Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

Chapter 171 Du Shiniang Investigates the Mole

News of Shen Daoyuan's ambush by the Jin people on his way to the border quickly spread throughout the capital. However, there were two rumors about the outcome of the ambush: one said he had been killed, and the other, of course, said he had safely evaded the Jin ambush and had already arrived at the border to take up his post. As for which rumor was true, only Emperor Huizong of Song and a few important officials in the court knew, and of course, Gao Qiu and his son also knew.

"Advisor Gao, do you know how Lin Chong and Du Shiniang are preparing? There are only five days left until the match against the Jin women's Cuju team. Are they confident of winning?" Emperor Huizong asked Advisor Gao with a serious expression in the imperial study.

The high-ranking official quickly and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I believe that Lin Chong and his Cuju team will definitely win this Cuju match. Please rest assured! Hasn't Consort Luo summoned Lin Chong and others to the palace to train in Cuju these past few days? If Your Majesty is still worried, you can go to the Qingzhu Cuju Field in the palace to watch their training."

"I won't go. If I go, Consort Luo and the others will feel uncomfortable and have to hold back because of me. Let Lin Chong lead them to focus on training. But how is Du Shiniang investigating the matter of the traitor in Zixiang Pavilion leaking Lord Shen's marching route map? Has she found out who is so bold as to plot against a court official?" Emperor Huizong looked into Gao Can's eyes and asked him angrily.

"Your Majesty, Du Shiniang hasn't given me any news these past few days. I estimate that investigating the traitor within Zixiang Pavilion will require further planning. Please wait a little longer, Your Majesty!" Gao Can bowed and answered cautiously.

"Useless! Didn't Ning Weizhi of the Court of Judicial Review send people to assist Du Shiniang in the investigation? You're even the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice! How come with so many people, you couldn't even find a single spy from the Zixiang Pavilion?" Emperor Huizong said angrily, then threw the pen he was using to review memorials forcefully, directly hitting Gao Can in the face. A black mark immediately appeared on Gao Can's face. He didn't dare to breathe loudly, let alone wipe the black mark off his face.

“Your Majesty, Du Shiniang actually has suspects. One is a subject, and the other is Liu Guangfu, the steward of Zixiang Pavilion. He is the younger brother of Eunuch Liu and used to be the steward of the imperial kitchen. Do you remember him?” Gao Can knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice.

"Liu Guangfu? I remember him. He once cooked a dish that caused Consort Hui to have an allergic reaction. I was so angry at the time that I wanted to kill him. Who pleaded for him?" Emperor Huizong murmured thoughtfully, then suddenly looked at Eunuch Liu Guangyu.

Liu Guangyu immediately knelt down at Emperor Huizong's feet, his body trembling as he replied, "It was General Zhou Chengquan who pleaded for my younger brother and took him out of the palace. Later, when the Zixiang Pavilion was established, General Zhou assigned my brother to Du Shiniang to help her manage the Wangyue Tower in the Zixiang Pavilion."

"Your Majesty, I believe my younger brother would not betray Lord Shen and General Zhou. Please do not believe those rumors." Liu Guangyu said, tears welling up in his eyes. He wiped his tears with his sleeve and sobbed, "My younger brother did not know that Consort Hui was allergic to mangoes when he was in the palace. It was a mistake on his part. But he is not a bad person and he is not greedy for money. Please, Your Majesty, for the sake of my years of service to you, you must clear his name."

"Alright, I trust Liu Guangfu and Gao Can. But this man is hiding in the Zixiang Pavilion, and I'm afraid he might harm Lin Chong and his female Cuju players. If he's not eliminated, he'll ruin our upcoming Cuju matches, which is a matter of national importance." Emperor Huizong personally helped Liu Guangyu up, then glanced at Gao Can, signaling him to stand up and speak.

At this moment, a young eunuch entered and handed Emperor Huizong a letter, saying it was a message from Du Shiniang to His Majesty. Emperor Huizong opened it, and his previously tense face and gloomy mood vanished instantly. He stepped forward and forcefully patted Liu Guangyu on the shoulder, saying, "Eunuch Liu, it seems your younger brother is a clever man. He has already proven his innocence and uncovered the traitor within the Zixiang Pavilion."

Liu Guangyu and Gao Can exchanged bewildered glances after hearing this. Emperor Huizong then showed them Du Shiniang's letter. It turned out that Liu Guangfu had indeed helped to investigate, but Gao Can immediately recognized Du Shiniang's involvement. Du Shiniang was truly a remarkable woman!

After Du Shiniang read Shen Daoyuan's letter that day, she began to pay attention to Liu Guangfu. However, she found that Liu Guangfu had no contact with anyone outside Zixiang Pavilion. So one night, in front of Lin Chong and Wu Song, she asked Liu Guangfu directly whether he was working for the Wolf King or the Jin people and had plotted to kill General Zhou and Lord Shen.

