Zhu Hexing’s words were enough to frighten a hawk to death. Jiaojiao fluttered its wings, instantly fleeing from its master whose head was clearly filled with water its eyes filled with a melancholy that seemed to say, “I truly do not understand you.”
Ignoring Ting Yuan’s terrified expression, Zhu Hexing whistled softly and said unhurriedly, “Come back here, my dear, or I shall pluck your feathers to make a winter jacket for the piglets.”
Jiaojiao immediately flapped back to its perch, “cooing” in a fawning manner, its air of noble detachment instantly crumbling.
“M-Master?” Ting Yuan wished he were deaf. He said with great difficulty, “Even if Shen Quebai managed to survive that day, he is a man! Master, I implore you to reconsider!”
Zhu Hexing reached out to stroke the iron perch again. This time, Jiaojiao did not flee. Feeling somewhat gratified, he replied, “What does it matter that he is a man?”
Ting Yuan felt as if his brain were being scorched dry. He had been born into the Zhu household and chosen at a young age to be raised as Zhu Hexing’s personal guard. While he dared not presume to guess his master’s thoughts, few people understood Zhu Hexing’s movements over the years better than he did.
Since he began serving him, Ting Yuan had never seen Zhu Hexing show interest in any young lady, let alone become intimate with one. When Zhu Hexing had just come of age, Emperor Jing’an had suggested he settle down, but he had shown little interest, appearing entirely detached from worldly desires and romance.
Now, barely a year later, how had he taken an interest in the “Southern Wind” (same-sex relationships)?
Was it that he liked men because he had no interest in women, or was it because he liked men all along that he had no interest in women?
Ting Yuan patted his forehead, desperately trying to steady himself. “A man… that is one thing, but so many years have passed. Who knows what kind of person Shen the Fifth has become? Master, please, think this through!”
A face flashed across Zhu Hexing’s mind. He said, “Rest assured, he is as beautiful as a flower.”
Ting Yuan fell silent for a moment before saying, “The scouts did say that Shen Quebai was exquisitely beautiful in his youth, but what if he has grown into a disappointment? Even if he were to rival the heavens in beauty, he is still a concubine-born son of a Marquis’s estate. The Empress Dowager will not agree, and it will be difficult for His Majesty to give his consent.”
“I am acting as a filial son and grandson for once; the Empress Dowager should be overjoyed and will not forget how to maintain ‘propriety,'” Zhu Hexing said. “As for His Majesty, I shall write him a letter, and he will agree.”
Upon hearing this, Ting Yuan felt like kneeling down and kowtowing, just to shake the lake water out of his master’s brain! With a mournful expression, he pleaded, “Master, please, reconsider!”
Although Shen Quebai had been away from the capital for many years, he was still a Shen. If Zhu Hexing married him, he would be forming an alliance with the Shen family. Although the Marquis of Yongding currently claimed to remain neutral, he was still the biological uncle of the Fifth Prince. This relationship dictated that he could not remain entirely aloof. Forming a marriage alliance with the Shen family at this moment was not a wise choice.
This gave Ting Yuan pause, but it was not the most critical point.
Most high-ranking young nobles could not choose their own marriages; they were merely exchanges and entanglements of interests. However, Zhu Hexing would never be manipulated by others. Since the Empress Dowager wanted to intervene in his marriage, he had chosen Shen Quebai—someone the Empress Dowager would never select—precisely because he did not want her to have her way.
But why did it have to be Shen Quebai?
“There are more suitable candidates in Xuandu, and if you are unwilling, His Majesty certainly will not force you. It does not have to be Shen Quebai,” Ting Yuan said earnestly, dropping his formal tone. “Marriage is not child’s play. Once you bring someone home, even if you cannot love each other for a lifetime, you must at least treat each other with mutual respect.”
Zhu Hexing remained unmoved. “I truly do insist on him. Besides, what kind of ‘major event’ is marriage?” His gaze toward the moon was cold and mocking. “Marriage certificates and red silk those are things that can be torn apart with a single pull.”
