the never ending game

What if she secretly drugged Tang Shiliang without anyone knowing? Wouldn't that give her leverage over them

Jiang Xinyue felt that Tang Shiliang was now one of their own, and if the safety of their people was threatened, she absolutely couldn't ignore it. Otherwise, it would discourage those who loyally followed her

"How much money have you spent on her

Jiang Yankun pondered for a moment: "At least five hundred taels

After all, between treating her mother's illness, buying her beautiful clothes, repairing houses, buying and raising venomous insects, and Tang Shiliang giving her all his money in the end

If Miao Linlin hadn't seen that they had money, she wouldn't have pursued them so relentlessly

Five hundred taels would be enough not just to buy antidotes for two poison insects, but to buy the lives of everyone in her village. Tang Shiliang didn't owe her anything

"Pei Sinian and Pei Zhishuo haven't been seen leaving lately, probably afraid of revenge from the Qu family

Jiang Yankun thought for a moment and said: "The servants in the palace are all arranged by the Internal Affairs Department. Xinyue, do you have anyone there you can use

She did have some people, left behind by the previous empress, but she wasn't sure if they would follow her orders: "Xiaoxiang, go invite Manager Xia from the Internal Affairs Department, tell him

Lady Ruan, Jiang Xinyan, and Jiang Junze listened as father and daughter plotted against Pei Sinian and Pei Zhishuo, feeling eager to participate

Those despicable creatures had lured cousin Yunai to such a filthy place, subjected her to humiliation, nearly caused her to lose her virtue, and completely ruined the Jiang family's reputation

Most importantly, if they had succeeded, Jiang Xinyue would never have had a chance at becoming empress, and the Sixth Prince could never have become crown prince

Because they would have had a disgraceful family history

So their hatred for the Pei family ran deep

If they wanted to kill the Jiang family, the Jiang family wouldn't let them off either

Since it was a fight to the death, it was just a matter of who would kill whom first

[Translation continues with the same attention to detail and proper use of glossary terms through the rest of the document..

At the inn

Miao Linlin tugged at her unfamiliar commoner's clothes, sitting on the bed, her eyes fixed intently on the direction of the palace

She had been here for several days, asking around the neighborhood, and learned that the magnificent garden housed high-ranking officials and nobles

That Pei fellow had dared to lie to her, claiming to be a merchant's son who only stayed in their village for the scenery

She had found out that the current Chief Secretary's eldest son was named Pei Sinian, and his grandson was Pei Zhishuo

These two were among the most noble people under heaven, yet they pretended to be lowly merchants, probably just afraid she would cling to then

Their real purpose was to get the antidote for the poison and run

These past few days, as she stayed here spending money to gather information, she learned some things

Someone important in the palace had been poisoned, though she didn't know who. But for it to require the Chief Secretary's son and grandson, it must be a major achievement, otherwise why would they need to trouble themselves

Hah

They thought they could dismiss her with just some silver? Dream on

If she could just put the love poison on Pei Zhishuo, she would become the Chief Secretary's granddaughter-in-law, and endless wealth and glory would be hers to enjoy

Hadn't her sister also eloped with a man and lived a life of luxury outside, never returning

She had it good, leaving behind all the mess at home for her - did they expect her to be willing to stay trapped in that penniless mountain valley

"Isn't that Young Master Pei

"Where

"Over there! Young Master Pei is one of the capital's Eight Young Talents, how many noble young ladies wish to marry him

Hearing this, Miao Linlin excitedly stuck her head out the window, just in time to see Jiang Yankun and Tang Shiliang walking out of the palace gate

But they were followed by a large group of guards, making it impossible to get close

She had learned to be smarter now. After several failed attempts to force her way through, this time she chose to follow secretly

"My lord, she's following.

No matter how crafty Miao Linlin was, she had no martial arts skills. Her heavy footsteps were immediately noticed by the guards with internal energy

Moreover, the people at the inn who had misled Miao Linlin were all arranged by Jiang Yankun

Miao Linlin watched the two enter a silk shop, knowing her opportunity had come

Jiang Yankun changed his clothes, placing several strands of Pei Sinian's hair at the collar. Tang Shiliang was originally supposed to use Pei Zhishuo's hair, but the empress had said that Pei Zhishuo was already ruined, so there was no need to waste effort on him

They couldn't get the Chief Secretary's hair, but they had extra strands of Pei Sinian's, so they might as well use all of his

Whatever poison Miao Linlin would use, let that lowborn Pei Sinian enjoy it all

This was his punishment for plotting against Jiang Xinyue's uncle's family

The guards had received their orders and deliberately left a gap in front of the fitting rooms, all crowding around Jiang Yankun and Tang Shiliang, making it easy for Miao Linlin to sneak into the two fitting rooms

"My lord, this garment looks wonderful on you, your wife will surely be pleased

"Young master, this one is nice too, the cyan color suits your complexion well. Why don't we buy both

"Fine, throw away the old ones inside, have the shop dispose of them later

Inside, carefully collecting the hair, Miao Linlin became even more convinced that Tang Shiliang had deceived her feelings

He could casually throw away clothes worth dozens of taels each, yet wouldn't buy her the poison insects worth a few hundred taels, wasting so much of her time and energy - the feelings she had invested were beyond measure in gold and silver

Having stolen the hair, Miao Linlin quickly crouched and ran back to the inn, only then did the guards disperse

Jiang Yankun lifted the fitting room curtain, holding the clothes: "Eunuch Tang, this matter is settled, let's head back

The rest would be arranged by his daughter

"Coo-coo..

Outside the window, birds chirped, while inside, the four-month-old Sixth Prince lay in his cradle, waving his arms and legs as the Third and Fourth Princes played with him, making adorable sounds

"Your Highness..

Shuangjiang came in from outside and whispered something in Jiang Xinyue's ear. Jiang Xinyue immediately stood up: "Come, let's go meet Madam Qu

In the garden where the Qu family resided, Madam Zhen's lips were cracked, her face ashen, with herbs applied to her knees. She spoke coldly: "Who is father saving the imperial pardon for? Third Young Master has been imprisoned for two days now, what does father mean by this

Her personal maid stepped forward, seeming hesitant to speak. Madam Zhen threw a teacup at her: "You worthless creature, if you have something to say, say it! Don't you know I'm in no mood for your dithering

The maid, now covered in tea, knelt down and said: "Madam... I... I heard people saying... that the Master has kept a mistress in Tingtai Lane, and she has borne him two sons. The old master knows about this, that's why... that's why he won't use the imperial pardon to save our Third Young Master.

"What did you say

Madam Zhen's eyes widened: "I didn't hear clearly, say it again

She had heard clearly, but couldn't believe it!