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After leaving Liu Xianzhang’s residence, Lian Bao’s complexion appeared as usual, but the hand hidden in his sleeve was trembling slightly, his heart feeling both icy and blazing.

Indeed, he was the "Mr. Wu" referred to by that sly fox Liu Xianzhang; Mr. Wu was just his alias.

In a low voice, he said to Uncle Ma who was waiting outside, "Uncle, help me onto the carriage, let’s hurry..."

Seeing that something was amiss with him, Uncle Ma quickly came over to assist, and once he had helped Lian Bao onto the horse, he drove the carriage away slowly into the distance.

The horse’s hooves were wrapped in soft cloth, making their movement on the quiet road not at all conspicuous.

Lian Bao, now leaning against the carriage’s soft pillows, finally revealed a pale countenance, and his body was so limp it had lost all strength.

Since childhood, he had the weakest constitution among his siblings, not even comparable to his youngest sister, let alone his brothers.

Among the siblings, the strongest was undoubtedly his second brother, who was like a young calf, always running headlong into things, tumbling in water and mud, full of energy, teasing cats and dogs.

Eventually, mother hired a master to teach him some martial arts, giving his energy a proper outlet.

Next came his younger sister, who probably spent too much time with his second brother.

At the age of two, she was already being taken out to play by him, and by three, she would run around wildly with him until she began her studies and mother restrained her a bit.

She was also very robust, hardly ever falling ill.

As far as he could remember, she had taken medicine only one or two times, each instance throwing the house into chaos, to their great concern.

Then there was his eldest brother, who loved to read the most and was the most promising scholar in the family. Although refined and not as strong physically as the second brother and little sister, he was still quite healthy, certainly more so than Lian Bao.

He, however, was different. Before the age of eight, he would fall ill frequently, but after that, he got a bit better. Sometimes, mother would tease him, saying that he and his little sister seemed to have switched places, that he seemed even more delicate and fragile than her.

Only after his mother’s careful nurturing did his constitution improve, preventing him from becoming someone who would fall ill at the slightest breeze.

If he were sick, his little sister, after her lessons with the teacher, upon hearing from the servants at home, would no longer go out to play wildly. Instead, she would come to see him.

As she approached his room from outside, one would hear her voice before seeing her: "Oh, has big brother fallen ill again? Have you called for Blackbeard Uncle?"

Blackbeard Uncle was the nickname his sister had given to Doctor Hou, the family physician. Doctor Hou had a full, thick black beard that he did not like to trim, and every time his sister saw him, she felt like pulling on it. Eventually, Blackbeard Uncle became Doctor Hou’s name in her vocabulary.

His sister was quick in her actions; she’d chat with the servants and then appear at the doorway to his room. She’d push the door open and enter, unstoppable.

Seeing her come, he felt a warm sense of comfort, but he would always advise, "Little sister, big brother has caught a chill. Don’t come in or you might catch it too."

"What’s a chill? If I share some of it, won’t you feel a little better?" she’d say as she made her way to him.

If, at that moment, he was holding a bowl of medicine emitting a medicinal scent, she would lean in to have a look and even ask, "Big brother, what is this? It looks so dark; is it edible?"

Whenever this happened, fearing her curiosity might lead her to taste it, he would quickly down the entire bowl before she could ask, or otherwise, he might not have resisted letting her have a sip.

After finishing, he would have to frown and tell her it tasted awful, very awful, and that one could only drink such a thing when sick. He implored her never to fall ill.

At this point, she would always look regretful, shaking her head like a little adult, "Ah, well, big brother, you mustn’t fall ill again. If you do, I’ll help you drink some next time."

It seemed she believed it tasted bad, yet she still appeared very curious and willing to try it.

Eventually, one day, my little sister fell ill with a cold because she was too playful. She finally got to drink the medicinal soup she had wanted, but after only one sip, she threw up. Her little face all scrunched up, it broke the family’s heart. After much coaxing, she reluctantly finished it.

Since then, whenever she saw the medicinal soup in his hands, she would think about taking a detour, yet she felt so sympathetic that she insisted on keeping him company.

But every time he was about to take his medicine, she would raise her hands to cover her eyes, not daring to look, her face wrinkled as if she were the one drinking the medicine...

Thinking back to those days warmed Lian Bao’s heart. His brows and eyes softened involuntarily. His little sister was the best in the world, the treasure of the whole family, worthy of his lifelong protection.

Thinking of the present, his heart ached immediately. He had almost contributed to tyranny and harmed his little sister!

His trip this time, the initial nonsense was just an excuse. It was all to lay the groundwork for stabilizing Liu Xianzhang, to casually inquire about his suspicions.

Although Liu Xianzhang, that old fox, repeatedly addressed him with great respect as "Mr. Wu," he did not fully trust him. Theirs was more a relationship of mutual exploitation.

Originally, when he and Uncle Ma and a few others were on their way to take care of some business, they encountered Liu Xianzhang’s carriage stuck in the mud and unable to pull free, so Uncle Ma and his team helped him out.

It turned out that they were going the same way. Seeing that Liu Xianzhang was no ordinary person and that his carriage was badly stuck, he invited him to join his carriage.

During the journey, the two men enjoyed their talk.

In their casual conversation, he discovered that Liu Xianzhang had profound insights and was quite eloquent, yet harbored deep-seated hatred for the Xue Family, Minister of Revenue Xue Ping, and his daughter Noble Consort Xue.

This sparked an idea, and he fabricated a story to gain his trust.

Thus, their mutual dealings began.

He vaguely knew that Liu Xianzhang had a daughter in the palace, and that his hatred for the Xue Family stemmed from his daughter’s grudge against them.

One day, Liu Xianzhang discreetly shared a plan to strike at Lady Xue and her father, mentioning a perfect weapon that could be used to bring down Xue Ping and his daughter.

At that time, an old disciple of Liu Xianzhang was serving as Imperial Censor.

Knowing he had come to the Capital City, the Censor visited him, and through the disciple’s mouth, he learned that Xue Ping was instructing the Censor to make certain moves.

Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he embarked on the calculated strategy he had prepared, to strike by borrowing another’s hand.

Though the plan was conveyed in a veiled manner, Lian Bao understood it clearly. After listening, he immediately asserted that the plan—the perfect offense, seemingly foolproof—had too many flaws and was likely to fail.

Liu Xianzhang and his daughter, however, were too impatient, afraid of missing the chance and never finding such an opportune moment again; they did not heed his advice.

Lian Bao had never expected to gain Liu Xianzhang’s trust in one fell swoop, so he didn’t try to persuade them further, merely offering a few tactical suggestions.

In the end, the strategy indeed failed.

Liu Xianzhang came to consult him about where their plan had shown its weakness.

He straightforwardly pointed out the action they wanted to take and analyzed that the biggest flaw in their plan was its deliberateness.

The targets were clear and unambiguous, all pointing to the doings of Xue Ping and Noble Consort Xue.

While an ordinary person might have succeeded, this approach was counterproductive for the higher-ups, for the Son of Heaven was not so easily fooled.

Although he had never met the current Son of Heaven, he could infer a thing or two from the edicts issued and the stories spread among the folks.

From there, Liu Xianzhang recognized his usefulness and, unable to hide his intentions, began to confide in him a bit more and truly trust him.

Just now, during their conversation, Lian Bao had realized that Liu Xianzhang was testing him.