TGCFNM -Chapter 360 The Relationship Chart

Early the next morning.

After everyone in the Wan residence had just finished a simple breakfast, Chu Ling assigned tasks to them all.

The four brothers—Han Jin, Han Yin, Wang Wei, and Wang Yan—began shaving wooden pieces, each one palm-sized and cut to the same length.

Zhang Dong drilled small holes into the top and sides of every wooden piece.

Wan Sanjin, following the compiled list, wrote each person’s name onto the pieces. Then Su He carved the characters one by one according to Wan Sanjin’s writing, staining them with ink afterward to create individual name plaques.

Meanwhile, Chu Ling had already set up an entire wooden wall inside an empty room in her courtyard. Steward Liu led a group to reinforce the wall securely.

The only task remaining was that of Ghost Scholar.

After sorting through everything overnight, Ghost Scholar had memorized every individual involved. For now, he had Chu Ling copy them onto sheets of paper. Once the wooden plaques were hung, the task-line wall would finally be complete.

Carrying a ladder, Chu Ling climbed up and hung two nameless wooden plaques at the very top. Through the round hole beneath each plaque ran a string—one red, one black.

After hanging them, Chu Ling stared blankly at the display.

“Who would have thought that everything began with these two wooden plaques?”

Ghost Scholar lifted his folding fan and lightly tapped the two plaques.

“Are those in power truly invincible?”

Chu Ling smiled.

“In Master’s eyes, I suppose not.”

Ghost Scholar chuckled softly and turned his head just as Wan Sanjin carried in an entire box of wooden plaques.

“Sir, with so many plaques, how are we going to hang them all?” Wan Sanjin asked.

“Bring me the plaques of the Four Princes first. Then prepare those of the Four Great Families, along with the plaques of their collateral branches in the capital,” Chu Ling said. She took the Four Princes’ plaques from Wan Sanjin and arranged them on the left side, placing Prince He at the very edge and hanging them one by one.

Next came the Four Great Families and their heirs.

After the Four Great Families were hung, it was the court officials’ turn.

Below the court officials were other prominent figures in the capital—for example, the head of Canglan Academy, and Fu Qingyu’s grandfather, the former Grand Tutor Fu…

When all the plaques had been hung, Xiao Hua handed over the various colored silk threads she had prepared in advance to represent the people belonging to the Four Princes and the Four Great Families.

Chu Ling picked up a blue thread and attached it to Prince Rui’s plaque. The thread, twisted thicker than ordinary string by Xiao Hua, stood out prominently.

Prince Su was marked with green, Prince Qi with brown, and Prince He with light red.

As for the Four Great Families: Nangong was marked in black, Xuanyuan in red, Shangguan in yellow, and the Si family in purple.

Finally, Chu Ling connected the black and red strings beneath the two topmost plaques.

The Empress Dowager and the Xuanyuan family were marked in red.

The Emperor and the Nangong family were marked in black.

After hanging the topmost color markers, Chu Ling took a sheet of paper from her sleeve. Following the records written on it, she connected strings of corresponding colors to those aligned with the Four Princes or the great aristocratic families. Neutral officials were marked with white strings.

Once all the strings were arranged, Chu Ling had Wan Sanjin help tie together those of the same color. The excess ends were carefully singed with fire so the strands appeared seamless, as if each color were a single continuous thread.

When the colored strings crisscrossed and intertwined—linking point by point until the entire wooden wall was covered in a web of silk—Chu Ling removed the wooden pegs securing all the plaques except for those at the very top.

With the pegs taken out, the plaques were now held in place solely by the tension of the strings pulling from all directions.

Chu Ling looked at her handiwork with satisfaction. Then she located the red string beneath the Xuanyuan family and followed it downward to Tao Jing. Continuing along, it led to Pan Shoucai, the owner of a silk shop in the capital, and from Pan Shoucai to Chen Cuiyan, an antique dealer—both connected by red threads.

Ghost Scholar watched Chu Ling’s movements and pointed with his fan. “When Miss Shiyu comes again today, ask her to inquire about these two men. See whether the painting was sold to them.”

Chu Ling hummed in acknowledgment and slowly climbed down from the ladder. When she looked up again at the wall of interwoven strings, she felt deeply shaken.

“This is the first time I’ve seen so clearly what it means to be deeply entangled… In places I never expected, the great families have already extended their reach this far. No wonder the imperial clan intends to act. If these ties aren’t severed, the consequences will be endless.”

After she spoke softly, Wan Sanjin nodded. “My lord, when do you think the imperial clan will make their move?”

“They don’t need to.” Chu Ling stepped forward and touched the red string on one of the plaques. “We can start cutting them down ourselves.”

At that moment, Su He entered carrying something. Seeing the result of Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin’s work, his first reaction was awe. His second was… those characters written by Sanjin—aside from himself and their lord, even a master calligrapher probably wouldn’t be able to tell what they said.

“My lord, I’ve prepared the medicine you asked for,” Su He said.

Chu Ling walked over and accepted a small round-bellied, narrow-necked wine flask from Su He. Inside was a fine vintage contributed by Steward Liu—rich in aroma, a rare and excellent liquor.

Wan Sanjin leaned in to sniff it. “I don’t smell any poison. Su He, you’re impressive.”

“This doesn’t count as poison. It’s a tonic,” Su He replied seriously.

Chu Ling smiled and sealed the stopper. “If we really used poison, wouldn’t that harm Yunliu and Shiyu? So I had Su He add a strengthening tonic instead. If anyone inspects this wine, they’ll find nothing wrong—it’s medicinal wine of the highest quality.”

Seeing Wan Sanjin still confused, Su He explained further. “My lord said that a painter who frequently changes locations and keeps a low profile must live alone. And given a painter’s habits, they’re usually not physically robust—more on the frail side, like Xu Shiyin.”

“Now that the weather is turning cold, a sip of wine will warm the body. But if someone who isn’t used to strong tonics suddenly takes one, their body might not be able to handle it. As long as the painter values his life, he’ll go to a pharmacy for treatment. And the diagnosis will only reveal issues with his constitution—because the wine itself is excellent medicinal liquor.”

Wan Sanjin’s eyes lit up in realization. “That’s why you told me to have Tianxia Zhi’s people stake out the major pharmacies! If we see someone who can’t tolerate the tonic, we list them as a suspect.”

Chu Ling nodded. “Yes. Waiting by the tree stump for the rabbit may be a clumsy method, but it’s the safest way to protect Yunliu and Shiyu.”

Ghost Scholar spoke from the side. “Judging by the recent cloud patterns, within three days at most a cold wind will sweep in. He’ll certainly drink to ward off the chill.”

Chu Ling turned to Wan Sanjin. “Tell the brothers at Tianxia Zhi to work hard—take shifts watching. Don’t let any suspicious person slip through.”

Wan Sanjin immediately agreed.

Chu Ling handed the wine back to Su He, intending to give it to Shiyu when she arrived that afternoon, so she could pass it to Yunliu—and from there, find a way to deliver it to the painter.

A solitary painter, drinking to fight off the cold—once he takes a sip, he will surely end up at a pharmacy or clinic.

And once they confirm who the painter is, they can begin surveillance.