Chapter 49

Su Ci spent several days at the medical camp. The camp had become relatively peaceful. After months of research, Imperial Physician Huang had mostly mastered the steps for cultivating bacterial colonies and purifying penicillin. However, due to the nature of the strains, his success rate was very low. Occasionally, he managed to produce a strain that barely passed animal testing, which he treated like a treasure, spending nights in the lab, neglecting sleep and food.

Su Ci didn’t mind. She knew he wouldn’t achieve significant results in the short term, so he wouldn’t be a hindrance. In the long run, the development of penicillin would be beneficial. She was building on her predecessors’ work and didn’t have a possessive attitude about it.

The medical camp had returned to tranquility. Two young physicians with connections had left, and the remaining ones, like Imperial Physician Huang, were now focused on bacterial colonies, not bothering Su Ci. Both sides had reached a state of mutual non-interference, which was quite good.

Su Ci didn’t have to deal with them. The initial attention had passed, and the old Emperor and other interested parties had forgotten about her. She could now focus on her work. The medical camp had expanded, and she was busy purifying the first-grade penicillin she had smuggled in.

She was quite busy lately. After reaching an agreement with Ji Yuanhao, she had to fulfill her part. She distributed a crystal syringe and taught the people there how to use it, then provided a batch of stored medicine.

Although she was happily busy, she still took time during the day to visit Mrs. Yan. This was a duty she couldn’t neglect. At night, she returned home to sleep, but Yang Yanzong seemed very angry. He stayed at the Yangdu residence for several days and hadn’t returned. In fact, it seemed he was giving her the cold shoulder.

Su Ci stretched her stiff back after standing for half a day, washed her hands, patted her bangs, and walked to the outer restroom, stretching her arms as she went.

Su Yan’s voice arrived before she did: “Sister, sister, look what I brought you!”

With her voice came a delicious aroma. Su Yan rushed in, placing a large bundle of oil-paper packages on the table, then familiarly went to get bowls and chopsticks.

Lately, Su Yan has been the happiest. Since joining the reconnaissance team, she has been thriving, happily going on missions every day, meeting a large group of brothers, and even noticing a few single young men blushing when she approaches. She thinks there might be potential for development.

Su Ci: “…”

Alright, she encouraged her sister to go for it. But before making a move, she should have ensured that the guy was open to becoming a live-in son-in-law to avoid misunderstandings and avoid affecting work relationships. In these times, the status of a live-in son-in-law wasn’t high.

Su Yan opened the packages, revealing fried tofu, grilled lamb skewers, braised intestines, roast chicken, and spicy and sour noodles, among other things. She was living it up, no longer confined at home, and spent her off-duty time exploring. Like a prisoner released, she had tried all the snacks in the nearby town and brought delicious food for Su Ci every day.

“Yes, yes, I know. I’m just saying, not planning to find someone right away. I’ll observe first. I need to find an honest guy.” Su Yan nodded, giving her sister half a bowl of spicy and sour noodles and several pieces of fried tofu. Then she leaned in mysteriously, whispering, “Sister, did you and Yang Yanzong have a fight?”

Su Yan was thick-skinned and didn’t get close to Yang Yanzong. She heard this from Yang Yanzhen, who had told her yesterday, looking a bit worried and mysterious, that his brother and sister-in-law seemed to have had a fight, and his brother hadn’t come home for several days.

Su Ci remained calm, “Nonsense, he’s busy. You know how lively things are at court lately. We didn’t fight, so don’t go telling Mom anything!”

“Really?” Su Yan stared at her sister for a moment. Su Ci smiled and blinked, and Su Yan felt she wasn’t lying. Alright, that was good enough!

“Hurry up and eat before it gets cold. This noodle dish isn’t good when it’s cold. So spicy, so spicy, ah—” Su Yan slurped her noodles noisily, and the topic passed. Su Ci wasn’t very hungry. She took a bite of the noodles, poked at the cilantro with her chopsticks, and rested her chin on her hand.

—Actually, on the day they argued, Su Ci had some idea of what Yang Yanzong meant and why he was angry. She wasn’t stupid. After a few words, she had a vague sense of it. She was speechless.

Su Ci had to pretend not to understand. Because it was hard to answer, if she didn’t pretend not to understand, she couldn’t get through it.

Sigh, big brother, are your expectations too high? I can’t meet them!

Su Ci shrugged. She didn’t know why Yang Yanzong suddenly had such high expectations. No, she had a vague guess, but she wasn’t sure. But whether she guessed or not didn’t make much difference; she couldn’t do anything about it anyway.

Su Ci was a modern person at heart. Talking to her about selfless devotion and loyalty to her husband and his family was pointless. She wasn’t raised with ancient female virtues. She thought it was fine to be physically affectionate and live happily together. Why make things complicated?

Alright, now the problem was that Yang Yanzong wanted to make things complicated.

Su Ci couldn’t do much about it. After thinking about it and feeling there was no solution, she decided to wait until he calmed down. After all, he couldn’t stay away from home forever over such a small matter.

Su Ci concluded that it was a small matter. With a laid-back attitude, she believed in turning big problems into small ones and small ones into nothing. As long as it wasn’t a life-or-death situation or an imminent disaster, it wasn’t urgent.

If Yang Yanzong knew this, he might be furious. But fortunately, he didn’t know. Even without knowing, he was already angry enough. They ended up in a cold war that lasted for nearly half a month.

---

Yang Yanzong stayed at the Yangdu residence, partly because he was angry with Su Ci and partly because there were many important matters to handle.

