The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 182 : A Matter of Life or Death

Translated by : Mazu

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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Title of the chapter: 千钧一发 (qiānjūnyīfà) – a thousand pounds hangs by a thread (idiom); imminent peril; a matter of life or death.

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In the end, the Jinying Wangfu's servants were all well-trained and scattered as soon as Jiang Ruan gave the order. The servants and maids with low martial arts skills all went into hiding, while the guards stood on guard in Xiao Shao's study and bedroom.

Jiang Ruan sat in the main hall, surrounded by about a dozen guards, looking solemn. "Young Furen, if you are unwilling to leave, it would be best to at least find a place to hide," Steward Lin coaxed anxiously. "Do not stay here, otherwise what can we do if those people enter?"

"Even If I hide, those people will still come to seek me out, and this will undoubtedly cause harm to innocent people. There's no reason to squander other people's lives. Also, since I am staying, I will be able to identify their motives much more easily: whether it's because they are here to kill me, or if there is another reason for ambushing the Jinying Wangfu." Jiang Ruan shook her head.

Steward Lin was helpless as he uttered, "It's too dangerous." Jiang Ruan had the same nature as Xiao Shao. They would not budge after making a decision, even if nine bulls pulled them. Moreover, those who valued their lives would not put themselves in such danger. Jiang Ruan showed a total disregard for life and death. This was in no way the result of a noble cause. Steward Lin had enough years of experience that he enabled him to accurately evaluate people and Jiang Ruan clearly never considered her own safety. Her methods were cruel and ruthless. She was willing to trade her own life as long as she had enough bargaining chips to reach her goal. And now, Jiang Ruan had made her decision, and there was no changing this fact. Steward Lin sighed and asked, "Young Furen, what is the rationale behind your previous orders? How can we just set the houses around the Jinying Wangfu on fire? "

"In this area, how can there just be people around so late at night? Therefore, if we do not create a disturbance, then wouldn't we be passively accepting an ambush attack and being killed without any resistance? These people appear courageous, but they only engage in this behaviour at night, presumably to throw dust in the eyes of others. Since they have pretended to be imperial guards, I will expose them without hesitation. If the residences on this street catch on fire, then it will undoubtedly raise an alarm among the people, and naturally a crowd will form. At this point, if someone were to shout out 'bandits,' then without a doubt, people will begin to suspect foul play. Murder and arson in the middle of the night are not considered trivial things. One fu may only have a few guards, but when all of the fu's guards on this street are counted, there are many. Still, while this may not be sufficient enough to overturn the situation, it will make it close to impossible for them to silence and annihilate everyone present. Moreover, once they begin to panic at the unexpected change in the situation, they will become apprehensive and develop misgivings. At that point, we will definitely be able to find a way out of this.."

"Young Furen's idea is good," Steward Lin came to a realization, "But what if people ask about the fire the next day? Burning down people's homes is bad for your karma[1]."

[1] 阴德 (yīndé) – hidden merit, good deeds to the doer's credit in the next life or karma.

"What does the fire have to do with us?" Jiang Ruan asked. Steward Lin was astounded at how Jiang Ruan was downplaying the issue. "The impersonators are the ones creating a commotion. We, too, are victims. As for karma..." She smiled. "I'm not done living so why should I be concerned about the afterlife. Moreover, it is not us who are going to die tonight." By the time she finished speaking, her tone had become icy and tinged with gloom.