Inside a private room at Baihua Building.
"Both to enter the Purple Palace?"
Upon hearing these words, Min Ming's eyelids twitched slightly, her peach blossom eyes brimming with panic.
Min Ning lightly pursed her lips, forcing out a somewhat difficult "Mm."
Her older sister, the celebrated courtesan, looked momentarily dazed, her beautiful face drained of color.
"Moreover... moreover, he also has Grandfather's martial arts manual in his hands."
Min Ning hesitated as she spoke.
Min Ming gradually regained her composure, her face a mix of emotions as she gazed at Min Ning.
"Min Ning, do you truly intend to... yield yourself to him?"
Min Ning bit her lip and replied:
"Sister, it's not what I want either... but if I don't do this, if I don't approach him, he may target you instead. By then, both of us will fall into his clutches."
Min Ming said bitterly:
"Ning'er, but you're not truly... you're just disguising yourself as a man."
Hearing this, Min Ning curved her lips into a faint, bitter smile and said:
"That's exactly why I must take the initiative, distract his attention, and engage with him. Otherwise, if he tries to force us... we would have no room to maneuver at all."
How could Min Ming not understand? Now, Chen Yi had taken an interest in both sisters, but he was particularly fond of her younger sister, Min Ning. Min Ning was well aware of this; she aimed to capture all of Chen Yi's attention, not only to provide protection for the sisters but also to prevent him from creating opportunities for coercion in her voluntary compliance.
Yet knowing was one thing; accepting was another. Watching her resolute younger sister, Min Ming felt her eyes sting. She raised her sleeve to cover her face, almost shedding tears.
"Sister, don't worry. I'll take care of myself."
Min Ning stepped forward and gently embraced her sister's shoulders.
"Ning'er..."
Min Ming didn't know what to say. After a brief pause, she murmured with a trembling voice:
"... Don't ruin yourself."
Min Ning gave a small nod, her gallant eyes lowering, filled with an unshakable melancholy.
Shortly afterward, Min Ning left Baihua Building.
Min Ming did not rise to leave the private room. Instead, she turned her face to look at the shadowed corner of the room.
"Grand Matchmaker, come out."
An elderly woman with silvery hair and a hunched back slowly emerged from the shadows. Who knew how long she'd been in the room? Yet no matter how long she'd been there, even someone as sharp as Min Ning, an Eastern Factory officer, hadn't noticed her presence.
"Such profound sisterly love..."
The old woman spoke faintly.
Min Ming suddenly felt a bone-piercing chill.
"Earlier, you had someone pass a message to the master, saying the West Factory Thousand Households wanted to cooperate with Wuyong Building?"
The old woman asked for confirmation.
Min Ming gave a slight nod. She hadn't forgotten that day.
"Now that Xue Youge is dead and Lin Ge'lao is left without a capable ally, his rise to Acting Overseer seems an inevitable conclusion."
The old woman spoke while casting a glance at Min Ming.
"Let him know Wuyong Building is interested in forming ties with Chen Qianhu."
This result did not surprise Min Ming; even if Chen Yi didn't become Acting Overseer, Wuyong Building wouldn't miss the opportunity to win over a West Factory Thousand Households.
"Then... Grand Matchmaker, what should the gift for forging ties be?"
Min Ming asked.
When Wuyong Building reached out to establish connections with people of status, it would often meticulously prepare a gift—a token of both goodwill and intimidation, and also a pledge of allegiance.
When her words fell, the old woman stared at her intently.
Min Ming instantly felt her nerves rising.
"Miss Min, you are Baihua Building's leading courtesan. For the past ten-plus years, Wuyong Building has spent copious amounts of silver to elevate you, making your name famous throughout the Capital City. You also once swore before me that you would repay Wuyong Building's kindness, even if reborn as an ox or horse."
The old woman spoke slowly:
"Doesn't he want you to become his mistress? Then go to him and let him dress your hair."
Min Ming started trembling violently.
