Chapter 2: Who is Big and Who is Small

The eldest legitimate daughter of the Duke of Ying, missing for eleven years, has been found!

In the late second month of the eighth year of Taihe in the Great Qing Dynasty, this sudden news caused the capital—which had been somewhat dull due to the Emperor's imperial tour taking away a large number of powerful officials—to erupt into a frenzy once again.

Early in the morning, on the bustling East Gate Street, the idle passersby sipping their morning tea could not help but engage in heated discussion.

"This Eldest Miss Xie has been missing for eleven years. Is this reliable?"

"How could it not be? This was spoken by Prince Rong himself. Prince Rong just returned from Guanzhou with Prince Xin to suppress bandits. I heard that Eldest Miss Xie was found right there in Guanzhou."

"Isn't Guanzhou the ancestral home of the Xie family? That was where Eldest Miss Xie went missing back then, too."

"If this Eldest Miss Xie returns, what will happen to Princess Consort Xin?"

The teahouse fell silent for a moment before someone immediately chimed in: "Exactly. The late Emperor personally bestowed the marriage between Prince Xin and Eldest Miss Xie. This Eldest Miss Xie has been missing for over ten years, and just last year, Prince Xin and Second Miss Xie were married. Now, a fiancée suddenly pops up..."

"Given the current situation... who will be the senior and who will be the junior in the future?" One was married through proper rites, while the other held an imperial decree from the late Emperor. It truly was a difficult predicament.

"Princess Consort Xin is truly unlucky," someone couldn't help but feel sympathetic.

Was it not unlucky? The legitimate eldest daughter of the Duke of Ying had been missing for eleven years; who could have imagined she would actually return?

Or even if she had returned half a year earlier, things wouldn't be like this.

"His Majesty and Prince Xin have always been filial. If they follow the late Emperor's decree, will Princess Consort Xin be demoted from wife to concubine?"

An uproar broke out in the restaurant, and sympathy for Princess Consort Xin grew even stronger.

"This Eldest Miss Xie is already nineteen. Perhaps she has already married someone else?"

"If that were the case, it would be a win-win for everyone."

No one had considered the possibility that the newly returned eldest daughter of the Duke of Ying might not want to marry Prince Xin.

Even though her status was noble, she had been wandering abroad for over a decade. If not for the late Emperor's marriage decree, what high-ranking family would be willing to marry such a woman?

In a private room separated by a single wall, one of the protagonists of the discussion was sitting leisurely, drinking tea.

Listening to the loud debates outside, Xie Wu set down her teacup with interest and said, "As expected of the capital, everyone has such leisure and elegance."

Dressed in black, Qiu Ming stood to the side holding a sword. "Beggars and refugees cannot enter the inner city, let alone..." Let alone, with bandits rising everywhere and refugees scattered about, did the Emperor not also have the leisure to go on an imperial tour?

"True. If you can't see it, it doesn't exist," Xie Wu nodded.

The sound of galloping horses came from the end of the street. Xie Wu leaned over the window to look down and saw three horses racing toward them.

By law, horses were not allowed to gallop in the inner city, yet these three showed no restraint. The people on both sides of the street scrambled to avoid them, looking indignant yet too afraid to speak.

To be so arrogant, their status must be extraordinary.

All three were dressed in black robes with gold-embroidered four-clawed flying fish patterns, with Spring Embroidery Sabers hanging from their waists. They were clearly the formidable Jinyiwei.

Leading them was a cold-looking young man in his early twenties. His eyes were frosty and his face like cold jade; even from a distance, one could feel an aura of ruthlessness washing over them.

The three horses sped past the teahouse, leaving behind only the rhythmic thudding of hooves and the sight of fluttering red robes.

"Who is he?" Xie Wu asked.

Qiu Ming took a single glance downward and said, "Shen Que, the Commander of the Jinyiwei. His father is Shen Lian, the Consort of Princess Nanjing, and he is also..."

"Also what?" Xie Wu looked at him.

Qiu Ming's lips curled slightly, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. "He is also the foster son of Huang Ze, the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial."

People of this era generally looked down on eunuchs, and naturally, they looked down even more on those who clung to them. Qiu Ming was no exception.

Xie Wu raised an eyebrow and asked, "You look down on him?"

