The doors of the imperial study opened slowly, and LinHuaichu, who had been waiting outside, quickly walked in.
"LinHuaichu greets Your Majesty," he said, bowing deeply.
"Huaichu, tell me, did you hear the name the assassin mentioned today?" ChengSangKing asked.
LinHuaichu's heart skipped a beat. Of course, he had heard the name clearly, but he absolutely didn't believe the assassin's words. The suddenness of the event had left him no time to think it over before being brought to the palace.
"I... I heard it," LinHuaichu replied hesitantly. It wasn't that he hadn't heard, but that he couldn't let the emperor know what he had heard.
At this moment, a eunuch brought over two sets of writing materials, placing them in front of ChengSangMo and LinHuaichu.
"Since both of you heard the name, write down what you heard and present it to me," ChengSangKing ordered.
LinHuaichu's eyes darted around nervously, his panic visible to the naked eye. Nevertheless, he hesitantly picked up the brush.
ChengSangMo finished writing first, folding his paper and placing it aside.
LinHuaichu, still not putting pen to paper, gripped the brush with trembling hands. ChengSangJY, noticing his friend's distress, whispered, "Huaichu, write it down. What's wrong?"
To LinHuaichu, the brush felt more like a sword about to fall. Writing down what he had heard could implicate ShangGuanCY, even without solid evidence. He pondered for a long time, his brows furrowed and lips tightly pressed together, before reluctantly writing.
Once both had finished, a eunuch brought the papers to ChengSangKing.
ChengSangJY, who had been too far away to hear anything, craned his neck to see what was written.
ChengSangMo cast a sidelong glance at LinHuaichu, his expression one of expectation.
LinHuaichu, head bowed, eyes closed, fists clenched, silently prayed.
As ChengSangKing opened the papers, he read aloud in a puzzled tone, "King? Who is this?"
LinHuaichu looked up in shock, meeting ChengSangMo's gaze.
To avoid implicating ShangGuanCY, LinHuaichu had written only the word "King." He had hoped this ambiguity would prevent any direct accusations. However, he hadn't anticipated that ChengSangMo would write the same word.
ChengSangKing examined the papers closely, asking, "Just this? A single word, King? Mo, is this your concern?"
ChengSangMo, having anticipated LinHuaichu's cautious approach, replied, "The assassin's words were unclear in his dying moments. I only heard this one word, so I dared not say more."
ChengSangKing, frustrated, tossed the papers onto the desk. "This isn't much of a lead. I can't investigate everyone with the title of King, can I? The Ministry of Justice will handle this. As for you two," he said, pointing at his sons, "you've grown quite adept at causing trouble. One pretends to be ill for years, the other runs away. You're both grounded for three months and will copy the Classic of Filial Piety thirty times."
A few days later at the Bamboo Garden,
"Are you sure that's what you heard?" MuJinling asked.
LinHuaichu nodded vigorously. "I thought MoLan prince would take this chance to accuse CY in front of the emperor, so I only wrote 'King.' But I didn't expect he would write the same thing."
MuJinling smirked, speaking softly. "ChengSangMo is indeed very cautious. He's not easy to deal with."
"What do you mean?" LinHuaichu asked, confused.
MuJinling looked at LiLuoning, signaling him to explain.
LiLuoning obliged, "Firstly, the MoLan prince and YunQing prince are already political rivals. If ChengSangMo had explicitly named him, it would seem suspiciously deliberate. Secondly, without concrete evidence, directly accusing CY would be risky. If this incident were orchestrated by ShangGuanCY himself, ChengSangMo would be cornered. So, it's safer to play dumb. If I'm correct, he will soon approach CY, probing this matter discreetly."
LinHuaichu nodded thoughtfully. "But how did he know I'd write just one word?"
"Of all the words you could write, 'King' has the broadest implication and the least suspicion. If pressed to write something, it would likely be that word," MuJinling added, glancing at the silent ShangGuanCY. "Why so quiet? You usually get furious when anyone touches your precious brother. Why so calm today?"
ShangGuanCY, deep in thought, looked up at LinHuaichu. "Huaichu, when you fought those men, did you notice anything?"
LinHuaichu recalled the events, nodding slowly. "It seemed... they weren't trying to kill me. They could've killed me first, then JY. But they used chains to trap me, and only then did one go after JY, as if they wanted me to witness it."
"Something felt off to you?" MuJinling picked up on ShangGuanCY's concern.
ShangGuanCY nodded gravely. "I went to Qixian about the tax issue. My father had sent people several times, but they either disappeared or were turned away. But when I went, there were no obstructions. The officials handed over the overdue taxes without hesitation and even wanted me to stay a few days. I declined politely. On the way back, the main road was blocked by fallen rocks, forcing us to take a detour. That's why I was delayed."
"So, you believe this assassination was premeditated?" MuJinling asked.
LiLuoning nodded thoughtfully. "Not only that, the timing was when none of us were around JY."
