“Cough…cough…”
Ye Xi cleared her throat once. Ling Yan understood at once. In three quick steps he was beside the prostrate Yan Guan and with a single blade strike had rendered him unconscious.
“Miss, what shall we do with him?” Ling Yan asked.
“No need,” Ye Xi said, wiping her hand clean with deliberate care. Then she turned and walked toward the door. “He’s a fool, and his household is divided. He’s already betrayed his own secrets—he won’t dare shout it from the rooftops.”
By the time she finished speaking they were already outside the room.
“Yan Xuan.” Ye Xi called softly.
“Go to the Yan residence immediately. Under Yan Guan’s bed the loose green tile is hiding an account book. Bring it back at once.”
“Yes.” Yan Xuan appeared like a shadow and was gone in the next heartbeat.
“Ling Yan, let’s go. We should check on Yan Gui’s side as well.” They left together, one after the other, neither noticing the smoke-gray figure that flickered once in the dark and slipped away unseen.
Zhihong Garden—
“The prison is too tightly guarded. I couldn’t get in,” Yan Gui reported with a respectful bow. “So I took another route and tried the Chongshuang Pavilion’s signal. To my surprise, someone answered.”
“Who?” Ye Xi asked.
“Mian Xiao,” Yan Gui said. “He’s with Lin An. The prince is on the other side, farther away. Both are safe for now. There’s no final verdict yet, and because the prince is high-born, the jailers dare not mistreat them. Miss, you needn’t worry too much.”
Ye Xi relaxed just a fraction. “Good. You did well. Thank you for your trouble.”
After a pause she added, “There’s one more thing. The Chongshuang Pavilion went with Lin An to Tanzhou to investigate who helped Yan Yifan build his residence that day. Bring them to me—I have a few questions.”
Yan Gui hesitated, his expression conflicted.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Ye Xi said, frowning as she glanced at her palm. Her voice softened. “But the Tanzhou matter looks strange. Lin An is still in the prison. These are brothers we’ve fought alongside—if things can be helped, I don’t want to suspect them.”
Her gaze sharpened, cold as steel. “If someone truly has malice in their heart, Yan Gui…” Her eyes cut into him. “Then it won’t be only a matter of one or two brothers.”
Yan Gui’s pulse lodged in his throat. He felt the force around Ye Xi press on him until his breath stalled. He couldn’t meet her almond-shaped eyes and bowed his head in shame. “Understood. But…Chongshuang people obey only the prince. They take orders by token. I can’t bring them back empty-handed.”
Ye Xi let out a small, rueful sound—she had forgotten that. “Then we’ll wait. It’s late now. If we try to transmit the signal to the prison tonight we risk being discovered. Rest for now. The Ministry of Justice has found new evidence; tomorrow there will be a hearing. Yan Xuan has gone for the real ledger and will be back soon. When we have the new proof, we’ll go together and then decide what to do about the Chongshuang Pavilion.”
Yan Gui bowed and slipped out carefully.
At the Shen residence—
A movement on the bed caught Sheng Yu’s eye. She hurried over with the medicine bowl, relief washing her face. “Young master, you’re awake! The potion is ready—drink it now before it cools.”
“How long has it been?” Shen Zhou asked, his voice hollow.
“From the moment you were punished and fainted yesterday, it’s been about a day,” Sheng Yu answered, pushing the bowl closer. “Drink quickly—if it cools it won’t work.”
He said nothing for a long moment. Sheng Yu bit her lip and tried again, “Young master, why make things harder for yourself? The arrangements by the elder brother and the minister have taken effect—the house arrest is lifted, the third young master has been sent away. Toppling Prince Yu’an is only a matter of time. Once he’s gone, Miss Xi…she’ll be—”
Her wrist was seized so hard she couldn’t finish. Shen Zhou’s hand was like iron.
Then he smiled, sudden and cruel as a red spider-lily blooming in the night—strange, beautiful, and dangerous. He took the bowl in one motion and drained it. “So be it. I must keep this life. Only then can I protect her.”
“Sheng Yu, what’s the situation now?” Shen Zhou asked, taking the embroidered handkerchief she offered.
“Prince Yu’an is locked in the prison. The third young master and Yan Yifan have both been silenced. The agents we placed in Tanzhou are already in the capital. There are the imperial consort and a princess building support at court. This matter is practically settled,” Sheng Yu reported.
Practically, Shen Zhou thought. Practically could crumble. His brother had ordered Manping’s death—evidence that his brother likely knew something of Yingying’s true identity. Yet the plan had gone wrong in the execution; what had been arranged had changed. How could a fragile scheme keep its shape?
He narrowed his peach-blossom eyes and considered the elder brother: why insist on personally eliminating Manping? If the plot had already shifted, why still put himself at risk?
The next day, the Ministry of Justice’s main hall—
Minister Wu Xianrui sat at the center of the dais. To his left, Su Zhongjie looked grave; to his right, Xie Huaiyue, having been found negligent, squirmed on a cushion, face tight with discomfort. Yi Yuan stood like a statue at the side of the court; despite his soiled clothes he showed none of the marks of interrogation. Behind him, Mian Xiao and Lin An stood straight and still, expression calm as a placid lake.
A ragged middle-aged man on his knees looked terrified. His hands seemed unsure where to rest; he smoothed the faded rough cloth of his robe again and again. “I swear I’m not lying. I fled famine in my village to Tanzhou. I thought I’d be forced onto the streets, but Lord Shen had learned of us and arranged shelter. There we had a roof. Otherwise we’d have nowhere. He gave us food and bread—if not for him, we’d have starved.”
Beside him an older woman in autumn-colored cloth tightened her hold on a thin, bewildered boy and chimed in, “Lord Shen is a good official. We’re old and weak—no skill to earn a living. Lord Shen’s people brought us provisions every day. If not for him, what would become of a grandmother and her grandson? I may be illiterate, but I know to repay kindness. Lord Shen was framed—he’s a righteous man. Even if I must lay down my life, I’ll speak the truth for him.”
Seeing his chance, Yan Zhongyi, Yan Guan’s elder brother, stepped forward. “Minister, the ledger my brother handed in was our family’s true consolidated account—compared line by line with the clan’s records. Those are the real entries. Prince Yu’an, whoever he hired, produced a false set of books—ten parts fabrication to one part truth.”
“He even killed my father when the scheme fell apart,” Yan Zhongyi’s eyes reddened. “Prince Yu’an acts like he’s above the law. If he goes unpunished, then what is the rule of law?”
“Prince Yu’an,” Minister Wu set down two ledgers—completely inconsistent—and massaged his throbbing brow. “Do you have anything to say in your defense?”