“Zhenzhen!”

Huo Feng, after all long tempered by battlefields, was the first to react. He immediately lifted up Huo Zhenzhen, who had fallen to the ground with a pale face.

Frightened into holding her breath by this sudden scene, Huo Zhenzhen, embraced by the Eldest Princess Shoukang and Huo Feng, finally cried out with reddened eyes.

“Seize this traitor!”

Empress Wei gave a cold low shout, and the guests at the banquet, as if waking from a dream, rose in succession.

Pei Sa stood up to guard in front of Zhao Yen and the two princesses. Liu Baiwei, directly disregarding propriety, stepped across the desk, frowning as he asked: “Your Highness, are you unharmed?”

As he spoke, the alarmed forbidden guards surged forward, pressing the eunuch assassin firmly to the ground.

It was as though he had already anticipated such a situation. His face was bleak, yet he still gripped tightly the dagger in his hand, as if to struggle to the death.

That black leather boot stepped upon it, grinding down. Amidst a hair-raising crisp crackling sound, the eunuch let out a hoarse scream and released his hand.

Zhang Cang seized the chance to stuff a wad of cloth into the eunuch’s mouth, to prevent him from biting his tongue to commit suicide, then picked up the dagger and presented it with both hands.

The cold, sharp blade was like thin ice, reflecting the gloomy chill of Wenren Lin’s eyes.

The edge of the blade faintly glimmered blue—it was clearly smeared with deadly poison. Fortunately, it had not been stained with blood.

Wenren Lin handed the dagger back to Zhang Cang and went straight toward Zhao Yen. Meeting the fearful or astonished gazes of the guests, he bent one knee to the ground, lowered his head and eyes, and gently removed Zhao Yen’s hand that was covering her forearm.

Apart from Huo Zhenzhen’s occasional sobs, the scene was utterly silent. The blazing sunlight could not dispel the heavy, icy oppression that clung to Wenren Lin’s body.

Yet his expression remained calm. His lowered eyes concealed the fathomless chill beneath as he asked in a hoarse voice: “Where are you hurt?”

Liu Baiwei stood up in vigilance. Zhao Yen shook her head toward him, indicating he need not worry.

“I dodged in time, I’m not much hurt…”

Zhao Yen spread out her hand, showing him the torn edge of her sleeve.

The sleeve robe was cut open with a neat slit. On the fair forearm exposed there was a faint red mark of an inch in length, only the tender surface skin injured, without blood or flesh exposed. Even so, it had been extremely perilous.

Marquis of Ningyang, Wei Yan, after soothing his wife, went forward to the eunuch assassin and indeed found in his sleeve the jade palace token—it was precisely the one Wei Yan had lost earlier.

The birthday banquet ended in discord, and the eunuch assassin was quickly dragged away.

Before the mastermind behind could be interrogated, all the guests at the banquet were settled in the Guanhua Hall behind, guarded by the imperial army.

Zhao Yen, however, remained in the main hall with Wenren Lin. Zhang Xu of the Imperial Medical Bureau soon hurried over.

After taking the pulse, only after a long time did he confirm: “Your Highness’s pulse is steady, the poison should not have entered the bloodstream. To be safe, please cleanse the scratch and apply Detox Jade Dew, then observe for one hour.”

Zhao Yen nodded and instructed Liuying: “Go report to Mother Empress, lest she worry.”

“Yes.” Liuying accepted the order and withdrew.

Wenren Lin took the salve and bandages offered by Zhang Xu, sat upon a chair, and personally applied medicine and bandaged Zhao Yen.

Supporting Zhao Yen’s small arm with one hand, with the other he carefully cleaned the faint scratch with wet cotton cloth, and asked: “Do you know who sent the hand?”

Recalling the bait released a few days ago, Zhao Yen concentrated and said: “I can more or less guess.”

Wenren Lin did not speak.

“Prince.”

Zhang Cang hurriedly arrived, requesting outside the hall: “Several Lords of the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review have already arrived. They are disputing where to send the assassin for imprisonment and interrogation, so I have come especially to ask Prince for a decision.”

Wenren Lin finished wrapping Zhao Yen’s wrist with bandage, his long frost-white forefinger loosening and pressing with each turn of the bandage. He said heavily: “Tell them to shut up, interrogate him on the spot.”

“Here?”

Zhang Cang was astonished. Seeing Wenren Lin glance over impatiently, he quickly bowed with fists clasped: “Yes! This subordinate will go at once!”

Interrogating on the spot was good as well, so as to avoid any mishaps during transfer.

Zhao Yen, supporting her chin with her uninjured hand, let her gaze follow Wenren Lin’s movements as he applied medicine, and softly asked: “When the assassin is interrogated later, may I attend and listen?”

