Chapter 631: Shui Xingqiu
"Shui Xingqiu."
The name sounded vaguely familiar to Ye Chutang. "You seem to have mentioned him before?"
"I did. His family is renowned in Nanhu, and he himself is an expert in the Poisonous Gu Technique. I don’t know about others, but him... I can tell you with certainty that Shui Xingqiu knows how!"
"What makes Your Highness so certain?"
"Because—"
Princess Qingyang pursed her red lips, looking unconvinced and a little indignant.
"Because he used that exact trick to fool me once!"
Now, Ye Chutang was truly interested.
"Really?"
Princess Qingyang leaned back in her chair and poured herself a cup of tea.
"Of course, it’s true! This happened when I was ten. At the time, I was with my father, who was stationed in the Southwest. One day, one of his men reported that we had three deserters. My father was furious and sent a party to capture them. I was eager to see the action, and since he couldn’t dissuade me, he let me go with them. We tracked them outside the city, where we found the deserters robbing and murdering a farming family."
"That was one of the things my father detested most, so he immediately ordered the three men to be publicly beaten to death. Unfortunately, we arrived too late. The entire farming family of five was already dead. Among the victims was a boy who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. He was fair-skinned, with a refined, scholarly air. Something felt off the moment I saw him. How could an ordinary farming family in the Southwest raise a son who looked like a young nobleman? But he was already dead by then, his face and body covered in blood, so I didn’t think much more of it and left."
Princess Qingyang sighed.
"Later, my father even gave a special order for his men to give the family a proper burial. But when they returned, they heard that the family’s relatives had already taken care of the arrangements. So, the matter was dropped. I never imagined that boy was Shui Xingqiu!"
Ye Chutang’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Why is Your Highness so sure?"
Princess Qingyang snorted. "Because shortly after that incident, I heard that the long-lost heir of the Nanhu Shui Family had resurfaced! He had supposedly been sent away as a child and only reappeared at the old Family Head’s funeral, seizing the opportunity to take over the entire Shui Family. He was ruthless and decisive, but more importantly—he had inherited the old Family Head’s true knowledge and was a master of the Poisonous Gu Technique. All those who initially opposed him eventually submitted. Of course, those who refused to submit were killed."
"Then one day, I happened to see the new Head of the Shui Family. When I saw that familiar face, it finally dawned on me—it was him!"
Although several years had passed, Princess Qingyang still felt a surge of displeasure as she recounted the story.
"That Shui Xingqiu really is something else. He completely fooled all of us!"
Ye Chutang nodded lightly. "I see..."
She didn’t ask Princess Qingyang how she was so certain of Shui Xingqiu’s identity from just a single glance. After all, this was no delicate maiden raised in the seclusion of the inner court. Having grown up on the border, Princess Qingyang knew much more than just how to ride a horse and crack a whip.
If she said so, it meant—
"So Shui Xingqiu also used the Poisonous Gu Technique to fake his death and escape?"
Princess Qingyang keenly caught one particular word in her sentence.
"Also?"
Her brow furrowed.
"Don’t tell me someone else has used this trick besides him?"