MuJinling continued, "ChengSangMo is known to be in the north during this time. We decided to visit my mother's grave a few days before. MuChuan was out quelling bandits, and you were delayed in Qixian. The attacker must've known our schedules to plan this."
LiLuoning agreed. "The person behind this knows our movements well and laid the groundwork. But they didn't account for the MoLan prince's travel time, assuming a sickly prince wouldn't ride alone. That miscalculation saved JY."
ShangGuanCY's expression grew darker. "This means our adversary is highly informed and has significant influence, possibly within the court, and their target is clearly JY."
In the Crown Prince's residence, study room,
ChengSangJY stared out the window, pondering Cui Yi's words. "Heaven kept you alive for a reason. Just ask yourself what you truly want."
"What do I want? What should I do? What do I want to achieve?" ChengSangJY murmured.
Steward Duo entered with several eunuchs carrying trays with ornate boxes. "Your Highness, the MoLan prince sent these. They are the stones you selected earlier, now crafted. Would you like to see them?"
"Leave them there. I'll look at them later," ChengSangJY replied absentmindedly. He then turned to Steward Duo with a mysterious look, gesturing for the eunuchs to leave.
"DuoDuo, let me ask you, is there something you really want to do or something you've always dreamed of?" ChengSangJY asked.
Steward Duo stumbled, adjusting his hat. "Your Highness, whatever you bestow upon me, I will gladly accept. I don't have the luxury to be choosy."
ChengSangJY shook his head. "I'm not talking about things. I mean, is there something you've always wanted to do in life?"
Steward Duo thought for a moment. "Serving Your Highness all these years, as long as I see you safe and happy, I'm content. My greatest wish is to continue serving you, perhaps one day caring for your children, living a peaceful life with you and the young princes."
ChengSangJY repeated softly, "Peaceful life, united family..."
In the MoLan prince's residence, study room,
ChengSangMo stared at the curved blade on his desk, then slowly opened a box to retrieve his own. Holding the two blades, he recalled MuJinling's words, "How much do you know about Princess LanShi and General LinYuan?"
With a mix of anticipation and dread, ChengSangMo brought the blades closer together.
"Click."
With a crisp sound, the two curved blades seamlessly connected at the tail rings.
ChengSangMo stared at the perfectly joined blades, feeling a heavy weight on his chest. No matter how hard he tried to breathe, it felt as though the air around him was nonexistent. His hands, gripping the hilts tightly, trembled with the intensity of his emotions, refusing to let go.
Suddenly, he noticed the hilt of the blade seemed loose. Bringing it closer, he examined it carefully, rotating the hilt. The hilts of the two blades clicked open, revealing a hidden compartment inside.
ChengSangMo first opened the letter hidden in LinHuaichu's blade. It read:
"Love and affection are hard to bear, yet ever-present in every encounter. Meeting you, thinking of you, longing for you, recognizing your face, dreaming of you."
"Meeting you, thinking of you, longing for you, recognizing your face, dreaming of you," ChengSangMo repeated the last lines in disbelief, the object in his hands trembling and falling onto the desk.
"You, a fallen prince from the northern territories, what are you trying to stir up?" MuJinling's words echoed in his mind.
The room seemed to shrink around ChengSangMo, the walls pressing in on him. The weight on his chest grew heavier, his breathing increasingly erratic as if he might suffocate at any moment. He had thought the separation of lovers due to ChengSangKing was unbearable, but discovering he was not ChengSangKing's bloodline was an even greater shock—a secret known only to Princess LanShi.
With trembling hands, he urgently opened the second letter, like a parched man finding a source of water.
"My son LanMo, Lin General is your father. Enemy ChengSangKing, who killed your brother and shamed your mother. Revive the northern lands, avenge our family, an unending enmity."
In a dimly lit corridor, a pair of white shoes with green soles appeared around the corner, quickly walking forward. The cloak fluttered with each step, and the flickering torches on the walls cast the person's shadow along the walls, accompanying the figure into the depths of the corridor.
"Greetings, master," the cloaked figure said, kneeling on one knee.
"You dare show your face?" A low, gravelly voice, simmering with anger, replied.
The cloaked figure bowed even lower, their voice sincere and humble. "Please, master, calm your anger. I did not anticipate that MoLan prince had been pretending to be ill for so many years, leading to the failure of the assassination attempt."
The owner of the gravelly voice turned slowly, revealing a pair of sharp, narrow eyes beneath a dark mask. The eyes emitted a chilling gaze. The mask's wearer had a well-defined face, a mixture of fairness and handsomeness, but his brows were heavy with hostility. Despite the stubble on his face, his nearly seven-foot tall frame radiated a commanding presence.
"I did not expect ChengSangMo to hide his true health for so long, revealing himself for the sake of ChengSangJY. It seems their relationship is not as distant as rumors suggest," the masked figure said in a gravelly voice.
"Master, the Cuilan Twin Blades have fallen into ChengSangMo's hands as you instructed. What is your next plan?" the cloaked figure asked.
