Chapter 59: The Mastermind, Flames Rise

Chapter 59: The Puppeteer, Flames Rise

The tangled memories churned in Ning Xishi's mind, making it hard to sort them out in any order.

No time for that now, so Ning Xishi simply cast everything aside and strolled out from behind the fake rocks with Dongshuang.

The literary gathering was held at a picturesque estate on the outskirts of the capital. They say the estate's owner was a big-shot official from the previous dynasty who, after he retired, saw the spot was scenic, nestled between hills and a river, and thus conceived the idea of building a garden here.

He even brought in top craftsmen from Jiangnan just to make fancy roof tiles.

The garden took a full twelve years to finish, covering six mu. The backyard even channeled running water, giving it that classy "floating cup on a winding stream" vibe.

"What a beautiful place this is! We've got Brother Lin to thank for letting us hold this gathering here."

The guy in the middle, getting all the attention, was a man named Lin, a distant relative of the Empress Dowager's family, not exactly a favorite.

But his book smarts were decent. He used a friend's name to sit for the exams, and since grading was blind, he cruised all the way to the provincial level.

That got him noticed by the Empress Dowager.

Plus, since the emperor was her own son, this guy was kind of related to him too.

Back then, the emperor didn't have enough power yet, and he had to save face with the Empress Dowager, so he ignored the rule against the empress's kin meddling in politics and gave him a job cataloging royal books.

"I can't take the credit. This place is actually the Empress Dowager's property. I merely mentioned it during the Cold Food Festival a while back, and she was kind enough to let me use this garden for the gathering." He then clasped his hands and bowed toward the east, saying, "We all have the Empress Dowager to thank."

"I hear Brother Lin invited not just our pals from the Imperial Academy, but also some new hotshots in town?" Someone in the crowd started the topic.

Ning Xishi was walking around the fake rocks and thought that voice sounded super familiar—he'd definitely heard it somewhere.

"Of course. I hear Second Young Master Ning, who just aced the county exam, is coming too."

"And get this—I hear Wang Qifeng, the provincial top scorer, is also coming."

"Wang Qifeng's writing is seriously good. I've been dying to get a sample of his calligraphy! But that Ning Xishi—first in the county exam? Ha! Showing up here with that? Talk about nerve."

Right as those words died down, Ning Xishi stepped out from behind the fake rocks. He looked at the guy and asked, "Who's this?"

The guy who'd spoken was just trying to suck up to the host, never expecting Ning Xishi to hear him.

He got nervous right away, putting on a tough front: "What, you gonna get back at me just for saying one thing?"

Ning Xishi actually found this guy's nerve funny, but he wasn't one for fake politeness, and he never let anyone walk all over him.

"Those were your words." Ning Xishi cracked his wrist and said, "Guards, throw him out."

As soon as he said that, someone in the crowd snickered.

The rest, seeing his face go purple like a pig's liver, couldn't help but grin.

"How—how dare you? This is Brother Lin's gathering! Butting in like this—that's way out of line!" The guy shouted, panicking as he saw guards actually coming for him.

"But I've got the deed to this garden." Ning Xishi made a big show of digging in his sleeve and, sure enough, pulled out a deed.

He pressed his lips together and said flatly, "So get the hell out."

Compiler Lin, who'd been standing out like a peacock in the middle of the crowd, was also caught off guard. But he quickly recovered and gave Ning Xishi a small bow with his hands clasped, saying, "I was wondering why the Empress Dowager suddenly let go of such a nice garden—turns out she gave it to Second Young Master Ning."

Yesterday, Ning Xishi had been just as puzzled when this deed showed up at his door.

But the people in the palace said it was a thoughtful gesture from the Empress Dowager, and since an elder's gift should not be declined, they insisted he accept it.

Recently, Ning Xishi had also noticed that the Empress Dowager's actions were becoming more frequent. After all, when Xie Jingxing was recovering from injuries in the capital, the Empress Dowager hadn't even deigned to see them on their wedding day, for fear of drawing the emperor's suspicion.

Could it be that Xie Jingxing had won a victory on the battlefield?

Watching this troublemaker get hauled off, Ning Xishi scanned the group of Guozijian students and noticed that one person's expression was indeed off.

He didn't remember this person's face well, but the sudden look of panic and confusion on that person's face inexplicably matched the figure from his dream.

It was that person, back to him, sitting at a desk writing something. When he approached, the same flustered expression appeared, and then the person hurriedly ran off.

Ning Xishi said to Dongshuang behind him, "Remember that person's face. Go back and investigate him."

The literary gathering was nothing more than drinking, composing couplets, and reciting poetry to wrap things up.

But everyone there was good at flattering and playing nice, so hanging around felt relatively easy.

After a few rounds of drinks, as Ning Xishi was about to leave, Editor Lin sidled up and handed him a stack of things—not very thick, looked like letters.

Ning Xishi's wine-dazed eyes instantly sharpened, and his dark, gleaming eyes locked onto him. Editor Lin felt that Ning Xishi in the night looked like a spirit who could see right through a person.

