Ye Liangyu stood up and paced back and forth.
"Not killing him doesn't mean he won't be severely punished. The Emperor is only protecting him now because there are only two princes in the court, and he has no other choice. As soon as another prince is born in the inner palace, this advantage will vanish. It will be much easier to strike then."
Inside the imperial palace, Xiao Chengjing, who had been sulking all day, was lying on the dragon throne, resting with his eyes closed.
Zhao Yande walked in carefully, carrying a late-night snack.
"Your Majesty, you have hardly eaten anything all day. The imperial kitchen has prepared some longan and silver ear mushroom soup. Please have a little, or it will harm your stomach."
Xiao Chengjing sat up and opened his eyes, which were completely bloodshot.
"Zhao Yande, do you think they assassinated Song Jinzhao because they were dissatisfied with the concubines in the palace getting pregnant?"
Eunuch Zhao, who had served the Emperor for most of his life, did not dare to utter a word.
He slowly placed the longan and silver ear mushroom soup on the table, tightened his throat, and spoke in a low voice.
"Perhaps County Princess Linghui somehow offended the two princes. Besides, the case hasn't been fully investigated yet."
Xiao Chengjing gave a stiff twitch of his lips.
"Cen Yue and Zhao Zhihe are their men. There is no need to investigate this case; I am just deceiving myself."
A young eunuch walked in, bowing deeply. "Your Majesty, Wang Duorui, the Head of the Internal Affairs Department, requests an audience."
It must be that the case of Attendant Hai falling into the water had a result. "Let him in."
"To reply to Your Majesty, the eunuchs and maids of Cuiming Pavilion have undergone severe torture and keep crying out their innocence."
"However, this servant found out that Attendant Hai fell in because she stepped on some moss next to the lotus pond. This servant went to look personally. That piece of moss was deliberately placed there, and it should have been placed last night."
"The maid Lanxin said there was no one near the lotus pond. This servant sent people to inquire and found out that Concubine Yi of Qiushui Palace had called everyone away. She said that when she went to pay respects at the Empress's palace early in the morning, she found the luan-phoenix jade pendant she carried with her was missing, which is why she had everyone go to the west side of the imperial garden to look for it."
Xiao Chengjing frowned. "Is it the luan-phoenix jade pendant left to her by the Empress Dowager?"
Wang Duorui nodded. "That is the one."
Xiao Chengjing closed his eyes in frustration. How did she get dragged into this too?
"Who in the palace has been to Cuiming Pavilion in the last few days?"
Wang Duorui lowered his head and answered, "Both the Empress and Noble Consort Jin sent people to deliver things to Cuiming Pavilion the day before yesterday. However, this morning, Noble Consort Jin sent a maid to deliver a bowl of blood bird's nest soup to Attendant Hai to nourish her body. It was only after this that Attendant Hai went to the imperial garden."
As expected, it was related to her.
"Take the maid who delivered the items to the Department of Punishment and torture her severely. I want to know the truth."
Wang Duorui kowtowed. "This servant obeys."
The confessions of the three assassins remained unchanged. Just as the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicature and Revision continued searching for the whereabouts of Cen Yue and Zhao Zhihe, news spread from the palace.
Noble Consort Jin was demoted to Concubine Jin for attempting to murder an imperial heir. She was confined to Yongshou Palace to reflect on her mistakes and was forbidden from leaving the palace gates without an imperial edict.
With Cen Yue and Zhao Zhihe still nowhere to be found, and the capital's citizens gradually losing interest in the assassination case, just as Ye Liangyu thought the Emperor was preparing to smooth things over and hastily close the case, an old retired soldier who had returned to his hometown years ago came to the Court of Judicature and Revision.
Holding a notice torn from the bulletin board, the old man spoke to the bailiff at the entrance of the Court of Judicature and Revision, "Sir, I have seen the man on this poster."
