and sitting down at one of the tables closer to the outside street.
“Look over there,” Qin Banruo lifted a slender finger and slowly pointed. “Do you know what that place is?”
Fourth Sister looked in the direction she was indicating. Beyond the street stood the tall walls of a courtyard, with a black gate opening into a garden filled with tall lush trees whose leaves and branches extended beyond the top of the walls, hanging out like a canopy over the adjacent street.
“It looks like the back door of some n.o.bleman"s home. Does the person you wish me to seduce live here?”
A thin smile lifted the corners of Qin Banruo"s lips and she slowly shook her head. “Although Rhinoceros District is not far from the capital, it appears that news does not travel very fast. The owner of this place is not a n.o.bleman, but a commoner without an office, and has owned this manor for less than half a year. But if you were to mention the words ‘Su manor" to anyone in the capital, his or her first thought would immediately be of this place here….”
“You make me very curious. How could a person without n.o.bility or rank acquire such a position in the capital?”
Qin Banruo drew out a crimson handkerchief, which she placed in front of her lips as she leaned close to Fourth Sister and whispered something in her ear. Fouth Sister smiled and answered in a low voice, “If this Mister Su is Prince Yu"s strategist, what conflict could he have with you now? Do you wish me to target him to acquire some kind of information?”
“No,” Qin Banruo place a hand on Fourth Sister"s arm, her gaze far away. “This Mister Su is difficult to fathom, and cannot be underestimated. If it were anyone else, seduction would be a formidable means of attack, but against him……it would be the worst. I do not dare act lightly, and Fourth Sister must understand this as well.”
“Then you have called me here….”
“Pray Fourth Sister have patience, and you will see soon enough.”
Qin Banruo picked up her teacup but did not drink, gazing instead into its watery brown depths. Fourth Sister, who was patient by nature, saw that the conversation had come to a halt for now, and so did not press further, and turned to look quietly at the back gates of the Su manor.
The next hour pa.s.sed slowly, and a steady trickle of people went in and out of the dark wooden gates, delivering the usual daily supplies of water as well as fresh fruits and flowers. Qin Banruo observed all of this coolly until, at last, she straightened abruptly.
Fourth Sister immediately turned her gaze back to the street, where she saw a small donkey cart piled high with fresh vegetables stop in front of the gates. A strong young man stopped beside it. He looked to be in his twenties, and his clothes were made of coa.r.s.e cotton, the sleeves folded up to his shoulders, revealing two well-muscled arms. It seemed as if he was also a regular visitor, as the guards at the gates only shouted a greeting before letting him into the courtyard.
“This one.” Qin Banruo turned and exchanged a glance with Fourth Sister.
“That young man who brought the vegetables?” Fourth Sister was a little surprised. “Is there something suspicious about him? If he has caught your attention because he frequently goes in and out of Su manor, then surely you must also suspect all the others who came bringing fruits and flowers?”
“Fourth Sister is correct, at first I did not think him any different from the others who came bearing deliveries.” Qin Banruo"s face darkened, “If Uncle Qian had not discovered something interesting about him, I fear I would not have noticed this person even now.”
“Has even Uncle Qian come back out of hiding for you? Did you also promise him that this would be the last time?”
“If we lose this time, then we will lose all, so it cannot be but the last time.” Qin Banruo gritted her teeth. “And so, I can only put forth everything I have in preparation for this battle.”
“What did Uncle Qian discover?”
“Several of the eyes I placed in different residences suddenly disappeared for various reasons. At the time, I already felt it could not be a coincidence, and so asked Uncle Qian to help me investigate their whereabouts. Simultaneously, I stopped all activities of my other spies, thinking to preserve some of our strength. I could not have guessed that even this would not be able to stop things from deteriorating. By the end, the entire situation was out of my control. Fortunately, Uncle Qian had made some progress and managed to track down the locations of two of those who had fled. Naturally, I planned to capture them for questioning, but to my shock, they both managed to escape my grasp, and one of them was saved personally by the hand of that young man who you just saw delivering vegetables.”
“Perhaps he was simply taken by her beauty and wanted to act the hero?”
“That would be all well and good, but Uncle Qian investigated him further. His name is Tong Lu, and he not only saved the girl I intended to question, he was also involved in the disappearances of two or three of my other eyes. Fourth Sister, think about it, if he wanted to play the hero and help beautiful women, then why he is only helping mine?”
Fourth Sister murmured something indistinct, shaking her head slowly.
“Besides, a vegetable-seller who lives in a rundown little cottage – he should be a n.o.body, and yet Uncle Qian could not discover anything about his background. Later, I realized that one of the places he frequented was the Su Manor, and the more I thought, the more I began to wonder. However, all I know now is that Tong Lu comes to the Su Manor to deliver vegetables, and as for whether that is all he does, I do not know.”
“Even Uncle Qian…could not find out?”