Ting Yuan frowned. “Master…”
“Enough, do not nag like an old woman. It is annoying.” Zhu Hexing withdrew his hand from the hawk and said, as if granting a pardon, “I have finished reconsidering. Bring me a brush.”
Ting Yuan had no choice but to bring paper and brush from the inner room. He served as Zhu Hexing wrote a lengthy letter, the content of which was essentially: “I intend to marry, and to a man. If Your Majesty loves me, you will agree. If you do not agree, it means you do not love me, and life would have no meaning for me.” Under the intimidating gaze of Zhu Hexing, he rolled the letter into a tube, feeling his head throbbing with two different worries.
Suddenly, a faint, almost imperceptible sound of footsteps reached his ears—a group of “disposable” assassins had just taken their turn earlier; was some brave soul coming alone now?
Zhu Hexing whistled, and Jiaojiao darted into the room. At the same moment, Ting Yuan stretched his arm out to close the window. A steel arrow whistled through the air, piercing violently into the window frame!
Zhu Hexing surveyed the scene with eyes like a hawk. In an instant, he caught a glimpse of a streak of red on the arrow’s tail it was a message-carrying arrow.
A sequence of footsteps faded away outside the courtyard. The person was gone.
Ting Yuan pushed open the window, wrapped his hand in a white cloth, and retrieved the item from the end of the arrow. It was a silk pouch. He opened it, took out the white jade peacock pendant inside, and stroked it. “A fine piece of jade!”
Zhu Hexing’s gaze faltered. “This jade…”
Ting Yuan immediately handed it over. “Does the Master recognize it?”
“This is an imperial treasure—to be precise, it belonged to the late Emperor. There were two pieces: one, a peacock, and the other, a baize (a mythical creature). Back then, when the late Emperor enfeoffed his sons as princes, he bestowed the ‘Baize’ upon the Fourth Prince, Prince Duan the current Emperor. And the ‘Peacock’…” Zhu Hexing’s tone turned strange, “…was bestowed upon the Third Prince of that time, Prince Ying.”
Ting Yuan’s expression changed drastically.
When Emperor Jing’an was still a prince, he had been closest to his third elder brother, and they had supported each other for many years. Later, during the struggle for the throne, it was he who personally took the life of Prince Ying.
“The mastermind behind the ‘Demon’s Words’ had the person wearing the fake crown die so miserably; it is clear they hate His Majesty to the core,” Ting Yuan said. “Now that this jade pendant has suddenly appeared, does it mean the mastermind is someone from Prince Ying’s old circle?”
Jiaojiao became restless again, and Zhu Hexing poked its head with his finger. Zhu Hexing said, “Then why did he send the jade pendant to me? Is it a provocation, or is he intentionally revealing his identity… wait.”
In a flash of lightning, a thought crossed his mind.
Ting Yuan asked, “Master?”
Zhu Hexing mused, “If you were the mastermind behind the ‘Demon’s Words,’ where would you send the jade pendant?”
“This…” Ting Yuan, neither ill-intentioned nor a master of schemes, could not answer.
“If it were me, I would send it to Jing Garden, then have the Prefect’s office discover it and immediately present it to His Majesty.” The prayer beads on Zhu Hexing’s wrist slipped, a chill brushing against his palm. He continued, “If Jing Garden is found to be hiding Prince Ying’s old belongings, then Shen Quebai is the mastermind. Taking it further, the Marquis of Yongding did not ‘exile’ him all those years ago; rather, he was waiting for him to grow up to entrust him with a heavy mission. The Marquis of Yongding is the true mastermind. Furthermore, the Marquis of Yongding has either fabricated or actually possesses a prince; he intends to confuse the imperial bloodline and plans to revolt with this prince. After all, everyone knows—”
Zhu Hexing raised his eyebrows slightly. “The Marquis of Yongding followed the Emperor to defend the borders and rendered great service, but he was once Prince Ying’s study companion, and the two had a deep bond. Although the Marquis eventually chose His Majesty, it is not impossible that he did so to wait for the political tide to turn, sacrificing his old master to protect his family, all while biding his time for years to plot revenge.”