Qiu Ming did not answer, but his expression made his attitude clear.

Xie Wu sighed. "A concubine's son of the Consort of Princess Nanjing... with such a status, if he hadn't attached himself to the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, he would likely struggle even to stay alive, let alone become the Commander of the Jinyiwei at such a young age?"

"It seems we will have to deal with him quite a bit this time," Xie Wu said. "Looking down on him will cost us dearly."

"Yes, Miss," Qiu Ming bowed his head in acknowledgment.

"What is the current situation regarding the sixth young master of the Feng family?" Xie Wu changed the subject, her voice turning serious.

Qiu Ming's expression immediately became solemn. He whispered, "The sixth young master of the Feng family is being held in the lowest level of the Imperial Prison, guarded jointly by the Jinyiwei and the Wuxiangwei. The Emperor has issued an edict: if the remnants of the Feng family do not return to the capital to face justice within three months, the sixth young master will be executed by death by a thousand cuts."

"The Jinyiwei and the Wuxiangwei? Does that mean the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Directorate of Imperial Horses are also involved? It seems the Emperor is indeed very afraid that there are still survivors of the Feng family," a sharp edge glinted in Xie Wu's seemingly nonchalant eyes.

A rare look of indignation appeared on Qiu Ming's face. "The Feng family was full of loyalists. General Feng served the borders for thirty years with illustrious military achievements. Yet, simply because he did not achieve total victory in the battle of Xiping, he was framed for colluding with Xiliang, and his entire clan was executed! It's enough to make the people of Xiliang and the Northern Di laugh themselves to death."

Xie Wu sighed. "Since you find it ridiculous, then the Feng family's tragedy could not have been caused by that alone. For them to go to such lengths, even disregarding the dignity of the imperial court, it seems the Feng remnant who escaped must be quite formidable. It must be the eldest young master, Feng Jingyu, right?"

"General Feng is dead, and the rest of the Feng family is of no concern. The most likely candidate is indeed the eldest young master," Qiu Ming nodded.

Xie Wu looked out the window. In a moment, the street had returned to its usual flow of people.

"General Feng owed a great debt to the Nine Heavens Society. Regardless of whether the eldest young master is still alive, we must save the sixth young master."

"Yes."

"I heard that Wu Che, the Commander of the Wuxiangwei, has always been at odds with Shen Que. Let's send him a grand gift first," Xie Wu said.

"In what name?"

"The Nine Heavens Society, Mo Yuchen."

"Oh, isn't this the third young master of the Xie family?" A somewhat high-pitched voice drifted in from outside.

In the main hall outside, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old Jinyi youth was staring grimly at the person speaking to him. His face was originally quite handsome, but at this moment, it looked as if it were covered in a layer of dark fog.

The dandy speaking showed no fear; instead, he stepped forward with a grin and slung an arm around the youth's shoulder.

"Third Xie, I heard your eldest sister is back? Congratulations! When are you holding a banquet to celebrate? Don't forget to invite us."

Behind him, four or five other dandies began to jeer, "Second Hong is right. Third Young Master Xie, don't forget about us!"

The youth raised his hand to brush off Second Master Hong's arm and said irritably, "Stop talking nonsense! What eldest sister? This young master only has one sister."

Hong Er raised his eyebrows. "How am I talking nonsense? This was spoken by Prince Rong himself. Could Prince Rong be speaking falsely?"

"Prince Rong... might have just been deceived!" the youth said through gritted teeth. "The matter hasn't been fully investigated yet. Stop talking nonsense."

"That's not how it works. What if it's true?" another dandy youth said. "There are rumors going around that if Eldest Miss Xie returns, Prince Xin might just divorce his wife and remarry. What will happen to the Second Miss then?"

The youth's face darkened further. He gritted his teeth and said, "That's impossible! Even if it's true, I will never acknowledge her!"

"You won't? Xie Yi, she is your biological sister!"

"I won't! This young master does not have such a shameless sister!" the youth said resentfully. "My eldest sister died long ago..."

"Ouch!" Several youths, stumbling and leaning on each other, accidentally collided with someone passing by.

Xie Yi, standing on the very edge, was knocked directly into the corner of a nearby table. For a moment, the pain took his breath away, leaving him unable to speak.