Chapter 156 Bai Zhanhuang Will Definitely Go Mad…

Chapter 156 Bai Zhanhuang Will Be Driven Mad...

"Is that all you found out?" The Grand Consort’s voice was icy.

The steward dared not keep her in suspense. He quickly replied, "If this old servant remembers correctly, the shop owner, surnamed Lü, was Lü Ruhui, the eldest daughter of Academician Lü and the former wife of Liu Xiangze, Minister of the Court of State Ceremonials. She passed away not long after the New Year. The incident caused quite a stir and even alarmed His Majesty."

The story of Liu Xiangze’s hair turning white overnight due to his ex-wife’s death was practically common knowledge in court. The steward had happened to overhear the elder master discussing it with the old master and had committed it to memory.

"Dead?"

"Yes."

"And the incense burner?"

"If the incense burner hasn't changed hands, it should still be with the Lü family. This old servant will send someone to investigate immediately." Though the steward didn't understand why the Grand Consort and the old master were making such a fuss over an incense burner, he dared not delay in the slightest.

Before he could withdraw, he heard the Grand Consort say, "Wait."

The steward stood with hands clasped, awaiting the Grand Consort’s instructions.

"Zhao Yin, go with them. If the item is at the Lü household, retrieve it. If not, find out where it went."

"Yes," Shang Yin replied respectfully.

"Keep it discreet. Don’t cause any unnecessary trouble."

After all, the Lü family was an official household. Though the Grand Consort wanted the incense burner back, she didn’t wish to blow the matter out of proportion.

"Rest assured, Grand Consort."

Shang Yin left with the steward. As they passed Zhao Xun and Zhao Zeqian, father and son, Zhao Xun turned to glance at him.

Once the people handling the mess had left, Zhao Xun tentatively spoke up, "Aunt, the incense burner’s whereabouts have been found, and Zeqian didn’t do it maliciously… perhaps you could forgive him this once?"

Zhao Xun and Zhao Zeqian looked up at the Grand Consort with hopeful eyes. The Grand Consort looked down at them, her face betraying no emotion, though inwardly, she was deeply disappointed.

Her late husband, though a scholar, had possessed an unyielding spirit, earning the respect of the Shang family head through his sheer talent.

She hadn't expected much from his son, but still, she had held some hope. Alas, her son was mediocre, and the grandson he raised was as foolish as a pig—utterly disappointing.

With that thought, the Grand Consort couldn’t be bothered with them any longer. She turned to Zhao Qi and said, "Father, since Zeqian stole from your room, you should decide his punishment."

"Then let it be ten lashes according to family rules, followed by three months of confinement."

Upon hearing he would be whipped, Zhao Zeqian immediately wailed like a ghost. Zhao Xun also pleaded incessantly for his son.

The Grand Consort didn’t even glance their way before rising and leaving.

After receiving his family punishment, Zhao Zeqian couldn’t even get up and had to be carried back to his quarters.

His mother, Lady Li, sobbed uncontrollably while holding him, then turned to scold Zhao Xun, "How could the old master be so cruel? Zeqian only took an incense burner, yet he was nearly beaten to death! And Aunt… Zeqian is her own grandson!"

"Silence! Who are you to speak so presumptuously of Aunt?"

Instead of backing down, Lady Li grew even angrier. "Am I wrong? She became the Grand Consort, but you, her own son, were adopted by your elder uncle. All these years, you haven’t held a single official post. If not for that, how could my son be so poor as to steal from the old master to sell for money!"

"And whose fault is it that he was corrupted by you?"

"Corrupted by me? Isn’t Zeqian your son too? I know—you still can’t forget your first son." Lady Li scoffed. "You remember him, but he’s ruthless, always scheming to harm my Zeqian."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Xun asked.

"Do you think the old master just happened to investigate our Zeqian? I’ve already inquired—he was punished yesterday for saying something he shouldn’t have."

"That’s just your speculation."

Lady Li shot him a glance. "The Grand Consort may pretend to be close to you, but she still investigated Zeqian behind your back. She doesn’t value you much, or else why would we have lived in such hardship all these years?"

Zhao Xun had never thought much of it before, but his wife’s words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

His mother was the Grand Consort of the Northern Wilderness King, yet he was a nameless, titleless wastrel in the capital. His son didn’t even have a thousand taels of silver and had to resort to theft. The more he thought about it, the more pitiful his situation seemed.

Feeling agitated, Zhao Xun stood and said to Lady Li, "I’m going to see Aunt."

Lady Li, focused on caring for their son, paid him no mind.

Zhao Xun impulsively headed for the Grand Consort’s courtyard, but halfway there, the cold night wind cut through him, and his courage faltered.

What should have been a short walk took him nearly an hour before he finally knocked on the Grand Consort’s gate.

Once inside, face-to-face with the Grand Consort, the words he’d prepared stuck in his throat.

He wanted to call her "Mother," but under her cold gaze, he choked it down and meekly said, "Aunt."

He remembered the day she had given him away to his elder uncle’s family. When he’d called her "Mother," she had lashed him savagely. The memory of that pain still terrified him.

The Grand Consort took a sip of tea and asked, "What is it?"

