Prince An knew what Ye Jingchuan wanted to discuss and said, "Minister Ye, please wait a moment."
With that, he turned to Qin Zheng, who seemed to have lost his soul.
"Prime Minister Qin, perhaps you should return home first. If there is any news of your son, I will inform you immediately."
Qin Zheng snapped out of his daze and looked at his hands, now stained with dried blood, his heart aching unbearably.
But he knew staying would be pointless.
The guest courtyard had already been turned upside down—if they hadn’t found anyone by now, they never would.
Suppressing the suffocating pain in his chest, he glared coldly at Prince An. "If anything happens to Yun'er, I will not let this matter rest with the Prince’s Manor!"
With that, he stormed off in a rage.
Watching Qin Zheng leave, Prince An muttered irritably, "If it weren’t for his son insisting on changing clothes in the guest courtyard, none of this would have happened. Now he dares to blame me? What bad luck!"
Ye Jingchuan had no interest in Qin Muyun’s fate.
He pulled Prince An aside and asked, "Your Highness, what exactly happened?"
Prince An had no idea what had transpired in the guest courtyard either.
"I arranged for eight experts, along with the Emperor’s four shadow guards. Capturing Ye Chutang should have been foolproof. But then that ‘Ghost Thief’ appeared, slaughtered all of my men and the Emperor’s, and the number of severed limbs doesn’t add up."
Even if someone had been blown to pieces, there were far fewer limbs than there should have been.
Ye Jingchuan dismissed it casually. "The ‘Ghost Thief’ is elusive and ruthless. It’s not unusual for the body count to be off. What I want to know is how you provoked him, Your Highness, and what we do next?"
"Let the Dali Temple and the Capital Office handle the case. I have no idea who the ‘Ghost Thief’ even is—how could I have provoked him?"
Then he remembered something.
"Ah, right. The ‘Ghost Thief’ went to see Anping and asked her a strange question."
Ye Jingchuan frowned. "What question?"
"He asked Anping why the Emperor insisted on arranging a marriage between Qi Yanzhou and your daughter."
"Why would the ‘Ghost Thief’ care about that? Could he be working for Prince Chen?"
The moment these words were spoken, Prince An felt as if enlightenment had struck.
"Whether he is or not, he must be!"
With the Emperor’s shadow guards dead, he needed someone to blame—and Qi Yanzhou was the perfect scapegoat.
Ye Jingchuan had no objections. "The Emperor’s task wasn’t completed, and the target is missing. What do you plan to do, Your Highness?"
"Pin it all on the ‘Ghost Thief.’ If even the imperial guards can’t catch him, what can I do? Minister Ye, my manor is in ruins, and I have much to attend to. I won’t keep you any longer."
Ye Jingchuan’s mind was in turmoil and he wanted to return home to collect his thoughts, so he left immediately.
Prince An recalled that the ‘Ghost Thief’ always stole everything in his wake and hurried to the stables.
When he saw the empty secret chamber, he nearly fainted.
The stolen goods were secondary—what truly terrified him was the Emperor finding out and growing suspicious.
He stomped on the solid ground and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness I hid the weapons underground. If all three sets had been taken, the fate of my manor would be in the ‘Ghost Thief’s’ hands!"
After much deliberation, Prince An decided not to move the weapons.
Leaving the stables, he ordered the Steward to prepare a carriage for the palace.
The plan to frame Qi Yanzhou and Ye Chutang had failed, and the shadow guards were all dead. He had to explain himself to the Emperor.
The Palace
The Emperor had already heard about the incident at Prince An’s manor.
He now loathed the ‘Ghost Thief’ to the bone—and feared him just as much.
He feared the ‘Ghost Thief’ would assassinate him to seize the throne.
So much so that even the threat posed by Qi Yanzhou no longer seemed as pressing.
That is, until Prince An claimed the ‘Ghost Thief’ was Qi Yanzhou’s man.
"Prince An, are you certain?"
"Your Majesty, I have no proof, but my suspicions are not unfounded."
Prince An recounted how the ‘Ghost Thief’ had interrogated Anping about the arranged marriage.
"Your Majesty, the ‘Ghost Thief’ has been stealing silver and supplies—clearly preparing for war. If he learns you intend to move against Prince Chen’s household, the consequences would be disastrous!"
The Emperor shuddered, recalling how the ‘Ghost Thief’ had single-handedly destroyed Prince An’s manor in broad daylight.
A man who could come and go from the palace as he pleased could slit the Emperor’s throat at any moment.
"Prince An, I leave the task of luring the ‘Ghost Thief’ into a trap to you. If you fail again, do not expect mercy—I will punish you as the law demands."
"Your servant obeys."
Though Prince An spoke deferentially, inwardly he sneered: Cowardly fool!
If their father had chosen him as Emperor, the Beichen Kingdom would never have declined so severely!
The Emperor added one more order:
"Keep a close watch on Prince Chen’s residence, the Grand Tutor’s Mansion, and the Minister’s Mansion. If there is any news of Prince Chen or the other two, report to me immediately."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
After agreeing, Prince An hesitated. "Your Majesty, my manor was burned down. I wish to rebuild, but all my silver was stolen..."
The Emperor could roughly estimate the cost.
He gestured for the Eunuch to retrieve two banknotes from the treasury and handed them to Prince An.
"My private coffers were also plundered. This is all I can spare."
"Thank you for your generosity!"
Prince An kowtowed in gratitude, then left the palace with the paltry sum of two thousand taels.
On the way back, he cursed under his breath.
Suddenly, as the carriage passed through a deserted alley, the wheels jammed.
The Coachman looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
"This road is always smooth—how did the stone slabs suddenly crack?"
At these words, Prince An’s instincts screamed danger.
He remembered how, when he had led his guards to the guest courtyard earlier, the ground had seemed to come alive, writhing violently to block his path.
Realizing the ‘Ghost Thief’ had come for him, he shouted, "Go! Now!"
Hearing the urgency in Prince An’s voice, the Coachman whipped the horse harshly.
The horse whinnied in pain, its hooves pounding, but the carriage didn’t budge.
"Hyah! Faster!"
The horse strained harder, yet the carriage remained rooted in place.
Then, as if pricked by needles, the Coachman stiffened.
Before he could even raise a hand to check, his eyes rolled back, and he toppled off the carriage.
The carriage curtain was flung open, and a disguised Ye Chutang stepped inside.
Prince An recognized him instantly—his daughter had described the ‘Ghost Thief’s’ appearance.
"You—you—"
Ye Chutang pressed a sharp dagger against Prince An’s trembling lips.
"Shh. Quiet. I’ll ask you one question: Why is the Emperor so determined to marry Ye Chutang to Qi Yanzhou? Answer correctly, and I’ll let you go. Answer wrong, and you’ll meet the underworld."
Faced with the choice between loyalty and survival, Prince An didn’t hesitate.
"His Majesty plans to frame Prince Chen for treason and rebellion during the wedding—and wipe out the Qi family!"