Over the years, she had provided Wuyong Building with hundreds of pieces of intelligence, big and small. Though she had worked hard and accomplished much, she would never have imagined Wuyong Building would exhaust its resources like this—the gift to the West Factory Thousand Households was none other than herself!
The old woman spoke as if she were handling an object:
"If he wants to keep you as his permanent mistress, you must not agree. Nor must you entirely refuse. If you become his mistress, he will eventually tire of you. You only need him to dress your hair, serving him three or four times a week. That way, you'll have the greatest hold on someone's heart, and he will come to find you frequently."
The more Min Ming listened, the more frightened she became. She dared not utter a word.
The old woman paced around the room, as if calculating strategies for her master. Then, she added:
"Miss Min, the Master values this Thousand Households highly and intends for him to serve Wuyong Building's interests. Find an opportunity and poison him. Use the Three-Yang Weakening Balm—a slow-acting poison, which will cause Martial Arts skills to deteriorate and meridians to sever if the antidote is not administered over time."
Min Ming trembled like leaves in the wind and stammered:
"But… how can the poison be administered? In tea, in soup? With someone like him, a skilled Martial Artist, how could he ever drop his guard?"
The old woman sneered coldly:
"Poison must be administered when a man is least guarded. You, as a courtesan, should know when men are most vulnerable."
Min Ming bowed her head and murmured:
"It would naturally be... during moments of ecstasy."
Suddenly, she realized something.
"Grand Matchmaker, are you saying I should..."
Her voice faltered, unable to continue.
The old woman shut her eyes indifferently.
"Carry the poison within yourself."
............…
Lin Manor.
An old man sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, dressed in a Taoist robe, holding a horsetail whisk, his eyes slightly closed—a weathered figure reminiscent of a seasoned Taoist priest.
Lin Ge'lao turned his head and called out aloud:
"Yan'er, add more incense."
Lin Yan stepped out to replenish the incense:
"Father, I still don't understand why you care so much about Chen Yi."
Lin Ge'lao didn't answer directly but simply said:
"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is summoning him today."
The Empress Dowager summoning him?
Lin Yan was taken aback.
"Father, why would Her Majesty suddenly summon him? After all, he's just a Thousand Households from the West Factory."
Though the Empress Dowager presided over court matters, rarely did she summon subject officials in private. Even if she did, they were typically members of the Cabinet's senior councilors. Now, she was summoning a fifth-grade Chen Yi.
"Not only did the Empress Dowager summon him, but a month ago, you granted him a Hundred Households rank. No matter how much value he holds, these actions seem illogical. Could there be something special about him?"
Lin Yan, as the second son of the Lin Family, frequently engaged with high-ranking officials from the court. He didn't know much about Martial Artists like Chen Yi.
Lin Ge'lao stared straight ahead and said:
"Do you understand what happened that day?"
"What happened?"
"The household servants found a mysterious young man wandering Capital City. Upon thorough questioning, the young man claimed to be a descendant of Jin Country's Chen Family."
Lin Ge'lao spoke plainly:
"That young man was Chen Yi, styled as Zunming."
"Jin Country's Chen Family?"
Lin Yan gasped.
The countries of Jin and Yu were longstanding adversaries, with frequent clashes and fragile moments of diplomacy.
The Chen Family of Jin and the An Family of Yu were sworn enemies.
"The Chen Family of Jin, after conquering Luoyong City, slaughtered every resident—young and old—to extinction, including the ancestral branch of the An Family, which once wielded great political influence in the Capital City.
Such unspeakable blood vengeance, how could Her Majesty the Empress Dowager ever forget?"
Listening to Lin Ge'lao's words, Lin Yan speculated aloud:
"Father, are you suggesting that...
The Empress Dowager intends to use him to exact revenge against Jin Country's Chen Family?
But of all the Chens in the world, how can we be certain he truly belongs to Jin Country's Chen lineage?"
Lin Ge'lao chuckled coldly and waved the horsetail whisk:
"Yan'er, he doesn't need to be."
"As long as the Empress Dowager believes he is, he is."