"It’s nothing…" Seeing her frown slightly, as if growing impatient, Zhao Xun suddenly asked, "I just wanted to ask—did Zhao Yin say something to make you suddenly suspect Zeqian?"

The Grand Consort seemed surprised by the question but didn’t hide the truth. "He did mention it, and his suspicions were proven right."

"Aunt, Zhao Yin is of the Shang bloodline. He might be trying to turn you against Zeqian."

"I raised him myself. I know him better than you do. What does his lineage matter? As long as I wish it, I can control him. Understand?"

Zhao Xun didn’t understand. All he knew was that weeds must be uprooted. Every time he saw Zhao Yin, he was reminded of his ex-wife, who had nearly killed him after learning of the Shang family’s massacre.

Thankfully, that madwoman had been taken away by my aunt, but for years afterward, he still had nightmares.

Seeing Zhao Xun’s disapproval, the Grand Consort couldn't be bothered to continue the conversation.

Her son was a lost cause—he would never be anything significant.

As Zhao Xun went on and on, the Grand Consort thought to herself, *What a difference between him and Bai Zhanhuang.*

If only that child hadn’t been bewitched by that fox spirit, distancing himself from his own mother.

But no matter what, they were still mother and son.

Now that the fox spirit was dead, they would reconcile eventually—once she retrieved the items hidden in the Zhao family’s secret storeroom and brought them back to the Northern Wilderness.

Back then, the king had overrode all objections to make her his consort thanks to those treasures. Now, they would bridge the gap between her and her son.

She believed her son had merely gotten sidetracked. Sooner or later, he would return to the right path.

After listening to Zhao Xun’s long-winded grievances with little reaction, the Grand Consort finally had her maids politely show him out when he had nothing left to say.

Sensing her indifference, Zhao Xun grew angrier on his way back but had nowhere to direct his anger. He could only seethe quietly.

As he walked along a covered walkway, he happened to meet Shang Yin coming from the opposite direction.

Shang Yin had just returned from the Lü residence. When he saw Zhao Xun, he initially intended to continue past as was his habit, but the other man suddenly hailed him.

"Shang Yin, where are your manners? Can’t you even speak when you see your father?"

Shang Yin stopped and said, "Father."

"Stop using your petty schemes on Zeqian." Seeing Shang Yin’s impassive face, which reminded him of the Grand Consort, Zhao Xun’s anger boiled over uncontrollably.

"Do you think this will make me pay attention to you? You’re just like your dead mother—a lingering ghost, just as stubborn. Why don’t you both just perish together!"

Shang Yin listened to Zhao Xun’s curses like a carved statue, showing no reaction.

Only when Zhao Xun had spent his fury and saw that Shang Yin remained silent did he find the whole exchange pointless. He flung his sleeve and left.

Watching his receding back, Shang Yin suddenly felt that trading his worthless life for just the Grand Consort’s was a bit of a loss.

There were no secrets in the Zhao residence. Before Shang Yin could report to the Grand Consort, news of him being stopped and berated by Zhao Xun had already reached her ears.

The Grand Consort dismissed it. She believed Shang Yin wouldn’t care about such trivial matters.

By the time Shang Yin arrived, the Grand Consort had already taken off her court makeup and was seated in a chair, with a maid massaging her shoulders and feet.

Shang Yin knelt on the ground and reported his findings.

"Grand Consort, it has been confirmed that after Lü Ruhui’s death, the incense burner she acquired was given by the Lü family to a woman named Ji Chan."

"Ji Chan?" The name "Chan" instinctively displeased the Grand Consort, reminding her of that troublesome fox spirit.

"Who is she, and what is her relationship with Lü Ruhui?"

"She was Lü Ruhui’s neighbor in Changping Ward, running a perfumery. It’s said she often looked after Lü Ruhui, who expressly stated in her will that the incense burner should be left to her."

"Specially left to her? Do they know the value of the incense burner?"

"They do. Madam Lü, the wife of the Hanlin Academician, said the shop owner told them it was the Yushan Incense Burner, worth a fortune. However, they still honored Lü Ruhui’s wishes and gave it to her."

"She has good taste." The Grand Consort snorted lightly. "Did anyone in the Lü family notice anything unusual?"

"No. The entire Lü family consists of ordinary people. I used a memory-altering spell—they won’t remember speaking to me."

The Grand Consort nodded. "Then go to Changping Ward tomorrow and retrieve the incense burner."

"And... what should be done with Ji Chan?"

The Grand Consort glanced at Shang Yin. "She’s just an ordinary person. Do I need to teach you how to handle this?"

If that Ji Chan hadn’t known the value of the Yushan Incense Burner, she might have been spared. But since she did, there was no choice.

If the item went missing, she would surely make a fuss. It was better to make her death look accidental.

And with that unpleasant name of hers, there was even less reason to let her live.

Shang Yin lowered his head. "Understood."

As he left the Grand Consort’s courtyard, Shang Yin thought to himself that the most foolish decision she had ever made was ordering the ambush on A Chan.

If A Chan had died, it would have been fine. Unfortunately, the eight-tailed fox’s life was tougher than the Grand Consort’s.