He pointed to the last line on the wanted poster. "It says here that a reward of fifty taels of silver will be given for providing clues. Is this true?"
Seeing that he was pointing at the portrait of Zhao Zhihe, the bailiff's expression drastically changed.
"Where did you see him?"
The old man nodded vigorously.
"Right in the bamboo forest on the mountain behind my house. Ten days ago, I saw two men burying a corpse there. If I hadn't come into town to buy things today, I wouldn't have known that the corpse they were burying was a wanted criminal."
Soon, Zhou Min, the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicature and Revision, led his men to Yunlong Mountain where the old man lived, and dug up Zhao Zhihe's corpse in the bamboo forest.
After examining the body, the coroner reported, "Killed with a single strike. Based on the size of the maggots, he has been dead for about ten days."
In other words, he died the very day he went missing. Prince Ying was truly decisive and merciless in his actions.
Zhou Min turned around, went back to the hall, and asked the old man, "Did you see the faces of the two men who buried the corpse?"
"I saw them." The old man nodded and reached out his hands to gesture.
"They were wearing gray clothes. One of them stood tall and straight, looking like a trained martial artist. He was a head taller than me. When they were burying the body, I also saw a scar on the back of his hand."
"The other man was about the same height as me. His eyes were so small that they disappeared when he squinted, and he had a mole on his face."
There were so many people in the capital; searching based on this criteria would be exceedingly difficult.
Zhou Min ordered his subordinate, "Go to the Capital Mayor's Office immediately and find a clerk who knows how to draw portraits."
The subordinate widened his eyes in confusion. "My Lord, shouldn't we go to the Ministry of Justice? The portrait artists there are definitely better than those at the Capital Mayor's Office."
Zhou Min kicked him in the leg. "Just go when I tell you to. Why ask so many questions?"
Looking at the drawn portraits, Zhou Min proudly straightened his back and flicked the paper, making a rustling sound.
"It really took no effort at all."
Zhou Min had seen the men in the portraits before; they were the servants who frequently followed Prince Ying.
Sui Zhuangling and Ye Liangyu were completely baffled when they received the news. By the time they rushed to the imperial palace, Fan Guanshan had already taken men to Prince Ying's manor and arrested the two men in the portraits.
After leaving the imperial study, Sui Zhuangling glared gloomily and lashed out at Zhou Min.
"Lord Zhou, the Emperor ordered a joint trial by the three judicial offices. When there was a clue in the case, why didn't you inform Lord Ye and me first, but instead came to see the Emperor alone? This is no way to hog the credit."
Seeing him extremely furious, Zhou Min felt even happier inside.
"I was just afraid that the news would leak out and the murderers would escape again. As long as the case can be solved, what difference does it make who reports it?"
If I had told you in advance, and you passed the news to Prince Ying, these two murderers would probably have ended up with the same fate as Zhao Zhihe.
"What do you mean? Are you suggesting that Lord Ye and I would cover up for the murderers?" Sui Zhuangling, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointed a finger at Zhou Min in a towering rage.
Zhou Min straightened his sleeves. "I meant no such thing. Lord Wu, please do not let your imagination run wild."
Seeing the two of them arguing fiercely, Ye Liangyu silently stepped aside to watch the show.
This sudden witness would increase the Emperor's punishment for Prince Ying.
With Noble Consort Jin demoted to a concubine, Prince Ying must be feeling quite proud of himself. This explosive news came at just the right time.
Inside Prince Ying's manor, Xiao Rongyan watched helplessly as his personal servant and guard were taken away by the Imperial Guards, feeling both furious and anxious.
These two had served him since childhood, which was why he had entrusted them with something as important as silencing a witness.
In the desolate wilderness, with so many days having passed, how could the corpse have been dug up?
When the two men were brought to the Ministry of Justice, Zhou Min brought the old man who had reported the case over to identify them.
"My Lord, it's them. I saw them burying the corpse with my own eyes."
