AUBTN -Chapter 20 The Confession Game

A heart-stopping deadly scheme had been raised high… and then gently put down.

Night was deep. In the study of the East Depot Governor’s Mansion, the candlelight flickered faintly.

Shen Jue sat in the grand minister’s chair, idly toying with a string of nanmu prayer beads in his hand.

His narrow, phoenix-like eyes glimmered in the candlelight.

Sitting across from him was his usual nemesis, the kind of person who brought bad luck just by being looked at twice—the Commander of the Jinyiwei, Lu Yan.

This was the first time the two of them had ever sat face-to-face in private.

No flashing swords, no fighting aura—only suffocating awkwardness.

Su Hewan and Yu Qing stood behind their respective masters like two quails.

“Lord Lu visiting at this hour… if anyone were to see, they’d think the Jinyiwei and the East Depot had gone and shared a pair of trousers,” Shen Jue broke the silence first, his tone laced with his usual mockery.

Lu Yan’s face remained cold, like he was ready to draw his blade at any moment. “Overseer Shen already knows what happened tonight. Prince Ning has overstepped.”

“Overstepped? Then cut it off,” Shen Jue said lightly, blowing the tea froth from his cup.

“Yet Lord Lu is usually so upright and incorruptible… how have you learned such ways as to barge into someone’s private residence at night?”

Lu Yan didn’t answer, only fixed Shen Jue with a heavy stare: “Cooperate. Until Prince Ning is eliminated.”

The few words were squeezed out as if from between clenched teeth.

Shen Jue paused, lifted his gaze, and a sharp glint flashed across his eyes.

The air in the study was oppressively heavy.

Yu Qing, standing behind Lu Yan, felt her toes digging into her shoes as if carving out an entire apartment.

【Help! Are these two competing over who can radiate more cold air? Can this suffocating tension let us retreat first?】

Su Hewan was no better. She lowered her eyes, her mind bombarded with streaming thoughts:

【So this is what they call a ‘century reconciliation’? Historically, such alliances between powerful ministers always come with massive exchanges of interests—and countless backstabs. Shen Jue, that sly fox, is surely calculating Lu Yan, and Lu Yan, the straightforward one, is probably restraining himself from slitting someone’s throat.】

Shen Jue heard Su Hewan’s thoughts and his mouth twitched slightly, almost imperceptibly.

He set down his teacup, glanced at Su Hewan behind him, then at Yu Qing behind Lu Yan, his disdain plainly visible.

“Enough. Since Lord Lu has opened his mouth, let’s close the door and talk.” Shen Jue waved his hand, like shooing away a fly.

“Su Hewan, take that noisy, foolish girl out. Don’t block our view here.”

“Yes, sir.” Su Hewan felt as if she had been pardoned. Her bow was swift and precise.

“Thank you, Overseer! Thank you, Lord Lu!” Yu Qing’s eyes lit up instantly as she tugged on Su Hewan’s sleeve, trying to escape.

She moved so fast it seemed like a rabid dog was on her tail.

Out of the study, through the dim corridors, they finally stopped under an old locust tree in the East Depot’s backyard.

Confirming that no one was around, Yu Qing threw herself into Su Hewan’s arms.

“Waaah!” she cried, as if to vent all the night’s terror at once.

“Wanwan! You scared me to death! That Prince Ning is like a mad dog! And that Concubine Chen… dying like that was terrifying! And my Lu Yan… did you see? He actually drew his sword just now! I almost thought the whole drama was over for me!”

Su Hewan let her cling to her, patting her back helplessly.

Then she let out a long sigh. “Don’t even mention it. You think it’s easy for me? That Shen Jue is a total weirdo too!”

“Waaah, we’re doomed,” Yu Qing said, letting go of Su Hewan. She wiped her tears and plopped down onto the stone steps, venting without a shred of dignity.

“My boss actually suspected I was a spy! I nearly ripped my heart out to show him!”

Su Hewan sat down beside her, massaging the stiffness from her laughing face. “Count yourself lucky. Shen Jue has a mind with eight hundred schemes. Every word I say, I have to run it through my head three times, just in case one slip gets me fed to the dogs. That situation just now? Clearly Prince Ning wanted to kill two birds with one stone—get rid of Concubine Chen, who’s a threat, and drag Lu Yan down with it. Luckily that damned eunuch had a mole; otherwise, today would’ve been a disaster for you.”

“Exactly!” Yu Qing waved her little fists in indignation.

“This stupid plot… it’s all traps! I just wanted to be a lazy, carefree fish, but how did I end up dragged into this political game? I miss my hotpot, my air conditioner, my idol…”

“Stop thinking about that,” Su Hewan said, tilting her head back to look at the cold moon above, her gaze deep and sharp.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Prince Ning didn’t succeed this time, but he’ll definitely have more tricks up his sleeve. Right now, we’re grasshoppers on the same rope. Don’t just use your drama queen skills to save yourself—keep an eye on Lu Yan too.”

“Got it, got it, Teacher Su,” Yu Qing mumbled, leaning against Su Hewan’s shoulder.

“But speaking of which, those two men just now… they didn’t actually fight, did they?”

Inside the study.

Lu Yan looked out the window at the two small figures huddled together, his brows knitting slightly. He withdrew his gaze and turned to Shen Jue. “Seems your people aren’t that afraid of you either.”

Shen Jue snorted lightly, fingertips brushing the prayer beads. “Mutual, I’d say. That little girl of yours, looks timid as a mouse, but when it counts, she dares to bite.”

The two deathly men in the study locked eyes, their gazes like knives, sparks of invisible tension clashing in the air.

“Since we’ve come this far, some things are petty if you keep hiding them.”

Shen Jue paused, and the nanmu prayer beads gave a soft chime.

He leaned slightly forward, a dangerously sharp smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

“Lord Lu, that silly girl who only knows how to act… she’s probably not as simple as she seems, right?”

Lu Yan’s eyelid twitched sharply.

He had anticipated this, yet having his worst rival cut through the pretense so bluntly still struck a nerve.

His hand on the sword hilt involuntarily clenched tighter.

“Mutual, indeed,” Lu Yan replied coldly, refusing to yield an inch.

“That female strategist of yours, Overseer Shen… must have given you headaches too, I suppose.”

Then, the two men exchanged a single, icy snort in perfect unison.

This was what they called speaking frankly.

Both knew in their hearts that without hearing the inner thoughts of these two girls, today’s game in the Imperial Garden would have been completely devoured by that cunning old fox, Prince Ning, leaving nothing but scraps.

“Since we can hear the two girls’ thoughts, we might as well not waste it,” Shen Jue said, eyes surging with killing intent as he leaned back in his chair. “Prince Ning has played this game too long; I don’t have the patience to drag it out. How about joining forces?”

Lu Yan suddenly chuckled. “They say Overseer Shen is naturally suspicious. Have you never suspected the identities of those two?”

Shen Jue spread his hands. “Then I suppose Lord Lu already investigated them. Any conclusions?”

He looked like he was all ears, waiting to hear!

Lu Yan coldly snorted but said nothing.

“Looks like Lord Lu didn’t find anything useful either. Since this is suspicious, and the two of them are so knowledgeable from the heavens to the earth, if we can’t use them, there’s only one possible outcome. Don’t you agree, Lord Lu?” Shen Jue said with leisurely, deliberate steps in his words.