Liu Guangfu, of course, vehemently denied it. To prove his innocence, Liu Guangfu agreed to cooperate with Du Shiniang in a charade. Du Shiniang deliberately spread rumors that she possessed a pair of Cuju boots capable of countering the "ghost ball" (a type of Chinese football), and that the boots were hidden in her treasure chest. She was trying to lure the snake out of its hole.

The next day at noon, Liu Guangfu deliberately held a group meal at the Wangyue Tower in Zixiang Pavilion, secretly adding a sleeping potion to the soup and intentionally revealing the potion's presence to Yang Bingnan. This was because Yang Bingnan had also been eating breakfast in a corner when Wu Enlai ate breakfast at the same time, leading Liu Guangfu to suspect him. Liu Guangfu, furious that Du Shiniang suspected him of being a Jin spy, wanted to steal Du Shiniang's treasure chest and flee the capital. He felt a brotherly bond with Yang Bingnan and wanted to take him with him.

Yang Bingnan took the bait. While Du Shiniang and Lin Chong were under the influence of the drug, he secretly sneaked into Du Shiniang's room to steal the treasure chest. He searched the chest and found only some jewelry, but no football boots that could counteract the magic ball. So he continued searching the room. Liu Guangfu deliberately asked him what he was looking for, and Yang Bingnan blurted out, "I'm looking for the boots that can counteract the magic ball."

“These jewels are enough for us. My sleeping potion can only keep Lin Chong and Wu Song incapacitated for an hour. They know martial arts, so let’s escape now,” Liu Guangfu urged Yang Bingnan, holding his hand.

“No! The Jin people want those boots, otherwise Lord Xiao wouldn’t have let me and Lady Zou leave the capital.” Yang Bingnan thought Liu Guangfu was sincere towards him, so he told him the truth.

It turned out that Xiao Minghao had already bribed Yang Bingnan, making him sell him all the information about Zixiang Pavilion and also instructing him to take special care of his son Xiao Cheng and Zou Xiaoyan. Later, Yang Bingnan fell in love with Zou Xiaoyan, so Xiao Minghao lied to him, saying that if he could get Zhou Chengquan's marching route map and give it to him, he would let him and Zou Xiaoyan leave the capital and would give him a large sum of money.

Yang Bingnan watched as Zou Xiaoyan fell into Gao Can's seductive trap. Unable to dissuade her, he felt that only with Xiao Minghao's help could he win Zou Xiaoyan's heart. The conditions Xiao Minghao offered were too tempting, so he betrayed Zhou Chengquan. Unexpectedly, Xiao Minghao later reneged and threatened to tell Lin Chong and Du Shiniang about his betrayal of Zhou Chengquan. Only then did Yang Bingnan realize he had been deceived by Xiao Minghao, but it was too late for him to turn back.

After betraying Shen Daoyuan again, Yang Bingnan planned to secretly drug Zou Xiaoyan and escape from the capital with her and Xiao Cheng. However, Xiao Minghao discovered this in advance. How could Xiao Minghao allow Yang Bingnan to leave with Zou Xiaoyan? He was furious and sent people to beat Yang Bingnan half to death, warning him not to leave the capital and even more so not to have any designs on Zou Xiaoyan.

Later, Mohat heard that Du Shiniang had boots specifically designed to counter the "ghost ball" (a type of ball used in Chinese football). He had also seen Du Rushuang wearing these boots and defeating Hasalawa at the inn's football field. So, he asked Xiao Minghao to find a way to steal them for him. Mohat's condition was to help Xiao Minghao eliminate the Left Prime Minister, who was his father-in-law, because he could see that Xiao Minghao was being suppressed by the Left Prime Minister in every way, and that he had the ability but couldn't use it.

Xiao Minghao naturally agreed to Mohart's deal, and then he again coerced and bribed Yang Bingnan, who then came to steal the "magical" boots. Yang Bingnan thought Liu Guangfu would sympathize with him, but little did he know that their conversation had already been overheard by Lin Chong, Du Shiniang, and others.

Wu Song immediately appeared and captured Yang Bingnan, forcing him to write a confession, intending to send him to the Ministry of Justice prison. However, upon learning of Yang Bingnan's arrest, Zou Xiaoyan knelt down in agitation and pleaded with Du Shiniang not to send Yang Bingnan to the Ministry of Justice, as Gao Can would certainly not let him go.

Du Shiniang was also soft-hearted. Seeing that Yang Bingnan was sincere towards Zou Xiaoyan and Xiao Cheng, she wrote a letter to the palace, asking the emperor to make a decision. At the same time, she also told the emperor about Xiao Minghao's collusion with the Jin people and his betrayal of his country, asking the emperor to deal with Xiao Minghao.