The masked figure let out a cold laugh. "It appears he knows the truth now. Inform BeiYu to proceed with her task. Since the assassination attempt on the prince failed, they will be on guard. It's time we choose a different target to play with."
At the ShangGuan residence, ShangGuan Jingshuo was sighing in his study when ShangGuanCY overheard and entered.
"Father, why are you sighing so early in the morning?" ShangGuanCY asked.
ShangGuan Jingshuo pointed to the mountain of memorials on his desk, shaking his head in resignation. "The granaries in the west were burned, and the emperor sent troops south to transport grain. Although we made it through the winter, it exceeded the budget by threefold. I intended to request an increase in this year's taxes to replenish the national treasury. But the south recently suffered from flooding, many towns were submerged, and people were displaced. Local officials have requested the emperor to open the granaries and provide relief, and to reduce or even cancel this year's taxes to alleviate the disaster. I'm in a dilemma; should I submit this request or not?"
Listening to his father's troubles, ShangGuanCY picked up a few memorials and began reading through them, hoping to find a solution. As he flipped through them, he said, "If it's just reducing taxes and opening the granaries, it might be feasible. But if the flooding continues, it will keep draining the treasury. Moreover, simply reducing taxes might allow some officials to line their pockets without truly helping the people."
ShangGuan Jingshuo nodded in agreement. "Exactly, that's my concern."
ShangGuanCY's hands paused as he opened a memorial, his eyes narrowing as he carefully read its contents. He looked up, shocked. "Father, did you read this one?"
ShangGuan Jingshuo, seeing his son's reaction, asked, "I've read some, but not all. Why? What's wrong?"
ShangGuanCY spread the memorial on the desk, revealing a single line written in red ink: "The spirits of the Lin family bear their grievances and injustices."
At the Lin residence, LinMuchuan looked sternly at the memorial on his desk, asking, "Can't we find out who submitted this?"
ShangGuanCY shook his head. "This memorial passed through many hands. Since it's not valuable, few people paid attention to it. But it seems deliberate, given that General Lin has been deceased for years, there's no reason to fabricate this now."
LinMuchuan agreed with ShangGuanCY's assessment but found it troubling. "But it's been so long, even if we try to investigate, it'll be difficult."
"If we can find out who submitted it, it won't be hard to trace," ShangGuanCY said.
LinMuchuan nodded, but then they heard LinHuaichu's voice from outside. "Brother, have you seen my coin pouch?" he asked, entering the room.
"CY! So early?" Seeing ShangGuanCY, LinHuaichu greeted him politely.
LinHuaichu didn't treat ShangGuanCY as an outsider, given his frequent visits. Turning to LinMuchuan, he asked, "Brother, have you seen my coin pouch? I searched the whole house but couldn't find it."
"You're always losing things. How would I know where your coin pouch is? Did you lose it while out?" LinMuchuan said, annoyed, trying to close the memorial before LinHuaichu noticed.
LinHuaichu shook his head. "Impossible. JY gave me that coin pouch. I'm always careful with it. I remember putting it in my room last night, but it was gone this morning. I need it; I'm going out later."
ShangGuanCY chuckled, teasing, "I bet it's not the pouch but the money you're worried about. You have a knack for creative ways to ask for money, Lin Second Young Master."
LinHuaichu rummaged through LinMuchuan's desk, momentarily picking up and putting down the memorial, seriously saying, "It's not the money, it's the pouch. I can't lose it."
LinMuchuan, getting annoyed, dismissed him. "How would I have your coin pouch? If you need money, go to the accounts office. Stop bothering me. Can't you see we're discussing serious matters? Get out."
LinHuaichu scrunched his nose, retorting, "Serious matters? An idle royal and a returned noble discussing serious matters? What? New memorial paper thicker than usual, requesting more budget?"
"You brat! Do you want a beating?" LinMuchuan grabbed a pastry and threw it at LinHuaichu.
ShangGuanCY, sensing something odd, asked, "Huaichu, what did you just say?"
Catching the pastry and stuffing it into his mouth, LinHuaichu mumbled, "That memorial, its paper is different, thicker than usual. Didn't you notice?"
ShangGuanCY and LinMuchuan exchanged a glance, both looking at the memorial on the desk.
In the Eastern Courtyard of the Crown Prince's residence,
"Sir, about the content you mentioned yesterday..." ChengSangJY began as he walked into LiLuoning's study, thinking he was there.
Finding the room empty, he was about to leave when the glowing Sea Tree Pearl on the desk caught his eye.
"What's this?" Curious, ChengSangJY leaned closer to get a better look.
As he approached, the pearl's glow intensified. Just as he was getting engrossed, Huazhiyue entered and saw him peering at the pearl with great interest.
In a panic, Huazhiyue struck her wrist with two fingers, commanding, "Withdraw!"
Instantly, a blue light flew into her palm and disappeared.
ChengSangJY, engrossed in the glow, was surprised when the pearl vanished. Turning, he saw Huazhiyue standing there with a guilty smile.