Chapter 170: Chapter 170: The Pinnacle Human’s Gambit

Mrs. Liang’s face was pale as she tried to explain, but she couldn’t utter a single word under such a piercing gaze.

Feng Qingyue psyched herself up, mustering all her courage to walk before Chancellor Cao.

"Chancellor Cao, there is something you don’t know. This Liang Wan was born a curse! The endless disasters that have plagued Daqi these past few years are all her fault! You have worked so diligently and painstakingly to manage these calamities, little knowing that the true source of disaster is right before your eyes!"

Chancellor Cao furrowed his brow as someone suddenly rushed forward. After hearing her out, he found himself stroking his thin mustache and chuckling.

"A disaster? Everything is her fault?" He lowered his hand, his smile completely gone. After a pause, he asked, "Is that what all of you believe?"

The crowd hesitated to speak. Chancellor Cao’s expression didn’t look like he was there to arrest Liang Wan...

Seeing the crowd lose their nerve, Feng Qingyue snapped, "Have you all gone mute? Weren’t you plenty loud just a moment ago?"

Chancellor Cao didn’t spare Feng Qingyue another glance. Instead, the sharp glint in his narrow eyes swept over everyone present.

"You say she is a disaster, is that right?"

"I, for one, am curious. What kind of disaster could devise a way to control the locust plague and provide relief? What kind of disaster would pay out of her own pocket to fill the granaries? What kind of disaster, during the worst of the epidemic, would donate medicinal herbs, improve the treatment formulas, and even propose a plan for refugees to return home and farm again? What kind of disaster would donate a room full of treasures to provide provisions and winter clothing for the army fighting bloody battles on the front lines to protect our nation? And what kind of disaster is selfless and fearless, disregarding personal gain or loss, with a heart for the common people and all of humanity?"

"I ask you, are there any more disasters like this? If there are, please tell me! As long as I, Cao Shou, draw breath, I will welcome them as a guest of honor!"

His small, lean frame seemed to erupt with immense power. His voice, heavy with sorrow and indignation, echoed in every corner, stunning the entire crowd into silence.

"If not for this ’disaster’ you speak of, by what right do you think you’d be standing here, safe and sound?"

"And yet... how have you repaid her?"

By the end, his eyes were red. His voice was both sorrowful and desolate. Such a thunderous rebuke was laced with a deep sense of defeat and helplessness that made the listeners’ hearts ache.

He slowly turned his head to look at Mrs. Liang and said, word by word, "Mrs. Liang, to have a daughter such as yours... I, Cao Shou, am ashamed that I cannot compare!"

When he finished speaking, he bowed low to Liang Wan in a deep, formal salute.

Cao Danqing watched without blinking, a pang of sorrow in her heart.

Cao Luyun’s face was deathly pale.

For a moment, everyone—from the families of officials and common folk to the bureaucrats, soldiers, and their commanders—was utterly dumbfounded.

The Chancellor of the court was actually bowing to a young lady!

Liang Wan brushed aside Gu Yu’s hand and limped before Chancellor Cao. With a trembling hand, she helped him up. "Your Excellency, you honor me too greatly. I am unworthy."

Chancellor Cao shook his head, his face etched with sorrow. "The young Lady is right. A physician can treat an illness, but they cannot cure the heart, let alone fate. For people’s hearts to be like this... this is Daqi’s—"

He didn’t finish, merely sighing.

Liang Wan understood Chancellor Cao’s feelings. He had exhausted a lifetime of effort, yet he still couldn’t reverse the nation’s decline.

Such heartache and discouragement could not be soothed with a few simple words.

After a moment of thought, Liang Wan still said, "Your Excellency is only a mortal man. Since you have done all that is humanly possible, you can only leave the rest to fate."

Feng Qingyue watched from the side, growing anxious. But she couldn’t act alone. She kept signaling Cao Luyun with her eyes, but the other woman was as still as a statue, her gaze seemingly nailed to Liang Wan. Clearly, she had never expected Chancellor Cao to show up, let alone defend Liang Wan so fiercely.

When no response came, Feng Qingyue had no choice but to go for broke.

