Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven: Knowing Ten Thousand Things from One

The man regained consciousness from his coma. Looking at the father and daughter standing before him, he said, "General An, if you are a real man, give me a quick and clean death."

An Qinghe crossed his arms, looking down at the man seated on the ground from a position of authority. "If you want a quick death, honestly tell me who ordered you to track my daughter."

The man sneered, pressing his lips together in silence.

"In the military, interrogations of enemy spies are never treated with mercy. If you refuse to speak honestly, I will have no choice but to use the methods reserved for spies on you."

The man stared at An Qinghe, his gaze dark and cold, remaining completely silent.

"Xier, that is enough. Go to the study and read your books." Fearing the upcoming bloody scene would frighten Anyi, An Qinghe dismissed her.

Anyi retreated outside and pulled the door shut, but instead of going to the study, she stood right by the entrance.

"There is a punishment known as carving the flesh and stripping the bones. I wonder if you have heard of it?" An Qinghe asked.

"You are abusing private torture," the man said in a deep voice.

"You spied on an official's private residence with malicious intent. During the process of subduing you, this general struck you down. Your death would be well-deserved, so what crime of mine could there be?"

"I never expected that the celebrated and renowned Grand General An would turn out to be a petty villain who calls a deer a horse," the man cursed.

"Instead of indulging in empty retorts, you would be better off confessing who your master is behind the scenes."

The man sneered.

"In that case, I have no choice but to proceed."

"Ah—" A shrill, miserable scream echoed from inside the room, followed by low, agonized groans. Anyi frowned slightly. Although she could not see how An Qinghe was carrying out the torture, simply hearing the agonizing screams combined with the name of the punishment mentioned by An Qinghe made it clear that this was an utterly harrowing form of exquisite torture, one that surely no one could endure for long.

"Who sent you?" An Qinghe asked.

The man did not answer.

"Those who undergo this punishment do not die immediately. They endure seven full days of torment before their breath finally gives out." An Qinghe calmly informed the man of this despair-inducing truth.

The man possessed a strong will and was not cowed by these words. His voice trembling, he said, "I am not even afraid of death; could I possibly be afraid of pain?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than another piercing, agonizing scream rang out.

"Who sent you?" An Qinghe's voice remained utterly calm.

"Lin, Xi, Min." Unable to endure any longer as a creature of flesh and blood, the man finally cracked under the brutal torture and blurted out his master's name.

"The eldest son of the Earl of Linchang, Lin Ximin, the Director of the Ministry of War's Bureau of Carriage and Cavalry?"

"Yes."

"Our family has no dealings with the Lin family whatsoever. Why did he order you to track my daughter?"

"To find someone."

"Who?"

"A man surnamed Gong."

"Why search for him? What kind of person is he?"

"I do not know. My orders were simply to track Miss An, find the hiding place of that man, and then notify the young master." The man's voice grew increasingly weak.

Waiting until the man had lost consciousness, An Qinghe pulled open the door, looked around the courtyard, and called out loudly, "Guan Er!"

"This subordinate is here." Guan Er responded, running out from a hidden corner.

"Go to the back alley and fetch Xiao Lu to tend to his wounds. Do not let him die. As for anyone who has seen him, make sure they keep their mouths shut and do not let even the slightest whisper leak out." An Qinghe instructed in a deep voice.

"This subordinate understands."

Handing the man over to Guan Er, An Qinghe went to the study to look for Anyi. However, she was not there. Turning back, he asked the servant guarding the door, "Where has the young miss gone?"

"The young miss just returned to Pearl Pavilion," the servant replied.

Upon learning that Lin Ximin was the one who had sent people to track her, Anyi had turned away with a dark expression. She was not surprised by Lin Ximin's quest to capture the young Master Gong. As a court official whose post was specially bestowed by the Emperor, Lin Ximin must have received a classified decree to hunt down the young Master Gong.

What surprised Anyi was how Lin Ximin knew that she was acquainted with the young Master Gong. In the capital, the only person who knew of her connection to him should be Bai Wuming. Once Bai Wuming learned that Lin Ximin was hunting the young Master Gong, he must have informed Lin Ximin of her acquaintance with him, prompting Lin Ximin to have her followed.

Of course, there was another possibility: Bai Wuming himself was also involved in the hunt for the young Master Gong. Upon discovering that the young Master Gong was severely injured, Bai Wuming might have resumed his identity as Han Xuanhe. That way, in case Lin Ximin failed to find the young Master Gong through her, Bai Wuming could track down those who purchased healing medicines and seize the opportunity to capture the young Master Gong.

Deducing that this matter was connected to Bai Wuming, Anyi felt an extraordinary wave of anger, longing to rush out immediately and confront him. She strode toward the main gate, but several meters away from it, she abruptly came to a halt.

What good would it do to question him?

Would he admit that this matter had anything to do with him?

Given his cunning nature, he would never admit it.

Since she knew full well he would not confess, what was the point of questioning him? To listen to a stream of his lies?

Anyi closed her eyes and relaxed her tightly clenched fists. When her emotions had settled, she slowly opened her eyes once more, their depths as dark as a stagnant pool. She rubbed her cheeks, which had been chilled by the northern wind, and turned back toward the outer study, running straight into An Qinghe.

"Xier, didn't you go back to Pearl Pavilion? Why are you back?" An Qinghe asked with a smile.

"There are still some things I need to tell Father," Anyi said.

Father and daughter returned to the outer study and sat down. Anyi recounted everything to An Qinghe concerning Bai Wuming's true identity and his relationship with Lin Ximin. Matters having reached this point, she no longer had any intention of helping to conceal his identity.