These past few days, A Chan had been unexpectedly diligent, opening the shop early in the morning.

When Shang Yin arrived, A Chan was carving an incense seal, with the Yushan Incense Burner—the very object the Zhao family had been searching for—placed right in front of her.

Lighting the incense powder with a stick and covering the burner, the curling smoke lingered above the burner without dispersing. It was the first time Shang Yin had witnessed the Yushan Incense Burner’s peculiar properties.

"Would you like to buy some incense, sir?" A Chan asked as if she didn’t recognize him, treating him like any other customer.

"I would, but this incense burner is quite unique. Is it for sale?"

"A gift from a friend. Not to be sold."

"What a shame."

Shang Yin edged toward the counter. Just then, Chen Hui emerged from the back door.

Seeing Chen Hui, Shang Yin froze. He could sense that this deceptively normal woman was not alive—she was a living corpse.

He was shocked. A Chan was raising a living corpse in the capital? Was she courting death?

"Sir, if you need anything, you can tell me." After her cultivation breakthrough, Chen Hui had become even more perceptive.

Just moments ago, she had sensed a dangerous cultivator entering the shop from the backyard.

"Just browsing."

Shang Yin wandered around the shop for a while, with Chen Hui’s unwavering gaze following him the entire time. Eventually, he left on his own.

After seeing that at least Second-Realm living corpse, Shang Yin knew how to report to the Grand Consort—but it wasn’t enough to convince her.

Now, according to plan, he needed to investigate A Chan’s identity.

Information about the identity "Ji Chan" wasn’t hard to find. She was the legitimate daughter of Marquis of Jinyang, Ji Heng. After her birth mother died and her maternal family was exiled, she was suddenly exposed as not being Ji Heng’s biological daughter and was driven out of the household.

These surface-level details were unremarkable—clearly just the result of harem conflicts, with Ji Chan being the losing party.

A pampered young lady driven from the household should have fallen into destitution.

But for Ji Chan, the story took a different turn.

Within a year, the Marquis of Jinyang’s household began to decline—with Ji Chan as the cause.

The informant who sold Shang Yin the details took his silver and, with a sense of mercenary kindness, cautioned, "Sir, whatever you’re investigating her for, you’d best stay away from her."

"Why?" Shang Yin was sitting in a somewhat shabby tavern in Datong Ward.

The wine served by the waiter was diluted, but the information was genuine.

The waiter stooped and whispered, "From what we know, this young lady has deep connections to the Commander of the Bright Mirror Bureau. Not long ago, the Marquis of Jinyang was arrested by the Bright Mirror Bureau. No sooner had he been released, his wife was taken in. In short, even heroes falter before beauty."

Shang Yin found the waiter’s turn of phrase amusing. "Do you sell information about that Commander here?"

The waiter’s expression changed. He glanced around and, seeing no one was paying attention, said in a hushed voice, "Sir, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Don’t inquire further either—lest you invite calamity."

"Can’t ask?"

"Heh heh, we’d like to live a few more days."

In the capital’s shadow trade, one had to know whose silver is safe to take—and whose couldn’t.

Shang Yin didn't give the waiter a hard time. After leaving the tavern, he found a somewhat bigger establishment.

Spending more silver, the intel he got wasn't much different from before. However, this establishment added one detail: the Marquis of Zhenbei had once destroyed Ji Chan’s shop for unknown reasons but later paid her compensation in silver. The shopkeeper’s message was that the Commander of the Bright Mirror Bureau had intervened to stop the Marquis of Zhenbei. Like the previous source, the shopkeeper believed Ji Chan had a deep connection with him and wasn't someone to mess with.

As for the Commander, the shopkeeper only provided a name and refused to say anything more.

Shang Yin didn’t seek a third source—continuing further would risk alerting the other party.

Now he finally understood why A Chan was so confident that her information could make the Grand Consort act to mobilize the Fourth Realm. Bai Xiuming’s people—if a mere Third Realm like himself dared to act against them, he'd be signing his own death warrant.

Shang Yin was familiar with the name Bai Xiuming. He had heard it months earlier from the King of Northern Wilderness.

Bai Zhanhuang himself had admitted that Bai Xiuming was the person among the younger generation of the Great Xia imperial clan who made him most wary.

This man should have inherited a two-word princely title like him, becoming a regional prince, but he had taken a path entirely different from Bai Zhanhuang’s.

Raised as a foster son by King Ming, he was ruthlessly efficient—the emperor's most lethal weapon.

Though born as the legitimate heir of the Prince of Xiling, he had destroyed the Xiling Prince’s estate, sparing not even his own father. After returning to the capital from Xiling, he displayed his Fourth Realm power, intimidating the imperial clan. Yet no one knew exactly how long ago he had advanced to the Fourth Realm.

Secretive yet incredibly gifted, the King of Northern Wilderness had declared back then that this man would undoubtedly be King Ming’s successor.

After leaving Datong Ward, Shang Yin mentally reviewed the information he had gathered and suddenly laughed. He truly looked forward to the day Bai Zhanhuang learned of Bai Xiuming’s connection with A Chan.

Bai Zhanhuang would absolutely lose it.