He said nothing, just smiled, and went back to toasting with the people around him.

Ning Xishi squeezed the envelope in his hand but quietly tucked it away. This guy seemed to be one of Xie Jingxing's men.

Thanks to the scene Ning Xishi had caused earlier, none of those Guozijian students who wanted to test his knowledge with poetry and couplets dared to step up. After all, it was his place—if they pissed him off, he could toss them out in a second, and how embarrassing would that be?

Ning Xishi kept an eye on the person who seemed familiar. That person seemed to be talking to the people nearby, but it always ended with them waving their hands and refusing.

Who exactly was this guy, and why was he targeting him like this?

At midnight, Ning Xishi excused himself, saying he couldn't hold his liquor. By then, the whole courtyard was lit up with lanterns, and maids and servants led him to rest.

Dongshuang kept an eye on that person. When Ning Xishi got up, he noticed the other also got up to leave, so he stayed extra alert.

As soon as Ning Xishi entered the room, Dongshuang lowered the bed curtains and whispered, "Someone's following."

"Is it him?"

Dongshuang gave a tiny nod.

"Lure him in," Ning Xishi said.

Dongshuang said softly, "Young master, lie down here for a bit. I don't know this garden well, so I'll call someone to bring you some hangover soup."

"Mm... go ahead." Ning Xishi's voice was slurred, and he even turned over, appearing to have drifted into a daze.

Dongshuang slipped out quietly, but once outside, he sensed that person's presence was gone again. His alarm bells went off instantly, and forgetting whether he'd played his part well, he flung the door open—

There, under the moonlight, the person the young master had told him to watch was already at the window, raising a dagger high, about to strike down hard any second!

"Young master!" Dongshuang's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He felt like he was dreaming—how had this guy gotten in when he'd only closed the door for a second?

At this distance, not even General Xie could've stopped him!

Just as Dongshuang's heart was about to jump out of his throat, Ning Xishi sprang up lightly from the bed, raised his hand, and grabbed the person's wrist.

His eyes were perfectly clear, not a trace of drunkenness.

"Gotcha," he said.

In that instant, Ning Xishi felt as if he heard the sound of flames igniting near his ears. He thought the bed curtains had caught fire, but then realized the sound seemed to echo within his mind.

The room around him remained pitch black, with only the cold moonlight casting a faint silver glow.

"Wait, you're not drunk?"

"You mean that knockout powder you slipped me?" Ning Xishi recalled how Lin Bianxiu had swapped their wine cups, likely having noticed something and switched them accordingly.

But since Ning Xishi had come to the banquet, he naturally had a contingency plan.

Dongshuang had already discreetly swapped the cups from his sleeve, and even replaced the wine jug itself.

"Winner takes all, loser loses everything. Kill me or torture me, whatever."

That voice...? Ning Xishi suddenly said, "You're... Liuer?"

It was an ancient name, so old that Ning Xishi had to dig it out from the dusty corners of his memory.

Because it was back when they were still in Ningzhou, the night he and Xie Jingxing fled the theater and passed by a low wall where they overheard it.

That theater was built with extravagant luxury, yet it had just one low wall. Ning Xishi found it odd and deliberately circled around with Xie Jingxing, but the guards were tight there, and they didn't spot anyone—only caught words like "Mother" and "Liuer, study hard for the imperial exams."

"You know?" The person, who had been struggling a bit, suddenly gave up completely. "So you know everything. All the painstaking efforts my father and I put in, and you still got what you wanted."

"That's a strange thing to say," Ning Xishi said coolly. "Miss, you're the one who used something that shouldn't exist in this world to alter what was already set. I'm afraid it's not about me getting my way, but about putting things back on their proper course, isn't it?"

At that moment, the sound of blazing fire kept roaring in his mind.

It was a bizarre feeling. The surroundings were dim, with no extra light, no warmth or scorching sea of flames, yet something in his mind felt like it was burning.

And as the burning went on, he saw a book in the flames—that book... that familiar cover, wasn't it the one he'd read before transmigrating, *The Enchanting Imperial Consort*?

In an instant, all the scattered clues clicked together in Ning Xishi's mind.

In truth, his original fate in this world wasn't to die tragically like in the book—it had been altered by this person called 'Ming Liuer.'

As for how she—no, he should say she—had found the chance to make those changes, that remained a mystery.

"I don't have time to play games with you now. Dongshuang, take her away and hand her to the senior disciple. He knows how to interrogate people."

From the moment those flames sparked, Ning Xishi knew all her plans and backup moves had failed. As for the reasons behind it and how she'd pulled it off, no one was better suited for the interrogation than Xiao Shaoqing.

And Ning Xishi still had to head home—tomorrow morning, his elder brother would check today's recitation, and he still had to study for a bit!

Otherwise, he'd be punished by writing large characters.

Why did he still have to take the imperial exams after transmigrating?!

Second Young Master Ning looked up at the sky, eyes full of tears.

"Let's go, Dongshuang. Time to go home."

==========Author's Note:==========

Night.