An Qinghe stroked his beard and mused, "In other words, Lin Ximin has deliberately ruined his reputation for all these years, pretending to be a dissolute libertine, while Han Xuanhe has likewise feigned disability."

Anyi nodded.

An Qinghe smiled. "These two lads are masters of concealment. Now that Lin Ximin has used this opportunity to enter officialdom, Han Xuanhe will likely follow closely behind."

"They killed the young Master Gong and achieved a great merit; in the future, they are bound to rise step by step with limitless prospects." Utterly detesting those who stepped on others to climb upward, Anyi mocked coldly.

"Xier, do not jump to conclusions just yet. Things are not that simple; Father needs to give this careful thought. It is getting late. Go check on your mother and see how her etiquette lessons are coming along. Even though the banquet at the Li residence is the day after tomorrow, she should not study too hard, lest she fall ill from exhaustion," An Qinghe said.

Hearing this, Anyi immediately realized that An Qinghe was once again stripping her of the right to continue participating in the matter—just as he had done when searching for the young Master Gong's whereabouts. Even if they discovered something, they would never share the details with her. With a solemn expression, she said, "Father, this trouble was brought upon us by me, and I want to find a way to resolve it. I refuse to stay out of it."

"Very well, my Xier has a strong sense of responsibility!" An Qinghe praised, before abruptly shifting his tone. "Xier, do you know the meaning of your given name and your childhood nickname?"

Anyi's gaze shifted slightly. "I know. Mother told me."

"Xier, your father hopes for nothing else in this life; I only wish for you to live a lifetime of joy and peace, safe and content, free from all worries. Leave these external troubles to Father to resolve. In the future, even if Father is no longer around, you still have your eldest and second brothers. They will be your firmest pillars of support."

Things having reached this point, if Anyi were still to stubbornly insist on her own way, it would show a disregard for An Qinghe's deep paternal affection. Helplessly, she rose and headed to Jingli Garden to check on Lady Luo, who was busy practicing her etiquette.

That night, the man who had been tracking Anyi failed to return to report on time as ordered. Never suspecting that he had been captured by Anyi, Lin Ximin assumed she had simply stayed out later than usual and continued his diligent surveillance.

The next day, Anyi did not go out. She stayed home to make the fertility pills, grinding all fourteen medicinal ingredients purchased the day before into a fine powder by hand, thoroughly mixing them with honey. After washing her hands carefully, she used a porcelain spoon to scoop out a tiny bit of the medicinal paste, rolled it in her palm, and shaped it into pills the size of red beans.

Anyi placed the finished pills into a box beside her and continued to concentrate on scooping paste and rolling pills. Before long, the box was filling up with pills. After being busy for the better part of the day, Anyi finished rolling all the pills—numbering a little over two hundred. However, she did not send them to the Marquis of Dingyuan's estate right away.

Since it was supposed to be a secret medicine, it naturally required a bit more time to appear properly prepared.

That night, the man tracking Anyi still failed to return on time to report. Realizing something was amiss, Lin Ximin took his subordinates and searched the vicinity of the An residence.

No sooner had Lin Ximin and his men appeared near the An estate than they were spotted by An Qinghe's waiting guards. An Kang personally went out to meet Lin Ximin and escorted him into the estate through the back door.

The two men conferred in private in a room for half an hour, after which Lin Ximin emerged with a pale face. Accompanied by his subordinates and the man Anyi had previously captured, he quietly departed through the back door.

The following day was the thirtieth of the tenth month. The father and son of the An family first went to their official offices to check in, then returned home to change out of their official robes into embroidered brocade gowns. Accompanied by Lady Luo and Anyi, they set off for the Li residence to attend the banquet.

The street in front of the Li residence was already bustling with a continuous stream of carriages and horses. Once inside the main gates, the male guests and female guests parted ways. On the way, An Qinghe had done his utmost to comfort Lady Luo, but seeing that she still wore a tense expression, with her head caved in, her eyes darting nervously, and a look of worry on her face, a trace of regret crossed his heart—he perhaps should not have forced her to come out.

"Father, do not worry. With Younger Sister here, everything will be fine," An Kang said softly.

Even if An Qinghe remained worried at this point, he could not simply take Lady Luo away; he could only place all his hopes on Anyi.

The banquet for the female guests was set in the Hall of Longevity within the Li estate. A Li family maid led the way ahead, while Anyi murmured softly, "Mother, your etiquette practice was exceptional; there is nothing to be nervous about."

"I am not nervous," Lady Luo said, her voice trembling.

"Mother, just listen more and speak less, and you will not make any mistakes," Anyi advised.

"Oh, oh," Lady Luo nodded repeatedly.

The Hall of Longevity was already seated with many female guests, all of whom were flattering the white-haired Old Madam Li, who sat in the seat of honor.

Old Madam Li was a grand lady of the second rank, holding the exact same official rank as Lady Luo. Lady Luo led Anyi forward to offer her greetings, and Old Madam Li hastily instructed her daughter-in-law to support her, smiling as she said, "Lady An, please dispense with the formalities. Take a seat, do sit down."

The affairs of the An family were known to every household in the capital. Seeing Lady Luo out socializing once again, the guests exchanged knowing glances before casting their gazes upon Anyi standing beside Lady Luo, silently acknowledging that this young lady was truly formidable.

In such an setting, an unmarried young woman was not suited to speak too much. After offering her respects to Old Madam Li, Anyi lowered her gaze and kept her eyes modest, standing quietly by Lady Luo's side with a proper and graceful smile.