Qin Banruo sighed. “Uncle Qian said Su Manor is like a swamp – still and ordinary on the surface, but with bottomless depths. He could find no way to get near it at all. If he was able to find out more, I would not have come to disturb Fourth Sister.”
“You suspect…that Tong Lu is Su Zhe"s man, and that the recent calamity that befell your Crimson Sleeves was orchestrated by Su Zhe?”
“Correct.”
“But…Su Zhe is Prince Yu"s strategist, why would he want to attack you? Could it be that he knows of your disloyalty and true intentions?”
“Impossible,” Qin Banruo said confidently. “My disloyalty lies hidden in my heart. Until now, I have never done anything that could harm Prince Yu. Even if this Mister Su could read minds, he has not even seen my face before, so how could he possibly suspect my disloyalty?”
“If it is as you say, and Su Zhe only knows that you are Prince Yu"s trusted advisor, and does not know of your true intentions, then when he attacked you, was he not also attacking Prince Yu?”
Qin Banruo"s gaze was still as water as she answered slowly, “When you understand this point, then you start to realize many other peculiarities. Ever since this qilin prodigy gave his support to Prince Yu, it is true that he has contributed numerous clever schemes. In fact, most of Prince Yu"s successes over the past year can be attributed to him. But why is it that, despite all of these achievements, Prince Yu"s imperial favour has clearly waned, and his strength much diminished? Before this man"s arrival, Prince Yu held in his grasp the twin powers of the Ministries of Justice and Appointments, and also had the Duke of Qing for his military stronghold. But what does he have now? His hands are empty. His so-called power in the court comes only from the Crown Prince"s downfall, and on closer inspection, has no true root or foundation. It was said that he who held the qilin prodigy would hold the world – is this how the world is meant to be held?”
Fourth Sister looked at her deeply. “All of this you should say directly to Prince Yu.”
“Prince Yu….” Qin Banruo scoffed. “Ever since the mistakes I made, he has lost much of his trust in me, and this Mister Su is too powerful at present. Everything I have said just now cannot be pinned on him, he has distanced himself too neatly from all of it. If I said any of this without proof, would Prince Yu believe me? And if Prince Yu really went and questioned him, by Su Zhe"s cunning and prodigious mind, I fear I would end up doing more harm to myself than to him. Besides, there is a question I still cannot answer without further investigation….”
“What question?”
“Motive. If this is truly Mister Su acting against me in order to cut off Prince Yu"s every source of information, then what is his motive? Why would he want to do this?”
“Could it be…that he is the Crown Prince"s man?”
“That too was my first thought. But think about it – ever since he came to the capital, what has happened to the Crown Prince? He has been struck by disaster after disaster, stripped of his every support, and even Consort Yue in the inner palace no longer commands the rich favour and privilege she enjoyed in the past. The Crown Prince has become nothing more than a leaf tossed here and there before the winds of the oncoming storm, and the only thing left between him and the abolishing of his t.i.tle is the scroll for the imperial edict. And if Fourth Sister could have seen how this Mister Su brought about the utter disgrace of Xie Yu, then you would not suspect him of any connection with the Crown Prince.”
“Then why is he trying to weaken Prince Yu? Could it be that he has no true interest in the fight for the throne, and only intends to muddy the waters?”
Qin Banruo tightened her hold on the handkerchief in her hand and let out a deep sigh. “I do not know, and this is not something I can guess at without evidence. Fourth Sister, Tong Lu is the only possible avenue of pursuit that I know of at present, I pray you….”
Fourth Sister hesitated. In the same moment, Tong Lu, who had just finished his vegetable delivery, reappeared from the depths of the manor with his donkey cart and cracked his whip once before both he and it disappeared into the crowd on the bustling street.
Although she had only caught a distant glimpse of him, Fourth Sister knew that the steel of the resolve of a young man like this, no matter how strong, could not help but melt like oil before the tender flames of her seduction.
She did not think she would fail, but she worried that….
“Banruo, even if you discover Mei Changsu"s true intentions, so what? From what you have told me, you are not his match.”
“Whether I am his match or not, we will not know until the battle is over.” Qin Banruo"s voice was steady. “Mei Changsu is indeed a prodigy, but his current advantage lies at least in part in his ability to work from the shadows. I would like to see what clever schemes he would be able to come up with if he is suddenly dragged out into the spotlight, to wage his war in the open!”
Fourth Sister"s lips tightened, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she kept quiet.
Qin Banruo"s ferocious words reminded her suddenly of her shifu, all those years ago. It was a pity that the frightening intellect of the last Hua Princess was a gift that would not be seen again for a hundred years or more.
“Banruo, I promise you that I will do everything I can. You…must take care of yourself.”
With these words, Fourth Sister picked up the cup of tea that had long since cooled and swallowed it down whole, along with the sigh that she had not permitted to leave her lips.