The outside world was far from calm due to their cold war; instead, it was in an uproar. The case of the sunken silver and treason had exploded. The Sixth Prince’s act of executing his son Ji Yan and presenting his head to the court had pushed the situation to its peak. Previously, due to Ji Yuanhao’s manipulations, Ji Lin, General Chen Chengyi, the Fourth Prince’s residence, and the Seventh Prince’s residence were all dragged into this major incident. Yangdu was in turmoil, and a new round of confrontations had quickly begun.

Yang Yanzong had initially set his sights on the position of Commander of the Left Guard. He had brought down Zhang Boqian with the intention of taking his place. However, the process was far more perilous than expected!

While Su Ci and Su Yan were eating noodles together, Yang Yanzong was in the Emperor’s Shangyang Hall.

The Emperor first interrogated Zhang Boqian, who, of course, pleaded his innocence. He had been imprisoned for nearly two months and had already come to terms with his situation, organizing his thoughts. He immediately implicated Imperial Uncle Kun and Yang Yanzong.

“Your Majesty, I am innocent! I have been wholeheartedly fulfilling the tasks assigned to me by Your Majesty. I am incompetent and deserve to die, but I have never committed treason! I am sworn enemies with the Northern Rong people!”

Zhang Boqian, in tears, kowtowed heavily, “It was Imperial Uncle Kun and Yang Yanzong who conspired. Fearing retribution, this treacherous wolf and Imperial Uncle Kun must have fabricated this evidence together!”

The Emperor looked at him with a stern face. He had already heard the testimonies of Tong Jien and Eunuch Zhang. The Emperor had entrusted this task to Zhang Boqian because he trusted him highly. Zhang Boqian’s genuine emotions and the blood on his forehead moved the Emperor. After listening for a while, the Emperor finally said, “Summon these two men!”

When the imperial guards stormed into the residence, Yang Yanzong’s eyes flickered. By the time he arrived, Imperial Uncle Kun was already there.

Yang Yanzong and Imperial Uncle Kun knelt before the jade steps. The Emperor scrutinized them for a long time before coldly saying, “Don’t think I will tolerate you repeatedly!”

It was unclear whether this was directed at Imperial Uncle Kun or Yang Yanzong, but it was likely the former. Both men remained silent and kowtowed.

The crucial piece of evidence, the letter of treason, was presented. Sun Shiping quickly took it and presented it to the Emperor.

The Emperor frowned as he took the letter, which bore a bright red seal. Although the seal’s color had faded, it was still clear that it was the seal of the “Commander of the Left Guard.”

The Emperor handed the letter to the old craftsman from the Ministry of Works, “Verify it!”

The old craftsman quickly took the letter, opened his toolbox, and began examining it.

Yang Yanzong lowered his eyes, his expression unchanged. Kneeling beside him was Imperial Uncle Kun. Yang Yanzong had not replaced the letter, trusting Imperial Uncle Kun’s preparations.

Imperial Uncle Kun remained silent.

The old craftsman skillfully examined the letter, “This is Zhangzhou silk, likely from last year.”

Zhangzhou’s weaving bureau produced silk for military uniforms, not for the Emperor or concubines. This light, thin white silk was typically used for undergarments. This year, the Left Guard’s new undergarments were made from last year’s Zhangzhou silk.

“The seal, based on the ink, texture, and fabric penetration, appears to have been stamped with a metal seal.” The Left Guard’s official seal was made of copper.

Zhang Boqian’s face turned red. The old craftsman respectfully returned the letter and withdrew. The Emperor glanced at Zhang Boqian, “Do you have anything else to say?”

Zhang Boqian, sweating profusely, glared at Yang Yanzong, “It was him! This Yang scoundrel, who fought in the northwest for years, must have connections with local officials. He must have known about the silver cart and set me up!”

Yang Yanzong suddenly raised his eyes and met Zhang Boqian’s gaze. Zhang Boqian’s eyes were bloodshot, like a madman biting everyone around him. He was confident that Yang Yanzong was involved: “He aims for the position of Commander of the Left Guard!”

“Your Majesty!! If you search his study and living quarters, you will surely find evidence of his private connections with officials in the northwest and even the southwest!!!”

Zhang Boqian, once an experienced military officer, knew the intricacies well. He decided to abandon this matter; as long as they found one or two letters, Yang Yanzong would be unable to clear his name!

Dreaming of teaming up with Imperial Uncle Kun to bring him down and then take his place? Dream on!! If he couldn’t survive, neither would Yang Yanzong!!

The Emperor leaned back on his dragon throne, staring at the three men for a moment, “Guards, take these three to the dungeon.”

“Go, search!!”

---

Although Su Ci was outside, she and Yang Yanzong had an incredibly tacit understanding when it came to external matters. She was at the medical camp when she heard urgent footsteps. A Zhao leaped in, exchanged a few words with A Zheng, and they rushed into the room: “Young Madam, something’s wrong!”

“The imperial guards are on their way to the camp and home to search the master’s study!!”

A Zhao quickly explained the situation, though he didn’t know everything, especially what had happened in Shangyang Hall. Fortunately, when Su Ci heard Zhang Boqian’s name, she immediately realized what they were looking for!

“No need to explain, I understand!” Su Ci sprinted towards home, “Do you know where your master keeps his correspondence with officials?”

A Zhao shook his head anxiously. He had handled them but didn’t know where they were kept.

A Zhao didn’t know, but Su Ci did. Yang Yanzong had once shown her a secret compartment, and she guessed it was likely there.

“Young Madam, hurry, they’re almost here!”

A Zhao hurried, but the elite imperial guards knew the importance of every second and weren’t far behind. They arrived almost simultaneously.

Don’t rush me; the more you rush, the slower it gets!

Ah, she didn’t know how to open the secret compartment. She had only seen Yang Yanzong open it once. Now, it was a race against time!!

Su Ci stormed into the front courtyard like a whirlwind, not bothering to explain, kicked open the door to Yang Yanzong’s study, and rushed inside!