’I started this. It’s not just that there’s no turning back—even if there were, I have a blood feud with Liang Wan. I can’t possibly retreat now!’

’If it weren’t for Liang Wan, the Tangyi Marquis Mansion would never have been pushed forward to take the fall!’

Feng Qingyue suppressed her hatred and softened her tone. "Chancellor Cao, even if she has contributed greatly to Daqi as you say, have you considered what caused all these natural and man-made disasters in the first place?"

Chancellor Cao shot her a displeased look. He truly couldn’t understand why this young lady was so relentless.

Gu Yu stepped forward to support Liang Wan, who was becoming unsteady on her feet.

Cao Danqing said angrily, "Feng Qingyue, your Tangyi Marquis Mansion harbored treasonous intentions! You yourself are a convicted criminal. His Majesty was magnanimous enough to spare your life, yet you show no remorse and dare to come out and stir up trouble. It seems to me your wicked heart is still set on evil!"

Everyone knew that the General of Cavalry had been framed and killed over the matter of military pay, and Princess Lanling was one of the masterminds behind it. Feng Qingyue, knowing full well she had an old grudge with the Cao Family, was still recklessly pressing the issue. She truly didn’t value her life.

After Cao Danqing’s outburst, Chancellor Cao also realized who the young lady before him was. He simply said, "According to you, then, what is the cause?"

Feng Qingyue said viciously, "Fine, don’t believe the words of others. But can you also disbelieve the words of Duke Wei, Lou Jing?"

She turned to Mrs. Liang. "Let me ask you, Mrs. Liang, have you heard this saying? ’A blood-soaked peony of stunning beauty, yet beneath the flower lie ten thousand withered bones.’ Have you heard it or not? You must speak the truth!"

As everyone mulled over those words, their gazes turned to Mrs. Liang, who stood frozen in a daze.

Chancellor Cao also frowned and looked over.

Liang Jing tugged on Mrs. Liang’s sleeve and asked tentatively, "Mother, have you heard it?"

"Feng Ji, do you think our Grandmaster’s Mansion has no one to stand up for us?" Gu Yu demanded, ignoring Liang Wan’s attempts to stop her and gritting her teeth in anger.

At her words, the crowd fell silent. A wave of fear washed over them. A moment ago, incited by the mob, they had been focused only on venting their hatred. They had forgotten that the Lu Family held up half the sky in Daqi, and that Liang Wan, for all her troubles, was still part of the Grandmaster’s Mansion...

Feng Qingyue cast a cold glance, unmoved. "You should know that the Duke’s words are golden. Even His Majesty believes the prophecies from his divinations. So what if you’re from the Grandmaster’s Mansion?"

Hearing this, the crowd relaxed a little. The Duke was someone who divined the fate of the nation itself. If he said it, it must be true!

Feng Qingyue pressed, "Mrs. Liang! Didn’t you just admit it? Why have you gone silent now that Chancellor Cao is here?"

Mrs. Liang glanced at Liang Wan and nodded, her heart aching. "Yes. The Duke spoke those words when he divined my daughter’s birth chart. I only found out about it later."

Chancellor Cao’s voice grew grave. "Mrs. Liang! Choose your words with care!"

Once it was confirmed that these words came from the Duke, Liang Wan would surely be sentenced to death.

Feng Qingyue raised an eyebrow. "In that case, is there any need to ask what caused it?"

"I once praised Lady Feng for being capable of great things. I didn’t expect to be proven so right!"

Someone arrived late, their voice dripping with playful cynicism and teasing.

Seeing the newcomer, Cao Danqing went to greet him. "Husband."

Zhou Yun gave her a gentle smile before walking straight to Chancellor Cao and Liang Wan.

Though he was prepared, he was still shocked and grew pale upon seeing Liang Wan’s condition. His expression became grave.

He sighed. "If he finds out about this, I’m afraid none of them will survive. You really are willing to risk it all..."

Liang Wan managed a wry smile. ’Otherwise, what would be the point of this whole painful ruse?’

Zhou Yun didn’t waste any more words. He turned and said, "Mrs. Liang, may I ask, besides the first half of that line, have you ever heard the second half?"

Mrs. Liang was stunned. "There’s a second half?"

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