The servant and the guard, brought to the hall with their hands tied, looked at the old man in disbelief.
Impossible. There was absolutely no one around when they buried the corpse. Where did he come from?
But they could not say that; they could only stubbornly deny it to the death.
"We are wronged, My Lord! We did not bury any corpse; he is framing us."
Zhou Min threw the portrait to the ground. "Stop quibbling. How could an old man living in the mountains recognize the people from the prince's estate if he hadn't seen them with his own eyes?"
"Men, take them to the dungeon and interrogate them under torture. Make sure you get the truth out of them."
Everyone present was a trusted aide of Prince Ying. At this point, Sui Zhuangling could only sit on the sidelines, anxious but helpless.
In the afternoon, on a mountain road five miles outside the city, the old man parked his newly bought ox cart by the roadside and slipped into the nearby woods alone.
"Young General, the matter you arranged has been handled. Those two have been locked up in the Ministry of Justice."
In the shade sheltered by leaves, Chu Liuyun, dressed in plain white clothes, slowly turned around and handed him a bundle.
"Leave the capital immediately and never return. From now on, you can only live incognito."
The old man took the bundle and nodded.
"Rest assured, Young General. At my age, I don't have many years left to live anyway. If the old Marquis hadn't dug me out of a pile of corpses back then, I would have died long ago."
"If I am ever discovered one day, I will absolutely not let myself be taken alive."
Watching the gradually fading silhouette of the ox cart, Chu Liuyun turned to gaze in the direction of the capital, remaining silent for a long time.
Inside the County Princess's estate, Song Jinzhao sat in a chair in the study, deep in thought.
The yellow paper on the desk was densely covered with writing, all of it a single person's name—Xiao Chengjing.
Some of the names were also crossed out with black ink, one after another.
"Sister, Teacher just sent someone with a message. Those two have confessed, and the memorial will be submitted tomorrow."
Song Jinzhao folded the yellow paper in half and tossed it aside.
"So what if it's submitted? It will just be a slightly heavier punishment to gag the court officials. All thunder and no rain; it won't hurt their core."
Song Qiming sat down in a chair, feeling a bit dejected.
"Sister, I have read all the words of the sages from ancient times to the present, and I know the court's laws backward and forward."
"When I first took the imperial examinations, I only wanted to make life better for our family, to let you and Shixue live a life without worrying about food and clothing, with servants to wait on you."
Song Jinzhao propped her chin on one hand and asked calmly, "And now?"
Song Qiming gritted his teeth and said, "As an official, one should not fail the heavy trust of the sovereign and the country above, nor fail the hopeful gaze of the common people below."
"If the sovereign I am loyal to and assist is not a wise ruler, and ordinary people are not important in his heart, is he still fit to be a king?"
"Whenever I think of this, I can't muster any energy when handling official duties. I feel like everything I do is meaningless."
Song Jinzhao couldn't help but smile at his disappointed and disheartened appearance.
His idol's image had shattered.
Once ancient people broke their rose-tinted glasses regarding emperors, the emperor became no different from an ordinary person.
She asked in return, "Why do you think the civil and military officials are loyal to the Emperor?"
Song Qiming was silent for a long time before speaking, "Because the Emperor is the Son of Heaven, and we are subjects of the Dongzhao Kingdom. Being loyal to the sovereign and loving the country is naturally the right thing to do."
Song Jinzhao: "The place we are standing right now used to be the territory of the Chili Kingdom, and going back several generations, our ancestors were also subjects of the Chili Kingdom. You say being loyal to the sovereign and loving the country is the right thing to do, so does that mean our ancestors committed treason?"
Song Qiming was stunned, momentarily not knowing how to refute.
Song Jinzhao narrowed her eyes and stood up. "The civil and military officials are loyal to the Emperor because the knowledge they learned from books tells them to be loyal and patriotic. But more importantly, the monarch holds the power of life and death. If they are not loyal to him, they will die. No one is unafraid of death, so they have no choice but to obey."