Ting Yuan licked his parched lips.
“Imagine His Majesty discovering the jade pendant in this manner. He would want to interrogate Shen Quebai, but the ‘dead’ Shen Quebai is nowhere to be found—would that not just prove he ‘fled in fear,’ thereby confirming the charges?” Zhu Hexing looked at Jiaojiao, his tone cheerful. “The mouse in the gutter has finally poked its head out, but this little white magpie is no longer the pathetic creature waiting to be slaughtered like back then. It’s fierce enough to kill someone.”
Ting Yuan hesitated. “But… there is no concrete evidence.”
“As long as the monarch wishes it, this jade pendant is the evidence.” Zhu Hexing cast a glance at him, his gaze calm, yet it made Ting Yuan feel as though he were drowning in a deep pool. He continued, “At first, I thought the murderer’s actions at Lingfu Temple were strange. When I asked Li Shou about Jing Garden that day, he was exceptionally nervous and uneasy. Looking at it now, that fat fellow likely has a suspicion of deceiving the Emperor.”
Ting Yuan said, “But why would Li Shou cover for Jing Garden? My subordinates have investigated him, and he has no past relationship with the Marquis of Yongding.”
“The surname ‘Shen’ is not exclusive to the Marquis of Yongding.” Zhu Hexing looked up; tonight, the moon was shy, showing only half its face. He said, “If His Majesty uses this to launch an attack, it won’t be about the monarch losing virtue or Heaven issuing a warning, but rather about a traitorous subject plotting a rebellion to deceive the people. His Majesty could then not only suppress the rumors but also take the opportunity to weaken the power of the Marquis’s estate. It would be killing two birds with one stone.”
Ting Yuan said, “It sounds like a profitable business.”
Zhu Hexing reached out to stroke Jiaojiao. “If His Majesty takes advantage of this to swing his blade at the Marquis of Yongding, will the Marquis simply sit and be captured? Will the clear-eyed, upright officials in the court, or the generals who once guarded Qinzhou with the Marquis, remain indifferent? And how would his biological sister, Consort Qi, and his nephew, the Fifth Prince, fare?”
“But would His Majesty not know the consequences of this? The Marquis of Yongding currently holds no real position and commands no military power. Unless there is an obscure reason, why must he be removed at this time?” Ting Yuan frowned. “If the mastermind behind the ‘Demon’s Words’ is planning this, don’t you think it is too unpredictable?”
Zhu Hexing said, “The rumors of a secret illegitimate child are enough to make the court unstable and drag the neutral Marquis of Yongding’s estate into the vortex. If His Majesty is unwilling to push the boat along with the current, what about the other princes? The Marquis of Yongding has always been neutral; like me, he is a variable, and he might even be holding a prince. Even if I had not come to Chaotian City, the princes would not be able to sit still, especially the Fifth Prince.”
The Marquis of Yongding was the Fifth Prince’s biological uncle, yet he refused to support him. The Fifth Prince was not a perceptive man, and a rift must have long since formed in his heart. Although the Shen family was not his weapon, they were still his support, so he still had to maintain the appearance of a loving nephew to a kind uncle.
But when he heard the rumors, everything would change.
Why his own uncle would not support him this “potentially existing prince” would be the perfect reason. Even if it were just a “possibility,” the Fifth Prince would not be able to sit still. Once he made a move, others would have to act as well.
“Coo!” Jiaojiao finally escaped the clutches of the “devil” and darted out the window.
Inciting rumors and cursing the monarch; stirring up turmoil and inciting a struggle for the throne; using the Emperor to remove the Marquis of Yongding—this scheme was far too deep!
