"Empress Dowager?"
As soon as the words fell, Meng Yang swiftly pressed Ajiao's severed finger onto the confession to seal it with her mark!
Prince Yu barged in with his personal guards and sneered at the scene, "Well, well! So you’ve been resorting to unlawful torture after all!"
"Unlawful torture? Your Highness, that’s quite the accusation," Chu Ruoyan arched a delicate brow. "Can’t you see Lord Cao standing right here?"
Cao Yang, who had just been named, cursed her inwardly a thousand times but stepped forward stiffly. "Greetings, Prince Yu. Your Highness misunderstands—this is an official interrogation conducted by my order."
"Oh? A fine interrogation indeed, Lord Cao! Even the women of the Yan Family have been dragged in. What’s next? Interrogating them in bed?" Prince Yu mocked, his guards jeering along.
"Exactly! Everyone knows Lord Cao is nearing forty and still unmarried..."
"And this Marquis of Anning is a cripple. Who’s to say his young wife hasn’t grown restless, sneaking around to—AHHH!!!"
A blood-curdling scream pierced the air.
Meng Yang had driven his sword straight into the man’s gut!
Prince Yu, thrilled to finally have a pretext, bellowed, "How dare you lay hands on my men! Arrest them at once!"
His guards surged forward, but Chu Ruoyan shielded Meng Yang behind her and locked eyes with Cao Yang.
As expected, Cao Yang thundered, "Halt!"
This was, after all, the Ministry of Justice. His command forced the men to freeze.
Prince Yu scowled. "Lord Cao! This Yan subordinate assaulted my man. Are you shielding them?"
Cao Yang replied impassively, "Did he? Your Highness must be mistaken. I saw no violence from the Yan Family."
Prince Yu gaped.
The wounded guard was still writhing on the ground, blood pooling beneath him—yet Cao Yang claimed to see nothing?
This was beyond brazen lies!
A faint smirk curled Chu Ruoyan’s lips.
Prince Yu truly was a fool. Cao Yang might be a subordinate, but he was still the Minister of Revenue—a first-rank official!
To openly mock him for an affair with a minister’s wife? Did the prince think him spineless?
"Fine, fine! I knew it—the moment you petitioned to release that crippled Yan from prison, you were defying me! Cao Yang, mark my words—you’ll regret this!"
Cao Yang remained unflinching, infuriating Prince Yu further.
Just then, a whisper from one of his men made the prince compose himself. "Hmph! I won’t waste time on you. Guards, take the prisoner away—"
"Wait!" Chu Ruoyan cut in sharply.
If they had deduced Ajiao’s importance, so had the Empress Dowager!
Her testimony was the linchpin in the case against the Marquis of Pingjing. If the Empress Dowager altered her statement, all their efforts would be for nothing.
Chu Ruoyan pressed her lips together. "Prince Yu, you mentioned an edict from the Empress Dowager earlier. May we see it?"
Prince Yu faltered. "It—it was an oral decree, not a written one..."
The Empress Dowager had summoned him urgently—there hadn’t been time to draft an edict.
But Chu Ruoyan seized the inconsistency. "Really? Your Highness keeps switching between 'oral decree' and 'edict.' Could it be you never even saw Her Majesty?" She turned to Cao Yang and raised her voice. "Lord Cao, according to our laws, even a prince cannot remove a prisoner from the Ministry of Justice without an official decree, correct?"
Cao Yang played along. "Prince Yu, you must first return to the palace and obtain Her Majesty’s written decree. Only then can we release the prisoner."
"You—! You dare accuse me of forging an imperial decree?" Prince Yu’s face twisted with rage, but the two officials stood firm, refusing to yield.
With a cold laugh, he spat, "Fine! I’ll go to the palace now. Once I return with the edict, I’ll hold you both accountable for obstructing justice!" He stormed off.
The moment he left, Chu Ruoyan ordered, "Quickly, prepare horses! We ride for the palace at once!"
Meng Yang acknowledged, while Cao Yang added, "Ji He stays. I’ll take his testimony and petition the Emperor in the Ministry of Justice’s name."
Chu Ruoyan agreed. As she stepped out, Cao Yang called after her, "Lady of Marquis Anning!"
She paused. The stern-faced Minister of Revenue said gravely, "You are the wife of an official. Without a summons, entering the palace carries only one consequence—death. Do you understand what you’re risking?"
Chu Ruoyan stayed silent.
His warning was well-intentioned. But time was slipping away—the Emperor had already summoned Yan Zheng, and the Empress Dowager was moving against their key witness. In a battle against the imperial family, there was no room for hesitation.
She smiled resolutely. "Thank you for your concern, Lord Cao. Whatever awaits, I only seek to act with a clear conscience."
Cao Yang’s expression turned solemn.
After years in the capital, he had seen countless sycophants and self-preservers. Yet here stood a woman embodying loyalty, courage, and resolve.
He stepped back and bowed deeply. "Then, my lady, I wish you safe passage."
The sky darkened, each passing moment shortening the time Yan Zheng had been in the palace.
Inside the carriage, Chu Ruoyan clenched her fists.
"You..." Ajiao spoke up.
Though agitated, Chu Ruoyan forced patience. "Speak freely, Ajiao."
Ajiao studied her, then shook her head. "You’re nothing like the Yan Family."
"The Yan Family?"
"Yes. The Yans are loyal, brave, and straightforward—rarely scheming like this. In that regard, you resemble their black sheep—Third Yan." Ajiao’s voice softened with memory. "The day he saved me, he suspected my motives. But my face... it looked too much like the late Marchioness. After her death, the Marquis never took another woman, so Lady Xie insisted I stay by his side..."
Under normal circumstances, Chu Ruoyan might have indulged the tale. But urgency pressed her. "Ajiao, forgive me—"
Ajiao interrupted, "Don’t rush. I’ve kept these words too long. If I don’t speak now, I fear I never will..." She lifted the carriage curtain—the palace loomed closer.
Lowering her voice, Ajiao asked, "Lady of Third Yan, the palace has 'three courts and five gates.' Do you have a plan to force your way in?"
Chu Ruoyan tightened her grip.
Great Xia’s three courts were the Outer Court (Hall of Heavenly Purity), Central Court (Hall of Celestial Radiance), and Inner Court (Hall of Reverent Cultivation). The Emperor had summoned Yan Zheng to the Outer Court.
To reach him, they had to pass five gates!
The Hongwu Gate and Chengtian Gate were guarded by external patrols; the Duan Gate and Meridian Gate by halberd-bearing sentinels; and the final Fengtian Gate by the Emperor’s personal guards. A direct assault was near impossible.
"The guards at Hongwu and Chengtian Gates are mostly former Yan Family soldiers. If I reveal myself, they may let us pass. Chen Yuan, the halberd captain at Duan Gate, owes my father a life debt—he might also relent. But the last two gates..."
Her gaze hardened as she discreetly touched the hidden object in her sleeve.
If all else failed, she would have to fight.
Yet Ajiao said, "The halberd captain at Meridian Gate serves the Marquis of Pingjing. Tell him the Marquis is offering a beauty to the Emperor—he’ll let you through."
Chu Ruoyan’s eyes flashed.
If true, only Fengtian Gate remained.
She thanked Ajiao and turned to instruct Meng Yang, but Ajiao suddenly asked, "Lady of Third Yan... what does it feel like to marry into the Yan Family?"
