Transmigrated Female Official

66. Just passing by.

Gongsun Yu noticed that Chu Qingluo's eyes were still slightly red and asked softly, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, I just feel a tightness in my chest." She let out a soft breath, looked up, and asked, "What do you think?"

Gongsun Yu went through everything in his mind and formed a general framework. He analyzed, "There are a few suspicious points. First, where did Yan Xi, who came from a poor background, get the money to buy an official position? Second, she is indeed proficient in medicine and would not be unaware of the taboos of incense making. Third, her cough is difficult to cure, perhaps she was already nearing the end of her life..." He paused, then continued, "If we make a bold assumption... someone gave Yan Xi a sum of money to buy an official position in the palace, and then deliberately made a mistake to provoke trouble... the matter of buying the official position seems to have been revealed out of desperation, but in reality it was premeditated and meticulously planned."

Chu Qinglu pondered for a moment before nodding and saying, "I know it's impossible, but I'll still do it. I'll give the money I get to Aunt Wang and ask her to adopt my sister. That way, I won't have any worries."

In ancient times, when medicine was underdeveloped, tuberculosis was an incurable disease. Since death was inevitable, Yan Xi was entirely capable of doing such a thing.

No wonder her expression on the day of her execution was so calm and fearless.

With Yan Xi's case of buying an official position, Ji Jie was the first to be implicated, so the whole affair was specifically planned against her. Chu Qingluo recalled that after Ji Jie's incident, she sought help from Ji Qili, who had the best relationship with the Eighth Princess... This meant that Ji Jie was very likely sent by the Eighth Princess. Based on this deduction, the person who made Yan Xi buy the official position should be either the Fourth Princess or the Sixth Princess.

……

After observing the court for several days, Chu Qingluo could roughly distinguish the four positions of the female officials. She picked up her pen and wrote on the paper: "First, the Fourth Princess's faction, including Qin Mei, a seventh-rank official, and Yu Yi, an eighth-rank official." After writing, she looked at Gongsun Yu: "The Fourth Princess is extremely arrogant. I originally thought that she had the most power, but who knew that the female officials who support her are all of relatively low rank."

Gongsun Yu raised an eyebrow: "That's why she's anxious. She sincerely tried to win you over, but you rejected her. How angry must she be?"

“Uh…” Chu Qingluo was embarrassed and continued writing: “Second, the Eighth Princess’s faction, the most obvious ones are Pan Yin, a third-rank official, plus Ji Jie from before… and Long Kui, a first-rank official. Although her stance is not particularly clear and she doesn’t speak up much, I can tell that she is also one of the Eighth Princess’s people.”

"How did you get it?"

"Because whenever the Eighth Princess speaks without thinking, Longkui always manages to steer the conversation in a completely unrelated direction."

"So, the Eighth Princess is currently the strongest?"

“Now it seems so.” Chu Qingluo scratched her cheek with the tip of her pen and continued, “Third, the Sixth Princess… I initially doubted that she had any power, and after she became pregnant, she only came to court every few days, seemingly indifferent… However, the relationship between Yao Man, a fourth-rank official, and Ji Qiran is unusual, so there’s no need to think too much about it; it must be related to the Sixth Princess.”

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Yu couldn't help but clap his hands and exclaim, "Clear thinking, reasonable analysis!"

Chu Qinglu chuckled and continued, "The last one is people who don't have a clear stance. There's Li Ziyou, a ninth-rank official; Yu Fei, a second-rank official; and then there's your mother and me." She quickly wrote it down on a piece of paper, glanced at it, and realized she'd missed one. "Oh right, there's also Jiang Hua, a tenth-rank official. She wasn't particularly prominent either, but when I first entered the palace, my second brother recommended me to be an executive officer under her. I guess she's close to the Sixth Princess's faction, so let's categorize her under the Sixth Princess for now."

"I just complimented you a couple of times, and you're already acting so casually?"

"I call this having ample reason to doubt."

"I think we should put it in the unaffiliated group for now, to avoid making mistakes."

“…Alright, alright.” Chu Qingluo compromised, crossed out Jiang Hua’s name again, and rewrote it after her own. Then she asked uncertainly, “Your mother is indeed neutral, right?”

Gongsun Yu glanced at her with amusement, then looked at the list she had written, and said, "My mother has always been on the Emperor's side since she was young, and she supported him all the way until he ascended the throne. Now my mother is getting old and will soon be leaving the court. For her, it doesn't matter which princess ascends the throne."

Chu Qinglu frowned, indicating her disagreement: "That's not how it works. Shouldn't we choose the most virtuous person to succeed to the throne?"

Gongsun Yu was amused by her serious expression: "You're quite righteous. So, which side do you choose?"

"Uh..." She was taken aback by the question and feigned pitifulness, saying, "I'm just a bystander."

He smiled again, his eyes filled with an intense affection that seemed impossible to conceal.

……

At this moment, a beautiful figure appeared in the inner hall of Changxuan Palace. Upon seeing the newcomer, Ji Qiran quickly stood up: "What brings you here today?"

Yao Man smiled and said, "I have something I want to discuss with you. I didn't have a chance to tell you during our last boat trip on the lake."

Bringing it up, Ji Qiran felt a little guilty. After all, he was the one who initiated the date, but he ended up playing the hero and rescuing her halfway through, and the worst part was, the beauty could swim…

He coughed lightly twice: "Sit down."

“Okay.” Yao Man didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down directly.

Ji Qiran gestured to his male attendant to prepare tea before asking, "What is it?"

Yao Man took a breath, looked directly into his eyes, and parted her lips slightly: "You are aware of the Sixth Princess's situation. Now she is pregnant again, and she can't attend to many things. We must unite as soon as possible..."

Her so-called alliance was nothing more than a way to get Ji Qiran into the Yao family.

Yao Man was driven to desperation. Ever since discovering Ji Qiran's ulterior motives, she had been unable to sleep at night, fearing that things might change between her and Ji Qiran.

Ji Qiran pretended not to understand and said, "I thought we'd always been in the same boat."

"Qi Ran, I know you understand what I mean. You're clearly avoiding me." Seeing that he didn't answer, Yao Man frowned again, somewhat anxious: "You know my feelings perfectly well, how much longer do you want me to wait?"

How could Ji Qiran not know her feelings? His sixth sister constantly nagged him, saying Yao Man was a reliable lady-in-waiting, the most suitable person for him, but he had always found excuses to delay. At first, perhaps it was simply a desire for freedom and a dislike of constraints. But now… it seemed there was someone he couldn't let go of in his heart, someone he couldn't quite understand.

“You know I don’t want to be tied down yet…” He thought a lot, but could only squeeze out this cliché through gritted teeth.

"Is that really all?" She stared at him, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"Um……"

At that moment, time seemed to stand still.

Yao Man hesitated about whether to bring up Chu Qingluo in person, while Ji Qiran was deep in thought, pondering his own feelings. Neither of them spoke, remaining silent. A male attendant entered carrying a freshly brewed Longjing tea, gently placed it between them, and then withdrew.

"Have some tea," Ji Qiran said, reaching out to pour her some.

Yao Man, however, was unmoved: "No need." She stood up, her dark eyes giving him a deep look once more…

Like the wind and sand, she could never catch him.

"I'm going back." Before he could react, she turned her head sharply, tossing her high hair back, and strode out of the inner hall, looking very carefree.

Ji Qiran sighed deeply, picked up the teacup and took a sip... The Longjing tea, which was usually sweet and fragrant but not bitter, was now slightly bitter.