A chill ran down Ting Yuan’s neck. He pondered, “Then the person who sent the jade pendant wants to protect the Shen family. But how did this person obtain it ahead of time? Unless they have been watching Jing Garden all along. Who would keep an eye on the concubine-born son of the Marquis’s estate… wait! Could it be… Shen Quebai!”
“Previously, Li Shou’s entry into the capital was a ruse to act out a play for the mastermind, momentarily fooling everyone. Now that I have obtained the jade pendant, the mastermind can no longer use the same method to frame the Shen family.” Zhu Hexing’s tone was enigmatic. “He delivered it so quickly; it is a pity we didn’t catch that courier bird earlier. Otherwise, we could have used the bird to catch the magpie, and we could have had some fun tonight.”
“Are you saying the person who sent the jade pendant is the assassin’s accomplice, and the assassin is Shen Quebai?” Ting Yuan gasped. “Master, I beg you to reconsider four times! Who marries an assassin and brings them home? Life would be far too intense!”
“I don’t want to reconsider.” Zhu Hexing tossed the jade pendant to him. “Send this along with the letter to His Majesty via flying courier. We are returning to Xuandu tonight.”
Ting Yuan and the carriage had been abandoned by Zhu Hexing in Tanzhou, and they had only just arrived at Zuiyunji a short while ago, catching the soaked Zhu Hexing by the lake. He hadn’t even had time to stand firmly yet! He said, “So soon? Have you had enough fun? I heard there are many delicious foods in Chaotian City.”
“Aren’t we getting married?” Zhu Hexing said with feigned seriousness. “Once a man has a family, he must settle down.”
Ting Yuan smiled faintly. “As long as you are happy, Master. I will go load the carriage.”
It turned out to be a torrential rain in the middle of the night. Shen Quebai could not sleep, lying on the daybed and staring blankly at the hawk-handled dagger.
The dagger was already an old object, but Shen Quebai had always kept it on his person. He had once avoided letting it be stained by filthy blood, feeling that it was a desecration. But later, Shen Quebai changed his mind. He viewed it as a witness; it was blood-stained and had erased the once naive and fragile “Shen Quebai.”
Rain beat against the eaves, and Shen Quebai’s heart was also uneasy. In the thin blade, he saw his own eyes, and he also saw Zhu Hexing in those eyes. This person made him inexplicably aware of a subtle familiarity, but it was very strange, as they were clearly meeting for the first time.
Shen Quebai closed his eyes, but Zhu Hexing did not disappear. This elusive feeling was unsettling. He began to sift through his memories in detail, trying to find even a shred of connection to “Zhu Hexing.”
The sound of rain outside the window seemed to stagnate, and the surroundings were very quiet. Shen Quebai was immersed in his memories until the window was suddenly pushed open from the outside. The jade bell hanging on the inner window swayed gently, making a sound. He opened his eyes abruptly.
Jade.
Zhu Hexing also had a string of jiu jade.
Hua Wu poked her head in, and seeing his strange expression, she could not help but ask, “Did you have another nightmare?”
Shen Quebai sat up and asked her, “When you entered the private room to serve wine tonight, did you see the string of jiu jade on Zhu Hexing’s wrist?”
“I saw it, but I didn’t see it clearly.” Hua Wu was puzzled. “Do you want it?”
Shen Quebai shook his head, staring at the dagger, and said nothing.
Hua Wu scratched her head and said, “Zhu Hexing has left the city.”
“…Truly an eternal old turtle; he doesn’t even need to take a nap.” Shen Quebai rubbed his face, setting his thoughts aside for now. He quickly climbed off the bed to put on his shoes, grabbed the hood and blade from the daybed, and vaulted out the window in a few steps. “I’m going to watch the ‘cutting of the turtle’ with a thousand knives. You go to sleep early; be careful not to turn into a haggard old woman.”
“I am beautiful beyond compare!” Hua Wu grabbed an umbrella and followed him. “Take me with you.”
The night rain was like a pool of ink pouring down, and muffled thunder exploded suddenly.