Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Pingshan Guard, Commander's Office.

"Lord Wang, the person Officer Chen met in Dongchang Prefecture the other day was his sister's personal maid."

A guard reported to Wang Pu, the commander of Pingshan Guard.

"After returning to Pingshanwei, Officer Chen drank a lot of wine, which was unusual for him. I went up to him and asked him questions to find out the truth."

Wang Pu picked up the teacup and took a small sip.

Minister Yan had his in-laws intervene, asking him to issue a document to the Ministry of War to transfer Chen Rubai to Pingshan Guard for proper resettlement.

He didn't take it too seriously; he was just a border sentry officer, and it would be a good opportunity for him to train those lazy soldiers in Pingshanwei.

Unexpectedly, this person was quite capable. In just a few months, he trained the hundred-man team that he had originally assigned to him as a figurehead into a respectable unit.

At the end of the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign, Eunuch Sun, the head of the Eastern Depot in Linqing, came to Pingshanwei with a warrant issued by the Eastern Depot's Chief of Execution to mobilize troops to Linqing to assist in the capture of notorious bandits.

I wanted to see just how strong the hundred-man team that Chen Rubai had trained was, so I sent him to lead the team to Linqing.

The soldiers trained by this man were indeed excellent; during the capture of the notorious bandit, nine of them died in battle, and several others were seriously injured.

Despite this, not a single member of the team retreated; they maintained a tight battle formation and managed to corner the notorious bandit and capture him.

Based on his understanding of the garrison troops, a hundred-man squad would have collapsed long ago if it suffered more than a dozen casualties, and it would have been impossible for them to continue fighting.

That highly skilled bandit will surely break through the encirclement and escape alive.

This man, who rose from the son of a convicted official to a border garrison commander of a hundred men through dozens of battles, truly possessed extraordinary abilities.

After Chen Rubai returned to Pingshanwei from Linqing, he simply let him train his personal guard battalion. Over the past two years, the battalion's appearance has indeed been completely transformed.

The woman came directly to Chen Rubai's personal guard camp the day before yesterday. Many soldiers saw it, and naturally some of them came to report to him.

Chen Rubai had been asking people to look for his sister for the past two years, so he naturally knew about it long ago.

A woman who was forced into prostitution in the ninth year of the Jiajing reign has been resold countless times over the years; she's not easy to find.

Moreover, the fall from grace of a noblewoman to a courtesan is so drastic that not everyone can cope; some may even die of depression or take their own lives.

It was expected that they wouldn't be able to find him.

But to everyone's surprise, Chen Rubo couldn't find his sister, but his sister found him first!

This is rather strange.

It should be noted that Chen Rubai's transfer to Pingshanwei was done very discreetly, with very few people knowing about it, and all the relevant people had been bribed.

Finding out is not that easy!

How could a woman of the night possess such great abilities?

Yan Shifan had once confided in him that there were other hidden details in Chen Rubai's father's case back then, and that he was a very important witness who might play a key role someday in the future.

Wang's eldest son married Yan Shifan's cousin, meaning the Wang family and the Yan family were in cahoots.

If there were truly hidden circumstances surrounding the Chen family's case back then, and Chen Rubo was willing to cooperate with the Yan family in order to overturn the verdict, then what about his sister?

Could they also be planning something similar?

"It turns out to be his sister's personal maid, not his sister herself?"

Wang Pu asked.

Have you seen that maid?

"I've seen her before; she's the one who came to the entrance of the military camp."

The guard quickly replied.

"I saw it with my own eyes at the time, and the woman's clothes were very exquisite, all made of the finest silks."

She was wearing very pretty jewelry on her head; I didn't recognize the smaller pieces, but you could tell at a glance they were worth a lot of money.

Moreover, she was accompanied by several guards, who were clearly skilled martial artists.

When we first met her, we all thought she was a woman from an official family.

When she claimed to be the maid of Officer Chen's sister, the soldiers present couldn't believe it.

If a maidservant can have such a grand display, what about Chen Rubai's sister herself?

"Have you managed to get any information from Officer Chen about his sister's whereabouts?"

Wang Pu stared into the eyes of his personal guard and demanded an answer in a stern voice.

Yes, there are!

The guards nodded repeatedly.

Later, Officer Chen got drunk and muttered something, saying that Yunniang had married a good man and he could finally rest easy.

Officer Chen spoke in fits and starts, but his words were disorganized and incoherent.

It seems to contain the terms "Ningbo Prefecture," "Minister Xie," and "Lin Family."

That "Yunniang" must be Chen Rubo's younger sister!

Based on the information he revealed, Chen Yunniang has already married.

As the daughter of a convicted official who was punished and confined to the entertainment industry, it was impossible for her to be a legal wife.

How could a concubine's maidservant have such a grand display?

How could they possibly find out that Chen Rubai was in Pingshanwei?

Her husband's family is probably no ordinary family!

I've never heard of the "Lin family," but who could this "Vice Minister Xie" be?

The "Vice Minister" was a civil official of the third rank, second only to the Minister of the second rank among the Six Ministries, and was the Minister's deputy.

His status is not much different from that of Minister Yan!

Based on the place name "Ningbo Prefecture", "Vice Minister Xie" probably refers to Xie Pi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who was in mourning at home!

Xie Pi's father was the famous prime minister Xie Qian, also known as Grand Secretary Xie. The Xie family had a deep-rooted background, and although Grand Secretary Xie had passed away, many of his former students and officials still held positions in the court.

If Chen Yunniang really did climb up to the Xie family, she would probably be plotting to overturn her father's case, just like Chen Rubai!

No!

Minister Yan had his reasons for not using Chen Rubai as a trump card.

We can't let Chen Rubai's sister act rashly and ruin everything!

. . .

The capital city, Dengshikou, Yan Mansion.

"Father, I never imagined that Chen Rubai's sister would be so capable!"

Yan Shifan put down the letter,

"At the time, we only thought about finding Chen Chen's two sons, and never thought about finding his daughter."

A woman who was punished and forced into prostitution managed to marry into the Xie family of Yuyao.

Finding out that Chen Rubai was in Pingshanwei was no easy task.

According to Commander Wang, Chen Yunniang's maid was dressed better than many officials' wives and had several guards with her.

This shows that she still possesses considerable strength!

This woman has worked hard all these years to get where she is today, which is no easy feat.

It's impossible without a strong reason to support it!

Commander Wang's concerns were very reasonable to his son!

It's highly likely that Chen Yunniang also knows the truth about what happened back then, and she, too, is plotting revenge.

"So, this woman actually shares the same goal as us!"

Yan Song stroked his long beard.

"The one we need to deal with is Xia Yan."

"Father, that's true, but if the timing isn't right, I'm afraid we won't just fail to shake Xia Yan, but will also alert him!"

Yan Shifan stood up.

"This woman has already climbed up to the Xie family. We can use this to drag the Xie family down with us and make them deal with Xia Yan together."

My son plans to personally visit Ningbo Prefecture to meet this remarkable woman!