"Over thousands of years, dynastic changes have occurred countless times. When a country is weak, it falls."
"The sovereign is a boat; the common people are the water. The water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it."
"A monarch is merely the manager of this country. If he doesn't manage it well, someone else will replace him."
Song Jinzhao tapped her finger on the center of Song Qiming's forehead. "And you are just someone working for the Emperor. If you can't manage to replace this Emperor, then just quietly do your job well and have a clear conscience."
That night, Song Qiming stayed awake all night.
He tossed and turned in bed, his mind full of what Song Jinzhao had said, unable to forget it even if he wanted to.
The next day, he went to work at the Hanlin Academy in a daze, only to be jolted awake by an imperial decree.
At Prince Qi's estate, Xiao Rongche knelt on the ground to receive the decree.
"Prince Qi, Xiao Rongche, has been lax in managing his subordinates and failed in his supervisory duties, allowing scoundrels to usurp authority and assassinate the County Princess. Although he defends himself claiming ignorance, lax management is a dereliction of duty, and an unclean household is the root of disaster. Today, he is stripped of his title as a Prince of the First Rank and demoted to Prince Qi'an of the Second Rank. He is fined one year's salary as compensation to County Princess Linghui, ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors for a month, and must copy a chapter of the Penal Code daily for self-reflection."
Inside Prince Ying's estate, Xiao Rongyan also received an imperial decree demoting him to Prince Yingcheng of the Second Rank.
When Ye Liangyu heard the news, she was so shocked that she knocked over the tea on the table.
Being stripped of a princedom and demoted to a Prince of the Second Rank was already considered a very severe punishment.
He originally thought it would end with at most three or four months of confinement, but he didn't expect it to exceed his expectations.
The civil and military officials in the court discussed this endlessly, especially the officials who had aligned themselves with Prince Qi and Prince Ying. Their hearts immediately began to waver.
It must be known that being demoted to a Prince of the Second Rank basically eliminated one's qualifications to compete for the throne, yet these were the only two princes in the court.
Could it be that the Emperor favored an unborn child in the imperial harem?
In the ancestral hall of the Duke of Zhenguo's estate, the Duke of Zhenguo, who was still observing a period of mourning, placed a lit stick of incense into the censer.
"Withdraw the people guarding around Prince Ying's estate."
The Duke of Qing, Chu Liuyun, held incense and bowed three times to the ancestral tablets. "Rest assured, Father. Your son already withdrew our people yesterday."
The next day, Song Jinzhao looked at the four chests of silver sent over from the Prince of the Second Rank's estate, totaling twenty thousand taels.
Song Shixue opened the chests in confusion. Ingots of silver were neatly arranged on the racks inside.
"Why didn't they give us banknotes? Transporting so much by carriage is so inconvenient."
Song Jinzhao waved her hand, instructing the servants to move the chests to the storehouse.
"If they sent banknotes, others wouldn't see them. They are eager to let everyone in the capital know that they have compensated me with money."
Song Shixue bit her lip and complained in frustration, "If the Emperor weren't shielding them, we wouldn't even want the money."
She flattened her hand like a blade and chopped down heavily, lowering her voice. "We have to kill them to vent our anger."
A month later, Xiao Rongche and Xiao Rongyan were summoned to the palace as soon as their confinement ended.
"Having been confined for a month, I trust you both know your mistakes."
Xiao Rongche and Xiao Rongyan knelt and kowtowed simultaneously.
"Making Imperial Father worry is our fault. We are immensely remorseful."
Xiao Chengjing nodded in satisfaction.
"It is a great virtue to correct one's mistakes. As princes, you should be role models for the subjects of the realm. Do not repeat this in the future."
The two cupped their hands. "Thank you, Imperial Father."
Eunuch Zhao handed two imperial decrees to Xiao Rongche and Xiao Rongyan respectively.