Wenren Lin slowly cut off the excess bandage before lifting his head to look at her.

“Today is Your Highness’s birthday, it is not suitable to see blood.”

Wenren Lin’s tone was very gentle—gentle enough to cover the surge of killing intent in his eyes. “When this prince interrogates criminals, it is not a sight to behold.”

Once in a year, on this auspicious day, she only needed to pass it cleanly and happily.

After Wenren Lin left, Zhao Yen sat again in the main hall for a while—first, to heed Zhang Xu’s advice and observe whether the slight scratch would show any poisonous reaction; second, for convenience in keeping track of the interrogation of the assassin.

From the adjoining garden came faintly the harsh shouts of the interrogators. Yet the only response was silence, until at last someone said helplessly: “This crafty slave refuses to open his mouth. To keep delaying is no solution! Your Highness Prince Su, what do you think…”

After the confused and disorderly sounds of footsteps, there followed a long silence of two full quarters of an hour.

Tree shadows swayed upon the paper windows; the sunlight was just right. Zhao Yen did not even hear any screams of torture, only the rustling of shackles, and then the eunuch’s voice suddenly turned sharp and broken, almost shrieking in hoarse supplication: “I will speak… I will tell everything… Spare, spare me!”

Something viscous seemed to choke into his throat; the eunuch assassin coughed and gasped, muttering incoherently: “It was Prince Yong… Prince Yong commanded me to do it!”

A stir of commotion arose.

Soon after, Li Fu came in quietly from outside and reported: “Your Highness, all has been forced out. It is said this eunuch’s only kin was held in Prince Yong’s grasp, thus he obeyed orders to attempt the assassination… This servant just now went to ask the steward, and indeed this man has an elder sister serving as maid in Prince Yong’s residence. She vanished without cause two days ago—very likely because of this matter.”

Hearing this, Zhao Yen’s face showed not the slightest surprise.

Not long ago, Zhao Yen had used the dead-soldier captured alive on the day Zhaixing Observatory collapsed as bait, luring the mastermind into silencing him. The following midnight, indeed some jailer seized the chance, disguising the death as sudden illness and poisoning the dead-soldier in prison—the very poison being the same as that which had murdered Cheng Jixing.

Gu Xing, having received her reminder, did not startle the snake, but secretly trailed that jailer, making several turns. Only yesterday did he finally follow the trail to the one who made contact.

It turned out to be a fangshi [alchemist/occultist] of Prince Yong’s residence.

Prince Yong Shu, unlike his son Zhao Yuanyu, conducted himself with extreme low-profile. At most he flattered the Emperor elder brother’s liking by donning Daoist robes and refining elixirs, but he seldom partook in court affairs.

If he, for the sake of half a ledger, had an attempt made on the Crown Prince, it did not quite make sense—unless, there was some other hidden reason.

Zhao Yen had thought that if the mastermind truly were Prince Yong Shu, with his nature of concealing brilliance and nurturing obscurity, he would not strike again in the short term.

Who knew that the second assassination attempt would come so quickly, carrying the resolve of breaking cauldrons and sinking boats, an impatience that was abnormal.

Zhao Yen pinched a piece of sour jujube cake, bit into it, and concentrated on recalling the contents of the Shen Guang Sect ledger, trying to find some thread of clue.

The Crown Prince’s Heir of Prince Yong required large quantities of Candle-Snake scent glands for refining elixirs, all obtained from the hands of Real Person Shen Guang. Though it was a crime of collusion, once Prince Yong’s Heir met punishment by law, Prince Yong Shu could have completely extricated himself, without needing to risk everything…

Within these ten days, perhaps something else had happened.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yen lifted her gaze and said to Li Fu: “Go tell Gu Xing to continue keeping watch on Prince Yong’s residence. Before Father Emperor issues the final decree, carefully note who has had contact with Prince Yong.”

Next, she must meet this Prince Yong Shu in person to ask clearly.

Just as she was planning, a eunuch from the Taihe Hall arrived, summoning the Crown Prince to answer at the Taihe Hall.

Zhao Yen changed clothes and went to the imperial presence, relating to Father Emperor the causes and consequences of the attempted assassination.

The Eldest Princess Shoukang was also present, and she especially mentioned before the Emperor: if not for the Crown Prince saving Princess Changle, blood would surely have been spilled on the spot today.

The Emperor respected the Eldest Princess and had no choice but to immediately order a strict investigation into this matter.

By the time the matter ended, it was already the hour of You. The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the palace towers in magnificent splendor.

Zhao Yen sat within the carriage and asked Liuying: “Have my uncle and the others already departed?”

Liuying replied: “After confirming the suspect, Her Majesty ordered the guests in the Guanhua Hall to leave the palace.”

