Chu Tianjiao changed into clothes suitable for going out and hurriedly rushed to the main gate.
Chu Ye had already ordered horses to be prepared, and the uncle and niece, accompanied by a few guards, set off towards the estate outside the city.
Upon arrival, Chu Tianjiao dismounted and followed Chu Ye into the courtyard.
This estate was a private property of the Chu family, and those living on it were generations-old retainers of the Chu household.
The estate manager, Old Li Six, appeared to be a simple farmer on the surface, but was actually a battle-hardened retired soldier.
Seeing Chu Tianjiao appear behind Chu Ye, Old Li Six was somewhat taken aback.
"Greetings, Second Master. Greetings, Young Miss."
Old Li Six was older than Chu Tianjiao's father, and his attitude towards Chu Tianjiao was neither obsequious nor arrogant, as if he didn't take this child seriously.
Chu Ye, on the other hand, was quite polite in explaining to Old Li Six: "The woman from yesterday was captured by the Young Miss."
Only then did Old Li Six give Chu Tianjiao a couple more glances.
Entering one of the side rooms, Old Li Six opened a wardrobe and activated a mechanism inside. The wardrobe moved, revealing a hole in the wall.
Chu Ye led Chu Tianjiao inside, and they descended a flight of stairs into a spacious hidden chamber.
The shopkeeper from the Exotic Treasures Pavilion was hanging by her hands from torture instruments, her hair disheveled, with several whip marks on her body.
Old Li Six said, "This woman is very tight-lipped. We had to use severe torture. Young Miss, please don't be afraid."
Chu Tianjiao's lips twitched slightly. In her previous life, she had killed more people than she could count. How could such interrogation methods faze her?
Seeing Chu Tianjiao stare at the woman without changing expression, Old Li Six nodded inwardly, discarding his initial dismissive attitude.
Chu Ye asked, "Has she confessed everything?"
Old Li Six shook his head, "This woman initially insisted she was an ordinary citizen. After torture, she finally admitted to being from Dongyi, saying it was justified to poison the Chu family due to national and personal vengeance."
Chu Ye pursued, "Didn't you ask about her mastermind? Does she have any connections with people in our court?"
Old Li Six replied, "I asked, but she said it was all her own idea and that she only seeks a quick death. She says there's nothing more to tell."
Chu Tianjiao said to Old Li Six, "Wake her up. I'll question her."
Old Li Six turned to look at Chu Ye, and only after Chu Ye nodded did he throw a bucket of water on the woman to wake her.
"You?" When the woman saw Chu Tianjiao clearly, her eyes filled with hatred.
Chu Tianjiao walked up to her, gripped the woman's chin, looked her in the eyes, and smiled, "Even if you don't confess, I know who in the capital is supporting you!"
The woman's eyes showed disdain.
Chu Tianjiao carefully observed the woman's expression, her smile disappearing as she said sternly, "It's the Ye family, isn't it?"
A flash of panic crossed the woman's eyes, not escaping Chu Tianjiao's notice.
"The Thousand Mechanism Powder you used was prepared by someone hidden in the Ye family. Perhaps even the Exotic Treasures Pavilion is secretly owned by someone in the Ye family?"
The panic in the woman's eyes was hard to conceal. She jerked her head, freeing her chin from Chu Tianjiao's grip, and shouted, "Go ahead and guess! In the court of Li Country, there are many who help me. It could be anyone."
Chu Tianjiao knew the woman was desperate and trying to confuse her judgment.
Chu Tianjiao's face was full of mockery, "The person you're trying to protect probably already knows you've been captured. The Exotic Treasures Pavilion has been closed for days, yet no one has come to rescue you. You've already been abandoned, so why bother covering for him?"
Fearing that Chu Tianjiao might trick more information out of her, the woman made a desperate move, biting down hard and severing her own tongue.
Chu Tianjiao tried to stop her but was too late.
Chu Ye hurriedly called for someone to save her.
The estate had a doctor who, after treatment, said her life was not in danger, but she likely wouldn't be able to speak again.
"Forget it, Second Uncle. Just hand her over to the Dark Night Bureau. Tell them about her attempt to poison my father. Wang Elderly Physician can testify."
Chu Ye hesitated, "The Dark Night Bureau is His Majesty's confidant. Once we hand her over, His Majesty will know."
Chu Tianjiao said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter if he knows. At least we can be sure this has nothing to do with His Majesty. It's most likely the work of Dongyi spies."
"We will have our revenge eventually."
"From her reaction earlier, I can be certain her accomplice is in the Ye family. It would be more legitimate for the Dark Night Bureau to investigate."
Chu Ye was incredulous, "The Ye family? Weren't we almost allied by marriage with them? The Fourth Prince is considered Consort Ye's adopted son. It doesn't make sense for the Ye family to move against us now."
Chu Tianjiao thought for a moment and said, "The Ye family has many scheming individuals. It's not impossible for one or two traitors to emerge who collude with the enemy."
"I know who to keep an eye on now. Don't worry, Second Uncle, I'll investigate this matter."
Chu Ye felt as if his eldest niece had suddenly grown up.
Before, she was just fond of mischief, but now she could suddenly handle family affairs.
Chu Tianjiao inwardly guessed that the person who could make the Thousand Mechanism Powder must be someone close to Ye Tinglan, to have taught her such an important secret recipe of the Dongyi royal family.
But she couldn't tell Chu Ye that in her previous life, she had also been poisoned to death by the Thousand Mechanism Powder.
Chu Tianjiao decided to hand the woman over to the Dark Night Bureau, intending to use the Emperor's power to investigate the Ye family.
Even if the Dark Night Bureau couldn't find anything on the Ye family, it would be good to make the Emperor vigilant about Dongyi spies in the court.
Having been enshrined together in the Imperial Ancestral Temple for three years, Chu Tianjiao understood that the current Emperor would never collude with the Dongyi people.
The current Emperor would be posthumously known as "Emperor Chengzong". He was the Emperor Chengzong who always tried to piggyback on her grandfather's achievements.
Emperor Chengzong's favorite thing to boast about was that when the Old Marquis of Liyang had penetrated deep into enemy territory and captured the Dongyi emperor alive, he, still a prince then, had helped the Old Marquis of Liyang transport supplies.
Of course, in his exaggerated version, it became him personally capturing the Dongyi emperor.
Chu Tianjiao was curious. When the portraits in the Imperial Ancestral Temple were all burned in that fire, did Emperor Chengzong's soul also return to this era, or did it enter the cycle of reincarnation?
Chu Ye brought Chu Tianjiao back to the city.
Old Madam Chu had finished expelling the cold poison today. Although her body ached all over, she didn't want to lie down anymore.
At dinner time, she had people carry a couch to the dining room, and she half-reclined on it, watching her children and grandchildren eat.
Seeing her children and grandchildren well, Old Madam Chu felt much more spirited.
Unsurprisingly, Chu Tianjiao was once again stuffed full of pig brain by Old Madam Chu.
She truly hoped that Old Madam Chu's illness would recover quickly, so she could try to resist a bit.
The invitation to Old Madam Zheng's birthday banquet had already been delivered to the Chu family.
Old Madam Chu instructed Chu Tianjiao, "For your maternal grandfather's family, you should take your second sister with you."
Chu Yun'er very much wanted to attend the banquet outside, as it meant she wouldn't have to be confined by her grandmother to study.
But when she thought about going with Chu Tianjiao to her maternal grandfather's family, she wasn't very pleased.
Chu Tianjiao remembered that in her previous life at this time, she was already the Fourth Prince's consort and didn't attend this banquet.
But she vaguely recalled that something significant seemed to have happened at this banquet.