Zhao Yen nodded: “Later, prepare a small gift for each of those who attended the banquet. Since today’s incident came so suddenly, they can also be regarded as having rendered service in protection.”

“This servant understands.”

As she spoke, the sound of galloping hooves came from beneath the palace gate.

At the lead was Zhang Cang, not Wenren Lin. Seeing Zhao Yen’s carriage, he pulled the reins to an urgent stop, made the horse pace a circle, and raised his hand to signal the imperial guards behind to go on ahead.

“Your Highness, my lord prince is still in the palace accompanying His Majesty. He may only be free somewhat later.”

“No matter, do not trouble him.”

Zhao Yen lifted the carriage curtain, slightly smiling toward Zhang Cang: “May I accompany you to Prince Yong’s residence, Vice General Zhang?”

Prince Yong’s residence lay in pitch-dark silence.

Though the eunuch assassin had identified Prince Yong as the instigator, until evidence was seized to convict, Prince Yong, as an imperial kinsman, need not be stripped of his robes and cast into prison, only confined within his residence, guarded day and night by imperial troops.

Yet it was Prince Su who was in charge of interrogation. To guilty officials and criminals, falling into his hands was far more terrifying than being cast into prison.

In the rear courtyard of the residence, fierce wind lifted paper money into the sky. The torchlight of the imperial guards shone upon the piled pale paper effigies in the courtyard, giving off a dense, eerie deathly air.

The guards opened the lock of a side room in the rear courtyard and pushed open the door. Prince Yong Zhao Zhen sat by a solitary lamp at the table, one hand clenched upon his knee, the other pressing his sleeve.

Seeing the “Crown Prince” and the vice general at Prince Su’s side enter one after another, Zhao Zhen closed his eyes with bleak despair, as if he had already foreseen his end.

Zhang Cang took up that solitary lamp and lit all the candlestands in the room. The piercing blaze immediately forced back the darkness, dazzling so that Prince Yong had to turn his head aside like a rat in the gutter.

Zhao Yen seized the chance to step forward: “Gu has come here with a few questions to ask Uncle Prince Yong.”

Prince Yong sneered: “The winner is prince, the loser bandit. This prince has nothing worth saying.”

Zhang Cang gave a cold snort, his voice rough: “While your tongue is still there, Prince Yong should cherish the days when you can still speak.”

“You mean… you still intend to use torture against this prince?” Prince Yong clenched his fist, his voice hoarse and trembling.

“Uncle Prince Yong is imperial kin. There is no need to lose propriety.”

Zhao Yen’s voice was calm. Gathering her sleeves, she stood and said:

“Gu only wishes to know, for what reason did Uncle Prince Yong commit the grave crime of attempting to assassinate me? Was it for the ledger of Real Person Shen Guang, or for the seat upon the Golden Luan Throne?”

Something in her words seemed to provoke him. Prince Yong suddenly opened his eyes in fury:

“You brat, why pretend to be so righteous!”

At his reaction, Zhao Yen’s heart tightened, faintly guessing something.

“Elder Brother has only you as a son, and I have only Yu’er as my legitimate heir.”

Prince Yong’s face showed sorrow and grief. He pointed at Zhao Yen and said:

“Pity my Yu’er! However many faults he had, he should have been dealt with by His Majesty, judged by the law of the realm—how could he be executed in private, miserably slain by your brat’s blade!”

Her suspicion confirmed, Zhao Yen’s ears buzzed, as though recalling again the nauseating sticky feel of blood splattering upon her hand.

Zhang Cang cast her a worried glance, his brows knotting tightly.

Cai Tian had just said not long ago that Zhao Yuanyu’s tomb had been dug open; he had thought it was grave robbers, yet it had come to this.

“And you… you and the Eastern Palace colluded together, joining forces to deceive this prince!”

“Uncle Prince Yong, you and Zhao Yuanyu struck at the Eastern Palace time and again—was that not trampling the law and human ethics, was that not executing people in private?”

Zhao Yen strove not to be dragged down by Zhao Zhen’s sophistry of turning black into white. Her gaze was clear, and each word distinct:

“If the law of the realm were just, then how could those dozens of boys and girls, refined into elixirs, have died innocently at Zhao Yuanyu’s hands! Only your child counts as a child, and they do not?”

“Boys and girls… yes, that’s right! Those filthy deeds of the Crown Prince, do you truly think this prince knows nothing?”

“What do you mean?”

“Last spring hunt, my son fell from his horse and injured his lifeblood, so that he could no longer be a man nor beget heirs! I always believed it to be an act of Heaven, but only lately learned it was man-made disaster!”

Prince Yong’s face was ashen, his corpulent body trembling, yet he still stiffened his neck and rebuked: